The Butler Weekly Times Newspaper, April 4, 1883, Page 4

_atterney and counseler at law in any CC BUTLER WEEKLY TIMES | As Seen by the Times Roaming Cor- Chas. Tv. MecFar and. re:ponaent in the West. mito AND PROPRIETOR, z The Cattle Industry, the States TPRMS OF SUPSCRIPTION: Greatest Interests—The People. PANHANDLE 1 EXAS. Ly, wi y one vear, postage paid, tor $1.25. y e map the read- THIS PAPER rzmsinrecngiextce. | By relerence to the mat sanartistng Daren (10 Soruce Be 1 where advertising lers will ebserve this place to be the 4 penne ee | county seat of Wheeler county, the ee | third county from the northern line, - BUTLEBS MISSOURI. | and joining the Indian Territery on | the east. It is the recognized central WEDNESDAY, APRIL. 4, 1833. i ering er =| point in the Pannandle, being two a | hundred miles from any raliroad; OIROUIT UOUKT UHANGES. | the nearest points are Wichita Falls The present Legislature changed jon the South, and Dodge City, Kan- the time for holding circuit ceurt in| sas on the North. The Frisco rail- this county tollows: The term | road being constructed westward hertofore held on the second Mon-| from Vinita, Indian Territory, on day in March, has been: changed to) the Arkansas river a distance of twe the first Monday in February. The! hundred and fifty miles trom this term heretotore heid en the second | point. It is expected this road will Monday in July, to the first Monday | be completed to the Pankandle by in June, and from the second Mon- fali, and although the survey runs day in November, to the first Mon- | censiderably north ot Mobectie, yet day in November. These changes | her people will make an effort to turn should have been made long ago, as | it in this direction. No work is in the terms of holding ceurt come right | progress this side of Wichita Falls, at the most inconvenient season ef | though I am told it will begin in a the year for a majority of our farm- few weeks. This route runs west of ers, amd especially those who were | Mobeetie and 1s mtended te intersect compelled to ceme as jurors and sit | with the Denver & New Orleans or twe and three weeks at a time|somewhere in New Mexico. So and thus neglect important duties at | much for the railroad interests of the their homes. Panhandle. CHARACTER OF THK COUNTRY. The peovle ot Missouri have a very erroneous idea ef the character of this country, as much so as the en ee people further east have of Missouri. The House has passed the bill in- | Civilization is as complete asin any ireduced by Senater Britts in the/ state inthe Union. True the settle- Senate, and passed by that body, | ment is not so dense,—for this is a authorizining judges ot prebate, if|wild waste looking desert to the otherwise qualified, to practice as| strangers eye—but it is peacible, thrifty and in many particulars refin- ed. The larger and more success- ful ranchemen in this ceunty have come from the East accompanied by their families who in several stances were raised in elegant ciety, and as refined and educated as any could wish te be. ‘Lhe pro- verbial cow-boy is no lenger a terror te the peaceable inhabitants, and tne retractory Red Man is either sub- dued or driven from the country. Even the carrying of concealed weapons is torbiden inside ot the city hmits ef Mobeetie, and 2s a consequence your cerrespondents Senator Edwards of ' Latayette county, has been presented with a photograph ef the penitentiary com- «nittee. ot the courts in this State except theirown. This 1s a geod law. The ceunty histery men have been fusy the past week making the de_ fivery of a so called history et Cass amd Bates counties. If the book is as correct all through as the biogra- phy of those to whom our attention ‘yas been called, the werk cemes as near being correct as the Wiggins storm predictions. In- so- ——————_—_ Congressmar elect Morgan of the Twelfth district has expressed his #1ewe and preferences to a Sedalia | “eporter. He indorses Morrison for | articles of defense are suspended aresident, Carlisle tor speaker, and | from a nail in his room, which while Aarvey Salmon for governor. Ma |i? Pueble were a very necessary means of protection and safety when on the streets after dark. You hear of no thieving or robbing. and every person you meet treats you civilly and appear disposed to accommo- date the stranger with whatever knowledge or information at their > ’ command. There are just as shrewd “eunien promises to be a grand suc-| business men in this place as we cess. Among those expected to! have in Butler. What is character- speak atthe banquet are President | istic of Mobeetie is equally so of the Arthur, Secretaries Frlinghuysen | Panhandle, for as I stated in the be- tnd) Lincoln, Attorney General | ginning it is Brewster, ex-President Hayes, Gen- | erals Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, | of this ceuntn. McClellan, Hanceck and Schurz, | : Admiral Porter, Charles Dudley Warner and ex-Govecner Curtin. Phe ezecutive committee, of which | 5 : General F. A. Humphreys is chair- , county seat, for all purposes pertain- snan, have estab.ished headquarters | : Morgan does not pretend to be a prophet, but he has a fair amount ot ceafidence in tne success of these gentlemen. The annual reunion of the army of the Petumac will be heldin Wash- sagton, D.C , May 16and17. The THE CENTRAL POINT There are only feur organized counties in the Panhandle, and of the number not yet organized Wheeler Mobeectie is fourteen are- attached to county, of which the ing to the government ef the same. | It is the headquarters of stock men in this part of Texas, and there is | Scarcely a day passes but’ what there can be seen onthe streets frem three it the Ebbitt house, and are now ac tively engaged in the work of paring for the reunion. pre- The Republican party m New York does not recover the lost t© 2 dozen ranchmen living fifty and ground in that state. Gath writes | Seventy-five miles away. he Cincinnat’ Enquirer: The HOW TO GET HERE. sown and city clections held vester- So little de we m= Missour: know sa dlast week in New York j about this country, aad so wide of show little change in ‘the relative strength in the two parties since the general election last fall. With tew 2xceptions the Republicans hav, i mark has our estimate of its charac- jter been, that we never dreamed ef ja daily stage and mail line extend- ; jing trom Dedge City, Kansas clear eplit and lost in towns formerly their through the Pamhandle to Wichita stvenghelds, and the Democrats | Falls, adistance of about four hun- Wave polled pretty nearly their party | dred miles. The trip from Dedge tote. In some towns the independ-. is made in exactly two days and ent voter asserted himself. A mem-_ nights, stepping enly long ‘enough her of the Democrat State commit-. to change horses and eat Pa lunch ec Says that, estimating trem | The oppertunity for sleepimg is a terday's the Democrats cidedly limited. Your correspon- vould easily carry the state az the _ dent left Pueblo at 2 o'clock a. m, eresent time by 75,000 to 100,c00 W ednesday March 2oth, and reach- saajority. Everything indicates :} ed Dedge City the same day: The the Republicans were as wide); - trip was made over the Atchison vided as when Gov. Cleveland w broad. : seeted. E ve>- returns, ter all time the most popular r | western travel. Mosgetiz£, Texas, March, 26,’83. | Trains are alway : t on time and the train mien are atten- | tive to travelers. especially those go- Ta body contemplaung a trip west this sum- mer. I weuld advise them chase their ticket this ing a long distance. any via Christopher & Jackson to pure} route. | | Leaving Dodge at 7 o’clock p. m.. Wednesday, | arrived in this place The besices The fare was $20,00. seats | ed. coach contained two | gage of each. You who have staged very mugh can readily understand | the hardships of such a tmp, and I J will not attempt any further dis- | cription. | THE CATTLE INDUSTRY i | Ot course the cattle industry is the Everything else is All commercial the Panhandic. subsidiary to that. business and cven social hte depends } abselutely for support on the cattle | interest which is King in this part of the state of Texas. Take from the ceuntry the mamoth herds that graze upon its prairies and propegate in increased millions year by year, you have robbed it of its only means of sustanance, the germ of its exis- tence and glory. But with this great interest, which cun never be taken trom it, the Panhandle ts prosperous now with most brilliant prospects of a grander and more permanent fu- ture. Don’t be agenished when I tell you that this country 1s tull of cattle. Missourians are taught the belief that this country is yet unde- veloped, and that millions of acres ot grazing lands lie idle the year round untouched by the cuw or the beei. Not a bit of it. The im- mense herds that roam the prairies require from ten to fifty miles square for grazing. and the owners thereof have net been slow about'*gobbling”’ for their naturally up every The question follow, how is this land -‘gobbled.”’ ether state nas acre neccessary use. will ‘Texas hike every her corporations, nore snywhere more powertul er ar- rogant than the cattle corporations and there are ot the Panhandle. The process they are now using to contrel the country and crewd out smailer aealers is by purchasing all lands on the market. within their reach. First hear in mind that the entire Panhan- dle has been gramed to railroads ard the public schools. The country was surveved and every alternate section given to railroad companies and the other to schoo! purposes. The rail- road lands have been on the market tor years for sale or lease, while the school lands were subject neither to purchase or lease. Until within the past two years these corporations contented themseives with leasing the railroad lands in large bodies which gave them the use of every al- ternate section of school land. Since the rush to the country during the past two years nas filled itabout tull, these money corporations proceeded to buy all the railroad lands within their reach extending in some cases over whole counties. By virtue of this purchase they stili control or oc- eupy the school land which will in all probability be put The purchaser lon the market soon. j of ten or twenty sections of railroad | land gives him th ¢ right to fence up j the same including the samme number of sections of school lands. You twill pe e at once that no mas wants to buy a section of land with- jin the enclesier ot somebody: else, fandas a result these school lands j may be held and used by the vur- | chaser cf the railread lands for indeffinate period of time. He may have a whole county fenced in but he does not own but halt of it. | Naturally eneugh these men have selected the best locations for these purchases. They have bought the | most water they could get in order to force others away frem this range. It is estimated that ten acres of range intervening, | an} pee! c. | pend wholly upon stock-raising for | | everything, unless, by favorable lo-! | Friday at8 p. m.. after one of the } most tiresome rides ever experienc: | ARE RECEIVING THEIR | the drivers, on them were crowded | jeight passengers besides the bag- | { New Stock Spring Good chiet and all important feature of | CALL AND SEE THEM and | However, unless a man can centrol | told coal will be shipped and used at least $25,000, and from that up- | in lieu of the cottonwoed. I presume ward into the millions, my iudge-/| Rich Hill will be permited to com- ment is he had better stay away trom | pete for this trade, although as yet, the Panhandle. ranches here now valued at less than $25,000, and they will be fewer in the years to follow. There are very few | net a i Thisis net a farming country. Neth- | ing is preduced in the soil save in) small patches inthe valleys of some | Per- should if they starya- stream, and is werv inferior. sons contemalating farming the Panhandle lives from not come to would save their tion. The lay of the country is Very little and barren like. tumber cottonwood and in small quanties. This town is supphed with wood bioken | the Panhandle, man in the Panhandle has | heard of the ‘‘Imfant’s’’ wender- ful history. The general outlines | of the county are BROKEN AND UNPICTURESQUE. The huge sandhills that obstruct the views on every hand where neith- era bush ner a spear of grass can be teund, is not an inviting sight te the loyer of scenery. But there isa small section in the western part of which, 1 ara told, | furnishes the imagination with visions frem ten to thirty miles distant at | ten to fifteen dollars per cord. rivers and creeks run with clear wa- there being ulways mere or quick-sand in the bed of the stream. There are no habitations from this place to Dodge save new and then a ranchmans cabin dug the south side ef some hill, and they are some- times twenty-five miles apart. M@RE IN DETAIL * ROM THE PANHAN- BLE COUNTRY-—-ITS CUSTOMS ETC.— THE CATTLE KING S-—ITS PAST, THE OF MONOPOLISTS. Mosertie Trxas, April rst, "53. In my !ast weeks letter I aimed to give the reader a general insight in- to the ways, habits and interests of STRIDES The | grows here, and all that is tound is} beautiful J i 5 ' have been over a wide, wild leoking | ter, but they are very treacherous, | = have already edisaas leas live on these prairies and appear to and sublime. My travels praine, monetenous and uncheerful, and am informed the rest of my jour- ney et four hundred miles is not inj uny material way different from what But people be contented and happy, though in| most cases their nearest neighbor is fifteen miles away. These people are the owners of cattle, and they | residence a | have chosen for their clean grassy vale on the headwaters of some miniature stream whose source of supply 1s the cold, clear water bubbling forth trem the bow- j els of the eternal lulls. The low of the beasts and the yelp of the cow- URE INTEREST.— | the Panhandle and its people, but | not in detail, for this country cannot be viewed, taken in in a day, week or month. Ome may flatter himself with the possession of journ here, but it is false. the longer much to learn. BUT ONE THING. | This country is good in but one | thing, facilities. It is unfit as an agricul tural country. Now and then, how- ever, some enterprising tellow has squatted down on some bottom land near a littie stream enly to starve in time and become dependant on the community. Furthermore, from the best informauon I able to ac- quire, this can never be made an ag- who am ricultural country. A man | comes to this part of Texas must de- cation, garden truck might be pre- | duced here with considerable labor. SCARCITY OF TIMBER. is also a timberlessecountry. streams er | This | Nething grows on the | hills here save the cottonwood. and {that is as scarce as hens teeth. So Topeka & Santa Fe railroad, at this | is necessary for each head et cattle | far though the people have subsist- per year, heace you see it requires |edon this cottonwood fer tucl. the j lots of territery fer the support of i price being frum $12,00 to $15,00 bunch of cattle. evena sm. boy gives life to the surroundings, and all is peace, jey and content- ment. STOCK RAISING. I presume [ cannot say tee much of the stock producing interests ef this country for the average reader, and digested | for the subject is inexhaustible. The lreperts we hear im Missour: of the | gigantic monepolies in operation in the Panhandle after a few weeks so-| Texas are only too true. | progress is net made without oppo- he stays the more convincing is the | ition trom the smaller stock men as fact that he knows but little and has! men and all mmunity. The well as the business other classes in the c ‘smaller stock men buy their supplies and that is its stock preducing . from the merchants of Mobeetie and ether towns :n the Panhandie, while the large companies go to Kansas the lecal City, consequently mer- chant gets comparatively nething in _the way ef patronage from these m- corporated cempanies. Money is power everywhere and at all immes, , nevertheless. and eyen Texans find it a difficult thing to buck against. Money will buy land m endless quan- ‘titv, and notwithstanding the state legislature. now in sessien, is trying to legislate te prevent the purchase of such large bodies by the soulless cerporations. money will continue to control till its greed is satiated. As I have said before, men with , ten or fifteen thousand dollars capital j can get a start here, and a beginning could be made cven on a smaller sum, but the expense of the per centage of less each year coupled with the chances of bemg ying, with + bought out of surrounded by some of Five per cord, and hauled fifteen and — } Or ten usan‘l dollars makes a very | thirty miles. But, it is probably safe j little show here—scarcelv nothing. lto say, by the time Santa Claus! i But if that amount of money 1s ma- i comes again the iron horse wil! toot ! H nipulated by a schrewd man he wily | his bazoo within at least a hundred | Mobectie, and then, Fz ” weTainy Weu in the end. | miles of come out + , control a large territory or clse the larger companies, would render a commencement on less than $tc 1g0 or $15,000 yery hazardous. this countrs cow The ow every must hy ten acres to graze on a few thousand head must thet But their | liable to great less and bother, } all the stranger hears in this sechp ' be true, the Panhandle is THE BEST CATTLE COUNTRY |in Texas. ‘This is based upon t fact that it 1s far ehough south» get the benefit of the mild west | and the best range,and tar enough the nerth to get the advantage of & climate in producing a better gum j of cattle and much fatter beew | commanding a larger price m eastern markets. Another fear | of the Panhandle 1s the introductiy | of better stock frem Kansas a | Missouri. Most all cattle men | grading up their herds, because( | pays to do so. _ Better cattle will & produced and much better price wi | be obtained. This system and t idly growing practice of grading | cannot be successtully done south ithe Panhandle district. Many# | tempts have been made and f has follewed. Of course the bri | ing of Missouri cattle is att some times with serieus less nothing to compare with f seuth. These cattle are usu) brought here when young, and a | being taken, while driving, in cr ling or follewing the trails of » tive Texas cattle, there 1s little pw bability of serious ioss by the Ti tevers. GAME. One striking feature of the Par handle which will please those cor templating a trip er location her there is abundance ot game, det jelk, turkey andthe prairie ciicker abound in large Te pools and clear -treams are full ¢ fish from ten to twenty inches # size. The people very Intle hunting or fishiag. Your correspondent was very bap py to meet this morning, Hon je R. Waddill. of Kansas City, ex-cot | the old Sixth ; Sours, district. Hes here exame | ing the records concerning the por | chase of a large tract ef land © some English company. I desire to return special thas |to Mr. W. C. Polk, deputy distri¢ | clerk and Mr. Edwards, editor # the **Parkandic” for the many & vors and ceurtsey they have extend Beth of these gentlemas were formerly trem Missouri; Mr. Edwards is trom Joplin. a practc# | printer and a good newspaper mat while Mr. Polk is from Platte cout reputatie busines Mc numbers. de | gressman frem ed me. ty and bears an enviable (here as a young man ot and character. Out ef seventeen models submit ted te the Dominion -govyernme® | fer a statute of Charlies Cartier. fire were sent by American sculptor | The price to be paid tor the succes® ful competitor is $10,000. The Mobile Register says an In ' dian woman 120 years of age lives near Fitzpatrick. in Bulluck county. Ga. She was on General Andrew Jacksen’s staff asa ceok when he put a road through the coustry has some pots and ket- the Florida. tles in which she used to cook hervee fruga! food.