Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1915-11-25
Writes off Trip
From Illinois to Derning

Large granite markers have been
along the trail by the D. A
4. but the trail in many places must
still be in the same condition as when
Daniel Boone last travelled It.
First Overland Trait
The Boone Lick Trail proper ends
at Old Franklin and Just near; by Ii
New Franklin where the Santa Fe
Trail really began, although this trail
has often been described as beginning
at, Independence, many miles west
and which later became the Quitting
point for the trading caravans to
Santa Fe. On a great granite rock In
the center OF New Franklin is a
bronze plate that states that
that spot In September, 1921, hVe
men, their goods loaded on pack
horses, started on the first overland
trading trip to faraWay Santa Fse.
Crossing the river at Bonneville on
a ferry boat, we continued our way
toward Kansas City on somewhat bet
ter roads, but often when pounding
over permanent bad places we could
not help but wonder why the illus
trious D, A. r. did not spend less
money erecting large granite blocks
adorned with bronze plates. and more
money building road. After a thorough
course in rough riding that would
warm Che heart Of Teddy, we reached
Kansas City, tired, but otherwise all
right.
Greatest Salt Producer.
Out OF Kansas City the roads were
good and the question was not. can
we get through" but how fast? Fol-
lowing the New Santa BE Trail-We
had enough of the Oid-we were soon
in Hutchinson, Kansas. the greatest
salt producing city in the world.
From Hutchinson we travelled in a
southwesterly direction via Pratt,
but not SO fast, as / wished to make
notes of and log this cutoff from Hut
crimson to Fowler, where we picked
up the Borderland and ere again on
a we'll known road.
From Fowler, through Meade to
Plains and twenty miles beyond to the
Cimeron river bridge, we left one
long trail of dust-and then met one
OF those life tragedies that strike
deep into the heart of q mother.
A Heart-Rending Scene.
The river. was about a half mile be-
hind us, Liberal eleven miles away
and the time nearly shutdown. As we
rushed through the river bottofn we
saw, as we supposed, a a ahead
stalled in the sand, and stopped to
give assistance if needed, az is the
law in this country, but
could do nothing as the old Stude-
baker had repeated its old trick OF
tearing out the d~ifferential gears and
was hopelessly crippled. A man and
a boy were with the car and fastened
to the side was a little box contain
ing the body OF a little child about
eighteen months old.
Bitten by Rather.
That day about noon the child was
in the yard at its home in Plains,
whore 1T was bitten twice in the
throat by a RATHER. The Plains doctor
was out Of town and the mother ran
with the child in her arms to the de-
pot where she caught a fast train to
Liberal but the little fellow died about
Liberal but teh little fellow did about
fifteen minutes later.
We offered to take them back to
Liberal or on to Plains, but they de-
clined the offer, as they expected a
Plains car to pick them up in a few
minutes, SO we went on. / learned
afterward that at ten that night they
were still there by that river and
thought OF the mother waiting for the
body Of her child.
Good night,
&C. H. Lester.