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11 ZADOCK MARTIN.
he shouldered his rifle. called his dogs. and went game-hunting.
His negroes had cabins scattered around on his lands and were
ready at all hours to do him feudal service.
. ]( DST-( )Il H F.
May 29. ]8.8A post-office was established at Fort l.eae11~
worth, and Philip 1. Rand was the first postmaster. 1reiousy,
tl1e officers and menreceived their mails at Liberty.
STATEMENTS OF WOODS AND BERRY
Adam C. Woods and -James H. Be11y were citizens of Clay i11
1829. and frequentl visited the Fort. They saw the soldiers
eo11st111etii11g their quarters of hewed logs. and their stables of
round cottonwood trees. The (anto111ne11t aorded a market for
the surplus produce of the west half of (la). ll1ere were no
Indians in Platte. A few Iowas were at Bla eksnake Hills. and at
Agency, in I-int-lianan. The best-k11ow11 officers at tl1e Fort were
Maj. Riley and (ols. Sumner. Harvey. a11d Kear11e.
THE FALLS OF PLATTE
Mr. Geo. B. Duncan says: I travelled the new road from
Barry to Fort Leavenworth. by way of the Falls. in autumn of
1828. The road iii the timber was very 1-ou;:l1. e crossed the
Platte between the upper and the lower falls. which were about 2
perpendicular feet each. a11 about 200 feet apart. The interim
was a gently inclined plane. for111ed of large flat rocks. divided
into parallelogramss by seams, 4 to 6 inches wide. They extended
from shore to shore, and when the river was full. a sheet of water.
with flume-like rapidity. descended over them. When low. the
surface of the rocks was bare, and the noisy water rippled through
the seams. The natural fall. before the dam was built. was about
6 feet."
1829.
FORT LEAVENWORTH, PRICES, GAME, etc
Mr. Duncan eontinues: In the fall of 1829, Riee Davenport
and my father. James Duncan. sold a lot of bacon to the quarter-
master at the Fort for 1:, cents per pound. I drove the team.
We crossed the Missouri in a. flat-boat. constructed at Liberty.
and brought up the river by a steam-boat. Two yoke of oxen
were first taken over. and then the wagon. .et pork. in 1.929.
sold for 75 eents per hundred; horses brought $15 to $20. oxen per
yoke $30. a11d largze steers $10. . purchaser of horses took :1 lot
to Ohio. I 111ade two trips to Ohio as a di-over. .fter selling our
horses, I retur11ed on foot. Ve often Visited the llatte te1ritorV.
hunting deer and bees. Both were abu11da11t. Ren (orneis was
the champion bee-l111nter. He often camped o11 Ree (1-eek. a11d
gave it its name. One fall I killed one hundred :1 nd twenty deer.
There were no buffaloes on this side of the .Iissoi1ri. I never saw
but one elk. and that was after it was killed. meswax was a