The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-04-03


mer, of the Irrigation Congress and
| the exhibition buildings are of some
| interest At Vegas We met an inter-
esting young woman from Chicago
| who has taken a claim at Wagon
| Mound where there is a little colony
| of eastern people out for health or a
new experience. The Chicago girl has
| pre-empted $50 acres, fenced it, built
little shack and barn in one cor
rer and two of her cousins have adj
forming a triangle. The Chicago girl
was entertaining her sister. from Mil
Waukee, who confessed to a weakness
| for the paved streets and the electric
lights and didn't enjoy ranch life. AL
though the Wagon Mound colony had
| taken her to cowboy dance and
shown her all the other joys of the
ranchito, she couldn't see it at all, and
her hostess had been obliged to take
her into Las Vegas to the Castenada
! where they were spending a few days
in civilization before she returned
home. The Chicago girl is enthusiast
tic about the country, about her claim
and about ranch life in general. II
have lived in cities all my Hfe," she
said, land have gone to theatres and
| bridge parties and dances until I am
| sick of them. This Is something new
| "a fresh sensation, new experience
and I thoroughly enjoy it was never
| SO happy in my life. / have been here
| fourteen months necessary to prove up
] on my claim, are over" This rose of
/ the rancho had her saddle horse at
| Vegas and after her sisters departure
expected to ride home alone to her
farm at Wagon Mound, distance of
| forty-fiye miles.
| At Albuquerque the concert was given
| in the Reading Room and as at the other
stops there was an audience that
/ q Oor Qoit of ha Qr6
| every evidence of interest that could
I be hoped for. Wherever one goes on
| the Santa Fe. one meets Topeka and
| form y-of-Topeka people. They are
| present at all the concerts and they
] come up afterwards to give the per-
| formers a welcome. There is some
one from Topeka on every train we
take. We left Newton at midnight
Tuesday night and the next morning
found that we were in the same car
daughters and Mrs. George M. Eagle,
who were on their way to San Diego.
Leaving La Junta we Joined Mrs
Thomas B. Frost and her daughter
Betty, going to their home in the
City of Mexico after a long visit in
Topeka. Mr.. G. D. Lyle was on our
| train for a while yesterday. He is trav-
cling in New Mexico on business
looking for new Westlawns to conquer
into this town at 12:45 last night and
leave at 2:50 this morning and al
though we have not seen many cow
!; boys the place is in no way a disap-
peintment. 1t offers some of the prim-
tive conditions one expects to meet
in the far west, and proves that, after
all, the Wild and Woolly has not pass
ed completely into history. The Read
ing Room here is not large, so the
concert was given tonight Sunday in
70 ~ ~
imagine that. 1t was very recherche
and all that sort of thing. On ac-
count of many signs warning the
: habitues of the opery and box holders
not to spit on the floor the walls OF
the auditorium are exquisitely fres-
: coed for some distance-Part Noovoc
!; la fine cut and horse shoe plug
There are kerosene lamps and stove:
at the hotel but 1t is a clean, neat
comfortable hosiery at that and there
is Harvey house at the station. Any
way, after the luxurieS of the Alvar-
, ado, the simple life is a pleasant re-
lief and will tend to make us more ap-
preciative of the Ell Garces at The
J Needles, our next stop, which is saio
to be one of the most attractive no.
tells on the line.
Gallup is simply big smash" with
me. Here are 1njuns wot are 1njuns
!; They live all around the town. The
: Navajo reservation (three million
acres of indispensable iand) is only
a few miles distant and there are stage
lines across 1t in many directions
! starting from this point. The Pueblos
live near and there are Zunis camping
!. on the edge of the village or in the
surrounding hills and selling theil
: wares to the passengers on the trains
, 1t is about as good a place to buy
Navajo rugs and Pueblo pottery as the
hurried tourist will find.
The concert passed off uneventful
lxy nd nn n a
J though we should not have been sur
pfised at q disturbance. The owner
| of the opery house is also the owner
, of a saloon where one of the men OF
!, the concert company sought him thi.
) morning shortly after our arrival
} There had been big Diddings' al
: the saloon and the party wasn't over
The Blessed Sabbath had daWned bu
the miners. cow boys and soldiers from
Fort Wingate, few miles distant, die
not know it. They seemed to resent
the sobriety and responsibility of oul
gentlemanly representative and for {
/ while it looked as If his visit NIGH
have started something he couldn"
stop. But remembering that discre
/ ton is the better part of valor he
"beat it" before the shooting began
In consequence of this "foxy pass" we
thought some of putting up that clas
! "Don't shoot the baritone-He done
his d-dest. Angels could do ne
, more"
At Las Vegas declared that
J would return and take claim bu
when 1 reached Albuquerque I wa,
even more delighted with the pros
) poets. Tonight, however, we were
talking with a st, Louis man at tht
hotel who owns As square miles of oil
timber, coal and farming land neal
; here and he says Gallup is the place
and 1 am almost persuaded.
NOhadv in the marty IS wildly en-
thusiastic about the Gallup PROPOSE
ton except me. but my imagination
has been fired by a tale 1 heard of al
express robbery here year ago
Eighty-five thousand dollars mad'
away with by the traditional three
masked men who rode up to a loneh
' station on branch line, where tn,
money was waiting to be taken t.