Capt. Hinton is writing a history of the Kansas Regiments.
A large distillery is to be erected in this city, or vicinity, in the Spring.
The mail failed to arrive at Dresden in time for the stage, consequently no eastern mail was received by that route yesterday.
A gold hunter's meeting has been called at Topeka for the purpose of forming an organization of those who intend going to the mines in the Spring.
A few of the cases mentioned in the Court Martial proceedings this morning have appeared in our paper before. In publishing the proceedings in full they are repeated.
Owing to the state of the roads a portion of the Dramatic Company who were expected last night, were detained. The performance will therefore be postponed until Monday night.
We took a look through the Ordnance store room the other day and found there quite a number of objects of interest. Besides the serviceable arms to be furnished to the troops as they may be needed, Major Ransom has in his keeping a great lot of worn out and worthless pieces. Some of them were put in the hands of the soldiers when the war first broke out because the Government could obtain no others. Some of them were patent rifles, which on trial were not found valuable. We noticed a lot of the Austrian rifles, bought by Fremont. The purchase of these rifles was harped upon by his enemies as a fraudulent speculation. They are carbines having a very large bore and requiring, of course, a very large cartridge. They were doubtless better than no guns, but our soldiers would not be satisfied with such guns at present. Hall's carbines are breach loaders. The soldier who was politely showing them to us remarked that they were more dangerous to the man who fired them than to the enemy. The joints are so open that when fired the escaping gas is almost sure to burn the soldier's hands. A thousand of the Enfield rifles captured from the rebels at Vicksburg were sent to Maj. Ransom. As is well known, they are English rifles, furnished to the rebs by blockade runners. They are very much like our Springfield rifles and are perhaps as good an arm of the kind as there is in the service. Many of the rifles bear the names of the rebels who carried them and the companies and regiments to which the y belonged. Some of the names are branded on in a neat, tasty manner, while others are cut in with a jack knife in broad sprawling letters. Other guns of various description are among the stores. Everything about the Ordnance office and store rooms has been kept in a manner creditable to the officer and his assistance, who have them in charge.
