Abilene weekly reflector., 1922-11-02
ABOARD ox-TRAM EXPRESS
Quaint Travcier Teik Of His Trip
Through Kansas

Through Kansas
You remember the quaint ox-team
that went through town last Aug
ust? The driver, J. G. Berrang, IL
writing a. story,of the CROSSE s-country
trip for the Rural New Yorker and
this is his report Of the observations
In. Kansas:
August IS, 1S22, was passed the
geographical center of the United
States, Fort Riley. The next town.
Junction City. city of 1900, was
nice clean city. well laid out, With
paved streets and free tourists camp.
just opened. These towns are all
providing these camps, and while
most OF these display signs, Free
Tourist Camp Grounds" they also
have signs, "No Livestock Permit
ted" They make exceptions In our
case. The marshaloor park commits
sioners hunt us up and invite us
In, tells us to stay Jas long as we
please. This, of course, Ia very nice
and IAGttering, but somehow we do
not quite enjoy these privileges on
account of their signs. There are
quite n tLumber Of tourists tor shall
] say travelers?) who use horses ana
mules az motive power. 1T Is quite
fashionable for :enters of farms to
move from place to placc, taking
with them their entire belongings.
Sometimes when travelling across n {
state or two. these people leave be- !
hind their furniture and jsst take !
their livestock. consisting OF several '
horses, colts and mules. The fami- '
lies, man woman and half dozen i
youngsters, 20 several hundred miles n
to make their home In some other b
state. These are the people VITO, Il
] presume, are baFred out from the a
auto gypsy camps. 1t Is for these II
people l feel sorry, and as a rule. el
when ] find these 0aspps 30 labeled
we do not accept Of their invitations. e,
We much prefer to camp by the X
or ask a farmer to allow us a
to camp in one of his fields. There q,
are people who possess earthly goods la
who do not yet realize that there are ell
people who travel the highways who XII
are just as good as those who live DIR
along these same highways, although tn
hey do not own hmousines. ey
The camp grounds which we used al
recently were Onaga, Manhattan, be
Ogden and Junction City. We are co
low on the western half Of the trip. en-
where the soil does not appear so to
ich as further east This is q sandy col
oil, and what the natives call the Th
melon district. As sit here In the Ye
Ibilene picnic grounds writing this Ru
tory, there are truck loads with
railers taking loads Of melons to the
tations for shipment. They look ,
ood as they go by, nice big green. DIV
kinned melons. This morning where
e camped last night, the proprietor
the Tourists Inn, gave us a treat 'pc
piece Of real watermelon" owl
rely the finest we ever ate. 'he
10 the west of Abilene, on the p"''
Dlden Belt Highway, is u tourists the
II which IL popular rendezvous for urS
arelcrs this summer There IL phS
lall rustic building where the tour nus
IS are served fried chicken din es'
RS during the day, and also may stro
icr deiiciouS Sand Springs melons.
ring Il visit to the inn one cllcoun ~
$ tourists from all quarters of the ills
lited Stntcs-cnst, west, north and W
nth. Such n spot as this Is much III"
'lcomcd by the motorist, as is
'wn by the patronage he gives it ~
IS Spring, where the city of Abi- rdi,o
g gets its fine drinking water, the sin,
ter comes from beneath large ,,n,
k 300 IT, below the surface This nno
ing, besides supplying the water wife
@ ,"n y 'o"n - o'oVo' nus an Of 4
= ihoW VI b'VV"'VVV GaIlonS Hallv. of i