Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1908-03-21
List your land with Lester G. Mudge He has the BUYERS
EARLY OGALLAH.
BY G. C. Yetier. Manager Ellis and IregO
County Telephone Company.

1Or my oHO1U 10 Or0dk 1nUO U1lo
columns of THE CLUB MEMBER
with few reminiscent incidents
of the early settlements Of WeS
tern Kansas, it will be up to you
to make that apology
Kansas Day, generally noted
in our schools, gives rise to- the
occasion for many an old settler
to take a retrospective view of
things as they were here twenty
eight and thirty years ago, and
what they are now. We inStinc
lively heave a sigh of relief while
we announce, We guess there's
quite a change"
Twenty nine years ago on a
cold, dismal day in the early part
of February, the writer with his
effects, which consisted princi-
pally of faith, hope, and courage,
was landed at blind siding then
known as Ogallah, near where he
had fled on a piece of Govern
ment land. 1t was late in the
evening, stiff breeze was driv-
ing the sleet and snow Spitefully
into our face no matter what way
we turned.
A longing look in every direc
tion for some place of refuge for
the night was met only Ito our
minds eye) by the most blank
and supreme deSolation we had
ever beheld. The threatening
clouds above, the bare earth be-
low, and two streaks of rust
called the Kansas Pacific Rail
road, was all we could look up to
or down to to build our future
hopes upon. Separated by 600
miles from our family and with
such a prospect in sight we re-
dected, had a man, not as well be
caught in an ocean without com
pass, rudder, or sail? In fact,
had he not as well be drowned?
But that hope which nerves US
all in our crucial trials backed by
faith in ourselves, both of which
we must have if we would sur
mount great difficulties, these
are the elements that have made
the early homeseeker stay by
his claim after taking it. The
StayerS are here now as indepen-
dent and comfortably situated as
can be found anywhere in our
whole country.
You told US to tell this with
out any attempt at oratory but
just as we would talk it. 1t was
indeed kind of you to give US
this much latitude, so you will
pardon US for going back after
+1oea inai
In our ambitious haste to tell
you what a great people we of
the Short-graSS country are now
I nearly forget to tell you what
we used to be. / am going to
whisper it softly to you but do
not tell any one lest we might be
called the woolly west We did
not camp on the prairie at the
time before mentioned else the
reader of this humble effort
would never have heard of US.
The coyotes were too numerous
in those times to allow US to in
dulge in outdoor slumber at
night. Forty brass bands at
high tide parade. could not equal
in noise a few hundred of those
coyotes. We have ever advocated
retreat when retreat was the
easiest thing to do, so we re
turned to Ellis and started out
the next day under more favora-
BILE circum
In going over the country to
look up our claim we had heard
of a goodly number of settlers on
our route. Come to investigate,
the most of them had burrowed
into the ground for the winter
/ will describe one of these dwell
ings as briefly as 1 can. One of
| these burrowed shacks, as we
called them Ia plain 10 by II foot
Cellar), was dug into a bank, called
by some a side-hill, to the depth
of seven or eight feet. Across
this joists were placed, then
brush, straw and clay which con
Stituted the roof A hole was
dug down on the outside for a
chimney, which after being sod
ded up a way, completed the
structure. After the steps were
put down a half window was
placed somewhere around the
wall to afford a little light. There
was not much whitewash used