More Information About C. M. Scott

[Note: Background material on Scott can already be found in “Indian” book.]
C. M. Scott was born November 16, 1848. He received his early schooling at Cadiz, Ohio, where his father, Dr. John Walter Scott, was postmaster for a time, and later became a dentist, inventing his own dental equipment. He also designed and made a musical instrument called a “Melo-phean,” a forerunner of the piano.
Little is known of Scott’s early education. He worked as a cub reporter and typographer for the Cadiz Republican. In May 12, 1867, Scott, now 19, left Cadiz to seek his fortune. He worked for a short time in September 1869 for a Topeka newspaper office.
He left several weeks later for Emporia, where he soon got a job setting type for Mr. M. G. Mains, who had just started the Emporia Tribune. Mains had a partner: Mr. Nixon. Scott noted in his diary that he was 21 years old on November 16, 1869.
On the following month the Norton brothers headed up a group, principally from Emporia, who were interested in creating a railroad terminus at a city initially called “Delphi,” by a railroad charter. The land they were interested in was owned by the Osage Indians. It would become Cowley County in the latter part of 1870.
Emporia News, February 25, 1870.
CRESSWELL. This new town (formerly called Delphi) at the mouth of the Walnut seems to promise good things. The town company consists of Messrs. Plumb, Stotler, Norton, Eskridge, and Kellogg, of Emporia; Judge Brown and H. L. Hunt, of Cottonwood Falls; Kellogg & Bronson, of El Dorado; Baker & Manning, of Augusta; and Messrs. G. H. Norton, Strain, Brown, Moore, and Wilkinson on the site.
In March of 1870 C. M. Scott almost lost his life in a fire that broke out while he was in bed at the Emporia Tribune office. Luckily he heard someone cry out, “Fire!” He quickly grabbed his trunks containing his belongings and got out of the building. The newspaper office was badly damaged as was the press.
He wrote in his diary in April 1870: “They say a man changes over in every seven years.” [I believe that Scott followed this thought for some time.] It was in this same month that he learned that Mains’ partner, Mr. Nixon, was contemplating moving to either Creswell [the new name for Delphi by the Emporia group] or Wichita. For a time Scott toyed with the idea of going to Wichita.
In June 1870 Scott met the Kaw Indian Chief, Bill Johnson. He was very impressed with the Kaw chief.
Now I am going to backtrack to 1868 in order to introduce two of Arkansas City’s most valued citizens: Newman and Houghton.
The September 4, 1868, issue of the Emporia News announced that Newman and Houghton, lately from Maine, had purchased the store formerly owned by Mr. Pyle, in Jones’ new building, stating that these gentlemen are lately from Maine. Their ad showed that they were selling for cash dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, clothing, notions, and queensware. They stated: “We buy our Goods at first hand in New York and Boston, and save second profits paid by merchants buying in Chicago, St. Louis, or Leavenworth.”
The June 10, 1870, issue of the Emporia News announced that “Arkansas City” was the name of a new town located on the site lately occupied by the Creswell town company.

“Arkansas City possesses a splendid water power, which Messrs. Beedy & Newman are under contract to improve by the erection of a water flouring and saw mill at an early day.”
“It now has a splendid steam mill in successful operation, owned by Major Sleeth, late of El Dorado. A shingle manufactory will be in running order in a very few days.
“Twelve buildings are up and in process of construction, among which is Woolsey’s hotel, which has a front of fifty feet on the street, and is thirty-two feet deep. There are in the town at present four stores, one hardware, one grocery store, and two that keep a general stock.
“Twenty-six buildings are under contract to be put up just as soon as the lumber can be obtained. Among these we may mention buildings for lumber yard and carpenter shop, bakery, restaurant, boot and shoe store, drug store, clothing store, dry goods and clothing store, meat market, stage and express office, book store, cabinet shop, residences, etc.
“The Southern Kansas Stage Company will commence running a tri-weekly line of hacks to Arkansas City in about ten days, carrying mail twice a week from El Dorado. They have become interested in the town, and will immediately put up large stables, and make this their headquarters for the stage and express business in Southwestern Kansas.
“Many of the new business houses to be put up are large two-story buildings. Among these is a town hall, 25 x 40 feet. A schoolhouse will be erected during the summer.
“A ferry will be put in running order across the Arkansas at this point, at an early day.”
“Native lumber is furnished cheaper than at any point in Southern Kansas. Stone is plenty.
“A newspaper will be established here during the season. For this object the company offer liberal inducements.
“The town company offer great inducements to settlers. No lots are sold, but they are given away to those who will build business houses and residences.
“There are plenty of good claims within two to five miles of the town.
“The people are enterprising, wide awake, and will do all in their power to assist newcomers.
“One or more churches will probably be built this season.
“The Arkansas and Walnut Valleys are unsurpassed in the West for fertility of soil, and a plentiful supply of timber.
“Water has been obtained in Arkansas City at a depth of sixteen feet.
“Now is the time to settle in that portion of the country if newcomers want first choice.”
In the latter part of June 1870 Scott’s employer, Mr. Mains, accepted the liberal offer extended to him by the Arkansas City (formerly Creswell) company to start a newspaper there by the first of August.
On July 18, 1870, Scott traded a revolver that he had to Nixon for a town lot in Arkansas City, and was pleased to note that he got a photo of Bill Johnson. He felt that he was being cheated by Mains when it came to getting his pay, and began to think of moving again to Wichita, where he heard there were 16,000 head of cattle, selling at $4.00 per head.

Arkansas City. On Wednesday, July 27, 1870, a momentous event occurred: Mike Mains proposed to young Scott that he should go to Arkansas City to run the newspaper for Mains. Scott was utterly indifferent. He wrote in his diary: “Don’t care much whether I go or not.” He told Mains that he would go if he could get $12 a week and board. On July 30th he got provisions for the trip and set off from Emporia early the next morning. He took the press that had been damaged in the March fire at Emporia with him. By this time it had been fixed. He arrived by wagon in Arkansas City on Thursday, August 4, 1870, to observe twelve horses grazing on the grass in the meadows, and an office with no roof.
C. M. Scott was recognized as the local editor of the Arkansas City Traveler, published by Mains. At first H. B. Norton was the editor. On December 15, 1870, L. B. Kellogg succeeded Mains in the proprietorship and became the editor, with Norton serving as special contributor and Scott still in the capacity of local editor.
Scott succeeded in getting the first number of The Arkansas City Traveler printed August 24, 1870, and issued the following day. He began to observe Osage and Kickapoo Indians as well as soldiers in Arkansas City.
On September 14, 1870, Scott noted that there were 34 buildings up in Arkansas City and that the basement of the new hotel had been completed. The hotel (the Woolsey House) was enclosed on September 21st, at which time there were 231 people settled in Arkansas City. A week later he noted that there were now 54 houses and flour was selling for $4.50.
It began to turn cold, so on Monday, October 17, 1870, he bought a stove and put it up. He also purchased a pair of boots. He needed both badly. The newspaper office had no floor and an indifferent roof. A tent had to be stretched overhead inside the building to keep the staff and material dry in wet weather. In fair weather equipment was moved out into the open air. A sudden rain storm would send the Traveler staff to work with straws to rid water from the newspaper “boxes.” The stove he purchased was the only means of heat in the winter. Everyone had to sleep rolled up together in blankets.
Indians were plenty—outnumbering the whites ten to one.
There was no Summit Street! There was only a narrow path through grass three feet high.
A humorous story is told on Page 42 of the INDIANS about the early beginnings of the newspaper that Scott handled.
Arkansas City grew quickly. On January 6, 1871, its 67th building was raised: a schoolhouse, built by subscription, 25 by 40 feet. They were looking forward to the consolidation of two stage lines to the city: one line would extend to Wichita; the other would extend to Fort Sill, Indian Territory.
The Arkansas City Traveler reported in February 1871 on the progress made by Arkansas City.
“There are now eight dry goods and grocery stores, one drug store, one hardware store, one bakery, two hotels, three boarding houses, one billiard hall, one blacksmith, two shoemakers, two land agencies, two milliners, two saw mills, two meat markets, three physicians, ten carpenters, two tinners, one stone cutter, two masons, and lumber yard, in Arkansas City. Besides these, there are two religious denominations (Methodist and Presbyterian), one primary school, Good Templars Lodge, Literary Society, Anti-Tobacco Society, Singing School, Dancing Club, and various other societies and institutions.” The same issue reported that many cattle had died from the cold weather in that vicinity, pointing out that a Mr. Oakes had lost 600 out of his herd of 2,000.

In March 1871 the Traveler reported that within one week on the south side of the Arkansas River the number of houses had increased from two to seven. Scott also reported: “Over 90 buildings up—40 more in progress—heap buffalo robes—onions sprouting, hens cackling over their silver fruit—big catfish walking uptown—five stage lines—big, new mills—town crowded with teams—hogs are becoming abundant—how is that for the Queen of the Arkansas?
In May 1871 the Traveler reported on the progress of Beedy & Newman’s Mill.
“Without any noise or ostentation, a great work is going on in our midst. Mr. Beedy, with a strong force, is steadily pushing ahead. The dam is almost completed; the machinery for the sawmill has been ordered; the whole establishment will be in running order by Oct. 1st.
“A careful estimate gives, at the lowest stage of water, an available force of 270 horse power. Three powerful turbines will at once be put in position; a grist mill, having three run of stones, a sawmill, a lath and shingle mill, will all be speedily running at this point.
“The sawmill is about ready to raise. It is thirty-five by fifty-five feet. The flouring mill is 35 x 40 feet, four stories high.
“The water power is amply sufficient to run the above mentioned machinery, leaving a large power available for other purposes; of which, more anon.”
In August 1871 it was reported that Beedy & Newman had already expended $8,000, and would soon be ready for sawing.
In September 1871 Prof. L. B. Kellogg succeeded Mains in the proprietorship of the Arkansas City Traveler. Scott remained as the local editor.
In February 1872 the Traveler office was enlarged.
C. M. Scott became the proprietor and editor in October 1872 when Kellogg retired.
Scott noted in his diary that the calaboose was completed January 22, 1873, and that Arkansas City now had 4,380 town lots (valued at $13 each).
On January 29, 1873, Scott noted that there were now 2,400 names on the Cowley County tax roll and that stages arrived once a day.
In May 1873 the Walnut River Bridge was completed at Newman’s Mill. Scott complained about the toll charged to cross the Arkansas River toll bridge: he was charged $138.45 for four weeks.
In June 1874 C. M. Scott was given a wild cat kitten by a subscriber as payment for receiving the Traveler. In July he took the young wild cat with him when he visited his family in Cadiz. The newspaper reported that he called it “Susan B. Anthony.”
In April 1875 Scott attended the Kansas Editorial Association at Manhattan and later joined the excursion taken by Kansas editors to Galveston. In September 1875 he commented in the Arkansas City Traveler that the citizens of Arkansas City and Cowley County knew too well that it would be a death blow to all to have its press deserted.

In that same month he noted that the new mill at Dexter had been named Dexter Mills, and the flour sacks would be branded with a cut of Dexter, the fast horse; that much of the wheat being produced contained weevils and a large white flour worm, about half an inch long, with a reddish head, that was very destructive to flour, advising farmers to add a quart of common salt in the bin to protect it from weevils inasmuch as weevils would not remain where salt was plenty. He also informed the citizens of Arkansas City that the Honorable James Christian, of Lawrence, who was one of the oldest settlers in Kansas, had visited there and was considering locating in Arkansas City. He said: “Mr. Christian is a prominent Kansas attorney, a man of great practical experience, and just such as is most needed on the border at this present time. We hope he may settle with us.”
In September 1875 Scott informed his readers that word was brought from the operators of a flat boat, now near Pawnee Agency (almost 100 miles from Arkansas City by the Arkansas river), that they were satisfied a small steam tug could be run between Little Rock and Arkansas City even though there was less than three feet of water in the river channel and they experienced trouble in managing the boat so as to keep it in the channel.
It must be noted that much of the early information about Cowley County and C. M. Scott, as well, can never be told. The first news concerning the Traveler on microfilm starts in 1876.
In his early writings in the Arkansas City Traveler in 1876, Scott marveled at the weather, which was extremely mild. The prospects for an abundant wheat crop in Cowley County posed problems. He commented about this to a Lawrence newspaper:
“I am creditably informed by those who have traveled over the country, that there is at least one third more acres sown this fall than last. If such should be the fact, in the name of God what will we do with it?  As it is now, wheat is so abundant in town and country that every nook and corner in dwelling, store, stable, or church, and even boxes along the streets, are filled with wheat. I sometimes think as I walk along our village streets after night, and see piles of sacks of flour laying out of doors on the pavements all night, what a feast some of your Lawrence folks should have if the same custom prevailed in your city. If the reports in your papers be true, it wouldn’t lay round loose in your streets long.”
Once Beedy completed his work in building the flour mill, Newman and others relatives moved to Arkansas City. Soon after he arrived, A. A. Newman started a clothing store and took up the management of the local flour mill.
Newman was still involved with the clothing store in Emporia. As a result, he often had to go east to New York City and elsewhere to buy goods for his store. He soon learned that he could also obtain government contracts to supply flour to the Indians on the reservations in Indian Territory south and southwest of Arkansas City. With the help of his relatives, (the Houghton, McLaughlin, and Haywood families), transportation was provided by them hiring long oxen or mule trains. Like Newman, his relatives were engaged in numerous local business entities.
The area newspapers often handled the same event differently.
The June 15, 1876, issue of the Winfield Courier had a letter from “Peter Piper,” an Arkansas City correspondent, dated June 6th.
“Other localities have been heard from; other writers have bored you for space to write up their ‘chronicles’ and ‘bloods.’ The ‘Queen City’ of the valley has never troubled you. We have something to tell you, and you know that—
“When a person knows a story,
That he thinks he ought to tell;
  If he doesn’t get to tell it,
Why, of course, he don’t feel well.”

“So here goes:
“On the 5th day of June, of this, our Centennial year, occurred a marvelous affair that gets away with any freak of nature ever seen by your correspondent. It was no less than a ‘shower of flesh’ accompanied by bones, sinews, cuss-words, and store clothes. The place of this singular occurrence was near Newman’s water-mill, two and a half miles northeast of this city, and happened as follows.
“‘Giff,’ of the Parsons Sun, came over on a visit to see his old friend, C. M. Scott, and brought with him Col. Hamilton, another of Parsons’ gif-ted s(o)ns. Scott and Giff had been ‘around together’ before, and thought they’d do it again, so the three drove out to Newman’s mill and drove in (the water). Here they had a ‘falling out.’ At this point our pencil fails to do justice to the scene. As the buggy tilted over down the hill, they all went with it, Hamilton ‘on deck’ and Scott ‘in the hole.’ As Giff went scudding down the soft, slippery bank on his ‘other side,’ at a 2:40 gait towards the river, grabbing at the drift and underbrush as he madly sped along, Hamilton, realizing his impending danger, jumped upon an inverted buggy wheel, gave it an awful yank, and yelled out, ‘down brakes, Giff, down brakes!’ Giff didn’t stop; he held up a bundle of papers and said, ‘I’ve got a ‘free pass’ and I’m going through or bust.’ When he struck the water it was thought for a moment that he hadn’t gone through, but had taken the horn by the other dilemma. He came out, though, all right side up, blowing like a porpoise, and dripping like a shad and helped untangle Scott’s pipe stems from the buggy top, that had been settling him deeper and deeper in the soft mud. What might have been a serious accident proved to be a funny incident. The boys from Labette will be likely to retain impressions of this country as long as it retains impres­sions of them. The ‘consequential damages’ are, as follows: To Hamilton, a bruised head, a bottle of liniment and a pair of suspenders; to Scott, a game leg, a peeled shin, and a bottle of soothing syrup; and to Giff, a new hat, clean clothes, flannel bandages, and a cushioned chair will be necessary for his comfort for the next ten days. Considering they are members of the ‘press,’ a gallon of w_____ might, with propriety, be prescribed. The boys try to account for their mishap on the ground that they attended Sunday school on the previous day.
“MORAL. Don’t attend Sunday School and go buggy riding the same day.”
The Traveler carried a different version of the same account.
“An accident which might have been serious if not fatal in its results happened to Messrs. Gifford and Hamilton, of Parsons, and C. M. Scott, of this place, while out buggy riding on Monday last. The trio had been on a tour of inspection to Cave Springs, and upon their return, as they were coming down the river bank in order to cross the ford at Newman’s mill, the team shied, bringing the buggy wheel in contact with a stump, and capsizing the entire outfit, passengers, buggy, and horses, down the bank, a distance of about ten feet. Mr. Hamilton, however, stuck to the horses, and though knocked down twice by the buggy, held them in check, while Gifford was testing the depth of water in the Walnut, and C. M. Scott was trying to regain his breath, which had been knocked out of him in consequence of his attempt to force a passage through a rock.
“Luckily, however, no serious damage was done, and a few bruises, coupled with a feeling of general “shookupedness,” are the only souvenirs of their adventure that the gentlemen retain.”

By 1876 Cowley County still had no railroads. In 1872 Kansas had 7,310 miles of railroad tracks. Each year after that the amount of railroad tracks decreased in the state: 1873, 3,883 miles; 1874, 2,085 miles, 1875, 1,483 miles.
Cowley County citizens were faced with very high interest rates in 1876. Only those who could afford it were able to travel east to celebrate the first 100 years of the United States. Among these was C. M. Scott.
Scott left Arkansas City July 11, 1876. His first stop was made in Washington, D.C. He gave a report on this trip August 30, 1876.
“Our main object in visiting Washington was to see Congress in session and present the petition of the settlers asking that the Cherokee Strip Lands be brought into market again. The latter we did, and had the satisfaction of knowing our efforts were not altogether useless before we left, and before arriving home, we were made aware that the bill had passed.”
Scott then attended the centennial celebration in Philadelphia and paid a visit to his family in Cadiz, Ohio.
He later described Philadelphia as it appeared in 1876.
“The city has a population of 800,000, and it lives in an area of 129½ square miles.
“We expected when we reached the city to find it greatly crowded, yet there was plenty of room and the only evidence of crowds was on the street cars. We thought boarding houses would be full, while on the contrary hundreds of them are vacant, and many who invested largely in building hotels, restau­rants, etc., are today bankrupt. All along the streets signs are out, ‘Boarding by the week,’ ‘Boarding by the day,’ ‘Meals for 25 cents.’ ‘Lodging 50 cents.’ This shows that many made preparations, and their expectations were not realized.
“Philadelphia is a cheap place to live in. Good board can be had in first-class families from $6 to $12 per week. Their excellent system of street railways does away with the necessity of carriage traveling, and groceries, fruit, and eatables are very low.
“There are 1,000 miles of streets and roads opened for use, and over 500 of these are paved. It is lighted by nearly 10,000 gas lamps. The earth beneath conceals and is penetrated by 13½ miles of sewers, over 600 miles of gas mains, and 546 miles of water pipes. It has over 212 miles of city railways, and 1,794 city railroad cars passing over the railroads daily; 2,025 steam boilers; over 400 public schools, with suitable buildings, and over 1,600 school teachers, and over 80,000 pupils. It has over 400 places of public worship and accommodation in them for 300,000 persons; it has nearly 9,000 manufacto­ries, with a capital of $185,000,000, employing 145,000 hands, the annual product of whose labor is over $384,000,000.
                         PHILADELPHIA EXHIBITION, CENTENNIAL YEAR.
Arkansas City Traveler, August 30, 1876.
The following table shows the size of previous Exhibitions in acres and tenth, proving the Philadelphia grounds 200 acres larger than any previous to it, and the buildings alone, of this one, covering more space than the entire grounds of any others.
New York, 4.2; Munich, 4.4; England, 1851, 18.6; Paris, 1855, 22.1; London, 1851, 23.9; London, Crystal Palace, 1871, 25.6; Paris, 1867, 31.0; Vienna, 1874, 56.5; Philadelphia, 1876, (Buildings alone), 60.0.
Avenues and walks: 7 miles. Average distance between the buildings: 550 feet.

There are about 150 immense buildings on the grounds.
The MAIN BUILDING covers 21½ acres of ground. It is in the form of a parallelogram, extending east and west 1,880 feet in length, and north and south 464 feet in width. The framework is of iron. The foundations consist of 672 stone piers. The large portion of the structure is one story in height, and shows the main cornice upon the outside at 45 feet above the ground, the interior height being 70 feet. At the centre of the longer sides are projections 416 feet in length, and in the centre of the shorter sides are projections 216 feet in length. In these projections, in the centre of the four sides, are located the main entrances, which are provided with arcades upon the ground floor, and central facades extending to the height of 90 feet.
MACHINERY HALL is located 542 feet west of the Main Exhibition Building. Its main hall is 360 feet wide by 1,402 feet long; and it has an annex on the south 208 feet by 210 feet. This building is extremely attractive in appear­ance, durable in construction, and covers nearly 14 acres. Along the south side are placed the boiler houses, and small buildings for special kinds of machinery.
The ART GALLERY is designed as a Memorial of the Centennial Exhibition and a repository for Paintings, Statuary, and other works of Art. It is built of granite, glass, and iron. The building is fire-proof, 365 feet in length, 210 feet in width, 59 feet in height, has a spacious basement, and is surmounted by a dome. The dome rises from the centre of the edifice, 150 feet from the ground. The center hall and galleries form one grand hall 287 feet long and 85 feet wide, holding 8,000 persons. R. J. Dobbins was the builder, the contract price being $2,199,273. The expense of this building was borne by the State of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia.
The AGRICULTURAL BUILDING stands north of the Horticultural Building. The materials used are glass and wood. The ground plan is a parallelogram of 540 by 820 feet, covering a space of about 10 acres. In this building is a collection of all the products of the forest; the fork of the giant trees of California; fruits of varied climes, fish, reptiles, and insects, also a wonderful display of agricultural Machinery and implements.
The HORTICULTURAL BUILDING is a little north of the Maine Exhibition Building, and commands a view of the Schuylkill River and portions of the city. The building is 383 feet long, 193 wide, and 72 feet high. This edifice is intended as a permanent ornament to the Park. In it can be seen almost all the plants of the globe.

The UNITED STATES’ GOVERNMENT BUILDING is 480 feet long by 346 wide, and covers more than two acres. It was intended to construct this edifice of iron; but owing to the extreme economy demanded by the Congressional appropriation, wood and glass have been substituted. The utmost that the appropria­tion of $65,000 would permit has been accomplished. The War Department exhibits a complete historical display of the progress made in the manufacture of arms, ammunition, accouterments from the earliest days of the Republic until the present time. Combined with this are represented figures clad in uniform illustrating the most prominent periods in the history of the army of the United States, from the world-renowned and pictur­esque costume of the Revolutionary times to the severely simple utilitarian equipment of the present day. The most striking feature of our present state of perfection in the mechanical arts is shown in the manufacture on the spot of the regulation rifle and cartridge by workmen detailed for the purpose from the national arsenals. Old Probabilities revealed the secrets of his trade, and with the help of the light houses and fog signals showed us the pleasant paths of peace.
The Treasury shows how money is made and the Engineers’ and Quartermasters’ Departments how to spend it. The long lines of fortification models, torpe­does, and army wagons are shown, in connection with our admirable hospital and ambulance service.
A field hospital of twenty-four beds, erected as a separate building, is close at hand, designed to exhibit the American pavilion system of hospital architecture. The Navy Department shows what improvements have been made in the means by which Perry, Porter, Decatur, and Jones established the glory of our flag. The Interior Department, among its various exhibits, presents the most of the useful and visionary models of the Patent Office. The Indian Bureau tells all about the red man’s manners and customs, mode of warfare, costume, etc., illustrated by the presence of some distinguished sons of the forest.
The Smithsonian Institution embraces the occasion to carry out the design of its founder: “the diffusion of knowledge among men.” Its vast collection of treasures of the sea and land, in every department of knowledge, and in every branch of Science and Art, are thrown open to the world, and amply repay prolonged and minute investigation.
The WOMEN’S PAVILION is devoted to the exhibition of the handiwork of women of the United States. The building is one of the finest on the grounds, and contains only articles made by women, such as fine wood carvings, statuary, elegant designs in stained glass and tiles, paintings, and many useful inventions and patents. One lady in Iowa, who raises bees, exhibits a complete apiary in working order. The object is to show women that they can do something besides mere drudgery.
The COLORADO and KANSAS STATE BUILDING has a collection of cereals, fruits, minerals, animals, etc., and far exceeds that of any other State, and has made for this young and growing commonwealth a reputation never before attained. The tall stalks of corn, grass, monstrous squashes, large vegetables, etc., open the eyes of the “back East,” farmer and cause him to doubt if “Drouthy Kansas” ever gave birth to such wondrous productions.
The above described constitute some of the most important buildings except those of Great Britain and the foreign nations. Almost every State is represented by some structure, most of which are only for the accommodation of their citizens and without a display of production of any kind.
Ohio has a neat stone house, made of stone from different sections of the State. Canada has a log house, and Tennessee a tent.
To attempt anything near a description of each building would be to continue this article for years to come.
While we wish to mention those of most interest to our­selves, we must in justice, say that it is a mere iota to what the grounds contained.
As yet we have said nothing of Old Independence Hall, Zoological Gar­dens, the English, French, German, and Spanish Government build­ings, the Glass Works, Photo­graph building, Japanese Dwelling, the fountains, statuary, monuments, Patrons Camp, the great paintings in the Art Gallery, Water works, and wonderful machin­ery.

Among the curiosities that attracted our special attention was a Hindu Idol, found in the Ganges River in 1831, and sup­posed to be 2,000 years old. It is of stone, about four feet high, and was named “Goor yu deb,” signifying “Good of the Sun.”
Another relic was a chair made from the wood of the tree under which George Washington took command of the American army, July 3, 1775. It was for sale at $1,000.
Another was a horse, raised in Ohio, that weighed 2,800 pounds at six years old, and stood 21½  hands high. It lived twenty years, and when dead was bought and stuffed by Barnum.
In the line of writing material, we saw one ream of paper six feet wide by eighteen feet long, weighing 2,000 pounds, which, cut into ordinary sizes, would make 500,000 sheets of note paper.
One gun had a ten-inch bore and weighed twenty-two tons.
One Corliss engine furnished the power for all the machinery in Machinery Hall.
A short horn bull weighing 3,100 pounds was another animal wonder.
In the Women’s Department was a printing office, conducted wholly by women. On the wall hung the familiar warning so common in composing rooms, “Don’t speak to Compositors.” We ventured to break over the rules, but were embarrassed to find the young lady addressed, with her mouth so full of apple, was unable to re­spond. So we concluded “Don’t speak to Compositors,” was a rule so as to allow the young ladies time to eat.
In one of the aisles of Machinery Hall can be seen an entire sewing machine, complete in all parts, occupying a space of not more than two inches square, run by a small thread for a band, from the Corliss engine. Nearby are all kinds of sewing ma­chines, some with a fan attachment, so that the operator is constantly being fanned while the machine is moving.
In the Canadian building is a part of a white pine tree, of sixty-six years growth, that measures 303 feet high, and eight feet five inches in diameter.
A violin, 171 years old, made in 1705, was in exhibition and for sale at $1,000.
An infant’s dress, made of point lace and linen cambric, is marked “sold” at $600; a bride’s dress, of white corded silk and point lace, was priced at $4,300.
The Waltham Watch company exhibit a case containing 2,200 watches, the result of six days work in that establishment.
Tiffany, among many rare and costly gems, had a diamond necklace valued at $80,000, the earrings to match priced at $60,000, a feather made of diamonds for $7,000, and bracelets, $13,000 each. The entire set was priced at $160,000.
In late January 1877 C. M. Scott, while idly experimenting with a loaded shot gun, blew a hole through the partition between the post office and R. A. Houghton’s grocery, resulting in no further damage, however, than a general scare for a minute or two.
Scott was finalizing his preparations for a long trip into Indian Territory with his friend, Joe Sherburne, who was an Indian trader. This journey is covered in the Indian book.
On February 21, 1877, Scott made the following comments in an editorial column of the Arkansas City Traveler.

“Since the Indian excitement of last week has subsided, it is now easy to see how a story can be started without any foundation whatever. The report was that two of our citizens had been killed, scalped, and cut to pieces, but as the parties came in shortly after, it was proven entirely groundless. Such reports are a detriment to the peace and prosperity of any border settle­ment; and parties originating them should be rigidly dealt with and punished by the law.
Scott resumed his ability to be humorous in the February 21, 1877, issue of the Traveler.
Has anybody captured a young grasshopper in order to try his powers of endurance under a low thermometer? Ledger.
Yes, verily. We have the animile in our possession that has stood the wind, rain, and storm, been chilled to a degree that not a muscle could be stirred, and yet placed in the sun, soon evinced its usual activity. Fire and water is all that will get away with them, although we do not fear that they will remain long enough to do any material damage.
“If you are troubled with headache, dullness, incapacity to keep the mind on any subject, dizzy, sleepy, or nervous feelings, irritability of temper, or a bad taste in the mouth, palpitation, unsteady appetite, pains in the side, or any such symptoms of liver complaint and constipation of the bowels, go to your physician and get a bottle of quinine with a little spirits fermenti mixed with it. Take the latter, leave the quinine, and rub the bottle on your neck, and you will feel as if you had taken something.”
Scott described himself in 1877. (Item appears in Indian book.)
“WILD CAT” writes us from Guelph, under date of February 18th, that there is a man in that vicinity who openly boasts that he “intends making it warm for someone about the TRAVELER Of­fice,” and that “some fine day this week he is going down to put a head on the editor.” “Wild Cat” kindly gives us the name of the party, but out of charity we withhold it from the public.
Now, if the gentleman could realize how it shocks our mental and physical constitution, he surely would not speak so rashly. Ever since we first made our abode in the beautiful and verdant county of Cowley, we have had to undergo the tortures of threats of being shot, waylaid at midnight, and finally a new head is to be put on our person.
The thought of it is terrible! But what is, must be. Our fighting weight is just 127½ pounds; time for fracases, twenty-five minutes of 12, at noon, as that is the time we feel most hungry and savage.
If the gentleman desires “deadly weapons,” we can furnish them, as we like to be accommodating. Our choice is shot guns, at long range. We will not quarrel about the distance. The bluff north of town and Dr. Leonard’s fence would suit us nicely for stations. Our second will be Jim Huey—he can’t run. Now if these arrangements are satisfactory, the gentleman can name the day, and we will endeavor to have a friend there to explain the cause of our absence; otherwise, he will have to take the peril­ous chances of standing in front of our accident shot gun, that goes off without provocation, or being demolished with a hair space.
                             RAILROAD EXCURSION BY EDITORS IN 1877.
In June 1877 Scott reported on a trip he took with other Kansas editors. Newspaper editors in that era were a powerful force. When they went on excursion trips, they were “wined and dined” by railroads. Quite often, they were the first to be allowed to ride over new roads. The following contains excerpts from his trip.

“The convention of newspaper men of Kansas was held at Leavenworth, and an address delivered by Captain Henry King, of Topeka, that was pronounced to be the best ever delivered before the association. In it is a history of the Kansas press, and the able and courageous men who conducted it in an early day. Owing to the non-arrival of the stage coach, we were prevented from attending the convention, but joined the party at Emporia, as they came down the Santa Fe road on their way to Pueblo.
“We left Emporia about 9 o’clock and were landed at Pueblo Friday evening, after following the Arkansas River a distance of nearly 500 miles, over fertile valleys and plains unequaled for verdant growths of green pastures. On the way we passed a number of beautiful cities and thriving towns of wonderful existence, and met near Great Bend the Illinois editors, who were returning from an errand similar to the one that we had just begun.
“There were 98 members in the party, counting the ladies, and a general lively time was engaged in, as we sped rapidly on our way.
“In the morning after our arrival at Pueblo we took the Denver & Rio Grande narrow gauge railway extension and traveled south to Chuchara, thence west to La Veta, and up the mountains to Sangre de Christo pass.
“Our excursion train was the first passenger train that ever made the ascent to the summit, which is at present the highest of any railroad in the world. The Sangre de Christo pass, generally known as La Veta pass, is 9,340 feet above the level of the sea (over 1,000 feet above the highest point on the Union Pacific Railroad) and higher than any other point reached by any railroad in the world. It is a magnificent triumph of engineering skill and railroad energy, and at present the termi­nus of the railway leading to the San Juan country. It is the highest railway elevation on the globe, although one of still greater height is being constructed in Peru, South America.
“The summit distance is fourteen miles, and the ascent 2,400 feet. The greatest ascent for a single mile for the little giant engine, drawing three well-filled passenger coaches behind it, is 211 feet, and the average grade for the entire distance is 165 feet to the mile with 160 pounds pressure of steam to the square inch.
“The scenery is wild and grand beyond description. Many of the curves far exceed the famous Horse Shoe bend on the Pennsyl­vania Railroad, sweeping around the sharp points of the mountains in graceful curves one above another, at dizzy heights from Loveland.
“The cost of construction of the railroad up the mountain was $18,000 per mile. In order to reach the summit, grades as great as 211 feet to the mile have to be climbed, which is done by a continuous curve around the mountains. The journey over this route in comfortable commodious cars, up steep grades at the rate of 18 miles an hour, with a load heavy enough for a three-wheeled driving engine of standard gauge, convinced the most unyielding ones that the three-foot narrow gauge railway system is a success, and should be generally adopted where the business is not sufficient for wider grades, as it is not yet in this and many other sections of the country. The most skeptical cannot fail to be convinced after a voyage over this route.
“The road will be completed to Ft. Garland by July, and opened for business. At that time it will be one hundred and seven miles from Pueblo to Ft. Garland in San Luis Park.

[Note: The excursionists were accompanied on the first trip to the summit by Gen. D. C. Dodge, General Passenger Agent and J. A. McMurtry (or J. A. McMurtrie), the engineer under whose direction and supervision the road was built. I have found three spellings for the engineer: McMurtry, McMurtrie, and McMurti. MAW]
“Before starting on the return trip from the summit, an impromptu meeting was held and brief speeches were made by Col. Anthony, President of the Association, Chief Justice Horton, and Congressman Haskell, of Kansas, congratulating Gen. Dodge and Mr. McMurtry on the successful completion of this road to the highest point ever attained by a railroad company, and the trip of the first passenger train over it. These gentlemen briefly respond­ed.
“After spending a few hours on this great lookout, the party took their seats in the cars and did not stop for sight seeing until we reached Colorado Springs on Saturday morning. The Kansas Editorial excursionists enjoyed the novelty of the ride and the grandeur of the scenery to the most. Manitou being the place of our destiny, seven miles distant, we took carriages and enjoyed a pleasant ride of about half an hour, when we drew up at the Beebe House, and remained during the Sabbath.
                               ADDED DATA TO EDITORIAL EXCURSION.
[Manning’s story about trip makes me believe that Scott went on one train and Manning on another. Scott stated that there were 98 members in his party, counting the ladies; Manning stated there were 130 persons, one half of whom were editors. Manning called Gen. D. C. Dodge the Superintendent of the road, and stated that he accompanied them on the trip. Scott stated that Gen. Dodge was the General Passenger Agent. MAW]
The story given after the trip by E. C. Manning, editor of the Winfield Courier, added more information about the train trip to La Veta Pass.
“Manitou, Colorado, is situated six miles off from the Denver & Rio Grande railroad to the west in a gorge or narrow valley. Sharp hills and mountains rise on every side.”
“The run was made in less than four hours including stoppages. On part of the route the train ran at the rate of forty miles per hour. The passenger coaches are made exactly like other cars and carry 54 passengers. The body of the car is only two feet above the track and is 8½ feet wide. The cars ride easier than on the A. T. & S. F.
“The little engine took three passenger coaches loaded with 150 people (for several had gotten on at Pueblo and La Veta) up to the mountain top. The road runs back and forth along the sides of the mountain and is crookeder than the curves of a horseshoe. At one point the track was 400 feet directly above our heads as we rode along. It seemed like an impossible place to reach. This 14 miles of road has been built within the last six months. It is going right on down the western slope to the valley of the Rio Grande river.
“Del Norte is 75 miles from its present terminus. Two weeks ago two feet of snow fell where the men are now at work. At that point hard pine timber is very plenty and ties cost about 15 cents each. Frank Greenwood, a young man of 25, drove the engine.”
“Gen. Dodge is an old railroad man. He informed us that their narrow gauge road was able to do all the business between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains now done by the Kansas Pacific and A. T. & S. F. railroads. Their road is 800 miles long, including its branches, and still pushing further on. Arriving at the summit, there being no turntable and the engine being out of water, we had to put on brakes and let the train run backwards itself down to La Veta.

“La Veta is the most romantic townsite that we ever saw. It is a grass-covered plateau or plain 6,900 feet above sea level, about two miles in diameter, and surrounded on all sides with hills and mountains. The mountain tops, in this vicinity as also is Pike’s Peak lying 80 miles to the north, are covered with snow. Streaks of snow running down the mountain sides for thousands of feet gives them a peculiar appearance. La Veta is a town of three or four hundred people, mostly Americans. Its houses are new and the town looks thrifty. It has been for some months, and will continue to be for some time yet, the business terminus of that branch of the Rio Grande road towards the Del Norte region.”
                 REMAINDER OF SCOTT’S ACCOUNT OF EXCURSION TRIP
                                           AFTER TRIP TO LA VETA PASS.
“Manitou is a watering place of considerable renown, and is blessed with every variety of the healthy fluid. Within a scope of half a mile, soda, iron, sulphur, warm and cold waters are to be found. We partook freely of the soda water, which flowed from the ground in a large stream, and could be dipped up by the bucket full. To the taste, it is the same as the soda water made by druggists and sold at ten cents per glass. There it is as free as the air to all who desire it.
“Every convenience is made at Manitou for the entertainment of strangers, and they have many to entertain, as excursion parties from almost every State in the Union are constantly visiting them. The BEEBE House is one of the grandest and best hotels it has been our good fortune to stop at, and reminds one of the fashion­able houses of Niagara Falls, only they excel in quantity and quality of eatables.
“Manitou is at the foot of the far famed Pike’s Peak, that rises 14,836 feet towards the heavens.
“After visiting the Ute pass, we directed our guide to drive to the ‘Garden of the Gods.’ Its entrance is gained by passing between two mammoth rocks rising 100 feet in mid air. Once within the almost continuous wall that surrounds it, every shade of living green can be seen on the earth, while on every side rise the mountain heights, and monuments of rock. Rocks of every form and feature are there to be found. One as large as an ordinary prairie house stands balanced on an eight foot footing, while others are mere stems at the bottom and small table lands at the top. They are so singularly shaped that you imagine lions, seals, and other animals out of their formation.
“From the ‘Garden of the Gods,’ we drove to Cheyenne Canon, and after following the small stream to near its source, suddenly beheld the most grand scenery we found in Colorado. On each side of the narrow stream, solid blocks of stone rose to a height of from five to ten hundred feet, with overhanging tops that are ever threatening to crush all below them, while in front of us seven distinct and separate falls of silver water are rolling, tumbling, and gliding down the rocky abyss.
“There are many places of interest in Denver and many insti­tutions that we would gladly mention, but that is not the purpose of this article at this time.
“While at Denver we were exceedingly fortunate in meeting our old friend and fellow townsman of Cadiz, Ohio, Archie J. Sampson, Attorney General of the State, and his accomplished wife, who was a school mate of ours, among the clay and sun-burnt hills of our native Buckeye State.

“On Tuesday morning our party left Denver for a ride up the wonderful Clear Creek Canon, which proved a pleasant and instruc­tive excursion. Along the route we passed the once great city of Golden and reached the place in view, Idaho City, in time for dinner. Here we found one quartz mill at work with fifteen stamps, pounding riches out of nothing, comparatively speaking, for the ore resembled dirt or stone of no value.
“After spending one day more in Denver, those of the party who had not gone the day before, again placed themselves on the plush cushions and were soon hurling homeward. The route along the Kansas Pacific, until we reached nearly the center of Kansas, was a dull and lonely one. Nothing but the short, green grass could be seen on either side for miles. As we neared Salina, large fields of wheat and corn took place of the unbroken sod, and but a short distance from the town, we passed through the enormous wheat field of Mr. T. C. Henry, covering 2,200 acres. It will not yield as well as it did last year, owing to the heavy rains, but may average fifteen bushels to the acre.
“At Topeka we bid farewell to those of the party who had accompanied us that far, and by Saturday night we were in our office at home, well contented and well recompensed for the trip.
“Colorado is a State of mining and stock raising, that is all. Farming there is but child’s play in realization and profit, but the mines turn out gold and the hills are the best in the world for sheep pastures.”
                                           NARROW GAUGE RAILROADS.
                                                        [Notes from MAW]
At the Arkansas City Public Library, I found a book about the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The following is an excerpt of a letter written at Denver, Colorado, February 13, 1877, from W. W. Borst, Superintendent, to General Wm. J. Palmer, President of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway. It pertains to passenger engines and trains.
“In reply to letter of Burnham, Parry, Williams & Co., in reference to the performance of our last engines, I have to say:
“Passenger engines Nos. 16, 17, 18 [Class 8-16 C].
“These engines are used on our regular passenger trains, consisting of one baggage car and two coaches, at a speed of 20 miles per hour on all grades. We have never had occasion to test either the speed or the power of these engines in passenger train service.
“On the 29th of August, 1876, engine 16 took one baggage car, five coaches, and one excursion car from Denver to Colorado Springs. Time, including stops, 4 hours; actual running time about 3½ hours. She did her work with ease, making 20 miles per hour on the heaviest grades. I am satisfied that either of the four-wheeled-connected passenger engines will haul seven coaches and one baggage car over our 75 feet grades at from 18 to 20 miles per hour.
“These engines are as heavy as should be run over a 30 pound iron rail, although I do not see that they injure the iron more than our lighter engines.
“When the road bed is soft these engines knock the track out of line more than our first engines.”
As time went on, Scott grew more and more discontented as a newspaper editor. He began to sell his livestock and other items, and spent more time roaming around in Indian Territory.

Notices such as the following began to appear frequently.
Arkansas City Traveler, March 27, 1878. We’ve sold our harness; sold our rails, sold a number of our ponies. We now have about 200 feet of walnut and sycamore plank, 2 inches thick, eight feet long and six inches wide, and 700 pine shingles we would like to dispose of. Also some cord wood. We have fourteen head of ponies and horses, a hog, and a Jennie that we haven’t sold yet. C. M. SCOTT.
Scott accumulated a lot of property in the area. As a result, he was troubled with thieves as noted on May 1, 1878.
“We hereby warn all respectable citizens of north Creswell and Pleasant Valley townships to quit stealing the stone from my land. We expect to collect for that already taken, and may make trouble if the theft is repeated. C. M. SCOTT.”
On Sunday, June 9, 1878, Scott came to the decision that he would sell his ponies and horses. He noted in his diary that he was going to Texas on June 18th with Frank Baldwin and Frank Hess after which he intended to sell out everything and take a year to himself.
He began to advertise his ponies and horses for sale. In one of them he advised interested parties that his stock could be seen in his pasture on the east side of the Walnut about two miles from Arkansas City and that all were branded “C M” on their left shoulder.
Another ad listed a number of ponies and horses that he would sell cheap for cash or on bankable security and interest.
“One good sized chestnut sorrel horse, kind disposition, good for saddle, and splendid buggy animal; well calculated for family use, 6 years old, $80.
“One large Kentucky mare, good saddle or work animal, and kind disposition, 7 years old, $75.
“One chunky brown mare, broke to harness, 7 years old, $45.
“One large, unbroken Texas mare, 8 years old, $35.
“One good size, unbroken Indian mare and colt, 6 years old; $35.
“One gray work mare, 8 years old; well broken to saddle or harness, $35.
“One brown 3 years old mare, unbroken, $35.
“One sorrel mare, 5 years old; broken to harness. $20.
“One Jennie, broken to saddle or harness, $10.
“One roan saddle pony, 6 years old, $35.
“One roan horse pony, 3 years old; broken to saddle, $20.
“One bay mare, 8 years old; broken to saddle or harness, $20.
“One three year old colt, broken to saddle; gentle and safe for children. $15.
“One nine year old mare, broken to saddle or harness; gentle and safe, $15.
“In addition to the animals advertised else­where, I have fifty native Texas horses, broken and unbroken to saddle, and can sell ponies as cheap as any man on the border.”
During the time Scott was in Texas, the Traveler issue of June 15, 1878, announced that the steamboat, “Aunt Sally,” had started from Little Rock. On June 25th, an Indian brought the startling news that the boat was seen to pass the Osage Agency the day before.

On Sunday morning, June 30, 1878, groups of men could be seen on the houses, with strong field glasses, looking for the tell tale smoke, and at about 9 o’clock, while many were leisurely taking their late Sabbath breakfasts, their ears were startled by a loud, though hoarse, sound in the direction of the river, which men familiar with such sounds instantly recognized as the whistle of a steamboat.
The best account of the arrival of the “Aunt Sally” was given by James Christian, who wrote a letter to Editor Murdock about the arrival of the “Aunt Sally” on Sunday, June 30, 1878.
FRIEND MURDOCK: The steamer “Aunt Sally,” from Little Rock, arrived this morning. Our town is mad with excitement. Men, women, and children, some on foot, some on horseback, others in buggies and wagons, rushed “pell mell” for Harmon’s Ford on the Walnut, to witness a sight that our people have thought of, dreamed of, and prayed for the last six or seven years: a real, living, breathing steamboat; as the children sometimes say, “a sure enough steamboat.”
There she was, puffing and blowing like a thing of life. Some two hundred people rushed on board and examined her all over, from deck to Texas—cabin, engine, boiler, water wheel—all were scrutinized. They were in her and all over her.
Steam being up, the captain invited all hands to a ride up the Walnut as far as Newman’s mill and back. The bank was lined with people and the yells and cheers of those on deck and those on shore made the welkin ring. It was hip!—rip!—huzzah!—one after another. A general good time was had.
In the afternoon three hundred persons went aboard by invita­tion, for a ride down the river. Our cornet band did their best tooting on the occa­sion. Everything was hilarity and joy.
Little preaching was heard in Arkansas City today, you may depend. “Aunt Sally” was in everybody’s mouth.
She will stay until after the 4th, and will try to get up and see Wichita, if possible. The boat is owned by Captains Burke and Lewis, of Little Rock; is 85 feet long, 18 feet wide, and draws 14 inches light, and about two feet when fully loaded; carries 40 tons; made the run from Ft. Smith to this place in six days; met with no difficulty or obstructions on the way; the pilot thinks the river even better above than below Ft. Smith.
At this stage of water a railroad is nowhere alongside of a steamboat. Hurrah for the navigation of the Arkansas! It is no longer a matter of speculation, but is now a fixed fact—a reality. The “Aunt Sally,” the pioneer steamer of this great Southwestern river, has proved it. JAMES CHRISTIAN.
                          [Trip to Texas covered in Indian Book, pages 413-415.]
On July 19, 1878, Scott wrote from Hempstead, Texas.
“I have just been down to Austin attending the State Demo­cratic Convention, to see the Texans make a governor. I say make a Governor, because the nomination by the Democratic party is equivalent to an election in this State. One would think there were no Republicans here from the conversation heard. The State is largely Democratic, and the Republicans seldom organize. In Collins County, one of the best grain and cotton producing counties in the State, there are 100 voters that never saw the stars and stripes afloat. Texas, during the war, never saw the Federal troops except along the coast.

“The State presents a fine appearance now, although the wheat, oats, and cotton were seriously damaged by heavy and constant rains, as in Kansas and other States. The cotton fields are blooming like massive flower beds, presenting a picture equaled in none but Southern States. Many fields of corn have been cut and shocked, and Hungarian and hay are engaging the farmers’ attention. Although a good crop of wheat was harvested last year, the mills are grinding Kansas grain, on account of the immense immigration.
“They need more ‘Yankees’ here. Every northern man is termed Yankee. They acknowledge their superior energy and always welcome them. They complain constantly of the blacks, and many of the most extensive farmers are employing white laborers in their stead.
“Horses, mules, cattle, and hogs are to be seen in every direction, running unrestrained on the scanty pasturage of thousands of acres. The country in Eastern Texas has been grazed so long that not a grass spot can be seen. What grass the stock can get is picked from among the weeds and brush. The western portion of the State, however, affords the finest stock range in the world, and thousands of animals are being driven thereto. The price of all kinds of stock is very low, owing to hard times and scarcity of money.
“In a few days I will be on my way back to the green pastures of Kansas, returning by the way of the Shawnee cattle trail, leading to Coffeyville. The flies are so bad that travel by day is out of the question. On our way down they swarmed on our horses’ legs and breasts so that for miles they left a trail of blood behind them. Many animals bled to death on the way, and ours probably would have had we not taken the precaution to cover them.
“A light-haired man of about five feet in height, riding a sorrel horse, passed us at Pawnee Agency, in a hurried manner. He rode the horse until it fell under the saddle and then shot and left it. He then gave $10 to one of the Indians to put him across the Arkansas in the night, leaving before he had anything to eat, and landed in a wilderness. The rest of his gang are now being tried at Austin for train robbing. About 30 miles from Denison, and within ten miles of our camp, the Indians stampeded a herd of cattle. This is about all the deviltry we have heard of so far. Yours, C. M.”
Scott and Frank Baldwin of Winfield returned August 5, 1878.
On September 4, 1878, Scott turned over management of the Traveler to Ed Gray while he finished selling his horses and ponies.
On October 16, 1878, Scott covered the appearance of “Buckskin Joe” on the rope in the Traveler.
“There were more people in town to see Prof. Hoyt’s rope walking than we have seen since the 4th of July several years ago, or when the ‘Aunt Sally’ came up. The feats on the rope were astonishing, and many of them never exhibited by any profes­sional. Although there was a heavy gale blowing, Mr. Hoyt laid down on the rope, stood on his head, played the banjo, and performed many other feats that would astonish any audience.”
The Traveler on October 16th stated that the pacing race between Jim Strickland’s mare and C. M. Scott’s stallion, “Bertrand,” did not take place on the previous Saturday due to the mare failing to appear.
Scott noted in his diary that his last day at the Arkansas City Traveler occurred October 31, 1878.
On that same day the Traveler printed an ad by him.

“PONY FOR SALE CHEAP. I have an old Indian pony, gentle as a dog, well suited to carry some little boy or girl to school, that I will sell for $10. Reason for selling—got tired of carrying water for it.”
On November 6, 1878, Scott announced in the paper that he had resigned, turning over the newspaper to Nathan Hughes.
“For more than eight years we have published the TRAVELER, encountering every trial and adversity, and sharing alike the enjoyments and hardships attending the settling of a new country.
“We began young, very young for the position, and it was not attended without mistakes. We have said things that we regretted sorely, and should have given expression probably when we did not. But with all we flatter ourselves that the TRAVELER is a success, and a recognized journal among the many.
“Other matters of more profit and less labor have invited us.
“We shall always make Arkansas City and Cowley County our home, although the greater portion of our time for a year or more will be elsewhere.”
In the November 20, 1878, issue of the Traveler, the new editor, Nathan Hughes, commented: “Scott is breaking Texas ponies. There is one in sight of the office now that is well broke; in fact, if it were broke a little more, it would be dead broke.”
On December 11, 1878, a notice was put in the Traveler signed by “Many Citizens.” “Having learned that our Postmaster, C. M. Scott, has resigned his office, which he has faithfully and ably filled for upwards of four years, we think it due to him to bear testimony to his courtesy and promptness as well as that of his deputy, in conducting the business of our Post Office.”
Scott commented in his diary on Wednesday, January 1, 1879: “First day out of post office duties for nearly four years.”
On Monday, March 17, 1879, Scott wrote in his diary: “Was thrown from buggy and arm dislocated last Saturday.” Scott suffered numerous falls and broken bones in his younger years. He began to feel the effect of these accidents as he got older. He also suffered from a lot of stomach ailments and bouts with flu, which he never discussed in public.
Notes in his diary reflect that he was expecting the arrival of Governor St. John on Thursday, April 10, 1879. (Scott became a hunting partner of two of the Governor’s children.) He was employed as a “Captain” of the Fifth Company Independent Cavalry of Kansas State Militia April 14, 1879, receiving $65 per month.
[Scott’s activities as a “Special Scout” are covered in Indian book. I must add that he served only when the need arose. MAW]
[Page 103 of the book entitled “Cherokee Outlet Cowboy” by Laban Samuel Records, edited by Ellen Jayne Maris Wheeler, Printed by University of Oklahoma Press, Norman and London, 1995.]
In late summer 1879 Laban S. Records met Scott & Meagher.

“A few days afterwards government scouts, C. M. Scott and Mike Meagher, stayed all night with us. They had been to Fort Reno and were headed for Kiowa. Riding armed, they brought lunch as they knew there were few cow camps in their path. They crossed the Cimarron to the north side and stopped because the water was better there. They unsaddled and hobbled their horses to graze on the [Brand shown] range. After they ate, it was warm; they lay down but slept longer than they intended. When they awoke, their horses were missing. They had hobbled away in search of better grass. It was near sunset before the two scouts finally found them. They would have had an all-night ride but discovered our outfit lay directly in their course. We had just moved to Red Springs Camp. They told us many of their interesting experiences with Indians.”
Some notes on Mike Meagher....
Michael Meagher was appointed City Marshal in Wichita, Kansas, April 13, 1871.
Meagher served for three years: until April 15, 1874.
Meagher became a United States Deputy Marshal in 1874, serving in the Indian Territory.
The Topeka Commonwealth reported June 14, 1874, that Meagher was first lieutenant in a newly formed militia company then engaged in scouting possible Indian difficulties along the southern Kansas border.
Meagher was elected as City Marshal again in April 1875 of Wichita, Kansas.
On April 21, 1875, Wyatt Earp was appointed policeman on the Wichita force.
Wichita’s police force now consisted of Marshal Mike Meagher, Assistant Marshal John Behrens, and Policemen James Cairns and Earp. The marshal’s salary was $91.66, Behrens earned $75.00, and Cairns and Earp each were paid $60.00 a month.
On November 10, 1875, the Wichita Beacon reported an arrest by Marshal Meagher and Earp.
“Last Friday [November 5, 1875], being hangman’s day and generally regarded by the superstitious as the twenty-four hours in all the week, for all time, which the devil has reserved for himself against the holy Sabbath, appropriated by his enemies, it befell three turbulent twirlers of the long lash, stimulators of the patient ox, to be wooed into ways that are dark and tricks that proved vain, and on the devil’s own day. A bull train, consisting of two large wagons and eight yoke of oxen, had arrived at West Wichita, corralled and went into camp early that morning. There was nothing very remarkable in this fact, being of daily, almost hourly occurrence, but in the sequel, in the reproof of chance lay the proof of crime, with an apology, if it so please you, for spoiling one of Williams best and most quoted. Marshal Meagher, as the wires and mails would so have it, had a description of this identical outfit in his pocket, with the names of the parties to it. The intelligence conveyed to him was that one Bill Potts, assisted by two gentlemen of color, had actually stolen these oxen and wagons, and stranger yet, under the very nose of their owner, and as slow as oxen travel, had most miraculously succeeded in eluding pursuit, evading highways and coming through the long prairie grass, reached Wichita, from Fort Sill, where this wholesale theft was committed. If nothing of reputation is left this little crowd of depredators, one thing will ever remain tenaciously with their names, that they made the best bull time on record and are therefore entitled to the name of being the champion bull whackers of the Sill. We expect to see a dime edition out soon, with some such title and the usual daredevil wood cut, emblazoning in red, yellow, and magenta this identical trio, whipping, goading, and spurring amain the frantic longhorns. . . .

Turned out the Beacon goofed. On November 11, 1875, the Wichita Eagle corrected the foregoing article. It was Deputy Marshal Behrens (not Earp) who was with Marshal Meagher.
Meagher was re-elected City Marshal on April 4, 1876, in spite of the difficulty his policeman, Wyatt Earp, had caused shortly before the election by striking the rival candidate, William Smith.
The Arkansas City Traveler printed a report from a Caldwell Correspondent in its December 26, 1877, issue, sent from Indian Territory December 15th.
“Marshal Mike Meagher arrested two brothers, Ed. and Bill Withers, at Kiowa, Barber County, Kansas, on the 10th inst. Said gents are accused of stealing 15 or 20 ponies from the Cheyennes and Arapahos last June. Meagher was accompanied by a small detachment of troops of the 4th Cavalry. The Withers boys are said to be ‘bad ones’ and are wanted in other parts to answer for violations of the law.
In 1880 Mike Meagher moved to Caldwell. On April 5, 1880, ten weeks before the first steam engine puffed into Caldwell, Mike Meagher was elected Mayor. One of his first official acts was to appoint a police force, quickly confirmed by the city council: William Horseman, marshal; Dan Jones, assistant marshal, and James Johnson, policeman. On June 5, the U. S. Census taker enumerated Caldwell, listing Mike Meagher as being 37 years old, having been born in Ireland.
Meagher did not run for re-election in 1881. He was appointed by Mayor W. N. Hubbell of Caldwell to act as City Marshal for the present on July 28, and served only five days. He was replaced by another man: James Roberts.
Meagher was killed at Caldwell in late December 1881 by a party of cowboys, headed by Ike Sherman—more familiarly known as Jim Talbot—and considered as one of the most desperate cowboys on the border. Talbot was later killed in a saloon row in Texas.
Getting back to C. M. Scott...
The Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad system completed its Cowley, Sumner & Ft. Smith extension to Arkansas City on December 23, 1879, and trains began running to Arkansas City on January 13, 1880.
Mr. Thomes, of the Santa Fe Engineering Corps, and C. M. Scott made a tour of observation through the Indian Territory to Fort Smith in the interest of the Santa Fe. Scott’s report was printed in the Traveler February 11, 1880.
“I have been repeatedly asked since my return regarding the practicability of a railroad route from Arkansas City to Fort Smith, Arkansas, present terminus of the Little Rock and Ft. Smith railway.
“On the 25th of January in company with Mr. John E. Thomes, civil engineer of the A. T. & S. F. railway, we proceeded on horseback to Kaw Agency, a distance of about 25 miles, following the Arkansas river to within 3 miles of the Agency, then crossing through a draw from the Arkansas to Beaver creek; thence down Salt creek about 15 miles, and up another draw into Hominy creek, then down the latter stream to where it empties into Bird creek, then down Bird creek to the Verdigris river, and down to the Arkansas to Ft. Gibson, a distance of 190 miles. On Bird creek and the Verdigris river many bends of the streams were cut off, passing over smooth, high prairie, at an elevation of not more than thirteen hundred feet above the level of the sea, and not to exceed a fifty foot grade.

“Along the route was some of the finest farming lands we ever saw; especially in the Verdigris valley, which is frequently more than three miles in width.
“The people of Fort Gibson were very anxious to have the road built, and manifested great willingness to take hold of the matter.
“Along Bird creek walnut lumber was being cut and sawed to ship to Chicago, for which contractors were paying $1 per thousand feet. They could load on about 7,000 feet on one car, and it is said they receive $80 per thousand in Chicago for it. Corn was $1 per bushel at Gibson and it was expected to be $1.50 before corn time next year.
“Some of the Cherokees and Creeks were in favor of a railroad while the majority were opposed to it.
“Another very good route could be made crossing the Arkansas at this place, then cross back near Kaw Agency, and down from the head of Bird creek by way of Osage Agency. This would necessi­tate two bridges across the Arkansas at a cost of $20,000, and following the Bird creek valley would make the road a crooked one.”
In April 1880 C. M. Scott purchased a pedometer. [I gather he wanted it to keep track of distances he traveled on horseback in carrying on his duties as a “Special Scout.”]
In August 1880 Capt. C. M. Scott purchased 500 acres of land near the mouth of Grouse creek with a view of making it a stock ranch.
As reported in the “Indian Book” on page 41, Capt. Scott surprised the good people when he purchased the First Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church Parsonage, and the lot on which the calaboose stands around 1880.
The Arkansas City Calaboose was the first jail lock-up in Arkansas City. It was completed in January 1873. It was 12 by 14 feet in size, and 7 feet in height. The walls were built of 2 foot by 6 foot oak planks and the floor and ceiling were built of six inch oak. It had three eight-inch windows. It had three eight-inch windows.
While serving as “Special Scout,” Scott had occasion to go west. The following were two reports he sent to the Traveler.
First Report from Western Kansas.
FORT DODGE, August 20, 1880.
“It is a matter of surprise to see how fast these western counties are settling up. Sumner may be said to be densely populated, still there are hundreds of acres yet un­claimed, and much of that claimed and improved has not been entered. Harper is well settled with a farming class of people, where they should be stock growers. Along the line of Barbour can now be seen many houses where last year they were few and far between. This is a recognized stock county, and will become wealthy. In Comanche, Clark, and Meade counties, where only a year ago nothing but ‘cow camps’ could be found, men are now there with their families: some trying to farm, others raising sheep and cattle. Next to the Panhandle of Texas, the latter three counties excel as a sheep country. The grass is alkali or buffalo grass, very nutritious, and remains green the entire year. In all these counties there are thousands of acres of land to be bought at $1.00 per  acre on the Cherokee Strip. Osage lands will be sold this fall to the highest bidder. In many instances timber and water can be had.

“Most of the stock cattle held about Caldwell have been sold, and the shipping cattle are being driven to Nickerson, on account of the number of native cattle dying with fever in that vicinity.
“At Dodge City yearlings were sold at $8 and $8.50 per head, and some offered for $7 per head after they had been picked over. Colorado sheep are offered in any numbers at $2 per head. They are very thin in flesh, yet if well wintered would prove a profitable investment. The sheep mania seems to be universal, and cattle men are becoming alarmed thereat, claiming that where sheep feed the cattle will die, as sheep bite the grass so close that the hot sun strikes into its heart and soon kills it.
“During the past two weeks Western Kansas has had an abun­dance of rain, and the ‘range’ never was better, although grass is too short to make hay.
“No one need go west of Barber County with any intention of farming. There is not rain sufficient to grow corn or wheat. Millet does well, and is a good substitute for corn, and alfalfa or Chinese clover should do equally well. It is a stock country, nothing more.”
Second Report from Western Kansas.
Pearlette, September 15, 1880.
“Away out here in Meade County, after passing over nearly one hundred miles of only partially settled country, I find a number of settlers on Crooked creek, raising rice or Egyptian corn, sorghum, millet, peanuts, and watermelons, and the crops would all have yielded well had it not been for a hail storm of last week. So long as the farmers confine themselves to the above crops, they will do well enough, but wheat and corn will fail.
“In this high, dry, timberless country, good water is ob­tained at a depth of 25 feet. The grass, although short this year on account of dry weather, remains green the whole year, and Meade is one of the best stock counties in Kansas. Eighty miles farther west you come to the Colorado line, a vast, sandy, and unsettled country.
“The great salt well or ‘sink’ is ten miles below here. A few years ago it covered an acre of surface, and suddenly the ground caved in and three acres dropped down twenty feet. People came forty miles and more to see it. The Salt Plains of the Cimarron are about forty miles southeast.
“I have seen all of Kansas, the garden patches of the eastern part, the wheat fields of the north, the well watered, the timbered, the flinty ridges, and the stock counties, and I am glad I live in noble young Cowley. C. M.”
On Thursday, November 25, 1880, Scott made the following diary notations: “During the year I made 13 trips and was out 103 days, and at home 102 days. Received $716.66. In 1879 received $712.32. Received for the two years: $1,429.98.”
Scott Becomes a Reporter in Topeka.
On Tuesday, January 11, 1881, Scott became a reporter for the Topeka Commonwealth. His diary had the following notation: “Reporting a caucus in the morning and the Legislative proceedings in the afternoon.”
A correspondent at Topeka, known as “Mark Well,” sent the following comment to the Traveler editor January 22, 1881.

“Capt. Scott of your city, is reporting for the Commonwealth, and I understand his services are in demand. He is said to be the best reporter in either of the two Houses here this year. If any of your readers come up and want to get acquainted, by all means call on Capt. Scott, for he knows everybody and everything in Topeka.”
A month later the Abilene Chronicle commented: “Our old friend, C. M. Scott, is reporting the proceedings of the House for the Commonwealth. We congratulate the Commonwealth on securing so good a man.”
Scott did not like Topeka and soon returned to his beloved Cowley County.
First mention that C. M. Scott had procured a pet wolf came in the May 25, 1881, issue of the Traveler. “Scott says it takes lots of meat to keep a wolf.” The Traveler commented in its September 28, 1881, issue: “The howl of the prairie wolf can be heard in Arkansas City during the calm hours of midnight, even now. It happens to be a pet wolf, however, of C. M. Scott’s stable. In mid-December the paper said: “Capt. C. M. Scott now mourns for his pet wolf, which he shipped to Illinois; but happy doesn’t near express the feelings of his neighbors.”
The Arkansas City Traveler had a startling news article concerning Captain C. M. Scott in the October 19, 1881, issue.
“The longest deed on record in Cowley County is that of James S. Hunt, County Clerk, to C. M. Scott for 90 lots in Arkansas City, which covered forty-two pages of the record book, and embraces 13,734 words. It cost nearly fifty dollars to have the deed written and recorded. The most lengthy mortgage is on the Gould railroad.”
Scott purchased a large tract of land in the eastern part of Cowley County and turned it into a sheep ranch with his good friend, James Topliff. They began to add to their flock with merino ewes and rams purchased from Ohio. They paid nearly $5,000 for 2,200 head in Harper County.
On December 7, 1881, the Traveler printed an item taken from the Topeka Commonwealth. “Mr. M. M. St. John, brother of the Governor of Kansas; Mr. J. R. Ritchie, Sheriff of Richardson County, Illinois; Mr. C. Fleming, son-in-law of Mr. St. John, and Mr. John P. Higgans, all of Olney, Illinois; arrived in the city yesterday morning and left by this morning’s train for the Indian Territory for a hunt. They will be under the care of Capt. C. M. Scott, which is a guarantee that they will enjoy their holiday. Gov. St. John intended to be of the party, but he felt obliged to forego the anticipated pleasure on account of the Danford trouble.
Editor Stanley commented: “The party arrived in Arkansas City all ‘O. K.’ and in company with Mr. Fred Whiting, of Winfield, and Capt. C. M. Scott, of this city, immediately started for the Territory, where they expect to be absent about ten days.”
DANFORD TROUBLE.
In the latter part of December 1881 J. S. Danford, whose home address was Osage City, Kansas, gave a statement in the local newspaper concerning himself wherein he presented his tale of woe.
J. S. Danford stated that he came to Kansas in 1869 with $1,000, and engaged in the real estate business at El Dorado, going into various ventures, all of which were profitable. He then stated that in 1872 he was worth $25,000 in cash, besides real estate.

Mr. Danforth then stated that he went into the Osage City Bank, and that for the first three years’ residence at Osage City he made no money; that he then went into the Harvey County Savings Bank, and sold out at a profit of $10,000, and then organized the Caldwell bank.  Due to his experience in lending money to Texas cattle men at El Dorado, he established the Merchants’ and Drovers’ bank at Caldwell, a small bank at Hunnewell, and aided in the organization of the bank at Carbondale.
Mr. Danforth added that during the past six months he began to realize that he had undertaken more than he could comfortably manage, and that he deemed it best to sell out his banks in Sumner County and concentrate his energies at Osage City.
His Sumner County banks kept an average balance of over $50,000 with the Chase National Bank of New York. At the close of the cattle season, he applied for the withdrawal of funds from his banks and was told by his bank directors that they would not make any more loans in the West. By this time deposits had fallen off and a run was begun upon the Merchants’ and Drovers’ bank at Caldwell, instigated according to Danford by his former cashier, who did not like Danford. Danford put forth a good story about his many woes and the unfortunate closing of the Caldwell and Hunnewell banks.
He left out some important events that occurred to him earlier.
In September 1869 Danford had a partner by the name of Hanna. They opened an office in Jones’ building in Emporia, over Newman & Houghton’s store, in a room that had been occupied as a Presbyterian church, where they did a general agency business: buying and selling lands, handling insurance, furnishing title abstracts, paying taxes, etc.
In December 1869 Danford made plans with T. B. Murdock to start a paper at El Dorado, Butler County, Kansas.
Murdock and Danford published the first issue of the Walnut Valley Times on March 4, 1870. In the first issue Danford had an article about his company, which was selling 86 acres of land subdivided into lots of one quarter acre each on which to build homes. His partners: Drs. H. D. Kellogg, Allen White, J. K. Finley, and a Mr. Knowlton.
Allen White was the father of William Allen White, who became the editor of the Emporia Gazette. He was known as “Doc White in El Dorado. In 1869 a young lawyer by the name of W. P. Campbell rented an office built of cottonwood boards, size 14 by 16, from old “Doc White,” the town druggist, who greeted Campbell as follows: “Young man, if you can live on sowbelly, drink creek water, and will leave whiskey alone, I think you can make it!”
W. P. Campbell became the first judge of the Thirteenth Judicial District, which embraced the counties of Butler, Cowley, Greenwood, Howard, Sedgwick, and Sumner in 1872.
In early April 1870 Danford and Kellogg went to Creswell (later Arkansas City) to survey the town. Murdock commented: “We authorized them to buy a ‘corner lot’ for us.”
On April 22, 1870, a petition was signed by Allen White, T. B. Murdock, and J. S. Danforth along with other voters of Butler County, Kansas, who expressed their willingness to aid all in their power in the formation of a new county out of the territory now composing the counties of Butler and Cowley, stating that to that end they would vote to spare from the county of Butler a fair, equal, and just proportion of their territory to form said new county, taking into consideration the arable land in the county.
Murdock bought out Danford’s interest in the newspaper in the early part of June 1870.

Danford was one of the speakers at the July 4th celebration in Arkansas City in 1870 along with Professor L. B. Kellogg and others. The program consisted of unlimited boating, swinging, and sight seeing.
On July 29, 1870, the Walnut Valley Times announced that J. S. Danford had been appointed County Clerk, vice H. D. Kellogg, who had resigned and moved to Arkansas City.
Danford’s letter stated that a run on the Merchants’ and Drovers’ bank at Caldwell was instigated by his former cashier.
Danford’s current cashier, W. D. C. Smith, packed up the bank securities at Caldwell, and fled on a train with a friend of his. They planned to take the securities to a place unknown to the creditors. Smith got off at Wellington and met Danford, who deeded the bank building to Major Hood, Smith refusing to sign the deed until he got $2,000. He did not get the money.
The newspapers had conflicting reports. The most reliable story came from the Traveler issue of December 7, 1881.
“Great excitement has prevailed at Caldwell and Hunnewell during the past week in consequence of the suspension of the banks at both places. Danford, the owner of the banks, was evidently on the make, but a posse of the bank’s depositors got possession of him and his cashier and held them by mob force for several days. The excitement is subsiding, and the present status of affairs will be seen from the following dispatch.
“Caldwell, Kansas, Dec. 5. Danford and his creditors made a settlement by which Danford turns over assets amounting to $74,433 to cover his liabilities of $59,666; and S. S. Richmond, of Caldwell, was appointed trustee under bond of $80,000. Danford and party are now rejoicing in sweet liberty. The town is now quiet and depositors feeling better, though not sanguine of a full payment.”
The newspapers told quite a story.
Winfield Courier, December 8, 1881.
When the safe of Danford’s bank was broken open, all that was found was a pile of nickels and a newspaperman’s note for ten dollars. They seem to have carried away everything in which the bulk anywhere near equaled the value.
Arkansas City Traveler, December 14, 1881.
It is announced that Danford has been released at Caldwell, and has gone to Osage City. The liabilities of the Caldwell bank are $54,932.33; assets $64,180.25.
Winfield Courier, December 15, 1881.
J. S. Danford was once a strict member of the M. E. church at El Dorado.
Danford is at home at Osage City with his family. It is thought that his matters will be amicably settled.
Winfield Courier, December 29, 1881.
The worst is to come. It is said that Danford, the ex-banker of Caldwell, will enter the lecture field.
Arkansas City Traveler, January 11, 1882.
A committee of creditors has examined the affairs of Danford’s Osage City bank, and find that its assets aggregate $150,076, while its liabilities are only $41,647. It has $87,575 in real estate, and nearly $15,000 in cash.
Arkansas City Traveler, January 18, 1882.

Danford has been arranging and fixing matters for the past three or four weeks, and from the following from Osage City we presume his labor will result in “a time” for some of his Caldwell friends who participated in the mob festival:
S. S. Richmond, one of the principal leaders of the Caldwell-Danford mob, who was appointed trustee of the assets of the Merchants and Drovers Bank, of Caldwell, with powers to settle up the business, came to confer with Danford in regard to some unfinished business. A suit was at once instituted by Danford against members of the Caldwell mob for $100,000 damages, and the papers were served upon Richmond by the Sheriff of this county. This takes the case to that county, and enables Danford to have papers served upon other members of the mob in Sumner County and compel them to go to that county for trial.
Forty-six Sumner County people were defendants in the suit instituted by J. S. Danford, the Osage City banker.
Cowley County Courant, March 2, 1882.
The half forgotten excitement incident to the Caldwell bank failure, in which Danford so conspicuously figured, has been revived by the arrest of W. D. C. Smith, late bookkeeper of the bank, at Fort Worth, Texas, upon a charge of grand larceny.
Cowley County Courant, March 9, 1882.
Governor Saint John’s refusal to sign a requisition upon the Governor of Texas for Smith, the defaulting cashier of Danford’s bank at Caldwell, may prove a serious matter to his Excellency. This thing of favoring men because they have held the political prestige enjoyed by Danford, is not becoming even to a man so unscrupulous as the evangelist.
Winfield Courier, May 11, 1882.
The service in the damage case of J. Danford against the Caldwell vigilantes was held to be good and the cases are set for trial at the next term of court in Osage County.
Caldwell Commercial, Thursday, September 21, 1882.
The committee of the creditors in the Danford affair went to Wellington on Tuesday afternoon expecting to make a settlement through Danford’s attorneys. It is perhaps unnecessary to add, they came back disappointed. It occurs to us it is about time to stop throwing grass at J. S.
Arkansas City Traveler, October 4, 1882.
The Danford troubles are settled, so says the Caldwell Commercial, from which we learn that the basis of compromise, as we under­stand it, is, that Danford agrees to pay 40 cents on the dollar, to withdraw any and all suits against the creditors, and to pay his own costs and expenses. The creditors on their part to release all attachments, turn over all property, books, and papers belonging to the M. & D. Bank, and to dismiss all suits with prejudice. A few other small matters remain to be arranged, which will be arranged within the next three or four days, after which the proper parties will be ready to disburse the pro rata amount to those holding claims against Mr. Danford growing out of the failure of the M. & D. Bank.
Arkansas City Traveler, October 18, 1882.
The settlement of the Danford trouble has been deferred on account of the refusal of Smith, the former cashier of the bank, to withdraw his suit against the people of Caldwell unless he is paid therefor.
Caldwell Commercial, Thursday, November 30, 1882.

[From the Osage Free Press.] Mr. J. S. Danford is very seriously ill and it is impossible to tell when he will be better. His present condition is the result of a concentration of causes, starting with the terrible shock to his nervous system by the brutal mob at Caldwell, and going through more than a year of anxious business work, culminating in the disappointment of a business trip to Denver, and terminating in complete cerebral exhaustion and paralysis of the brain. Seventeen days ago he was brought home from Denver in a state of dementia, from which there has been very little improvement. Dr. Eastman of the State Insane Asylum, has been here in consultation with his family physician and agrees with him that there is little promise of speedy recovery, but that with faithful care there will probably be recuperation and restoration to mental and physical vigor. This statement is made by the authority of his physician, Dr. W. L. Schenck, of this city.
In regard to Mr. Danford’s business matters, we know nothing tangible. Prior to his trip to Colorado, after a long and patient effort, his Caldwell affairs were on the eve of settlement, and would have undoubtedly been settled only for a new and unforeseen difficulty. One of the stipulations of the settlement on the part of the Caldwell creditors was that the suits of both Danford and his cashier, W. D. C. Smith, now of Fort Worth, Texas, for damages, should be dismissed. Mr. Smith, it is said, demanded $7,000. This, the Caldwell people nor Mr. Danford were willing to pay. Negotiations with Smith were pending when Mr. Danford was prostrated by his present sickness. We know too little of his affairs to make any statements or even guess as to the future.
The Traveler editor commented:
“We have no objection to the Free Press sympathizing with Mr. Danford in his present condition, but it won’t do to make the ‘brutal mob at Caldwell’ responsible for all the ills Mr. Danford is now suffering. Perhaps if the Press would put on its thinking cap, it might come to the conclusion that Danford’s habits had more to do with his downfall and his sufferings than any action on the part of others. It is the old story, old as Adam and Noah: It was the woman and wine that did it.
Caldwell Commercial, Thursday, December 7, 1882.
Concerning Danford’s condition, who has lost his senses from business troubles and anxieties, so they say, the Wichita Times gets off the following, in which there is more truth than poetry.
“Bosh! Call his disease by its right name and shame the devil. ‘He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.’ Let us not deceive our boys even if we do try to delude ourselves.”
Arkansas City Traveler, December 13, 1882.
J. S. Danford, he of the savory bank fame, has been examined by an eminent medical expert, and pronounced hopelessly insane. Is it consciousness of his misdeeds that has dethroned his reason? Verily, the way of the transgressor is hard. Post.
Caldwell Commercial, Thursday, December 28, 1882.
There will be a meeting of the creditors of the Danford Bank at the Opera Hall at one o’clock p.m., Saturday, January 6, 1883. All creditors are requested to be present.
Arkansas City Traveler, March 21, 1883.
J. S. Danford has sold all his property in Osage City and will probably move to Topeka.

Winfield Courier, April 5, 1883.
A full and complete settlement has just been made between J. S. Danford and the Merchants’ and Drovers’ Bank of Caldwell, Kansas, on the one hand and their creditors on the other. By the terms of this settlement, all the Sumner County property, real and personal, held and owned by J. S. Danford and the Caldwell bank was accepted in full settlement of all claims against them. These claims amounted to nearly $76,000. This is a settlement also of all claims or damages on the part of J. S. Danford, and by its terms he agrees to dismiss the suit for $100,000 now pending in the courts against S. S. Richmond and others. This settlement was effected by Charles Wilsie and J. W. Huey, of Wellington, attorneys for Danford, and W. A. McDonald, of Wellington, attorney on behalf of the creditors.
Caldwell Journal, August 16, 1883.
The Danford property on the corner of Main and Fifth Streets, comprising three store rooms and the Danford Opera House, has been sold for $8,000.
The paper went on to say that the property should have brought in more money.
Caldwell Journal, October 11, 1883.
The Kansas City Times says of an individual whom many of our people remember not in the most kindly spirit:
“Mr. J. S. Danford, a well known banker at Osage City, Kansas, is in the city from Colorado, where he has been prospecting for some time. Mr. Danford has concluded to remove to Washington Territory, where he will engage in active business, establishing a bank at a thriving town in that territory. Mr. Ainsworth, formerly associated with Mr. Danford at Osage City, contemplates accompanying him to the northwest.”
Caldwell Journal, November 29, 1883.
Almost everybody in town has wondered why that safe belonging to the old Merchants’ & Drovers’ Bank had been hauled out to the edge of the sidewalk and allowed to remain in the way of pedestrians. Finally, the other day, the cause was learned. It seems that one of the depositors in the aforesaid bank, being in Wellington at the time Danford was arrested, immediately secured an attachment upon such property as Danford owned in this county not already covered by writs of that kind. The only property found available was that same safe, the vault which held it, and some other fixtures. Under the compromise finally effected with all parties except the chap who attached the safe, etc., that same safe was sold to a party in Wellington. The purchaser had succeeded in getting the safe out of the vault and to the edge of the sidewalk, when the attaching creditor came along and advised him to let the weighty subject alone. On a comparison of notes and a free interchange of ideas, pro and con, the safe was allowed to remain where it was, taking up considerable space, and a constant wonderment, by reason of its position, to the public generally. The safe would make a splendid monument to the confidence of human nature and the banking qualifications of J. S. Danford, and as such it ought to be set up in some prominent place, surrounded by an iron railing and labeled, “Sacred to the Memory of J. S. Danford, who loved (wine and women) not wisely but too well.” Unless some plan of that kind is adopted, the safe will continue to repose on that sidewalk until that insatiate creditor is satisfied.
Arkansas City Traveler, July 16, 1884.

J. S. Danford, of notorious memory in connection with the old Merchants’ and Drovers’ Bank of Caldwell, is attempting to organize a bank at Independence, Oregon; and in response to an inquiry of a citizen of that place as to said J. S. D.’s previous record, the Caldwell Journal, among other pleasantries, founded on fact, says: He defrauded our citizens out of their hard-earned money in a manner that came near causing that gentleman to swing from the end of a rope. He spent the money of the old Merchants’ and Drovers’ Bank in keeping fast women, gambling, and drinking. We warn the people of Oregon against having anything to do with this man, or he will surely defraud them if they deposit their money with him.
Arkansas City Traveler, October 1, 1884.
Everybody in the country remembers Danford, the Caldwell banker, who stole a pile of money from his depositors a few years since. He has again come before the public, this time at Cheney, Washington Territory, where he stole $20,000, and skipped out to Victoria, B. C., from which place he openly defies his victims. He ought to be hung.
Arkansas City Traveler, October 1, 1884.
[From the Wichita Eagle.] It was rumored in town this morning that Dan Ainsworth, of Newton, who went off with the notorious Danford to start a bank in Washington territory, and which bank had promptly failed, had been hung by a mob of swindled depositors. We can’t understand how these people could be so green as to be picked up after J. M. Steele, of this city, published a full history of Danford’s doings in Kansas.
BACK TO C. M. SCOTT...
The March 8, 1882, issue of the Arkansas City Traveler had an ad listing nearly 300 lots in Arkansas City that C. M. Scott was offering for sale. The paper said that Scott was devoting his time and capital to the sheep business.
On May 3, 1882, the Traveler editor, Mr. Standley commented: “Messrs. Scott & Topliff have the boss sheep ranche in this section of country, with sheds and corrals for over 2,500 sheep as well as other conveniences erected at a cost of over $4,000.
“Ourself and Charles H. Burgess, of Buffalo Bill’s Indian Troupe, accompanied C. M. Scott to his sheep ranche last week and partook of fried bacon, strong coffee, eggs, etc., in a style that proved all hands perfectly familiar with ranching.”
Standley informed his readers on June 7, 1882, that he had the pleasure of meeting Mr. J. W. Scott, of Cadiz, Ohio, who was in Arkansas City paying a visit to his son, C. M. Scott. Mr. Scott was returning from a business trip to Texas and dropped in on C. M. as he was return­ing, adding that the old gentleman was more than three score and ten years of age, but yet as spry as most of the young men.
[John Walter Scott was born October 10, 1811. He was 70 years of age when he visited his son, Cyrus McNeely Scott.]
Standley wrote on June 14, 1882, of a visit paid to Geuda Springs.

“On Wednesday of last week, in company with J. W. Scott, of Cadiz, Ohio, and his son, C. M. Scott, we made a flying visit to this new and prosperous burg, which is fast becoming one of the most popular health resorts of the West. Driving along on the east side of the Arkansas River, through a magnificent farming country, now adorned with waving fields of golden grain, in some instances already bending before the harvester, we could not help but feel how glorious a country this was of ours. About four miles up the river, from Arkansas City, as Geuda looms into view, one can hardly realize that a few short months ago the present thriving town did not exist; not even on paper. Crossing the river on the ferry, run by W. V. McCormick, we climbed the river bank and came in full view of the town of Geuda, glistening in the sunshine of a bright June day, about one mile distant. Upon arriving at our destination, and having turned our team over to the care of D. A. McIntire, formerly one of Arkansas City’s liverymen, we looked around with a view to dinner, and were directed to the Hotel run by J. A. Notestine, where we partook of as good a meal as one could wish, but totally unlike the bill of fare we indulged in, on nearly the same spot, ten years since.
“After refreshing the inner man, we took in the town, and an idea of its goaheadativeness will be inferred from the following list of its places of business.
“Our old friend, Jake Musgrove, late of South Haven, has a large store, from which he dispenses Dry Goods, Groceries, and Hardware, and almost opposite his place is a large frame two story Hotel, just completed but not yet occupied.
“A. W. Patterson has also a frame building in the city, which will be occupied next week.
“Mr. Turner is running a Grocery, Flour, and Feed Store.
“J. A. Notestine, the Hotel above mentioned, and James Stiner is also running a Hotel and Restaurant.
“Dr. Cutler and Q. M. Bixler are each engaged in the Drug business.
“Mr. W. N. Hubbell has an Ice-cream and Confectionery establishment, and almost opposite the Bath House we noticed a Photo­graph Gallery, which affords newcomers an opportunity to test the effects of the water upon them by being ‘took’ upon their arrival and at departure.
“Messrs. Ferguson & McIntire have a large and well stocked livery barn, and are doing a lively business, and immediately south of their stable will be found the blacksmith shop of Joe Jolly.
“There are two carpenter shops, one of Allen & Son, and the other is run by M. B. Wilson.
“The Chicago Lumber Co. has also a yard here, which is under the supervision of Mr. Roberts, who was formerly in the lumber yard at this city.
“The tonsorial art is represented by an establishment, and Dr. Griffith has an office in the town.
“The Bath House has been much improved since our last visit, and the work of enclosing the seven wonderful mineral springs, from which the place is rapidly gaining notoriety, is under way. In addition to the places of business, above mentioned, there are some thirty residences on the town site, all of which are occupied.
“Just before leaving, we drove over to the salt works of Mr. James Hill, which we found in active operation under the supervision of T. McIntire, who informed us that he had 100 vats in working order, which, under favorable circumstances, would yield from 15 to 20 barrels per week.
“Business generally was good, and all the townspeople, with whom we talked, were well satisfied with the progress of their city, and fully persuaded of a glorious future in store for them and it.

“Wishing to see as much country as possible, determined our part to drive home through Bolton Township instead of returning by the ferry, and the panorama of agricultural beauty that greeted our eyes on every side must be seen to be appreciated. Wheat in large fields, of golden promise, were to be seen on all sides, together with oats and corn growing splendidly. In some cases, especially on the farms of Messrs. Shurtz and Stiner, the wheat looked, and indeed was, ready for the knife of the reaper, the whirring of whose machinery could occasionally be heard as it swept through the more ripe pieces of grain. The farmers of Bolton Township have, indeed, much to be grateful for, as their lot is evidently cast in one of the best countries out of doors.
“As we drove back into Arkansas City, we could truthfully say that the drive had been one beautiful picture, without a single blemish to mar its brightness.”
Scott’s father departed on the next day for his home in Cadiz, Ohio. Scott went with him as far as Kansas City. Standley said: “Mr. Scott is one of the most pleasant old gentlemen we have ever met, and we hope he may be spared to visit us again.”
[Upon reading the above account of the visit by Standley, C. M. Scott, and Scott’s father to Geuda Springs, I decided it was time to tell the story of Salt City and Geuda Springs. MAW - I have incorporated data from three different files into a condensed version.  July 10, 2000.]
GEUDA SPRINGS GROUND.
First owner: W. J. Walpole.
July 25, 1872. (Filed March 8, 1873) by Patent from the United States of America to W. J. Walpole. Give and grant the Fractional South West Quarter of Section 6, in Township 34 South, of Range 3 East, 156.75 acres.
Second owner: Brainard Goff, Jr.
As applicants for patents often did, Mr. Walpole sold to Brainard Goff, Jr., of Cowley County, Kansas, one-half acre of land near the large salt spring. Somehow a record of this sale was not completed and it was involved in the litigations held of this property in 1916.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, May 15, 1873.
[From the Arkansas City Traveler.]
Last week we saw some of the best salt we have seen in this State, manufactured by Goff & Marshall, of Salt Springs, this county. These gentlemen have their vats in working order, from which they manufacture thirty barrels of salt per week, by evaporation only. As many more vats are being made, they will soon be able to turn out twice as much salt as at present.
Mr. Goff brought into this market yesterday 1,000 pounds of beautiful crystallized salt. All the salt needed in this locality will be furnished from the Salt Springs.
Third owner: I. C. Loomis or W. J. Walpole.
The land was mortgaged in 1872 for $240.00. I. C. Loomis held the mortgage.
W. J. Walpole of Denison, Texas, issued his power of attorney to H. O. Meigs on February 13, 1873. I. C. Loomis and his wife, Harriet R. Loomis, assigned their power of attorney to Samuel Hoyt. Their Mortgage was released March 13, 1873.
In 1873-1874 attorneys representing Walpole, Loomis, and others were busy making loans and releasing mortgages.
From Correspondent at Bolton Township...
Winfield Courier, Thursday, June 26, 1873.

The Salt Springs Manufacturing Company are turning out over fifty bushels of pure white salt each week, which is used exclu­sively by parties in this section of country.
Winfield Courier, July 10, 1874. [From Arkansas City Traveler.]
SALT SPRINGS. Judge Peffer, Col. J. C. McMullen, E. P. Kinne, Mr. Loomis, and several ladies, also the “Special Contrib­utor,” visited the salt works on the 6th. We found Judge McIntire superintendent of the works. Our July sun is doing the handsome thing for these just now, giving a product of a ton per week.
There are also springs containing, apparently, Glauber’s salts and other minerals in solution. We concluded the “warm spring” to be caused by the action of the solar heat.
Winfield Courier, July 17, 1874.
J. T. Hall is going to Salt Springs to start a restaurant.
Winfield Courier, July 24, 1874.
All you who wish to visit the Salt Springs remember that John Austin runs a tri-weekly Hack between this place and that, and you can’t go with a cleverer fellow.
Winfield Courier, July 24, 1874. [Editorial.]
The Salt Springs. In company with W. W. Walton, our efficient county surveyor, who kindly furnished the rig, we tripped over to the Salt Springs last Monday, where we arrived just in time for dinner, of which we were bountifully supplied at the “Mills” House. There we met J. T. Hall, formerly of the Valley House of this place, who expects to do the honors for the new Hotel, which they hope to build in a short time. After dinner we went down to see the “Springs,” which spurt out in a low flat, near the Arkansas River. There we found Judge McIntire and son, busy filling and refilling the vats, in which, by the action of the sun, the brine is crystallized.
There is plenty of salt in the water there; we know for we drank an abundance of it, and one or two of the springs seem to be impregnated with sulphur, for the water tastes just like rotten turkey eggs mixed in wet gun powder. It isn’t considered the most delicious drink in the world; in fact, few strangers take more than a taste, sometimes contenting themselves with the smell. But the people over there are hopeful that a fortune is certainly in store for them, and he would be foolhardy, indeed, who would intimate, to a dweller near the salt marsh, that such is not the case. Yea, better not say, that even gold and silver ore, is not to be found in plenty, when by the aid of machinery the bowels of the earth be properly torn up.
We were shown a handful of black sand by an enthusiastic individual, who insisted that we must have poor eye sight to fail to detect the golden particles mixed therewith.
Winfield Courier, July 24, 1874.
SALT CITY. Todd and Royal of Wichita have bought a quarter section of land near the springs, and expect, so we learned, to bore for coal in a short time. All agree that the coveted anthrax can be found at the trifling distance of from 700 to 1,000 feet.
The town is laid out very nicely on the hill a mile or so south of the Springs. There is one store, one saloon, and one blacksmith shop. The capacity of the works at present is about one ton per week, but it seems to us that it could, with the proper fixtures, be made to turn off 100 ton just as well. We do not predict any very great future for Remanto on account of the Springs alone.
Winfield Courier, September 11, 1874.

Kinne & Meigs purchased one acre near Salt City for $500, containing the sulphur springs. On this acre is a pond of water, from which three different kinds of mineral water can be dipped, which is claimed by persons who have drank and bathed in it, to be very healthy. Press.
Fourth owner: David J. Bright.
On May 11, 1876, W. J. Walpole, by H. O. Meigs, attorney in fact, sold the mortgage to David J. Bright of Cowley County, Kansas, for $516.37.
Note: Beulah Peters Brewer stated that David Bright bought the Geuda Springs land. The Indians would not stay off of the land. Bright soon sold the Geuda Springs land; and again bought it in 1878.
R. L. Walker was the Cowley County Sheriff in 1878. On February 28, 1878, the Winfield Courier printed the following “Real Estate Transfer.”
R. L. Walker to David J. Bright, sw 6, 34, 3, 160 acres, $585.
Note: It is unknown what Bright first obtained when he sold land in 1876.
[Conclusion: Bright was not very bright. MAW]
Fifth owner: Hackney & McDonald.
Winfield Courier, March 7, 1878.
Real Estate Transfer. David Bright and wife to Hackney & McDonald, sw. 6, 34, 3; 159½ acres, $290.
Note: It is apparent from Courier article that Bright lost $295 on the 1878 transaction.
Bright had to hire Hackney & McDonald due to suit with Mary H. Buck.
Hackney & McDonald handled the suit, which started in April 1878. The case was later dismissed.
Winfield Courier, September 26, 1878.
Real Estate Transfer. M. G. Troup, county clerk, to J. Wade McDonald, sw. 6, 34, 3.
[Note: This is same description of David J. Bright Land.]
Reason for interest of Judge J. Wade McDonald...
Winfield Courier, August 1, 1878.
Salt City Mineral Springs. Salt City, fourteen miles southwest of Winfield, on the line between Cowley and Sumner counties, promises to become the Saratoga of Kansas. It has four mineral springs that will become famous. We have known before this that these springs possessed very curious mineral properties, but have paid little attention to the claim that they had medicinal and curative properties of the highest order. But recently events have proved all that has been claimed for them. Several persons seriously afflicted with erysipelas, rheumatism, eruptions, and various cutaneous diseases have visited these springs and by drinking their waters and bathing in them have experienced rapid and wonderful relief.
Among these cases we will mention that of Judge McDonald. He has had a most terrible eruption covering his face, head, and neck with sores, scabs, and pustules, and his face was bleeding in many places. On the 28th ult., he visited the springs and drank and bathed freely. In less than three hours the scabs came off his face and his appearance was wonderfully improved. He has since, for three days, continued to use this water, and now looks and feels like a very different man and has every prospect of a speedy and perfect case.
[OWNER OF SALT CITY: Thomas Royal.]
Winfield Courier, December 5, 1878.

Mr. Thomas Royal, of Salt City, called on us last Saturday, having just arrived. He owns the town site of Salt City and has had it surveyed and platted. He is prepared to sell lots on advantageous terms to settlers. Mr. Royal informs us that large numbers of invalids are coming to Salt City to use the waters of the medicinal springs which are near Salt City, and that the water is proving highly beneficial. Messrs. Hackney & McDonald, of Winfield, who are the proprietors of the Springs, propose putting in tubing for the conveyance of the water to baths and drinking reservoirs. This may yet be a popular resort not only for invalids but for the fashionable world. Wichita Beacon.
Margaret Stallard’s book about the Springs...
“Mr. Hackney and Mr. McDonald were the first to start improvements on the springs. They cleared the area and piped the seven springs into an area with steps leading down to them. They fenced in the 25 foot area where the springs bubbled up. They built a bath house, and covered the springs with a very nice spring house.”
Note: Next item refers to Salt City, Kansas. The town was later called Geuda Springs, Kansas. The town was divided by main street running north and south. On the west side of Main Street, an individual found himself in Sumner County; on the east side of Main Street, an individual found himself in Cowley County. The “springs” were located in Cowley County. MAW
Winfield Courier, June 26, 1879 - Front Page.
SALT CITY, KANS., JUNE 10, 1879. This is the famous salt region of Sumner County. It was laid out by Messrs. Mills and Foster in 1874. It is situated in the southeastern part of the county near the Arkansas River. It is surrounded by some of the best lands of the valley. The farms show that their owners understand their business, as they are well improved and cultivated. The population at the present time is only about fifty. It has a weekly mail, which arrives on Friday. It is very unjust to the people, as it arrives just at the right time to prevent them from receiving the weekly papers until they are at least ten days old. If the date of arrival was on Monday or Tuesday, it would be a vast advantage to them. Something ought to be done for them by the postmaster officials.
The town contains one business house, a drug store, a large blacksmith shop, and two hotels. The great future of the town is in their salt and mineral springs. The salt marsh, as it is called, covers an area of at least ten acres. Salt Creek runs through this marsh, and is fed by hundreds of small springs. The banks of the streams are as white as snow, from salt which covers the ground from one to four or five inches, all along its banks.
The water contains a large percent of salt. A test of four gallons yielded four pounds of salt, and the method of testing was very crude.
D. H. Prouty & Co., have organized themselves into a company for the purpose of developing the springs and establishing works. Another company has been formed to prospect for coal. It is believed that a coal formation underlays the whole section of the country. The funds for the prospecting are being raised by subscription. The company have agreed to sink a shaft 600 feet for $800. If coal is found, the future of the salt company is assured. It is assured any way as soon as the railroad penetrates this county.
The large thing for this place is its mineral springs. There are a great many of them, and they are already known to contain medicinal properties of the highest order.

Messrs. Hackney & McDonald, of Winfield, own the largest of the springs. They have sent water out of the springs to two or three different parties for analysis.
Sixth owner: C. R. Mitchell and A. A. Newman.
Arkansas City Traveler, August 20, 1879.
Yesterday Hackney & McDonald perfected the sale of their Salt Springs land. The farm consisted of 159 acres of land, on which are situated the famous mineral springs, and was sold to C. R. Mitchell, of Arkansas City, for the sum of $4,000. Messrs. Hackney & McDonald have held the lands some eighteen months, and make a clear profit of $3,500 on the sale. We congratulate them upon their good fortune. Telegram.
These famous springs are now owned in partnership by C. R. Mitchell and A. A. Newman, of this place. They are both shrewd businessmen, have plenty of capital at their command, and if they don’t make three or four times $3,500 out of this venture, you may have our hat. Bob and Al. seldom make much noise, but they know a good thing when they see it.
From Stallard book:
“On August 18, 1879, Clinton R. Mitchell and Mary E. Mitchell, his wife, sold to Albert A. Newman an undivided one-half of the entire quarter for $3,000.
“Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Newman had several mortgages on the land and continued making improvements. They built a bath house, cemented the floor of the spring area, and built a two-story building over them.
[CORRESPONDENT “H. P. M” - Mrs. Mansfield of Winfield.]
Winfield Courier, September 18, 1879.
SNOW HILL, SALT CITY, KS., Sept. 12th, 1879.
Yesterday Mitchell and Newman came up with shovels, forks, rods, and pipes, to play in the springs, and upon drawing an auger attached to a rod 20 feet long from a spring which had the old pipe, stones were thrown out as large as a goose-egg, which had every appearance of having been melted by extreme heat. What these gentlemen will accomplish they themselves do not know, but it will take a small fortune to employ competent men to put things in order, to make a paying investment. Then look out for a nickle a glass for this medicinal water. Better all come this year, while you can pitch your tent anywhere, wear calico dress­es, dispense with cosmetics, shoot birds, and romp to your heart’s content.
Arkansas City Traveler, October 22, 1879.
Newman and Mitchell are erecting a handsome bath house at their mineral springs in Salt City, and in another year there will be a grand rush to that favorite resort.
[REPORT FROM “RUDY” IN SALT CITY.]
Winfield Courier, January 15, 1880.
Mitchell & Newman still continue to bring forward material for the improvement of the springs, and whenever the weather will permit, are at work.
Arkansas City Traveler, March 10, 1880.

Salt City is expecting the boom in the near future. Consid­erable improvements are underway, among which is the new hotel building of Messrs. Mitchell & Newman, of this city. These gentlemen are making extensive preparations for the accommodation of a large number of guests who annually visit the mineral springs at that place to partake of the health restoring quali­ties of those wonderful waters.
Arkansas City Traveler, April 21, 1880.
Mr. Mitchell is giving his attention to improving his property at Salt City, which he expects to have in readiness for the accommodation of a large number of guests who will visit those wonderful, health-restoring springs during the season.
Arkansas City Traveler, April 28, 1880.
Rudolph Hoffmaster has rented the Star Restaurant to Mrs. Finney, who will carry on the business henceforth. Mr. Hoffmaster and family have removed to the Salt Springs and are now in charge of the Newman & Mitchell bath rooms at that place.
Arkansas City Traveler, April 28, 1880.
Picnic at Geuda Springs.
Life’s chequered path is full of woe and perils beset us wherever we go.
The above is apropos of an adventure which befell a party of ladies and gentlemen from this city who were enjoying a picnic in the immediate vicinity of the sanatorium and baths recently built by Newman & Mitchell on the borders of that modern Siloam—Salt Springs. The dramatis personae at this matinee were Mrs. Hutchins, of Iowa, Mrs. Bonsall, Mr. and Mrs. T. C. Bird, and several visitors from Ohio, who one and all did themselves very much proud by the manner in which they rendered their respective parts of this serio-comic escapade.
All were comfortably seated around the orthodox picnic board and reveling in the natural beauties of this classic spot, yet not so absorbed as to prevent them enjoying the goodly comestibles, which were rapidly disappearing before appetites sharpened by a three hours’ ride in a Kansas zephyr.
Suddenly their affrighted gaze beheld a cloud of inky black­ness, here and there rent by forked tongues of flame, which rushing forward with frightful velocity seemed to hiss and crackle in anticipation of the holocaust about to be offered up. The wildest confusion ensued; gentlemen rushed frantically to the rescue of their teams, while the ladies grabbed promiscuously for queensware and rent the air with shrieks of dire distress. ‘Tis always darkest just before dawn, and so in this case, when hope had almost fled and the inevitable was about to be accepted, the raging element sprang towards its prey, but the grass gave out and it sank to rise no more.
Lunch was resumed and each one admitted that collectively there had been somewhat of a scare but insisted that individually it required something more than an ordinary prairie fire to make them start.
[REPORT FROM “MY WIFE AND I” RE SALT CITY.]
Arkansas City Traveler, Wednesday, May 12, 1880.
Salt City has improved wonderfully during the last six months. Several new buildings have been erected in that time. Berkey’s large stone is nearing completion, and Newman & Mitchell’s bath house would be an ornament to Saratoga. New people are seen on our streets daily, some investing, and others rusticating in the suburbs, where Mr. Hoffmaster, formerly of your city, ministers to their comfort.
Arkansas City Traveler, July 14, 1880.
Go to your druggist for Geuda Springs water.

Arkansas City Traveler, July 14, 1880.
The Geuda Springs water is now delivered in town regularly twice a week, and is being extensively consumed by our citizens.
Arkansas City Traveler, July 14, 1880.
Mr. Berkey, of Salt City, was in town last Friday. He purchased the counters and shelves in Mantor’s former store room for his store at the famed Geuda Springs.
Arkansas City Traveler, July 14, 1880.
We understand that a certain bath house in Winfield, claim­ing solely to use the famous Geuda Springs water for bathing purposes, has had its supplies shut down in consequence of the fact that only one load of water has been consumed by it in the past two months. While the proprietors are willing that all persons desirous of giving the water a fair show shall have the same in unlimited quantities, yet they are decidedly opposed to encouraging any such fraud as the above, which not only works an injury to the public using their baths, but will ultimately bring discredit upon the Springs, whose waters, as thousands upon thousands can testify from their own experience, possess such wonderful health-imparting and curative powers.
Arkansas City Traveler, July 21, 1880.
George Russell now brings the Geuda Springs water from Salt City. He makes two trips each week, and all who wish may obtain it fresh from the drug stores at this place.
Arkansas City Traveler, July 28, 1880. Front Page.
[From the Topeka Commonwealth.]
Geuda is a Ponca word, meaning healing waters. The springs, eight in number, and all different, are near Salt City, in Sumner County, Kansas. The nearest railroad is Arkansas City, about eight miles southeast of the Springs, although they are within a circle formed through Arkansas City, Winfield, Oxford, Welling­ton, and Hunnewell, all railroad towns. The proprietors, Messrs. Newman and Mitchell, of Arkansas City, have erected a commodious and tasteful bath house at the Springs, and the place is begin­ning to be quite a resort for the ailing. Some remarkable cures of catarrh, rheumatism, and cutaneous diseases are related. There are always camps of invalids in the vicinity. When the analysis is completed, the Commonwealth will probably have more to relate.
[Note: The Topeka Commonwealth was mistaken as to the location of the springs. They were in Cowley County. MAW]
Arkansas City Traveler, April 20, 1881.
We are under obligations to Hon. C. R. Mitchell, one of the proprietors of the Geuda Springs, for complimentary tickets to their elegant baths, now completed and in good order at the above Springs. These waters have undeniably great medical virtues which we shall take much pleasure in testing in our own proper person.
Winfield Courier, May 5, 1881.
Hon. C. R. Mitchell came up Friday and exhibited several views of his salt lake and bathhouse. He has been making many valuable improvements and adding many conveniences for those who are seeking relief from disease at the springs.
Arkansas City Traveler, July 20, 1881.
An item by correspondent calling himself “Gold Dust” appears next...

SALT CITY, JULY 15TH, 1881. Hon. C. R. Mitchell, of Arkansas City, was over on Monday last, and says he will soon commence work on his hotel at this place. This is what we want bad. GOLD DUST.
Arkansas City Traveler, August 3, 1881.
The people of Cowley, Sumner, and adjoining counties are just wakening up to the fact that the “Geuda Mineral Springs,” near Salt City, Kansas, are fast becoming quite a popular health resort. The history of these springs is, that the s. w. ¼ of Sec. 6, R. 34, Tp. 3, on the west line of Cowley County, was purchased of the government by a Mr. Walpole when the Osage lands first came into market, supposing it to be quite valuable on account of a large salt marsh and some very clear water springs that were on the land, since which time the land has passed through several hands.
The quarter section opposite this tract was at about the same time purchased by other parties for the famous salt spring on that tract, and for over two years salt was manufactured there, but on account of the vats being constructed of inferior lumber, and because there was no transportation for the salt produced, the manufacture was abandoned until this summer, when James Hill & Co. got a ten year’s lease of the land and have commenced to manufacture again, and the salt produced is of the very best quality, equal to any salt we have ever seen, and it is claimed that the water produces 1-3/4 pounds to the gallon, being equal to the great Syracuse salt well, at Syracuse, New York, heretofore claimed to be the strongest salt water in the world.
Messrs. Hill & Co. are under contract to manufacture 500,000 pounds of this salt the coming year, and at least 1,000,000 per year for the balance of the term of their lease.
As the water is almost inexhaustible, the prospects for an extensive salt manufactory appears to be good.
Seventh owner: Clinton R. Mitchell.
“On September 13, 1881, Albert A. Newman and Mary M. Newman, his wife, sold to Clinton R. Mitchell his undivided one-half of the property for $10,000.” [Stallard.]
Newman sold back to Mitchell his share for $10,000. This left Mitchell the sole owner of land except for the one-half acre Mr. Walpole sold to Mr. Goff in 1871 so that Goff could make salt.
[GEUDA SPRINGS.]
Arkansas City Traveler, September 14, 1881.
[From Winfield Daily Telegram.]
C. R. Mitchell has lately bought out the interest of A. A. Newman, and is now making arrangements to build a sanitarium. A gentleman from Illinois is in Chicago purchasing the material for ten cottages; other parties are making arrangements to put up a good hotel.
Arkansas City Traveler, October 19, 1881.

There is an old man with a very bad countenance prowling around here, of whom the inquiry is again and again made: “Who is he?” and “what is he up to?” Every now and then rumors reach us from afar off, which if they do not tell us who he is, give a pretty good idea of what he is probably trying to do. The first sight of him arouses a suspicion which every rumor confirms. This merciless old sinner seems to make it his general business to prey upon the mistakes and misfortunes of his fellow man. He worms around the dusty records of the past, hunts up flaws in old titles that honest men and innocent purchasers may have to their homes, buys the claim, whatever it may be, for a mere trifle, and deliberately goes to work to financially ruin the equitable owner of the premises and turn him out from his home and fireside. His later actions indicate that when he can’t find a flaw in a title, he does not hesitate to try to make one, or to create some kind of a dispute out of which he may make some money. Such a man is, in our opinion, meaner than a sneak thief, and far more contempt­ible. Such appear to be the characteristics of the strange old creature, who is now plying his favorite trade in the neighbor­hood of Salt City and Geuda Springs.
This old simpleton is now trying to run a line, which, were it possible to adopt, would put Geuda Springs on the quarter section west, changing the title to most of the buildings in Salt City, as well as changing the lines to many of the farms in Bolton and Walton townships for two or three miles on either side of the county line, and wrest thousands of dollars of improve­ments from the parties who have made and now own them.
You ask what business has he there? None whatever. He does not, we believe, even claim to own a foot of land, or one dollar’s worth of improvements in that vicinity. He probably imagines that he can scare Bob Mitchell and the citizens of Salt City into paying him some money to desist from annoying them. He has probably heard that the survey lines are more or less crook­ed, which may all be true, for there are but very few lines, either in Cowley or Sumner counties, that are straight for a distance of four consecutive miles; in fact, many of them are as crooked as a worm fence, but still they are Government lines, were so made by the Government surveyors, and there is no power to change them now, even if a desire existed (which it does not) among the owners generally that they should be so changed. In fact, we understand a severe penalty is attached to moving Government corners. We have taken the trouble to inquire into this affair as much as possible, and find the people are united in the opinion that the county line is correct as now laid out, and that the same has been surveyed by Orville Smith, a former County Surveyor of Sumner County, an ex-Government surveyor, thoroughly proficient in his profession, and one of the most honest men we know of. Several persons still reside in the vicinity who were present at the time the lines were run by the Government survey­ors, and one of the parties who helped make the Government survey is still a resident in that neighborhood. All these are a unit in saying the corners are still where they were put by the Government surveyors. Such being the case, we think the owners need give themselves no uneasiness on account of any blackmailing scheme that may be set on foot in this or any other manner.
Some of the Salt City people think that there are one or two other parties who have been induced to wink approvingly at this scheme, at least until they saw the odium with which the proceed­ing was regarded by the people at large. The object sought was to prevent the erection of buildings at Salt City and Geuda Springs, and raising a question as to the lines seemed the most ready way to gain that end. We hardly believe such to be the case, as we doubt whether Cowley or Sumner possesses a citizen mean enough to stoop to such a contemptible trick.

What kind of a critter one must be, who, without having any interest at stake himself, or any good reason for it, will deliberately try to injure a whole community, is beyond our comprehension, and how long a law abiding people will patiently submit to such scoundrelism is also a question. If there is not, there ought to be, a law that would give the man who attempts to perpetrate such a villainous outrage a good long term in the penitentiary. Mob law is never justifiable, and we hope will never be resorted to in this section, but if that old man ever disturbs a Government corner in this State, we are in favor of giving him all that the law will allow.
We understand this man claims to live in Chicago. He is about six feet in height, light complexion, weighs probably some 300 pounds, and goes by the name of Palmer here.
We do not anticipate anyone hereabouts will be scared into paying him anything on account of this trick, but we deem it advisable to apprize other communities of his mode of obtaining money so they may be prepared to checkmate his little game. If we are any hand at reading the signs of the times as interpreted by the light in which this fellow’s maneuvers are viewed by the residents of Salt City and vicinity, we think an immediate trip to Chicago, bag and baggage, would be far more conducive to the general health of this old busybody than a longer sojourn at Geuda Springs. Take our advice, skip to a clime which knows you not, mend your dissipated ways, try to earn an honest living, and you will feel better and be more respected by your neighbors.
Arkansas City Traveler, October 19, 1881.
Dr. C. Perry started for this city last Monday to superintend the erection of the cottages at Geuda Springs. Five of these residences were shipped from Chicago on the 13th inst.
Winfield Courier, October 20, 1881.
Col. Palmer, the gentleman who is managing the Geuda Springs survey was in the city Friday. He is very reticent on the subject of the Springs.
Winfield Courier, November 3, 1881.
A railroad company has been organized to build a road from Arkansas City to Geuda Springs and westward. The directors are H. B. Pruden of Ohio, J. W. Devoire, of Indiana, W. P. Hackney, James Huey, Maj. O’Gradey, C. R. Mitchell, and W. M. Berkey, of Cowley County. The capital stock is $250,000 in shares of $100 each.
SALT CITY BECOMES GEUDA SPRINGS.
The transition from “Salt City” to “Geuda Springs” took place in 1882. The article below gives a clue as to this event happening...
Arkansas City Traveler, February 22, 1882. Editorial Page.
A NEW TOWN. GEUDA SPRINGS, KANSAS.
[Correspondence of K. C. Journal.]
HUNNEWELL, KAS., FEB. 9. As your valuable paper, although published in Missouri, is eminently a Kansas paper, I take it for granted that any items of interest from our State will be acceptable to your numerous readers.
We have a new town springing up here in Sumner and Cowley coun­ties, for the county line runs through the town, that bids fair to make quite a sensation in the next twelve months.

I mean the new town of Geuda Springs, formerly Salt City. The new town is springing up like magic. Already some twenty-five new houses have been built within the past few months, and some fifty others contracted to be finished by the 1st of April. A $10,000 stock company has been formed to erect a large and commodious hotel. The foundation for the new sanatarium, a large, three story stone building, which is de­signed as a hotel, bath house, etc., for invalids has been laid, and a number of other large buildings will be commenced soon. The medical qualities of the water have been thoroughly tested, and is pronounced the best in the country. A number of patients who have tested these waters and those of Eureka Springs, Ark., pronounce those of Geuda Springs far superior to the former.
One of the most singular features of these springs is the fact that there are several distinct springs; all large and affording an abundance of water, not four feet distant one from the other, and all of different mineral qualities.
The famous Sumner County [Cowley County] salt works are here, and in a few years the manufacture of salt at this place will be an important industry.
About 160 yards from the springs is a large salt spring. The proprietors have put a large iron tube in this, which throws the water up some six feet. It is the intention to fix here for a regular plunge bath, where the visitor can take a genuine ocean swim.
Just in front of the springs, and some fifty yards distant, commences a beautiful lake, which extends for a mile and a half, where the pleasure of boat riding can be indulged in to the fullest extent. A beautiful carriage drive extends along the lake; trees are being set out on both sides of the drive. In fact, no place in the country offers so many inducements for either the invalid or the pleasure seeker as this.
Heretofore there have been no accommodations of any kind, but now numerous cottages are being built. Dr. Perry has just finished ten handsome cottage houses, which are all spoken for. He will build ten more at once. These, with the new hotels and other accommodations, it is thought, will be ample to accommodate the vast number of visitors who are expected at the springs the coming season. Hon. C. R. Mitchell, who has had the direct management of the improvement, has been indefatigable in his labors, and his work now begins to show.
Of course we, of Sumner County, are proud of anything that adds to the wealth and prosperity of our county, and it is with no little pride that we hail the new town that is now springing up like magic in our midst. VERITAS.
FROM SALT CITY TO GEUDA SPRINGS.
From Margaret Russell Stallard book on Geuda Springs:
Prior to July 29, 1871: Location known as “Remanto.” Since then it has popularly been called Salt City. This name was given to the town because of the fact that it was located near numerous salt springs, which are now proving a source of great profit.
The pioneers of all that section drew upon the brine of these springs for their supply of salt, which they obtained by boiling or evaporation.
Visits by Indians to Geuda Springs.
Page 50, Stallard Book.
“Long before the settlement of Kansas by the white man and while the Indian and the buffalo were the only occupants of the prairies along the southern border of the state, the medicinal virtues of these waters were known to the Osages and Poncas in whose territory they were located, and from the information that was transmitted to other tribes, who came in large companies from long distances to drink at the springs and be healed. In the Ponca tongue they were called Ge-u-da-ne, the first three syllables meaning healing, and the fourth and last meaning waters.

“At that time and in fact for many years after the first white settlers arrived, the different springs were not separated, but flowed in one common stream into a large circular pool, or as one of the ‘oldest’ describes it, mud hole, and while of course, in those primitive days no analysis had ever been made of the waters they were known to cure rheumatism and stomach trouble, both of which ailments of civilization were known to the aborigines. Exposure and dampness brought rheumatism and over-feeding, indigestion to the Indian of that period as surely as they do to his pale-face brother of the present, and the water was used for both drinking and bathing. The Osages, Sac and Fox, Kiowas, Comanches, Cheyennes, Arapahos, Cherokees, and Poncas were frequent visitors, each tribe having a different name in their own language for the springs, but all meaning the same thing, ‘healing’ or ‘curing.’
“The first whites to see these springs were a party of buffalo hunters who in March 1867 came upon a band of nearly five hundred Osage Indians camped near them and using the water in many ways, apparently for medicinal purposes. These hunters tried the waters themselves and discovered they had a different taste from most water and not altogether pleasant, and no further investigations were made at that time, although the location of the springs and their use by the Indians were reported by the party in many towns in the eastern part of the state. (This tradition has been accepted by most historians.
“Being so far from the nearest settlements, they were, however, neglected, perhaps forgotten until in 1870, when W. J. Walpole, a civil engineer, finding several salt-beds and springs in addition to the mineral springs on the quarter section, filed upon the land and in July, 1872, proved up on it as a pre-emption. The Indians continued to camp at the springs to use the waters and get salt, but interpreters being scarce, little attention was paid and the land was sold several times and finally bought by Messrs. Hackney and McDonald, attorneys of Winfield, they paying $500.00 for them.
“Mr. McDonald, having been cured of a serious skin disease by the use of the water, was  responsible for the purchase. Other patients having been treated beneficially, A. A. Newman and C. R. Mitchell, being convinced of its value, purchased the springs, paying $4,000 for them. Mr. Mitchell is still a resident of the town. The original town site was laid out and platted in 1872, half a mile south of the present town and was named Remanto after Earnest Reiman, who platted it.
“A short time after a company was formed to manufacture salt from the numerous springs just north of the lake in which a number of men were interested, among them Goff, Marshall, Taylor, and Mitchell, under the name of Goff & Company, Timothy McIntire being the manager. Wells were sunk and the solar process used, and one hundred and ten vats built, giving an output of twenty barrels per day of the article which was sold to the settlers and used by them for their stock. There being, however, a demand for table salt, McIntire procreated a coffee-mill; and with this primitive appliance, the crystals were ground to a fineness that made it suitable for table use. The new industry was considered of sufficient importance to rechristen the town, and accordingly it was replatted and called Salt City. Settlers attracted by the curative properties of the water, kept purchasing land and settling to the north of the original town, which had by this time three or four stores and a hotel, until in 1880 (1882) the land south of the lake was platted and the town named Geuda Springs.

“The first building on the new town was erected by an Indian woman of the Sac & Fox tribe and now forms a part of the Central Avenue house. Central Avenue running north and south is the dividing line between Sumner and Cowley counties, though all of the business portion of the place is located on the west side of the street and is consequently in Sumner County. Besides this, the portion on the west side is incorporated: has a mayor and city council, with good sidewalks, and other improvements, while that on the east is merely village.
“The Frisco, now known as the Kansas Southwestern, was built through the town in 1886, and located its depot at the site of the original town, one block west and half a mile south of the center of the business portion of the new Geuda. As a result, the street running north from the depot is built up with residences for nearly the entire distance and the school house is located on ‘the Hill’ about midway between the two. The mayor of Geuda Springs at the present time is W. C. Smith and the following are members of the city council: J. M. Nester, M. H. Nelson, H. C. Seanor, U. S. Bricker, Albert Arnold, C. C. Woodside, clerk, and J. H. Smith, treasurer. The business buildings that were originally put up in the old town (Salt City) near the depot, have all been moved up to the new business street or to other towns until now there are no stores in that locality, and the building originally used as a hotel is now occupied as a residence.
“The first bath house was built immediately after the purchase by Hackney and McDonald, a two-story frame building, which was later removed and is now used for the bottling works, and a fine new spring house built, two stories in height, with a basement of stone. The latter has a cement floor and here the springs are located, seven in number, all coming from the ground within a space of 20 x 30 feet and all entirely different and distinct, as their chemical analysis shows. In addition to the seven springs there is a salt spring only about sixty feet from the others and a short distance from this two new springs have recently been discovered, one sulphur and one iron.
MORE INFORMATION ON C. M. SCOTT...
In early August 1882 the Traveler printed a report from the correspondent of the Cheyenne Agency paper, Transporter.
“Capt. C. M. Scott, of Arkansas City, made us a call while on his rounds through the nation, this week. Capt. Scott has a thorough knowledge of Indians and Indian matters, and understands the situation of affairs about as well as any Kansas man we know of, and his quiet and gentlemanly bearing makes him friends everywhere, with both Indians and whites, and he has become very popular throughout the west. The Captain’s many friends, as well as ourselves, were highly gratified to meet him, from which he will always receive a cordial reception at this Agency.”
The Traveler printed a number of ads in August 1882 relative to stock for sale by either C. M. Scott or Scott & Topliff.
“Ponies and Horses. I have fifty head of well broken Indian ponies and Texas saddle and work horses that will be sold at a bargain. They can be seen at my sheep ranche 4 miles south and 2 miles east of Arkansas City, on the line of Indian Territory. C. M. Scott.”
“Merino Rams. We have 25 head of full-blood Merino Lambs, for sale. Scott & Topliff.”
Scott also advertised for 2,000 bushels of new corn to be delivered by January 1, 1883.
Scott & Topliff put in an ad September 6th that they wanted 1,000 Rails and 250 Posts delivered to their Sheep Ranche within 30 days.

On September 13, 1882, the Traveler reported about a fire on the evening of Saturday, September 9th, at the Scott & Topliff ranch, located on the State line six miles southeast of Arkansas City.
“Some dastardly villain set fire to the stables, which were connected with the sheep sheds and a large quantity of hay. However, owing to a fortunate change in the direction of the wind, the fire was kept under control and beyond the loss of the stables and a considerable damage to the sheep sheds, no great loss resulted. The loss is covered by insurance.” The paper reported a week later that the agent of the old substantial Fire and Marine Insurance Company, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was on the ground and paid the gentle-men the full amount of their loss, amounting to more than $150.”
The matter was not ended there! On September 27, 1882, the Traveler reported the following: “Scott & Topliff’s sheep ranche, on the State line, six miles from Arkansas City, was fired again last Sunday evening just after sundown, in the same manner and at about the same hour that it was fired two weeks ago. Both gentlemen went over and before morning had the guilty party, who acknowledged the crime, and on account of his age, was permitted to have his liberty. It is understood, and the boy states it, that he was influenced by other parties, and did it under promise of reward.”
Scott and Topliff had problems in getting reliable men to work. They needed hands to help at the ranch in general work and in haul stone from a nearby quarry.
They shipped a carload of wool from Arkansas City on October 11, 1882, their first clip for the year.
On December 6, 1882, the Traveler printed a lengthy article on “Sheep in the West.”
“Thousands of sheep will be driven this fall to cheap corn in Kansas and Missouri for wintering, and back again to summer pasturage in other States.
“Large capitalists are prepar­ing cattle ranches upon a more secure method for future handling. To do this will necessitate the owning of lands, and the estab­lishing of homes, where com­forts and culture may surround the owners of attendants of the flocks. It is the right way, and the sooner adopted by the wool-growers of the South and West, the better. It has been evident to observers that flocks and herds have to go further out, year by year, to find pasturage. Some ranges are left as untenable, but subdued and ready for fencing and tame grasses, that, with another system of handling, would support more and better im­proved flocks than the wild grasses ever did.”
“Acting on this plan, and idea, our fellow townsman, C. M. Scott, formerly editor of this paper, has purchased twenty-five hundred acres of land in one body, twelve miles east of this place, and will fence and improve it. C. M. Scott proposes to feed his stock during the winter and shelter them from the storms. To do this he will put in about one hundred acres of rye for winter pasture, and leave the corn stalks in the fields, besides having hay and straw at convenient places. The enter­prise is bound to succeed, and we predict his example will be followed by many stockmen.”
Scott ran into many problems trying to make the sheep ranch work. The worst problem of all: extremely cold winters set in! He definitely made a mistake in trying to raise sheep.

Scott’s diary reflects his inner turmoil. On July 24, 1883, he commented: “I will be 35 years old in about four months. I am not satisfied with my kind of life. Have everything I want. I'm worth nearly $20,000, but I am not contented. I have no companion. NO associate. I am not contented enough to read.”
Soon after he met Miss Maggie Gardner, married, and raised a family. [The Scott Family story is told in the Indian book.]
Arkansas City Traveler, February 24, 1886.
C. M. Scott looms up as the inventor of an instantaneous stock marker for marking cattle, sheep, or hogs by placing a nickel plated button or washer in the ear stamped with the number and owner’s address. It is conceded by all who have seen it to be the neatest and best marker made. It is now being manufactured by his brother, R. P. Scott, 67 German St., Baltimore, and will soon be placed on the market, at which time we will have more to say of it.