La Junta tribune., 1911-10-07

has been placed near the deep well in
the main street Of Coolidge Directly
on the state line between Colorado
and Kansas there is a stone marker,
which bears the inscription Kansas
on the east side and Colorado on
the west side Here was the crossing
of the old Santa Fe trail For time
there was a dispute as to where the
state line really was This Was set
tied by the engineers Of the United
States geological survey From Gar
den City. Kan. through to Lamar.
Colo. tho old trail ram through
dreary wastes eighty years ago To-
day these wastes by irrigation meth
ods have become fields Of marvellous
fertility
At Coolidge James j. Donahue,
Santa Fe nelghtrr and Indian fighter,
at Fort Aubrey aud Syracuse Vie L.
Harris, pioneer in the good reads
movement, Grur-e Bonner president
Of the Syracuse Commercial Club.
Henry Block. editor OF the Syracuse
Journal. and John W. Bsaty. Tor forty
years residing on fAe Trail, told
stories OF the old trail days
old Fort Aubrey is but a memory
Where it stood cattle peacefully
sraze Some dcpressious iu Sprius
ere bank show wbarr th- rifle pits
were Iu The days OF Indian fighting
Yves, % Lamar one OF tba Beurs
forts shows some rock ruins uu fh"
Old foundation. while nearby O. ar
Iha bestnuina Of the arat IRRIGATION
ditch Senator A. IS Parrish DR. }
A Hasrv Judge O. Is Dwehtr IuIre
C. C. goHIHI.. D. s. Mcdowell. pin.
n#er residents nl Lamar T. So Mar'.
ham and o. % CLARK president aud
secretary OF rHn Lamar Commercial
club showed rhe trail party rhn nlI
trail and fHn uuH.
"a band of chsy.un. iadaus.
said ID EuI.E. nf 5gum5.. Kan.
"uauI Hamilton county. Kansas.
on JuIy @. fts3 John p1nahun. my
brother. and my %; had @ duE0ut
just south of Naylma station on the
Santa Fa railroad six miles cast uf
Syracuse ! was alone ~ the ranch
aud happened 90 br boo the duaout
about ! O'Clock when the Indians
made fh. raid and took an our
horses. s,x iu number when I came
out thr horses were gone and about
half q milo away I saw six Indians
taking them uu the run south of the
river Another little band made z
raid ono mile further west at old
Fort Aubrey. where Colonel HarIcsty
had a camp lu rbarao OF "pmra
Dog" Dave. buffalo hunter Io
stw fhr Indians before they reached
The H1r ra. commenced shooting at
them rrI tru CHng Hu pHI.d 1rr
without H.H ruluT.s 90. r.N'
HaN ur Fourth OF Iu'r south 90
MaaHag 1u th0 south I1a ol tha Nr
kansas river "a urrla man and h1g
were looking after cattle Tho lH-
d.aHs lF. fH.m % chase tHs W1u r-
capped but tHu bHy was 0u % slow
running pony and tho Indians osUr.
took h.m and took his scalp A fHw
milas unrthwu., ar the mouth af
Butte crock Mr james. gafuo man,
waa !a camp THE Indians took all
nf his horses. but as he was IN dceI
adup they diI not s.r him and d."
dil not know for some umo that his
horses bad bnnu taken. little far.
thFr on Plum creek they met man
from Granada, Colo, who was after a
load Of wood They took his scalp
and drove his nN into his head The
Indians then went southwest toward
the Butte mountains aud this was the
last Indian fiEht or raid On this sec.
tion ot Kansas about which | knoW
anything
The first permanent settlement In
Hamilton county. Kansas. was made
by colony from Syracuse. N y.
March %. 1873. which settled ON the
site that Is now Syracuse Previous
10 that time there had been fort and
stage station. called Fort Aubrey. at
the head Of Spring creek. four miles
east Of Syracuse. but these were aban.
duncd three or four years before the
Santa Fo railroad was constructed
through this part Of the Arkansas
Valley Tho Santa Fn railroad had
reached the present site Of syracuHe
on Christmas day. iS72and was com.
pletod TO the Kansas Colorado state
line by the first of March. 1873 The