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KANSAS
A Cyclopedia of State History , Embracing Events,
Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities,
Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc.
Edited by
FRANK W. BLACKMAR. A. M., Ph. D.
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME I
WITH A SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME DEVOTED
TO SELECTED PERSONAL HISTORY
AND REMINISCENCE
ILLUSTRATED
'^'"^ STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY
^, / CHICAGO
Copyright 1912
by
Standard Publishing Company.
131G237
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIOISrS
Page
Agricultural College 34
Steam Plow in Action 48
Display of Agricultural Products 53
Beecher's Island 97
Baker University 130
Battleship Kansas 159
Bethany College 177
State School for the Blind 192
John Brown Monument 242
Campbell College 275
Old Capitol at Pawnee 283
State Capitol at Topeka 285
Council Oak at Council Grove 461
State School for the Deaf 496
\Veather Building at Dodge City 524
State Hospital for Epileptics 595
State Home for Feeble Minded 635
Fort Riley 669
Old Guard House at Fort Scott 672
Old Government Building, Fort Scott 673
Geological Section 733
P'awnee Indians — Father and Son 905
Boys' Industrial School 934
Girls' Industrial School 935
INTRODUCTION
Perhaps no other conimoiuvealth admitted into the Union during
the last half of the last century has a greater historical interest than
Kansas. Born in the storm and stress period of national political
controversy, cradled in the tumult of civil war, and reared to full state-
hood in an era unparalleled in the arts of peace, the life of Kansas has
been one of intense activity. Carved out of territory once known as
part of the Great American Desert, by the industry of her people it
has become one of the most productive and wealthy states of the Union
in proportion to "its popidation. From the political unrest of the early
life has sprung a people alive to progressive forms of government.
Alert in educational affairs, from the beginning her schools have been
monuments of the greatness of her people; interested in the justice
and equity of human relationship, lier laws for securing human rights
in political, industrial and social order are among tlie most enlightened
in the land.
To write a history of such a state, to unravel all of its political
entanglements, to carry forward the political and industrial develop-
ment through border war, civil war, Indian depredations, drought and
failure, to tinal achievement of a great commonwealth is a serious task.
To such a task those who have been engaged in the preparation of
this work have devoted their best energy and most faithful service.
It would be almost impossible to make such a history of achievement
covering such a wide range of subjects in consecutive narration and
at the same time make it usable for those for whom it was intended.
F'or this reason the alphabetical order of topics has been chosen. By
this method information on any subject from the administration of a
governor or the development of a constitution to an historical incident
or the founding of a small town may be obtained with facility. And
in the presentation of the material in this form it has been necessary
to omit all political controversies, to avoid all comparison of judgment
and relate the simple facts of how it all came about.
However, all those who wish to have a consecutive history of political
events need only to follow the history of the separate administrations
of the governors from Reeder to Stubbs and they will find a continued
history of the political development of Kansas. And if this be supple-
mented by the perusal of separate articles such as those of the Louisiana
Purchase, the Missouri Compromise, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, Squatter
Sovereignty, the development of constitutional conventions, finance,
taxation and the important reform measures under their respective titles
IXTRODUCTIOX
he may have a history and philosophy of the building of a state. The
value of this may be enhanced by reading the brief biographies of the
people who have been most in the limelight as leaders in the building
of Kansas. In the preparation of these brief biographies one cannot
help but reflect upon the fact that after all the rank and file of the peo-
ple, each one performing his duty in his proper place, made Kansas.
Those men and women who endured the hardships of pioneer days
(and Kansas has always had her pioneer days in the progress of civili-
zation from the Missouri border to the Colorado line), subdued the
soil, mastered the resources of the country, developed her industries,
built her schools, churches and railroads, made a large part of the real
history of Kansas which cannot be recorded except in a general way.
History seldom portrays the real life of the commonwealth. It is the
sociology of the state after all that represents its true greatness.
Indeed the political history of the state represents a small part of
what Kansas has wrought and hence a small part of its life. The Kan-
sas Cyclopedia assumes to present ever}' factor in the political, social,
and economic development and relate every important event which
has had to do with the building of a great commonwealth. And when
we pause to think of it, what a great history it is, extending back nearly
four hundred years, with its active progress crowded into a little more
than half a century ! And yet it falls naturally into various periods :
It comprises prehistoric Kansas and the occupation of the native
races ; the early expeditions of Coronado and other Spanish explorers ;
the early trappers and traders, followed by the explorations of Pike
and Long; the military organization for the protection of the frontier;
the history of early trading and transportation trails leading to Santa
Fe, Utah, Oregon and California; the period of settlement and the dis-
posal of public land ; the struggle that organized Kansas a free state ;
the organization and development of counties and towns; the mus-
tering of its armies for the preservation of the Union ; the expansion
of government and the making of internal public improvements ; the
exploitation of the geology of Kansas and the development of its ma-
terial resources ; development of agriculture, manufacturing and trans-
portation ; and through it all the development of schools, colleges and
the university, the founding and progress of charitable institutions, the
building of churches and the enactment of special laws to enforce the
moral conduct of society. Add to this the hundreds of instances of
real life told of men and affairs and }-ou ha\c an outline of the real
history of Kansas.
The editor of this history, and his able assistants have sought with
painstaking exactness to ascertain the truth of Kansas history. They
have had at their command the writings of many authorities, the ex-
l^eriences of men and a magnificent body of historical material from the
Kansas Historical Society. If the book is entirely free from error it
is different from any other history ever written of any country. And
while small errors may have crept in even after the most careful scrutin}^
IXTRODUCTIOX
as may be expected in so large a work, still for its purpose the present
history should be in advance of all other histories of the State of Kansas.
If it is not in advance, it is a mistake to have written it. At least it
will present in a concise form a large amount of the historical material
in the libraries of Kansas, hitherto hidden from view to most people
of the state.
It is hoped that its use by students will be large and that it will lead
to extended research and an elaboration of special subjects. For such
the frequent cross references will be found valuable aids.
Acknowledgment is hereby made to the secretary and assistants
of the state historical society for their aid in giving access to the val-
uable collection in their charge, and recognition is made of the following-
list of historical writings, manuscripts, etc. :
Official Publications. — Reports of the U. S. Bureau of Ethnology ;
Congressional Record ; U. S. Senate and House Reports ; Messages and
Documents of the Presidents; Reports of Congressional Investigating
and Special Committees; Departmental Reports; Correspondence and
Reports of the Commissioner of Indian AiTairs ; U. S. Treaties and Con-
ventions ; Rebellion Records ; Reports of U. S. General Land Office ;
Session Laws of Kansas; Legislative Journals; Reports of State Board
of Agriculture, Bank Commissioner, Adjutant-General, Superintendent
of Public Instruction, Railroad Commission, etc. ; Kansas Historical So-
ciety Publications, Governors' Messages, Reports of University Geo-
logical Survey, etc.
Histories of Kansas.— Cutler's, Hazelrigg's, Plolloway's, Prentis'
Spring's, Tuttle's, and W'ilder's Annals of Kansas.
Miscellaneous. — Adair's Travels in North America; Adams' Home-
stead Guide ; American Board of Foreign Missions Reports ; Annual Reg-
ister ; Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia ; Baker's Forestry Report ; Ban-
croft's Historical Works; Bandelier's Gilded Man; Blackmar's Life of
Charles Robinson, Spanish Colonization in the Southwest, and Spanish
Institutions in the Southwest; Boughton's Kansas Handbook; Brewer-
ton's The War in Kansas; Britton's War on the Border; Bronson's
Farmers' Unions, etc. ; Canfield's Local Government in Kansas ; Chap-
man's Emigrant's Guide ; Child's Kansas Emigrants ; Chittenden's Amer-
ican Fur Trade ; Connelley's Life of John Brown, Ouantrill and the Bor-
der Wars, Kansas Territorial Governors, Doniphan's Expedition, and
the Provisional Government of Nebraska Territory ; Cooke's Scenes and
Adventures in the Army ; Custer's Wild Life on the Plains ; Davidson's
Silk Culture ; Dodge's Plains of the Great West ; Elliott's Notes in Sixty
Years; Fowler's Report of Glenn's Expedition; Fremont's Reports of
Explorations in the West ; Gallatin's Reports of the Transactions of the
American Ethnological Society ; Gihon's Geary and Kansas ; Giles' Thir-
ty Years in Topeka ; Gladstone's An Englishman in Kansas; deed's
From River to Sea ; Greeley's American Conflict, and An Overland Jour-
ney ; Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies ; Hale's Kanzas and Nebraska ;
Harvey's History of the Shawnee Indians; Hinton's Army of the Bor-
INTRODUCTION
der; Humphrey's The Squatter Sovereign; Inman's Stories of the Old
Santa Fe Trail ; Irving's Adventures of Captain Bonneville, and A Tour
of the Prairies; Jenkins' The Northern Tier; Kansas Biographical Reg-
ister; Kendall's Santa Fe Expedition; Lewis and Clark's Journals;
Long's Expedition, Report of; Lowe's Five Years a Dragoon; Margry's
Works; Meline's Two Thousand Miles on Horseback; Alonette's Dis-
covery and Settlement of the Mississippi Valley ; Murray's Travels in
North America; Parker's Kansas and Nebraska Handbook; Parkman's
Discovery of the Great West; Parrish's Life on the Great Plains;
Phillips' Conquest of Kansas; Pierce's Incidents of Western Travel;
Pike's Expedition, Accounts of; Redpath's The Roving Editor, and Life
of John Brown ; Richardson's Beyond the Mississippi ; Mrs. Robinson's
Kansas, Its Interior and Exterior Life ; Shea's Memoir of French Colo-
nies in America, Translation of Charlevoix, and Expedition of Penalosa
Simpson's Smithsonian Reports ; Smyth's Heart of the New^ Kansas
Speer's Life of James H. Lane; Spring's Prelude to the War of '6i
Steele's Sons of the Border, and Frontier Army Sketches ; Tewksbury's
Kansas Picture Book ; Thwaites' Early Western Travels ; Tomlinson's
Kansas in 1858; Victor's American Conspiracies; Von Hoist's Constitu-
tional History of the United States; Washburn College Bulletins;
Webb's Scrap Books; Wilson's Rise and Fall of the Slave Power; Wil-
son's Eminent Men of Kansas; County Histories, Magazines, News-
paper Files, Gazetteers, City Directories, etc.
Manuscripts. — The Kansas State Historical Society has a vast collec-
tion of manuscripts, consisting of letters, historical sketches, short biog-
raphies, etc. Among those consulted may be mentioned Dunbar's Ac-
count of the Bourgmont Expedition; Executive Minutes and Corre-
spondence; Journals of the Constitutional Conventions; Letters of John
Brown ; Letters and Diary of Isaac McCoy; Gov. A. H. Reeder's Diary;
Unpublished reports of various Commissions, etc.
Fr.\nk W. Bl.ackmar.
KANSAS
Abbott, James B., one of the pioneer settlers of Kansas, was born at
Hampton, Conn., Dec. 3, 1818, and grew to manhood in his native state.
He was a member of the third party of emigrants from New England,
which reached Lawrence on Oct. 10, 1854, and soon become recognized
as one of the stalwart advocates of the free-state cause. Maj. Abbott
took up a claim about half a mile south of Blanton's bridge, on the road
to Hickor}' Point, and his house was a favorite meeting place of the free-
state men in that neighborhood. As the pro-slaveryites grew more and
more agressive, one of the crying necessities of the settlers was arms and
ammunition with which to defend themselves against the predatory
gangs which infested the territory. Maj. Abbott was one of those who
went east to procure arms, and through his efforts there were sent to
Kansas 117 Sharp's rifles and a 12-pounder howitzer. He was one of
the party that rescued Branson from the sheriff of Douglas county ; was
a lieutenant in command of a company at the first "battle" of Franklin ;
commanded the Third regiment of free-state infantry during the siege
of Lawrence in 1856; fought with John Brown at Black Jack, and was
the leader of the expedition that rescued Dr. John Doy. He was a mem-
ber of the first house of representatives elected under the Topeka con-
stitution, and in 1857 was elected senator. LTpon the adoption of the
Wyandotte constitution, he Avas elected a member of the lower house
of the first state legislature, which met in March, 1861. In that year
he was appointed agent for the Shawnee Indians and removed to De
Soto, Johnson county. 'At the time of the Price raid he led a party of
Shawnees against the Confederates. In 1866 he retired from the Indian
agency, and in the fall of that year was elected to the state senate. He
was influential in securing the establishment of the school for feeble
minded youth. Maj. Abbott died at De Soto on March 2, 1879. The
howitzer he brought to Kansas in the territorial days is now in the pos-
session of the Kansas Historical Society, of which he was a director for
twelve years immediately prior to his death.
Abbyville, a village of Reno county, is situated in Westminister
township, 17 miles southwest of Hutchinson, the county seat. The
former name was Nonpariel. It is a station on the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe R. R., has a bank, a money order postoffice with two rural
routes, express, telegraph and telephone facilities, churches of the lead-
ing Protestant denominations, some mercantile and shipping interests,
and in 1910 reported a population of 300.
(1-2)
I» CYCLOPEDIA OF
Abilene,' the judicial seat and largest city of Dickinson county, is.
located on the north bank of the Smoky Hill river, 96 miles from Topeka.
and has an altitude of 1,153 f^et. It was first settled in 1858, was first
the terminus of and later a station on the stage line. The first store was
opened by a man named Jones, usually referred to as "Old Man Jones."
in whose stock of goods whisky was a prominent article. In i860 the
town was surveyed and the following spring it was selected as the
county seat by a popular vote. Early in 1867 the Kansas Pacific rail-
road was completed to Abilene, and the same year the place was selected
by Joseph G. McCoy as the most available point for assembling^ cattle
for shipment, the selection being made because of the abundance of
grass and water in the neighborhood. Concerning the town at this time,
Mr. McCoy says : "Abilene in 1867 was a very small, dead place, con-
sisting of about one dozen log huts, low, small, rude aflfairs, four-fifths-
of which were covered with dirt for roofing; indeed, but one shingle roof
could be seen in the whole city. The business of the burg was conducted
in two small rooms, mere log huts, and of course the inevitable saloon,
also in a log hut, was to be found."
After Mr. McCoy had decided upon Abilene as the best. cattle ship-
ping point, circulars were sent all over Texas and before the close of
the year 1867 some 35,000 cattle had been driven there for shipment on
the new railroad to the eastern markets. This had a tendency to stim-
ulate the growth of the town, but it also brought in many undesirable
characters. Gamblers, confidence men, cow boys, etc., came in and prac-
tically took possession of the place, much to the chagrin and disgust of
the reputable, law-abiding citizens. Shooting affrays were common, and
the turbulent element, being in the majority, continued to run things
with a high hand until the probate court of Dickinson county, on Sept.
6, 1869, granted a petition to incorporate Abilene, and named J. B.
Shane, T. C. Henry, Thomas Sherran, T. F. Hersey and Joseph G.
McCoy as trustees. McCoy was chosen the first mayor and the new
city government took steps to check the prevailing lawlessness. A stone
jail was commenced, but about the time the walls were up a band of
cow boys tore them down. Finally, Thomas Smith, who had come to
Abilene from Kit Carson, Col., was elected town marshal. It is said
that his appearance was against him, but what he lacked in physical
strength was more than made up in courage and diplomacy, and in a
short time he succeeded in disarming all the desperate characters, thus
bringing about a reign of law and order. The Kansas Monthly of Feb..
1879, ten years after Abilene was incorporated, says: "Abilene, from
being a Texas cattle town without law, order or society, is now one of
the most home-like, orderly and agreeable towns."
Since that time the growth and development of Abilene has been
steadily onward and upward, and in 1910 the city had a population of
4,118. Its location at the junction of the Union Pacific, Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railways makes
it an important shipping point, and large quantities of grain, live stock..
KANSAS HISTORY ig
etc., are annually exported. The city has two banks, an international
money order postoffice from which emanate seven rural delivery routes,
unsurpassed express, telegraph and telephone facilities, a modern elec-
tric lighting plant, a fine system of waterworks, a fire department, a
Carnegie library and a well appointed opera house. Mount St. Joseph
Academy is located here, which supplements the excellent public school
system and affords ample educational opportunities. The manufactures
include flour mills, creameries, foundries, an organ factory, planing
mills, cigar, carriage and ice factories, etc. The press is well represented
by two daily and four weekly newspapers, the Implement Dealers' Bul-
letin (monthly), and the Kansas State Sunday School Journal (also
monthly).
Abilene Trail. — In 1867 Joseph G. McCoy, of Illinois, settled at
Abilene to engage in the cattle trade, and he caused to be laid out a
cattle trail to connect with the north end of the Chisholm trail, near
Wichita, to run northward to Abilene, on the Union Pacific railroad,
where the cattle could be marketed in a more expeditious manner. The
road from the mouth of the Little Arkansas to Abilene "was not direct
but circuitous. In order to straighten up this trail and bring the cattle
direct to Abilene, and by shortening the distance, to counteract the ex-
ertions of western would-be competing points for the cattle trade, an
engineer corps was sent out under the charge of Civil Engineer T. F.
Hersey. . . . Mr. Hersey with compass and flag men and detail of
laborers with spades and shovels for throwing up mounds of dirt to
mark the route located by the engineers, started out and ran almost due
south from Abilene until the crossing of the Arkansas was reached, find-
ing good water and abundant grass with suitable camping points the
entire distance. Meeting at the Arkansas river the first drove of cattle
of the season, the party piloted the herd over the new trail, and thus by
use opening it to the many thousand herds of cattle that followed in
months and years afterward."
In 1867 about 35,000 head of cattle were driven from Texas to Abilene
over this trail; in 1868 about 75,000; in 1870 about 300,000; and in 187X
about 700,000, being the largest number ever received from Texas in
any one year. The country about Abilene was fast settling up about
this time, grazing lands were getting scarcer, and these conditions were
such that many of the settlers objected to the pasturing of the great
herds in the vicinity. Hence the year 1872 found Wichita in possession
of the trade that Abilene had for several years enjoyed, the completion
of the Santa Fe railroad to that point giving the needed railroad facil-
ities. From 1867 to 1871 about 10,000 cars of live stock were shipped
out of Abilene, and in 1872 about 80,000 head of cattle were shipped
from Wichita. "The settlement of the valleys of the Arkansas and the
Ninnescah rivers rendered it impractical to reach Wichita shipping yards
after '1873, and the loading of cattle was transferred to points on the
railroad farther west, halting finally at Dodge City, where 1887 saw the
end of the use of the famous Abilene cattle trail."
20 CYCLOl'EDIA OF
Abolitionists. — In 1831 William Lloyd Garrison began the publica-
tion of the "Liberator," the first newspaper in the United States to take
a radical stand for the abolition of slavery. (See Slavery.) Two yealfe
later the National Anti-Slavery Society was organized at Philadelphia.
Pa., and in a short time the members of the organization became divided
to some extent as to the methods to be pursued in the efforts to secure
the emancipation of the slaves. Some clung to the theory of gradual
manumission, with compensation to the slaveholders as a last resort,
while others advocated the immediate and unconditional liberation of
every slave, by force if necessary, and without compensating their
owners. These extremists in 1835 were nicknamed "abolitionists" by
those who favored slavery, and also by the conservative element in the
society. Although this name was first applied in a spirit of derision,
the extremists accepted it as an honor. In a short time a number of
abolitionist orators — speakers of more than ordinary ability — were de-
veloped. Among these may be mentioned W'endell Phillips, Gerrit
Smith and Charles Sumner, who never lost an opportunity of present-
ing their views, and the public was I:ept on the alert, wondering what
they would do next.
The society became divided in 1840 on the question of organizing a
political party on anti-slavery lines. From that time each branch worked
in its own way, and by the time Kansas was organized as a territory the
abolitionists — the radical wing of the original society — had become
strong enough to attract attention from one end of tl"ke country^ to the
other. Among the pro-slavery men there was no distinction between
those who were in favor of the gradual, peaceable emancipation of the
slave and those who were in favor of immediate emancipation at what-
ever cost. All were "abolitionists." The following utterances of pro-
slavery orators and extracts from the pro-slavery press will show how
the advocates of slavery regarded the free-state men as "abolitionists"
indiscriminately:
At a squatter meeting near Leavenworth on June 10, 1854, a reso-
lution was adopted declaring that "We will afford protection to no
abolitionist as a settler in Kansas." A pro-slavery meeting in Lafayette
countjr, Mo., Dec. 15, 1854, denounced the steamboats plying on the
Missouri river for carrying abolitionists to Kansas. As a result of this
agitation, the Star of the West in the spring of 1856 was allowed to
carry about 100 persons from Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina to
Kansas unmolested, but on her next trip, with a number of free-state
passengers, she was held up at Lexington, where the passengers were
disarmed, and upon arriving at Weston was not permitted to land.
Other steamers encountered similar opposition.
In Feb., 1855, Lawrence was denounced because it was "the home
of about 400 abolitionists," and at a Law and Order meeting at Leaven-
worth on the 15th of the following November, John Calhoun said: "You
yield and you will have the most infernal government that ever cursed
a land. I would rather be a painted slave over in Missouri, or a serf to
the Czar of Russia, than have the abolitionists in power."
KANSAS HISTORY 21
On Oct. 5, 1857, occurred the election for members of the legislature,
and on the 23d the Doniphan Constitutionalist, a pro-slavery paper, ac-
counted for the free-state victory by saying that the "sneaking abolition-
ists were guilty of cutting loose the ferry boats at Doniphan and other
places on the day of the election, by order of Jim Lane." To this the
Lawrence Republican retorted: "Bad man, that Jim Lane, to order the
boats cut loose ; great inconvenience to the Missourians and the Demo-
cratic party."
At the beginning of the border troubles the Platte Argus said edito-
rially : "The abolitionists will probabl)^ not be interfered with if they set-
tle north of the 40th parallel of north latitude, but south of that line they
need not set foot."
A pro-slavery convention at Lecompton on Dec. 9, 1857, adopted
resolutions denunciator}' of Govs. Reeder, Geary and Walker for their
efforts "to reduce and prostitute the Democracy to the unholy ends of
the abolitionists." These instances might be multiplied indefinitely, but
enough has been said to show that the pro-slaverites made no distinction
whatever between the radical and conservative wings of the free-state
party. If a man was opposed to slavery, though willing to let it alone
where it already existed, he was just as much of an "abolitionist" as the
extremist who would be satisfied with nothing less than immediate
emancipation of all slaves, without regard to constitutional guarantees
or the simplest principles of equity.
The radical anti-slavery people claimed that the Civil war was an
anti-slavery conflict, and maintained that this view was justified by the
emancipation proclamation of President Lincoln, notwithstanding ]\Ir.
J^incoln's previous utterance that he was not striving to abolish slavery,
but to preserve the Union.
Academy of Language and Literature. — Wilder's Annals of Kansas
says this society was organized on June 16, 1885, with the following-
officers: J. A. Lippincott, president; O. C. Hill, vice-president; W. H.
Carruth, secretary; J. E. \\'illiamson, treasurer; W. L Graham, Lily M.
Storrs and the secretar}% executive committee. The objects of the acad-
emy, as stated in the by-laws, were "to promote the love and study of
literature and to encourage investigation and original production
therein."
On Dec. 31, 1885, another meeting was held, at which time Prof. W. L
Graham of Baker University was elected president ; Prof. William Mc-
Donald of the University of Kansas, vice-president ; Miss Viola Price,
secretary; Prof. J. E. Williamson of the Topeka high school, treasurer;
and the executive committee was composed of Prof. Graham, Miss Price
and Prof. T. W. Phelps. The dues of the society were fixed at $1.00 per
year for each member, and in 1892 the academy numbered 75 members.
After the magazine called the Agora began publication in 1891 it was
made the official organ of the society. The last number of this magazine,
published in March, 1896, contains the announcement that the annual
meeting of the Academy of Language and Literature would be held at
22 CVCbOrEDIA OF
Lawrence in April of that year. No later record of the organization can
be found. Its place in the literature of Kansas is now (1911) practically
filled by the Kansas Authors' Club.
Academy of Science. — In 1867 several Kansas naturalists who were
interested in scientific investigation, decided to form an organization for
scientific research, particularly in its relation to the state and its natural
resources. After considerable deliberation with regard to the formation
of a society, the projectors published a letter in the Kansas Journal of
Education for March, 1868, calling the attention of the people to the
benefits which a Natural History Society would be to the state, as it
would afford the means of associated efifort ; give inspiration to natural-
ists ; arouse interest in scientific subjects; put the state in communica-
tion with various scientific bodies throughout the country, and collec-
tions made by the society would be secured to the state. This letter met
with considerable favor and in July a second letter or "call" was sent
out, requesting "all persons in the state interested in natural science to
meet at Topeka on the first Tuesday in September."
As a result of this call a meeting of the naturalists was held in Lincoln
College, Topeka, Sept. i, 1868, and an organization was eflfected under
the name of the "Kansas Natural History Society," with the follow-
ing officers: B. F. Mudge, president; J. S. Whitman, vice-president;
John Parker, secretarjf; Frank Snow, treasurer, and John A. Banfield,
curator. The object of the societ}-, according to the constitution, was
"to increase and diffuse a knowledge of science, particularly in its rela-
tion to the state of Kansas."
The second annual meeting was held in the Presbyterian church at
Topeka, Sept. 7, 1869. when several scientific papers were read; a lec-
ture on the Mound Builders was delivered, and the officers of the pre-
vious year were reelected. On Sept. 5 and 6, 1870, the third annual meet-
ing was held at the University building at Lawrence. Again papers on
scientific subjects were read and the following officers elected: John
Fraser, president ; B. F. Mudge, vice-president ; John D. Parker secre-
tary and librarian; Frank Snow, treasurer; B. F. Mudge and Frank
Snow, curators. At this meeting Mr. Fraser suggested that the scope
of the society be widened to comprehend the entire scientific field within
the state. At the fourth meeting, held in the rooms of the board of edu-
cation, Leavenworth, Oct. 25, 1871, the by-laws were amended to allow
all observers and investigators along scientific lines to become members,
and the name was changed to the Kansas Academy of Science. In 1873
the society was incorporated as a state institution. Section 2 of the act
of incorporation provided that, "The Academy of Science shall be a
coordinate department of the State Department of Agriculture, with their
office in the agriculture room, where they shall place and keep for public
inspection geological, botanical and other specimens, the same to be
imder the direction and control of the said Academy of Science."
In his message to the legislature in 1885, Gov. Martin said, "This is
a useful organization, maintained at no expense to the state except the
KANSAS HISTORY 23
•courtesy of having its reports published as a part of the biennial report
of the State Board of Agriculture."
Since 1895 the academy has received legislative appropriations for
its support. The members of the academy were instrumental in secur-
ing the geographical survey of the state and have taken an interest in
the development of the coal beds and natural gas wells.
A majority of the members of the academy are from the educational
institutions of the state, who take an interest and are leaders in the
important scientific research of the day. At the present time the ofifices
of the academy and the specimens that have been collected are located
in the north wing of the state capitol on the fourth floor. The officers
of the society for 191 1 were as follows: President, J. M. McWharf, of
Ottawa; vice-presidents, A. J. Smith, of Emporia, and J- E. Welin, of
Lindsborg; treasurer, F. ^^^ Bushong, of Lawrence; secretary, J. T.
1,0 ve well, of Topeka.
Achilles, a village of Rawlins county, is situated in Jefferson township,
on Sappa creek and about 15 miles southeast of Atwood, the county
seat. It has a money order postofifice and is connected by stage with
Colby, whence it receives a daily mail. The population was 70 in 1910.
Achilles is the principal trading point in the southwestern part of the
county. What is known as the battle of Achilles was a fight between
a band of 20 hunters and some Indians at a water hole about five miles
south of the village on April 24, 1875. (See Sappa Creek.)
Ackerland, a village of Leavenworth county, is located in the west-
ern portion on the Leavenworth & Topeka R. R. about 15 miles south-
west of Leavenworth. It has a money order postoffice, express office,
etc., and in 1910 had a population of 25.
Ackley, Ernest L., lawyer and regent of the Kansas State LTniver-
sity, was born at North Ridgeville, Ohio, Nov. 30, 1863, a son of Chaun-
cey and Jerusa (McNeal) Ackley. About 1875 the family removed to
Kansas and settled on a farm in Ottawa county, where Ernest attended
the public schools until he was eighteen years of age, when he obtained
a position in a bank at Minneapolis. After working in the bank for
about two years, he entered the state university, and graduated in the
law departrtient with the class of 1890. For a time he was employed
on the Salina Republican with Joseph L. Bristow, now United States
senator, and was also employed by Charles F. Scott on the Lawrence
Journal. In July, 1890. he became associated with A. L. Wilmoth, a
classmate, in the practice of law at Concordia. W. AV. Caldwell entered
the firm in 1897, when Mr. Ackley withdrew, and in Feb., 1901, he formed
a partnership with P. B. Pulsifer, which lasted until his death the fol-
lowing August. About the same time he was appointed by Gov. Stan-
ley one of the regents of the university. Mr. Ackley was an active mem-
ber of the State Historical Society ; a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and belonged
to the Phi Gamma Delta college fraternity. In Nov., 1893, he married
Miss Ada B. Fry, at one time a teacher in the Concordia schools. Mr.
Ackley died at Concordia on Aug. 27, 1901.
24 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Acknowledgments. — (See Deeds.)
Acres, a post-village of Clark county, is a station on the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 8 miles west of Ashland, the county seat. It
is a shipping and supply point for the neighborhood in which it is situ-
ated, and in 1910 reported a population of 30.
Actions. — Actions are defined as ordinary proceedings in a court of
justice by which one party prosecutes another for the enforcement or
protection of a right, the redress or prevention of a wrong, or the pun-
ishment of a public offense. Actions are of two kinds — civil and crim-
inal. A civil action may be commenced in a court of record by filing
in the office of the clerk of the proper court a petition, and causing a
summons to be issued thereon. The petition must contain the name,
surname and place of residence of plaintiff and defendant; a clear state-
ment of the cause of action and a prayer for judgment in conformity
with the allegations of the petition, and must be signed either by the
plaintiff or his attorne}-. Summons is then issued, addressed to the de-
fendant. A copy of the petition need not accompan}- the summons, but
the defendant or plaintiff shall be entitled to a copy of the petition, or
any other papers filed in the action, upon application to the clerk there-
for, and the costs of such copy shall be taxed among the costs in the
action.
Actions before justices of the peace are commenced by summons, or
by appearance and agreement of the parties without summons. In the
former, the action is deemed commenced upon delivery of the writ to
the constable to be served, and he shall note thereon the time of receiv-
ing the same. In the latter case, the action is deemed commenced at
the time of docketing the case. When a guardian to the suit is necessary,
he must be appointed by the justice, as follows: First — If the infant be
plaintiff, the appointment must be made before the summons is issued,
upon the application of the infant, if he be of the age of fourteen years
or upwards; if under that age, upon the application of some friend. The
written consent of the guardian to be appointed, and to be responsible for
the costs if he fail in the action, must be filed with the justice. Second
— If the infant be defendant, the guardian must be appointed before th'e
trial. It is the right of the infant, if over fourteen years of age, to nomi-
nate his own guardian, who must be present and consent, in writing, to
be appointed, otherwise the justice may appoint any suitable person
who gives such consent.
The distinction between actions at law and suits in equity, and the
forms of all such actions and suits formerly existing, is abolished, and
in their place there is but one form of action, called a civil action. In
such action the party complaining is known as the plaintiff', and the
adverse party as the defendant. Actions shall be triable on the issues
of fact withhi ten days after the issues are made up. Issues of law and
motions may be tried by the court or judge in term-time or vacation,
at such times as the court or judge may fix, after reasonable notice,
which shall not be less than three days. Whenever damages are recov-
KANSAS HISTORY 25
erable, the plaintiff may claim and recover any damages to which he
may be entitled for the cause of action established.
Ada, a village of Ottawa county, is located on the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe R. R., and on Salt creek in Fountain township, lo miles
west of Minneapolis, the county seat. It has banking facilities, all lines
of business activit}^, telegraph and express offices and a money order
postoifice with one rural mail route. It is the shipping point of a pros-
perous farming community. The population in 1910 was 300.
Adams, a village of Kingman county, is located in Canton township,
some i6 miles southeast of the city of Kingman. It is a station on the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., has a money order postoffice, and
is a shipping and trading point for that section of the county, though
the population was reported as only 20 in 1910.
Adams, Franklin George, one of the most earnest and energetic men
of Kansas in the great work of perpetuating Kansas history, was born
at Rodman, Jeft'erson county, N. Y., May 13, 1824, and was reared upon
his father's farm. He attended the common schools and at the age of
nineteen went to Cincinnati, where he received private instruction from
an elder brother. He taught in the public schools of Cincinnati, and in
1852 graduated from the law department of what is now the University
of Cincinnati. He became profoundly interested in the debate on the
Kansas-Nebraska bill, and determined to settle in Kansas. To this end
he joined a party from Kentucky which reached Kansas in March, 1855,
and settled in what is now Riley county, where they founded the Ash-
land colony. Before long Mr. Adams returned to Cincinnati, where he
taught school again, but in April, 1856, he returned to Kansas and set-
tled on a farm near Pilot Knob, Leavenworth county. He was forced
to flee to Lawrence for protection during the border war, and bore arms
in defense of that place against the invasion of the pro-slavery men. He
was a member of the Leavenworth constitutional convention ; was active
in the organization of the free-state party in Atchison county, of which
he was elected the first probate judge in the spring of 1858. In 1861 he
was appointed register of the land office at Lepompton. In September
he moved the office to Topeka and held the position until 1864. He was
also identified at dififerent times with various publications of the state
among them the Squatter Sovereign, Topeka State Record, Kansas Farm-
er, Atchison Free Press and Waterville Telegraph. He was active in the
formation of the State Agricultural Society and drafted the law under
which it was organized. He became secretary of the state fair associa-
tion which held the first state fair at Atchison in 1863. The next year
he gave up his various enterprises in Topeka, returned to Atchison, was
appointed United States agent to the Kickapoos, and removed to Ken-
nekuk, in the northwest corner of Atchison county. He resigned this
agency in 1869, and in the fall of 1870 located at Waterville, Marshall
county, where in 1873, he published "The Homestead Guide," giving the
history and resources of northwest Kansas. In the spring of 1875 he
returned to Topeka, and the following February the directors of the
2() CYCLOPEDIA OF
newly formed State Historical Society elected him secretary. It was
in this position that Mr. Adams did his greatest and best work for
Kansas. He at once started the work of organization and pursued with
steady effort every avenue which he thought capable of adding to the
growth and resourcefulness of the society. During* his residence in
Topeka Mr. Adams was instrumental in establishing the kindergarten
work among the poor. He was long a member of the Kansas State
Grange and took special interest in the education of children on farms.
As editor, author and publisher Mr. Adams was enabled to make his
ideas known and to turn public opinion in the right direction. The great
collection in the rooms of the Historical Society maj^ be said to be the
development and flower of a great life work. Mr. Adams was married
on Sept. 29, 1855, to Harriet E. Clark, of Cincinnati. The whole state
mourned when Mr. Adams passed away on Dec. 2, 1899.
Adams, Henry J., lawyer, was born at Rodman, Jefferson county, N.
Y., Feb. 10, 1816. He was educated in the public schools, spent a short
time at Oberlin College, Ohio, then read law and graduated from the
Cincinnati Law School. He came to Kansas in March, 1855, and during
the summer located at Lawrence. The next winter he was elected a
member of the senate of the free-state legislature, and from that time
took an active part in public affairs. During the session of 1858 the ter-
ritorial legislature made him chairman of the committee to investigate
the Oxford, Kickapoo and other election frauds. He took a prominent
part in the Leavenworth constitutional convention and under that con-
stitution was elected governor, but as Congress failed to admit Kansas
as a state, he was never installed in office. Before the convention in
1858, Mr. Adams received an equal vote with Marcus J. Parrott for dele-
gate in Congress, but Parrott was declared the nominee and was elected.
Under an act passed by the legislature of 1859, Mr. Adams was ap-
pointed a member of a committee with Judge S. A. Kingman and E. S.
Hoogland, to audit the claims against the United States government,
for losses sustained by citizens of Kansas because of plunder and de-
struction of private property during the border war. Next to Gov. Rob-
inson he was the most popular candidate before the Republican conven-
tion which nominated the first governor of the state. Soon after the out-
break of the Civil war he was appointed paymaster of the army and
served in that capacit}- until the close of hostilities. He died at W'ater-
ville, June 2, 1870.
Admire, a town in Ivy township, Lyon county, is a station on the
Missouri Pacific R. R., about 20 miles northeast of Emporia, the county
seat. It has a bank, a money order postoffice with tw'o rural routes, a
feed mill, telephone connections with the surrounding towns, churches
of several denominations, a good school building, a good retail trade, and
does considerable shipping. The population was 300 according to the
U. S. census of 1910.
Admission to Statehood. — In the formation of the Federal govern-
ment, the thirteen original states assumed dominion over all the un-
KANSAS HISTORY 27
organized territory belonging to the United States, and delegated to
themselves the power of arbiter of the destinies of new states seeking
admission. Every time a bill has been introduced in Congress for the
admission of a new state, it has been the signal for debate, but in no
instance has the discussion been more acrid or more prolonged than in
the case of Kansas. Four constitutional conventions were held in the
territory, and four constitutions were submitted to the people before one
was found that was satisfactory. (See Constitutions.) The Wyandotte
constitution, under which Kansas was finally admitted, was completed
by the convention on July 29, 1859; ratified by the people on Oct. 4 and
on Feb. 14, i860, it was presented to the senate of the United States by
the president of that body.
On Feb. 15, i860, Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania, introduced in
the house a bill for the admission of Kansas, which was referred to the
committee on territories. This bill passed the house on April 11, by a
vote of 134 to 7^, and was sent to the senate, where it was read and re-
ferred on the 13th. During the next two months it came before the sen-
ate several times, but was usually thrust aside by the influence of the
members of the slave states, who did not desire the admission of a state
that would in all probability send to the United States senate two men
opposed to slavery, or at least opposed to its extension into new terri-
tory. On May 30 it was called up by Senator Collamer of Vermont, who
tried to force its passage. A week later (June 5) it was again called up,
but this time further action was postponed on motion of Mr. Hunter of
Virginia, who thought the military appropriation bill of more import-
ance. On the 7th Mr. Wade of Ohio moved "to postpone all prior or-
ders, and take up the bill for the admission of Kansas," but the motion
was defeated by a vote of 32 to 26. This ended the consideration of the
bill at that session.
The second session of the 36th Congress began on Dec. 3, i860, and
on the nth the bill was called up b}' Mr. Collamer, with a view to mak-
ing it the special order at some definite date in the near future. Mr.
Green of Missouri objected, but the motion was carried over his objec-
tion by a vote of 23 to 18. When the bill came up as a special order on
the 24th, Foster of Connecticut, who was presiding, ruled that there
was unfinished business before the senate that must be disposed of before
the consideration of the Kansas question, and again there was a delay.
On the 31st it was postponed to Jan. 14, 1861, by the same filibustering
tactics on the part of the senators from the slave states, and when the
14th arrived it was postponed to the i6th. The friends of the bill
thought that a vote could certainly be reached this time, but they reck-
oned without their host, for on the i6th a motion to go into executive
session prevailed, and the Kansas bill was made the special order for
one o'clock p. m. on the i8th. When that time arrived, Mr. Green had
an amendment, of which he had previously given notice, relating to
boundaries, and the remainder of the day was spent in debating the
amendment, which was defeated bv a vote of 31 to 23. Immediately fol-
28 CYCLOPEDIA OF
lowing the defeat of the amendment there was a disorderly scene in the
senate chamber, caused by a multiplicity of motions to go into execu-
tive session, to adjourn, etc. The amendment had served the purpose of
producing another delay in the final vote on the bill.
The following day the bill was again called up. This time Senator
Fitch of Indiana had an amendment to oiifer, and again there was a long
and tedious debate before the amendment was defeated. Some of the
friends of the measure began to lose hope. This was the short session
of Congress, and if the opponents could keep up their dilatory methods
until March 3 the bill would have to go over to the next session. But
the cloud that hung over Kansas was penetrated by a ray of light in an
imexpected manner.
Five slave states had already seceded from the Union, and on Jan. 21
Senators J. M. Mason and R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia ; A. P. Butler
and R. B. Barnwell, of South Carolina; H. L. Turney. of Tennessee;
Pierre Soule, of Louisiana ; Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi ; David R.
Atchison, of Missouri ; Jackson Morton and D. L. Yulee, of Florida, filed
a protest against the action of the m.embers of Congress from the north-
ern states and withdrew from the senate. \\'ith their withdrawal the
power of the slave oligarchy was broken. Scarcely had they left the
hall, when Mr. Seward of New York moved to call up the Kansas ad-
mission bill, but was informed by the vice-president that no motion was
necessar}-, as the bill was then the special order before the senate. The
remaining senators from the slaveholding states indulged in some per-
functory debate, but they recognized the fact that their influence had
vanished with the departure of their colleagues. The bill was soon
passed by a vote of 36 to 16, and was signed by President Buchanan on
the 29th.
The preamble of the bill recited the facts concerning the formation,
adoption and ratification of the Wyandotte constitution, under which
the state was asking for admission.
Section i provided "That the state of Kansas shall be, and is hereby
declared to be, one of the United States of America, and admitted to
the Union on an equal footing with the original states in all respects
whatever." The section then defined the boundaries (see Boundaries),
and provided "That nothing contained in the said constitution respecting
the boundaries of said state shall be construed to impair the rights of
person or property now pertaining to the Indians in said territory, so
long as such rights shall remain unextinguished by treatj^ between the
United States and such Indians, or to include any territory which, by
treaty with such Indian tribes, is not, without the consent of such
Indian tribe, to be included Avithin the territorial limits or jurisdiction
of any other state or territory ; but all such territory shall be excepted
out of the boundaries, and constitute no part of the State of Kansas,
until said tribe shall signify their assent to the president of the United
States to be included within said state," etc.
Section 2 provided that until the next enumeration and apportion-
KANSAS HISTORY 29
ment of Congressmen, Kansas should be entitled to one representative
in the lower branch of the national legislature.
Section 3 offered to the people of Kansas the following propositions:
1st, That sections numbered 16 and 36 in every township of the pub-
lic lands in the state should be granted the state for the use of schools;
and in the event said sections or any part thereof should have been sold
or otherwise disposed of, other lands, equivalent thereto and as con-
tiguous as might be, were to be given to the state instead of the sec-
tions prescribed.
2nd, That ^2 sections of land, to be selected by the governor of the
state, subject to the approval of the commissioner of the general land
ofiSce, were to be set apart and reserved for the use and support of a
state university.
3d, That 10 sections of land, to be selected by the governor, were to
be donated by Congress for the completion of public buildings and the
erection of others at the seat of government.
4th, That all salt springs, not exceeding twelve in number, with 6
sections of land adjoining each, were to be granted to the state, to be
disposed of as the legislature might direct, subject to certain restric-
tions imposed by the act.
5th, That five per cent, of the proceeds of all sales of public lands lying
within the state, which should be sold after Kansas was admitted into
the Union, should be granted to the state for the purpose of construct-
ing public roads and making internal improvements.
6th, That the state should never levy a tax upon the lands or prop-
erty of the United States, lying within the State of Kansas.
Section 4 provided that from and after the admission of the state, all
the laws of the United States, which were not locally inapplicable,
should have the same force and effect in Kansas as in other states of
the Union. This section also declared the state a judicial district of the
United States, established a district court, the same as that in the State
of Minnesota, and made it the duty of the United States district judge
to hold two terms of court annually, beginning on the second Monday in
April and the second Alonday in October.
The act of admission was signed by President Buchanan on Jan. 29,
1861, and on Feb. 9 the state government was inaugurated. On Feb.
22, Washington's birthday, the American flag was hoisted over Inde-
pendence Hall in the city of Philadelphia, bearing for the first time the
star representing Kansas. It was raised by Abraham Lincoln, who was
then on his way to Washington to be inaugurated as president of the
United States. Mr. Lincoln said :
"I am invited and called before you to participate in raising above
Independence Hall the flag of our country with an additional star upon
it. I wish to call your attention to the fact that, under the blessing of
God, each additional star added to that flag has given additional pros-
perity and happiness to our country."
Adobe Walls, Battle of. — In the spring of 1874 a number of Dodge
30 CVCLOPEDIA OF
City buffalo hunters went south to the Pan Handle country and the
"Staked Plains" of Texas to hunt buffaloes, and, invading the hunting-
grounds of the Indians of that locality, it is said they killed 100,000
buffaloes during the ensuing five months. Their camp was made at a
deserted station known as "Adobe Walls," near the ruins of which at
the time were three large adobe and log houses, occupied by traders and
hunters. The Indians, who had been watching this wholesale slaughter
of the animals which constituted their chief food supply were in no peace-
ful frame of mind in consequence, and after holding a council, about
900 Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Comanches and Kiowas on the morning of
June 27 rode out to make an attack, hoping to take the hunters by sur-
prise. At the time of the attack some of the occupants of one of the
buildings at Adobe Walls were up on the roof of the building making
needed repairs, and while thus engaged discovered the Indians. Seeing
they were apprehended, the Indians gave the war whoop and charged
— riding 25 or more abreast — firing their rifles and revolvers as they
came. Two hunters who had come in during the night and were en-
camped about 100 yards awa}' from the buildings were the only ones
failing to reach a place of safety. They were quickly killed and scalped.
The occupants of the buildings numbered 28 men and i woman, a Mrs.
William Olds, of Warsaw. Mo., wife of one of the hunters and the only
white woman in all that section at the time. As soon as the hunters
reached shelter they grasped their rifles and returned the fire of the
Indians with telling effect. The late Ouanah Parker, at that time war
chief of the Comanches and a noted chief in the tribe since, headed the
first charge, but while passing the open door of one of'the houses was
shot through the breast and put out of the fight almost at the start. The
Indians, however, were persistent in their attacks, and again and again
returned to the assault, only to fall before the withering fire of the
hunters within the buildings. Three casualties among the hunters closed
the first days' fight, 2 of these being the men killed in their wagon. Fir-
ing was kept up intermittently during the second day, and under cover
of darkness one of the hunters was sent for assistance to Dodge City,
175 miles distant, which place he reached some days later without mis-
hap. The Indians had lost many men in their charges and after the
second day began to do their fighting at long range. On the third day
William Olds was killed by the accidental discharge of his gun. By the
morning of the fourth day over 100 hunters from the surrounding coun-
try had crowded into Adobe Walls, agumenting the fighting force corre-
spondingly. Two days later, after two days of quiet, one more hunter
was killed, he and a companion having gone out for sand plums. On
July 14, the Indians having decamped, the hunters marched out for
Dodge City, which place they reached on the 27th. Gov. Osborn sent
1,000 stands of arms to Dodge City in response to the request. The
Indians in this fight lost 80 men killed and mortally wounded, besides
about 200 ponies. What supplies the hunters could not take with them
were appropriated by the Indians who burned the premises.
KANSAS HISTURV 3I
Adrian, a little hamlet of Jackson county, is situated on the ridge
between Cross and Soldier creeks, about i6 miles southwest of Holton,
the county seat, and 4 miles from Emmett, which is the nearest rail-
road station. Mail is received by rural delivery from Delia.
Adventists. — This denomination belongs to that class of religious
organizations which accepts the inspiration of the scriptures, take the
Bible as their rule of faith, and hold to the fundamental doctrines of
Christian churches. This, belief arose as a result of the preachings of
William Miller, in 1831. He taught that the world would come to an
end in 1843, and would be followed by the coming of Christ to reign
on earth. Mr. Miller's study of Biblical prophecies had convinced him
that the coming would be between March 21, 1843, ^^^ March 21, 1844.
When these dates passed many preachers joined the movement and sev-
eral thousand followers were gathered from different churches. On
April 2D, 1845, Mr.' Miller called a convention of the faithful at Albany,
N. Y., which convention issued a declaration of belief and adopted the
name Adventists. The declaration was that Christ will come soon, but
at an unknown time, as the prophecy for 1843 3-"^ ^^so that for 1844, had
not been fulfilled. The resurrection of the dead, both the just and the
unjust, and the beginning of the millennium after the resurection of the
saints, was set forth in the belief.
The Adventists baptize by immersion, and are congregational in
polity, except the Seven Day branch and the Church of God, which
have a general conference that is supreme. Since their organization,
the Adventists have divided into seven bodies. The Evangelical Ad-
ventists began to call themselves by that name in 1845. They believe
that all the dead will be raised, the saints first to eternal bliss and the
wicked last to eternal punishment. The Advent Christians formed a
general association in 1861. They believe that the dead are unconscious
and the wicked are punished by annihilation. This body is chiefly lo-
cated in New England. The Seven Day Adventists were formed in
1845, in New Hampshire and adopted the obligation of the seventh day
as the Sabbath. They believe that the dead sleep until the judgment
and the unsaved are destroyed. This body is the strongest and its mem-
bers are spread throughout the United States, being especially strong
in the west. The Church of God was formed after a division among the
Seven Day Adventists in 1864-65, concerning the revelations of Mrs.
E. G. White. A general conference is the head of this organization,
with subordinate state conferences. It is chiefly located in the western
and southwestern states. The Life and Advent Union, organized in
i860, believes that the wicked never wake from their sleep of death.
The Church of God in Jesus Christ believes in the establishment of the
kingdom of God on earth with Christ as king; the annihilation of the
wicked and the restoration of Israel. This sect is established in various
parts of the United States and Canada.
The Adventists were not established to any extent in Kansas until
the great tide of immigration set toward this state in the '80s. for in
32 • CVCLOI'EDIA OF
1893, there were but 30 church organizations in the state with a mem-
bership of 900. As the country became more densely populated the num-
ber of Adventist bodies increased and new organizations were perfected.
In 1906 the Seven Day Adventists had 2,397 communicants ; the Advent
Christian church 247, making a total membership of 2,689.
Aetna, a village of Barber county, is located near the southwestern
corner in Aetna township, about 30 miles from Medicine Lodge, the
county seat. It is connected by stage line with Lake City, which is the
most convenient railroad station. It is a trading center for the neigh-
borhood, has a money order postoffice, and in 1910 reported a popula-
tion of 25.
Agenda, a village of Republic county, is located in the northern ]3art
of Elk Creek township, and is a station on the Chicago. Rock Island &
Pacific R. R., 17 miles southeast of Belleville, the county seat. The first
house in Agenda was erected by Joseph Cox in 1887, soon after the town
was laid out. It has a money order postoffice with one rural delivery
route, express and telegraph offices, several general stores and other
business establishments, a bank, a grain elevator, and in 1910 reported
a population of 200.
Agra, one of the principal towns of Phillips county, is a station on
the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 12 miles east of Phillipsburg,
the county seat. It was first settled in 1888, was incorporated in 1904,
and in 19 10 reported a population of 347. Agra has a bank, a money
order postoffice which supplies mail to the surrounding country by rural
free delivery, grain elevators, a weekly newspaper — the Sentinel — good
schools, churches, a considerable retail trade, and ships large quantities
of grain and live stock.
Agricola, a village of Coffey county, is a station on the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., in Rock Island township, 20 miles northeast
of Burlington, the county seat, and 6 miles from Waverly. It has tele-
graph and express offices and a money order postoffice with one rural
route. The population according to the 1910 census was 100.
Agricultural College. — The official title of this institution is the
"Kansas State Ag-ricultural College." The Congress of the United
States, by an act approved, July 2, 1862, entitled, "An act donating
public lands to the several states and territories which may provide col-
leges for the benefit of agriculture and mechanic arts," granted to the
State of Kansas upon certain conditions, 90,000 acres of public lands
for the endowment, support and maintenance of a college. The leading
object of such colleges was to be, without excluding other scientific and
classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches
of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in order
to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes
in the several pursuits and professions of life ; and when the legislature
of Kansas in 1863 accepted the benefits of said act with its provisions,
the foundation of the Kansas State Agricultural College was laid.
The location of the college may be attributed to the citizens of Man-
KANSAS HISTORY 33
hattan, which city was founded in 1855 by the cooperation of two col-
onies, one from New England and the other from Cincinnati. In the
New England party were several college graduates who were active in
the promotion of education. In 1857 an association was formed to build
a college in or near Manhattan to be under the control of the Methodist
Episcopal church of Kansas and to be called Bluemont Central College.
The charter secured in Feb., 1858, provided for the establishment of a
classical college but contained the following section "The said associa-
tion shall have power to establish, in addition to the literary depart-
ment of arts and sciences, an agricultural department, with separate pro-
fessors, to test soils, experiment in the raising of crops, the cultivation
of trees, etc., upon a farm set apart for the purpose, so as to bring out
to the utmost practical results the agricultural advantages of prairie
lands."
By a special act of Congress, title was secured to 100 acres of land,
about one mile west of Manhattan, on which the institution was located.
The growth of the college was slow and unsteady, because both money
and students were scarce. In 1861 when locations for a state university
were discussed, the trustees of Bluemont Central College offered their
site and building to the state but their offer was refused. In 1S63 when
Kansas accepted the act of Congress giving land for an agricultural
college, said college was. established in Riley county, provided that the
trustees of Bluemont College cede its land to the state in fee simple.
The Agricultural College was organized that same year with a board
of trustees consisting of the governor, secretary of state, superintendent
of public instruction, the president of the college ex oificio, and nine oth-
ers to be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate. Later
the board of regents was reduced to seven members. Four departments
were named, to-wit : Agriculture ; Mechanic Arts ; Military Science and
Tactics; Literature and Science.
From 1863 to 1873 the development of the college was much as it
would have been, had the trustees of Bluemont College remained in
control. The department of literature and science was fostered while
the departments for which the school was especially founded were prac-
tically ignored. The first faculty consisted of Rev. Joseph Denison,
president and professor of ancient languages and mental and moral
science; J. G. Schnebly, professor of natural science; Rev. N. O. Pres-
ton, professor of mathematics and English literature; Jeremiah E. Piatt,
principal of the preparatory department; Miss Bell Haines, assistant
teacher in preparatory department, and Mrs. Eliza C. Beckwith teacher
of instrumental music. The first catalogue gives the names of 94 stu-
dents in the preparatory department and 15 in the college. Fifteen stu-
dents graduated in the period from 1863 to 1873. In 1867 a large board-
ing hall for students was erected by parties in Manhattan. It was a fail-
ure financially. The college was urged to buy it and did at a cost of
$10,000. In 1868 about 200 varieties of forest and fruit trees were plant-
ed. In 1871 a new farm of 155 acres was purchased for $29,832.71 in
(1-3)
34
CYCLOPEDIA OF
scrip. The city of Manhattan, fearing the agricultural college would
be consolidated with the university at Lawrence, gave $12,000 (the re-
sult of a bond election) toward the purchase.
MAIN BUILDING. AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
An act of legislation in 1873, reorganizing the state institutions, re-
sulted in the appointment of a new board of regents. It elected Rev.
John A. Anderson of Junction City to the place vacated by President
Denison, who resigned the same year. Mr. Anderson changed the pol-
icy of the college immediately. Through him and the board who sup-
ported him, the Kansas State Agricultural College started on the mission
it was intended to fulfill. Mr. Anderson believed in industrial education,
and the reasons for his radical policies were published in 1874 in a "Hand
Book of the Kansas State Agricultural College." Briefly told he thought
prominence should be given to a study in proportion to the actual bene-
fit expected to be derived from it; that, "The farmer and mechanic
should be as completely educated as the lawyer or minister ; but the
information that is essential to one is often comparatively useless to the
other and it is therefore unjust to compel all classes to pursue the same
course of study." That ninety-seven per cent of Kansas people are in
industrial vocations, so greater prominence should be given industrial
studies. That each year's course of study should be, as far as possible,
complete in itself because many students are unable to take a whole col-
lege course. Mr. Anderson's views were unpopular but they met the
approval of the board of regents to such an extent that they discontinued
the department of literature and organized those of mechanic arts and
KANSAS HISTORY 35
agriculture ; the students were moved from the old farm to the new one ;
workshops in iron and wood, a sewing room, printing office, telegraph
office and kitchen laboratory were equipped that industrial training
might be given; and fifty minutes of manual training per day became
compulsory for each student. After Mr. Anderson had been president
three years Latin, French, German were discontinued ; the preparatory
course was abolished, thus shortening the whole course from six to
four years; the grade of work was adjusted aud lowered tc, connect
with that done by the public schools. 1 3'4323^
In 1875 the Mechanics' Hall was erected; in 1876 Horticultural Hall
and the Chemical Laboratory; in 1877 the main part of the present barn
was constructed (it was finished in 1886) ; and in 1879 the main hall,
named in honor of Mr. Anderson, was built.
In 1878 Mr. Anderson resigned, and from Feb. to Dec, 1879, M. L.
Ward was acting president of the college. Shortage of money made it
a difficult year. The legislature of 1877 having voted "that not over
$15,000 of the interest on the endowment fund shall be used to pay in-
structors and teachers in said college until debts of said college be paid
in full, and until said college shall refund to state all moneys advanced
by the state to pay for instructors and running expenses of said college."
The debt had been decreased during President Anderson's administra-
tion but was not cleared until the state legislature passed an act liquidat-
ing it.
George Thompson Fairchild, who succeeded Mr. Anderson, entered
upon his duties as president of the college in Dec, 1879. He had been
an instructor in the Michigan Agricultural College, so came well pre-
pared to improve the college at Manhattan. He believed in a school
that would Combine the culture of a classical education with the useful-
ness of manual training. He rearranged the course of study to combine
theory and practice, added literature, psychology, etc., divided the school
year into three terms, inaugurated a series of lectures, and appointed
committees to take charge of the various branches of school life.
In 1890 the Federal government passed an act for the further endow-
ment of agricultural colleges established under the provisions of an act
of 1862. The act provided, "the sum of $15,000 for the year ending June
30, 1890, and an annual increase of the amount of such appropriation
thereafter for ten years by an additional sum of $1,000 over the preced-
ing year, and the average amount to be paid thereafter to each state and
territory shall be $25,000, to be applied only to instruction in agriculture,
the mechanic arts, the English language, and the various branches of
mathematics, physical, natural and economic science, with special refer-
ence to the industries of life and to the facilities for such instruction."
In 1907 the income of the agricultural college was further increased
by what is known as the Nelson amendment to the agricultural appro-
priation bill. "In accordance with the act of Congress approved July
2, 1862, and the act of Congress approved Aug. 30. 1890. the sum of
$5,000, in addition to the sums named in said act, for the fiscal year end-
36 CYCLOPEDIA OF
ing June 30, 1908, and an annual increase of the amount of such appro-
priation thereafter for four years by an additional sum of $5,000 over the
preceding year, and the annual sum to be paid thereafter to each
state and territory shall be $50,000 to be applied only for the purposes
of the agricultural colleges as defined and limited in the act of Congress
approved Aug. 30, 1890, provided, that said colleges may use a portion
of this money for providing courses for the special preparation of in-
structors for teaching the elements of agriculture and the mechanic arts.
A valuable adjunct to the Agricultural College is the Experiment Sta-
tion. Some experiment work in forest planting was commenced by the
college as early as 1868. In 1874 experiments in the cultivation of tame
grasses were started by Prof. Shelton. These were followed by experi-
ments in subsoiling, feeding, etc., but all work was carried on in a small
way at the expense of the college until Congress passed the Hatch bill
in March, 1887, providing for the organization of a station for experi-
ments along agricultural lines in each state. This station was located
at the Agricultural College by the state legislature and the management
vested^in a council consisting of the president, the professors of agricul-
ture, horticulture and entomology, chemistry, botany, and veterinary
science. The Hatch bill provided for an annual Congressional appro-
priation of $15,000 for experimental work.
In 1906, another appropriation was made for the Experiment Station,
under what is known as the Adams act, which provided "for the more
complete endowment and maintenance of the agricultural experiment
stations," a sum beginning with $5,000, and increasing each year by
$2,000 over the preceding year for five years, after which time the annual
appropriation is to be $15,000, "to be applied to paying the necessary
expenses of conducting original researches or experiments bearing di-
rectly on the agricultural industry of the United States, having due re-
gard to the varying conditions and needs of the respective states and
territories." Under the Adams act only such experiments may be en-
tered upon as have first been approved by the office of experiment sta-
tions of the United States department of agriculture. In 1908, the legis-
lature of Kansas appropriated $15,000 for further support of the Ex-
periment Station.
The work of the station is published in bulletin form, of which there
are three classes : The first are purely scientific, the second are sim-
plified to meet the intelligence of the average reader and include all
other bulletins in which a "brief, condensed and popular presentation
is made of data which call for immediate application and cannot await
publication in the regular bulletin series." In addition to these the sta-
tion publishes a series of circulars of useful information not necessarily
new or original. The station has issued 167 bulletins, 183 press bulle-
tins and 8 circulars.
While the main division of the station is at Manhattan it has branches
at Fort Hayes, Garden City, Ogallah and Dodge Cit}'. The land at
Fort Hays is of the high rolling prairie variety and was originally part
KANSAS HISTORY 37
of the Fort Ha)'s military reservation, which from disuse was turned
over to the department of interior in 1889 for disposal. In 1895 the
Kansas legislature asked Congress to donate the whole reservation of
7,200 acres to the State of Kansas for agricultural education and re-
search, for the training of teachers, and for a public park, but it was not
until 1900 that Kansas secured the land. The work of this station is con-
fined to the problems of the western part of the state. This land is
suitable for experimental and demonstration work in dry farming, irri-
gation and crops, forest and orchard tests. This station is supported
by state funds, and sales of farm products.
The station at Garden City is located upon unirrigated upland which
the Agricultural College leased from the county commissioners of Fin-
ney county for 99 years. "It is an experimental and demonstration"
farm operated in conjunction with the United States department of agri-
culture for purpose of determining the methods of culture, crop varieties
and crop rotation best suited for the southwestern portion of the state,
under dry land farming conditions.
The stations at Ogallah and Dodge City are forestry stations, and
are operated under the direct management of state forester and general
supervision of the director of the Experiment Station. The engineering
expepiment station was established by the board of regents, "for the
purpose of carrying on continued series of tests of engineering and
manufacturing value to the State of Kansas, and to conduct these tests
on a scale sufficiently large that the results will be of direct commercial
value." Among the experiments made are those of cement and con-
crete, Kansas coals, lubricants and bearings, endurance tests of paints,
power required for driving machine tools, etc. President Fairchild
remained at the head of the Agricultural College from 1879 to 1897.
The growth of the institution under his direction was steady and sub-
stantial. He was succeeded by Mr. Thomas E. Will. It is said great
prominence was given economic, financial and social problems during
the presidency of Mr. Will. In 1897 four year courses were established
in domestic science, agriculture, mechanical engineering and general
science. Mr. Will resigned in 1899, and Prof. E. R. Nichols was chosen
to fill his place first as acting president, later as president.
The rapid increase in attendance made new buildings necessary. In
1900 the agricultural hall and dairy barn were erected ; in 1902, the
physical science hall, in 1906 the granary, and in 1904 the dairy hall,
college extension. Until 1905 the extension work of the college was in
the form of farmer's institutes held throughout the state, this work be-
ing in charge of a committee chosen from the faculty. The small means
available made the institutes irregular and the attendance was small.
In 1905 the board of regents employed a superintendent to organize the
department of farmers' institutes, and in igo6 the department was for-
mally organized. To the appropriation of $4,000 made by the legislature
of 1905 the college added $800. The interest of the state in the agricul-
tural extension and the results derived therefrom resulted in an appro-
38 CYCLOPEDIA OF
priation of $11,500 by the legislature of 1907 to which the college added
$1,000. In 1909 the legislature appropriated $52,500 for the department,
the policies and plans of which are established by a committee consist-
ing of the president of the college, the director of the experiment station
and the superintendent of the division. The department includes the
following forms of agricultural extension : Farmers' institutes ; publica-
tions for institute members ; agricultural railway trains ; schoolhouse
campaigns ; boys' corn growing contests ; girls' cooking and sewing con-
tests; rural education; demonstration farming; highway construction;
movable schools; special campaigns; publications for teachers; corre-
spondence courses (18 courses ofifered) ; home economic clubs.
President Nichols resigned in 1909 and Henry Jackson Waters was
chosen by the board of regents to succeed him. The Agricultural Col-
lege now owns 748 acres of land including the campus of i6o acres. The
buildings which are built of white limestone number twenty-one. The
corps of instructors numbers 165, and the number of students enrolled
in 1910 was 1,535 males, 770 females, a total of 2,305.
Agricultural Society, State. — The first effort to organize a state — or
more properly speaking a territorial — agricultural society, was made on
July 16, 1857, when a mass meeting was held at Topeka to consider the
subject. After discussion pro and con a committee was appointed to
draw up a constitution for such a society. Among the members of this
committee were Dr. Charles Robinson, W. F. M. Arny, C. C. Hutchin-
son, Dr. A. Hunting and W. Y. Roberts. An organization was effected
under a constitution presented by the committee, but for various reasons
the society was never able to accomplish much in the wa)' of promoting
the agricultural interests of Kansas. In the first place the projectors of
the movement were mostly ardent free-state men, while the territorial
authorities were of the opposite political faith, so that it was impossible
to secure the passage of laws favorable to the work of the society.
Added to this, the unsettled conditions in the territory, due largely to
the political agitation for the adoption of a state constitution and the
admission of Kansas into the Union, kept the public mind so occupied
that it was a difficult matter to arouse sufficient interest in agriculture
to place the society on a solid footing. After a short existence it ceased
its efforts altogether. The books collected by the society were afterward
given to the state library by Judge L. D. Bailey.
The territorial legislature of i860 provided for the organization of
county agricultural societies in the counties of Coffey, Doniphan, Doug-
las, Franklin, Linn and Wabaunsee, and for the "Southern Kansas Agri-
cultural Society," but no provisions were ever made by the authorities
during the territorial era for a society that would cover the entire terri-
tory in its operations.
By the act of May 10, 1861, the first state legislature authorized ten
or more persons to form an agricultural or a horticultural society in any
county, town, city or village, and file articles of association with the
secretary of the state society and with the county clerk in the county
KANSAS HISTORY 39
where the society was located. As a matter of fact, at the time this law
was passed there was no state agricultural society, but on Feb. 5, 1862,
a meeting was held in the hall of the house of representatives at Topeka
for the purpose of organizing one. W. R. Wagstaff, F. G. Adams, Gol-
den Silvers, J. Medill and R. A. Van Winkle were appointed as a com-
mittee to draft a constitution, and upon the adoption of their report the
following oiHcers were elected: President, Lyman Scott; secretary,
Franklin G. Adams ; treasurer, Isaac Garrison ; executive committee, E.
B. Whitman, R. A. Van Winkle, Welcome Wells, F. P. Baker, W. A.
Shannon, J. W. Sponable, C. B. Lines, Thomas Arnold, Martin Ander-
son and J. C. Marshall.
The constitution adopted at the formation of the society provided for
the payment by each member of annual dues of one dollar, or for ten
dollars one could become a life member. It also provided for the organ-
ization of county societies as auxilaries to the state society.
On Jan. 13, 1863, L. D. Baile}^ succeeded Lyman Scott as president.
Mr. Bailey served as president until Jan. 16, 1867, when he was suc-
ceeded by Robert G. Elliott, who in turn was succeeded by I. S. Kal-
loch on Sept. 30, 1870, the latter continuing to hold the office until the
society went out of existence. Mr. Adams served as secretary until
Jan. 12, 1865, when John S. Brown was elected as his successor. On
Sept. 30, 1870, H. J. Strickler was elected secretary and served until
Sept. 15, 1871, when Alfred Gray was elected to the office, being the
last secretary of the society.
At a meeting of the executive committee on Feb. 20, 1863, the presi-
dent and secretary were given full power to make all the necessar}^ ar-
rangements for a state fair, and the first state fair was held at Leaven-
worth the following fall— Oct. 6 to 9 inclusive. (See State Fairs.) The
legislature of that year made an appropriation of $1,000 for the benefit
of the society. Another work of the society in 1863 was the distribution
of 500 bushels of cotton seed among the farmers of the state who were
desirous of trying the experiment of raising cotton.
On March 12, 1872, the State Agricultural Society held its last meet-
ing and adjourned sine die, the State Board of Agriculture (q. v.), which
had already been authorized by an act of the legislature, taking its place.
Agricultural Wheel.— During the winter of 1881-82, the unsatisfac-
tory condition of the market for farm products, and the oppressiveness
of the Arkansas mortgage laws through what was known as the "ana-
conda mortgage," led to a wide discussion among the farmers of that
state as to the advisability of organizing for cooperation and mutual pro-
tection. On Wednesday evening, Feb. 15, 1882, seven farmers met at
McBee's school house, 8 miles southwest of the town of Des Arc, in
Prairie county, to consider the question of forming some kind of a farm-
ers' society. A committee, consisting of W. T. McBee, W. W. Tedford
and J. W. McBee, was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws and
report at same place on the evening of the 22nd. At the adjourned meet-
ing the Wattensas Farmers' club was organized, the objects of which
40 CYCLOPEDIA OF
were stated in the constitution as being "The improvement of its mem-
bers in the theory and practice of agriculture and the dissemination of
knowledge relative to rural and farming afifairs."
It seems that the name was not altogether satisfactory to some of
those interested, for at the meeting on March i the question of select-
ing a new one, with a broader significance, came up for consideration.
Some one suggested the name of "Wheel," because "no machine can be
run without a drive wheel, and agriculture is the great wheel or power
that controls the entire machinery of the world's industries." The so-
ciety was therefore reorganized under the new name, with the follow-
ing objects :
"i — To unite fraternally all acceptable white males who are engaged
in the occupation of farming, also mechanics who are actually engaged
in farming.
"2 — To give all possible moral and material aid in its power to its
members by holding instructive lectures, by encouraging each other in
business, and by assisting each other in obtaining employment.
"3 — The improvement of its members in the theory and practice of
agriculture and the dissemination of knowledge relative to rural and
farming affairs.
"4 — To ameliorate the condition of the farmers of this country in
every possible manner."
By the following spring the organization numbered some 500 mem-
bers, and on April 9, 1883, representatives of the local wheels in Ar-
kansas met at the residence of W. T. McBee, one of the seven founders,
and launched the state wheel, with E. B. McPherson as grand president.
Deputies were appointed to carry the order into new territory by the
establishment of local wheels, and the organization spread rapidly to
other states. On July 28, 1886, delegates from the local wheels in Ar-
kansas,, Kentucky and Tennessee met at Litchfield, Ark., and organized
the national wheel with Isaac McCracken of Ozone, Ark., as president,
and A. E. Gardner of Dresden, Tenn., as secretary and treasurer. The
State Wheel Enterprise, published by Louis B. Audigier, at Searcy,
Ark., was made the organ of the national organization. This gave a
new impetus to the order, which on March i, 1887," just five years after
it was founded, boasted a membership of 500,000, the greater portion
of which was in the states of Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missis-
sippi and Missouri, though the order had extended into the Indian Ter-
ritory and Wisconsin.
Upon the organization of the national wheel a platform was adopted,
in which the following demands were made: The preservation of the
public domain of the United States for actual settlers ; legislation to pre-
vent aliens from owning land in this country; the coinage of enough
gold and silver into money to assure a speedy extinguishment of the
national debt ; the abolition of national banks and the issue of enough
legal tender notes to do the business of the country on a cash basis;
legislation by Congress to prevent dealing in futures in agricultural pro-
KANSAS HISTORY 4I
ductions; a graduated income tax; a strict enforcement of the laws pro-
hibiting the importation of foreign labor under the contract system ;
ownership by the people of all means of transportation and communica-
tion; the election of all officers of the national government by a direct
vote of the people ; the repeal of all laws that bear unequally on capital
and labor; the amendment of the tariff laws so that all import duties
on articles that enter into American manufactures should be removed,
and that duties be levied on articles of luxury, but not high enough to
prevent their importation; the education of the masses by a well regu-
lated system of free schools ; no renewal of patents at the expiration of
the period for which they were originally granted.
A resolution was also adopted by the national wheel pledging the
members to support no man for Congress "of any political party, who
will not pledge himself in writing to use all his influence for the forma-
tion of these demands into laws."
At a meeting of the national wheel at Meridian, Miss., in Dec, 1888,
it was recommended that the organization unite with the Farmers' Al-
liance. A joint meeting of delegates belonging to the two organizations
was held at Birmingham, Ala., May 15, 1889. and the two orders were
consolidated on Sept. 24, following.
Agriculture. — In a general sense agriculture in Kansas was com-
menced in 1825, when the government by a treaty made with the
Kansas Indians agreed to supply them with cattle, hogs and agricul-
tural implements, but literally history of agriculture begins with the
Quiviran Indians who were tilling the soil more than two centuries
earlier, when Don Juan de Onate (q. v.) tarried with them on his jour-
ney from New Mexico.
John B. Dunbar, in an article on "The White Man's Foot in Kan-
sas," speaks of the pleasant effect the country of the Ouivirans had
upon Onate. As contrasted with the arid regions of New Mexico
and northern Mexico it seemed to him a veritable land of promise,
"The frequent streams, the wide prairies, pleasantly diversified with
gently rolling hills and admirably adapted to cultivation, the rich soil,
spontaneously afforded a variegated growth of grass, flowering plants,
arid native fruits, nuts, Indian potatoes, etc., that added much to the
attractiveness of the entire region." The Quivirans, "in cultivating
the soil, worshipped the planet, Venus, known as Hopirikuts, the
Great Star, recognized by them as the patron of agriculture, as did
in later days their descendants, the Pawnees. Sometimes, after plant-
ing their corn patches to secure a good crop, they offered the captive
girl as a sacrifice to Hopirikuts. As time passed many of the tribe
came to look upon this usage with disfavor, and finally, in 1819, by the
interference of Pitalesharu, a young brave of well known character as
a man of recognized prowess as war chief, the usage was finally dis-
continued."
It is not said that the Kansas Indians received their suggestion of
husbandry from the remote Quivirans but they were the next farmers
42 CYCLOPEDIA OF
in Kansas. Dr. Thomas Say, the chief zoologist of the Long Ex-
pedition, in writing of his visit to the Kansas village in 1819, said:
"They commonly placed before us a sort of soup, composed of maize
of the present season, of that description, which after having under-
gone a certain preparation, is appropriately named sweet-corn, boiled
in water, and enriched with a few slices of bison meat, grease and some
beans, and, to suit it to our palates, it was generally seasoned with rock
salt, which is procured near the Arkansas river. . . . Another very
acceptable dish was called lyed corn. . . . They also make much use
of maize roasted on the cob, of boiled pumpkins, of muskmelons and
watermelons, but the latter are generally pulled from the vine before
they are completely ripe." Dr. Say further states that the young females
before marriage cultivated the fields. The agency of the Kansas In-
dians was established at the mouth of the Grasshopper creek in 1827.
Daniel Morgan Boone, the farmer appointed by the government, com-
menced farming at this point in 1827 or 1828. Rev. Isaac AIcCo}-, in
1835, reported that the government had 20 acres fenced and 10 acres
plowed at "Fool Chief's" village, 3 miles west of the present North
Topeka. In the spring of 1835 the government selected 300 acres in
what is now Shawnee county, and about the same number south of
the Kansas River, in the valley of Mission creek and carried on farm-
ing on quite an extensive scale. The emigrant tribes from the east
who came into Kansas from 1825-1832 were sufficiently civilized to have
a knowledge of farming and good farms were cultivated by members
of the various tribes and by the white missionaries who settled among
them.
The first cultivation of the soil by white men on a scale large enough
to be called farming was at Fort Leavenworth in 1829 or 1830; at the
mouth of Grasshopper creek by Daniel Morgan Boone ; and at the Shaw-
nee mission farm in Johnson county by Rev. Thomas Johnson as early
as 1830. Farms were quite common on the Indian reservations, and
at the various missions, when Congress passed the bill creating Kansas
Territory. The remarkable fertility of the soil of Kansas and its
adaptability to agricultural purposes had been experimentally proven
and were well known before the territorial bill was passed. Hence,
the tide of immigration from 1854 to 1856 was due as much to the
natural resources of the land as to the political preferment. The un-
settled condition of territorial affairs from 1858 to i860 was not aus-
picious for the pursuance of industrial arts. The settlers planted crops
but raised barely enough for their own consumption. The L'nited
States census for i860 in its report on Kansas shows 405,468 acres in
improved farms and 372,932 acres in unimproved farms, with the cash
value of both as $12,258,239. There were then farming implements
valued at $727,694: 20,344 horses; 1,496 mules; 28,550 milch cows;
2,155 oxen; 43,354 other cattle; 17,569 sheep; 138,244 swine, and the
value of this live stock was $3,332,450. There were 194,173 bushels of
wheat; 3,833 bushels of rye; 6,150,727 bushels of Indian corn; 88,-
KANSAS HISTORY
43
325 bushels of oats ; 20,349 pounds of tobacco ; 24,400 pounds of cotton ;
24,746 pounds of wool ; 9,827 bushels of peas and beans ; 296,335 bushels
of Irish potatoes; 9,965 bushels of sweet potatoes; 4,716 bushels of
barley; 41,575 bushels of buckwheat; orchard products valuing $656;
market garden products worth $31,641 ; 1,093,497 pounds of butter; 29,-
045 pounds of cheese; 56,232 tons of hay; 103 bushels of clover seed;
3,043 bushels of grass seed; 197 pounds of hops; 1,135 pounds of flax;
II bushels of flax seed; 40 pounds of silk cocoons; 3,742 pounds of maple
sugar; 2 gallons of maple molasses; 87,656 gallons of sorghum molasses;
1,181 pounds of beeswax, and 16,944 pounds of honey.
The small beginning toward agricultural development received a
serious setback by what is known as the drought of i860, which really
beg'an in Sept., 1859. and lasted until the fall of the next year. (See
Droughts.) The struggle with poverty was accompanied by a struggle
for statehood, and in 1861 Kansas, a poor, destitute, forlorn young thing,
clothed in grain sacks and hope, was admitted to the Union. An
optimism born of determination is indicated in the laws of the legisla-
ture of 1862, by which a Kansas State Agricultural society was or-
ganized, "for the purpose of promoting the improvement of agriculture
and its kindred arts," and by which county and town agricultural and
horicultural societies could be formed. The small development of the
state had not extended over much territory, as in 1861 the map of
Kansas was blank beyond the tier of counties embracing Saline, Marion
and Butler. During the Civil war very little growth was made in any
way, and while agriculture received more attention than many things,
few surplus crops were raised. However, in 1863, the legislature ap-
propriated $1,000 to the State Agricultural Society, thus keeping in
mind the main business of the state in spite of war and strife. At the
close of the war, from 1865 until 1870, a second invasion of emigrants
entered Kansas, especially the southeastern portion. This invasion con-
sisted of the sturdy young men who were discharged from the army,
and, out of employment, turned to the fields of Kansas to make a home
and support their families. These families were all poor, but kindly
in their relations with one another. They exchanged work when outside
assistance was needed, because there was no money for wages. Mr.
Carey in an article on the Osage ceded lands gives a vivid glimpse of
these settlers and their methods and shows a slight social line of de-
marcation between those owning American horses, and those owning
mustangs and Indian ponies, and between these and the owners of oxen.
The implements emplo3'ed were of an ordinary sort and all the com-
munities of the state used the methods of farming prevalent in the dis-
tricts from which they migrated, and confined their efforts to the com-
mon crops. During the period from 1865 to 1870 farming commenced
to be a vocation in Kansas. Much time and serious thought were given
to it. In 1869 the legislature passed an act for the distribution of wheat
on the western frontier. (See Harvey's Administration.)
The agricultural development of the state during the decade from
44 CYCLOPEDIA OF
i860 to 1870 is shown by the following statistics compiled by the ninth
United States census. It shows 1,971,003 acres of improved land, 635,-
419 acres of woodland and 3,050,457 acres of unimproved land. The
valuation of farms was $90,327,040; of farming implements and ma-
chiner}-, $4,053,312; the total value of all farm productions, including
betterments and additions to stock $27,630,651. There were 117,786
horses; 11,786 mules and asses; 12,344 milch cows; 20,774 working
oxen ; 229,753 other cattle ; 109,088 sheep ; 206,587 swine. There were
produced on the farms 1,314,522 bushels of spring wheat; 1,076,676
bushels of winter wheat ; 17,025,525 bushels of corn ; 85,207 bushels of
rye ; 4,097,925 bushels of oats ; 98,405 of barley ; 27,826 of buckwheat ;
33,241 pounds of tobacco ; 7 bales of cotton ; 335,005 pounds of wool ;
13,109 bushels of peas and beans; 2,342,988 bushels of Irish potatoes;
49,533 bushels of sweet potatoes; 5,022,758 pounds of butter; 226,607
pounds of cheese ; 490,289 tons of hay ; 334 bushels of clover seed ; 8,-
023 bushels of grass seed; 396 pounds of hops; 35 tons of hemp; 1,040
pounds of flax; 1,553 bushels of flaxseed; 938 pounds of maple sugar;
449,409 gallons of sorghum molasses; 212 gallons of maple molasses;
2,208 pounds of beeswax; 110,827 pounds of hone}'.
In the early '70s the population grew more rapidly than the crops, thus
keeping the country poor ; the legislature of 1872 found it necessary
to appropriate $3,000 for the relief of settlers in the western part of the
state. In March of the same year the Kansas State Agricultural So-
ciety went out of existence and the Kansas State Board of agriculture
was organized. (See Agriculture, State Board of.)
The state made every effort to develop her fertile acres, but success
came slowly, as new catastrophes were constantly happening to retard
progress and to depress hope. In July and August, 1874, Kansas re-
ceived a devastating visitation from the grasshopper or locust. A great
swarm of these insects passed over the state devouring nearly every
green thing. Thej^ came so suddenl}' the people were panic stricken.
In the western counties, where immigration during the previous two
years had been very heav}', and the chief dependence of the settlers
was corn, potatoes and garden vegetables, the calamity fell with terri-
ble force. Starvation or emigration seemed inevitable unless aid should
be furnished. The state board of agriculture set about collecting cor-
rect data relating to the effects of the prevailing drouth, and devasta-
tion of crops by locusts and cinch bugs, and Gov. Osborn issued a
proclamation convening legislature on the 15th day of September. (See
Osborn's Administration.)
The grasshopper raid retarded immigration and discouraged the
people of the state but did not destroy hope and faith, for in 1876 all
forces rallied to redeem the reputation of Kansas. The State Board
of Centennial Managers in a communication to the legislature said,
"Kansas needs all the advantages of a successful display. Remote from
the money centers, the crash of the 'panic' came, sweeping away our
values, checking our immigration, and leaving us our land and our
KANSAS HISTORY 45
debts. The devastation of the locust was an accidental and passing
shadow. Our wealth of soil and climate has been reasserted in abundant
harvests, but the depression still rests like a blight on the price of real
estate. Immigration has halted and investments have measurably-
ceased." The legislature of 1876 evidently felt the same way about the
state because it appropriated $25,000 for the Kansas building and dis-
play in Philadelphia. (See Expositions.)
The statistics for 1880, as given by the State Board of agricultural,
show 8,868,884.79 acres of land in cultivation, divided as follows : win-
ter wheat, 2,215,937 acres, with a product of 23,507,223 bushels, valued
at $19,566,034.67; spring wheat, 228,497 acres, 1,772,661 bushels, $1,-
414,633.90; rye, 54,748 acres, 676,507 bushels, $270,602.80; corn, 3,554,-
396 acres, 101,421,718 bushels, $24,926,079.07; barley, 17,121 acres, 287,-
057 bushels, $143,528.50; oats, 477,827 acres, 11,483,796 bushels, $2,918,-
689.17; buckwheat, 2,671.41 acres, 43,455 bushels, $39,110; Irish potatoes,
66,233 acres, 4,919,227 bushels, $3,279,501.85; sweet potatoes, 4,021
acres, 391,196.55 bushels, $391,196.55; sorghum, 32,945.09 acres, 3,787,-
535 gallons, $1,704,390.98; castor beans, 50,437.61 acres, 558,974.28
bushels, $558,974.28; cotton, 838.34 acres, 142,517.80 pounds, $12,826.67;
hemp, 597.22 acres, 635,872 pounds, $38,152.32; tobacco, 607.21 acres,
449,335.40 pounds, $44,933.54; broom corn, 25,507.64 acres, 17,279-,
664.50 pounds, $604,788.27; rice corn, 27,138.40 acres, 493,915 bushels,
$125,353.12; pearl millet, 8,031.40 acres, 26,784 tons, $115,527; millet and
hungarian, 268,485 acres, 602,300.31 tons, $2,542,565.95; timothy
meadow, 49,201.46 acres, 79,634.16 tons, $447,411.20; clover meadow,
16,637.61 acres, 26,796.16 tons, $151,764.05; clover, blue' grass and
prairie pasture, 959,456.91 acres ; prairie meadow, 679,744 acres, 798,707
tons, $2,570,290.85.
The counties having the most acres cultivated were Sedgwick, Mc-
Pherson, Dickinson, Miami, Marshall and Sumner, all of which had
more than 210,000, while Ford, Barbour and Hodgeman of the or-
ganized counties had the least number of acres in cultivation.
A strong feature in the dissemination of agricultural knowledge is
the county agricultural society. In the general statutes of 1868, 1872
and 1873 provision is made for the incorporation of these county clubs
for the encouragement of agriculture. The important relation exist-
ing between them and the State Board of Agriculture is shown in sec-
tion 2 of chapter 9 of the session laws of 1873, which declares "that
every county or district agricultural society, composed of one or more
counties, whether now organized or hereafter to be organized under
the laws of the state of Kansas, shall be entitled to send the president
of such society, or other delegate therefrom, duly authorized in writing,
to the annual meeting of the State Board of Agriculture, to be held on
the' second Wednesday of January of each year, and who shall for the
time being be ex-officio member of the state Board of Agriculture; pro-
vided, that the secretary of each district or county society, or such other
person as may be designated by the society, shall make a monthly re-
,\G CYCLOrEDIA OF
port to the State Board of Agriculture, on the last Wednesda)- of each
month, of the condition of crops in his district or county, make a list
of such noxious insects as are destroying crops, and state the extent
of their depradations, report the condition of stock, give a description
of the symptoms of any disease prevailing among the same, with means
of prevention and remedies employed so far as ascertained, and such
other as will be of interest to the farmers of the state," etc. Chapter
37, session laws of 1879. provides that the monthly reports required to
be made to and by the board of agriculture, by virtue of existing pro-
visions of law, shall hereafter be made quarterly instead of monthly,
except when the public interests shall require special reports. Fifty-
eight county societies were organized as early as 1874.
The decade from 1880 to 1890 is replete with new suggestions, new
methods and new ideals for agricultural development. The hope of
earlier years developed into confidence and in 1884 the report of the
state board of agriculture says: "During the biennial period just past,
nearly 2,000,000 additional acres have been put in cultivation. The
principal field crops, corn, wheat, oats and grass, have received each
a proportionate amount of this increase in acreage, the most notable
additon being to the winter wheat area, which increased from 1,465,-
745 acres in 1882 to 2,151,868 acres in 1884 . . . The area of grass,
made up of the tame grasses and prairie meadow under fence, increased
in two years nearly 1,000,000 acres. The westward march of the tame
grasses may be said to have commenced within the period covered by
this volume. Fields of timothy, clover, orchard-grass, blue grass and
many other kinds, are now to be found in the central counties, and even
beyond, while such fields were rarely met two years ago . . . The
results of farming operations in Kansas for the past two years, . . .
have definitely settled any doubt as to the entire fitness of the eastern
half of the state to the successful prosecution of agriculture in all its
branches. The debatable ground of ten years ago is now producing
crops that have placed Kansas among the three great agricultural states
of the Union, and the soil that ten years ago was believed to the satis-
faction of many to be unfit for diversified farming, is now producing
average yields that largely exceed the yields of any other portion of
the country."
During the years 1883-84, in complying with the law, the state board
of agriculture issued each year a pamphlet intended to supply informa-
tion concerning the resources and capabilities of the state, to those seek-
ing homes in the west. "This report was restricted by law to 60 pages,
and the edition each year to 65,000 couies, divided into 20,000 English
copies, 20,000 German, 15,000 Swedish, and 10,000 Danish."
The encouraging outlook for the realization of hope in all fields of
industry was circumscribed by a drought in 1887. The five prosperous
years preceding it were unduly stimulated by heavy immigration and
outside capital, the prevalence of fictitious values in all branches of
business caused the crop failures of that year to fall more heavily upon
KANSAS HISTORY 47
the people than they otherwise would have done. The drought, which
extended throughout most of the Avestern states, fell with much force
on Kansas and she experienced one of the most disastrous crop years
in her history. In 1888 much of the loss was retrieved, a rapid restora-
tion of confidence was occasioned in a large measure by the develop-
ment of two new and very important industries — sugar and salt — and
by an abundant harvest.
During the years 1888-89 the state board of agriculture turned some
of its attention from immigration to the instruction of farmers in the
means and methods best adapted to successful agriculture. With this
in view the agricultural meetings were conducted along the lines of
a farmers' institute, and were considered very profitable. A most im-
portant step in the scientific development of husbandry was made in
1887, when the passage of the "Hatch bill" by Congress provided for
the organization in each state of a station for experiment in lines pro-
motive to agriculture. This experiment station, located by the legisla-
ture, was made a department of the State Agricultural College at Man-
hattan. The work of the section is done in eight departments: the
farm department deals with experiments in farm crops, such as the
testing of seeds, the introduction of new crops, rotation and adapta-
tion of crops to soil ; the botanical department includes work along the
lines of plant breeding and forage crops; the chemical department is
engaged in analysis of soil, feeds, waters, ores, clays and miscellaneous
things, the dairy and animal husbandry department conducts experi-
ments in cheese making, economical production of milk, butter making,
relative advantages of cattle foods, etc; the entomological department
experiments relate to orchard pests, crop pests, etc. ; the horticultural
department makes experiments in fruit raising, shrubs and vines as
ornamentals, vegetables suitable for canning factories, etc. ; the vet-
erinary department experiments in all kinds of diseases of cattle, swine
and stock. The general department controls the management of the
station, the distribution of bulletins, press notices, etc. The experiment
station puts itself in touch with the agricultural districts through bul-
letins, farmers' institutes, crop contests, press reports and display trains.
Its influence has been shown in every community, as is evidenced by
the diversity of crops, and the crop yield. In 1890 the crops raised were
winter wheat, spring wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, Irish
and sweet potatoes, castor beans, cotton, flax, hemp, tobacco, broom
corn, millet and bungareau, sorghum, milo maize, Jerusalem corn and
prairie hay, the total number of acres cultivated being 15,929,654, the
crop valuation $121,127,645, and the population 1,427,096.
Up to 1890 agriculture was practically confined to the eastern and
central parts of the state, the western portion being considered almost
unfit for crops. In 1891 and 1892 a special effort was made to place be-
fore the public the capabilities of Kansas soil for the production of
wheat, and several farmers from every county in the state who had
grown unusually bountiful crops were asked to report to the State
48 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Board of Agriculture the yield and methods of culture. These reports
were a new and surprising revelation and showed that western Kan-
sas, through to the Colorado line, was bound to be adapted to success-
ful wheat growing, many yields being reported at from 30 to 40 bushels
an acre without irrigation. Another crop that sprung into prominence
at this time was alfalfa. In the spring of 1891 farmers in all parts of
the state who had been successful growing alfalfa without irrigation
were asked to report upon their manner of preparing the soil and seed-
ing it, the acreage the)- had in alfalfa, its value for ha}-, pasture and
seed. These reports indicated that it was the most profitable crop that
could be grown in Western Kansas, and had revolutionized farming in
that section.
STEAM PLOW IN ACTION.
The conditions in western Kansas, especially in the Arkansas river
valley, were improved by the magical influence of irrigation. The
valley proper is from four to twelve miles wide, and the whole district
is flat enough for easy irrigation. The soil is sand}- alluvium, containing
the highest elements of fertility, needing only moisture to change it
from barren prairie to productive fields. In the early days of immigra-
tion large numbers of people settled in the Arkansas river valley, towns
were laid out, companies incorporated and large plans made for the fu-
ture of this subhumid region. The ordinary methods of farming were
not adapted to the climatic conditions and failure followed, until irriga-
tion from the Arkansas river was tried. The experiments were success-
ful until Colorado adopted similar methods for its arid portions and
used so much water from the river that by 1892 the ditches in Kansas
were ill supplied. The U. S. government made investigations in west-
ern Kansas that led to the discovery of an underflow of the Arkansas
that amounted to practically a subterranean river. In 1905 it installed
at Deerfield, in Finney county, an irrigation plant that pumped water
from wells drilled to this underground stream. Through all the
KANSAS HISTORY 49
Arkansas valley the well irrigation method is successfully used. A
crop like alfalfa that grows abundantly without apparent irrigation or
rainfall has long roots reaching to the underflow, or gains moisture
from the subsoil.
The investigation of drought resisting crops, resulted in the cultiva-
tion of the soy-bean in 1889 with most gratifying results. They were
found to stand drought as well as kafir corn and sorghum, not to be
touched by chinch bugs, and to enrich the soil in which the}^ were grown,
The soy-bean was brought from Japan, where it is extensively culti-
vated for human food, taking the place of beef on account of its rich-
ness in protein. Because of its peculiar flavor but few Americans like
it. The soy-bean is valuable as stock food and for soil inoculation.
Other important crops developed since 1890 are the sugar beet, and
cow peas. It is not great variation in crops that Kansas has strived for
but intelligent production of those adapted to Kansas soil and climate.
During the years from 1890 to 1908 thorough attention was given to
every detail of farm life, it being the ambition of the state to have every
agriculturist farm in the best approved and most scientific manner. In
former years the farmer devoted his time to a few main crops and let
the minor points take care of themselves, pests and disease were con-
sidered bad luck rather than results of carelessness or ignorance. The
farmer of today has a broader view of his vocation and investigates
not only the soil, its needs and bacteria, crop rotation, planting, and
seed but also has a knowledge of silos and ensilage, the breeds of ducks,
chickens, turkeys and geese, the most economical and effective stock
food, the best rations for milch cows, how to exterminate the Hessian
fly, prairie dogs, gophers, chinch bugs or clover hay worms ; and he
knows about weeds, their names, fruits, seeds, propagation and dis-
tribution, all the simple diseases of stock, their symptoms, causes, and
cures, and furthermore is interested in agriculture, horticulture, and
forestry. Kansas leads all other states in the output of wheat, but corn
is her most important soil product. The statistics of the principal
Kansas crops for 1908 were as follows: winter wheat, 6,831,811 acres,
76,408,560 bushels, valuation $63,597,490.19; spring wheat, 107,540 acres,
400,362 bushels, $287,655.55; corn, 7,057,535 acres, 150,640,516 bushels,
$82,642,461.72; oats, 831,150 acres, 16,707,979 bushels, $7,118,847.22; rye,
34,799 acres, 361,476 bushels, $240,058.21 ; barley, 247,971 acres, $2,657,-
122; emmer fspeltz), 50,469 acres, 934,941 bushels, $437,606.67; buck-
wheat, 316 acres, 3,945 bushels, $3,587.30; Irish potatoes, 81,646 acres,
5,937,825 bushels, $4,431,684.17; sweet potatoes, 4,818 acres, 471,760
bushels, $413,686.13; castor beans, 65 acres, 585 bushels, $585; flax, 58,-
084 acres, 383,941 pounds, $360,010.46; tobacco, 32 acres, 4,800 pounds,
$480; millet and Hungarian, 225,267 acres, 416,413 tons, $1,841,231.50;
sugar beets, 14,513 acres, 53,178 tons, $265,890. The total acreage of
sorghum planted for syrup or sugar was 12,175, producing 927,269
gallons, with a value of $426,958.90; the number of acres of sorghum
planted for forage or grain, 402,719, valued at $2,851,481; milo maize,
(1-4)
CYCLOPEDIA OF
55-255 acres, 106,268 tons, $515,269; Kafir corn, 630,096 acres, $1,794,-
032 tons, $6,856,845.50; Jerusalem corn, 3,231 acres, 8,251 tons, $35,-
402.50; tame grasses, timothy, 413,148 acres; clover, 182,789 acres;
bluegrass, 232,172 acres; alfalfa, 878,283 acres; orchard grass, 2,956.
acres ; other tame grasses, 77,550 acres ; of tame hay in 1907 there were
1,429,119 tons cut, with a value of $9,534,290; in 1908, 13,744,690 acres
of prairie hay was fenced; in 1907, 1,145,643 tons of prairie hay was
cut and its value was $5,495,083.50: the live stock products in 1908
were valued at $87,678,468: and the horitcultural products of $995,829,.
making a total cash valuation for 1908 of $2'/y,yTi;^,giiT,.
The large acreage of crops and their excellent quality is due, not
only to the efforts of the farmer but also to the excellent properties in
the soil and the salubrious climate. The soil of the upland prairies
is usually a deep, rich clay loam of a dark color; the bottom lands near
the streams are a black, sandy loam ; and the lands between the up-
lands and the bottom land show a rich and deep black loam, contain-
ing very little sand. All soils are free from stones, and except a few
stiff clay spots on the upland prairie are easily cultivated. The climate
of Kansas is remarkably pleasant, having a large percentage of clear
bright days.
The final transition of the poor Kansas homesteader into a rich
Kansas farmer has been the theme of much newspaper witticism. The
first families who came lived in habitations of the crudest sort. While
a few possessed cabins of native lumber, many occupied dugouts or
houses built of squares of sod taken from the prairie. The dugout con-
sisted of a hole dug in the side of a canon or anj' sort of depression on
the prairie that would serve as a wind break. This hole was roofed
across, about on the level with the prairie with boards, and these were
covered with sod. The sod house was more pretentious and comforta-
ble. It had walls two feet in thickness, a shingled roof, doors and
windows set in, and sometimes was plastered, altogether making a
neat and commodious dwelling place. The land laws of the United
States are such that an)^ citizen of this country, can, under certain con-
ditions, file his homestead or preemption papers at a nominal cost on
a quarter section (160 acres) of and agricultural land belonging to the
government. If he makes an actual residence upon it for five years
he secures the homestead for the price of filing fees; if he proves up,
that is, gets title from the government before the five years are passed,
he is required to pay $1.25 per acre for it. While the land is given to
the settler for developing it, the process usually requires several years,
and some money. ■ Fences, out buildings, implements and stock are ac-
cumulated slowly, especially when one is poor, as nearly every settler
is. The situation in Kansas was similar to that of other new States,
money was needed to forward the interest of the state and of the in-
dividual, hence in early years the loan agents representing eastern cap-
ital did a thriving business. Especially was this true between the years
1884 and 1888, a period during which 24 counties were organized in
western Kansas, where some 250,000 new citizens had made homes.
KANSAS HISTORY . 5 1
Insufficient acres were cultivated to supply the demand for food and
have a surplus for capital. The whole of Kansas was in a state of specu-
lalive fermentation, stimulated by an abundance of eastern money seek-
ing investment in farm loans and city property. It was so easy to
borrow money on a homestead, that it is said three-fourths of the farms
were mortgaged. The boom days came to a close in 1887, with a crop
failure previously mentioned, and Kansas, not yet self-supporting, was
left with an accumulation of farm mortgages that depressed her for
many years. But the farm mortgages have nearly all been redeemed,
and as the prairies have been turned to gardens and the sand hills have
been covered with verdure, so have the dugout and sod house given
way to residences of the most complete type. Where years ago the
farmer and his wife were glad to have water anywhere in the neigh-
borhood today they have it pumped by windmill or power into all
parts of the house. The chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks no longer
frequent the door yards, for the farmer of today has a lawn ornamented
with shrubs and trees as perfect as that of his city brother, and the
fowls have their own houses, and runways especially adapted to their
needs.' The horses, cattle, sheep and other stock are no longer de-
pendent upon the blue sky for shelter, for the most modern stables are
constructed for their protection. The farmer and his son do not have
to arise at break of day to get in the crop, because with good teams,
plows, reapers, mowing machines, and other up to date appliances, the
farm work does not take so much time as formerly. Nor does the
farmer's wife wait until Saturda}^ to ride to town behind the weary
plow horses, because her automobile is always at the door. The early
settler has lived to realize his vision. Kansas as an agricultural state
is all he hoped and more.
Agriculture, State Board of. — On Feb. 19, 1872, Gov. Harvey ap-
proved "an act for the encouragement of agriculture," section i of which
provided that "The present officers and executive committee of the
Kansas State Agricultural Society shall be and are hereby constituted
the State Board of Agriculture, who shall continue to hold office during
the terms for which they have been respectively elected, to-wit: The
president, vice-president, secretary, and one-half or five of the executive
committee, until the second Wednesday of Jan., 1873, and five of the
executive committee until the second Wednesday of Jan., 1874; Pro-
vided, said society alter or amend their constitution in such manner as
not to conflict with the provisions of this act. The governor and secre-
tary of state shall be ex officio members of the State Board of Agricul-
ture."
The act also provided that every county or district agricultural so-
ciety, then in existence or afterward organized under the laws of the
state, that had held a fair in the current year, should be entitled to send
a delegate, with proper credentials, to the annual meetings of the state
board, and such delegates should be members ex officio for the time
being. It was further provided that beginning with 1873, and there-
52 . CVCLOIEDIA OF
after, the annual meetings should be held on the second \\'ednesday in
January; that the board should make annual reports to the legislature,
including both the agricultural and horticultural societies ; that 3,500 of
this report should be printed each year, and an appropriation of $3,500
was made to carry on the work of the society for the year 1872.
The first board was composed as follows: President, H. J. Strickler;
vice-president, George W. Veale; secretar)', Alfred Gray; treasurer,
Thomas Murphy ; executive committee, Martin Anderson, E. S. Nic-
colls, George L. Young, James Rogers, William Martindale, Malcolm
Conn, Joseph K. Hudson, S. T. Kelsey, James I. Larimer and John N.
Insley. Gov. James M. Harvey and Sec. of State W. H. Smallwood were
ex officio members.
The first meeting of the board was held on iMarch 12, 1872, when the
constitution of the old agricultural society was amended to conform to
the provisions of the act establishing the new board. At the close of
the year the first annual report was compiled and presented to the legis-
lature. Although this report contained much information regarding the
agricultural interests of the state, the legislature evidently thought it
ought to contatin more, for by the act of March 13, 1873, '^ was provided
that "It shall be the duty of the State Board of Agriculture to publish,
as a part of their annual transactions, a detailed statement, by counties,
of the various industries of the state, and other statistics, which shall
be collected from the returns of the county clerks, and from such other
reliable sources as the said board may deem best; also to collect, ar-
range and publish from time to time, in such manner as the said board
may deem to be for the best interest of the state, such statistical and
other information as those seeking homes in the west may require ; and
they shall deliver a synopsis of it to such immigrant aid societies, rail-
road companies, real estate agencies, and others interested, as may apply
for the same; also to arrange, in suitable packages and cases, and plac^.
the same in the agricultural rooms for public inspection, samples of
agricultural products, geological and other specimens, provided for in
this act."
By the same act the Academy of Science was made a coordinate de-
partment of the State Board of Agriculture, and assessors were directed
to collect samples of agricultural and other products and turn the same
over to the county clerk, who would forward them to the agricultural
rooms in the capitol at Topeka.
At the annual mfeeting on Jan. 14, 1874, Prof. James H. Carruth, of
Lawrence, was elected botanist ; Prof. W. K. Kedzie, of Manhattan,
chemist: Prof. Edward A. Popenoe. of Topeka, entomologist: Prof. B.
F. Mudge, of Manhattan, geologist; Prof. Frank H. Snow, of Lawrence,
meteorologist: J. H. Carruth. B. F. Mudge and Frank IT. Snow, a signal
service committee.
During the year 1874 the secretary prepared and published a series
of monthly statements, by counties, showing the condition of crops,
etc. The board also began in this year the collection and arrangement
53
of specimens of coal, building stone, fossils, gypsum, timber, etc., and
made preparations for securing a collection of Kansas birds, noxious in-
sects, and anything else that would be of interest to the agricultural in-
dustry in the state. Early in the year it was decided to hold a state fair
at Leavenworth in September, but owing to the ravages of drought,
grasshoppers and chinch-bugs as the season advanced, petitions from
all parts of the state came to the board urging that the fair be abandoned,
Tm^'^y':''-
DISPLAY (IF KANSAS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
as it was believed to be impossible to show products that would be up
to the standard of a more favorable year. The board, however, declined
to listen to these complaints, and on Aug. i8 issued an address to the
people of the state, advising them to bring the best they had for exhibi-
tion, and predicting that, if they would do so, the fair would be a suc-
cess. Concerning the fair, the annual report said : "The result was all
that could be desired as an exhibition. The products of the soil were
never so well represented, either as to breadth of country or quality of
product. Representatives of Eastern journals were present, and able
to correct the prevalent idea that all of Kansas was dried out and eaten
up." (See State Fairs.)
Plans for the annual report for 1874 were made at the beginning of
the year. It was decided to include in this report a synopsis of the
54 CVCLOI'EDIA OF
board's proceedings, the substance of the monthly statements, an out-
line of the agricultural history of the state, a review of the work of the
agricultural college, a statistical and industrial exhibit, a diagram show-
ing the rainfall in various sections of the state, an outline map of Kan-
sas, and a sectional map of each county, showing townships, villages,
etc. At that time the outstanding indebtedness of the board, for the
years 1871-72-73, was $6,585.42. To pay this indebtedness and publish
the annual report along the comprehensive lines contemplated, it was
resolved to ask the legislature for an appropriation. By the act of March
4, 1874, the sum of $16,735.42 was appropriated to liquidate the indebted-
ness, pay the current expenses of the board, and publish the report.
This was the first considerable appropriation ever made for the benefit
of the board, and the precedent thus established has been followed by
subsequent legislatures, which course has kept the Kansas State Board
of Agriculture fully abreast of similar organizations in the most pro-
gressive states of the Union.
The annual report for 1875 was the best issued up to that time. In
fact, it embodied so much useful and valuable information regarding
the agriculture, mechanical and educational institutions of the state that
the legislature, by the act of Mirch 4, 1876, appropriated $8,625, or so
much thereof as might be necessary, for the publication and distribution
of a second edition.
Since 1877, when the constitutional amendment making the legisla-
tive sessions biennial Avent into effect, the reports of the board have
been made biennially instead of annualh', and efforts have always been
made to keep the character of the report up to the high standard estab-
lished in 1875. The first biennial report embraced the years 1877-78.
For a number of years the annual appropriation for the board has been
in 'the neighborhood of $10,000, and special appropriations for certain
specified work have been made from time to time. By the act of March
5, igoi, the secretary was ordered to print and distribute 7,500 copes of
the report for 1899-1900, in addition to the 15,000 previoush" printed,
and appropriated $10,550 to defray the expenses of the extra edition.
The act also provided for the publication of 20,000 copies of the report
thereafter. The legislature of 1903 made a special appropriation of $300
to gather data to make tests of sugar beets.
Following is a list of the presidents of the board, with the years in
which they served : H. J. Strickler, 1872 ; E. S. Niccolls, 1873 ; George
T. Anthony. 1874 to 1876. inclusive; John Kelly, 1877-78; R. W. Jen-
kins, 1879 to 1884, inclusive; Joshua Wheeler, 1885-86; William Sims,
1887-88; A. W. Smith, 1889 to 1892, inclusive; Thomas M. Potter, 1893
to 1896, inclusive; George W. Glick, 1897-98; T. A. Hubbard, 1899-1900;
Edwin Taylor, 1901-02; J. H. Churchill, 1903-04; J. W. Robison. 1905-06;
A. L. Sponsler, 1907-08; Charles E. Sutton, 1909-10; I. L. Diesem,
1911-.
Alfred Gray served as secretary from the organization of the board
to 1879, when J. K. Hudson was elected to succeed him. Hudson re-
KANSAS HISTORY 55
:signed before the expiration of his term, and on Oct. i, 1881, F. D. Co-
burn was elected to fill the vacancy. William Sims was then secretary
from 1882 to 1887. He was followed by Martin Mohler, who served un-
til 1894, since which time the office has been held by Foster D. Coburn.
Air,- a small hamlet of Lyon county, is located on Elm creek in
Waterloo township, about 20 miles northeast of Emporia, the county
seat, and 5 miles from Admire, which is the most convenient railroad
station, and from which it receives mail by rural free delivery.
Akron, a village of Cowley county, is situated in Fairview township.
S miles north of Winfield, the county seat. It is a station on the Atchi-
son, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., has some local trade, and in 1910 reported
3. population of 52.
Alabama Colony. — In 1856, in several Southern states, movements
were made to encourage and promote emigration to Kansas, hoping
thereby to advance the cause of slavery in Kansas. A Kansas executive
committee was formed in Alabama, and considerable money raised for
the purpose of giving free transportation to all southerners who would
go for the purpose of settling. In Aug., 1856, Capt. Henry D. Clayton
left Eufaula, Ala., with 29 emigrants for Kansas, being joined by others
at different places along the route, until 90 persons were added by the
time the colony reached Atlanta, Ga. The colonists were taken to Nash-
ville by rail, and from there by steamboat down the Cumberland river,
up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, reaching Kansas City on Sept.
2. Among the colonists were four families who came with the view of
joining the "Georgia Colony" which had recently been driven out of
Kansas into Missouri. On account of the disturbed conditions in the
territory the emigrants, soon after landing, organized a military com-
pany, with Mr. Clayton as captain; J. H. Danforth, first lieutenant; \V.
W. Mosely, second lieutenant; J. C. Gorman, C. W. Snow,S. G. Reid
and B. B. Simons, as first to fourth sergeants respectively; W. H. Bald-
win, W. S. Reynolds, W. L. Stewart and W. R. Kaen, as first to fourth
corporals; and P. M. Blue, W. T. G. Cobb, James Coxwell, A. Haygood,
J. L. Hailey, R. P. Hamilton, J. J. Kitchen, A. P. McLeod, J. W. Guinn,
Charles O'Hara, W. A. Pinkston, T. H. Rich, T. F. Rogers, T. Semple,
D. R. Thomas and M. Westmoreland, as privates.
This company was in active service in the territory for a short time,
but at the solicitation of Gov. Geary disbanded. Peace being estab-
lished in the territory the next step was to locate the settlers, which was
done in Shawnee county, about 4 miles south of Tecumseh. upon the
California road from Westport, and about 14 miles from Lecompton.
then the capital of the territory.
The executive committee which raised the money to send the settlers
to the territory estimated the cost to be about $50 a head, but by taking
deck passage on the steamboats it was found that the cost per capita
did not exceed $30. The money saved on this item was distributed to
the colonists most in need of help, while $500 was paid over to the Mis-
souri executive committee, A. G. Boone, secretary, to be used '.'not only
56 CYCLOPEDIA OF
in purchasing munitions of war" to advance slavery in Kansas, but also
in furnishing provisions to the distressed (southern) settlers, many of
whom were recently driven from their homes along the border. Several
of the colonists returned to the South without setting foot on Kansas
soil.
After seeing the colony settled, Mr. Clayton returned to Alabama,
and issued a report of sixteen pages in which he gave detailed statements
of the doings and expenses incident to the settlement. According to the
report something over $7,000 was raised for the purpose, of which $3,-
739.83 was expended.
Alamota, a money order postoffice of Lane county, is located in the
township of the same name, and is a station on the division of the At-
chison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. that runs from Great Bend to Scott,
9 miles east of Dighton, the county seat. It is a shipping and trading
point of some importatnce and in 1910 reported a population of 40.
Alanthus, a post-village in Larrabee township, Gove county, is on
the Smok}' Hill river about 18 miles southeast of Gove, the county seat,
and 12 miles north of Utica, which is the most convenient railroad
station.
Albia, a small hamlet of Washington county, is situated near the Ne-
braska line, 10 miles north of Morrowville, from which place mail is
delivered by the rural free delivery system. Endicott, Neb., is the near-
est railroad station.
Albert, a prosperous little town of Barton county, is near the west-
ern boundary, and is a station on the Great Bend and Scott division of
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 15 miles from Great Bend. Al-
bert has a bank, a money order postoffice with one rural delivery route,
large grain elevators, several good mercantile houses, and in 1910 re-
ported a population of 250.
Alburtis, a small settlement in Morris county, is about 2 miles from
the Wabaunsee county line and 7 miles from Council Grove, the county
seat, from which place the inhabitants received mail by rural free de-
livery.
Alcona, a post-village of Rooks county, is located in the township of
the same name, a little north of the Solomon river and some 15 miles
west of Stockton, the county seat. The population of the entire town-
ship in 1910 was 320. Alcona is therefore a small place, but it is a trad-
ing center and rallying point for the people in that part of the county.
Alden, one of the thriving towns of Rice county, is located in Valley
township, on the main line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R.,
about 10 miles southwest of Lyons, the county seat. It has telegraph
and express ofifices, a monej^ order postoffice with one rural delivery
route, a bank, telephone connection with the surrounding towns, a good
graded public school, and is a trading and shipping point of considerable
importance. The population in 1910 was 275.
Aleppo, a small hamlet of Sedgwick county, is situated about 15
miles west of Wichita, the county seat, and 5 miles northwest of God'
KANSAS HISTORY 57
dard, from which place the inhabitants receive mail by rural free de-
livery. Goddard is the most convenient railroad station.
Alexander, a prosperous little town of Rush county, is situated in
Belle Prairie township, on Walnut creek and the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe R. R., about 15 miles southwest of La Crosse, the county
seat. It has a bank, two creameries, several g-ood mercantile establish-
ments, a money order postoffice, express and telegraph service, churches
of several denominations, and reported a population of 150 in 1910.
Alexis, Grand Duke. — Many people may not know that Kansas was
once honored by a visit from royalty. In Nov., 1871, Alexander II, at
that time czar of Russia, sent his third son. Grand Duke Alexis, as a
special embassador to President Grant and the people of the United
States with congratulations on the outcome of the Civil war. With
a desire to see something of the country, the grand duke spent a por-
tion of Jan., 1872, with some army officers and plainsmen in roughing it
through Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. The duke's desire was to
engage in a buffalo hunt. Accordingly he was met by Gen. Custer and
conducted to a camp on Red Willow creek, where it was supposed
buffalo could be found. Learning that a large herd of buffalo had been
seen in the vicinity of Kit Carson, 130 miles east of Denver, the party
took a train at Fort Wallace, Kan., and went there. The troop horses
used by the hunting party were unused to the bison and almost
stampeded when they came within sight of the herd, causing several
ludicrous and some slightly serious accidents. The grand duke has been
described as "modest, good-humored and companionable," and his good
humor never showed to better advantage than in that "buffalo hunt.
After a ball at Denver, given in his honor, the royal party left on a
special train for the east. A short stop was made at Topeka, where
the grand duke was officially received by Gov. Harvey and the legisla-
ture, which was then in session, after which there was an informal re-
ception.
Alfalfa. — This leguminous plant was cultivated in ancient times by
the Egyptians, Medes, Persians, Greeks and Romans. It is called
lucerne in all countries of Europe, except Spain, where it is known by
its Arabic name — alfalfa. Early in the history of the western continent
the Spaniards carried alfalfa to South Arnerica, where it escaped from
cultivation and is said to be found today growing wild over large areas.
Alfalfa was carried from Chile to California about the year 1853 and
from there it has spread eastward to the Mississippi river — and be-
yond. It was also introduced into America by the Germans, who
planted it in New York as early as 1820. Alfalfa was grown in Kansas
earlier than 1891, but not until then does the Kansas State Board of
Agriculture give a report of its acreage in its statistics on tame grasses.
The table for 1891 shows three counties, Miami, Atchison, and John-
son as growing no alfalfa whatever. It shows the counties of Stanton,
Ness, Neosho, Morton, Linn, Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Cherokee,
Crawford, Doniphan, Franklin, Haskell, Jefferson and Leavenworth as
50 CYCLOPEDIA OF
growing lo acres or less per county, the counties of Chase, Cloud, Gray,
Kearney, Lyon, Saline, Sedgwick and Wabaunsee as growing more
than i,ooo acres per county and Finney county as growing 5,717 acres;
the total acreage for the whole state being 34,384.
Alfalfa is an upright, branching, smooth perennial plant, growing
from one to three feet high. It is often called "Alfalfa clover," because
of its resemblance to clover. It has a pea blossom and a leaf of three
leaflets ; is adapted to a wide range of soils and climate, and is consid-
ered by good authorities to be the best forage plant ever discovered. It
is now grown in every county in Kansas and 90 per cent of the
arable land is suitable for its production. There are only two condi-
tions under which it will not grow. When rock is found within four
or five feet of the surface and the soil is dry down to the rock, or where
the soil is not drained and is wet a considerable part of the year. The
young alfalfa plant is one of the weakest grown and is especially
feeble in securing from the soil the nitrogen it needs to develop it.
Mature alfalfa plants obtain their nitrogen from the air while their
deep growing roots gather potash and phosphoric acid from the sub-
soil. Alfalfa from one seeding can be expected to live from three to
fifteen or more years. Its value as a stock food and as an article of
commerce has made it one of the foremost of Kansas crops. The ex-
periment station at Manhattan has investigated its properties and
tested its worth, and the recommendation given it has done to increase
its growth in Kansas. The statistics of 1908 show alfalfa production
in six counties as being less than 100 acres per count}', thirty-three coun-
ties have areas from 10,000 to 35,000 acres each, and Jewell county had
60,018 acres in alfalfa, the acreage of the whole state reaching 878,283.
The growing appreciation of alfa^a as a stock and dairy food, the
slight expense and little waste in handling it, have led to the manu-
facture of several food preparations. In some cases these are made by
simply grinding the alfalfa into meal, and at other times they are a
mixture of the meal with molasses or other ingredients. The manifold
uses of alfalfa give it a prominent place in modern agriculture and large
areas in western Kansas are giving a return of from $15 to $35 per
acre from their alfalfa fields where but a few years ago the land was
deemed worthless.
Alfred, a hamlet in the southwestern part of Douglas county, is 10
miles west of Ouayle, the nearest railroad station, and about 4 miles
West of Lone Star, from which it has rural free deliver}'.
Aliceville, a village in Avon township, Coffey county, is a station on
the Missouri Pacific R. R., about 12 miles in a southeasterly direction
from Burlington, the county seat. It has a bank, a money order post-
oiifice, express office, a good retail trade, and is a shipping point of some
importance. The population in 1910 was 150.
Alida, a little village of Geary county, is in Smoky Hill township,
and is a station on the Union Pacific R. R., 8 miles west of Junction
City, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, a telegraph
KANSAS HISTORY 59
office, and is a trading and shipping point for that section of the county.
The population in 1910 was 48.
Aliens. — Under the Wyandotte constitution, as originally adopted
and ratified by the people, aliens had the same rights and privileges in
the ownership and enjoyment of real estate in Kansas as did the citizens
of the state. Some years later there grew up a sentiment in opposition
to aliens owning lands within the state, and in 1888 this sentiment found
expression in an amendment to the constitution providing that the
rights of aliens with regard to ownership of real property in Kansas
might be regulated by law. The legislature, however, took no action
on the subject until the act of March 6, 1891, the principal provision of
which was as follows :
"Non resident aliens, firms of aliens, or corporations incorporated
under the laws of any foreign country, shall not be capable of acquiring
title to or taking or holding any lands or real estate in this state by
descent, device, purchase or otherwise, except that the heirs of aliens
who have heretofore acquired lands in this state under the laws thereof,
and the heirs of aliens who may acquire lands under the provisions of
this act, may take such lands by device or descent, and hold the same
for the space of three years, and no longer, if such alien at the time
of so acquiring such lands is of the age of twenty-one years ; and if
not twenty-one years of age, then for the term of five years from the
time of so acquiring such lands ; and if,' at the end of the time herein
limited, such lands so acquired by such alien heirs have not been sold
to bona fide purchasers for value, or such alien heirs have not become
actual residents of this state, the same shall revert and escheat to the
State of Kansas," etc.
Coal, lead and zinc lands were exempted from the provisions of the
act, and there were some other provisions to secure the application of
the law without working unnecessary hardships upon any one. The
law was subsequently held to be constitutional by the supreme court of
the state.
Allegan, a little hamlet of Rice county, is located on Cow creek,
about 10 miles northwest of Lyons, the county seat, from which place
mail is supplied by rural free delivery. Chase is the nearest railroad
station.
Allen, one of the principal towns of Lyon county, is a station on the
Missouri Pacific R. R., about 18 miles north of Emporia, the county
seat, and 19 miles west of Osage City. Allen was incorporated in 1939
and in iqto reported a population of 286. It has telegraph and express
service, a money order postofifice with two rural routes, a bank, several
good mercantile houses, a graded public school, churches of various
denominations, and does considerable shipping of live stock and farm
products.
Allen County, one of the 33 counties established by the first territorial
legislature, was named in honor of William Allen, United States sena-
tor from Ohio. It is located in the southeastern part of the state, in
6o CYCLOPEDIA OF
the second tier of counties west of Missouri and about 50 miles north
of the state line. In extent it is 21 miles from north to south and 24
miles from east to west, containing 504 square miles. It is bounded
on the north by Anderson, east by Bourbon, south by Neosho and west
by Woodson county. The county was organized at the time of its
creation, Charles Passmore being appointed probate judge; B. W. Cow-
den and Barnett Owen county commissioners, and William Godfrey
sheriff. These officers were to hold their offices until the general elec-
tion in 1857, ^i^d were empowered to appoint the county clerk and treas-
urer to complete the county organization.
The first white inhabitants located in the county during the early
part of the year 1855. Duncan & Scott's History of Allen County (p.
9), says: "There is some dispute as to who made the first permanent
settlement, but the weight of the testimony seems to award that hon-
orable distinction to D. H. Parsons, who, with a companion, B. W.
Cowden, arrived on the Neosho river near the mouth of Elm creek in
March, 1855."
During the spring and summer settlement progressed rapidly. The
greater number of settlers located along the Neosho river, among them
being W. C. Keith, Henry Bennett, Elias Copelin, James Barber, Bar-
nett Owen, A. W. G. Brown, Thomas Day and Giles Starr. Along the
banks of Morton creek the early settlers were Hiram Smith, Michael
Kisner, Augustus Todd, A. C. 'Smith, Dr. Stockton, George Hall, An-
derson Wray, Jesse Morris and Thomas Norris. Although many of the
early settlers were pro-slavery men, but few slaves were brought into
the county. The free-state men showed such open antagonism toward
slaveholders, that the slaves were soon given their freedom or taken
from the county by their masters. A party of pro-slavery men from
Fort Scott founded a town company and laid out a town in Allen
county, south of the mouth of Elm creek and on the east bank of the
Neosho river, about a mile and a half southwest of the present site of
lola. The company was incorporated by the bogus legislature as the
Cofachique Town Association, with Daniel Woodson, Charles Pass-
more, James S. Barbee, William Baker, Samuel A. Williams and Joseph
C. Anderson as incorporators. The first postoffice was established at
Cofachique in the spring of 1855 with Aaron Case as postmaster, but
no regular mail service was opened until July i, 1857, the mail up to
that time being brought in from Fort Scott by private carrier paid by
the citizens.
In Feb., 1856, M. W. Post and Joseph Ludley, who were engaged
in the survey of the standard parallels, finished with the fifth parallel
through Allen county and concluded to locate near Cofachique. The
next summer Mr. Ludley brought a sawmill from Westport, Mo., and
set up in the timber near the town. This mill was run by horse power
and was the first «ianufacturing concern of any kind in the county.
In the second territorial legislature, elected in Oct., 1856, Allen
county was represented in the council by Blake Little and in the house
by B. Brantley and W. W. Spratt.
KANSAS HISTORY 6 1
In 1858 the town of lola was started and the greater part of the
town of Cofachique was moved to lola, while the old site of Cofachique
became farm land. Several reasons may be given for the failure of the
town. Being on hilly ground it was difficult of access and the water
supph' was limited ; it had been built by pro-slavery men and during
the political troubles a feeling of enmity had grown up against the town,
hence it was not long before it was depopulated. Humboldt, in the
southwest part of the county and Geneva in the northwest part were
founded by free-state men and both became flourishing communities.
Up to this time settlement had been exclusively confined to the timbered
valleys of the larger streams, but the new settlers began opening farms
upon the prairies and the population became generally distributed over
the county, especially the western half.
A census of Ivansas was taken in April, 18.57, '" preparation tor an ap-
portionment of delegates to the Lecompton constitutional convention.
By this census Bourbon, Dorn, McGee and Allen counties had a popula-
tion of 2,622, of whom 645 were legal voters. This gave the district
which these counties comprised four delegates in the convention, and
at the election held in June, 1857, H. T. Wilson, Blake Little, Miles
Greenwood and G. P. H. Hamilton were elected.
In the legislative apportionment of July, 1857, eighteen counties, in-
cluding Allen were allowed two members in the council and nineteen
counties, including Allen, were allowed three representatives. The
election was called for Oct. 5, 1857, and under the assurance of the
governor that it should be free and fair, the free-state men determined
to muster their strength for the first time at the ballot box. At the
election Samuel J. Stewart was elected a representative for the district
and was the first citizen from Allen county to occupy a seat in the ter-
ritorial legislature.
Immigration continued during the year 1858. The Carlyle colony
from Indiana selected 320 acres of land in the northwest part of the
county, north of Deer creek, for a town site, but found many difficulties
in the way of making a prosperous town and abandoned the project.
Later the site was cut up into farms. In the course of time a post-
office was established, a store followed and Carlyle became a thriving
village in the center of a splendid farming district. About the time
that the Carl3ie colony arrived another town was projected, called
Florence, located north of Deer creek and east of Carlyle. It was ex-
pected that in time a railroad would be built, but it was not and the
town was a failure.
I'pon the organization of the count}' in 1855, Cofachique was des-
ignated as the county seat, and as it was centrally located no strife was
stirred up until Humbfildt was located in 1S59 hv the free-state men v/lio
went before the state legislature early in 1858 and secured an act lo-
cating the county seat there. The first meeting of the county board at
Humboldt, of which there is a record, was on Feb. 8, 1859. but lit-
tle business was transacted, and they adjourned to meet at Cofachique.
62 CYCLOPEDIA OF
where, on Feb. 14. the board organized the new township of Geneva and
appointed judges of election to ratify or reject the Leavenworth con-
stitution. Apparently little interest was taken in the election, as only
138 votes were cast, 134 for and 4 against the constitution.
In the summer of 1858 the second mail route was established from
Lawrence to Humboldt, via Garnett and Hyatt in Anderson county,
Carlyle and Cofachique in Allen county. The service began July i,
and a few days before that time a trail was marked from Hyatt to
Carlyle. Zach Squires was the first mail carrier and for some time his
weekly trips were made on mule back. Later the service was made
tri-weekly, the mule gave way to a two-horse wagon, later to a two-
horse stage, and finally to an overland coach, which was kept on the
route until the railroad was built in 1871.
During the year 1859 political matters engaged the attention of the
people. On June 7, an election was held for delegates to the Wyandotte
constitutional convention (q. v.). When this constitution was sub-
mitted to the people on- Oct. 4, the vote in Allen county stood 244 for
and 159 against, and on the homestead clause, which was submitted
separately, 201 for and 152 against. The territorial legislature of 1859
adopted a new plan of county organization, providing for three com-
missioners and a probate judge with restricted powers. On March 26,
i860, a special election was held for the new officers. J. G. Richard was
elected probate judge ; George Zimmerman, N. T. Winans and D. B.
Stewart county commissioners.
The last year of the territorial pei^od was the hardest in the history
of the county. It was the year of the great drought. (See Droughts.)
During the winter of 1859-60, there was little snow and the hot winds
of the following summer swept over the dry, parched earth, burning all
vegetation except in occasional valleys and ravines where a partial crop
was raised. The population of the county was about 3,000, and with
such a scanty crop, the prospect of starvation seemed imminent. Most
of the people had come into the county within two years and had not
fairly opened their farms. Many of the settlers, with starvation and
hardship before them, returned to the east. ■
Great dissatisfaction developed over the location of the county seat
at Humboldt, and on March 26, i860, an election was held to decide on
a location, Humboldt and lola being the principal contestants. The re-
sult of the election was 562 votes for Humboldt and 331 for lola, with
78 votes scattered, but the people in the vicinity of lola and the northern
part of the county were not satisfied. The strife was kept up for some
years until another election was ordered for May 10, 1865, when Ida
received the largest number of votes. When the county seat was located
at lola, the town company donated 100 lots to the county to aid in the
construction of public buildings. In 1866 bonds were voted for funds
and within a short time a building was secured for county offices and
court purposes. In 1877 the present court-house was purchased.
As soon as the news of the outbreak of the Civil war reached Allen
countv, nearlv all the able bodied men hastened to enlist in the armv.
KANSAS HISTORY 63.
The lola battalion was formed in 1861 ; three companies, commanded
by Capts. Colman, Flesher, and Killen served in the Ninth Kansas, and
two companies; commanded by Capts. W. C. Jones and N. B. Blans-
ton, served in the Tenth Kansas volunteer infantry. As the county was
located so near the border of the state there was danger of invasion from
Missouri guerrillas and hostile Indians from the Indian Territor}-. \\'hile
the Allen county soldiers were with Gen. Lane, a raid was made on the
unprotected settlers of Humboldt, Sept. 8, 1861, by a band of Missouri
guerrillas, Cherokee and Osage half-breed Indians. On Oct. 14, 1861, the
town was captured and set on fire by Confederate cavalry. The Con-
federate officers claimed that this was done in retaliation for the burning
of Osceola by Gen. Lane. The land office had just been opened before
this and J. C. Burnett, the register, managed to have his sister save $25,-
000 in land warrants, that were in the office at the time. After the
burning of Humboldt a military post was established there, but no ac-
tions took place until the Price raid in 1864. The militia of the county
was organized into a battalion, known as the Allen county battalion,
and was composed of six companies, tliree from lola and the northern
part of the county, two from Humboldt and one from the extreme south-
ern part of the county. This organization comprised all the able bodied
men in the county between the ages of 16 and 60 years.
The first railroads in Allen county were built in 1870, the Missouri,.
Kansas & Texas being completed across the southwestern part of the
county in the spring, and the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston in
the fall of the same year. Bonds were voted by the county to aid in the
construction of the railroads. In 1880, bonds having been voted by dif-
ferent townships along the line, the Fort Scott & Wichita railroad was
built across the county east and west, through Tola. There are now
96 miles of main line railroads in the county : The Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe running almost directly north and south in the western part
of the county, and a branch southwest from Colony, Anderson county,
across the extreme northwest corner. The Missouri, Kansas & Texas
crosses the eastern part, almost directly north and south, with a branch
north from Moran and another running west with its terminus at lola.
Another line of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas enters the county near
the center on the west and crosses the southwest corner, while the Mis-
souri Pacific crosses from east to west somewhat north of the center,
through lola.
The first church in the county was that of the LInited Brethren,
begun in 1859 and completed the following year. For some years this
church was used as a union church by all denominations and also as a
school house. The Humboldt Herald was the first paper established.
It was started Nov. 16, 1864, by Maj. Joseph Bond and two years later
the Humboldt Union was established with Orin Thurston as editor.
In Nov., 1871, a tax was voted for the establishment of a county poor
farm. Settlement of the county was somewhat retarded for some years
by the contention between the settlers on the one hand and the Kansas
City, Lawrence & Southern Kansas railroad company over, the title to-
64 CYCLOPEDIA 01"
certain lands. The case was finally settled by Judge David Brewer of
the United States circuit court on Sept. 3, 1885, in favor of the settlers.
His decision threw open to settlement some 27,000 acres and immediate-
ly there was an influx of immigrants.
The general surface of the county is level, the soil is fertile and highly
productive. The valleys average a mile and a half in width and the
timber belts about a mile. The principal varieties of trees native to the
county are black walnut, hickory, cottonwood, oak. hackberry and elm.
The main water course is the Neosho river, which flows through the
western part of the county from north to south. Its tributaries are
Indian, Martin's, Deer, Elm, and other small creeks. The Little Osage
flows through the northeast and the Marmaton river through the south-
eastern part of the county.
The chief agricultural products are corn, wheat, oats, Kafir corn and
potatoes, and the county is one of the leaders in the production of flax
and broom corn. Live stock raising is an important industry, and many
fine orchards afford good profits to their owners.
Natural gas is the most important mineral resource. There are sev-
eral large wells, but the field is particularly well developed near Tola
in the west and La Harpe in the north central part, and valuable oil
wells exist near Humboldt. There are vast quantities of raw material
for Portland cement, which is manufactured and sent to all parts of
the United States. An almost inexhaustable supph' of shale has been
found for making high grade brick and tile, which are manufactured and
shipped out of the state. A good quality of limestone is also found. The
county is divided into the following townships : Carlyle, Cottage Grove,
Deer Creek, Elm, Elsmore, Geneva, Humboldt, Tola, Logan, Marmaton,
Osage and Salem.
According to the U. S. census for 1910 the population of the county
was 27,640, a gain of 8,133 during the preceding decade. The report of
the State Board of Agriculture for the same year gives the total value
of farm products as $1,362,654.60, corn leading with 1,123,290 bushels,
valued at $550,412.10.
Allendale, a little hamlet of Allen county, is situated about 5 or 6
miles northeast of lola, the county seat, from which place it receives
mail by rural delivery. It is about equally distant from Carlyle on the
Santa Fe and La Harpe on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroads,
which places are the nearest railway stations.
Allis, Samuel, Jr., an early missionary to the Indians west of the
Missouri river, was born at Conway, Franklin county, Mass., Sept. 28,
1805. He learned the trade of harness maker and worked at various
places in his early manhood, finalh^ reaching Ithaca, N. Y., where he
united with the Presbyterian church, though his parents were Congre-
gationalists. In the spring of 1834 he left Ithaca in company with Rev.
John Dunbar (q. v.) as a missionary to the Nez Perces. LTpon arriving
at St. Louis he found that the company of traders with which he had
intended to journey to the Indian country had already left that city.
KANSAS HISTORY 65
Not caring to undertake the trip alone, he spent some time at Fort
Leavenworth, and then accompanied Mr. Dunbar to the agency of the
Omahas, Otoes and Pawnees at Bellevue, Neb. Soon after arriving there
Mr. Dunbar went as a missionary to the Grand Pawnees and Mr. Allis
to the Pawnee Loups, with whom he remained until 1846. Among his
other labors was the establishment of the Pawnee school at Council
Point on the Platte river. For several years he was the interpreter for
the United States in the negotiation of treaties and in this capacity aided
in the acquisition of the Indian lands in Nebraska and Kansas. In 1851
he went to St. Mary's, Iowa, where he lived on a farm for two years.
He then returned to Nebraska and there passed the remainder of his life.
As a member of the Nebraska Historical Society he made valuable con-
tributions to the Indian history of that state and Kansas.
Allison, a village of Decatur county, is located in the township of the
same name, on the north fork of the Solomon river, about 25 miles
southeast of Oberlin, the county seat, and 8 miles from Dresden, which
is the nearest railroad station. It has a money order postofifice, some
local trade, and in 1910 reported a population of 25.
Alma, the judicial seat and principal city of Wabaunsee county, is
located a little northwest of the center of the county on Mill creek and
the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., and is the terminus of a di-
vision of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. which connects with
the main line at Burlingame. The first house in Alma Avas built in the
fall of 1867 and the following December the town was made the county
seat. In 1868 a hotel and school house were erected, and after the ad-
vent of the railroads the growth was more rapid. Mill creek furnishes
water power for operating a flour mill and some other concerns. Being
located in the heart of a rich agricultural and stock raising region. Alma
is a shipping point of considerable importance. It has a bank with a
paid up capital of $50,000, an international money order postoffice with
four rural delivery routes emanating from it, excellent express, tele-
graph and telephone facilities, an electric lighting plant, two weekly
newspapers — the Enterprise and the Signal — and a monthly publication
called the Emblem, devoted to the interests of a fraternal organization.
The city has a modern high school building, erected at a cost of $16,000,
and both the Lutherans and Catholics have parochial schools. The mer-
cantile establishments of Alma rank favorably with those in other cities
of its size. Good building and cement stone are found in the vicinity.
The altitude of Alma is 1,055 ^^^t. In 1910 the population was i,oro.
Almena, an incorporated town of Norton county, is located on Prairie
Dog creek in the northeastern portion, at the junction of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroads,
12 miles east of Norton, the county seat. It has "a bank, a weekly news-
paper, an opera house, good hotels, large grain elevators, an interna-
tional money order postoffice with three rural routes, and in 1910 had a
population of 702. Being located in the midst of a fine agricultural
countrv, Almena ships large quantities of grain and live stock, and its
66 CYCLOPEDIA OF
retail stores suppl}- a considerable section of the northeastern part of
the county. A fine quality of building stone is found in the immediate
vicinity.
Altamont, one of the incorporated towns of Labette county, is lo-
cated in Mt. Pleasant township, on the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R.,
ID miles northwest of Oswego, the county seat and very near the geo-
graphical center of the county. It has banking facilities, a weekly news-
paper, express and telegraph offices, and an international money order
postoffice with three rural routes. The town was laid out the year the
railroad was built (1879), by a company of which L N. Hamilton was
president. The first house was built by Scott Noble, in the fall of that
year. A hotel was built the following summer and a general store
opened by Jones, Burns & Wright. A number of business enterprises
were launched in the next two years. The first church was erected in
1880. A postoffice called Elston was established in this vicinity in 1870.
When Altamont was founded the name was changed. The town was
incorporated in 1884 and the following officers chosen : Mayor, H. C.
Blanchard ; police judge, L. W. Grain; councilmen, R. B. Gregg, W. M.
McGoid, D. Reid, G. S. Newlon, and A. J. Garst ; city clerk, W."f. Ham-
man.
Alta Vista, one of the larger towns of Wabaunsee county, is situ-
ated in Garfield township, on Mill creek and the Chicago, Rock Island
& Pacific R. R., 15 miles southwest of Alma, the county seat. It was
settled in 1887, was incorporated as a city of the third class in 1905,
and in 1910 reported a poptilation of 499. Alta Vista is one of the busy
towns of Kansas. It has two banks, a weekly newspaper, a number of
high class mercantile houses, a good public school S3'stem, express and
telegraph offices, telephone connection, does considerable shipping, and
its money order postoffice is the starting point of three rural delivery
routes which supply mail to the surrounding country.
Alton, an incorporated town of Osborne county, is located on the Solo-
mon river in Sumner township, and is a station on the Missouri Pacific
R. R. 13 miles west of Osborne, the county seat. The population in 1910
was 414. Alton has a bank, a public library, a fire department, an opera
house, a weekly newspaper, express, telegraph and telephone service,
and is the principal shipping point and trading center for the north-
western part of the county.
Altoona (formerly Geddesburg), one of the larger incorporated cities
of Wilson county, is located on the Missouri Pacific R. R., and on the
Verdigris river, 11 miles east of Fredonia, the county seat. It has two
banks, a weekly newspaper, telegraph and express offices, and an in-
ternational money order postoffice with three rural routes. The popula-
tion in 1910 was 1,462. The town was founded in 1869 by a town com-
pany, of which Dr. T. F. C. Todd was president. No town elections
were held until the town company ceased to do business. The first
business enterprise was a grocery store opened in 1869 by George
Shultz and John Hooper. The postoffice was established in April, 1870,
KANSAS HISTORY 67
and J- N. D. Brown appointed postmaster. The Altoona Union, tlie
second paper published in the county, was founded in March, 1870, by
Bowser & Brown. A school house was built the next year at a cost of
$3,000. A steam saw mill and a flour mill were set up in 1871 on the
Verdigris.
The growth of Altoona dates from the entrance of the railroad in
1885-6. At that time it was a town of some 300 inhabitants, and a
dozen business houses. The development of the oil and gas fields in
the vicinity in the '90s added greatly to the importance of the city.
Amador, a village of Clifford township, Butler county-, is located on
a branch of the Whitewater river, about 16 miles northwest of Eldorado,
the county seat. Mail is received by the people of Amador from Burns,
Marion county, by rural free delivery.
America City, a hamlet of Nemaha count}-, is located in Red Vermil-
lion township on the Red Vermillion river, 23 miles south of Seneca,
the county seat, and 6 miles from Havensville. from which place H re-
ceives daily mail. An act incorporating this little town was approved
by the territorial legislature on Feb. 14, 1867. The corporate limits in-
cluded 380 acres of land. A store was opened in 1861 and a Methodist
church built. In 1910 it reported a population of 30.
American Settlement Company. — This company, which was organized
in Sept., 1854, had its headquarters at No. 226 Broadway, N. Y. The
officers were : Theodore Dwight, president ; J. E. Snodgrass, vice-
president ; G. M. Tracey, secretary; D. C. Van Norman, treasurer;
George Walter, general superintendent. The preamble to the constitu-
tion of the company set forth that "The subscribers hereto, being de-
sirous to form a company for the purpose of settling a tract of land in
the Territory of Kansas, in order to assist in making it a free state,
and to found thereon a city, with a municipal government, and the
civil, literary, social, moral and religious privileges of the free states,
for the equal benefit of the members, have associated and formed, and
do hereby associate and form themselves into a joint stock company,
under the name of 'American Settlement Company.' and have adopted
the following articles for the government of said company," etc.
Article I provided for a capital stock, to be divided into shares equal
to the number of lots in the proposed city, the price of which was at
first fixed at $5 a share, subject to an advance when so ordered by the
board of directors, and no one was to be allowed to purchase more than
six shares.
Article II vested the management in a board of directors, a ma-
jority of whom should be residents of New York City. This board was
to be self-perpetuating, being given power to fill vacancies, etc.
Article III provided that members of the company and colonists
should be persons of good moral character, the aim being to establish
a community with a high ideal of citizenship.
Articles IV to XI defined the duties of the officers and dwelt prin-
cipally with the routine matters pertaining to such associations.
#
68 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Article XII provided that the money received from the sale of shares
should be used to secure a tract of land two miles square, on or near
the Santa Fe trail, and to defray the expenses of surveying and laying
out a municipality to be known as "Council City."
Article XIV stipulated that one lot out of every fifty should be given
for school purposes, and the management should have the power to
donate other lots for the establishment of institutions "appropriate to
an orderly, virtuous, temperate and refined American community."
Immediatel)' after the organization was perfected a committee of
seven men — citizens of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio — visited
Kansas to select a site for "Council City," and after exploring the terri-
tory for several weeks decided upon a tract between Dragoon and
Switzler creeks, in what is now Osage county, a short distance south
of the present city of Burlingame. About the same time a circular was
issued by the company, stating that the object was "to found in Kansas
a large and flourishing city, one that would claim the attention and
patronage of all interested in the growth and prosperity of that ter-
ritory."
Council City was laid out with streets 75 feet wide and avenues 150
in width. The lots were 75 by 150 feet, and there were several tracts
ranging from 10 to 50 acres each reserved for parks. A small party
of settlers arrived late in Oct., 1854, and a few of the more energetic
set to work to make Council City a reality, but the majority were dis-
appointed by the prospect. Other settlers came in the spring of 1855,
but the metropolis never met the expectations of its projectors, and
after a precarious existence of a few months it disappeared from the
map.
Americus, an incorporated city of the third class in Lyon county, is
a station on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R., 9 miles northwest of
Emporia, the county seat. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper, churches
of various denominations, good public schools, etc. Its location in the
rich valley of the Neosho river gives it a good local trade and makes
it an important shipping point. The population in 1910 was 451. Two
delivery routes emanates from its money order postoffice and supply
mail to the surrounding rural districts, and the town is provided with
express and telegraph -offices and has telephone connection with Em-
poria and other cities.
Ames, a village of Shirley township, Cloud county, is a station on
the Missouri Pacific R. R. 12 miles east of Concordia, the county seat.
It has a money order postofiice with one rural delivery route, express
and telegraph service, some good mercantile houses, and in 1910 re-
ported a population of 120.
Amiot, a village of Reeder township, Anderson county, is a station on
the Missouri Pacific R. R., 16 miles northwest of Garnett, the county
seat, and not far from the Coffey county line. The population in 1910
was 40. Amiot has a money order postoffice, and is a trading and ship-
ping point for that section of the county.
KANSAS HISTORY 69
Amy, a money order postoffice of Lane county, is located in Blaine
township, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 7 miles west of
Dighton, the county seat, with which it is connected by telephone.
Ananias Club. — According to an early letter head of the club, the
St. Ananias club of Topeka was instituted July 4, 1876. It was organized
in the year 1874, by a number of the "good fellows" of the capital city
for social purposes, and was incorporated in 1886. The club had four
tenets : Honesty, sobriety, chastity and veracity. The motto of the club
was "Unadulterated truth." St. Ananias was the patron saint. xAt the
time of organization it had 29 members. Following are the original
members and the official titles which they bore : Samuel A. Kingman,
perpetual president; Sam Radges, secretary, phenomenal prevaricator;
Floyd P. Baker, distinguished dissimulator; C. N. Beal, efficacious
equivicator; A. Bergen, libelous linguist; J. C. Caldwell, eminent ex-
pander; George W. Crane, egregious exaggerator; Hiram P. Dillon,
felicitous fabricator ; Charles M. Foulkes, fearful fictionist ; Norris L.
Gage, quaint quibbler; N. S. Goss, oleaginous falsifier; Cyrus K. Holli-
day, illustrious illusionist; J. B. Johnson, truth torturer; Henry Keeler,
laconic liar; John T. Morton, nimble narrator; D. A. Moulton, financial
^fabricator; Thomas A. Osborn, pungent punster; H. A. Pierce, diabolical
dissembler; George R. Peck, sapient sophist; T. P. Rodgers, immacu-
late inventor; Bj'ron Roberts, vivid variationist ; H. K. Rowley, me-
phistophelian munchausenist ; Dr. Silas E. Sheldon, esculapian equivi-
cator; Henry Strong, racy romancer; William C. Webb, august ampli-
fier; Daniel W. Wilder, hypothetical hyperbolisy; Archibald L. Wil-
liams, paraphrastic paralogist.
From the time of its organization until its dissolution the club had a
membership of 82, which included many distinguished Kansans, of
whom in the year 191 1 not more than twelve or fifteen were living. It
has been said that during the existence of the club its doors were never
closed and that at almost any hour of the day or evening a whist game
could be found in progress.
The club had but one president and one secretary, and after the
death of President Kingman, on Sept. 9, 1904, the organization closed
its doors, the records and portraits being turned over to the Kansas
State Historical Society. Among the effects was an excellent, life-like
portrait in oil, of St. Ananias, with halo over the head, a lyre clasped in
his hands, his lips open as if about to sing, and the whole partially sur-
rounded with a border of cherry sprigs showing the ruddy fruit, and
each spray garnished with a small hatchet.
Andale, an incorporated town of Sedgwick county, is a station on the
Missouri Pacific R. R., in Sherman township, 19 miles northwest of
Wichita. Andale has a bank, a money order postoffice with one free
delivery route which supplies mail to the inhabitants of that section of
the county, a Catholic church and school, some good mercantile estab-
lishments, express and telegraph facilities, and does considerable ship-
ping of grain and other farm products. The population in 1910 was 237.
JO CYCLOPEDIA OF
Anderson, a little hamlet of Smith county, is located near the head
of White Rock creek, about 9 miles northeast of Smith Center, the
county seat, from which place mail is received by rural free delivery.
Anderson County was named for Joseph C. Anderson, a member of
the first territorial legislature, which erected and organized the county
in 1855. It is located in the southeastern part of the state in the second
tier of counties west of Missouri, about 50 miles south of the Kansas
river and 70 miles north of the southern boundary of the state. It is
24 miles square and has an area of 576 square miles. On the north it
is bounded by Franklin county, on the east of Linn, on the south by
Allen and on the west by Coffey.
When the first white settlers came to what is now Anderson county
in the spring of 1854 they found some of the fields which the Indians had
cultivated. They were Valentine Gerth and Francis Meyer, who came
from Missouri and settled on the Pottawatomie near the present site of
Greeley. These men were without families but planted and cultivated
the old Indian fields the first summer. Henry Harmon came with his
family and settled near the junction of the branches of the Pottawatomie.
During the summer and fall more settlers came, among whom were
Henderson Rice. W. D. West, Thomas Totton, Anderson Cassel, J. S.
Waitman and Dr. Rufus Gilpatrick. In the winter of 1854-55 quite a
number of Germans came to the county and settled along the south
branch of the Pottawatomie above Greeley, where they built several
cabins and selected valuable timber claims. In the spring of 1855 they
returned to St. Louis and on account of the territorial troubles never
came back. Their claims were soon taken up by other settlers.
When Gov. Reeder, on Nov. 8, 1854, issued a proclamation ordering an
election for the 29th, the region now embraced in Anderson county was
made a part of the Fifth district. The election was ordered to be held
at the house of Henry Sherman near the place called Dutch Henry's
crossing on the Pottawatomie. At the election for members of the
first territorial legislature, A. M. Coflfc}' and David Lykins were elected
-to the council and Allen Wilkerson and H. W. Yonger representatives.
Of the resident voters, about 50 in number and practically all free-state
men, only a few voted, but the Missourians came over and cast about
200 pro-slavery votes. At the election for a delegate to Congress in
Oct., 1855, George Wilson was the only person voting in the district.
Samuel Mack, one of the judges, refused to vote regarding the election
as a farce, most of the voters being residents of Missouri who came
over on horseback and in wagons, well supplied with whiskey and guns.
(See Reeder's Administration.) Because of the outrages committed
upon the free-state settlers, a military organization, made up of Frank-
lin and Anderson county men and called the Pottawatomie Rifles, was
formed in the fall of 1855. Among the members were Dr. Rufus Gil-
patrick, M. Kilbourn, W. Ayers, H. H. Williams, August Bondi, Samuel
Mack, James Townsley and Jacob Benjamin from Anderson county.
The legislature having defined the bounds of the county, then pro-
KANSAS HISTORY 7I
vided for its organization and the election of county officers. In joint
session the legislature elected George Wilson probate judge and com-
missioned him on Aug. 27, 1855, for a term of two years. He was the
first commissioned officer and immediately after qualifying set out for
the county. On Sept. 10, he arrived at Henry Sherman's house, where
he remained until the 15th, when he went to the house of Francis Meyer
near the present site of the town of Greeley. Judge Wilson had desig-
nated Meyer's house as the temporary s.eat of justice and notified Wil-
liam R. True and John C. Clark, who had been appointed county com-
missioners and A. V. Cummings, who had been appointed sheriff, to
meet him there on the 15th to complete the county organization. But
all three refused to accept the appointment, although Judge Wilson at-
tempted several times to make them qualify. Cummings was a resident
of Bourbon countj^. Wilson at last appealed to the governor for assist-
ance to organize the countA' and Acting Gov. Shannon commissioned
Francis Meyer and F. P. Brown commissioners and Henderson Rice
sheriff, but Brown and Rice would not accept the commissions. The
probate judge and Francis Meyer organized the county on Jan. 7, 1856.
Five days later the second session of the probate judge and commis-
sioners' court was held at Meyer's house and David 'McCammon was
appointed sheriff. He gave bond and qualified on Jan. 18, on which date
the court held its third session and J. S. Waitman was appointed com-
missioner. This was the first time that a full board of commissioners
had existed. At this time C. H. Price was appointed justice of the
peace for the county and commissioned by Judge A¥ilson. Price quali-
fied on March 5, 1856, and the same day was appointed treasurer of the
county. On Feb. 4, 1856, Thomas Totton was appointed clerk of the
county, and on March 9 a petition for the location of a road from Henry
Sherman's house to Cofachique, the county seat of Allen county, was
considered. David McCammon, James Townsley and Samuel Mack
were appointed commissioners to open the road, which was to be 70
feet wide. This was the first road in the county.
On Feb. 18, 1856, a petition was presented to the commissioners,
signed by A. McConnell and fifteen others, requesting a permanent loca-
tion of the county seat, and David McCammon, James Townsley and
Thomas Totton were appointed to select the site, provided it should be
located within three miles of the geographical center of the county.
The commissioners selected a place and called it Shannon, where the
county business was transacted until April 5, 1859. The first term of
the district court was held on the fourth Monday in April, 1856: Sterling
Cato, one of the territorial judges presiding. It convened at the house
of Francis Meyer and was in session an entire week but the records of
the proceedings have disappeared.
At the election of delegates to the Topeka constitutional convention,
49 votes were polled at the Pottawatomie precinct, by free-state voters
and at the election for the adoption or rejection 14 persons from Ander-
son county voted.
72 CVCLOrEDIA OF
During the summer and fall of 1856 Anderson, county was overrun by
bands of lawless pro-slavery men, known as "Border Ruffians." The
officers of Anderson county had been chosen because of their loyalty
to the slave power, and when the difficulties culminated in 1856 they
took an active part with the pro-slavery men. The free-state men re-
fused to countenance such conduct on the part of the officers and late in
the spring Francis Meyer, John S. Waitman, David McCammon and
George Wilson having been concerned in several pro-slaver)^ atrocities,
were forced to flee from the county. There was continued trouble along
Pottawatomie creek until the government ordered United States troops
to the neighborhood. They camped for several weeks a short distance
from the present site of Greeley, but were commanded by pro-slavery
officers and really afiforded little protection to the free-state settlers.
The Pottawatomie Rifles drilled at the farm of W. L. Frankenburger and
participated in many of the expeditions of 1856-7. During the fall of
1856 pro-slavery invasions became so frequent that it was unsafe for the
settlers to remain at home over night with their families, and for
several months they would collect at Frankenburger's claim on the
Pottawatomie, the women and children taking shelter in the cabin, while
the men remained on guard. Anderson county men, commanded by Dr.
Rufus Gilpatrick, took part in the battle of Osawatomie under John
Brown. When Gov. Woodson declared the territory in a state of insur-
rection and rebellion and called out the militia, several settlers left An-
derson county never to return.
About this time a party of some 200 hundred Missourians camped on
Middle creek, at Battle Mound, waiting for reinforcements preparatory
to a general movement against the free-state settlements along the Pot-
tawatomie, and man}'- outrages were committed in Anderson, Linn and
Franklin counties. Among these was the capture of George Partridge,
Aug. 27, 1856, and on the same day the burning of the houses of Kil-
bourne and Cochrane near Greeley. Dr. Gilpatrick, while making calls,
discovered the pro-slavery camp and at once gave warning. The Pot-
tawatomie Rifles, under command of Dr. Gilpatrick, made an attack early
in the morning of Aug. 28, which was a complete surprise, the pro-
slavery men retreating in great confusion to Missouri. Another de-
tachment of pro-slavery men robbed Zach Schutte and attempted other
atrocities, but upon hearing of the capture of the camp also hastily fled
into Missouri.
The survey of the public lands in Anderson county began in the fall
of 1855 and closed in the spring of 1856. Some of the first settlers who
came to the county were of the class who made a living speculating in
government land claims. They selected the finest timber and valley
lands along the streams, and after actually settling, would stake out
other claims under ficticious names, and then oflfer to sell the ficticious
claims to new arrivals. The buyer of such claims would often go back
East after his family and upon his return find his cabin occupied, the
claim having been sold a second time by the speculator. These claims
KANSAS HISTORY 7J
caused much trouble in the United States land office, and in Nov.,
1858, a free-state squatters' court was organized in Anderson, Linn and
Bourbon counties for the adjustment of land claims. Dr. Rufus Gil-
patrick was elected judge. The decisions of the court were generally
satisfactory to the settlers, and enforced by Maj. Abbott and a minister
named Stewart, known as the fighting preacher. Several town sites
were laid out, but with two exceptions the towns failed to become im-
portant. Garnett and Greeley were both surveyed in 1856 and became
flourishing communities. In Dec, 1856, a party of 80 men was formed in
Lawrence for the purpose of settling in Anderson county. A town site
was selected in the northern part of what is now Washington township,
and the town named Hyatt. The founders proposed making it the
count)- seat. A sawmill was built in the spring of 1857. In the fall a
grist mill was added, and B. F. Allen opened a store. A postoffice and
school were established but the county seat dream was not realized.
Soon after the county seat was permanently located at Garnett Hyatt
was abandoned.
The first mail route in Anderson count}- was established on Jan. 11,
1858, to run from Leavenworth to Humboldt in Allen county via Hyatt.
The route was marked and service began in March. There was a road
from Carlyle and one from Fairview to Hyatt. Zach Squires was the
first mail carrier and expressman. At first the post was weekly but soon
changed to a tri-weekly service. In the spring of 1859, the route was
changed to run through Garnett, where a postoffice was established.
In the fall of 1859 the county board received petitions for the opening of
five roads, and the old maps show that they all centered at Hyatt and
none at Garnett or Shannon.
On Nov. 30, 1857, the county commissioners entered into a contract
for the construction of a court-house and jail at Shannon. Dr. Preston
Bowen was to build it for $1,000, but at the election held Jan. 26, 1858,
it was shown that a majority of the people were opposed to the erec-
tion of the buildings. The commissioners therefore resigned. On Feb.
12, 1858, the county organization was changed by an act of the legisla-
ture from a board of commissioners to a board of supervisors, and on
June 14, the new board contracted with Dr. Bowen for a court-house and
. jail at Shannon at his own expense, to be completed within a year. The
jail was completed and work begun on the court-house, when, in the
spring of 1859, the seat of justice for the county was located at Garnett
by an act of the legislature and the first meeting of the board of super-
visors at Garnett was held on April 5, of that year.
In March, 1859, an election was held on the proposition of a state con-
stitutional convention and of the 185 votes cast in Anderson county
only 7 were against holding the convention. On the first Tuesday in
June, 1859, an election was held for a delegate to the convention. Dr.
James G. Blount and W. F. M. Arny were the candidates from the An-
derson county district. Blount was elected and sat in the Wyandotte
convention.
74 CVCLOrEDIA OF
Education was one of the first considerations of the early settlers.
The first school district laid out was near Scipio in Putnam township,
and the first superintendent of public instruction was John R. Slentz,
who was appointed by the gfovernor near the close of 1858.
The outbreak of the Civil war caused great excitement in Anderson
county. At the call for \-olunteers an entire company enlisted in one
day, and Anderson county was represented in nearly every Kansas regi-
ment, about three-fourths of the able-bodied men entering the Union
army. In 1861 the population of the county was little over 1,000.
A considerable number of the early settlers of Anderson county were
Catholics, and the St. Boniface Catholic church in Putnam township
was the first church building erected. It was built in 1858, and in 1871,
while under the charge of Father Albert Heinemann, the parish erected
a college building about 6 miles north of Garnett and called it Mount
Carmel. The first Protestant church was built by the United Brethren
in Garnett in 1859. The first county building erected in Garnett was
the jail, which was built in 1864. Four years later the court-house was
erected on Oak street. In 1891 the legislature passed an act providing
for the erection of a court-house on the county square, the cost not to
exceed $40,000.
A county fair was held in Anderson county as early as 1863, but the
county fair association was not organized until Nov. 15, 1873. It was
capitalized for $5,000. The first newspaper in the county was the Gar-
nett Pathfinder, established by I. E. Olney in Jan., 1865. It was the
only puV.)lication until 1868, when W. H. Johnson started the Garnett
Courant.
The general surface of Anderson county is undulating, divided into
bottom land, timber and rolling upland. The creek bottoms average
about 2 miles in width, and belts of timber along the streams average
three-fourths ot a mile. The main water course of the county is the
Pottawatomie river, which rises in the central part of the county and
flows northeastward, its north and south branches uniting near the north-
east corner of the county. The Little Osage river, Indian and Deer
creeks flow through the southern portion. Lime and sandstone are
plentiful, while red ocher is found in Reeder township. Coal has been
found in several places and there are natural gas wells near Greeley.
The trees native to this section are walnut, cottonwood, oak, hickory,
hackberry, elm, sycamore, and hard and soft maples. Corn, wheat, oats
and Kafir corn are the leading agricultural products. Live stock raising
is a productive industry, and there are more than 100,000 bearing fruit
trees in the county. There are 130.25 miles of main track railroad within
the limits of the county. The Missouri Pacific has three lines — one
crossing the county diagonally from the northwest to southeast pass-
ing through Garnett ; a second enters the county in the northeast and
crosses the west border near the center, and the third line crosses the
southern part almost directly east and west. The Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe runs north and south near the center, and a branch diverging
KANSAS HISrORY 75
from Colony in the southwest, crosses the southwest corner. The Mis-
souri, Kansas & Texas crosses the southeast corner.
The county is divided into the following townships : Indian creek,
Jackson, Lincoln, Lone Elm, Monroe, Ozark, Putnam, Reeder, Rich,
Union, Walker, Washington, Welda and Westphalia. Garnett, the
county seat, is the largest town and railroad center. Other important
towns and villages are Colony, Greeley, Harris, Kincaid, Lone Elm,
Selma and Welda.
The \J. S. census of 1910 reported the population of Anderson county
at 13,829. The total value of farm products for that year was, according
to the report of the state board of agriculture, $1,437,654.37. Corn led
with 1,355,223 bushels, valued at $691,163.73. Next to this was the hay
crop, valued at $394,779, and oats stood third in the list with 362,907
bushels, valued at $134,275.59. The wheat crop amounted to 38,187
bushels, valued at $35,339.05. Flax and Kafir corn were also important
crops.
Anderson, John Alexander, clergyman and member of Congress, was
born in Washington county. Pa., June 26, 1834. He was educated at
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, graduating in 1853. Benjamin Har-
rison, afterwards president of the United States was his roommate while
in college. He began work as pastor of a church at Stockton, Cal., in
1857, and preached the first L'nion sermon on the Pacific coast. He
soon began to take an interest in all matters of general welfare, and as
a result the state legislature of California elected him trustee of the
state insane asylum in i860. Two years later he was appointed chap-
lain of the Third California infantry. In this capacity he accompanied
Gen. Connor's expedition to Salt Lake City. Mr. Anderson's desire to
be always investigating something led to his appointment to the United
States Sanitary Commission as California correspondent and agent. His
first duty was to act as relief agent of the Twelfth army corps. He
was next transferred to the central office at New York. In 1864, when
Gen. Grant began moving toward Richmond, Mr. Anderson was made
superintendent of transportation and had charge of six steamboats. At
the close of the campaign he served as assistant superintendent of the
canvas and supply department at Philadelphia and edited a paper called
the Sanitary Commission Bulletin. When the war closed he was trans-
ferred to the history bureau of the commission at Washington, remain-
ing there one year collecting data and writing a portion of the history of
the commission. In 1866 he was appointed statistician of the Citizens'
Association of Pennsylvania, an organization for the purpose of mitigat-
ing the sufifering resulting from pauperism, vagrancy and crime in the
large cities. In Feb., 1868, Mr. Anderson accepted a call from the
Presbyterian church of Junction City, Kan., and during the years spent
in this town he developed power as an orator and took an active part in
politics. He was on the school board most of the time he was in Junc-
tion City. In 1870, the morning after his mother was buried out on the
open prairie, where all the dead had been laid, he remarked to some of
70 CYCLOPEDIA OF
his friends, "This town must have a cemetery," and as a result of his
efforts beautiful Highland stands as a monument' to his memory. In
1870-71, there was much interest throughout the country in narrow
gauge railroads, it being argued that there was economy in them. An-
derson concluded that the idea was not practicable and determined to
oppose the issue of the bonds asked for in Clay county. His ideas pre-
vailed, and the track was relaid standard gauge. In the summer of 1872
Benjamin Harrison secured him a call from a church in Indianapolis, but
his wife and family persuaded him to remain in Kansas. In the fall of
1873, Mr. Anderson was elected president of the Kansas State Agricul-
tural Colleg&, at Manhattan. A radical change of policy resulted in the
institution and it is to Mr. Anderson and the men associated with
him, that the state is indebted for the policy which has placed the col-
lege near the head of the Hst of such institutions in the United States.
Mr. Anderson remained president of the college until 1878, when he was
elected to Congress and served as representative from the First and
Fifth districts until 1891. In March of that year he was appointed con-
sul general to Cairo, Egypt, and sailed for his new post on April 6, but
his constitution was already impaired and he was unable to stand the
change of climate. The following spring he determined to return, but
died on his way home at Liverpool, England, May 18, 1892. His last
message was from Malta, "It is all in God's hands and He will direct."
He Avas laid at rest on the hill top he had fthosen years before, near
the town where he said the happiest daj's of his life had been passed,
and where seven of his family are also interred. The funeral ceremonies
were conducted by the faculty and students of the Agricultural College,
the Grand Army of the Republic and the Masonic Fraternity.
Anderson, William, usually referred to as "Bill" Anderson, was one of
the most daring, brutal and bloodthirsty of those guerrilla captains who
harassed Kansas during the early years of the Civil war. He was born
in Missouri, but during his boyhood, and in fact up to the breaking out
of the war in 1861, he lived with his father on the old Santa Fe trail at
the crossing of Bluff creek. Shortly after the war began. Bill Anderson
and his brother James, Lee Griffin and the Rice boys, all living in the
same neighborhood, announced their intention of taking sides with the
South. Earlj' in June, 1862, Lee Griffin stole a horse and started for
Missouri, but he was overtaken and brought before a justice of the peace
named Baker at Agnes City, at the crossing of Rock creek in the north-
western part of Lyon county, where he was bound over for trial in a
higher court. This so incensed Bill Anderson's father that he loaded his
shot gun and started for Baker's residence to avenge the insult. But
Baker, who had been warned, was on the look-out and fired first, killing
Anderson. The tragic death of his father may have made Bill Anderson
worse than he would otherwise have been, for he immediately com-
menced leading raids into Kansas, along the old Santa Fe trail, g^ing
as far into the state as Council Grove. His three sisters — Josephine,
Mary and Jennie — returned to Missouri, where they were afterward
arrested by order of Gen. Ewing. and by the fall of the building in
which the}' Avere imprisoned one was killed. This added gall and
wormwood to Anderson's already' embittered disposition, and from that
time until his death he was more brutal than before. It is said that his
gang did more killing at Lawrence than any other portion of Ouan-
trill's command, and after the massacre at Baxter Springs he wanted
to attack the fort, but Quantrill would not consent. Anderson was
killed while on one of his raids, Oct. 27, 1864, and after his death the
scalps of two women were found on the headstall of his bridle.
Andover, a village of Butler county (formerly known as Minne-
haha), is a station on the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R., in Bruno
township, about 17 miles southwest of Eldorado, the county seat, and
not far from the Sedgwick county line. It had a population of 130 in
1910, its money order postofifice has one rural free delivery route which
supplies mail to the surrounding country, and it is a trading and ship-
ping point for the people in that portion of the county.
Angelas, a village of Solomon township, Sheridan county, is situated
on the Saline river, about 20 miles southwest of Hoxie, the county seat.
It is a rural postofifice, with a population of 30, and is a trading center
for that part of the county. Campus and Grinnell, on the LTnion Pacific,
are the nearest railroad stations.
Angola, a village of Labette county, is located in Canada township,
on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 23 miles southwest of Oswego, the county
seat. It has telegraph and express offices and a money order post-
office. The town was laid out in 1886, C. H. Kimball and Lee Clark
being the promoters. The population in 1910 was 100.
Annelly, a money order postofifice of Richland township, Harvey
county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 9 miles southeast of
Newton, the county seat. It has a grain elevator, a hotel, a general
store, and does some shipping. The population was reported as 25 in
1910.
Anness, a money order postqfifice of Sedgwick county, is in Erie
township, some 30 miles southwest of Wichita and not far from the
Sumner county line. It is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa
Fe R. R., that runs from Wichita to Englewood, has a grain elevator,
an express office, and through its retail stores supplies the people of
that section with staple articles. The population was reported as 70
in 1910.
Annual Register. — A volume, known as the Kansas Annual Register,
was issued late in Dec, 1864, by the State Agricultural Society-, with
Andrew Stark as editor. The publication was issued from the Leaven-
worth Bulletin oflfice and is a volume of 265 pages of good historical
matter, most of which is devoted to Kansas. The idea of the Register
is said to have originated with Judge L. D. Bailey, and it was his in-
tention to issue a volume annually. Besides a history of religious so-
cieties in the state, and of counties, the volume contains lithographic
pictures of Thomas Carney, Thomas Ewing, jr., James H. Lane, A. C
TcS CYCLOTEDIA OF
\'\'ilder, George W. Deitzler and James G. Blunt. But one number was
issued.
Anson, one of the active, thriving Httle towns of Sumner county, is
in Sumner township, about lo miles northwest of Wellington, the coun-
ty seat. It is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 6 miles east of
Conway Springs, has a bank, important mercantile and shipping in-
terests, a money order postofifice, express and telegraph accommoda-
tions, good schools, etc., and in 1910 reported a population of 125.
Antelope, a small village of Marion county, is located in Clear Creek
township, and is a station on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R.,
7 miles northeast of Marion, the county seat. It has a money order
postofifice, express and telegraph offices, and although the population
was only 53 in 1910 it has a good retail trade and does some shipping.
Anthony, the capital and largest city of Harper county, is situated
a little south-east of the geographical center of the county in the Bluff
creek valley, which is a fine agricultural district. When Harper county
was legally organized in 1878 George T. Anthony, then governor of
Kansas, was given power to locate the county seat, and the town was
named in honor of the governor. The early settlers of Anthony were
intelligent, industrious people, and for a time the growth of the place
went forward with unabated vigor. Bonds were voted for railroad
companies and for municipal improvements and Anthony joined in the
rivalry with other towns during the boom days. The rush to Oklahoma
on April 22, 1889, it is said, took away about one-half the population,
and another hegira occurred some years later. Notwithstandmg this the
growth of the city was only temporarily impeded, and in 1910 reported
a population of 2.669, ^^ increase of 490 during the preceding decade,
in spite of the emigration of 1903.
Underneath the city is a vein of fine salt, 400 feet in thickness, which
has been developed, and a salt plant now turns out some 50.000 barrels
annually. In addition to this great industr}', the city has an ice plant,
a glove factory, a well equipped waterworks system owned by the
municipality, natural gas for fuel and light, an electric lighting plant,
a fire department, large grain elevators, flour mills, two newspapers, a
Carnegie library, and a good public school system. Ample banking
facilities are provided, and the city, being located at the junction of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, the
Kansas Cit}-, Mexico & Orient, the Kansas Southwestern and the Mis-
souri Pacific railroads, its transportation facilities are unsurpassed.
Hence it is a prominent shipping and distributing point, its exports be-
ing grain, live stock, salt, and the products of its manufacturing estab-
lishments. The Anthony Commercial club was organized on Jan. i,
1909, and under its auspices a building and loan association has been
organized to aid the people in becoming home owners. The Anthony
postoffice is authorized to issue international money orders and four
rural delivery routes supply the farmers in the vicinity with mail daily.
All the leading express companies have offices, and the telegraph and
KANSAS HISTORY 79
telephone service is better than that often found in cities of similar
size. That the people of Anthonj' are progressive in their ideas is
evidenced by the fact that the commission form of government was
adopted in Feb., 1909.
Anthony, Daniel R., journalist and soldier, was born at South Adams,
Mass., Aug. 22, 1824, a son of Daniel and Lucy Anthony, and a brother
of Susan B. Anthony, the famous advocate of female suffrage. In his
boyhood he attended school at Battenville, N. Y., and later spent six
months at the Union Village Academy. Upon leaving school he be-
came a clerk in his father's cotton mill and flour mill until he was about
23 years old, when he went to Rochester, N. Y. After teaching school
for two seasons he engaged in the insurance business, and in 1854 he
was a member of the first colony sent out to Kansas by the New Eng-
land Emigrant Aid Society. In June, 1857, he located at Leavenworth,
which city was his home for the remainder of his life. When the Sev-
enth Kansas cavalry was organized in 1861, Mr. Anthony was com-
missioned lieutenant-colonel and served until he resigned on Sept. 3,
1862, his resignation being due to a controversy between him and Gen.
R. B. Mitchell, ^^'hile in camp at Etheridge, Tenn., in June, 1862, Lieut. -
Col. Anthony was temporarily in command of the brigade, during a
short absence of Gen. Mitchell, and issued an order prohibiting slave-
owners from coming inside the Union lines for the purpose of recover-
ing fugitive slaves. The order further specified that "Any officer or
soldier of this command who shall arrest and deliver to his master a
fugitive slave shall be summarily and severely punished according to
the laws relative to such crimes." When Gen. Mitchell returned and
assumed command of the brigade, he asked Lieut. -Col. Anthony to
countermand the order. Anthony replied that as he was no longer in
command he had no right to issue or revoke orders. Mitchell then
placed him in command long enough to rescind the obnoxious order,
when Anthon}', being in command, denied the right of Gen. Mitchell
to dictate what he should do, and again refused to countermand the
order. He was arrested and relieved of the command, but the matter
came before the LTnited States senate and Anthon}' was reinstated by
Gen. Halleck. Then he resigned. He was elected mayor of Leaven-
worth in 1863 and undertook to clear the city of Southern sympathizers.
Several houses sheltering them were burned, when Gen. Ewing placed
the cit}' under martial law. Ewing's scouts seized some horses, Anthony
interfered and was again arrested, but was released the next day and
civil law was restored. In the spring of 1866 Mr. Anthony was re-
moved from the office of postmaster in Leavenworth because he re-
fused to support the reconstruction policy of Andrew Johnson. He
was president of the Republican state convention of 1868, and the same
year was one of the Kansas presidential electors. In 1872 he was
again elected mayor of the city ; was appointed postmaster of Leaven-
worth by President Grant on April 3, 1874, and reappointed by Presi-
dent Hayes on March 22, 1878. He served several terms in the city
So CYCLOPEDIA OF
■council, and was nominated for mayor a number of times but was de-
feated. Mr. Anthonj' was a life member of the Kansas State Historical
Society, of which he was president in 1885-86. In Jan., 1861, he estab-
lished the Leavenworth Conservative, but the following year sold it
to A. C. and D. W. Wilder. In March, 1864, he purchased the Bul-
letin, the Times came into his possession in 1871, and this paper he con-
tinued to conduct until his death. As a journalist Mr. Anthony was
aggressive, and his outspoken editorials frequently involved him in
trouble. To him physical fear was a stranger, and when R. C. Satter-
lee of the Leavenworth Herald published something derogatory to Mr.
Anthony in 1864 a shooting affair occurred which resulted in the death
of Satterlee. On May 10, 1875, W. W. Embry, a former employee,
fired three shots at Mr. Anthony on the stairway of the opera house.
One of the shots took effect in the right breast, just below the collar
bone, severed an artery and Mr. Anthony's recovery from this wound
is regarded as one of the remarkable cases of modern surgery. Mr.
Anthony married Miss Annie E. Osborn of Edgarton, Mass., Jan. 21,
1864, and died at Leavenworth on Nov. 12, 1904. A short time before
his death he suggested the following as his epitaph: "He helped to
make Kansas a free state. He fought to save the Union. He published
the Daily Times for nearly forty years in the interest of Leavenworth.
He was no hypocrite."
Anthony, Daniel R., Jr., journalist and member of Congress from
the First Kansas district, was born in the city of Leavenworth, Kan.,
Aug. 22, 1870, a son of Daniel R. and Annie (Osborn) Anthon}'. He
was educated in the public schools of his native city, graduated in the
class of 1887 at the Michigan Military Academy at Orchard Lake, Mich.,
and in 1891 he received the degree of LL. D. from the university of
Michigan at Ann Arbor. The greater part of Mr. Anthony's career
has been taken up in newspaper work, and since the death of his father,
in Nov., 1904, he has been at the head of the Leavenworth Times, which
his father conducted for nearly forty years. From 1898 to 1902 he was
postmaster of Leavenworth, and in 1903 was elected mayor of the city
for a term of two years. On March 29, 1907, he was elected without
opposition to fill the unexpired term of Charles Curtis in the national
house of representatives, Mr. Curtis having resigned his seat to enter
the United States senate. At the election in Nov., 1908, he was re-
elected for a full term of two years, defeating F. M. Pearl by a plurality
of 7,950, and in 1910 he was again elected, defeating J. B. Chapman
b_v a plurality of 14,376. Mr. Anthony was the originator of the project
to build a military road from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Riley, and on
Dec. 16, 1909, he introduced a bill in Congress for that purpose. His
plan was to utilize the labor of the convicts in the Federal prisons at
Fort Leavenworth, and several farmers along the line of the proposed
road have signified their willingness to furnish the stone for its con-
struction. In addition to his editorial and Congressional duties, Mr.
Anthony is a director of the Leavenworth National bank. He was
KANSAS HISTORY 8l
united in marriage on June 21, 1897, with Miss Elizabeth Havens of
Leavenworth.
Anthony, George Tobey, seventh governor of the State of Kansas,
was born on a farm near Mayfield, Fulton county, N. Y., June 9, 1824,
and was the youngest of five children born to Benjamin and Anna An-
thony. The parents were active members of the society of Friends, or
Quakers, and were unwavering advocates of the abolition of chattel
slavery. The father died in 1829, leaving the family in somewhat
straightened circumstances. When George was about nine years old
the family removed to Greenfield, N. Y., where he attended school dur-
ing the winter months and worked for the neighboring farmers in
summer. At the age of sixteen years he entered the shop of his uncle
at Union Springs, N. Y., and served an apprenticeship as a tinner and
coppersmith. Here he worked from fourteen to sixteen hours each
day, which doubtless inculcated those industrious habits that charac-
terized his course through life. On Dec. 14, 1852, he married Miss
Rosa A. Lyon, of Medina, N. Y., and there engaged in business as a
tinner and dealer in hardware, stoves, etc. Later he added agricultural
implements to his stock, and still later he removed to New York city,
where he engaged in business as a commission merchant until the com-
mencement of the Civil war. Gov. Morgan selected him as one of a
committee to raise and organize troops under the call of July 2, 1862,
in the 28th district, composed of the counties of Niagara, Orleans and
Genesee, his associates being ex-Gov. Church and Noah Davis. Mr.
Anthony organized the Seventeenth independent battery of light artil-
lery in four days, and was commissioned captain of the organization
when it was niustered into the United States service on Aug. 26, 1862.
In command of this battery he served between Washington and Rich-
mond until the close of the war ; was attached to the Eighteenth corps
while in the trenches in front of Petersbuurg; and was with the Twenty-
fourth corps in the Appomattox campaign, which ended in the sur-
render of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Capt. Anthony was mustered out at
Richmond, Va., June 12, 1865, and in November of the same year he
became a resident of Leavenworth, Kan., where for nearly three years
he was editor of the Daily Bulletin and Daily Commercial. He then
published the Kansas Farmer for six years. After coming to Kansas,
Mr. Anthony held a number of positions of trust and responsibility.
In 1867 he was one of the commissioners in charge of the soldiers'
orphans : in December of that year was appointed assistant assessor of
I'nited States internal revenue; was commissioned collector of internal
revenue on July 11, 1868; was president of the Kansas state board of
agriculture for three years, and president of the board of Centennial
managers in 1876. In the last named year he was nominated by the
Republican state convention for the office of governor. During the
campaign some of his political enemies charged that he had been guilty
of cowardice while serving with his battery in the Army of the Potomac,
and insisted on his removal from the ticket. The charge was investi-
(1-6)
82 CYCLnPEDIA OF
gated by the state central committee, which refused to remove Mr.
Anthony, and the committee's decision was ratified by the people at
the election in November, when Mr. Anthony was elected by a plurality
of nearly 23,000 votes. Two 3'ears later, in the Republican state con-
vention, he was defeated for a renomination on the seventeenth ballot.
In 1881 he was made superintendent of the ]\Iexican Central railway,
a position he held for about two years. In 1884 he was elected to
represent Leavenworth county in the state legislature ; was a member
of the state railroad commission from 1889 to 1893 < was the Republican
nominee for Congressman at large in 1892, but was defeated by William
A. Harris ; was a delegate to the Trans-Mississippi Congress at New
Orleans in 1892; was appointed superintendent of insurance by Gov.
Morrill in 1895, and held this office until his death, which occurred at
Topeka on Aug. 5, 1896. As an orator Gov. Anthony was logical and
forcible, rarely failing to impress his hearers by his intense earnestness.
He was often criticized — such is always the case with men of positive
natures — but no word Avas ever whispered against his honor or in-
tegrity. The Kansas Historical Society Collections (vol. VI., p. 204)
says; "George T. Anthony's greatest usefulness to his adopted state
was his work while editor of the Kansas Farmer and as president of
the board of Centennial managers. The pioneer farmers of Kansas were
negligent in the management of farm affairs. Corn was about the only
crop produced, and at the end of the season the plow was left in the
furrow and the mowing-machine was left in the fence corner, while
the live stock were left to shift for themselves. The Kansas Farmer
taught diversified farming, economy in management, improvement in
live stock, and higher regard for home and social life. The Centennial
exhibit made a grand advertisement for Kansas."
Anthony's Administration. — The first biennial session of the Kansas
state legislature convened on Jan. 9, 1877, and organized with Lieut.
Gov. iMelville J. Salter as president of the senate, and Peter P. Elder as
speaker of the house. Gov. Anthony requested a joint session of the
two branches of the assembly, that he might read his message in person.
This was something of an innovation, and Representative Mohler, of
Saline county, with thirteen others entered a protest against such a pro-
ceeding, giving as their reasons therefor, ist — because it was not au-
thorized by the constitution; 2nd — such a joint session was not really
the legislature of Kansas ; and 3d — it was a departure from established
precedent. The protest was made a matter of record, but a majority of
the members voted to hold the joint session in accordance with the gov-
ernor's request, and on the nth Gov. Anthony read his message to the
two houses.
Flis message showed that the new executive was fully conversant with
public matters, and was replete with valuable suggestions. "The re-
ports of the state officers," said he. "show the financial condition and
credit of the state to be of the most flattering character. Seven per
cent, currency bonds of the state are held at a premium of seven per
KANSAS HISTORY 83
cent, on their par value by the most prudent investors. In fact, it is
difficult to find holders willing to part with them, when sought as an
investment by the state, at the highest quoted price."
He then carefully reviewed the condition of the state's public insti-
tutions ; called attention to the ambiguity of the law inflicting the death
penalty; devoted some attention to the Price Raid claims, and recom-
mended a "house of correction" for youthful ofi^enders. On this sub-
ject he said: "Humanity and the public good unite in demanding a place
of confinement, other than the penitentiary, for youthful offenders. So
revolting is it to the judgment and conscience of men to consign erring
A'outh, for its first proven crime, to the society and ineffaceable disgrace
of a penitentiary, that judges and jurors cannot be found to convict
when they can evade it."
As an economical means of providing a place of confinement of this
nature for juvenile transgressors, he recommended a separate building
and yard on the grounds of the penitentiary, but under the same man-
agement.
About the time that Gov. Anthony came into office, complaint was
made in several of the western states that the railroads were not giving
the people fair treatment in many respects. His utterances on this
question evinced the fact that he had given it close attention. Said he :
"There is, whether just or not, a widespread feeling of dissatisfaction
with the railroad corporations of the state, on account of alleged unful-
filled obligations on their part. It is claimed that these corporations
received valuable franchise privileges, most of them sharing in the di-
vision of a half-million acres of state internal improvement lands, and
receiving large contributions of local aid upon their lines in count}-,
township and cit)- bonds; that these valuable rights and franchises were
bestowed on condition, and in consideration, on the part of the state
and people, that companies so chartered and aided should build upon the
lines and operate their roads, in good faith, between the terminal points
named in their respective charters. . . . Some of these companies, it
is asserted, have not built upon the lines, nor caused their roads to con-
nect and be operated between and to the points stipulated, ... In
order to settle all controverted points now in dispute as to the char-
tered obligations of these companies, I urge the passage of a law which
shall clearly and fully embody a demand upon these companies for a
recognition of the obligation held by you to be due from them to the
state, with adequate provision for its enforcement by the state author-
ities."
For some reason the legislature did not see fit to act upon this recom-
mendation of the governor, but instead passed several acts authoriz-
ing counties, cities and townships to issue bonds to aid in the construc-
tion of additional lines of railroad. (See Railroads.)
By an act of Congress, approved July 3, 1876, the secretary of war
authorized the issue to certain western states of 1,000 stands of arms
each, Kansas being one of such states, but the governors of these states
84
CYCLOPEDIA OF
were required to execute bond for the proper care of the arms, etc. In
Kansas there was at that time no law empowering the governor to give
such bond, but the secretary of war turned over to the state the arms,
upon a bond given by Gov. Osborn and his promise to secure the rati-
fication of his action by the legislature. In his message, Gov. Anthony
reminded the assembly that the arms were in possession of the state,
and that it was due Gov. Osborn that prompt action be taken approv-
ing his course, adding: "Without such action I shall feel it my duty
to cause the return of the arms and the cancellation of the bond."
By the act of March 7, 1877, Gov. Osborn's action was legalized and
his bond thus rendered a valid obligation upon the state. Two days
before the passage of this act the legislature authorized the governor
to "procure the erection of a state armory," and appropriated $2,000 for
that purpose. The armory was built on the state-house grounds, south-
east of the capitol, but has long since been removed.
During the session George W. Martin was for a third time elected
public printer, and from Jan. 23 to 31 there were daily ballots for the
election of a United States senator. Preston B. Plumb was elected on
the sixteenth ballot, receiving 83 votes to 63 for David P. Lowe ; 8 for
John Martin; i for Thomas P. Fenlon, and 2 for ex-Gov. Wilson Shan-
non.
The legislature adjourned on March 7. The principal acts passed
during the session were those creating the office of commissioner of
fisheries; reorganizing the state normal school; authorizing the holding
of normal institutes in various sections of the state; changing the of-
ficial names of the blind and deaf and dumb asylums ; making the fiscal
year begin on July i instead of Dec. i ; and directing the governor to
appoint a state agent to prosecute the claims of Kansas against the
United States. Ex-Gov. Crawford was appointed to this position short-
ly after the adjournment.
Lieut. -Gov. M. J. Salter resigned his office to accept a position in
the land office at Independence. This left a vacancy to be filled at the
election on Nov. 6, 1877, when a chief justice of the supreme court was
also to be elected. Three tickets were offered to the voters of the state
for their consideration. The Republican nominees were Albert H. Hor-
ton for chief justice and Lyman U. Humphrey for lieutenant-governor;
the Democratic candidates were respectively William R. Wagstaflf and
Thomas W. Waterson; and the Greenbackers presented S. A. Riggs
and D. B. Hadley. The Democratic and Republican nominations were
made by the state central committees of those parties. This course
failed to meet the approval of some of the voters, and on Oct. 6 the
Republicans of Bourbon county held a meeting at Fort Scott and de-
nounced the state committee "for assuming authority to make nomina-
tions." The protest, however, had but little effect upon the ultimate
result, as at the election Horton received 63,850 votes; Wagstaff, 25,378;
and Riggs, 9,880, the vote for lieutenant-governor being practically the
same. Mr. Humphrey took the oath of office as lieutenant-governor on
Dec. I.
On Dec. 8, 1877, Gov. Anthony made a demand for the surrender of
one George I. Hopkins, a fugitive from justice who had sought refuge
in the State of Ohio, but Robert F. Hurlbutt, then governor of Ohio,
refused to honor the requisition. A correspondence followed and the
requisition was again refused by R. M. Bishop, who succeeded Hurl-
butt as governor. On Oct. 23, 1878, Gov. Bishop made a requisition for
one Peter C. Becker, an embezzler of Butler county, Ohio, who had fled
to Kansas, when Gov. Anthony refused, giving the same reasons as
those presented by the Ohio authorities in the Hopkins case. This had
the desired effect, as on Nov. 21, 1878, Gov. Bishop wrote, explaining
the situation, and adding: "I very much regret the circumstance has
occurred, as my desire is to remain on the most amicable relations not
only with your state, but all the other states The warrant for Hop-
kins' arrest will be issued whenever again demanded." Gov. Anthony
deserved great credit for the skill and courage with which he handled
this matter in upholding the dignity and enforcing the laws of the state.
The winter of 1877-78 was noted for the temperance movement which
swept over the state and culminated in the organization of the State
Temperance Society at Topeka on March 9, 1878, with Rev. John A.
Anderson as president. On April 4 E. B. Rej'nolds made the announce-
ment that 100,000 Murphy pledges had been signed by Kansans.
A great strike of the employees of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
railroad commenced on April 4, 1878, and the next day C. F. Morse, gen-
eral superintendent of the railroad, wrote to Gov. Anthony as follows :
■'There is a large mob about our depot, threatening violence. I have
called on the sheriff, and he is trying to raise a posse, but we may need
help from the state. Will you protect this company and its property?"
"I have to assure you," wrote Gov. Anthony the same day in reply,
"of my full sympathy, and that the power of the state shall be brought
to bear to suppress any effort to drive peaceable laborers from their
work upon your road or elsewhere." (See Labor Troubles.)
Three state tickets were nominated in the political campaign of 1878.
The first party to hold a convention was the Greenback party, delegates
of which met at Emporia on July 3 and nominated the following candi-
dates : For governor, D. P. Mitchell; lieutenant-governot, Alfred Tay-
lor; secretary of state, T. P. Leach; auditor, A. B. Cornell; treasurer,
A. G. Wolcott ; attorne3'-general, Frank Doster ; superintendent of public
instruction, L T. Foot; chief justice, H. V. Vrooman. Frank Doster
was later made the candidate for Congress in the third district, the vote
of the Greenback party generally going to J. F. Cox, the Democratic
candidate for attorney-general. The candidates for Congress in the
first and second districts were Elbridge Gale and P. P. Elder, respec-
tively. No nomination was made for Congressman at large, the support
of the party being thrown to Samuel J. Crawford, the Democratic candi-
date.
On Aug. 28 the Republican state convention met at Topeka and nomi-
nated John P. St. John for governor; Lyman LT. Humphrey, for lieuten-
ant-governor; James Smith, for secretary of state; P. L Bonebrake,
86 CYCLOPEDIA OF
for auditor; John Francis, for treasurer; Willard Davis, for attorney-
general ; Allen B. Lemon, for superintendent of public instruction ; Al-
bert H. Horton, for chief justice; and James R. Hallowell, for Congress-
man at large. The Republican candidates for Congress in the districts
were John A. Anderson in the first, Dudley C. Haskell in the second,
and Thomas Ryan in the third.
The Democratic state convention was held at Leavenworth on Sept.
4. John R. Goodin headed the ticket as the candidate for governor;
George Ummethum was nominated for lieutenant-governor ; L. W. Bar-
ton, for secretary of state; Osbun Shannon, for auditor; C. C. Black,
for treasurer; J. F. Cox, for attorney-general; O. F. McKim, for super-
intendent of public instruction ; R. M. Ruggles, for chief justice ; and
Samuel J. Crawford, for Congressman at large. J. R. McClure was the
Democratic nominee for Congress in the first district; Charles W. Rlair,
in the second, and Joseph B. Fugate in the third.
There were no especially exciting features of the campaign, though
a fairly heavy vote was polled at the election on Nov. 5, when St. John
received 74.020 votes for governor ; Goodin, 37,208 ; and Mitchell, 27,057.
The Republican candidate for Congress in each of the three districts
was elected by a substantial majority, and Mr. Hallowell carried the
state as the candidate for Congressman at large. It developed, how-
ever, that the state was not authorized to elect a Congressman at large,
and Hallowell was not permitted to take his seat.
In Sept., 1878, the Indians on the western frontier began making hos-
tile demonstrations. When Gov. Anthony received the information
that some of the Cheyennes had left their reservation and were moving
against the settlements in western Kansas, he placed himself in tele-
graphic communication with the Federal authorities. Ten days later
the Indians were reported to be in the vicinity of Fort Dodge, and, ^
the general government refused to act. the governor sent Adjt.-Gen.
Noble with arms and amnu]nition to the menaced districts, with in-
structions to arm and organize the people for their own defense. ( See
Indian Wars.)
If Gov. Anthony had introduced an innovation at the commencement
of his administration, in requesting a joint session to hear his mes-
sage, he introduced no less an innovation at its close,, in submitting a
retiring message, partly a review of his official acts and partly sugges-
tions for the future. This message bears the date of Jan. 13, 1879, and
in a prefatory note to the incoming governor. Gov. Anthony says:
"Sir : Impelled by a sense of dut3% I have prepared, and herewith hand
yoti. a communication to the legislature. This innovation will. I trust,
meet with sufficient approval on your part to justify you in its trans-
mittal to the separate branches of that body, which favor I respectfully
ask at your hands."
In the message itself, he thus gives his reasons for its preparation:
"Believing it better to establish a good precedent than to follow a bad
one, and holding duty to the public paramount to custom and usage,
KANSAS HISTORY 87
1 have concluded to depart from the practice of predecessors, by ad-
dressing you. I am impelled to this departure by a belief that there
are transactions, both complete and incomplete, connected with my ad-
ministration, which should be brought to your attention in more full-
ness of detail and particularity of statement than could be expected or
required of the governor elect; and I trust you will, by law, make it
his duty to perform a work I have assumed to do at the peril of un-
friendly criticism."
The governor then gives a 'detailed account of the appointment of
ex-Gov. Samuel J. Crawford as state agent, with a list of the bonds
issued at various times for military purposes, amounting to $470,726.15,
for which the state had not been reimbursed by the Federal govern-
ment. He also discussed the Santa Fe strike; school lands and school
funds ; the correspondence with the governors of Ohio ; the Indian raid
of 1878, and included a list of pardons granted to convicts during his
term of office. Gov. St. John, in his own message, made no reference
to Gov. Anthony's farewell communication, though it appears to have
been submitted to the legislature, as official copies of it were printed
by the state printer. The day following its submission to Gov. St.
John, the administration of Gov. Anthony came to a close.
Anti Horse Thief Association. — Shortly after the commencement of
the Civil war, lawless men in the border states — that is the states lying
between the loyal and seceded states — banded themselves together for
the purpose of plundering honest citizens. Missouri especially was sub-
ject to the depredations of these gangs, and in time the conditions be-
came so bad that the law-abiding people found it necessary to take some
action for defense. The first organization of this character was pro-
posed at a meeting held at Luray, Mo., in Sept., 1863. At a second
meeting, held at Millport, Mo., about a month later, a constitution and
by-laws were adopted, and as horses seemed to be the principal objects
of theft, the society took the name of the "Anti Horse Thief Associa-
tion." The effectiveness of such an organization quickly became ap-
parent, the order spread to other states, and in time covered a large
expanse of territory. After the war was over, when the conditions that
called the association into existence no longer existed, its scope was
widened to include all kinds of thefts and a national organization was
incorporated under the laws of Kansas. This national order is com-
posed of officers and delegates from the state associations and meets
annually on the first Wednesday in October. Next in importance is the
state division, which is made up of representatives of the local organiza-
tions, and meets annually to elect officers and delegates to the national
order. The sub-orders or local associations are composed of individual
members and usually meet monthly. Any reputable citizen over the
age of 21 years is eligible for membership, widows of members receive
all the protection to which their husbands were entitled while living,
and other women may become "protective members" by pavment of the
regular fees and dues.
88 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Wall and McCarty, in their history of the association, say: "The
A. H. T. A. uses only strictly honorable, legal methods. It opposes
lawlessness in any and all forms, yet does its work so systematically and
efficiently that few criminals are able to escape when it takes the trail.
. . . The centralization of 'Many in One' has many advantages not
possessed by even an independent association, for while it might en-
compass a neighborhood, the A. T. H. A. covers many states. . . . The
value of an article stolen is rarely taken into consideration. The order
decrees that the laws of the land must be obeyed, though it costs many
times the value of the property to capture the thief. An individual
could not spend $50 to $100 to recover a $25 horse and capture the thief.
The A. T. H. A. would, because of the effect it would have in the
future. . . . Thieves have learned these facts and do less stealing from
our members, hence the preventative protection."
This was written in 1906. At that time the national organization
numbered over 30,000 members, arranged in divisions as follows : Ohio
Division, which embraced the State of Ohio; Illinois Division, which
included the states of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan and all territory
east of the Mississippi and south of the Ohio river not otherwise dis-
tricted ; Missouri Division, including the states of Missouri, Iowa, Ar-
kansas and Louisiana; Kansas Division, which consisted of the states
of Kansas and Nebraska, and all territory to the north, west and south
of those states not included in other districts ; Oklahoma Division, in-
cluding the State of Oklahoma ; Indian Territory Division, which em-
braced the Indian Territory and Texas.
The Anti Horse Thief Association is in no sense a vigilance com-
mittee, and the organization has never found it necessary to adopt the
mysterious methods of "Regulators," "White Caps" or kindred organi-
zations. Its deeds are done in the broad open light of the day. When
a theft or robbery is committed in any portion of the vast territory cov-
ered by the association and the direction taken by the offender is ascer-
tained, local associations are notified to be on the lookout for the fugi-
tive, and his capture is almost a certainty. Although the original name
is retained, bankers, merchants and manufacturers are to be found
among the members, courts recognize its value, criminals fear it, and
press and pulpit have endorsed and praised its work in the apprehension
of criminals.
Antiquities. — (See Archaeology.)
Antonino, a post-village of Ellis county, is situated in the Smoky
Hill valley about 8 miles soirthwest of Hays, the county seat. It is a
small hamlet and receives mail tri-weekly. Hays is the most conve-
nient railroad station.
Antrim, a small hamlet of Stafford county, is within a short dis-
tance of the Pratt county line, about 8 miles south of St. John, the
county seat and most convenient railroad station, from which mail is
received by rural free delivery.
Aplington Art Gallery. — The movement for a traveling art study
KANSAS HISTORY »9
collection may be said to have had its beginning in the year 1895, but
nothing definite was accomplished till 1901, when Mrs. W. A. Johnston
was president of the Kansas Federation of Women's Clubs, and the
executive board accepted a small set of photogravures — the gift of Mrs.
Kate A. Aplington of Council Grove — to be used as the nucleus of a
state art stud}^ collection. A report of the board says: "Later it was
thought best to let some district try the experiment of caring for the
traveling collection, and as the Fourth district offered to frame the
pictures and keep them in circulation in the schools of the district, the
collection was placed in their hands."
At the first board meeting of the Kansas Federation of Women's clubs
in 1903, a motion was made to publish a "Book of Quotations," the
profits from the sales to be devoted to the purchase of large size carbon
photographs for use by the clubs and schools of the state for public art
exhibits. The proceeds from the sale of the book netted over $360, which
was used for the purchase of 50 pictures of the Italian, and about 60
of the Dutch and Flemish schools. A small German collection was
added later. In 1905 a very full fine French collection was added. The
following year a new English collection was added, and during the first
three years the gallery was in existence the State Federation held 91
exhibits.
From the first it was intended at some future time to offer this col-
lection to the state, and accordingly, in Feb., 1907, the executive board
of the Federation met in Topeka and took formal action regarding this.
A bill was passed by the legislature of 1907, authorizing the acceptance
of the collection by the state.
Aplington, Kate Adele, for whom the above collection is named, was
born in Sugar Grove, Lee Co., 111., March t, 1859, a daughter of Henry
H. and Elizabeth Melinda (Deming) Smith, both natives of New York.
Her father was an educator and from 1854 to 1879 was engaged con-
tinuously in school work, being city superintendent of schools in Sa-
vannah, Mt. Carroll, Galena, Macomb, Alton, Polo and Ottawa, 111.,
and for 12 years was county superintendent of Whiteside county. 111.
As a girl Mrs. Aplington was quite a student, and was of great help
to her father in his laboratory work. She was graduated in 1876, and
immediately took some post-graduate work, to fit herself for a univer-
sity course, but failing eyesight prevented. She taught two terms in
the Ottawa (III.) high school, and while there helped establish a read-
ing room and library. On June 19, 1879, she was married to John Ap-
lington, a graduate of the Union College of Law of Chicago, and in
1880 they moved to Council Grove, Kan., where they have since resided.
In 1901 Mrs. Aplington was appointed a member of the Charities Con-
ference committee and with other members visited the Girls' Industrial
School at Beloit, making recommendations that domestic science be
installed in the school. In 1902 she was made chairman of the manual
training committee of the Kansas State Social Science Federation, and
wrote hundreds of letters to educators in the larger towns, from whom
90 CYCLOPEDIA OF
she received voluminous reports and recommendations from which the
present state law was passed in 1903. In that year she was elected
vice president of the Kansas Federation of Women's Clubs, at its meet-
ing in Wichita, and was the author of the proposition to publish a
"Book of Quotations," the profits from the sales to be devoted to the
purchase of a collection of carbon reproductions of "famous paintings.
These copies were purchased and for three years were exhibited in va-
rious parts of the state, Mrs. Aplington having the superintendency of
the same. In 1907, the collection was offered and accepted by the state,
and was given the name of "Aplington Art Galler}'." Mrs. Aplington
is still connected with the traveling art galleries and at the present
time (July. 1911) is preparing notes, etc., for an American collection of
paintings which will be placed in the hands of the traveling libraries
commission to be used in connection with the other exhibits.
Appanoose, a hamlet of Douglas county, is situated in the extreme
southwestern corner, 8 miles southeast of Overbrook, the nearest rail-
road station, from which it has rural free delivery. In 1910 it had a
population of less than 20.
Aral, a little hamlet of Butler county, is about 20 miles southwest
of Eldorado, the county seat, and 3 miles from Rose Hill, from which
place mail is received by rural free delivery.
Arapahoe County. — One of the first acts of the territorial legislature
of 1855 created .Arapahoe county — so named for the plains tribe of In-
dians — and defined the boundaries as follows : "Beginning at the north-
east corner of New Mexico, running thence north to the south line of
Nebraska and north line of Kansas : thence along said line to the east
line of Utah territory ; thence along said line between Utah and Kansas
territories, to where said line strikes New Mexico ; thence along the
line between said New Mexico and the territory of Kansas to the place
of Iseginning."
All the territory embraced within these boundaries is now in the
state of Colorado. By the act of creation Allen P. Tibbitts was ap-
pointed judge of the probate court of the county, the plan for holding
court being left to his discretion, and Allen P. Tibbitts. Levi Mitchell
and Jonathan .A.twood were appointed commissioners to locate the coun-
ty seat, which was to be known as Mountain City. One representa-
tive in the state legislature was apportioned to the county, which was
attached to Marshall county for all business purposes.
In 1873 a second county of Arapahoe was created in the southwest-
ern part of the state out of unorganized territor}^ Its boundaries were
defined as follows : "Commencing at the intersection of the east line
of range 31, west, with the north line of township 27, south; thence
south along the range line to where it intersects the sixth standard
parallel ; thence west along the sixth standard parallel to the intersec-
tion with the east line of range 35, west; thence north along the range
line to where it intersects the north line of township 27, south ; thence
east to the place of beginning." In 1883 Arapahoe county disappeared.
KANSAS HISTORY 91
its territory being included in Finney and in 1887 Haskell coitnty was
created from that part of Finney which had been established as Arapa-
hoe in 1873.
Arbitration, Boards of. — Although Kansas has never been a great
manufacturing state, the need of some systematic plan for the settle-
ment of disputes between capital and labor was felt at an early day,
for as early as 1886, an act was passed "to establish boards of arbitra-
tion." By this act, when a petition signed by five or more workmen,
or by two separate firms, individuals or corporations within the county
who are emplo3'ers, is presented, the district court of a county, or a
judge thereof in vacation, shall have the power to issue a license for the
establishment of a tribunal for voluntary arbitration and settlement of
disputes between employer and employee in "manufacturing, mechanical,
mining and other industries."
A tribunal consists of four persons appointed by the judge; two
workmen and two employers, all of whom must be residents of the
county in which the dispute takes place. At the time the license is
issued for the establishment of the board, the judge also appoints an
umpire, who is to decide impartially all questions that are submitted
during his term of office. When the board fails to agree after three
meetings, any question in dispute is referred to the umpire and his de-
cision in the matter is final. A board of arbitration may take jurisdic-
tion of any dispute between employees and employer in any of the
industries, who submit their dispute to the tribunal in writing. When
disputes occur in a county wdiere there is no tribunal, they may be re-
ferred to a tribunal already existing in an adjoining county. After
the appointment of a board of arbitration in a county, it organizes by
electing one member chairman and one secretary. The sessions of
these tribunals are held at the county seat, to consider the petitions
that have been presented. Its members are paid out of the county
treasury at the rate of $2.00 a day for each day of actual service. All
matters in dispute are submitted to the chairman of the board, who
has power to administer oaths to all witnesses called upon to testify by
either side. The board also has power to investigate all books, docu-
ments and accounts pertaining to matters in hearing before it. The
board makes its own rules for government while in session, fixes its
own sessions and adjournments, but the chairman can call an extra
session at any time. \\'hen the board cannot settle any matter in dis-
pute it submits the matter to the umpire in writing, and he is required
to award a decision within seven days. When the award is for a spe-
cific sum of money, a copy of the decision is filed in the district court
of the county, after which the court may enter judgment. Since the
act was passed providing for these boards of arbitration many labor
disputes have been successfully settled with no litigation ; usually to
the* entire satisfaction of both parties of the dispute.
Arbor Day. — This day owes its origin to J. Sterling Morton, of Ne-
braska, late United States commissioner of agriculture, who in 1872
:VCLOPEDIA OF
succeeded in inducing his state (then almost treeless) to set apart a
day for the purpose of planting trees. Over a million were planted
that year. In 1874 the same state planted over 12,000,000 trees. Gov.
Robert W. Furnas, the governor at that time issuing a proclamation
setting apart a day in April for the purpose. Nebraska, in 1885, en-
acted a law, designating April 22, the birthday of Mr. Morton, as Arbor
day and making it a legal holiday. In Kansas the first recognition of
the day was in 1875, when Thomas J. Anderson, then mayor of Topeka,
issued the following proclamation :
ARBOR DAY. .
PROCLAMATION BY THE MAYOR.
"At the sugggestion of many citizens who desire to see the capitol
grounds made an ornament to the city, I hereby appoint Friday, April
23, 1875, as "Arbor Day," and request all citizens on that date to set
out trees in the capitol grounds. On that day, it is hoped that each
citizen interested, will repair to the grounds, between the hours of 2
p. m. and 5 p. m., and set out one tree. The secretary of state will point
out the proper locations for the trees.
"Thos. J. Anderson. I\Iayor."
The citizens of Topeka responded to the call and some 800 trees
were planted. The next year the mayor of Topeka set apart April 18
as arbor day, on which occasion the residents of the capital city again
gathered on the capitol grounds to replace such trees as had died dur-
ing the previous twelve months, and to make such additions as they
saw fit.
From this time on the cities, towns and villages of the state began
observing the day in a more or less public manner, with the ultimate
result, that many sections are now veritable forests, where a few short
years ago they were treeless plains.
On April 4, 1883, Gov. George W. Glick issued a proclamation, set-
ting apart April 25 to be observed as arbor day. This probably was
the earliest official recognition given the day by the chief executive
of Kansas, which custom has since been followed by succeeding gov-
ernors.
Arbor day is now observed in nearly every state and territory in the
Union, and in man}' places in Canada and in parts of Europe. The da_\'
is made a feature in the Kansas schools each year, when appropriate
exercises are given in connection with the planting of trees and shrubs.
Arcadia, an incorporated town of Crawford county, is a station on
the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R., about 15 miles northeast of
Girard, the county seat, and near the Missouri state line. It has a bank,
a good graded public school, a fire department, a weekly newspaper,
KANSAS HISTORY 93
planing mills, brick and tile factories, a hotel, churches of several of
the leading denominations, and in 1910 reported a population of 694.
Communication with other places is maintained by telegraph and tele-
phone in addition to the facilities offered by the postoffice, which issues
international money orders and supplies the surrounding rural districts
with mail through the medium of four free delivery routes.
Archaeology. — Webster defines archaeology as "The study of an-
tiquities; the study of art, architecture, customs and beliefs of ancient
peoples as shown in their monuments, implements, inscriptions, etc."
The term is sometimes used in its narrow sense for the study of
the material remains of the historic peoples of antiquity, especially the
Greeks, Romans, Babylonians and Egyptians, and sometimes for the
general scientific study of prehistoric man, when it is known as pre-
historic archaeology or paleethnology. Holloway's History of Kansas
(p. 87) says: "Kansas cannot boast of a remote antiquity. Her soil
never becomes the scene of stirring events until of late years. Her
level and far-reaching prairies aflforded but little temptation to the early
adventurer. No ideal gold mines or opulent Indian city were ever lo-
cated within her boundaries."
While this is true in a general sense — so far as human antiquities
are concerned — there is abundant evidence to show that Kansas has a
remote antiquity along other lines. In prehistoric times southwestern
Kansas was the bed of a great inland sea, where dwelt the ichthyo-
saurus and other gigantic animals, and in Barber county there are
beds of petrified shells resembling the shells of the modern 03'ster. The
antiquities of Kansas are therefore confined chiefly to the fossil remains
of prehistoric animals, of which fine specimens are to be found in the
collections of the University of Kansas and Yale University. Some
years ago S. S. Hand found a fossil fish in Hamilton county, which he
sent to Chancellor Snow of the state university, who wrote in reply:
"My view about your fine fish is, that it lived and died when what is
now Hamilton county, more than 3,000 feet above the present level,
was under the salt water ocean. Remains of fishes, sharks and great
sea monsters are found abundantly in the rocks of western Kansas,
especially along the banks of the Smoky Hill river and its branches.
In fact, the ocean covered the entire western portion of the United
States. The Rocky mountains were not upheaved when your fish lived
and died." (See Geology.)
Of the early inhabitants of Kansas, little definite information can be
gleaned from the relics these departed races have left behind. Stone
mauls, hammers, arrow heads and a few iron implements constitute
the greater part of these relics, and the information they impart tells
but little of the people who made and used them, or of the period when
those people lived. Brower, in his Quivira and Harahey (q. v.) gives
an account of his discovery of the sites of a number of ancient villages,
and early in 1880 the Scientific American published an article comment-
ing on the report of Judge E. P. West of recent archaeological explora-
94 CYCLOPEDIA OF
tions in Kansas. Says the American : "Judge West presents a large
amount of evidence to show that at a remote period that region was
peopled by a race with which the mound builders must be accounted
modern. . . . Prior to the (glacial) drift epoch the river channels
were deeper than now, and the river valleys were lower. Subsequently
the valleys were filled b}' a lacustrine deposit of considerable depth.
In or beneath this last deposit the reamins of an extinct race occur."
The remains mentioned in Judge West's report were found along
the line of the Union Pacific railroad in Douglas, Pottawatomie, Rile}%
Dickinson, Marion, Ellsworth and Lincoln counties, and all with the
exception of one on the second bottom or terrace. In digging wells
and making other excavations stone implements, potter}-, bones and
bone implements were found from 20 to 30 feet below the surface.
Judge \\ est is inclined to fix the time when this race occupied the re-
gion as after the glacial epoch and prior to deposition of the loess. In
requesting the newspapers of Kansas to urge the importance of sav-
ing such relics and remains when found, he says : "Here we have a
buried race enwrapped in a profound and startling mystery — a race
whose appearance and exit in the world's drama precede stupendous
changes marking our continent, and which perhaps required hundreds
of thousands of years in their accomplishment. The prize is no less
than determining when this mj'sterious people lived, how thev lived,
when they passed out of existence, and why thev became extinct."
(See Lansing Skeleton.)
George J. Remsburg. who has devoted considerable time to the study
of the archaeological remains of the Missouri valley, investigated the
ruins of a number of Indian villages, etc., and in the Kansas Magazine
for June, 1893, published the results of his researches. After mention-
ing the location and describing several old Indian villages, he says:
"One of the richest archaeological finds ever made in Atchison county
was at Oak Mills, a small village in the river bottom. Two men were
employed in repairing the fence around John Davitz's lot, when they
observed several flint implements projecting from a ridge of clay. In-
vestigation revealed the fact that it was an aboriginal burial ground.
The remains of several Indians were exhumed, the bones of which
crumbled instantly on being exposed. Not even a small fragment of
bone could be preserved, except the teeth, which are worn down very
short and smooth, indicating that the deceased were of an advanced
age, or that they had subsisted on a diet of dry corn or coarse food.
The skulls were completely decayed, but the imprint of one of them
indicated that it was unusually large Near the shoulders and
breast of each of the skeletons was a pile of flint implements. The
large implements were made from common blue chert, while the drills
and arrow points are of finer materials and of various colors. . . .
Everything about these discoveries goes to show that they are the re-
mains of Indians who occupied this region centuries ago. All external
evidence of a burying ground had been obliterated, and had it not been
for the heavy rains the discovery would probabl\- not have been made."
KANSAS HISTORY 95
Trees of considerable size liad been felled upon the site of this old
aboriginal cemetery 30 years before the discovery mentioned by Mr.
Remsburg, a fact which goes to bear out his statement that the skele-
tons were those of natives who had lived centuries ago.
Another important archaeological investigation was made by Prof.
J. A. Udden of Bethany College in the early '80s, when he examined
the mounds south of the Smoky Hill river and found bones of animals,
stone implements, sandstone or "hand grindstones," the entire collec-
tion numbering some 500 interesting relics. Prof. Udden made a par-
tial report to the Academy of Science in 1886, and subsequently a more
complete report was published in the Kansas Historical Collections.
The finding of a piece of chain mail (See Coronado) he says "makes
it certain that the village was occupied by Indians at least as late as
after the discovery of America by Europeans."
Perhaps the most interesting archaeological relic ever found in Kan-
sas is the ruins of a pueblo known as El Ouartelejo. Dunbar says that
about 1702 "the occupants of the pueblo of Picuries, in northern New
Mexico, forsook their village and, resorting to the northeastern plain,
established the post later known as El Quartelejo, distant northeast
350 miles from Santa Fe, in the present Scott county, Kan. The ex-
planation of this sudden movement was probably the result of some
fanciful or mysterious impulse, from which they were in due time
readily dissuaded by the governor of the province, Don Francisco
Cuerbo y Valdes, and soon after resumed their forsaken home."
Bancroft, in his history of Arizona and New Mexico (p. 228), says:
"Capt. Uribarri marched this year (1706) out into the Cibola plains;
and at Jicarilla, 37 leagues northeast of Taos, was kindly received by
the Apaches, who conducted him to Cuartelejo, of which he took pos-
session, naming the province San Luis and the Indian rancheria Santo
Domingo."
The ruins of the old pueblo are in the northern part of the country
and were first noticed about 1884. The dimensions are 32 by 50 feet,
and the remains of the foundation walls indicate that it was divided
into seven rooms, varying in size from 10 b}' 14 feet to i6 by 18 feet.
Prof. S. W. Williston visited these ruins in 1898 and the following-
January gave a description of them before the Kansas Flistorical So-
ciety, his paper on that occasion appearing in the vol. VI of the Kansas
Historical Collections. Handel T. Martin, of the paleontological depart-
ment of the University of Kansas, who examined the pueblo in con-
nection with Prof. \\'illiston, has published the results of his investiga-
tions in an illustrated article in the Kansas University Science Bul-
letin for Oct., 1909. After remarking that much of the stone has been
taken away by the people living in the vicinity, Mr. Handel asks the
rather pertinent question : "\\'ould it not be well for the state to pre-
serve at this late day our only known pueblo from further destruc-
tion?"
Argentine, the second largest town of W^anclntte C(iunt\-, is located
in the extreme southeastern portion on the south bank of the Kansas
96 CYCLOPEDIA OF
river and on the Atchison, Topeka Santa Fe railroad, about 4 miles
west of Kansas City, Mo. Late in the '70s the railroad located their
transfer depot, side tracks, round house, coal chutes and sheds near
the present town site, and within a short time a considerable settlement
had sprung up. The land was surveyed and platted in 1880 and orig-
inally consisted of 60 acres of land owned by James M. Coburn. The
Kansas Town companj' obtained a charter on April 9, 1881, and imme-
diately organized with a capital of $100,000. The incorporators were
William B. Strong, George O. Manchester, Joab Mulvane, J. R. Mul-
vane and E. Wilder and the same body of men were the directors for
the first year. Joab Mulvane was elected president and manager of the
company; and E. Wilder, secretary and treasurer. This new company
purchased 415 acres of land adjoining the first town site, and after giv-
ing the Kansas City, Topeka & Western railroad what it desired for
railroad purposes, the remaining 360 acres was laid out as Mulvane's
addition to Argentine and placed upon the market. In 1882 Argentine
was incorporated as a city of the third class, having acquired by that
time the required number of inhabitants for a city government. The
first Tuesday in August an election was held for city officials, at which
time G. W. Gully was elected mayor; John Steffins, W. C. Blue, Patrick
O'Brien, A. Borgstede and George Simmons, councilmen ; J. H. llalder-
man, city clerk; A. J. Dolley, police judge; and Charles Duvall, marshal.
In the winter of 1881 a public school was opened and the citizens saw
the necessity for a public school building. On Aug. 28, 1882, an election
was held to vote on the question of issuing bonds to the amount of
$7,000 for such a purpose, and the proposition was carried by a large
majority. Work was at once started on the first school building. A
postoffice was established in 1881 and has been enlarged several times
in proportion to the growth of the city. The Congregational church
was the pioneer religious organization, as services were held in the sum-
mer of 1881 and the following year a church building was erected.
One of the first commercial enterprises in the town was the Kansas
City Refining and Smelting company which located there in 1880. This
was for many years the largest plant in the country. The capital stock
of the original company was $200,000 and over 250 men were employed
from the start. It was built for the purpose of refining gold and silver
bullion, shipped from the other smelters, but the company also carries
on lead smelting and the manufacture of various commercial products
from the other metals that are recovered in the refining process, chief
of which are blue and white vitriol. Copper is made from the vitriol
and in 1896 more than a million and a half pounds of this metal were
. put on the market from the Argentine plant. At the present time the
company has a paid up stock of more than $3,000,000 and is the leading
manufactory of the town'.
Many other commercial enterprises have located in Argentine be-
cause of the excellent transportation facilities. It has extensive railroad
repair shops, large factories for the manufacture of iron products, and
KANSAS HISTORY 97
many retail stores. Today Argentine is a well paved city with excel-
lent water and lighting- systems, street railwa3% good public school sys-
tem, man}- churches, good hotels and is an extensive banking town.
The population in 1910 was 6,500.
Argonia, one of the incorporated towns of Sumner count}-, is in
Dixon township, on the Chikaskia river and at the junction of the At-
chison, Topeka & Santa Fe and Missouri Pacific railways, 20 miles
west of Wellington, the county seat. It has an international money
order postoffice, from which .emanate four rural routes, express and
telegraph offices, telephone connection, grain elevators, a good school
system, and is the principal shipping and supply point for the western
part of the county. Several religious demoninations, including the
Baptists, Methodists, Friends and Presbyterians, are represented by neat
houses of worship. The population in 1910 was 466.
Arickaree, Battle of. — This action terminated the Indian wars on the
plains. It was the most tragic of the many battles fought with the In-
dians in Kansas and Xebr'aska and took its name from 'the place where
the battle which was fought— on a small island in the middle of the
Arickaree, a branch of the Republican river. This island is now in-
cluded in the state of Colorado, near the west line of what is now Chey-
enne county, Kan.
In the summer of 1868 a troop of renegade Indians, composed of men
from several tribes, made a raid on the settlers of the Saline and Solo-
mon valleys, killed a number of people, drove off numerous horses and
captured two white women, one of whom lived on White Rock creek,
Jewell county, the other on the Solomon river in Ottawa county. IMost
of the settlers from the district fled to the towns for safety. The In-
dians were well armed and mounted and moved rapidly toward the north.
Many of the settlers along the Saline and Solomon were old soldiers
and quickly formed an armed band to pursue the Indians but could not
(1-7)
98 CYCLOPEDIA Ot
overtake them. Gen. Sheridan, who was in command of the depart-
ment, heard that there was a band of Indians camped on the western
frontier and decided to pursue them. Col. George A. Forsyth was or-
dered to form a volunteer company at Fort Marker (q. v.), in what is
now Ellsworth county. Lieut. Frederick Beecher, of the regular army,
was detailed to select the troop and choose 50 picked men, experienced
frontiersmen, ex-soldiers and scouts, all known for their metal and dar-
ing. Most of the men furnished their own horses and were well equipped
for the service. They made a forced march to Fort Hays, then up the
Smoky Hill river to Fort Wallace, a distance of 200 miles. There they
were supplied with ammunition, rations, pack mules and a few horses.
On Sept. 10, the troop, consisting of 49 men, left Fort Wallace, Col. For-
syth in command, Lieut. Beecher second in command, and Dr. Moore,
of Fort Wallace, citizen surgeon. They expected to meet a band of
from 250 to 300 Indian warriors, the number reported by the scouts.
Hearing of an Indian raid on a wagon train near Sheridan, the troop
hastened in that direction. There they struck the Indian trail and fol-
lowed it north until they reached the Republican river then westward
to the Arickaree, where a camp was formed on its north bank opposite
a sandy island. While they could see no Indians the troop was con-
vinced they were in the vicinity. The island was investigated and
chosen as a safe place of retreat should the}' be surrounded by the
enemy, sentinels were posted, the stock guarded and most of the men
went to sleep worn out by the forced march. The Indians had been
notified by their scouts of the conditions at the camp and attacked just
at dawn on the morning of the 17th. By stealth, they had crept down
the ravine and managed to stampede most of the mules and also some
of the horses. Singing their battle-songs — Cheyenne, Arapahoe and
Sioux — the Indians came on. The men of the troop knew that advance
meant death and retreat was impossible, the advantage of the island as
a place of refuge was now of value and Col. Forsyth gave the order,
"Reach the island." This sudden movement disconcerted and surprised
the Indians. Col. Forsyth divided the command, part going to the east
end of the island under Jack Stilwell, the other to the west end. The
Indians advanced in disorder across the creek bed toward the island
and were met by volley after volley from the whites, who had managed
to dig shallow pits in the sand which offered small cover. Some of the
Indians then tried to advance through the tall grass, but were picked
off. During the first hour many of the horses and mules were killed,
firing on both sides was kept up until 10 o'clock, when several chiefs
had been killed and the celebrated chief, Roman Nose, took command.
He claimed to have a charmed life and led another fierce attack toward
the east end of the island, which the Indians did not know was de-
fended as the fighting had been all at the other end. Roman Nose was
shot and with his fall the attack practically ceased until 2 o'clock p. m.,
when the Indians received reinforcements under Dull Knife of the Sioux
tribe. Orders were not to fire until the Indians were in close range;
KANSAS HISTORY 99
Dull Knife was killed and when the Indians returned and recovered his
body, the battle was ended. The river bed was strewn with the dead
warriors and ponies of the Indians ; the wounded whites received but lit-
tle aid as Dr. Moore had been hit in the head early in the engagement.
Col. Forsyth and Lieut. Beecher were both wounded, many of the men
were dead, and all suffered for lack of water. At midnight two scouts
were started on their perilous journey to Fort Wallace for aid, and
reached the fort at sundown on Sept. 20. A command left at midnight
for the Arickaree. As help was so long in coming to the besieged men,
who were suffering, two more men volunteered to try to get through
the Indian lines. The}' met the relief part_y under Col. Parker, and
guided it to the island. It was later learned that the Indians lost be-
tween 700 and 800 warriors during the battle, which broke their power
in the west.
Arispie, a hamlet of Pottawatomie county, is located 9 miles east o[
Westmoreland, the county seat, and 7 miles southwest of Onaga, from
which place it receives daily mail.
Arkalon, an international money order postoffice of Seward county,
is situated in Fargo township at the point where the Chicago, Rock Is-
land & Pacific R. R. crosses the Cimarron river, 13 miles northeast of
Liberal, the county seat. Although the population is small, Arkalon is
an important shipping point, especially for grain and live stock.
Arkansas City, the largest city of Cowley county and one of the
most important commercial centers of southeastern Kansas, is beauti-
fully located on the elevation between the Arkansas and Walnut rivers,
about 4 miles north of the state line and 12 miles south of Winfield, the
county seat. The city was laid out in 1870, about the time Cowley
county was organized, and the postoffice was established ' in April of
that year with G. H. Norton as postmaster. Mr. Norton built the first
house — a pioneer log structure — and was one of the first merchants.
The place was first called Adelphi, later Walnut City, still later Cress-
well and finally the name of Arkansas City was adopted. On June 10,
1872, Judge W. P. Campbell of the 13th district issued the order for the
incorporation of the town, and at the first election for municipal officers
on July 2, A. D. Keith was chosen mayor. For a few years the growth
was comparatively slow, but in Dec, 1879, the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe railroad company completed a line to Arkansas City, after
which the growth was more rapid and of a more substantial character.
Following this road came the Kansas Southwestern, the Missouri Pa-
cific, the Midland Valley and the St. Louis and San Francisco lines, pro-
viding transportation facilities as good as are to be found in any .city
of its size anywhere.
With the advent of the railroads, manufacturing became an important
industry. Water power is provided by a canal 5 miles long connecting
the Walnut and Arkansas rivers. Among the manufactured products
are cement, flour and feed, brooms, paint and alfalfa meal. The city
also has a meat packing establishment, planing mills, ice factory, cream-
eries, five banks, an opera house which cost about $100,000, an electric
Hghting plant, a fine waterworks system which was first installed in
1881 and has been, enlarged to keep pace with the growth of the city, a
fire department, a street railway, a good sewer system, and two beauti-
ful public parks. The first school was taught in 1871 by T. A. Wilson
in a house that cost about $400. The present public school system com-
prises four modern ward school buildings and a high school building
which cost about $40,000. A number of fine church edifices add to the
beauty of the city, the jobbing trade covers a large territory, and the
press is well represented by two daily and three weekly newspapers.
The Arkansas City Commercial club is composed of energetic citizens,
always alert to the interests of the city, and that its efforts in this direc-
tion have been successful may be seen in the fact that the population
increased from 6,140 in 1900 to 7,508 in 1910.
Arkansas River. — Undoubtedly the earliest account of this river is
to be found in the narratives of the Coronado expedition, 1540-1541, in
which the stream was given the name "St. Peter's and St. Paul's river."
Marquette names it on his map of 1673. The Mexicans named it "Rio
Napete," but the stream acquired the name "Akansa" from the early
French voyagers on account of a tribe of the Dacotah or Osage stock
which lived near its mouth. The stream has its source in the Rocky
Mountains of Colorado, in latitude 39 degrees 20 minutes north, longi-
tude 106 degrees 15 minutes west. It flows in a southerly and easterly
direction, passing through the royal gorge to the city of Pueblo, from
which place it takes an eastward course, traversing what was once a
portion of the "Great American Desert," and entering Kansas in Hamil-
ton county, just south of the town of Coolidge, thence flowing in a gen-
eral easterly direction through the counties of Hamilton, Kearny, p-in-
ney, Gray and Ford, at which point the stream makes an abrupt turn to
the northeast, passing through the counties of Edwards, Pawnee and
Barton, the "great bend" of the river being in the last named. From
here the river turns to the southeast, passing through the counties of
Rice. Reno. Harvey, Sedgwick, Sumner and Cowley, leaving the state
at a point almost due south of the village of Davidson. It then flows
across Oklahoma and Arkansas, emptying into the Mississippi river at
Napoleon. Ark.
The Arkansas is accounted the most important of the western tribu-
taries of the combined Mississippi and Missouri rivers, is about 2,000
miles in length, of which 310 are in the state of Kansas. The stream is
rarely navigable to a point above- Fort Smith, though in times of flood
the channel is open to boats of light draft to a point much higher up.
In 1854 a writer in the New York Tribune, in describing the territories
of Kansas and Nebraska, gave Fort Mann (near Dodge City) as the
"head of navigation" on the stream. (See Early River Commerce.)
Across the plains of Colorado and Kansas the channel of this river
is very shallow, in some places the banks being less than five feet above
low water, and the channel at least three-quarters of a mile in width.
KANSAS HISTORY lOI
'l"he Stream in Colorado is almost entirely diverted to the irrigation
of lands alongside, and the sandy wastes thus watered have been made
veritable garden spots. This wholesale diversion of the water by that
state was the cause of much complaint on the part of property owners
and others along the river in Kansas who suffered considerable loss and
inconvenience from the river going dry. To determine what rights the
state had in the matter, the Kansas state senate of 1901 passed a con-
current resolution relating to the diversion of the waters of the Arkansas
river, in the state of Colorado, as follows :
"Whereas, It is a matter of common notoriety that the waters of the
Arkansas river for some time past have been and are now being diverted
from their natural channel by the state of Colorado and its citizens, to
the great damage of the state of Kansas and its inhabitants ; and
Whereas, It is threatened not only to continue but also to increase
said diversion ; therefore, be it
Resolved by the senate, the house of representatives concurring
therein. That the attorney general be requested to institute such legal
proceedings, and to rende.r such assistance in other proceedings brought
for the same purpose, as may be necessary to protect the rights and
interests of the state of Kansas and the citizens and property owners
thereof."
The house concurred, and in May, 1901. the state of Kansas by its
attorney-general, filed a bill in ecjuity in the C S. supreme court,
which necessitated the taking of many thousands of pages of testi-
mony of residents living along the valley of the Arkansas. The case
was finally decided in favor of Colorado.
Arlington, an incorporated town of Reno county, is situated in the
township of the same name, 17 miles southwest of Hutchinson, at the
point where the Chicago. Rock Island & Pacific R. R. crosses the Nin-
nescah river. It has a bank, grain elevators, a weekly newspaper, a
good public school system, a cornet band, a money order postoffice with
two rural free delivery routes, express and telegraph offices, and is the
shipping and supply point for a large area of the rich agricultural coun-
try surrounding the tOAvn. The population increased from 312 in iqoo
to 450 in 1910.
Arma, an incorporated town of Crawford county, is a station on the
Missouri Pacific R. R., 9 miles east of Girard, the county seat, and
about 3 miles west of the state line. It is a typical Kansas town, has
express and telegraph offices, a flour mill, a lumber yard, several gen-
eral stores, and in 1910 reported a population of 327.
Armour, a sub-station of the Kansas City postoffice (see Kansas
City), is located on the Union Pacific and Chicago. Rock Island & Pa-
cific railroads, about 4 miles west of Kansas City, Mo.
Armourdale, (See Kansas City.l
Armstrong, (See Kansas City.)
Army of Law and Order. — From the name of this organization, one
would naturally suppose that it was formed for the purpose of promot-
ing peace, prosperity and good government among the people of Kansas.
I02 CYCLOPEDIA OF
But such was not the case. It was an armed force, the strength of
which has been variously estimated at from 500 to 1,100 men, organ-
ized by David R. Atchison and one of the Stringfellows, whose policy
was banishment or extermination of all free-state men in the territory.
The "army" was divided into two regiments, with Atchison as com-
mander-in-chief. The headquarters of the organization were at Little
Santa Fe on the Missouri border, some 15 miles south of Westport.
Among the outrages committed by this force was that of robbing the
Quaker mission, because the Quakers were "nigger stealers."' The cat-
tle and horses belonging to the mission were driven off, articles of value
were appropriated, and for a time the mission was broken up. In the
latter part of Aug., 1856, the "army" was preparing for an attack upon
the city of Lawrence, when the timely arrival of Gov. Geary put a stop
to the proceedings. The Army of Law and Order was a part of the
militia disbanded by Gov. Geary, and it was never reorganized. (See
Woodson's and Gear3^'s Administrations.)
Army Service School. — As early as 1870 Gen. John Pope, then com-
manding the Department of the Missouri, urged the establishment of a
school for teaching military tactics, etc., and recommended that it be
located at Fort Leavenworth. He repeated his suggestions several times
before Gen. W. T. Sherman, commanding the army of the United
States, laid the foundation of the infantry and cavalry school in his Gen-
eral Orders No. 42, dated May 7, 1881. This order directed that steps
be taken for the establishment of a school of application for the infan-
try and cavalry, similar to that for the artillery at Fortress Monroe, Va.
The school Avas to be made up of three field officers of cavalry and in-
fantry; not less than four companies of infantry and four troops of cav-
alry ; one batter}^ of light artillery, and the officers detailed for instruc-
tion from each regiment of cavalry or infantry, not exceeding the rank
of lieutenant, who had not previously received professional instruction.
Col. Elwell S. Otis, of the Twentieth United States infantry, was as-
signed to the command of the post and charged with the work of or-
ganizing the school, under a code of regulations similar to that in use
at Fortress Monroe. General Orders No. 8, series of 1882, announced
the organization of the school, issued certain regulations for its govern-
ment, prescribed a course of instruction covering organization of troops,
tactics, discipline and theoretical instruction.
The Spanish-American war caused a suspension of the school for four
years, during which time there was a large increase in the army. Elihu
Root, secretary of war, in his report for 1901, said: "In the reorganiza-
tion of the enlarged army about 1,000 new officers have been added from
the volunteer force, so that more than one-third of all the officers in the
army have been without any opportunity whatever for systematic study
of the science of war." He spoke highly of the work accomplished by
the school before the war, and recommended its renewal.
As a result of his recommendations, General Orders No. 155, of the
war department for 1901, directed that "The infantry and cavalry school
KANSAS HISTORY IO3
at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., shall be enlarged and developed into a gen-
eral service and staff college, and shall be a school of instruction for all
arms of the service, to which shall be sent officers who have been recom-
mended for proficiency attained in the officers' schools conducted in
the various posts."
The reorganized school opened on Sept. i, 1902, with Gen. J. Frank-
lin Bell as commandant, and Col. A. L. Wagner, who had been con-
nected with the old school, as assistant. By General Orders No. 115,
series of 1904, three separate schools were established : ist. The infan-
■ try and cavalry school ; 2nd, The signal school ; 3d, The staff college.
Other changes followed, and by General Orders No. 211, of 1907, the m-
fantry and cavalry school was designated "The Army School of the
Line," and the method of selecting student officers was changed so that
none could be admitted of a lower grade than captain, with not less
than five years' service.
Circular No. 13, issued by the war department in 1908, set forth the
function of the service schools to be the promotion of the best interests
of the service, and while it might be desirable to afford equal opportu-
nity to all officers, it was impossible to do so and adhere to the purpose
for which such schools were established, viz. : to promote the best in-
terests of the service by affording the most promising officers the op-
portunity for instruction in the highest duties of the soldiers' profession.
The course of study in the infantry and cavalry school embraces
military art, engineering, law and languages ; that of the signal school
includes field signaling, signal engineering, topography and languages ;
that of the staff college includes military art, engineering, law, lan-
guages and the care of troops.
The commandants of the school at Fort Leavenworth since its or-
ganization have been Cols. Elwell S. Otis, Thomas H. Ruger, A. D.
McCook, E. F. Townsend, H. S. Hawkins, Charles W. Miner, J- Frank-
lin Bell, Charles B. Hall, and Brig.-Gen. Frederick Funston, the last
named having assumed the duties of the position on Aug. 14, 1908. Al-
though the service school at Fort Leavenworth is a national institution,
maintained by the general government, it is located on Kansas soil, and
is an institution in which the progressive citizens of the state feel a
deep interest, and of which they are justly proud.
Arnold, a money order postoffice of Ness county, is a station on
the Missouri Pacific R. R., in Ohio township, about 15 miles north-
west of Ness City, the county seat. It has an express office and is a
shipping and supply point for that part of the county in which it is
located. In 1910 it had a population of 75.
Arrington, a village of Atchison county, is situated in the southwest
corner on the Leavenworth, Kansas & Western railroad, about 25 miles
southwest of Atchison. It is the supply and shipping point for a con-
siderable territory, has a money order postoffice, express and telegraph
facilities, several general stores, a school, and in 1910 had a population
of 210.
I04 CVCLOI'EDIA OF
Art Association, State. — \\'hen the Topeka public libran- building
was completed in April, 1883, rooms were fitted up in it for the use
of an art galler}- and school. On Nov. i, 1883, a letter was sent out by
a committee consisting of George W. Click, A. H. Horton, A. S. John-
son, John IMartin, G. F. Parmelee. J. R. [Nlulvane. J. F. Scott, Frank
Drummond, Robert Price and Edward Wilder, suggesting Nov. 8, when
the Social Science club was to meet, as a suitable occasion to organize
an art association. The letter also contained the announcement that a
donation of $i,033 had been given by "one interested in art and progress,"'
to further the work.
The proposition met with favor, and on Nov. 9, 1883, the Art As-
sociation was incorporated with "jz charter members. The articles of
association declared the objects to be: i. The formation of a permanent
art collection at the capital, to be open to all visitors; 2. To hold an
annual competitive exhibition for Kansas artists. 3. The establishment
of an art school. Edward Wilder was elected president, and G. F.
Parmelee, secretary. The association was governed h\ a hnard of 24
directors. The first art loan exhibition opened in the rooms in the
library on March 16, 1885, when a large number of oil paintings, water
colors, engravings, drawings in black and white, ceramics, embroider}-,
curios, etc., were thrown open to the public.
On Sept. 13, 1886, the first session of the art school was opened,
under the direction of George E, Hopkins, formerly in charge of the
Cincinnati School of Design. At his suggestion the association im-
ported a number of casts of famous art statues, historic figures, etc. For
a time the school was conducted with comparative success. Then in-
terest began to wane, some of the members of the association died or
moved away, others neglected to pay their annual membership fees,
and the association finally lapsed into a state of inactivity altogether.
The collection, or at least the most of it, is still on exhibition in the
librar}- building at Topeka.
Artesian Wells. — The flowing or artesian well takes it name from
Arlois, France, where wells of this character have long been known.
Hilgard says : "Artesian wells are most readily obtained where the
geological formations possess a moderate inclination or dip, and are
composed of strata of materials impervious to water (rock or clay),
alternating with such as — like sand or gravel — allow it to pass more
or less freely. The rain water falling where such strata approach to
or reach the surface will in great part accumulate in the pervious strata,
rendering them "water bearing.' Thus are formed sheets of water be-
tween two inclined, impervious walls of rock or clay, above as well
as below, and e.xerting great pressure at their lower portions. ^ Where
water so circumstanced finds or forces for itself natural outlets, we shall
have springs ; when tapped artifically by means of a bore-hole, we have
an artesian well, from whose mouth the water may overflow if its
surface level be below that of pressure,"
Prior to the settlement of Kansas by white people, and in fact for
a quarter of a century or more after the state was admitted into the
L'nion. the western half was regarded as practically a desert. In i8qi
E. S. Nettleton made an investigation of the artesian and underflow
conditions in Nebraska, the Dakotas, Colorado and Kansas. In his re-
port he gives special mention of the overflow at Hartland and Dodge
City, and quoted the following letter from R. I. Smith, of Winona,
Logan county: "I have a 6-inch bored well in my door yard, 135
feet deep, with 8 feet of water. Over a year ago I noticed that at times
a strong current of air came out of the openings around the pump-
stock, and by observation find it to be an excellent barometer, as it
blows from 6 to 20 hours preceding a storm. I have placed a brass
whistle in the space, which at times can be heard a quarter of a mile.
The harder and longer it blows the more intense the coming storm will
be. A peculiarit}- of it is the fact that, after the storm it takes back the
wind."
Robert Hay, chief geologist in the office of irrigation inquiry of the
United States department of agriculture, made a report the same year
on the overflow conditions in the Smoky Hill and Republican valleys,
but he developed nothing of importance.
In 1892 J. W. Gregory, special agent of the artesian and overflow in-
vestigation on the Great Plains, described in his report the underflow
in Kearny, Trego, Pratt, Seward, Morton, Logan, Scott, Wichita, Grant,
Thomas, Decatur, Meade, Gray. Rooks and Russell counties in Kansas.
Describing a well in the northern part of Meade county, he says : "The
first water was found in white quartz gravel at 75 feet and rose 4 feet.
At 113 feet a flow of water was found in white quartz gravel, which
came up freely through the pipe, carrying quantities of the gravel. The
water rose to a height of over 81 feet, or within 32 feet of the top of
the ground, where it remains."
Mr. Gregory reported a number of wells in which the water rose
well toward the surface. One of these was sunk b}- J. J. Rosson on
the top of a mound in the valley of the north fork of the Cimarron
river in Grant county, x^fter digging 60 feet without obtaining water,
a hole was bored in the bottom of the well 20 feet deeper, when the
water quickly rose in the well to within 20 feet of the surface.
The reports of these investigations, conducted by direction of the na-
tional 'government, have done much to strengthen the belief that under
a large part of western Kansas there is a body of water that can be
made to flow to the surface, and numerous experiments have been made
in boring wells in tlie hope of striking this underflow. In some in-
stances these experiments have been successful. In the Crooked creek
\-alle>-, in Meade county, there are about 100 flowing wells, though the
flow is not sufficiently strong to render them of much utility in irriga-
tion. There is a similar artesian area about "Wagonbecl Springs,"
Stevens county. The wells in these districts range from 40 to 140 feet
deep. At the time Mr. Gregory made his report there were 2 flowing
wells in Morton county and 5 in Hamilton, demonstrating that western
I06 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Kansas, or at least that portion of it, is situated over a subterranean
body of water possessing all the qualifications mentioned by Hilgard
for producing artesian wells.
With the knowledge that flowing wells could be obtained in west-
ern Kansas came a request for state aid in developing, the field, and on
Jan. 30, 1908, Gov. Hoch approved an act passed by the special session
of the legislature, authorizing the county commissioners of Stevens,
Morton, Grant and Stanton counties to appropriate from the general
revenue funds of said counties not exceeding $5,000 in each county for
the purpose of prospecting for and developing artesian wells. How-
ever, no money was to be so appropriated and expended until 160 acres
of land had been donated to the county, and upon this 160 acres one
or more wells might be sunk, such wells to be under the control of the
county commissioners. No reports of wells sunk under the provisions
of this act are obtainable.
Recent developments tend to show that the early experiments in
artesian wells in Kansas were only comparatively successful or alto-
gether failures because the drillers did not go deep enough. Most of
the wells have gone no further than the first pervious stratum. Some-
where there is a source of pressure sufficiently strong to furnish an
abundant supply of water if the stratum connected with it can be
reached. In 1910 Ernest C. Wilson, formerly editor of the Richfield
Monitor, in Morton county, developed an 8-inch well, over 500 feet
in depth, which flows 2,000 gallons per minute and supplies enough
water to irrigate a half section of land. If the same conditions hold
good throughout the western part of the state, it is only a question of
a few years until that section will be well supplied with moisture, the
treeless plains will be sheltered by timber, and the "Great American
Desert" will be a thing of the past.
Arvoni, a little hamlet of Osage count}', is in the township of same
name, on the Marais des Cygnes river and about 12 miles southwest
of Lyndon, the county seat. The people of Arvonia receive their mail
by rural free delivery from Reading, which is the most convenient rail-
road station.
Ashcroft, a hamlet of Jefferson county, is near the northern boundary
on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., about 4 miles from Valley
Falls, and 12 miles from Oskaloosa, the county seat. It is supplied
with mail by rural route from Nortonville.
Asherville, one of the thriving little towns of Mitchell county, is lo-
cated on the Solomon river and on the Union Pacific R. R. in Asherville
township, 10 miles southeast of Beloit. It has a money order post-
office with one rural route, telegraph and express offices. The popula-
tion in 1910 was 125. Asherville was the first postoffice in the county
and also had the first store, established in 1867, by Hon. John Rees.
Ashland, the county seat of Clark county and one of the growing
towns of southwest Kansas, is located a little southeast of the geo-
graphical center of the county, on Beaver creek and the line of the
KANSAS HISTORY IO7
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. that runs from A¥ichita to Engle-
wood. Ashland's population almost doubled during the decade from
1900 to 1910. In the former )'ear it was 493 and in the latter 910. The
volume of business and shipping increased in even greater proportions
than the population. The city has two banks, grain elevators, a weekly
newspaper — the Clark County Clipper — several general stores, hard-
ware, drug and jewelry stores, confectioneries, etc., a good public school
system, and the Catholics, Methodists, Christians and Presbyterians all
have neat church edifices. The Ashland postoffice is authorized to is-
sue international money orders, express, telegraph and telephone fa-
cilities are ample, and taken altogether, Ashland can be described as
a wide-awake, progressive little city.
Ashland Colony. — Within a few months after the passage of the
Kansas-Nebraska bill steps were taken at Newport, Ky., to organize a
colon)' for the purpose of founding a settlement in Kansas. Several
local meetings were held, but nothing definite was accomplished until
about the close of the year 1854. Early in 1855 some 60 persons, most
of them from Covington, Ky., and Cincinnati, Ohio, embarked on the
steamboat Express for the new territory. The boat arrived at Kansas
City, Mo., in March, 1855. A site had been previously selected on the
south side of the Kansas river, near the mouth of McDowell's creek.
The original intention was to make the entire trip by water, the colo-
nists believing the Kansas river to be navigable, but upon arriving
at Kansas City they found that their boat would be unable to proceed
farther. Emigrant wagons and teams were procured for the remainder
of the journey, and on April 22 they reached their destination. Many
of these colonists were admirers of Henry Clay and the town they
laid out was named Ashland, after the great commoner's residence in
Kentucky. The name was also given to the township subsequently or-
ganized, including the settlement founded by this colony.
The officers of the Ashland colony were : Franklin G. Adams, presi-
dent ; Rev. N. B. White, vice-president; Henry J. Adams, treasurer.
Among the members were Matthew Weightman, W. H. Mackey, Sr.,
and wife, John E. Ross, C. L. Sanford, C. N. Barclay. \\'ilham Sltme
and J. S. Williams. A few of the colonists became discouraged and
returned to their old homes in Ohio and Kentucky, but the majority
of them were prepared to encounter the hardships of pioneer life on
the frontier and went bravely forward with the erection of log cabins,
etc. Late in December a postoffice was established at Ashland with
William Mackey as postmaster, and in March, 1857, the town was made
the county seat of Davis (now Geary) county. Several terms of the
territorial court were held there by Judge Elmore before the seat of
justice was removed to Junction City in Nov., i860. With the removal
of the county seat Ashland began to wane. Some of the leading mem-
bers of the colony found better opportunities for the exercise of their
talents and energies elsewhere, and in time the town of Ashland be-
came only a memory. In 1873 the legislature transferred Ashland
township to Riley county.
IC8 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Ashley, William H., fur trader and Congressman, was born in Pow-
hatan county, Va., about 1778. In 1808 he went to Upper Louisiana
(now Missouri) and was there made a brigadier-general of militia. In
1822 he organized the Rockj- Mountain Fur company and went to the
Rocky mountains, where he formed friendly relations with the Indians.
with whom he traded for many years and accumulated a comfortable
fortune. In some of his excursions from the States to his trading
posts he crossed Kansas, though his route was generally up the Platte
valley. In 1820 he was elected lieutenant-governor of Illinois, and later
removed to Missouri. From 183 1 to 1837 he represented a Missouri
district in Congress. He died at Hoonville, AIo., March 26, 1838.
Ashton, a village of Walton township, Sumner county, is a station
on the Kansas Southwestern R. R., about 16 miles southeast of Welling-
ton, the county seat. It has a money order postofifice with one rural
free delivery route, express and telegraph offices, several general stores,
and in 1910 reported a population of 125.
Ash Valley, a rural hamlet of Pawnee count}-, is in the township of
the same name, in Ash creek valley, about 12 miles northwest of
Larned, the county seat, with which it is connected by stage, and from
which it receives mail.
Assaria, one of the active incorporated towns of Saline county, is
located in Smoky View township, on the Union Pacific R. R., 12 miles
south of Saline, the county seat. It has a number of business estab-
lishments, a bank, telegraph and express offices and an international
money order postoffice, with one rural route. The population in 1910
was 246. The town was laid out in 1879 by a town company, of which
Highland Fairchild was president.
Atchison, the seat of justice of Atchison county, located in the east-
ern part on the Missouri river, was founded in 1854 and named in
honor of David R. Atchison, United States senator from Missouri, who,
when Kansas was opened for settlement, interested some of his friends
in the scheme of forming a city in the new territory. Plowever, it
seems that all were not agreed upon the location he had selected, and
on July 20, 1854, Dr. J. H. Stringfellow, Ira Norris. Leonidas Oldham,
James B. Martin and Neal Owens left Platte City, Mo., to decide
definitely upon a site. They crossed the Missouri river near Fort
Leavenworth and continued to travel up stream along the western bank
until .they reached the place where Atchison now stands, where they
found a site that was the natural outlet of a remarkablv rich agricultural
region just open to settlement. They also found that two men named
George M. Million and Samuel Dickson had staked claims near the
river. Million's claim lay south of what is now known as Atchison
street and consisted of a quarter section. Dickson had built a small
cabin on his claim, and this cabin was the first structure erected on
the site' of the present city. Million had a ferry, on which he crossed
to the Missouri side to his home, but on the day the prospectors ar-
rived he was on the Kansas side. From a map in his possession, the
KANSAS HISTORY IO9
prospectors found that the}- were at tlie location decided upon before
leaving Missouri.
As all the men in the party, except Dr. Stringfellow, had already
taken claims in the valley of Walnut creek, he was the only member
of the party who could select a claim. He therefore took a tract north
of Million's. The proposition of forming a town company for the fu-
ture city was laid before the first settlers. Dickson was willing, but
Million did not care to cut up his claim. He offered to sell his claim
for $1,000 — an exorbitant price for the land — but the men from Platte
City had determined to found a city on that particular spot, and the
purchase was made. A town company was formed and a week later a
meeting was held under a tree on the bank of the river, about a half
block south of where Atchison street now runs. There were eighteen
persons present when the town company was formally organized by
electing Peter T. Abell, president; James Burns, treasurer; Dr. J. H.
Stringfellow, secretary.
The site was divided into loo shares by the company, of which each
member retained five shares, the remainder being reserved for common
benefit of all. By Sept. 20, 1854, Henry Kuhn had surveyed the 480
acres and made a plat, and the next day was fixed for the sale of lots,
an event of great importance as it had become understood that Senator
Atchison would make a speech upon the political question of the day,
hence the sale would be of political as well as business significance. At
this meeting on the 21st, two public institutions of vital interest to a
new communit}' were planned for — a hotel and a newspaper. Each
share of stock in the town company was assessed $25, the proceeds to
be used to build the National hotel, which was completed in the spring
of 1855 "J" the corner of Second and Atchison streets, and $400 was do-
nated to Dr. J. H. Stringfellow and R. S. Kellej- to erect a printing
office. In Feb., 1855, the Squatter Sovereign was issued. (See News-
papers.)
For years there had been considerable trade up and down the Mis-
souri river, which had naturally centered at Leavenworth, but in June,
1855, several overland freighters were induced to select Atchison as
their outfitting point. The most important firms were Livingston, Kin-
kead & Co. and Hooper & Williams. The outfitting business done in
Atchison was one of the greatest factors in establishing her commercial
career. Some of tlie first merchants to open stores in the new town
were Ceorge Cliallis, Burns Bros., Stephen Johnston and Samuel Dick«
son.
On Aug. 30, 1855, Atchison was incorporated. The corporation was
granted the privilege of holding land "not to exceed 640 acres" and the
stock of the company was to be regarded as personal property. The
to,\vn company had required every settler to build a house at least 16
feet square upon his lot, but when the survey was made it was discov-
ered that some of these buildings were upon school lands. The title to
the school lands remained in question for some time, but in 1857 all
no CYCLOPEDIA OF
lands embraced within the corporate limits of the town were acquired
b}' the town company from the general government, and in turn con-
veyed the lots to the individual purchasers, the titles being finally con-
firmed by the court.
Dr. Stringfellow had North Atchison surveyed and platted in the fall
of 1857. This started a fever of additions. In Feb., 1858, West Atchi-
son was laid out by John Roberts, and in May Samuel Dickson had his
property surveyed as South Atchison. Still another addition was made
by John Challis.
On Feb. 12, 1858, the legislature issued a charter to the city of At-
chison, which was approved by the people on March 2 at a special elec-
tion. The first city officers were elected at a second special election on
March 13, 1858, and were as follows: Mayor, Samuel C. Pomeroy; treas-
urer, E. B. Grimes; register, John F. Stein; marshal, Milton R. Benton;
attorney, A. E. Mayhew ; engineer, W. O. Gould; assessor, H. L. Davis;
physician, J. W. Hereford ; board of appraisers, Messrs. Peterfish, Ros-
well and Gajiord ; councilmen, William P. Chiles, O. F. Short, Luther
C. Challis, Cornelius A. Logan, S. T. Walter, James A. Headley and
Charles Holbert.
At the outbreak of the Civil war there were three militia companies
organized in Atchison, whose members enlisted in the Kansas regiments.
They were known as Companies A, C and "At All Hazards." Early
in Sept., 1861, a home guard was organized in the town to protect it in
case of invasion from Missouri, and on the 15th of the month another
company was raised, which was subsequently mustered into a state regi-
ment. In 1863 the city of Atchison raised $4,000 to assist the soldiers
from the county and after the sack of Lawrence a like sum was sub-
scribed to assist the stricken people of that cit}'. Citizens of the town
also joined the vigilance committees that so materially aided the civil
authorities in suppressing raiding and the lawless bands of thieves that
infested the border counties.
Atchison was one of the first cities in Kansas to be connected by
telegraph with the east. In 1859 ^he St. Louis & Missouri Valley Tele-
graph company extended its line from Leavenworth to Atchison. In
1911, the following railroads all ran into the city: Burlington & Mis-
souri River, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, Chicago, Rock Island & Pa-
cific, Hannibal & St. Joseph, Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs,
and the Missouri Pacific.
• The first postoffice in Atchison was established April 10, 1S55, with
Robert S. Kelley as postmaster. It was opened in a small building in
the block later occupied by the Otis house. In July, 1883, the free-de-
livery system was inaugurated and today Atchison has one of the best
equipped, modern postal services in the state. The first schools in the
town were private. One of the first was opened in 1857 by Lizzie B^y.
The first school district Avas established in Oct., 1858, and a month later
the Atchison free high school was opened at the corner of Atchison and
Commercial streets. Since that time progress in the establishment and
KANSAS HISTORY III
maintenance of schools in the city has been uniform and today Atchi-
son has a well regulated system of public schools. Besides the public
schools there are a number of private educational institutions.
The first religious services in Atchison were held by James Shaw, a
Methodist minister, who visited the city in May, 1857, and delivered the
first sermon at S. C. Pomeroy's office. (See history of churches under
denominational name.)
Soon after the war, when industrial life became normal, manufac-
tories began to spring up in Atchison. Elevators and mills were erected
in the late '60s and early '70s ; a flax mill was built ; the Atchison Foun-
dry and Machine Works, one of the most important commercial enter-
pries, was started; also many wood working". factories, and carriage and
wagon works. Since that time her progress as an industrial center has
been steady. Civic improvements have been of paramotmt interest to
the citizens of Atchison, and today there are many miles of paved
streets, an excellent waterworks system, sewer, telephone, electric light-
ing and electric railway systems. Natural gas, piped from the southern
part of the state, is utilized for lighting, heating and manufacturing pur-
poses. The city has gained a reputation for its fine fiour mills, car-re-
pair shops, foundries, wooden ware, and furniture factories. It is also a
large jobbing center for groceries, hardware and drugs. In igii At-
chison had a population of 16,429, making it the fifth city in the state.
Atchison County, one of the northeastern counties of the state, was
created by the first territorial legislature in 1855, with the following
■boundaries, "Beginning at the southeast corner of the county of Doni-
phan; thence west twenty-five (25) miles; thence south sixteen (16)
miles; thence east to the Mississippi (Missouri) river; thence up said
river to the place of beginning." The county was named in honor of
David R. Atchison, United States senator from Missouri, and the town
■)i Atchison was made the county seat. In 1868, the boundaries of the
county were redefined as follows : "Commencing at the southeast corner
of Doniphan county; thence with the southern boundary of Doniphan
count}^ to the township line between townships 4 and 5 south ; thence
west with the said township line between townships 4 and 5 south, to
the range line between ranges 16 and 17 east ; thence south with said
range line, to the southwest corner of section 19, of township 7 south,
of range 17 east; thence east with the section lines to the intersection
with the west boundary line of the State of Missouri ; thence north with
said boundary line of the State of ]\Iissouri, to the place of beginning,"
Atchison county is in the second tier of counties south of the Nebraska
state line and has an area of 423 square miles. It is bounded on the
north by Brown and Doniphan counties, on the east by Doniphan coun-
ty and the Missouri river, which divides it from the State of Missouri,
on the south by Leavenworth and Jefferson counties and on the west
by Jackson county. It is divided into the following townships : Benton,
Center, Grasshopper, Kapioma, Lancaster, Mount Pleasant, Shannon
and Walnut. The surface of the county is gently undulating prairie,
except along the Missouri river where it breaks into prominent bluffs.
I I 2 CYCLOl'EDIA OF
The average width of the valleys is from a quarter of a mile to a mile
and a half and these constitute about- one-eighth of the area. Timber
is found along all the streams, the principal varieties being black wal-
nut, burr-oak, black and white oak, hickory, red and white elm and
honey-locust. Besides the Missouri river, which forms the eastern
boundary, there is the Delaware river, which flows across the southwest
corner. Stranger creek in "the center of the county, and Independence
creek which forms a part of the northeastern boundary. A mineral
spring, said to have medicinal properties, is at Arrington in the south-
west. Limestone and sandstone are plentiful ; a rich vein of coal, aver-
aging 3 feet or more in thickness, has been found just outside the cor-
porate limits of Atchison ; and there an abundance of clay for making
vitrified brick.
The territory- now embraced within the limits of the county originally
formed a part of the Kickapoo reserve, established by the treaty of 1833,
with the exception of the southwest corner which was a part of the Dela-
ware reserve and outlet, established by the treaty of 1831. These lands
were ceded, under certain conditions, to the general government in 1854
and opened to settlement.
The first white men to visit the county now embraced within the
boundaries of Atchison county were French traders, who passed up the
Missouri river during the first quarter of the eighteenth century.
French trade was well established upon the Missouri river by 1764 and
the eastern part of Atchison county known to the traders. Lewis and
Clark passed along the eastern boundary on their expedition in 1804
and spent some time in exploring the banks of the Missouri river. In
1818 the first military post established by the United States government
in what is now Kansas was built on the Isle au Vache (q. v.), or Cow
island. It was known as Cantonment Martin.
In 1833, the Methodist Episcopal church established a mission among
the Kickapoos, located in what is now the northwestern corner of the
county near Kennekuk. The first white man to locate permanently and
erect a home is supposed to have been a Frenchman named Pensoneau,
who married a Kickapoo Indian and settled on the banks of Stranger
creek in 1839.
As soon as it was definitel}' known that Kansas Territory would be
opened to settlement, the pro-slaver}^ party in Missouri began to lay
plans by which the county would be settled by men of their political
faith. Some of the first settlers were a party from latan. Mo., who took
claims in the vicinity of Oak Mills in June. 1854, but the actual settlers
and the real founders of the county and city of Atchison did not enter
the territory until the next month. (See Atchison.) Some of the set-
lers of Atchison county in 1854 were James T. Darnall, Thomas Dun-
can, Robert Kelly, B. F. Wilson, Henry Cline and Archibald Elliott.
The county was surveyed into townships in 1855, and into sections in
fall of that 3'ear. One of the earliest, and practically the only free-state
settlement in Atchison county, was started in Center township in Oct.,
KANSAS HISTORY II3
1854, by Caleb May. The town of Pardee was laid out in the spring
of 1857 and named in honor of Pardee Butler, a minister of the Chris-
tian church and one of the ardent free-state advocates. Monrovia was
laid out in 1856 and Lancaster in 1857.
About five miles west of Atchison the old military road ran north
and south across the county and there the citizens of Atchison sold
land to the Mormon emigrant agents. For years quite a setilement of
them was to be found there, although they rarely remained long. The
roads west through the county became deeply worn into ruts by the
thousands who passed over them. The overland stage route to Cali-
fornia ran west through Atchison county into Franklin county; the But-
terfield overland dispatch to Denver started from Atchison, as did also
the parallel roads to the gold fields. Thousands passed along these well
known highways, but there were few settlers in Atchison county from
any state except Missouri. In fact they so predominated that the peo-
ple who advocated free-state principles did not dare let it be known.
The first open trouble between a free-state man and the pro-slavery
men in Atchison county occurred in 1855, vvhen J. W. B. Kelley, a free-
soiler in politics, made ofifensive remarks about slavery, and particularly
about a female slave who was supposed to have committed suicide.
Her owner in consequence inflicted bodily chastisement upon Kelley.
A large number of the citizens of the town adopted resolutions order-
ing Kelley, under penalty of further punishment, to leave the town.
They also ordered all emissaries of the abolition societies to leave or
their reward would be "the hemp." It was resolved to "purge" the
county of all free-state people. All persons who refused to sign the
resolutions were to be regarded and treated as abolitionists. (See But-
ler, Pardee.)
The bold attitude of the free-state settlers of Lawrence increased
the fire of political feeling among the pro-slavery men of Atchison and
added to their martial ardor. In the Wakarusa War (q. v.) an Atchison
company took a promient part in the siege. Other companies were in
the battle of Hickory Point.
The pro-slavery leaders of Atchison, who dominated the politics
of the county, had so terrorized the other settlers that up to the sum-
mer of 1857 the free-state men in the county had formed no organiza-
tion. Meetings had been held outside of Atchison, however, and dur-
ing the summer a society was formed at Monrovia with F. G. Adams
as chairman. About the same time the Atchison Town company dis-
posed of a large part of its property interests to the New England Aid
company, and the Squatter Sovereign, the first newspaper in the coun-
ty, originally a strong pro-slavery organ, was turned over to S. C.
Pomeroy, who, with F. G. Adams and Robert McBratney, turned it
into the Champion, a free-state sheet.
As the town company had made such a compromise in politics for
the sake of business, Mr. Adams thought that the free-state men could
go still further, and advertised that Gen. James H. Lane would speak
(1-8)
114 CYCLOPEDIA OF
in Atchison on Oct. 19. A number of reliable free-state men came up
from Leavenworth to see fair play, as the opposition had declared that
Lane should not speak. Mr. Adams was assaulted in the morning and
feeling ran so high with both parties parading the streets armed, that
it was decided to postpone the meeting. Lane was turned back before
entering the city and thus further trouble was avoided.
Atchison county was the first county in Kansas to secure railroad
connections. The St. Joseph & Atchison road was completed to Atchi-
son in Feb., i860. This was most important for the county and city,
as it removed from Leavenworth much of the trade that had formerly
gone there, and secured the shipment of all the government freight to
the western military posts. It also removed the starting point of the
overland mail to Atchison from St. Joseph. At the present time the
county's shipping facilities are provided by two lines of the Missouri
Pacific, one entering on the western border, the other on the northern,
converging at Atkinson : a branch line of the Chicago, Burlington &
Ouincy. which enters the county in the northeast and terminates at
Atchison ; a line of the Atchison. Topeka & Santa Fe, has its terminus
at Atchison, with a branch from Hawthorn to Kansas Cit)-. The Chi-
cago, Rock Island & Pacific, Hannibal & St. Joseph and Kansas City,
St. Joseph & Council Blufifs railroads cross the Missouri river from
Missouri to Atchison and connect that city with the east and the
Leavenworth, Kansas & Western railroad crosses the southeast corner.
The county commissioners of Atchison county were elected by the
territorial legislature, and Gov. Woodson signed their commissions on
Aug. 31, 1855. They met and organized on Sept. 17 at the house of
O. B. Dickerson in Atchison, the members present being William J.
Young, James M. Givens and James A. Headley, probate judge. Wil-
liam McVay had been appointed sheriff previous to this meeting, at
which time the following officers were appointed by the board : Ira
Morris, clerk and recorder ; Samuel Walters, assessor ; Samuel Dick-
son, treasurer. The county was divided into three townships : Grass-
hopper, Mount Pleasant and Shannon. The next day Eli C. Mason
was appointed sheriff in place of McVay, who resigned, and Dudley
McVay was chosen coroner. Voting precincts were established for
each township in preparation for the election of a delegate to Congress,
which was set for the first Monday of October. The town company
of Atchison had offered to donate "Block 10" for the location of the
county court-house. The offer was accepted and in October the com-
missioners ordered that this block be made the site of a brick building
at least 40 feet square. Fifty lots were sold on May i, 1856, the. pro-
ceeds to be used to help in the expense of the building. There was
some question as to the permanent location of the county seat, and
this was not settled until the election held on the first Monday in
Oct., 1858, when Atchison received the majority of votes. Work was
then pushed rapidly along and the court-house was completed in 1859.
The county jail, adjoining it, was completed about the same time. As
KANSAS HISTORY II5
the offices in the old court-house grew too crowded with the increasing
business, a fine new court-house was erected in the winter of 1896-97.
No bonds were issued, the funds to pay for it being secured by three
annual direct tax levies. In 1869 the county purchased a poor farm
4 miles south of the city of Atchison, and erected an $8,000 building.
This farm has been self-supporting.
When the call came for volunteers at the outbreak of the Civil war,
no men were more patriotic than those of Atchison county, which was
represented in the First, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, Thirteenth and
First (colored) Kansas regiments; the First Nebraska and the Thir-
teenth Missouri; and also in the Ninth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Kan-
sas regiments. Being on the border, Atchison county was liable to
raids from the Confederate army and guerrilla bands from across the
border, which necessitated the raising of companies of home guards.
During the year 1863 the depredations of lawless bands became so
annoying that vigilance committees were formed, the members taking
an oath to support the Union and to assist in suppressing rebellion.
They became an efl:"ective auxiliary to the civil authorities in punish-
ing violators of the law.
Atchison, situated in the eastern part of the county on the Missouri
river, is the seat of justice as well as the largest and most important
town in the county. It is a shipping and jobbing point for a large and
rich agricultural territory.
According to the U. S. census for 1910 the population of Atchison
county was 28,107. The value of farm products that year, including
live stock, was $2,723,570. The five principal crops, in the order of
their value, were: corn, $1,112,386; oats, $236,552; hay, $216,282; wheat,
$170,850, and the value of live stock slaughtered or sold for slaughter
was $600,709.
Atchison, David R., jurist and United States senator, was born in
Fayette county, Ky., Aug. 11, 1807. His father was an industrious
farmer of influence in the neighborhood. At an early age David was put
in a grammar school, but left it to enter Trans3dvania University, where
he graduated. In 1828 he began to study law at the Lexington Law
School, where he remained two years. He then went to Clay county,
at that time the extreme border of Missouri. He quickly adapted him-
self to the life and society of the frontier; took part in politics, and soon
became a prominent figure in the life of the country. In 1834 he was
elected to the state house of representatives of Missouri and in 1838
was reelected. During this session he was chosen major-general of the
state militia to operate against the Indians, but never saw any active
service. In 1840 he was defeated as a candidate for the state legisla-
ture, and in 1841, was elected to the bench of the Platte judicial circuit.
Two years later he was chosen by Gov. Reynolds to fill the vacancy in
the United States senate, occasioned by the death of Dr. Lewis Ljmn ;
was elected in 1844 to the position by the state legislature, and reelected
in 1849. At the time of the death of William R. King, the vice-president
Il6 CYCLOPEDIA OF
elect, Mr. Atchison, being president of the senate, became ex-officio vice-
president of the United States. When the question of the organization
of the Nebraska Territory came before the senate, Mr. Atchison opposed
it, but at the next session favored it, and though the vahdity of the
Missouri Compromise had not then been questioned, he proposed, re-
gardless of restrictions, to introduce slavery into the territory. In the
summer of 1853, he announced himself in favor of the repeal of the Mis-
souri Compromise and the following winter was a warm supporter of
the Kansas-Nebraska bill. He aspired to the presidency and for some
time his name appeared in the border papers as a candidate. He ran
for the United States senate in 1855 but was defeated. The following
year he spent the most of his time in Kansas leading the Platte County
Rifle company, but after the defeat of slavery in Kansas he retired to his
farm. At the beginning of the Civil war he entered the Confederate
service, but soon retired because of dissatisfaction with the manage-
ment. After the war he lived in retirement until his death, Jan. 26, 1886.
Atchison Institute, a private school at Atchison, was founded in
1870 with Mrs. H. E. Monroe as the first principal. Cutler's History of
Kansas says it was established as a cooperative enterprise of the instruc-
tors. The Kansas Monthly for June, 1879, says : "The Institute is lo-
cated on Kansas avenue between Third and Fourth streets. The build-
ings are of stone, one 25 by 50 feet, and the other 20 by 30 feet, both
three stories high. It has five well appointed recitation rooms and six-
teen rooms for the accommodation of boarders from abroad. During
the past six months 200 students have been enrolled, with an average
attendance in the various departments of 144."
The property of the school was at that time valued at $25,000. Since
then many important additions have been made and the Institute is
still one of the well known private educational institutions of the state.
Athol, a thriving little town of Smith county, is a station on the Chi-
cago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., in Lane township, 8 miles west of
Smith Center, the county seat. It has a bank, a grain elevator, a money
order postoffice with two rural routes, sortie good general stores and
is a shipping point of considerable importance. The population in 1910
was 350.
Atlanta, an incorporated town of Cowley county, is situated in
Omnia township on the line of the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R.,
about 20 miles northeast of Winfieid, the county seat. It has a bank, a
money order postoffice with three rural delivery routes, telegraph and
express offices, telephone connection with the surrounding region, some
well appointed retail stores, and is the shipping and supply point for
a large agricultural district in the northern part of the county. The
population in 1910 was 330.
Attachments. — The plaintifif in a civil action for the recovery of money
or in a suit for alimony may. at or after the commencement thereof,
have an attachment against the property of the defendant: ist — When
the defendant or one of several defendants is a foreign corporation, or
KANSAS HISTORY 117-
a non-resident of this state; but no order of attachment shall be issued
for any claim other than a debt or demand arising upon contract, judg-
ment or decree, unless the cause of action arose wholly within the
limits of this state, which fact must be established on the trial. 2nd —
When the defendant or one of several defendants has absconded with
intention to defraud his creditors. 3d — When the defendant has k-ft
the county of his residence to avoid process. 4th — When he conceals
himself for that purpose. 5th — When he is about to remove his prop-
erty or a part thereof out of the jurisdiction of the court to defraud
creditors. 6th — When he is about to convert his property or a part
thereof into money for that purpose. 7th — When he has property or
rights in action which he conceals. 8th — In case he has assigned, re-
moved or disposed of, or is about to dispose of, his property or a part
thereof to defraud creditors. 9th — In case he fraudulently contracted
the debt or incurred the liability or obligation for which the suit is
about to be or has been brought. loth — Where the damages for which
the action is brought are for injuries ■ arising from the commission of
some felony or misdemeanor or the seduction of any female, nth —
When the debtor has failed to pay the price or value of any article or
thing delivered, which by contract he was bound to pay upon delivery.
The order of attachment shall not be issued by the clerk until an
undertaking on the part of the plaintiff has been executed by one
or more sufficient sureties, approved by the clerk and filed in his office,
in a sum not exceeding double the amount of the plaintiff's claim,
to the effect that the plaintiff shall pay to the defendant all damages
which he may sustain by reason of the attachment, if the order be
wrongfully detained : but no undertaking shall be required where the
party or parties defendant are all non-residents of the state or a foreign
corporation.
An order of attachment shall be issued by the clerk of the court in
which the action is brought in any case mentioned when there is filed
in his office an affidavit of the plaintiff, his agent or attorney, show-
ing: 1st — The value of the plaintiff's claim. 2nd — That it is just.
3d — The amount which the affiant believes the plaintiff ought to re-
cover. 4th — The existence of some one Of the grounds enumerated.
If the defendant or other person on his behalf, at any time before
judgment, cause an undertaking to be executed to the plaintiff" by
one or more sureties resident in the county, to be approved by the court,
in double the amount of the plaintift''s claim as stated in his affidavit,
to the effect that the defendant shall perform the judgment of the court,
the attachment in such action shall be discharged and restitution made
of any property taken under it or the proceeds thereof. Such under-
taking shall also discharge the liability of a garnishee in such action
for any property of the defendant in his hands.
Attica, one of the principal incorporated towns of Harper county,
is in Ruella township, and is the eastern terminus of a division of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. that runs west to Medicine Lodge.
I 1 8 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Being situated in the midst of a fine agricultural district, about 12
miles northwest of Anthony, Attica is an important commercial center
and shipping point. It has a bank, a grain elevator, a weekly news-
paper (the Independent), an international mone}' order postofifice from
which emanate two rural delivery routes, telegraph, telephone and ex-
press accommodations, good schools, and churches of several of the
leading denominations. Attica is one of the few towns that more than
doubled its population in the decade between 1900 and 1910. In the
former year the population was 311 and in the latter it was 737, a
growth that speaks well for the location of the town and the enterpris-
ing spirit of its inhabitants.
Atwater, a rural post-hamlet of Meade county, is located on a little
tributary of Crooked creek, about 13 miles south of Meade, the county
seat and most convenient railroad station.
Atwood, the county seat of Rawlins county, is an incorporated city
of the third class, with a population of 680 in 1910, a gain of 194 during
the preceding ten years. It was laid out in April, 1879, by T. A. An-
drews and J. M. Matheny in section 4, town 3, range 33, but this prov-
ing to be school land, the town was moved the following spring to its
present site on Beaver creek in Atwood township, near the center of
the county. After a contest (see Rawlins County) Atwood was made
the permanent county seat in July, 1881. It has two banks, three week-
ly newspapers, several good mercantile establishments, graded public
schools and a high school, telegraph and express offices, an international
money order postoffice with two free rural delivery routes, telephone
connection with the surrounding towns, a hotel, and some small manu-
facturing enterprises. Atwood is located on the division of the Chicago,
Burlington & Ouincy R. R. that runs from Orleans, Neb., to St. Francis,
Kan., and is an important shipping point. The leading religious denom-
inations are the Baptists, Christians, Catholics, Congregationalists,
Dunkards and Methodists, all of whom have neat houses of worship. A
daily stage line runs from Atwood to Colby, the county seat of Thomas
county, about 30 miles to the south.
Aubrey, Francois X., a noted scout and guide, was a French Ca-
nadian of whose early life and antecedents little is known. During the
days of the Santa Fe trade he was a familiar figure along the old trail,
and was the first man to take a loaded train from the Missouri river
to Santa Fe in the winter season. In 1849 o'' 1850 he discovered a new
route to Santa Fe by crossing the Arkansas river at the mouth of the
Big Sandy, not far from Big Timbers, and following the divide be-
tween the Raton and Cimarron rivers. This route had an advantage
over the old ones, as the longest distance betAveen watering places was
but 30 miles, while on the old trail via the Cimarron river the distance
in some cases was 60 miles. For a wager of $5,000, Aubrey on one occa-
sion rode from Santa Fe to Westport, Mo., a distance of 775 miles, in
5 days and 13 hours. He secured relays of horses from passing trains
and won the wager, but was almost exhausted when he reached West-
KANSAS HISTORY 1 19
port and slept for twenty hours. Gen. Sherman mentions this ride in
his Memoirs, and compliments. the bravery and endurance of the scout.
Aubrey met his death at Santa Fe in 1856 at the hands of Maj. R. C.
Weightman, who afterward won distinction as an artillery officer in the
Confederate army. Weightman and Aubrey met in a saloon and were
in the act of taking a drink together, when the latter accused Weightman
of publishing a lie on him, Weightman having formerly conducted a
newspaper. Without replying to the charge, Weightman dashed his
glass of liquor in the face of Aubrey, who immediately attempted to
draw his revolver, but before he could do so his antagonist stabbed him
to the heart.
Aubrey's name is sometimes given as "Felix X. Aubrey," and some
writers spelled the last name "Aubry." In 1853 a steamboat built for
the Missouri river trade was named the "Felix X. Aubrey" after this
daring and adventurous character.
Auburn, a money order postoffice of Shawnee county, is in the town-
ship of the same name, about 15 miles southwest of Topeka and 8 miles
west of Wakarusa, which is the nearest railroad station. It is a trading
center for that section of the county, has Baptist, Methodist and Presby-
terian churches, telephone connection with Topeka and other adjacent
points, and in 1910 reported a population of 72. Two rural free de-
livery routes start from the Auburn office and supply daily mail to the
farmers of the vicinity.
Augusta, an incorporated city of Butler county, is located at the
confluence of the Walnut and Whitewater rivers, 13 miles south of
Eldorado, the county seat. The first attempt to establish a town here
was in 1857, when a party of explorers from Lawrence laid out a town
and named it Augusta. The following year a party from Topeka jumped
the claim of the former founders and laid out the town of "Fontanella,"
and another account states that the town of "Orizonia" was also laid
out at the junction of the rivers in 1858. The lands then belonged to
the Indians, who raided the town and drove off the settlers in the spring
of 1859. For several years the site then lay vacant, but near the close
of the Civil war Hagan & Morrill opened a trading post there. After
the treaty with the Osages in 1868 Shamleffer & James bought the old
claim for $40 and established a trading house, and it is said that the
town was named Augusta for Mrs. James. A school house was built in
1870 and the same year a postoffice was established with C. N. James as
postmaster. In 1871 Augusta was incorporated as a town, with W. A.
Shannon as chairman of the first board of trustees. On May 8, 1880,
the first train on the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. reached Augusta,
and the next year the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe completed its line
to the town, which from that time experienced a steady and substantial
growth. The Missouri Pacific has since entered the city, so that the
Augusta of the present day has railroad lines radiating in five different
directions. This makes it an available shipping and distributing point,
and being situated in a fine agricultural region, large quantities of grain,
120 CYCLOPEDIA OF
live stock, etc., are annually exported. Extensive stone quarries in the
vicinity also furnish a great deal of material for shipment. The city has
two banks, one daily and two weekly newspapers, some fine mercantile
houses, a good public school system, telegraph, telephone and express
facilities, an international money order postoffice with four rural free
delivery routes emanating from it, and in 1910 had a population of
1,235-
Aulne, a monej' order postoffice of Marion county, is in Wilson town-
ship, and is a station on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R. 6
miles south of Marion, the county seat. It has a good local trade, does
considerable shipping, and in 1910 reported a population of 150.
Aurora, an incorporated town of Cloud county, is located in the town-
sh'p of the same name, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. that
runs from Strong City to Superior, Neb., 12 miles southeast of Con-
cordia, the county seat. It has a bank, a Catholic church, some good
stores, a money order postoffice with two rural routes, telephone con-
nection, telegraph and express offices, good schools, and in 1910 reported
a population of 269.
Austin, a station on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R., in Neosho
county, is located in Canville township, 11 miles northwest of Erie, the
county seat, and 4 miles from Chanute from whence it receives mail
daily by rural delivery.
Australian Ballot. — (See Election Laws.)
Avery, a rural hamlet of Reno county, is situated on Peace creek, about
20 miles northwest of Hutchinson, the county seat. The inhabitants
receive mail by rural free delivery from Sterling, Rice county, which is
the nearest railroad station.
Avoca, a hamlet of Jackson county, is located near the west line of the
county, II miles southwest of Holton, the county seat. It receives its
mail from Soldier.
Axtell, an incorporated town of Marshall county, is located in Murray
township, 25 miles east of Marysville, the county seat, at the junction
of the Missouri Pacific and the St. Joseph & Grand Island railroads. It
has banking facilities, a weekly newspaper, a money order postoffice with
three rural routes, telegraph and express offices, and had 748 inhabitants
in 1910. The community was settled in the '60s and the town was laid
out in 1872 by the St. Joseph Town company. The postoffice was estab-
lished the same year. The first store was kept by a man known as
"Shoestring" Dickinson.
Bachelder, a town in Geary county. (See Milford.)
Bacon, a small hamlet of Lincoln count)', is located in the Spillman
creek valley, about 20 miles northwest of Lincoln, the county seat. The
people there receive mail by rural free delivery from Cedron. Sylvan
Grove on the L'nion Pacific is the nearest railroad station.
KANSAS HISTORY 121
Badger, a village of Cherokee county, is a station on the St. Louis &
San Francisco R. R. in the eastern part of the county, with a population
of 50 in 1910, and receives mail bv rural free deliverv from Smithfield,
Mo.
Bailey, Edgar H. S., chemist, was born at Middlefield, Conn., Sept.
17, 1848. In 1873 he received the degree of Ph. B. from Yale Univer-
sit3% and for the year following was an instructor in chemistry in that
institution. He then became an instructor in the Lehigh University at
South Bethlehem, Pa., where he remained until 1883, visiting Strass-
burg, however, in 1881 as a student along special lines. Prof. Bailey
was appointed chemist to the Kansas State Board of Agriculture in 1885.
In 1895 he visited Leipzig, and in 1899 became chemist to the Kansas
State Board of Health. The next }'ear he was made director of the chem-
ical laboratory in the University of Kansas, which position he still occu-
pies. Prof. Bailey assisted in and contributed to the reports of the Kan-
sas geological survey ; in connection with H. P. Cady is the author of a
laboratory Guide to Qualitative Analysis; was councilor of the society
of Sigma Xi in 1908; is a member of various scientific societies, and
honorary member of the American Institute of Homeopathy, and a con-
tributor to scientific and chemical journals. On July 13, 1876, he married
Miss Aravesta Trumbauer, of Bethlehem. Pa.
Bailey, Willis J., governor of the State of Kansas from 1903 to 1905,
was born in Carroll county, 111., Oct. 12, 1854. He was educated in the
common schools, the Mount Carroll high school, and graduated at the
University of Illinois as a member of the class of 1879. In 1904 his Alma
Mater conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. In 1879, soon after
completing his college course, he accompanied his father to Nemaha
county, Kan., where they engaged in farming and stock raising, and
founded the town of Baileyville. Upon reaching his majority, Gov.
Bailey cast his lot with the Republican party, and since that time he has
been an active and consistent advocate of the principles espoused by that
organization. In 1888 he was elected to represent his county in the state
legislature; was reelected in 1890; was president of the Republican
State League in 1893 • was the Republican candidate for Congress in the
First district in 1896, and in June, 1898, was nominated by the state
convention at Hutchinson as the candidate for Congressman at large,
defeating Richard W. Blue. After serving in the Fifty-sixth Congress
he retired to his farm, but in 1902 was nominated b)- his party for
governor. At the election in November he defeated W. H. Craddock,
the Democratic candidate by a substantial majority, and began his term
as governor in Jan., 1903. At the close of his term as governor he re-
moved to Atchison, and since 1907 has been vice-president and manager
of the Exchange National bank of that city. Shortly after his retire-
ment from the office of governor he was prominently mentioned as a
candidate for L'nited States senator, and in 1908 a large number of Re-
publicans of the state urged his nomination for governor. Mr. Bailey
has ahvavs been interested in behalf of the farmers of the countrv, and
122 CYCLOPEDIA OF
from 1895 to 1899 he was a member of the Kansas State Board of Agri-
culture.
Bailey's Administration. — In accordance with the provisions of the
state constitution, Gov. Bailey was inaugurated on the second Monday
in Jan., 1903, which was the 12th day of the month. The next day the
legislature met in regular session, with Lieut. -Gov. David J. Hanna as
president of the senate and J. T. Pringle as speaker of the house. As
soon as the two branches of the general assembly were organized the
governor submitted his message, which did not differ materially from
the messages of his predecessors. In his introduction he congratulated
the people of the state on their progress and present condition b}^ say-
ing:
"The business and commercial interests of Kansas have never been
upon a stronger or more substantial basis than now. No state in the
Union has absorbed more of the general prosperity that has come to the
whole country during the past six years than has Kansas. New life,
new hope and new energy have come to our people as the result of these
conditions, and the increase in value of nearly all real and personal
property has largely enhanced the wealth and commercial importance
of the state. . . . The ofificial statistics indicate that, in the decade
just closed, the increase in value of farm products has been nearly 24
per cent., and of live stock more than 53 per cent., or, for all combined,
31.6 per cent."
Then, referring to the bank commissioners' report, he gave the num-
ber of state banks as 477, a gain of 89 in the last two years. The capital
of these banks amounted to $7,751,000, a gain of $1,138,000; their sur-
plus of $1,769,701 showed a gain of $419,491 ; the deposits amounted to
$40,135,176, a gain of $8,508,841 ; and their loans had increased during
the two years from $21,812,835 to $32,885,046.
Notwithstanding the general prosperity of the state, he counseled
economj^ in the matter of appropriations. "I call your attention," said
he, "to the lavish waste of the public money in the printing of useless
and unnecessary public documents. The law, in many instances, pro-
vides for the publishing of reports and documents far beyond any de-
mand or necessity, and, as a result, the store rooms of the capitol build-
ing are rapidly filling up with this matter that is worse than useless. I
am sure a careful inspection of this accumulated material will convince
any legislator of the necessity of reform along this line."
On the subject of Congressional apportionment he said: "Kansas has
eight members in the national Congress and the state is divided into
seven Congressional districts, necessitating the election of one member
at large. I recommend the redistricting of the state and the formation
of eight Congressional districts, as contemplated by law. The Congress-
man at large, while he has the same rights upon the floor and in the
committee room as the member who has a district, is practically denied
other prerogatives of a member. Each Congressional district is entitled
•to certain recognition, certain patronage. Kansas practically loses one-
KANSAS HISTORY I23
eighth of what she is entitled to under the present apportionment. The
fact that a district has 60,000 or 70,000 more population that it is en-
titled to does not entitle the people of the district to any more recogni-
tion than they would have if they had the number contemplated by law.
I earnestly hope that this legislature will reapportion the state and fol-
low the example set by other states."
The governor then reviewed the condition of the state institutions and
the work of the railroad and tax commissioners. He recommended the
passage of a law authorizing the appointment of a state architect ; an ap-
propriation to maintain the office of state accountant as contemplated by
the law of 1895 '< 'he establishment of a state fish hatchery "with the view
of propagating such fish as are adapted to the streams of Kansas," and
called attention to the fact -that other states, where conditions were no
more favorable than in Kansas, had made fish hatcheries profitable un-
dertakings. He also recommended a revision of the insurance laws,
because in the enactment of new laws on this subject there had been a
lack of positive corrections and repealing acts, hence, "as a result, the
insurance department is in possession of a compilation of laws in which
there are contraditions and inconsistencies."
He announced the completion of the capitol building, so that "no
further expenditure is now needed, save for its proper maintenance ;"
expressed the hope that the State of Kansas would "cooperate with the
national government in all efforts toward improvement, and liberally aid
all movements tending to the developing of the National Guard ;" and
called attention to the report of the commissioner of labor, especially
the recommendation that a law be enacted prohibiting the employment
of children under the age of fourteen years in shops and factories. In
his conclusion he again called attention to the necessity of using judg-
ment and discrimination in the expenditure of the public funds, as fol-
lows :
"The natural pride every citizen has in his state suggests at once that
the institutions of the state should be maintained upon a plane com-
mensurate with the dignity and growth of the state. This is commend-
able: but there is another interest that should be sacred to every one
charged with responsibility, and that is the dut}^ we owe to the burden-
bearers, the people who pay the taxes. The people will justify a gener-
ous support of all the great interests of our state, but they will condemn
any profligate waste of the public money."
Most of the governor's recommendations were observed b}' the legis-
lature, though three bills in which he was especially interested failed
to become laws. They were the acts redistricting the state for repre-
sentatives in Congress, establishing state depositories, and the child
labor law. The principal acts passed at this session were those estab-
lishing the indeterminate sentence system ; increasing the salary of the
superintendent of public instruction ; providing for tuition fees at the
state educational institutions ; continuing the bounty on sugar beets ;
placing suburban electric railways imder the control of the board of
1 2 J. CYCLOPEDIA OF
railroad commissioners ; appropriating $100,000 for the Louisiana Pur-
chase exposition; curtailing the number of state reports to be issued by
the state printer; reestablishing the office of state accountant; reorgan-
izing the National Guard to conform to the provisions of the act of Con-
gress known as the "Dick bill ;" requiring the State of Oklahoma ti) re-
lieve Kansas of caring for her prisoners after two years ; making the
state free emplo3-ment bureau a permanent institution, and providing for
the establishment of a state fish hatchery.
Two constitutional amendments were submitted to the people, to be
voted upon at the general election of 1904. One related to the veto power
of the governor, as defined by section 14, article 2, and the other made
the state printer an elective office.
On Jan. 20 the legislature adopted a resolution requesting the sena-
tors and representatives from Kansas in the national Congress "to use
their best endeavors and influence toward securing for our state the
honor of having named for her one of the new first-class battle ships
either already provided for or to be provided for in the near future."
(See Battle-ship Kansas.)
A joint session of the two houses was held on Jan. 28 for the election
of a United States senator. Chester I. Long was elected over William
A. Harris by a vote of 123 to 35. Mr. Long was present and made a short
address, after which he was presented with his certificate of election for
the term beginning on March 4, 1903.
Heavy floods in the spring of 1903 did great damage in various parts
of the state, the greatest losses being at Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas
City. To relieve the flood situation in the Kaw valley Gov. Bailey issued
a proclamation on June 17, calling the legislature to meet in special ses-
sion on the 24th. In his message at the opening of the special session,
Gov. Bailey said:
"The floods which have recently swept over a portion of our fair state
have created conditions unusual and extraordinary^. The valley of
the Kaw and its tributaries. Avhich but a short time ago gave promise of
rich harvests, have been devastated by the angry waters, villages and
cities have been inundated, homes have been obliterated, and the prop-
erty loss to the citizens of our state is so vast that at this time its amount
is but a conjecture. Bridges that spanned our rivers that are absolutely
necessary for the every-day transaction of business have, in many cases,
been swept away and others made impassable, making necessary the ex-
penditure of large amounts of money before the avenues of commerce
can again be opened. Especially is this true of Wyandotte county, where
the immense business between Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo.,
is suspended until the river can again be bridged. While the conditions
are the most acute in Wyandotte county, A^et the same situation obtains
in several of the other counties. In some of the counties, those charged
with the responsibility of repairing the great losses find themselves
helpless under the law to meet these unusual and extraordinary condi-
tions, and it is for the purpose of giving such enabling legislation as is
KANSAS HISTORY I25
necessary to meet these exigencies, caused by the recent floods, that I
have exercised the power vested in me b}' the constitution of our state
to convene the legislature in extra session."
Immediately after the reading of the governor's message a concurrent
resolution was adopted, to the effect that the introduction of bills should
cease at lo o'clock a. m. on the 25th; that all messages between the
house and senate should be discontinued at noon of the same day, and
that the final adjournment should be made at 3 o'clock p. m. The time
was found to be too short, however, for the consideration of the various
measures proposed, and the final adjournment was not taken until 2
o'clock p. m. on the 26th. Even then the legislature broke all previous
records for the amount of business transacted. In the senate 30 bills
were introduced, and in the house 59. Of these 89 bills 55 became laws.
The most important acts were those authorizing counties to issue bonds
to repair the damages done by the flood ; permitting county commis-
sioners to issue warrants for similar purposes ; repealing the act of
March 2, 1903, limiting the bonded indebtedness of cities of the first
class having a population of 50,000 or more, and allowing cities to issue
bonds and warrants to replace bridges, etc.
Attempts to make direct appropriations for the relief of the flood suf-
ferers were defeated, but Gov. Bailey called for contributions and in
this way raised a fund of some $33,000, over half of which, or $17,500,
went to Wyandotte county, where there were 5,000 needy families.
Douglas county reported 225 destitute families and received nearly
$4,000 ; Leavenworth county received a little over $2,000 for the relief
of 115 families, and the balance of the fund was distributed in the coun-
ties along the Kansas river from Marshall to Wyandotte.
The second year of Gov. Bailey's administration witnessed the be-
ginning of an incident that for a time agitated the state from center to
circumference. On Jan. 23, 1904, Joseph R. Burton, United States sena-
tor from Kansas, was indicted by a Federal grand jury at St. Louis, Mo.,
on the charge of having accepted $2,500 from the Rialto Grain and Se-
curities company (a "get-rich-quick" concern), of that city, to use his
influence with the postoffice department to prevent the issuance of a
fraud order against the company, denying it the use of the mails. Bur-
ton was tried before Judge Adams of the LTnited States district court at
St. Louis in March, found guilty and sentenced to pay a fine of $2,500
and serve six months in the jail at fronton. Mo. Burton's defense was
that he was acting within his rights, and that the money received from
the company was nothing more than he was entitled to as attorncA'^s
fees. He appealed the case to the LTnited States supreme court, which in
Jan., 1905, reversed the decision of the district court, on the grounds
that the money was paid to Burton in Washington, and remanded the
case for a new trial. The second trial was before Judge Van Devanter
of the United States circuit court at St. Louis in Nov., 1905, and re-
sulted in the same sentence as that imposed by Judge Adams' court.
A second appeal to the supreme court followed, and this time the de-
126 CYCLOPEDIA OF
cision of the lower court was sustained. On June 4, 1906, Mr. Burton
resigned his seat in the Senate.
In the spring of 1904 the cities of Wichita, Hutchinson, Emporia,
Coffeyville, Winfield, Ottawa, and all the towns in the Kansas river val-
le}', again suffered losses by floods, though the damages were not as
heavy as those of the previous year.
On June 4, 1900, a charter was granted to the Kansas Exposition As-
sociation of Topeka, with a capital stock of $50,000, which was organ-
ized for the purpose of holding a semi-centennial celebration of the
organization of Kansas as a territory in 1904. The records do not show
what became of the association, but a three days' celebration was held,
beginning on Monday, May 30, 1904, which was also Memorial day. On
the first day of the celebration there was a great civic and military
parade, in which Gov. Bailey and his staff participated, and an address
by William H. Taft, secretary of war in President Roosevelt's cabinet.
The second day was "Pioneer Day," and was devoted to the relation of
experiences by old residents who had lived in Kansas in "the days that
tried men's souls." Wednesday was "Women's day," the principal feat-
ure of which was a beautiful flower parade.
Sept. 30, 1904, was "Kansas Day" at the Louisiana Purchase exposi-
tion at St. Louis. On the 12th Gov. Bailey issued a proclamation an-
nouncing that "The management has set apart the week beginning on
Sept. 26 as 'Kansas Week' at the World's Fair, and Sept. 30 has been
designated as 'Kansas Day,' and it is the most earnest desire of the chief
executive and the Kansas commission that as many loyal citizens of our
state as possible arrange to attend the fair at that time, and by their
presence and influence honor the day and the occasion."
It was estimated that 15,000 Kansans were in attendance on the 30th
and nearly every one wore a sunflower, which had but a short time be-
fore been declared the state flower by the legislature. Gov. Bailey de-
livered an address, descriptive of the resources and progress of Kansas,
and the Kansas building was thronged from morning till night with in-
terested sight-seers. (See Louisiana Purchase Exposition.)
The political campaign of 1904 was opened by the Republican part}',
which held a state convention at Wichita on March 9. Edward Hoch
was nominated for governor by acclamation ; all the state officers elected
in 1902 were renominated ; E. W. Cunningham, W. R. Smith and Clark
A. Smith were nominated for associate justices of the supreme court;
George W. Wheatley, J. W. Robison and A. D. Walker for railroad com-
missioners, and Charles F. Scott for Congressman at large. The plat-
form paid a tribute to the late Marcus A. Hanna, United States senator
from Ohio and chairman of the Republican national committee ; de-
clared in favor of a primary election law : urged the reapportionment
of the state into eight Congressional districts ; favored a public deposi-
tory system for the state funds, the "good roads movement," and civil
service reform in the state institutions. Delegates to the national con-
vention were also selected.
KANSAS HISTORY ' 12/
A Democratic state convention met at Wichita on April 7, selected
delegates to the national convention, adopted resolutions reaffirming the
national platforms of 1896 and 1900, expressed an appreciation of W. J.
Bryan, the presidential candidate in those two campaigns, and indorsed
the work of William R. Hearst "in the interests of his party," and com-
mended his example "to good Democrats everywhere." No nomina-
tions for state officers were made at this convention.
On April 12 a Populist convention assembled at Topeka, and after
a stormy session named 89 delegates to the national convention. Wil-
liam H. Hearst was recommended to the Democratic party as the choice
of the Populists for president, but the fusionists controlled the conven-
tion and prevented any nominations from being made.
The Prohibition state convention was held at Emporia on May 11.
James Kerr was nominated for governor ; S. F. Gould, for lieutenant-
governor ; T. D. Talmage, for secretary of state ; C. A. Smith, for audi-
tor ; C. A. Fogle, for treasurer; J. M. Martin, for attorney-general; J. J.
Harnley, for superintendent of public instruction; M. V. B. Bennett, for
associate justice (only one nominated) ; L. B. Dubbs, J. N. Woods and
A. C. Kennedy, for railroad commissioners; Jesse Evans, for superin-
tendent of insurance ; and Duncan McFarland, for Congressman at
large.
The Populist convention in April adjourned to Aug. 3, when a joint
convention of Democrats and the Populists who favored fusion met at
Topeka and nominated a state ticket, which was as follows : Governor,
David M. Dale ; lieutenant-governor, M. A. Householder ; secretar}' of
state, John H. Curran ; auditor, W. H. McDonald ; treasurer, Thomas M.
Dolan : attorney-general, W. W. Wells ; superintendent of public instruc-
tion, Martin R. Howard; associate justice, John T. Little; superin-
tendent of insurance, John Stowell ; railroad commissioners, F. H. Chase
and William M. Ferguson ; Congressman at large, Frank Brad)-. Of
these candidates. Dale, Curran, Dolan, Howard and Ferguson were
Democrats, the others Populists. Some time after the convention M.
B. Nicholson and S. H. Allen were added to the ticket as candidates for
the office of associate justice, but the third place for railroad commis-
sioner was never filled. The platform adopted indorsed Parker and
Davis as the candidates of the Democratic party for president and vice-
president and the platform adopted by the national convention held at
St. Louis on July 8; favored state legislation protecting labor as well as
capital ; the redistricting of the state so as to provide for eight Con-
gressional districts ; home rule in counties and cities ; revision of the tax
laws ; and pledged the candidates nominated to secure the passage of a
law that would make it impossible for the state treasurer to use the pub-
lic funds for speculation.
The Socialists again presented a ticket, to-wit : Governor, (jran\-ille
Lowther; lieutenant-governor, A. Roessler ; secretary of state, A. S.
McAllister; auditor, George D. Brewer; treasurer, J. E. Taylor; attor-
ney-general, F. L. McDermott ; superintendent of public instruction, C.
128 _ CYCLOPEDIA OF
W. Baker; superintendent of insurance, W. J. McMillan; associate jus-
tices, G. C. Clemens, S. A. Smith and R. A. Ross; railroad commis-
sioners, W. D. Street, J- D. Haskell and Frank Baldwin; Congressman
at large, Christopher Bishir.
At the election on Nov. 8 the Republican presidential electors carried
the state by a plurality of 126,781, and the entire Republican state ticket
was elected, the vote for governor being as follows: Hoch, 186,731;
Dale, 116,991; Kerr, 6,584;- Lowther, 12,101. The two constitutional
amendments were ratified by substantial majorities.
Toward the close of Gov. Bailey's administration the governor filed
bills with the auditor for groceries, to be paid out of the $2,000 appro-
priated for the maintenance of the governor's residence. The state
treasurer declined to pay the bills, claiming that such paj^ment out of
the maintenance fund was equivalent to an increase in compensation,
which was prohibited by the constitution. Gov. Bailey, in order to have
the question properly settled, instituted mandamus proceedings in the
supreme court of the state to compel the treasurer to pay the bills. The
case was still pending when the governor retired from office. Subse-
quently the court sustained the. treasurer. That there was no evidence
of wrong intent on the part of Gov. Bailey, he sent the attorney-general
a draft for $1,200, without the formality of a suit, to replace the money
he had expended for groceries. In the letter accompanying the draft
the governor said :
"I am prompted to pay this amount into the state treasury on account
of the position taken by yourself and certain newspapers that the state
has a just claim against me under the decision of the supreme court. I
have lived in Kansas twenty-six years, which period covers my active
business life, and no just claim against me has ever been presented and
stamped 'not paid for want of funds.' . . . There is alwaj'S a very
wide difference of opinion among my friends as to whether I should
pay this pretended claim; but I feel that in paying this money into the
state treasury I can wrong no one but myself, and that I can better
afford to suffer this wrong that I can to rest under the imputation that
I have misappropriated one dollar of the funds entrusted to my care as
governor of Kansas."
Baileyville, a village of Nemaha county, is located on the St. Joseph &
Grand Island and the Missouri Pacific railroads, 6 miles west of Seneca,
the county seat. It has banking facilities, express and telegraph offices
and a money order postoffice with two rural routes. The population in
1910 was 250. The town was founded b)' N. Bailey in 1880. A postoffice
with G. M. Rasp as postmaster was established. A large hay press and
sheds were erected by S. H. Rice & Co. of St. Joseph, who also started a
store for the benefit of their employees and others who settled in the
neighborhood.
Baker, a village of Brown county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific
R. R. 8 miles south of Hiawatha, the county seat. It has a money order
postoffice with one rural route, express and telegraph offices, telephone
KANSAS HISTORY I29
connection, does some shipping, and in 1910 reported a population of
112.
Baker, James, scout and frontiersman, usually referred to as "Jim"
Baker, was a native of Illinois. At the age of 18 years he was on the
Great Plains as an employee of the American Fur company, and it is
said that he was never again east of the Missouri river. Next to Kit
Carson, he was Gen. Fremont's most trusted scout and guide. As a
trapper he was exceedingly skillful, and in one season took over $9,000
worth of furs. After that he retired to the mountains, where he passed
the remainder of his life. He married a Snake Indian woman and lived
much of his time with that tribe, though in his earlier years he made his
headquarters at Bent's fort on the Arkansas river. Gen. Marcy, who
knew Baker well, says he was "a generous, noble-hearted specimen of
the trapper type, who would peril his life for a friend at any time, or
divide his last morsel of food."
Baker, Lucien, lawyer and United States senator, was born in Fulton
county, Ohio, in 1845, of English and Dutch ancestry. His parents
were old-time Methodists and his father, who was a lawyer by profes-
sion, insisted that his three sons study law, which they did. When
Lucien was a child his parents moved to Lenawee county, Mich., where
he was reared. At the age of 18 years he entered Adrian College,
Adrian, Mich., but did not complete the course, leaving when a junior.
Later that college conferred upon him the degree of LL. B. After leav-
ing college be became a student in the law office of Andrew Howell, of
Adrian, and in Sept., 1868, was admitted to the bar. During the winter
of 1868-69 he attended the law department of the LTniversity of Mich-
igan and upon finishing his legal training there located at Leavenworth,
Kan., and began the practice of his profession in partnership with Lewis
Burns. In 1872 he was elected city attorney at Leavenworth and dur-
ing the time he held that office he gained a reputation as a lawyer of
signal ability. Two years later he resigned and for two years devoted
his entire time to his profession. In 1892 he entered politics as a candi-
date for state senator from the Leavenworth district and though he was
a Republican and the district Democratic he was elected by a large ma-
jority. He took a prominent part in the legislative fight of 1893. In
Jan., 1895, he was elected to the United States senate for a term of six
years. Upon retiring from the senate in 1901 Mr. Baker practiced law
in Leavenworth with his son, under the firm name of Baker & Baker.
He was in an enfeebled condition for some time as the result of a bullet
wound received in 1881, in the famous Thurston-Anthony feud. When
Thurston shot at D. R. Anthony the bullet went wild and struck Baker.
He died on June 22, 1907, at Leavenworth. In 1874 Mr. Baker married
Mary Higginbotham of Leavenworth and they had two children : Burt,
his father's partner, and Mary, who married Capt. Lowndes, a surgeon
of the United States navy.
Baker University. — In the fall of 1856, the Kansas and Nebraska an-
nual conference of the Methodist Episcopal church held its first session
(1-9)
130 CYCLOPEDIA OF
in a tent at Lawrence. The interest of the Methodists in education is
manifest in the report of the committee on education, a paragraph of
which reads : "Your committee are of the opinion that the Kansas and
Nebraska conference should avail itself through its members, of the
earliest opportunities to secure favorable sites for seminaries of learning
or universities under our own immediate management and control, and
to take such preliminary measures as may be necessary to secure titles
to the same and to secure the passage of such legislative acts as may
be necessary to constitute boards of trustees, who may hold such prop-
erty, real estate, personal or mixed, for the use and benefits of such semi-
naries or universities; and to secure grants of land and other property
to aid in building and endowing such institutions of learning within our
bounds."
In March, 1857, an educational convention of the Alethodist Episcopal
church was held at Palmyra, 15 miles south of Lawrence on the Santa
Fe trail. At this meeting a school was located at Palmyra, and the
name Baker University was chosen in honor of Bishop Osman C. Baker,
who presided over the first session of the Kansas and Nebraska annual
conference. At this time the Kansas Educational As.sociation of the
Methodist Episcopal church was organized, and on Feb. 3, 1858, obtained
LIBR.ARY. B-\KKR
a charter from the territorial legislature with the privilege of locating
an educational institution at or near the town of Palmyra, since called
Baldwin. On Feb. 12, 1858, the in.stitution was chartered under the
name planned (Baker University). A stone building for the university
was commenced at once and was ready for occupancy the following
autumn. This building is now known as the old castle: it passed out
KANSAS HISTORY I3I
of the hands of the university but has been repurcliased and will be
preserved as a memorial of early days.
School opened in Nov., 1858, with Prof. R. Cunning-ham as principal,
until the arrival of the first president, Rev. Werter R. Davis, in 1859.
The first meeting of the board of trustees was held at Omaha in April,
1859, the conference having met there. The Methodist church by its
representatives passed the following resolution : "Resolved that this
conference pledge its best efforts to build up and sustain Baker Uni-
versity as the one great university in Kansas."
The drought of i860 and the Civil war retarded the progress of. but
did not annihilate the school. The first catalogue was published for the
year 1862-63. In 1863-64 the increase in enrollment created a demand
for a new building, and an agent went east to collect funds. The result
of his efforts was the beginning of a cut stone building, 60 by 80 feet and
four stories high, which was not finished until 1870.
In 1866 the first class of three members was graduated. During the
period from 1858 to 1870, the college had the following presidents : Rev.
Werter R. Davis, 1858-62; Rev. George W. Paddock (nominal); Rev.
Leonard L. Hartman (acting), 1862-64; Rev. Leonard L. Hartman,
1864-65; Rev. John W. Locke, 1865 to March, 1866; John W. H[orner,
March, 1866, to Aug., 1867; Elial J. Rice, Aug., 1867, to Dec, 1868; Rev.
Werter R. Davis, Dec, 1868, to March, 1869; Rev. John A. Simpson,
March, 1869, to Dec, 1869; Rev. Werter R. Davis, Dec, 1869, to March,
1870; Rev. Patterson McNutt, March, 1870, to June, 1871. The growth
of the institution during these years had been fitful and precarious, but
continuous. A library of 2,000 volumes, a scientific collection, and
enough apparatus to conduct the school had been accumulated.
In 1873 the Kansas conference appointed educational commissioners
to investigate the financial and legal status of the university. Reports
of its involved conditions agitated the question of its removal. The
report of the commissioners helped to restore confidence, and the con-
ference pledged itself anew to support the school and pay all indebted-
ness, regardless of legal flaws in the claims. In the next few years con-
ference endowment funds were started, and subscriptions solicited but
the poverty of the state made the debts decrease slowly. Frequent
changes were made in the president's office. Rev. Robert L. Hartford
served from 1871-1873 ; Rev. S. S. Weatherby (acting), 1873-1874; Rev.
Joseph Dennison, 1874-1879: Rev. William H. Sweet, 1879-1886; Rev.
Hillary A. Gobin, 1886-1890:
The decade from 1880 to 1890 witnessed a change for the better in the
struggle for prosperous growth. The catalogue of 1880-81 stated that
in the literary department alone the average attendance throughout the
year had been more than double that of any year for the past twelve
years. In 1885, Centenary Hall, a stone and brick building 62 by 82 feet
and two stories above the basement, was completed. In 1890 William A.
Ouayle became president of Baker. With the beginning of the school
year 1889 proper and continuous work on endowment was commenced.
132 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Up to that time little had been done toward creating a permanent fund,
but from that year to 191 1 the university has systematically solicited and
received gifts until it has an endowment fund of $400,000. Mr. Ouayle
resigned in 1894 and was succeeded by Lemuel H. Murlin.
With the betterment of financial conditions the size and quality of the
curriculum increased. Almost at the beginning two courses of study
were given — classical and scientific. These have developed into eight
schools, including the summer school which is held each year during the
months of June and July.
The government of the institution is vested in a board of trustees,
elected by the Kansas and South Ivansas conferences of the Methodist
Episcopal church. The university issues three publications. The Baker
University Bulletin, "The Baker Orange," and The Baker University
News-Letter.
Baker University stands seventh in rank among the fifty or more
Methodist colleges of America. The campus contains about 20 acres in
the heart of Baldwin. The buildings number six and the corps of in-
structors 40. The university has seven departments, the college of lib-
eral arts has 378 students; the normal school 35; the academy 152; the
school of art 13; the school of oratory 99; the -school of business 55;
making a total of 732.
Baker, William, lawyer and member of Congress, was born in Wash-
ington county. Pa., April 29, 1831. His youth was spent on a farm and
he received the schooling common to the country boy of that period.
He wished- a more liberal education, however, to secure which he entered
Waynesburg College, where he graduated in 1856. For some years he
followed teaching as a profession, at the same time reading law, and was
admitted to the bar. Mr. Baker decided to go west and located at
Lincoln, Kan., where he took an active part in politics. In iSod he was
nominated and elected to Congress by the People's party and reelected
to fill the same office in 1892 and again in 1894. After retiring from
Congress he devoted his time to farming and stock raising.
Bala, a hamlet near the west line of Riley county, is located on the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R. in Bala township, 29 miles north-
west of Manhattan, the county seat. It is supplied with telegraph and
express offices and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The
population in 1910 was 100. It received its name from a town in North
Wales. A. D. Phelps, the first settler in the neighborhood, came in
1862.
Baldwin, one of the oldest settlements and the second largest city in
Douglas county, is situated in the southeastern portion on the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. about 15 miles from Lawrence. The first set-
tlement near the present town site, was made in 1854, by Robert and
Richard Pierson. In June, 1854. a town site consisting of 320 acres, was
platted by the Palmyra Town company, which was composed of the
following men : James Blood, president : Robert Pierson, the Baricklaw
brothers, J. P.. Abbott, Capt. Saunders, .\masa Soule, L. F. and D. F.
KANSAS HISTORV 133
Green, Dr. A. T. Still and D. Fry. They named the town Palmvra, and
the first building was soon erected and used for a dwelling. W. West-
fall built a second cabin and opened a store. The town company erected
a building known as the old barracks, which was also used as a store. A
hotel was also built by the company and used for that purpose and a
store under the name of the Santa Fe House. Dr. Simmons and Dr.
Pierson were the first physicians, as they opened offices in Palmyra in
1855, ^t which time the town had several stores, a good hotel for that
period, a number of houses and seemed on the highway to prosperity.
The postoffice was established in 1856, with N. Blood as postmaster.
Religious services were held by the Methodist church in 1855, ^"^ late
in the year an organization was perfected.
In 1858, the town company purchased a section of land adjoining Pal-
myra on the north and donated it to the Kansas Educational Association
of the Methodist Episcopal church on the condition that they locate an
institution of learning known as Baker University on the site. The sec-
tion of land was surveyed into lots and sold, the proceeds being used to
erect the college building. (See Baker University.) As the work on
the university building progressed and the institution became an as-
sured thing, houses were erected in its vicinity, and the new town site
was named Baldwin, in honor of John Baldwin, of Berea, Ohio. Busi-
ness houses were erected and one by one the business enterprises of
Palmyra moved to Baldwin. John Baldwin erected a saw and grist mill,
an important concern in those days, and inaugurated other commercial
enterprises, which proved the death blows to the old town, which has
become one of the "deserted villages" of Kansas. The Baldwin of today
is a city of beautiful homes, churches, excellent retail stores of all kinds,
a fine public school, water and lighting systems, money order postoffice,
telegraph, express and telephone facilities, and is regarded as one of the
educational centers of the state. In 1910 it had a population of 1,265.
Ball, a rural postoffice of Gove county, is about 10 miles east of Gove,
the county seat, and 3 miles north of Hackberry. Quinter on the Union
Pacific is the most convenient railroad station.
Ballard's Falls, a little hamlet of Washington county, is on the Little
Blue river, about 12 miles east of ^Vashington. the county seat, and 5
miles north of Barnes, from which place mail is received by rural free
delivery.
Bancroft, a village of Nemaha county, is located in Wetmore town-
ship on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 19 miles southeast of Seneca, the
county seat. It has banking facilities, express and telegraph offices and
a postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 125.
Bank Commissioner. — Prior to 1891 no attempt had been made in
Kansas for state regulation of the business of banking, and as a result a
number of institutions that were organized as real estate and loan com-
panies, as well as individuals and firms, whose principal business was
entirely foreign to legitimate banking, were engaged in receiving de-
posits. Many of these concerns had not only their entire capital, but
134 CYCLOPEDIA OF
also much of the deposits invested in unprolitable and unsalable real
estate. Under these conditions the necessity for a uniform banking law
became imperative and in 1891 the legislature passed a law, "providing
for the organization and regulation of banks." A bank commissioner
was also provided for by the act, section 21 of which reads as follows:
"The governor shall appoint, by and with the advise and consent of the
senate, a bank commissioner for the State of Kansas, whose term of
office shall be four years." A deputy bank commissioner was also pro-
vided for, but any ofificer, employee, owner, stockholder or person inter-
ested in a bank, was made ineligible for the office of bank commissioner
or deput3^ The commissioner and the deputy are required to furnish
bonds for the sums of $20,000 and $10,000 respectively. Every bank
doing business in the state, except national banks, must be visited bj' the
commissioner or his deput}- at least once a year, or oftener if necessar}^,
for an investigation into the financial standing of the institution.
By the provisions of the law, the commissioner and his deputy are
empowered to investigate all persons connected with banks when mak-
ing an investigation, and report the same in writing. A graduated fee
was to be charged for these examinations ranging from $5 for banks of
$5,000 capital stock to $20 for banks of $50,000 capital stock and over.
It was also provided that the bank commissioner could call on all banks,
except national banks, at any time for a report of their condition, and
four such reports were to be made each year. When a bank became in-
solvent, it was the djity of the bank commissioner to take charge of it
until a receiver was appointed. By the law creating the office of com-
missioner he was required in each even numbered year, to report to the
governor the "names of owners or principal officer, the paid-up capital
of each, the number of banks in the state, the name and location of each
and the number and date of examinations and reports of and by each."
As fixed by this act, the bank commissioner received a salary of $2,500
and his deputy a salary of $1,200 and all traveling expenses incurred in
the performance of their duties.
Charles F. Johnson was the first bank commissioner. He was suc-
ceeded by John W. Breidenthal, who made a special report upon the
banks of Kansas on Dec. 19, 1893, which showed the condition of all
national, state and private banks doing business in the state.
A second banking law was passed in 1897 by which banks were re-
quired to secure a charter of incorporation from the state and when a
banking institution had complied with all the requirements of the law,
a certificate is issued by the bank commissioner authorizing the bank
to transact business. Each bank in the state, by this law, is required to
make four reports annually to the commissioner, or oftener if he calls
for them, and the commissioner is given power to enforce the banking
law. By this law two deputies, a clerk and stenographer were provided
to assist in the work done by the commissioner, since which time the
force has been increased according to the amount of work to be done.
At an early date the bank commissioner advocated a state bank guaran-
KANSAS HISTORY 135
tee law and it is due to the efforts of the commissioner that this excel-
lent law was placed upon the statute books of Kansas. (See Banking.)
Bankers' Association. — The Kansas Bankers' Association was organ-
ized on Feb. 22, 1887, at Topeka, with 60 members. The purpose of the
organization is set forth in the preamble of the constitution a summary
of which is as follows : To promote the general interest of the common-
wealth of Kansas ; the usefulness of the banks and the financial institu-
tions of the state : the cultivation of acquaintanceship among the bank-
ers ; and through the medium of periodical conventions to bring about
the full and free discussion of questions pertaining to the financial and
commercial interests of the country; to consider matters of legislation
of interest to both state and national banks and to preserve and dis-
seminate information of interest to its members and to the general pub-
lic. Following out the lines thus laid down in the constitution, the as-
sociation has held annual conventions in various cities of Kansas. From
the original membership of 60 it has grown to be an organization having
a membership on May i, 1911, of between 900 and 1,000.
The proceedings of the association have been published each year,
and their contents constitute a valuable contribution to the financial
literature of the country, as the papers presented at the conventions
have been prepared by the ablest financiers of the state. Another feat-
ure which has made the association of great value to the state has been
its zeal in safeguarding legislation. As students of financial questions,
the counsels of the bankers of Kansas, through the association, have been
of great value in framing legislation and assisting in the deliberations of
the legislature upon the same. As a result, much that is valuable in the
bod}' of commercial laws of Kansas, has either originated with the asso-
ciation or is due to the support given it by the bankers. The third feat-
ure, and one fully as important as the others, is that which has for its
object the apprehension and conviction of criminals. By a system of
rewards, and other means, professional criminals have been overtaken
in their career of crime, sentenced and imprisoned. Tlirough warning
notices by circular, telephone or telegraph, banks are advised of the
operations of crooks and swindlers; descriptions are given of the per-
son or criminal, if known, and of his methods of operating. A vast
amount of correspondence is carried on by the association in search of
the whereabouts of criminals in order to prevent bank robberies.
The association has established within itself an insurance depart-
ment, which has a twofold object: First, tn supply the banks of the
state high class burglary insurance, fidelity and depository bonds ; sec-
ond, the association acting as agent for responsible insurance companies
should itself earn the commissions usually paid to state agencies and
thus create a fund out of such commission earnings to be used for the
association. The association now has an aggregate value of about $10,-
000,000 of business which it has placed for the banks of Kansas and on
which commissions are earned sufficient to discharge about one-half of
■ the entire expense of operating the association, including the rewards
and expenses incident to the apprehension and conviction of criminals.
136 CYCLOPEDIA OF
The permanent offices of the association are maintained at Topeka. In
Feb., 191 1, the association began the publication of a periodical known
as The Kansas Banker, which has for its object the exploiting of distinct
association enterprises and keeping all bankers in touch with its in-
terests.
The membership consists of both state and national banks, about an
equal number of state and national bankers having presided over the
twenty-four annual conventions which the association has held since its
organization, these having been chosen alternately from the northern
and southern portions of the state.
In government the association is democratic, all authority being vested
in the entire membership seated in convention. This body has created
an executive council which meets regularly at stated times and convenes
in special session when occasion requires, administering the aiifairs of
the association between conventions. This council consists of the presi-
dent, vice-president, all ex-presidents of the association and the chair-
men of the groups. This retaining of the ex-presidents as permanent
members of the council preserves for the association the wisdom and ex-
perience of its most able men.
Banking. — The modern system of banking had its origin in Venice
about the close of the 12th century, though it was not until 400 years
later that the "Banco di Rialto" was authorized by the acts of the Vene-
tian senate in 1584 and 1587. Toward the close of the 17th century the
Bank of England -was founded and from that time the custom of using
banks as places of deposit for money and valuables, or for the purpose
of facilitating exchanges, spread rapidly over the civilized countries of
the globe. On May 26, 1781, the Continental Congress passed an act
authorizing the Bank of North America. By the provisions of this act
Robert Morris was given the power to establish a bank with a capital
of $400,000, but before it was placed in good working order the inde-
pendence of the United States became a reality and conditions were so
changed that the bank was never made a permanent institution.
In the formation of the Federal government, it was Alexander Ham-
ilton's idea that there should be a national bank of issue, and in har-
mony with this idea the first Bank of the United States was incorporated
in 1791 with an authorized capital of $10,000,000. Its charter expired
in 181 1, and the financial condition of the country in consequence of
the war of 1812 led to the chartering .of the second United States bank
in April, 1816, with a capital of $35,000,000. It soon found rivals in the
state banks, and for the next 40 years the banking system of this coun-
try was a motley patchwork of 'national, state and private institutions.
Each state has its own banking laws — some lax and some stringent ;
counterfeiting was easy, and bank failures were common occurrences.
In 1838 what is known as the "free banking system" was inaugurated
in New York. It allowed any association of persons to issue notes on
state bonds, or other public securities. This system spread to other
states and continued in operation until the Civil war. It was during
KANSAS HISTORY 137
the free banking period that the "Wild Cat" banks sprang up like mush-
rooms all over the country.
Early in the Civil war, in order to create a market for bonds issued
by the United States government, Salmon P. Chase, President Lincoln's
secretary of the treasury, devised the plan of giving special privileges
to banks organized under a Federal charter. This led to the act of Con-
gress, approved Feb. 25, 1863, authorizing national banks, which act was
the beginning of the present national banking system. However, the
state banks stiU held their own, and the national banks did not make
much headway until after the passage of the act providing for a ten per
cent, tax on state bank notes in circulation after July i, 1866, which
practically put an end to state banks of issue.
The first bank in Kansas was a private concern started by C. B. Baile}'
at the corner of Second and Delaware streets in the city of Leavenworth
in 1856. It did not live long and was succeeded by Isett, Brewster &
-Co., who came from Des Moines. This firm was in turn succeeded by
Scott, Kerr & Co. in 1859. These were all private banks, operating
without a charter from the territorial authorities, or without sanction
of law.
No banking laws were passed b}^ the first territorial legislature, but
by the act of Feb. 19, 1857, the Kansas Valley bank was incorporated
with a capital stock of $800,000. William H. Russell, A. J. Isaacs, Wil-
liam F. Dyer, James M. Lyle and F. J. Marshall were designated to
open books for stock subscriptions within six months and keep open for
30 days unless the full amount of stock should sooner be subscribed. If
within the 30 days 500 shares of $100 each were taken, the stockholders
were authorized to organize the bank, which was to be governed by a
president and seven directors, elected for one year. But the bank was
not to issue paper money until at least 50 per cent, of the stock sub-
scribed should be paid in, in specie, and bills or notes issued should
never exceed 200 per cent, above the amount of capital stock actually
paid in — that is, for every $3 in paper the bank should hold $1 in gold or
silver. Five branches were to be established — at Atchison, Doniphan.
Lecompton, Fort Scott and Shawnee in Johnson county. Five commis-
sioners were to be appointed annuall}' by the legislature to examine into
the conditions of the bank and the several branches, as well as any other
banks that might be established in the territor3^ If at any time the
bank should fail to redeem its notes, any judge in the territory, upon
proper complaint, might issue an injunction to restrain the bank from
transacting any further business.
Under date of July 14, 1857, J. C. Walker wrote to Gov. Walker, in-
closing a "transcript of the record of the Kansas Valley Bank branch
at Atchison," showing that 50 per cent, of the capital stock assigned to
that branch had been paid in, and that the bank was ready to issue paper
money whenever the governor was satisfied that the projectors of the
bank had complied with the provisions of the law. The governor ap-
pointed L. S. Boling to make the examination, and upon his report Gov.
138 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Uenver issued a proclamation on Feb. 18, 1858, authorizing the Atchi-
son branch to begin business in accordance with the terms of its charter.
When the act of incorporation of the Kansas Valley Bank was repealed
on Feb. 3, 1858, the Atchison branch, with S. C. Pomeroy as president,
was exempted from the provisions of the act of repeal. In Jan., 1861,
the name of the institution was changed to the "Bank of the State of
Kansas," William H. Russell, president, and it continued under that
name until 1866, when it retired from business, being succeeded by
Hetherington's Exchange Bank (now the Exchange National), which
was organized in 1859. It became a national bank on Aug. i, 1882.
Three banks were incorporated by the act of Feb. 11, 1858, viz: the
Lawrence Bank, the Bank of Leavenworth, and the Bank of Wyandott.
The incorporators of the Lawrence bank were Robert Morrow, S. W.
Eldridge. S. B. Prentiss, James Blood and H. Shanklin. Those of the
Bank of Leavenworth were Henry J. Adams, John Kerr, Samuel Harsh,
Henry Foote and I. W. Morris. The Wyandott bank incorporators were
^^'illiam Y. Roberts, J. M. Winchell, Thomas B. Eldridge, J. S. Emery
and James D. Chestnut. The authorized capital of each bank was $100,-
000, which was to be divided into shares of $100 each, and the affairs of
each bank were to be managed by a board of eight directors. Section
12 of the act provided that, "Whenever the directors of either bank shall
deposit with the comptroller an amount of the state bonds of any inter-
est paying state in the Union, or of the United States, equal in value to
$25,000, at the current rates of the New York Stock Exchange, and shall
satisfy said officer that they have on hand $2,500 in specie, for the pur-
pose of redeeming notes of the bank, then the comptroller shall counter-
sign $25,000 of said circulating notes and return them to the president
for use; and it shall then be lawful for said bank to use said notes as
currency," etc.
On Feb. 7, 1859, the legislature passed an act authorizing the estab-
lishment of savings banks, and under its provisions James Blood, B. W.
Woodward, S. B. Prentiss, C. W. Babcock, George Ford, C. H. Brans-
comb, George \\'. Deitzler and others organized the Lawrence Savings
Bank.
But before any of the banks organized under the territorial laws —
except, possibh'-, the one at Atchison — could place themselves upon a
firm financial footing, Kansas was admitted into the Union as a state,
and while this fact did not alter the legal standing of the banking insti-
tutions authorized during the territorial regime, it did alter materially
the conditions under which other banks could be established. The
Wyandotte constitution contained a provision that no bank should be
established except under a general banking law, and that no banking
law should be in force until after it had been submitted to a vote of the
electors of the state at some general election and approved by a major-
it}- of the votes cast at such election. The first state legislature, which
met in March, 1861, passed a general banking law providing that,
"Whenever any person or association of persons, formed for the pur-
KANSAS HISTORY 139
pose of banking- under the provisions of this act, shall duly assign or
transfer, in trust, to the auditor of this state, any portion of the public
stock issued, or to be issued, by the United States, or the stocks of the
State of Kansas, said stocks to be valued at a rate to be estimated and
governed by the average rate at which such stocks are sold in the city
of New York, at the time when such stocks may be left on deposit with
the auditor of state, such person or association of persons shall be en-
titled to receive from the auditor an amount of circulating notes of dif-
ferent denominations, registered and countersigned, equal to and hot
exceeding the amount of public stocks assigned and transferred as
aforesaid," etc.
The law further provided tliat before receiving such notes the stock-
holders should give to the auditor a "good and sufficient bond, to be
approved by him, to the amount of one-fourth of. the notes that said
bank shall receive," and they were also required to file with the auditor
a certificate, duly attested by the president and cashier of the proposed
bank, that ten per cent, of the capital stock of the bank has been paid
in specie and on deposit, to remain in the vaults of the bank as an addi-
tional security to indemnifj- the holders of the bank's notes against loss
in case of the depreciation of the securities deposited with the auditor
to secure the circulation of the bank.
No bank could be organized with a capital stock less than $25,000,
which might be increased, and every bank was required to publish an-
nual statements showing its condition. In the event a bank should fail
to redeem its notes on demand, they might protested, and if not paid in
twenty da)'s the auditor of state was authorized to give notice that thej'
Avould be paid out of the trust funds. Note holders were given the power
to recover damages from the bank. This law was submitted to the peo-
ple of the state at the election on Nov. 5, 1861, and was ratified by a
vote of 4.655 to 2,807. Before it could be fairly tested Congress passed
the national banking law, and the banks of Kansas were confined to in-
stitutions of discount and deposit.
Boyle, in his "Financial History of Kansas," divides the banking his-
tory of the state into three periods. The first, which he styles the "un-
regulated," was from 1861 to 1891 ; the second, or period of "loose super-
vision," was from 1891 to 1897, '^"d since the latter date there has been
a period of "state supervision." It was in the first period that the ques-
tion of the state's right to authorize banks of discount and deposit was
carried to the supreme court. At the July term in 1878, Judge Brewer,
afterward associate justice of the United States supreme. court, handed
down an opinion in the case of Pape vs the Capital Bank of Topeka
(20th Kan. p. 440), in which he held that the constitutional provision
applies onl)^ to banks of issue, and does not prohibit the legislature from
creating banks of discount and deposit. Said he: "All banks, that is. all
banks within the scope of the article, are required to keep offices and
officers for the issue and redemption of their circulation. But a bank
of deposit purely has no circulation. It is not a bank, therefore, within
I40 CYCLOPEDIA OF
the scope of the article." All the other justices of the supreme court
concurred in this opinion.
Notwithstanding the fact that Boyle classifies the banks during the
first 30 years of statehood as "unregulated," some very stringent laws
relating to banking were passed in that time. The act of March 12, 1879,
made it "unlawful for any president, director, manager, cashier or other
officer of any banking institution, to assent to the reception of deposits
or the creation of debts by such banking institution, after he shall have
had knowledge of the fact that it is insolvent or in failing circum-
stances."
The act also made it the duty of every officer, director, agent or man-
ager of any banking institution to examine into the affairs of the same
and, if possible, know its condition. Another act of the same date pro-
vided that any officer of a bank receiving deposits or assenting to the
creation of debts, when such bank should be in an insolvent condition,
should be deemed guilty of larceny and "punished in the same manner
and to the same extent as is provided by law for stealing the same
amount of money deposited, or other valuable thing, if loss occur by
reason of such deposit."
Although laws of this character were enacted at various times, it
seems there was no general banking law in force. Gov. Humphrev, in
his message to the legislature of 1889, said : "We have no law regulat-
ing the important subject of banks and banking. Banks of discount and
deposit are referred to, as banks of issue are forbidden by the consti-
tution, except by a vote of the people. Even the general corporation
law does not include banking as one of the many purposes for which cor-
porations may be formed, and the only provision on the subject is arti-
cle 16, chapter 23, General Statutes, being an act of six sections for the
organization and incorporation of savings associations. The right to
incorporate banks under this act for the purpose of carrying on a gen-
eral banking business has been questioned, and even the constitutional-
ity of the act assailed in case of Pape vs. Capitol Bank, 20 K. 440.
"Notwithstanding this, hundreds of banks over the state have been
thus organized and incorporated, not as savings banks, in fact, but to
carry on a general business. ... In justice to those who desire to form
banking corporations, there should be some adequate provision of law
for that purpose ; and in justice to them, as well as to the business public,
there should be an act regulating the subject of banks and banking gen-
erally, with some power of examination, inspection and supervision,
which might be lodged with a bank commissioner, or with the present
superintendent of insurance."
Nothing- was done at that session, but in 1891 the legislature passed
a general banking law which may be said to mark the renaissance of
Kansas banking. One of the principal provisions of this act was the
creation of the office of bank commissioner (q. v.). Six years later the
law of 1891 was supplanted by one much more elaborate and compre-
hensive. It was an act of 65 sections, the principal provisions of which
KANSAS HISTORY I4I
were as follows : Five or more persons were given power to form a
corporation to conduct a banking business ; no two banks in the state
should be permitted to operate under the same name; the building
owned b}' the bank as aplace of business should not equal in value more
than one-third of the capital stock; banks organized prior to the pas-
sage of the act should conform to its provisions ; stockholders were to
be liable for a sum equal to the par value of their holdings ; receiving
deposits when a bank was in an insolvent condition rendered the officers
subject to a fine of not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment in the peni-
tentiary from one to five years, or both ; no bank was to be permitted
to do business without authority, and the bank commissioner was to
take charge of insolvent banks.
This act was amended by the acts of 1901 and 1903. The former
placed trust companies under the banking laws of the state, especially
the provisions relating to the impairment of capital and insolvency, and
the latter provided that no bank should be estatblished with a capital
of less than $10,000. The act of 1903 also provided that every officer of
an incorporated bank should hold at least $500 in stock of the institu-
tion, which stock should not be sold or transferred while holding such
office.
Doubtless the most radical and far-reaching law on the subject of
banking ever passed by the Kansas legislature was the act of March 6,
1909, "providing for the security of depositors in the incorporated banks
of the state, creating the bank depositors' guaranty fund of the State
of Kansas, and providing regulations therefor, and penalties for the vio-
lation thereof."
The principal features of the law were: i — Any incorporated state
bank with a paid-up surplus equal to one-tenth of its capital might par-
ticipate in the benefits of the guaranty fund, and the bank commissioner
was authorized to issue a certificate to that effect. 2 — Before such cer-
tificate should be issued the bank was required to deposit with the state
treasurer, for each $100,000 of deposits, or fraction thereof, $500 in bonds
of the United States, the State of Kansas, or some minor political di-
vision of the state, and in addition pay a sum equal to one-twentieth of
one per cent, of the average deposits, etc. 3 — When any bank should
be found to be insolvent the bank commissioner to take charge, issue to
the depositors a certificate bearing interest at the rate of six per cent,
per annum, and if the bank's assets should prove insufficient to pay the
depositors, then the certificates should be redeemed from the guaranty
fund. 6 — National banks by reorganizing might become guaranty
banks. 7 — Any bank guaranteed under the provisions of the act, that
should receive deposits continuously for six months in excess of ten
times its capital and surplus, should be deemed guilty of violating the
law and forfeit it guaranty rights and privileges.
Soon after the passage of the law opposition on the part of the na-
tional banks of the state developed, because it was feared that the guar-
anty of deposits in the state banks would give those institutions an
142 CYCLOPEDIA OF
undue advantage. Gov. Stubbs, Bank Commissioner Dolley, and Attor-
ney-General Jackson went to Washington to confer with the United
States attorney-general, and some national banks went also to present
their side of the case. Attorney-General Wickersham upheld the law,
and when it became apparent that it was the intention of the opponents
of the law to bring an action in the Federal court, the state forestalled
the movement early in Aug., 1909, b}' instituting proceedings to enjoin
certain persons and bankers from interfering in anj^ way with the en-
forcement of the law. At the same time the attorney-general asked the
supreme court for a writ of mandamus to make it necessary for the
bank commissioner and the state treasurer to carry out the provisions
of the law. The question, however, was linally carried to the supreme
court of the United States, which upheld the law, and the state banks
of Kansas were thus placed upon a basis of security surpassed by no
state in the Union.
As a rule, the banks of Kansas have been conducted along conserva-
tive lines, and failures have been neither numerous nor of serious con-
sequence. The state officials have not been remiss in the discharge of
their duties, and even before the passage of the guaranty law did all in
their power to safeguard the interests of the depositors. Since the pas-
sage of that law confidence in the state banks has been strengthened, but
the officials have not diminished their eflforts to place the banking insti-
tutions upon a still higher financial level. An instance of this is seen in
the decision of Attorney-General Jackson in June, 1910, in the case of
the Citizens & Farmers' State bank of Arkansas City. This bank was
closed in Nov., 1908, by the bank commissioner, on account of an in-
debtedness of $75,000 owed to it by the Wells Produce company of that
city. The produce company failed soon after, and the receiver of the
bank discovered that instead of $75,000, its indebtedness to the bank
was about $100,000. When the question of the liability of the directors
to the depositors was submitted to the attorney-general he held that
the officers and directors of the bank were liable to the depositors for
their losses, aggregating some ,$400,000. Said Mr. Jackson :
"It is a general rule of law that ignorance of any fact in the bank's
affairs, which it is the duty of the directors to know, can never be set
up by them in defense of any of their official acts. The directors can-
not escape liability by pleading ignorance of the facts which they agreed
with the bank, by accepting their officers, to ascertain. They must be
held to know all facts which ordinary diligence in the examination of
the affairs of the banks would have disclosed."
Concerning this decision of Mr. Jackson the Topeka Caiiital of June
25, 1910, said: "This rule, laid down b}' the attornej'-general, no doubt
will make a whole lot of bank directors wake up. Heretofore the posi-
tion of bank director has been generally looked upon as an honorary
one, but bank directors will now realize that the position has consider-
able responsibility and liability attached to it."
Some idea of the growth of the banking business in Kansas may be
KANSAS HISTORY 143
gained b}- a comparison of the bank commissioners' comparative state-
ments for Sept. I, 1900, and Aug. 15, 1910. On the former date there
were 388 state banks reporting, with loans and discounts amounting to
$21,812,835.56; capital Stock, $6,613,000; surplus and undivided profits,
$1,839,663.14; deposits, $26,899,875.45. On Aug. 15, 1910, there were
860 banks reporting loans and discounts of $80,757,016.35 ; capital stock,
$16,779,300; surplus and undivided profits, $7,041,291.29; deposits, ^$77,-
733,500.33-
According to the Bankers' Directory of Jan. i, 191 1, there were in
the state at that time 200 national banks with an aggregate capital stock
of $11,109,000; a surplus of $6,221,050, and deposits of $76,571,300.
Banner, a rural money order postoffice of Trego county, is located
about 15 miles southwest of \\'akeeney, the county seat, and 10 miles
south of Collyer, which is the nearest railroad station. It is connected
with the surrounding towns by telephone and is a trading point for that
section of the county.
Bannock, a little village of Edwards county, is situated on Rattlesnake
creek in Lincoln township, about 25 miles southeast of Kinsley, the coun-
tv seat, and 12 miles south of Belpre, the most convenient railroad sta-
tion. Bannock was formerly a postoffice, but after the introduction of
the rural free delivery system the office was discontinued and the people
now receive their mail through the office at Haviland, Kiowa county.
The population in 191 o was reported as 30.
Bantam, a rural postoffice of Ellis county with a semi-weekly mail,
is located about 12 miles northwest of Hays, the county seat, which is
the most convenient railroad station.
Baptist Church. — Tlie name Baptists was given to members of con-
gregations who had withdrawn from the dominant churches of England
and restored what they believed to be apostolic precept- and example of
immersion. This name was first applied in England about 1644, and
she people forming the organizations maintained that immersion upon
confession of faith was necessary for valid baptism, rejecting infant bap-
tism as incompatible with regenerate membership. Other religious
bodies had practiced immersion without such teaching.
From the first there were two branches of the English Baptists ; those
who followed the teaching of Calvin and those who adopted the the-
ology of Arminius. The Arminian, or General Baptists, formed first
under the leadership of John Smith, who established the first General
Baptist church in London in 161 1. The Calvinistic or Particular Bap-
tists originated from a congregation of Separatists established in Lon-
don about 1616. One of the first principles of the Baptist organizations
was that the church as a spiritual body should be entirely separated
from the state and that spiritual liberty be extended to all — Catholic,
Jew and Protestant.
The first Baptist church in America was established at Providence,
R. I., by Roger Williams. He was a minister of the Church of England,
but soon after leaving the University of Cambridge adopted separatist
144 CYCLOPEDIA OF
principles. He sailed for America in 1630 hoping to find entire religious
liberty in the new world. Landing at Boston, Mass., he was invited to
preach in the established church, but refused as it was unseparated.
After some time he finally located with the separatists of Plymouth col-
ony. Because of his teachings, Williams became a disturbing element,
and he was condemned to banishment and deportation to England in
1635. He managed to escape and made his way through the wilderness
in midwinter to the Narragansett Indians of whom he bought land, upon
which he founded the colony of Providence on the principle of entire
civil and religious liberty. He advocated the most complete separation
of church and state at a time when such ideas were almost inconceivable.
In 1639, a small band of only twelve believers originated baptism and
the first Baptist church. About 1640, a Baptist church was formed at
Newport, and in 1655 a church of this belief was established at Boston
and maintained in spite of opposition. A colony of Welsh Baptists came
to America in 1665, and after some difficulty located at Rehoboth, Mass.,
in 1667. By 1750 there were eight Baptist churches in New England.
The Baptists began to locate in the Jerse3's and Pennsylvania after
16S2, and as there was tolerance of religion a large number of Quakers
and Baptists emigrated from England to these localities. In 1686 sev-
eral Baptist families from Wales located on the Pemepek river, where
and a year later a company organized a church. The same year a church
was organized at Middletown, N. J., and by 1770, twelve such churches
existed. Services were held in Philadelphia under the auspices of the
Pemepek church from 1687, but the first church was not organized until
1698. The Philadelphia association was organized in 1707, and the
New York colony churches sought admission to it as did the churches
of Virginia and the Carolinas. Gradually the church became firmly
established in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
New York, North and South Carolina and Connecticut, and a few con-
gregations were organized in Virginia. During the Revolutionary war
the progress of the church was not materially checked and it is esti-
mated that in 1792 there were 1,200 organizations with a membership
of 100,000.
The great westward migration after the Revolution was an opportu-
nity quickly improved by the Baptists. Missionary preachers were sent
into the new western country and Baptist societies formed in the fringe
of civilization. In 1845 differences arose over the question of slavery
and the churches of the slave states formed the South Baptist conven-
tion, while the northern churches organized the American Baptist
Union. At different times branches have separated from the two orig-
inal Baptist organizations, or new congregations have been formed until
today the church includes the following bodies : Northern Baptist Con-,
vention, Southern Bapti.st Convention, National Baptist Convention
(Colored), General Six Principle Baptists. Seven-day Baptists, Free
Baptists, General Baptists, Separate Baptists, United Baptists, Duck
River and Kindred Associations of Baptists (Baptist Church of Christ).
KANSAS HISTORY 145
Primitive Baptists, Colored Primitive Baptists in America, Two-Seed-
in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists, Freewill Baptists (Bullockites),
and United American Freewill Baptists (Colored).
The Baptist church was one of the first religious organizations to
begin work in Kansas, for as early as 1831, Baptist missionaries were
sent among the Indians. In July of that year Dr. Johnston Lykins came
to the Indian Territory, "and at his own expense bought a small tiact
of land contiguous to the Shawnees," who were at that time located on
the Neosho river. The next year, 1832, he was authorized by the Baptist
board to erect mission buildings, and 1833, Lewis Cass, secretary of war,
authorized him to visit various tribes west of the Mississippi river and
report upon favorable sites for missionary establishments. In 1835 ^^
was ordained, and given special charge of the Shawnees and Delawares.
In June, 1837, the Ottawa Baptist mission was established about five
miles northeast from the present site of the town of Ottawa, Franklin
county, by Jotham Meeker and his wife, who had been missionaries to
the Shawnees. In 1842, a large mission house was erected and a school
established for the Indian children. The first missionary to the Potta-
watomie Indians, in the territory now included in the State of Kansas,
was the Baptist missionary, Robert Simerwell. In 1837, as soon as this
tribe located at their new reservation on the Osage river, Mr. Simerwell
and his wife located among them and when the Pottawatomies removed
to their reservation on the Kansas river, the Baptist mission was estab-
lished in what is now Mission township, Shawnee county. This became
one of the largest and most prosperous missions in the territory. In
1840 another Baptist mission was established among the Miamis on
Wea creek by David L3'kins. Nearly all of the missions were maintained
until the territory was thrown open to white settlement and the Indians
\vere transferred to the Indian Territory.
When the Territory of Kansas was organized and thrown open to
white settlers in 1854, most of the first immigrants were men who had
belonged to churches in the east, and one of the first things they did
upon establishing their homes was to organize churches where there
were people enough to form congregations. Being among the first as
missionaries, the Baptists were among the first to form permanent or-
ganizations. Less than a year after the first settlers located in the
town of Lawrence, the Baptist church was organized there by William
W. Hall. The services were held in private residences and halls until
1870, when a church building was erected. The Baptists were among
the pioneer religious organizations to become established in Nemaha
county and probably the first sermon preached in the county was by
Elder Thomas Newton, who came from Illinois in 1854. He ministered
at Central City and later at Seneca. The first church society was or-
ganized at Central City on Aug. i, 1857, and the first pastor was T. R.
Newton. A small church was soon erected, which was used as a school
house during the week. The first religious services held by the Baptists
in Doniphan was in 1855. -'^ church was erected within a short time
fl-io)
146 CYCLOPEDIA OF
and Mr. Anderson became the first minister. As early as 1856, John
Williams, a Baptist preacher, held outdoor services at Trading Post,
Linn county, where a church was organized at an early date. In Shaw-
nee county a church was organized at Topeka on March i, 1857. R. M.
Fish of lirburn preached until C. C. Hutchinson came as a permanent
pastor on June 18, 1859. The first Baptist church in Osage county was
organized on Aug. 6, 1857. During the first year the church was served
occasionall}' by R. C. Br3'ant and J. B. Taylor, but no church building
was erected until 1869. In Atchison a Baptist church was organized on
Aug. I, 1858, and the first minister called was a Mr. Anderson. A Bap-
tist organization was formed at Manhattan, Riley county, on Aug. 14,
1858, and it was incorporated on Nov. 13, i860, with M. L. Wisner as
the first pastor. In the fall of 1858, the Tabernacle Baptist church was
organized at Leavenworth by a Mr. Kermot. The First Baptist church
was organized in i860, and in 1864 the two were merged to form the
Baptist church for which a building was erected in the early '60s. In
Oct., 1839, a Baptist congregation of seven members, one of the pioneer
religious organizations in L3'on county, was organized at Emporia by
R. C. Bryant. The Baptists were the first to effect a church organiza-
tion in Clay county at the Huntress' cabin, and the Clay Center church
was organized -in Aug., 1868, with twelve members. The first Baptist
church in Miami county was started there on Feb. 25, i860, by Elder A.
H. Dean, with twenty members and became the leading church of Paola,
a building being erected five years later. H. S. Tibbits organized the
Baptist congregation at Hiawatha on Aug. 18, i860, with fifteen mem-
bers, and it soon began to be one of the leading religious organizations
of the locality. The work of the Baptist church was started in Franklin
county by the Indian mission in 1837 but the first church was organized
in 1864 at Ottawa. This church adopted the New Hampshire Confes-
sion of faith and held meetings in a building until a church was erected
the following year. Religious services were held at Fort Scott, Bour-
bon county, while it was a military post, but the Baptists did not effect
an organization there until Feb. 18, 1866. In 1868 a church was organ-
ized at Salina by J. R. Downer with fifteen members and a church erected
within a short time. An organization was perfected in Neosho county
in 1869 with seven members by Elder A. C. Bateman, who was cho-en
pastor. Services were held at the Erie school house until a church was
erected in 1871. Cherokee county was not opened to white settlement
until 1870, when a Baptist church was organized at Columbus with
twelve members on March 20, by Elder A. C. Bateman and the first pas-
tor was a Mr. Maver. According to the census of 1875, there were 286
church organizations in the state, with 36 church edifices and a mem-
bership of 12.197. By 1878 the organizations had increased to 334 with
69 churches and 16,083 members, and by 1890 there were 358 organiza-
tions, 263 churches and 32,689 members. In 1906, the Baptist church
ranked third in Kansas in number of members of all denominations both
Protestant and Catholic, having 46,299 members.
KANSAS HISTORY I47
Bar Association, State. — On Jan. 9, 1883, a number of the leading
law3'ers of Kansas met in Topeka for the purpose of organizing a
state bar association. After the appointment of committees to formulate
a plan for the permanent organization, an adjournment was taken until
10 a. m. the next day, when the association was formed with 46 char-
ter members and the following officers: Albert H. Horton, president;
N. T. Stephens, vice-president; \\\ H. Rossington, secretary; D. M.
Valentine, treasurer. The objects and aims of the association, as given
in the constitution, are "the elevation of the standard of professional
learning and integrity, so as to inspire the greatest degree of respect
for the efforts and influence of the bar in the administration of justice,
and also to cultivate fraternal relations among its members."
To be eligible for membership one must have been admitted to prac-
tice in the Kansas supreme court, and also have been engaged in regu-
lar practice for one year next preceding his application for member-
ship. In the beginning the constitution provided that the annual meet-
ing should be held on the second Tuesday in January at the capitol,
and that the executive council or committee might call special meet-
ings at any time, giving the members thirty days' notice of such meet-
ings. Subsequently the constitution was amended so that the annual
meeting is held in Januar}', upon such date as mav be decided upon
by the previous meeting or by the executive council. For a time two
meetings a year were held.
The by-laws provide that all addresses delivered and papers read
before the association s'hall be deposited with the secretary ; that the
president's annual address, the reports of committees and proceedings
of the annual meeting shall be printed, but no other address shall be
printed except by order of the executive council. The papers read
before the association at the annual meetings have covered a wide
range of subjects relating to the history, ethics and philosophy of law.
Among these subjects may be mentioned: The Evolution of Law;
I'niformity of State Laws; Politics and the Judiciary; Municipal Gov-
ernment ; Combinations in Restraint of Trade ; The Lawyer and His
Relation to Society ; Legal Education ; Dramatic Art in the Jury Trial.
At the annual meeting on Jan. 11-12, 191 1, at Topeka, the retiring
president. C. A. Smart, of Ottawa, took for the subject of his annual
address "The Establishment of Ju.stice." The principal address at that
meeting was delivered b}- Burr W. Jones, of Madison, Wis., whose sub-
ject was "The Mai-Administration of Justice." Papers were read by
A. O. .A.ndrew, of Gardner; A. E. Crane, of Holton ; C. E. Branine, of
Hutchinson ; J. T. Botts, of Coldwater ; A. M. Harvey, of Topeka, and
W. A. McKeever, professor of philosophy in the Kansas State Agri-
cultural College. Eighteen new members were admitted and the as-
sociation joined in the enjoyment of the customary annual banquet.
The presidents of the association, from the time of organization to
191 1, were as follows: A. H. Horton, 1883 to 1896; S. O. Thacher,
1887; W. A. Johnston, 1888; John Guthrie, 1889; Robert Crozier, 1890;
I4o CYCLOPEDIA OF
D. M. Valentine, 1891 ; T. F. Garver, 1892; James Humphrey, 1893;
J. D. Milliken, 1894; H. L. Alden, 1895; David Martin, 1896; William
Thompson, 1897; S. H. Allen, 1898; C. C. Coleman, 1899; Samuel
Kimble, 1900; Silas Porter, 1901 ; B. F. Milton, 1902; J. G. Slonecker,
1903; W. R. Smith, 1904; Charles W. Smith, 1905; L. H. Perkins, 1906;
W. P. Dillard, 1907; J. B. Larimer, 1908; J. W. Green, 1909; C. A.
Smart, 1910.
At the annual meeting in 191 1 the following officers were elected:
President, W. E. Hutchinson, Garden Cit}^ ; vice-president, J. D. Mc-
Farland, Topeka ; secretary, D. A. Valentine, Topeka; treasurer, J. G.
Slonecker, Topeka; executive council, R. A. Burch, B. W. Scandrett, J.
J. Jones, J. D. Houston and H. A. Russell ; delegates to the American
Bar Association, A. W. Dana, Topeka; J. W. Orr, Atchison, and Samuel
Kimble, Manhattan.
Barber County, one of the southern tier, is bounded on the north by
Pratt county, east b}' Kingman and Harper counties, south by the
State of Oklahoma and west by Kiowa county. It was organized in
1873, from territory that was originally embraced in Washington coun-
ty. The county was named for Thomas W. Barber, who was killed
near Lawrence on Dec. 6, 1855. It was intended when the county was
organized that it should bear the name "Barber," but in some man-
ner the spelling was changed to "Barbour" and stood that way until
1883, when the legislature passed an act changing the name to "Bar-
ber," its present form, according to original intention. Its area is 1,134
square miles and, according to the Kansas Agricultural reports of 1908.
at then ranked 73d in population.
In the winter of 1871-2 the first white settler, a man named Griffin,
located a ranch on a branch of the Medicine Lodge river, about a mile
from the present site of Sun City, in the northwest part of the county.
The following spring E. H. Mosley, and two men named Lockwood
and Leonard, located on the Medicine Lodge river in the southeastern
part of the county near the present town of Kiowa. Mosley brought
with him goods for Indian trade and spent his time hunting buffalo
and buying hides for the eastern market, while the other men broke
some of the prairie and engaged in farming. This displeased the In-
dians, who opposed white settlement in this section, and they raided
the homes of the pioneer farmers. In the fight that ensued Mosley
was killed, but the other two men saved themselves by remaining be-
hind a stockade. The Indians left after killing most of the stock. In
Oct., 1872, Eli Smith joined this settlement, and a store was opened
there by a man named Hegwer in the spring of 1873. Derick Upde-
graff settled on land near the present site of Medicine Lodge in Dec,
1872, and Salmon P. Tuttle drove a herd of cattle near this claim about
the same time. During the year claims were taken up in the vicinity
by William Walters, W. E. Hutchinson, Jake Ryan, A. L. Duncan,
David Hubbard and John Beebe, while Samuel Larsh and a man
named Wyncoop took up claims on Cedar creek 3 miles from the Up-
KANSAS HISTORY I49
degraff ranch. Lake Cit}-, on the upper Medicine Lodge, was settled
by Reuben Lake about the same time. During the spring and summer
of 1873 ^ number of people came and the northern part of the county
became settled. Ralph Duncan was the first white child born in the
county, in the spring of 1873, and the first wedding took place in July,
1874, when Charles Tabor married a Miss Moore.
The first record of the county commissioners is dated July 7, 1873.
The board consisted of S. H. Ulmer, L. H. Bowlus and J. C. Kilpatrick.
On Sept. I the board made a contract with C. C. Bemis for a court-
house to cost $25,000, and the clerk was directed to issue warrants for
that amount, but the building was never erected. On Sept. 2. 1873,
W. E. Hutchinson was appointed immigration agent, and warrants to
the amount of $1,000 were drawn in his favor. On Oct. 6 G. W. Crane
received the appointment as advertising agent and was given $5,000 or
as much of that amount as was needed to advertise the advantages of
the county. The first regular election of county officers took place
in Nov., 1873. The vote of the Medicine Lodge district was thrown
out for some reason, and the officers chosen by the remainder of the
county were : M. D. Hauk, clerk ; Jacob Horn, treasurer ; D. E. Shel-
don, probate judge: Reuben Lake, sheriff; S. B. Douglas, superintend-
ent of public instruction; C. H. Douglas, clerk of the district court; M.
S. Cobb, register of deeds, and M. W. Sutton, county attorney. The
county was divided on Nov. 7, 1873, into three districts for the election
of commissioners, and on Feb. 11, 1874, a special election was held to
determine the question of issuing bonds to the amount of $40,000 for
the erection of a court-house. The result of the election was a ma-
jority of 41 votes against the issue, but under a law of March 7, 1874,
the county commissioners issued the bonds.
^ Indian depredations continued through the spring of 1874 and Cut-
ler's History of Kansas (p. 1,521) says: "It was in the summer of 1874
that the so-called Indian raid occurred — when a band of Indians, led
by a number of white men, it is alleged, came into this county and
murdered several citizens up the Medicine river." For protection the
citizens built stockades, one of which was erected near the center of
the present city of Medicine Lodge. It was made of cedar posts set
upright in the ground. Another stockade was built 12 miles up the river
at Sun City, and for further protection a company of militia was formed
to fight the Indians.
Barber county had but one contest for the location of the county
seat — that of Feb. 27, 1876 — which can hardly be called a contest, as
Medicine Lodge received more votes than all the competing towns.
The first school district of the county, which included Medicine Lodge,
was organized in the spring of 1873, and the school building erected
that year was used until 1882. Early religious services in the county
were held by traveling Methodist preachers, but no regular organiza-
tion was affected until 1878. The first newspaper was the Barber
County Mail, which was started on May 20, 1879, by M. J. Cochran.
150 CYCLOPEDIA OF
It was sold the next year to J. W. McNeal and E. W. Ilifif, who at
once changed the name and started the Cresset. The first larjj,e body
of cattle held in the county was a herd of Texas cattle brought by
Solomon Tuttle in the fall of 1872, which wintered along the Medicine
river. The first graded cattle were brought into the county in the spring
of 1873 by William Carl, who held them on the river about 12 miles
above Medicine Lodge.
The early railroad history of the county consists of one experiment.
On Aug. 27, 1873, ^ special election was held to decide the question
of subscribing $100,000 to the stock of the Nebraska & Southwestern
railroad, and issuing bonds in a like amount in payment therefor. The
measure was carried, the bonds were issued, and though the railroad
was never built they became a valid lien against the county. At the
present time the county has over 90 miles of main track road within
its bounds. A line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe crosses the
extreme northeast corner ; another branch of the same system enters
the county on the east and crosses to Medicine Lodge, thence north-
west into Pratt county ; still another line of the same system crosses
the southeast corner and runs into Oklahoma, with a branch north from
Kiowa to Medicine Lodge.
The eastern part of the county is undulating and in some places,
nearly level, while the western portion is hilly, breaking into blufTs
along the streams. In the east the river bottoms vary from one and
a half to two miles in width, but in the western part are narrower and
deeper. The timber belts are usually about a half mile wide along
the water courses, the native trees being walnut, elm, cottonwood,
hackberry, ash, mulberry, cedar and willow. The county is a good
agricultural country and stock raising is an important industry. Win-
ter wheat, corn and Kafir corn are the staple products, while there
are more than 50,000 bearing fruit trees on the farms of the county.
Barber county is exceptionally well watered. All the streams have a
general southeast course. Medicine Lodge river, the largest stream,
flows diagonally across the county from northwest to southeast. Lit-
tle and Big Mule, Big Sandy and Salt Fork creeks in the south, and
Elm creek in the north are also important streams. Springs are abun-
dant throughout the county, while good well water is reached at from
10 to 12 feet on the lowlands. Soft red sandstone is abundant along
the streams and an excellent quality of brick clay is found in several
localities, the best being near Medicine Lodge. Gypsum is found in the
central part of the county and shipped to different points.
The county is divided into the following townships : Aetna, Cedar,
Deerhead, Eagle. Elm Mills, Elwood, Hazelton, Kiowa, Lake City, Mc-
Adoo, Aledicine Lodge, Mingona, Moore, Nippawala, Sharon, Sun City,
Turkey Creek and Valley. According to the L^. S. census of 1910 the
population of the county was 9,916, a gain of 3,322 over 1900, and the
Kansas agricultural report for the same year gives the value of farm
products as $1,564,471, wheat leading, with a value of $675,094: corn
second, with a value of $441,720.
KANSAS HISTORY I5I
Barber, Thomas W., one of the free-state martyrs in Kansas, was
a native of Pennsylvania and a son of Thomas and Mary (Oliver)
Barber. In the early '30s he located at Richmond, Ind., where he was
engaged for some time in operating a woolen mill. Soon after the
passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, he removed to Kansas and set-
tled on a claim some 7 miles southwest of Lawrence. Being a sober,
honest and industrious citizen, he made friends among his neighbors.
Early in Dec, 1855, when the pro-slavery forces were threatening Law-
rence, Mr. Barber decided to go to the assistance of the town. He
had no family except a wife, who seems to have had a premonition of
impending danger and begged him to remain at home, but he laughed
at her fears and set out on horseback for Lawrence. On the morning
of Dec. 6, in company with his brother Robert and Thomas M. Pierson,
he started for his home, unarmed, promising to return as soon as he
had arranged matters at home so as to permit his absence. When about
4 miles from Lawrence, on the California road, they saw a part)' of
14 horsemen approaching, two of whom rode on in advance of the
others for the purpose of holding a parley with Barber and his com-
panions. These two men were George W. Clark, agent of the Pot-
tawatomie Indians, and a merchant of Weston, Mo., by the name of
Burns. They tried to induce the Barbers and Pierson to join them,
and meeting with a positive refusal, one of them drew his revolver and
fired twice, mortally wounding Thomas W. Barber. He concealed the
fact that he was shot until they had ridden about a hundred yards,
when he informed his brother, who at first thought such a thing im-
possible, but a few minutes later the wounded man was seen to reel
in his saddle. His associates eased him to the ground, where a little
later he breathed his last. The poet, Whittier, wrote a poem on "The
Burial of Barber," beginning:
"You in suflfering, they in crime
Wait the just reward of time.
Wait the vengeance that is due ;
Not in vain a heart shall break.
Not a tear for freedom's sake
Falls unheeded: God is true."
Barclay, a village of Osage county, is a station on the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. ir miles southwest of Lyndon, the county
seat. It is supplied with express and telegraph offices and a money
order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 100.
Barnard, one of the principal towns of Lincoln county, is the terminus
of a division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. which con-
nects with one of the main lines of that system at Manchester. It is
located in Scott township, near the northern boundary of the county,
about 12 miles from Lincoln, the county seat. Barnard was first set-
tled in 1888; was incorporated in 1904, and in 1910 reported a popula-
CYCLOPEDIA OF
tion of 425. It has two banks, a weekly newspaper — the Bee — some
good retail mercantile houses, churches of the leading Protestant de-
nominations, telegraph and express offices, a money order postoffice
with one rural delivery route, and being located in the rich Salt creek
valley is an important shipping point for agricultural products. It is
connected by telephone with the surrounding country and with the
county seat.
Barnes, an incorporated town of Washington county, is a station on
the Missouri Pacific R. R. 13 miles southeast of Washington, the county
seat. It has a money order postoffice with three rural routes, express
and telegraph offices, telephone connection, a bank, a weekly newspaper
— the Barnes Chief — Methodist, Lutheran and Christian churches, good
schools, and in 1910 reported a population of 454. It is the principal
trading and shipping point for Barnes township, in which it is situated.
Barnesville, a hamlet of Bourbon county, is situated on the Little
Osage river, about 13 miles north of Fort Scott, the county seat. It
has rural free delivery from Fulton and in 1910 had a population of
52. Fulton is the nearest railroad station.
Barr, Elizabeth N., one of the younger school of Kansas authors, was
born in a dugout — a fact of which she is rather proud — in Lincoln
county, Kan., in 1884. When she was two years of age her parents re-
moved to Huron county, Mich., where she attended the common schools
and in 1902 graduated in the Badaxe high school. Then after a sojourn
in Florida she went to Kansas City, Mo., where she was for a time
employed on the advertising force of the Kansas City Journal. In
1905 she went to Topeka with a total capital of $11 and entered Wash-
burn College, determined to work her way through that institution.
With an energy rarely equaled in her sex she succeeded, and in 1908
graduated in the liberal arts course. Her first published work was a
collection of poems written while she was a student in college and
entitled "Washburn Ballads." Miss Barr is also the author of several
short count}' histories of various counties in Kansas, and she was for
some time the editor and publisher of the Club Member and Current
Topics, a paper devoted to the cause of woman suffrage.
Barrett, a hamlet of Marshall county, is located on the Missouri
Pacific R. R. and on the Vermillion river in Vermillion township, 20
miles southeast of Marysville, the county seat, and 3 miles from Frank-
fort. It has a money order postoffice, and a population in 1910 of 75.
Barrett is one of the oldest settled points in Marshall county. The
first white resident outside of the French traders was G. H. Hollenberg,
afterward the founder of Hollenberg, Washington county, who located
in this vicinit)' in 1854 and opened a store for the accommodation of
the emigrants to California. In 1855 a colony of 60 people from Cadiz,
Ohio, selected a tract in the Vermillion valley for a settlement. Among
those who came was A. G. Barrett, who in 1868 laid oflf the town of
Barrett and gave the railroad company 40 acres of land in considera-
tion of their building a depot and side track. The postoffice had been
established since 1857.
KANSAS HISTORY 153
Barry, an inland hamlet in the extreme northeast corner of Green-
wood count)-, is located 5 miles from Dunaway, the nearest railroad
Station, and 30 miles from Eureka, the county seat. It obtains its mail
by rural delivery from Gridley, Coffey county.
Bartlett, an incorporated town of Labette county, is located on the
Missouri Pacific R. R., in Ilackberry township, 14 miles southwest of
Oswego. It has banking facilities, telegraph and express offices, and
a money order postofifiice with one rural route. The population in 1910
was 249. The town was named for its promoter, Robert A. Bartlett.
Jerome Callahan was the pioneer merchant, and B. F. Cox built the first
dwelling.
Barton County, nearly in the geographical center of the state, is
bounded on the north by Russell county, east by Ellsworth and Rice,
south by Stafford and Pawnee, and west by Pawnee and Rush coun-
ties. It is exactly 30 miles square and contains 900 square miles. The
county was created by an act of 1867, and was named in honor of
Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross association. The
southern half of Barton county lies in territory that was erected as
^'Vashington county by the act of 1855. while the northern portion in-
cludes part of the unorganized territory attached to the counties hing
east of it. It is supposed that the first white men who saw this part
of Kansas were the Spaniards under Coronado (q. v.). The first Ameri-
can to visit Barton county was Lieut. Zebulon Pike, who led an ex-
ploring expedition to the Rocky mountains in 1806. On Oct. 13 of that
year, Pike reached the most northerly bend of the Arkansas river, about
6 miles east of the present site of Great Bend, where he encamped for
several days. (See Pike's Expedition.) The McKnight party, with a
train of pack mules, followed the trail along the Arkansas in 1812, and
in 1820 Maj. Long's expedition passed along practically the same course.
This early route later became the historic "Santa Fe Trail."
As far as can be learned, the earliest settler in Barton county was
a man named Peacock, who located his ranch on AValnut creek about
3 miles east of the big bend of the Arkansas. His residence was an
adobe hut, and in the fall of the year i860, he and five other men were
killed by Kiowa Indians, who drove off the stock and committed other
depredations.
In 1868 the Indians created considerable trouble by attacking ranch-
men and wagon trains, running off" cattle, and in some cases killing
settlers and travelers. In October they attacked a provision train near
Ellinwood, and in his report of the affair Gen. Hazen stated that
"about 100 Indians attacked the fort at daylight, and were driven off;
then they attacked a provision train ; killed one of the teamsters, and
secured the mules from four wagons; then attacked a ranch 8 miles
below and drove off the stock."
The first cemetery in the county was the old grave yeard laid out
about 300 yards northeast of Fort Zarah fq. v.), in which the graves
made at the time of the occupation of the fort by troops may still be
134 I CYCLOPEDIA OF
seen. In some cases they were marked by stones, but are nearly all
overgrown with buffalo grass.
The United States census of 1870 found two people who declared
themselves residents of Barton county. They were John Reinecke and
Henry Schultz, natives of Hanover, Germany, who came from Illinois
in March, and after searching for land near the present site of Ellin-
wood got the Ellsworth surveyor to accompany them to Walnut creek,
where they selected a location, and had it surveyed. The settlement
they established was about 6 miles northwest of the present city of
Great Bend. Others who came to the county in 1870 were W. C. Gib-
son, Gideon F. Mecklem, William Jous, Antone Wilke, George Berry
and Mike Stanton, who settled along the Walnut in what are now
Buft'alo and Walnut townships. Most of the pioneer homes were rude
dugouts and sod houses. The first log house was built late in the year
1870 by Mr. Mecklem, and was provided with loopholes and small
windows as a means of defense against the Indians. The principal
occupation of the early settlers was killing buffalo. They used the flesh
and tongues for food, in some cases selling the meat at the nearest
settlements, while the hides were tanned and sent to the markets in
the east. A few tried farming, but were unsuccessful, as the buffalo
tramped out the crops and wallowed in the soft plowed ground. The
first settlements in Great Bend township were made by E. J. Dodge,
who made a homestead entry on Jan. 23, 1871, and D. N. Heizer, who
entered land in May of the same year. Some of the other settlers of
that year were John Cook, W. H. Odell, Thomas Morris, George Moses
and Wallace Dodge.
For about five years after its creation Barton county was attached
to Ellsworth for judicial and revenue purposes, but in 1871, it had the
required number of voters and population to entitle it to a separate
organization. Accordingly, a petition was presented to the governor
asking that the county be organized, and on May 16, 1872, Gov. Har-
vey issued a proclamation for the organization of the county and de-
clared Great Bend the temporary county seat. The officers appomted
by him at that time were Thomas Morris, John H. Hubbard and George
M. Berry commissioners, and William H. Odell, clerk. The board
held its first meeting at Great Bend on May 23, 1872. At this meet-
ing the commisisoners divided Barton county into three civil town-
ships, Lakin, Great Bend and Buffalo, and declared each township to
be a commissioner district. An election for township officers, and to
decide upon the location of the county seat, was ordered for July i.
The election was held and resulted in the selection of M. H. Halsey,
John Cook and L. H. Lusk, commissioners; William H. Odell. clerk;
Thomas L. Morris, register of deeds; J. B. Howard, clerk of the dis-
trict court; E. L. Morphy, treasurer; D. N. Heizer, probate judge; J.
B. Howard, county attorney; A. C. Moses, superintendent of public
schools ; John Favrow, surveyor ; George W. Moses, sheriff, and D. B.
Baker, coroner. Upon the question of a permanent location of the
county seat. Great Bend received 144 votes, Ellinwood 22 and Zarah 2^2>-
KANSAS HISTORY I55
Soon after Barton county was organized some difficulty arose be-
tween the authorities of Ellsworth and Barton counties with regard
to the payment of taxes. Some of the settlers had already been placed
on the tax rolls by the assessor of Ellsworth county before Barton
was organized, and had paid their taxes to the Ellsworth county treas-
urer. For a time the Ellsworth county officers refused to pay over to
Barton county the taxes thus collected, but matters were finally amica-
bly adjusted.
The settlement of Barton county was both rapid and steady. A num-
ber of Germans located around Ellinwood, where a store was opened
in 1874 by F. A. Steckel, who also started a grist mill. The following
year the first brewery in the county, and the first in this part of the
state, was erected at Ellinwood. About this time a number of Rus-
sians entered land about 7 miles west of Great Bend. One of the points
of great interest in the county is Pawnee Rock (q. v.) in the southwest
corner. In early days of travel along the Santa Fe it was a noted land
mark.
The first school in the county was a private one established in 1872
by James R. Bickerdyke. In December of that year bonds were voted
for the first school house. A number of the early settlers were Catho-
lics, who erected the first church building in the county in Lakin town-
ship in the fall of 1877. The second church was built by the Methodists
the following winter. Prior to this time services were held by travel-
ing preachers. The first postoffice was established at Zarah in 1871,
with Titus J. Buckbee as postmaster. The first record of marriage is
that of Jonathan F. Tilton and Addie Eastey in Nov., 1872. Judge W.
R. Brown presided at the first term of court in April, 1873. George A.
Housher, whose birth occurred on Oct. 2, 1871, was the first white
child born in the county.
On Oct. 8, 1872, a special election was held to vote on the question
of issuing $25,000 of county bonds for the erection of a court-house
and jail. The proposition was carried, and on March 26, 1873, the bids
were opened. The contract was awarded and the building, located in
the county square at Great Bend, was completed and accepted that
year. G. L. Brinkman was elected to the state legislature on Nov. 5,
1872, and was the first person to represent Barton county in the general
assembly of the state. In 1874 the limits of Barton county were en-
larged by the addition of a part of Stafford county. This territory was
held until 1879, when the matter, after being fought through the courts,
was decided against Barton county, for the reason that Stafiford, by the
act of division, was reduced to an area less than that required by the
state constitution. The original bounds of Barton were therefore re-
stored.
The county is divided into the following townships : Albion, Beaver,
Buffalo, Cheyenne, Clarence, Cleveland, Comanche, Eureka, Fairview,
Grant, Great Bend, Homestead, Independent, Lakin, Liberty, Logan,
Pawnee Rock, South Bend, LTnion, Walnut and Wheatland.
[56 tVCI.tH EDIA (.>F
The southern part of the county is level, the northern portion higher
and somewhat broken. The valleys of the Arkansas river and Walnut
creek are from 2 to 7 miles in width, with a sandy loam soil, which
is very fertile and productive. Narrow belts of timber, principally Cot-
tonwood, elm, ash, box-elder, hackberry, willow and walnut, are found
along the streams, and many artificial groves have been set out. Bar-
ton county is one of the "banner" wheat counties of Kansas, but corn,
Kafir corn and oats are extensi\el}' raised. Limestone of a good qual-
ity is found in the northern portion, and sandstone in the southern
half of the county. Clay is found in the north, and a vein from 15 to
18 feet thick lies about 3 or 4 miles north of Great Bend. A rich bed
of rock salt has been discovered about 3 miles northeast of Great Bend
and has been drilled 100 feet.
The Arkansas river is the principal stream. Its course through the
county is in the form of a crescent, or great bend, from which the
town of Great Bend takes its name. There are several tributary streams,
Walnut and Little Walnut creeks being the most important. The main
line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad follows the course of
the Arkansas river, passing through Ellinwood and Great Bend, while a
branch of the same system runs east from Ellinwood into Rice county.
A second branch runs northwest from Great Bend into Rush county.
The main line of the Missouri Pacific railroad traverses the county al-
most directly east and west through the center and has a branch south
from Hoisington to Great Bend. There are about 95 miles of main
track road within the limits of the county, furnishing ample shipping
facilities to the central and southern parts.
The U. S. census for 1910 reported the population of Barton county
as being 17,876, which showed a gain of 4,092 during the preceding de-
cade. According to the report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture
for the same year, the value of all farm products was $4,203,193. The
principal crop was wheat, the value of which was $2,897,283, and the
corn crop was valued at $739,400. During the year 1910 live stock of the
value of $244,159 was sold.
Basehor, a village of Leavenworth county, is a station on the Mis-
souri Pacific R. R. about 10 miles south of Leavenworth city, and 2
miles from the Wyandotte county line. It has a bank, a money order
postofifice with one rural route, express and telegraph offices, telephone
connections, and is a trading and shipping point for that section of the
countj^ The population in 1910 was 225.
Basil, one of the minor villages of Kingman county, is a station on
the Hutchinson & Blackwell division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa
Fe R. R. 12 miles south of Kingman, the county seat, with which it is
connected by telephone. It is a trading and shipping point for that
portion of the county and in 1910 had a population of 72.
Bassett, a small village of Allen county, is situated about 2 miles
south of lola. the county seat, with which place it is connected by elec-
tric railway. In 1910 it reported a population of 40.
KANSAS HISTORY 157
Bassettville, a little village of Decatur county, is located on Sappa
creek in the township of the same name, about 15 miles southwest of
Oberlin, the county seat, from which place the people receive mail by
rural free delivery.
Bateham, a little hamlet of Republican township. Clay county, is
near the southern boundary, about 13 miles almost due south of Clay
Center, the county seat. Wakefield is the nearest railroad station, from
which the inhabitants of Bateham receive mail by rural free delivery.
Battle Flags. — The regimental and battle flags carried by Kansas
troops in the various wars in which they have participated were turned
over to the adjutant-general of the state when the regiments returned
home. In 1866 the legislature made an appropriation of $150 for the
painting of inscriptions on these flags, and many of them bear the
names of the more important battles and skirmishes in which the com-
mands were engaged. Many of these Civil war emblems were worn
to ribbons, and to preserve them a resolution was adopted by the legis-
lature of 1867, making an appropriation of $150 for a suitable case in
which they were to be placed. The case was built, the flags crowded
in, and for nearly forty years reposed in those cramped quarters. In
1905 public sentiment was aroused and the following act passed the
legislature :
"Whereas, The battle-flags of the state of Kansas, some sixty in
number, have been for forty years without proper care, subject to
moth and dust, and inaccessible to the public; therefore, be in enacted
by the legislature of the State of Kansas:
"Section i. That the sum of $1,000, or so much thereof as may be
necessary, is hereby appropriated, to be expended upon proper vouchers
by the executive council, in providing steel cases, with plate glass fronts
and backs, as near air tight as practicable, in which to preserve and
expose to the public the various regimental and other battle-flags car-
ried by Kansas troops ; and that the same be added to the museum of
the State Historical Society.
"Section 2. The adjutant-general is hereby required to furnish a
designation for each flag, giving number of regiment, names of battles,
and location of service, and that each flag be so labeled.
"Section 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after
its publication in the statute book."
With the above appropriation a handsome steel case was provided
in which the flags have since been on exhibition.
During the Civil war a number of Kansas regiments were presented
with flags by patriotic women in the localities in which the regiments
were raised, notably Company I, First Kansas, which received a flag
from the ladies of the Leavenworth Turner's Society; the Second
Kansas, which received a flag from the ladies of Junction City, and Com-
pany M, Ninth Kansas, which was also presented with a stand of
colors. At the beginning of the Spanish-American war (q. v.) the
Woman's Relief Corps of Topeka, presented a stand of colors to each
158 CYCLOPEDIA OF
of the three Kansas regiments. The state also furnished blue silk ban-
ners to these organizations. On the return of the Twentieth Kansas
Col. Wilder S. Metcalf, in returning the flags to the state, said: "My
regiment and myself are gratified for this enthusiastic welcome. . . .
The stand of colors which I have here was furnished us on this spot
eighteen months ago. We carried them to the Philippine Islands and
took good care of them. They were placed on the firing line on Feb.
4, and remained there until we were ordered home. While the regi-
ment was in the trenches they were stuck in the ground right with us.
They have been torn by bullets and brambles, but what is left of them
we desire to return to the state."
On behalf of the state Gov. W. E. Stanley said : "As the representa-
tive of the state it aflFords me pleasure to receive these flags from the
hands of the Twentieth Kansas. One is the old star spangled banner,
the symbol of the nation's greatness. For more than a century it has
inspired in the people the loftiest sentiments and across land and sea,
from Bunker Hill to Caloocan, it has been the glorious emblem of
liberty. The other, a torn and tattered battle flag, its scars and tatters,
voiceless lips which tell of the devotion and valor of the Kansas sol-
diers. A generation ago, the young men of other years came home as
you are coming home, from struggle and victory, and they brought
their battle flags and placed them in the archives of the state. They
are now covered with the dust of a life's span, which in the light of
the devotion of the men who carried them in battle has the gleam of
gold. Today we will place the battle flag of the men who are putting
life's harness on with the battle flags of the men who are putting life's
harness off, and will keep them as the state's treasures, that in the
years to come they will teach lessons of the highest patriotism. The
whole state welcomes your return to civil life, the people will follow
you with prayers and devotion."
Battleship Kansas. — Toward the close of the nineteenth century, when
an agitation in favor of a larger and more powerful navy was started,
the navy department adopted the custom of naming the new battle-
ships after the states. One of the early vessels to be thus named was
the ill-fated Maine, which was blown up in the harbor of Havana, the
incident being one of the principal causes of the declaration of wnr
against Spain in the spring of 1898.
The Fiftjr-seventh Congress made appropriations for the construc-
tion of several new battleships, and on Jan. 20, 1903, the Kansas legis-
lature passed a resolution requesting the members of Congress from
the state to use their influence to have one of the new ships named
the "Kansas." An order to that effect was issued, and work on the
vessel was commenced at Camden, N. J., the following November. The
keel was laid early in 1904, and on Aug. 12, 1905, Gov. Hoch, accom-
panied by his staff and a number of prominent Kansans, visited Cam-
den to be present at the ceremony of launching. On such occasions
it is usually the custom to break a bottle of champagne or other wine
KANSAS HISTORY 1 59
against the prow of the vessel as it starts from the ways, but as Kan-
sas was known to be a prohibition state, it was decided to dispense
with the wine and use water instead. The day was warm and sultry
and the governor's staff, in full uniform, suffered from the heat during
several vexatious delays, but at 12:40 p. m. the great marine monster
began slowly to move down the incline to her watery home. Miss
Anna Hoch, the governor's daughter, who acted as sponsor, stood upon
a platform with a bottle of water from the John Brown spring in Linn
county, Kan., and at the signal she smashed the bottle against the ship's
prow, repeating the customary formula, "I christen thee Kansas" ; but
her voice was lost in the cheering that greeted the great ship as it
glided down the ways.
BATTLESHIP KANSAS.
The Kansas is 450 feet long at the load water line, the greatest
breadth is 76 feet 10 inches, and the mean draught is 24 feet 6 inches.
Her displacement is 16,000 tons, and her engines have a total horse
power of 19,545, giving her a speed of 18 knots an hour. The coal
bunkers have a capacit)'- of 2,200 tons, though 900 tons constitute the
normal supply. Altogether she carries 3,992 tons of armor, the sides
being protected by plates 9 inches in thickness, the turrets by 12-inch
armor, and the barbette by lo-inch. Her main battery consists of 24
guns, four of which are of 12-inch caliber ; eight are 8-inch, and twelve
are 7-inch, all breech-loading rifles. The secondary battery includes
twenty 3-inch rapid fire guns; twelve 3-pounder semi-automatic; two
i-pounder automatic : two 3-inch field guns, and two 30-caliber au-
tomatic. When manned by a full complement her force would con-
sist of 41 officers and 815 men. The total cost of the Kansas was $7,-
565,620, being exceeded in this respect at the time of her completion
only by the Connecticut, which cost $7,911,175.
Two gifts were made by the State of Kansas to the battleship l)ear-
ing her name. The Daughters of the American Revolution gave a fine
l60 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Stand of colors, and the legislature of 1905 appropriated $5,000 for the
purchase of a silver service, of special design. Competitive bids and
designs were submitted, the contract being finally awarded to Edward
Vail of Wichita, Kan. The silver service consisted of 35 pieces, bear-
ing appropriate designs of Kansas scenes and sunflowers. It was pre-
sented to the ship at the League Island navy yard, Philadelphia, Pa.,
June 17, 1907, by Gov. Hoch, whose speech of presentation was re-
sponded to by Capt. Charles E. Vreeland, commander of the vessel,
who claimed the State of Kansas as his home. After the presentation
the huge silver punch bowl was filled with lemonade for the refresh-
ment of the assembled guests.
The Kansas went into commission on June 18, 1907, under com-
mand of Capt. Vreeland, and was one of the four first class battleships
that went on the Pacific cruise the following December. Capt. Vree-
land was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral, and the Kansas was
placed under the command of Capt. Charles J. Badger. On Dec. i,
1910, the ship was in the second division of the Atlantic fleet, composed
of the Kansas, the Louisiana, the New Hampshire and the South Caro-
lina.
Bavaria, a village of Saline county, is located on the main line of the
Union Pacific R. R. 9 miles west of Salina, the county seat. It has
express and telegraph offices, and a money order postoffice with one
rural route. The population in 1910 was no. The place was originally
settled in 1865 by Ernst Hohneck, who later deserted it. In 1877 E. F.
Drake laid off the town of Bavaria.
Baxter Springs, an incorporated city of Cherokee county, is located
a short distance west of Spring river, at the junction of two divisions
of the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R., 11 miles southeast of Colum-
bus, the county seat, and not far from the southern boundary of the
state. The first settler was a man named Baxter, who located there
about the year 1858, when the land was known as the "Government
Strip." During the war of 1861-65, Baxter Springs was on the direct
route from Fort Scott to Fort Smith, and lying, as it does, close to the
Missouri line, it was also subject to an attack from some of the guerrilla
bands that infested the region. A military post was established there
in May, 1863, and garrisoned by the First Kansas colored infantry and
a battery commanded by Lieut. Knowles. In June the garrison was
withdrawn and the post remained unoccupied until Aug. 17, when Col.
Blair ordered Capt. John Crites' company of the Third Wisconsin
cavalry to reoccupy it. A little later Crites was reinforced by a detach-
ment of the Second Kansas colored infantry under command of Lieut.
R. E. Cook, and early in October further reinforcements were added
under Lieut. James B. Pond of the Third Wisconsin cavalry, who took
with him a 12-pound howitzer. On Oct. 4 Gen. Blunt left Fort Scott
for Fort Smith, with an escort of 100 men of the Third Wisconsin and
Fourteenth Kansas cavalry, the band and a wagon train, and about
noon of the 6th reached a point near Pond's camp at Baxter Springs.
KANSAS HISTORY IDI
Here he saw a body of mounted men advance from the timber on
Spring river and as they wore Federal uniforms he thought they were
Pond's men out on drill or to give him a reception. Capt. Tough,
Blnnt's chief of scouts, rode forward, but soon returned with the in-
■formation that the men were rebels, and that a fight was then going on
at Pond's camp.
As a matter of fact, the men seen by Blunt were some of Quantrill's
guerrillas, commanded by Ouantrill in person. Seeing that they were
recognized, the guerrillas advanced on the escort, fired a volley, and
then charged. The Union troops were outnumbered more than five to
one and fled at the first fire. Blunt succeeded in rallying 15 of his
men, and with this meager force held the enemy at bay, until noticing
a gap in the line he made a dash through it and escaped. His adjutant-
general, Maj. Curtis, attempted to cut his way through another gap,
but was killed. Britton, in his "Civil War on the Border," says : "In
many instances where the soldiers were closely pursued, they were told
that if they would surrender they would be treated as prisoners of
war; but in every case the moment they surrendered and were dis-
armed, they were shot down, sometimes even with their (iwn arms in
the hands of the bandits."
A short time before this unhappy afifair, which is known as the Bax-
ter Springs massacre, Pond's camp had been attacked by the guerrillas
while 60 of his picked men were absent on a foraging expedition. Lieut.
Pond managed to work the howitzer by himself, and the fact that the
camp was supplied with artillery doubtless deterred Ouantrill from
charging and capturing the entire force then in the garrison.
In 1865, after the war was over, two men named Armstrong and
Davis built a house on the site of Baxter Springs, and the next yeat
a town was laid out on 80 acres by Capt. M. Mann and J. J. Barnes.
Soon after this A. F. Powell opened a store, and when Baxter Springs
became the outlet for the Texas cattle trade, the town took on all the
appearances of prosperity. But the cattle trade brought to the place
a number of notorious characters, and Baxter Springs quickly won the
distinction of being a "wide open" town. The late Eugene F. Ware,
in one of the Kansas Historical Collections, says "it was the toughest
town on earth." In Nov., 1867, it was made the county seat of Chero-
kee county, but the following summer, while the Cherokee Neutral
Lands were in dispute, James F. Joy, who had purchased the lands, and
Congressman Grinnell of Iowa visited Baxter Springs, and the citizens
at a meeting adopted resolutions declaring they were satisfied with
the plan proposed by Joy in dealing with the settlers on the lands.
This oflfended many citizens of the county, and at an election the fol-
lowing February (1869) a majority of the people voted to remove the
seat of justice to Columbus. In the meantime Baxter Springs had
voted bonds for something like $200,000 to aid railroad companies, etc.,
and this led a number of the citizens to leave the place. Added to this,
the outlet of the cattle trade was removed farther west and the boom
(I-ii)
1 62 CYCLOPEDIA OF
was over. For several years Baxter Springs made but little progress,
but in Sept., 1873, rich lead deposits were discovered in the vicinity
and again the town began to grow, this time in a permanent and sub-
stantial manner.
The Baxter Springs of the present day has an electric lighting plant,
waterworks, two banks, two weekly newspapers, an international money
order postoffice from which five rural routes emanate, flour mills, hotels,
planing mills, a telephone exchange, telegraph and express offices, a
large retail trade, and in 1910 had a population of 1,598.
In 1885 Congress appropriated $5,000 for a national cemetery about
a mile west of the town, where the victims of the massacre of 1863 are
buried.
Bayard, one of the minor villages of Allen county, is a station on
the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R. in the northeast part of the coun-
ty, some 15 miles from Tola, the county seat. It has a money order
postoffice with one rural route, an express office, some mercantile in-
terests, and is a shipping point for the surrounding agricultural dis-
trict. The population in 1910 was reported as 50.
Ba3meville, a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R. in Ohio township,
Sedgwick county, is 12 miles southwest of Wichita. It has a money
order postoffice with one rural route, express and telegraph offices, some
retail trade, arid is a shipping point of some importance.
Bazaar, a village of Chase county, is the southern terminus of a
branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. that runs to Strong
City. It is 10 miles south of Cottonwood Falls, the county seat, has
a money order postoffice, express and telegraph offices, some retail
stores, and in 1910 reported a population of 75.
Bazine, a village of Ness county, is a station on the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe R. R. 11 miles east of Ness City, the county seat. It has
a money order postoffice with one rural route, an express office, tele-
phone connection, and is a trading and shipping point for the neigh-
borhood. The population in 1910 was 125.
Eagle, a village in the southwestern part of Miami county, is on
the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R. about 15 miles southwest of Paola,
the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, telegraph and ex-
press offices and a good local retail trade. In 1910 the population,
according to the U. S. census, was 180.
Beale's Expedition. — Edward F. Beale was born at Washington, D.
C, Feb. 4, 1822. At an early age he entered the United States navy
and saw his first active service with Commodore Stockton on the Pa-
cific coast during the Mexican war. At the close of the war he re-
signed his commission in the navy and was made superintendent of
Indian affairs in California and New Mexico. In 1853 he led an ex-
pedition to explore the central route to the Pacific coast. Leaving
Westport, Mo., in May of that year, with 12 riflemen, he went first
to Council Grove. From there he passed up the Arkansas river to the
mouth of the Huerfano, aj^out 20 miles east of the present city of
KANSAS HISTORY 163
Pueblo, Col., thence to the San Luis valley, and from there to the
coast. A full report of the expedition was written by Gwynn H. ?Ieap,
one of the party, and published in 1854.
Beardsley, a money order post-village of Rawlins county, with a
population of 50 in 1910, is a station on the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy R. R. 10 miles west of Atwood, the county seat. It is a supply
point for the neighborhood and does some shipping of grain and live
stock.
Beattie, a village of Marshall county, is located in Guittard town-
ship, 15 miles east of Marysville, the county seat, on a branch of the
Vermillion river and on the St. Joseph & Grand Island R. R. It has
banking facilities, a newspaper, telegraph and express offices, churches
and schools, and a money order postoffice with two rural mail routes.
The population in 1910 was 500. The neighborhood about Beattie was
settled prior to 1865 by Hugh Hamilton, H. G. Smith, Eli Goldsberry,
E. Cain, J. Trotten, G. Thorne, James Fitzgerald and P. Jones. The
town was laid out in 1870 by the North Kansas Land and Town com-
pany of St. Joseph, Mo., on land owned by James Fitzgerald and John
Watkins. The original town site consisted of 160 acres, and the town
was named Beattie in honor of Flon. A. Beattie, then mayor of St.
Joseph, Mo. The postoffice was established in 1871, and the first store
was built by L. Brunswick in 1872.
Beaumont, a village of Butler county, is situated in Glencoe town-
ship, about 20 miles southeast of Eldorado, the county seat. It is a
station on the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R., has a money order
postoffice, telegraph and express offices, telephone connection, and is
a shipping and supply point for a rich agricultural district in the east-
ern part, of Butler and the southwest corner of Greenwood counties.
The population in 1910 was 200.
Beaver, a hamlet of Sheridan county, is located in the southeastern
part of the valley of the Saline river, and receives mail by rural de-
livery from Ouinter, which is the nearest railroad station.
Beaver Creek. — There are four streams in Kansas that bear this
name. The first flows in a southeasterly direction through Clark coun-
ty and empties into the Arkansas river : the second rises in the north-
ern part of Barton county and flows north to the Smoky Hill river ;
the third flows south across the western part of Smith county and
empties into the Solomon river near the town of Gaylord ; and the
fourth and largest is composed of two forks, one of which rises in
Sherman and the other in Cheyenne county. They unite near the town
of Atwood, Rawlins county, from which point the main stream follows
a northeasterly course and empties into the Republican river at Or-
leans, Neb. This last named Beaver creek was so named by James
R. Mead's exploring party in 1859 on account of the large number of
beaver dams along its course.
During the Indian troubles in the summer of 1867, the Eighteenth
Kansas left Fort Hays on Aug. 20 for the headwaters of the Solomon
164 CYCLOPEDIA OF
and Republican rivers. On the evening of the 21st Capt. Jenness of
Company C was sent out with a detachment to ascertain the cause of
a light seen at some distance across the prairie. He found the remains
of an old Indian camp fire, but in attempting to return to the main
body he became confused in the darkness, and finally decided to
bivouac on the open prairie. Early the next morning he reached the
river, about 8 miles below the camp. According to a published ac-
count by Capt. Jenness, the command was then some 85 miles north
west of Fort Hays. Upon reaching the river he pushed on toward
the main body, but after going about 3 miles his detachment was at-
tacked by a large body of Indians. Forming a hollow square, he man-
aged to hold the savages at bay. His men were armed with Spencer
repeating carbines and each man carried 200 rounds of ammunition, so
they were well equipped in this respect for a heroic defense. After a
short skirmish Capt. Jenness again began to move up the river toward
the camp, but after going half a mile saw more Indians. He then
returned to the river and threw up a breastwork of driftwood and
loose stones, behind which his little band fought valiantly for three
hours. All the horses except 4 were either killed or wounded ; 2 of the
men were mortally and 12 seriously wounded, and the detachment with-
drew to a ravine, where thev found water and remained under cover
of the willows and banks of the ravine until dark. The Indians then
drew* ofif and Jenness and his men, under the guidance of a scout, fol-
lowed a bufifalo path for 5 or 6 miles until they came to the river. The
Indians renewed the attack the next morning, but the main command
came to Jenness' rescue. This affair is known as the battle of Beaver
creek.
In Jenness' narrative the exact location of the action is not given.
Some years after the event, James A. Hadley, a corporal of Company
A, published an account of the engagment in the Farm and Home
Sentinel of Indianapolis, Ind. The locahties mentioned by Corporal
Hadley were given by A. J. Pliley, the famous scout, who locates the
scene on Prairie Dog creek in the northwestern part of Phillips county.
Beaverview, a post-village of Rawlins county, is located on Beaver
creek, about 18 miles southwest of Atwood, the county seat, and .12
miles southeast of McDonald, which is the nearest railroad station.
Beckwourth, James, hunter, trapper and scout, was a mulatto of great
physical strength who came west with Gen. Ashley in 1825 and won
considerable reputation as a trader and Indian fighter, finally becoming
chief of the Crow tribe. Parkman says he was "bloody and treacherous,
without honor or honest3^" but the Bent brothers and Kit Carson, who
knew him better than Parkman, say he was one of the most honest
of Indian traders. In the days of the argonauts he lived in California,
where 'he wrote his autobiography, which was published about 1855.
During the Mexican war he carried messages for Gen. Kearney, riding
alone through the hostile Indian country from Bent's fort on the Arkan-
sas to Fort Leavenworth. For awhile he was associated with the cele-
KANSAS HISTORY 1 65
brated Jim Bridger in piloting trains across the plains. He trapped
and traded along the Arkansas river, and in no small degree contributed
toward bringing the present State of Kansas under the dominion of
the white race.
Beebe, George M., the last secretary and acting governor of Kansas
Territory, was born at New Vernon, N. Y., Oct. 28, 1836. He received
an academic education, and in 1857 graduated at the Albany Law
School. In the spring of 1859 he came to Kansas, located in Doniphan
county, and in November of that year he was elected a member of the
council in the territorial legislature. He was therefore a member of
the legislature which met at Lecompton on Jan. 2, i860, and which
passed the bill abolishing slavery in Kansas. On May i, i860, he was
appointed territorial secretary, to succeed Hugh S. Walsh, and en-
tered upon his duties on July i. When Gov. Medary resigned on Dec.
17, i860, Mr. Beebe became acting governor and continued to act in
that capacity until the state government was inaugrated on Feb. 9,
1861, when he was succeeded by Gov. Robinson. In 1863 Mr. Beebe
removed to Nevada, where he was appointed collector of internal
revenue, but declined. He then went back to New York and became
the editor of the Republican Watchman, published at Monticello. In
1874 he was elected to Congress as a Democrat, and was reelected in
1876. The Kansas State Historical Society has made several efforts
to get into correspondence with Mr. Beebe, but for some reason he has
persistently declined to answer the letters.
Beebe's Administration. — The story of Gov. Beebe's administration
is soon told. When Gov. Medary went to Ohio on Sept. 11, i860, Mr.
Beebe became acting governor and served as such until Nov. 25, when
the governor returned. The records do not show that much of a strat-
ling or unusual nature occurred during this period. For some time there
had been trouble between the free-state and pro-slavery settlers in
Linn and Bourbon counties, and about the middle of November, fear-
ing another outbreak of hostilities, Mr. Beebe ordered Adjt.-Gen. Strick-
ler, on the 19th, "to take immediate steps to ascertain what force of
infantry, if any, either of the militia of the territory or of volunteer
companies, can be put into service, if necessary, within one week from
the date hereof."
On the same day he wrote to Gen. Harney, at St. Louis, asking that
the 200 infantry at Fort Leavenworth be placed subject to the order
of the governor of the territory. After the return of Gov. Medary,
Mr. Beebe wrote to President Buchanan, under date of Nov. 26, giving
an account of the recent disturbance in Bourbon county. "These men,"
said he, "under the lead of a notorious offender, one James Montgom-
ery, assisted by a desperate character named Jennison, . . .
threatened to break up a special term of the United States district
court called to meet at Fort Scott on the 19th inst. for the trial of cer-
tain of their number, charged with ofifenses against the L^nited States.
and kill Presiding Justice Williams, the marshal and his deputies, and
all interposing resistance, and destroy the town of Fort Scott."
1 66
CYCLOPEDIA OF
Upon learning of these threats, Mr. Beebe, accompanied by Adjt.-
Gen. Strickler, had visited Fort Scott and found that Judge Williams
had abandoned the idea of trying to hold the special term of court.
In his letter to the president Beebe states that he met Montgomery
and Jennison, who finally agreed to disband their men, but a few days
later they were at their old tricks. He suggested that the governor
issue a proclamation declaring martial law in that part of the territory,
and that a force of at least 300 dragoons should be sent there to main-
tain order.
When Gov. Medary resigned on Dec. 17, i860, Mr. Beebe again be-
came acting governor. On the 21st he wrote to the president: "The
legislative assembly of this territory convenes on the 7th prox. If it
is the purpose of your excellency to appoint a successor to Gov. Medary,
I would respectfully request that you cause me to be so advised, as
in such event I do not desire to occupy any time in preparing, in an
executive capacity, for the coming legislature."
The Wyandotte constitution, in defining the boundaries of the pro-
posed State of Kansas, had cut off all that portion of the territory
lying west of the 102nd meridian of longitude. The country west of
that meridian was known as the "Pike's Peak region," and Mr. Beebe
requested the president that, in the event of the admission of Kansas
and the establishment of a new territory farther west, to appoint him
to the same position in that territory he then held in Kansas.
The legislature met at Lecompton on Jan. 7, 1861. W. W. Upde-
grafif was for a third time chosen president of the council, and John
W. Scott was elected speaker of the house. On the 8th both houses
voted to adjourn to Lawrence, where they met on the next day. As
no successor to Gov. Medary had been appointed, it devolved upon Mr.
Eeebe to submit a message to the assembly, which he did on the loth.
His message is interesting, in that it presents some figures relating
to the property values and financial condition of the territory. He re-
ported the territorial indebtedness as being $96,143.58, while the re-
sources from taxes due and unpaid amounted to about $104,000, though
he expressed the opinion that nqt more than $30,000 of this could be
collected "without some special and direct action taken for the ex-
press purpose." The value of the taxable property of the territory he
estimated at $28,000,000.
Mr. Beebe pointed out, in a rather laconic manner, the folly of in-
corporating so many town companies. He stated that in 38 counties
there were 135,328 town lots, or more than two for each inhabitant,
and significantly asks: "May not a reasonable apprehension be en-
tertained, unless something be soon done to stop this mania for town
speculation, that there will, ere long, be no lands left for farms in the
territory ?"
Mr. Beebe recommended a revision of the election laws, especially
the registry provisions; the repeal of the law abolishing slavery in
the territory ; some thorough system of organizing counties and town-
KANSAS HISTORY 167
ships; and the repeal of the law regulating the sale of intoxicating
liquors, or the enactment of a law of that character that would be in-
telligible.
After dwelling at length upon the discord between the North and
South on the question of slavery, he closed his message by saying:
"But if nothing can be done — if this worst must come — having been
made the wand with which the magicians of Evil have aroused the
elements, it may not be expected Kansas can stand an idle watcher of
the storm. Intimately identified as her interests are with the per-
petuity, progress and prosperity of that Union of States into which
she has hoped soon to enter and take her equal place — while she could
not witness a dissolution with feelings other than of deepest anguish
— if God, in His wrath, shall tolerate the worst portent of this tempest
of passion, now so fiercely raging, Kansas ought, and I trust will —
declining identification with either branch of a contending family,
tendering to each alike the olive ofifering — establish, under a constitu-
tion of her own creation, a government to be separate and independent
among the nations."
This was the last session of the territorial legislature. Few impor-
tant laws were passed, the most noteworthy being the acts fixing the
number of employees of each house of the legislature and their salaries,
and declaring illegal the bonds issued in payment of claims for losses
sustained during the border war. The acts of this legislature were
afterward declared valid by the state courts. (See Robinson's Admin-
istration.) On Feb. 2, 1861, the assembly adjourned, and just a week
later the state government was inaugurated.
Beecher Rifle Church. — On May 31, 1857, the settlers in and about
the village of Wabaunsee, the most of whom were members of the New
Haven colony, held a meeting for the ultimate purpose of forming a
church organization. At this meeting resolutions were adopted recog-
nizing the expediency of organizing a Congregational church. Com-
mittees were appointed to attend to the preliminary matters and to
obtain the names of those willing to unite in organizing a church, such
organization to take place on the last Sunday in June. On June 21
it was resolved to set apart Saturday, June 27, as "a day of fasting
and prayer," and that seven persons, then present, having letters from
other churches, should constitute the nucleus of the proposed church.
On the day appointed the brethren and sisters gathered in a ravine
on the east side of the Wabaunsee townsite, where they were undis-
turbed by the noise and clatter of the village, and devoted all this day
and the forenoon of the following one to the organization of a church
which, as stipulated beforehand, was to be Congregational in form,
as unsectarian as possible, and was to be known as "The First Church
of Christ in Wabaunsee." A council of neighboring churches had been
called to recognize the new church, but the Manhattan church was
the only one to respond. It was therefore deemed expedient to organ-
ize a council, which was done, and Rev. S. Y. Lum, who preached the
l68 CYCLOPEDIA OF
first sermon in Kansas, in 1854, delivered the one on this occasion, and
Rev. C. E. Blood, of Manhattan, gave the fellowship of the churches,
and the Wabaunsee church was launched.
As long as Beecher lived he took an active interest in the Wabaunsee
colony, and it was the custom of the colonists at each annual meeting of
the church to read his letter which accompanied the rifles, "Let these
arms hang above your doors as the old Revolutionary muskets do in
many New England homes. May your children in another generation
look upon them with pride and say 'Our fathers' courage saved this fair
land from slaver}^ and blood.' Every mornings' breeze shall catch the
blessings of our prayers and roll them westward to your prairie homes.
May your sons be large-hearted as the heavens above your heads ; may
your daughters fill the land as the flowers do the prairies, only sweeter
and fairer than they. You will not need to use arms when it is known
that you have them. It is the essence of slavery to be arrogant before
the weak and cowardly before the strong."
Rev. Harvey Jones was the first pastor of this church organization
and served for nearly three years, holding the early meetings in a tent.
A temporary church was shortly after erected and plans discussed for
a suitable stone building of sufficient capacity for the needs of the com-
munity. After your years of eiTort the present building was dedicated
on May 24, 1862, the General Association of Kansas Congregational
churches meeting with the church at this time, and taking a recess to
dedicate the new church. During the early days of the church it re-
ceived support from various church societies, but in less than ten years
from its organization it became self-supporting. In i860 it reported the
largest membership of any church in Kansas, having one more than the
Lawrence and eleven more than the Topeka churches. On June 29, 1897,
the fortieth anniversary of the church was fittingly observed, and on
June 27 and 28, 1907, the fiftieth anniversary was made the occasion of
a great celebration, during which an elaborate program was carried out.
Hundreds of visitors were in attendance and the semi-centennial of this
famous pioneer church was made a memorable one.
Beecher Rifle Company. — Early in the fall of 1855, two residents of
New Flaven, Conn., a Mr. Russell and a Mr. English, commenced enlist-
ing a party of northern men to go to Kansas to settle and help make it
a free state. Winter set in before the company could be organized and
the project was abandoned until the following spring. On Feb. 7, 1856,
Charles B. Lines, of New Haven, announced at a public meeting that
he was making preparations for carrying out the proposed plan. The
next day men began enlisting and in less than a week 85 names were
subscribed, which was increased to 90 by March 7. Mr. Lines was
made president of the colony for the first year. A few days before start-
ing for Kansas a meeting of the colonists and other New Haven citizens
was held in the North church, where Rev. Henry Ward Beecher de-
livered a stirring address. At the conclusion of this address Mr. Lines,
as president of the new colony gave a short talk, explaining the origin.
KANSAS HISTORY 169
aim and purpose of the company, and reminding the audience that no
provision had yet been made for furnishing the colonists with weapons,
and explaining why there was a necessity for calling upon the public
to arm them. Prof. Benjamin Silliman, president of Yale College, was
the first one to respond to the appeal, heading a subscription list for one
Sharp's rifle. Similar subscriptions then came fast. Rev. Mr. Button,
pastor of the church in which the meeting was being held, then made
a statement that Deacon Harvey Hale of his church was a member of
the proposed colony, and as his pastor he desired to present him a Bible
and a Sharp's rifle. Beecher then made another ringing talk, pledging
25 rifles from his congregation if a like number was raised in New
Haven. The meeting closed with 27 rifles assured to the colony. On
the evening of March 31 a farewell meeting to the colonists was held, in
which a letter from Mr. Beecher to Mr. Lines was read, in which Beecher
presented a number of Bibles in the name of one of his parishioners and
25 Sharp's rifles in behalf of several others. At the close of the meet-
ing the members of the colony were escorted to the boat by the Elm
City Guards and the Croton Engine Co. No. I.
A cooperative organization was formed while on the way west, and
on their arrival at St. Louis such garden and other tools as were needed
were secured and brought with them on the steamboat Clara to Kansas
City, where John J. Walter, E. Dwight Street, T. C. P. Hyde, Amos A.
Cottrell and Walter Webb were chosen to push on ahead in search for
a suitable location. The remainder of the colonists, having seciu'ed
wagons and ox teams, pushed on, reaching Lawrence the second day,
where they remained for two or three days, being rejoined while here
by those who had been seeking a location. The site of Wabaunsee being
reported favorably to the colonists, the selection was ratified and on
April 28, 1856, the colony reached its destination. Of the original num-
ber who started from New Haven, twenty never reached Kansas at all,
and a number of others who did come, from some reason or other, left
shortly after coming. Forty-one of the original number stuck it out
and formed the nucleus of the rifle company that was soon formed under
the name of the "Prairie Guards." William Mitchell was chosen captain
of the company, which embraced the members of the colony, who were
supplied with Sharp's rifles, and some of the surrounding settlers, the
organization numbering about 60 men. This rifle company saw active
service in Kansas shortly after coming to the territory, volunteering to
assist in the defense of Lawrence from an attack of border rufiians from
Missouri. A few of the original colonists are living in 191 1, but the
good they accomplished will live after them.
Beecher's Island. — (See Arickaree, Battle of.)
Beeler, one of the minor villages of Ness county, is located in Eden
township and is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 17
miles west of Ness City, the county seat. It has a money order post-
office, an express office, telephone connection, Protestant churches, a
school, and is a trading and shipping point for the western part of the
county. The population in 1910 was 75.
170 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Bellaire, a thriving little town of Smith county, is located in Blaine
township and is a station on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R.
6 miles east of Smith Center, the county seat. It has a bank, a money
order postoffice with t\vo rural routes, telephone connection, telegraph
and express offices, Methodist Episcopal and Methodist Protestant
churches, a good retail trade, and in 1910 reported a poulation of 200.
Bellefont, a village of Wheatland township, Ford county, is a station
on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 22 miles east of Dodge City,
the county seat. The population was 40 in 1910. It has a money order
postoffice with one rural delivery route, and is a shipping and supply
point for that section of the county.
Belle Plaine, an incorporated city of the third class in Sumner county,
is located on the Ninnescah river at the junction of the Missouri Pacihc
and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads, 12 miles northeast of
Wellington, the county seat. The population in igio was 849, a gain
of 298 during the preceding ten years. Belle Plaine has two banks, a
weekly newspaper (the News), good public schools, flour and planing
mills, churches of the leading Protestant denominations, an opera house,
telegraph and express offices, a telephone exchange, and is an important
shipping point and trading center. From its international money order
postoffice three rural delivery routes supply mail to the surrounding
country.
Belleville, the county seat of Republic county, is located a little east
of the center of the county and is an important railroad center and
shipping point, having three lines of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific
system and one line of the Union Pacific system. The population in
1910 was 2,224. All business activities and professions are represented
in the business directory. There are banks, flour mills, grain elevators,
creameries, mercantile houses and newspapers. It has good graded and
high schools, all denominations of churches, telegraph and express
offices, and an international money order postoffice from which eminate
five rural routes. The* county buildings include a $25,000 court-house
and an $11,000 jail.
Belleville is beautifully situated on a gently rolling upland in the
midst of a rich and prosperous farming country. The main articles of
export are grain, live-stock and creamery products. The town was -es-
tablished on Sept. 25, 1869, with the following charter members of the
company, James E. VanNatta, A. B. Tutton, W. A. Means,, J. H. Print.
T. C. Reily, W. H. H. Reily, W. A. Dugger, John McFarlane, John Har-
ris, G. H. Jackson and N. T. A^anNatta. A "town house" was built by
the company on the northwest quarter of section 2, town 3 south, range
3 west, in which a general store was kept. The upper floor was used
as a public hall. The place was named Belleville after Arabelle Tutton,
the wife of A. B. Tutton. It was incorporated as a city of the third
class in 1878, and the first election, held on Jan. 26 of that year, resulted
as follows: Mayor, W. H. Woodward; police judge, William Haskett ;
councilmen, Chauncy Perry, Edwin Knowles, Daniel Miller, Ed. E.
KANSAS HISTORY I7I
Chapman and F. N. Munger. The officers appointed were, city marshal,
Willis C. Allen; city attorney, A. E. Taylor; city clerk, Charles H.
Smith; city treasurer, Columbus Taylor; street commissioner, W. C.
Alien.
Ey ^^73 Belleville had become quite an important business center.
The main stage thoroughfare from Hanover, Mo., connecting v^rith St.
Joseph, Mo., and Denver, Col., and with the Central branch from Water-
ville, passed through Belleville, and stages ran daily. A number of sub-
stantial business structures had been built and the improvements in-
cluded city waterworks. As early as 1888 the enterprising citizens of the
town convinced the state authorities that Belleville was of sufficient
size to be a city of the second class and it was made such. For many
years this little city was a gateway to the homestead country, to the
settlement of which it owes much of its present growth and prosperity.
Belmont, a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R. in Kingman county,
is located 12 miles southeast of Kingman, the county seat. It has a
money order postoffice, an express office, a public school, some retail
trade and in 1910 reported a population of 150.
Beloit, the county seat and largest town of Mitchell county, is located
northeast of the center of the county, on the Solomon river and at the
junction of the Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific railroads. It has an
altitude of 1,381 feet and is 162 miles from Topeka. It has an electric
light plant, water works, public library, an opera house, two daily and
three weekly newspapers, 3 banks, and all lines of business activity. The
state industrial school for girls is located here. Beloit is supplied with
telegraph and express offices and an international money order post-
office with 8 rural routes. The population in 1910 was 3,082.
The first settlement here was made by A. A. Bell in 1868, with the
idea of improving the water power. It was first called Willow Springs.
The next year T. F. Hersey purchased the mill site from Mr. Bell, put
up a saw mill in 1870 and a grist mill the next season. A school build-
ing was erected in 1871 and Rev. O. N. Fletcher, the preacher of Ash-
ville, took charge of the school which was the first in the county. In
1870 Beloit was made the county seat and has remained so ever since.
The plat of the site was made in 1872. The promoters were T. F. Her-
sey, A. A. Bell, George Campbell, Alexander Campbell, C. H. Morrill,
Edward Valentine, W. C. Ingram and Daniel Kepler. In July of that
year it was incorporated as a city of the third class and in 1879 Gov.
St. John proclaimed it a city of the second class. At the first city elec-
tion the following officers were chosen: T. F. Hersey, mayor; W. C. In-
gram, M. R. Mudge, H. H. Lyon, Joseph Baughman and J. R. Vaughn,
councilmen. The town was growing very rapidly at this time. As each
building went up and became ready for occupan}' a dance was held in
it first, then a religious meeting, after which it was turned over to the
owner for his use. The postoffice was established in 1870 with A. A.
Bell as postmaster. The first newspaper was the Mirror, established
in 1871 by A. B. Cornell. The first bank was opened in 1873 by F. H.
Hart.
172 CVCLOI EDI A OF
Belpre, an incorporated city of the third class in Edwards county, is
situated in the township of the same name, and is a station on the Atchi-
son, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 17 miles east of Kinsley, the county seat.
It has a bank, a weekly newspaper (the Bulletin), a good retail trade, a
money order postofifice that is authorized to issue international orders,
telegraph and express offices, telephone connection with the adjacent
towns and cities, and does considerable shipping. Belpre was incor-
porated in 1906 and in 1910 the population was 485.
Belvidere, a village of Glick township, Kiowa county, is located at
the junction of two divisions of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe rail-
way system, about 18 miles southeast of Greensburg, the county seat.
It has a money order postofifice, telegraph and express offices, telephone
connection with the surrounding country, and in 1910 had a population
of 30. Its railroad facilities make it an important shipping point.
Belvoir, one of the old settlements of Kansas, is located in Douglas
county about 13 miles southwest of Lawrence, in the valley of the
Wakarusa river. The town site was laid out on the old Santa Fe trail
(q. V.) in 1855, ^"d the following year the Catholic church was estab-
lished. Several houses were built and a tavern was erected for the
accommodation of travelers going west. On account of the proximity
of Belvoir to Twin Mound, no postofifice was established until 1868. The
village has rural free delivery from Richland, the nearest railroad town,
and in 1910 had a population of 30.
Belvue, a'village of Pottawatomie county, is located in Belvue town-
ship on the main line of the Union Pacific R. R., 25 miles southeast of
Westmoreland, the county seat. It has banking facilities and all the
main lines of business activity, a money order postofifice with two rural
rotites, telegraph and express ofifices, and the population in 1910 was
200. The town was laid out in 1871 by A. J. Baker and Malcolm
Gregory:
Beman, a little hamlet on one of the tributaries of the Neosho river
in the northeast corner of Morris county, is about 13 miles from Council
Grove, from which place the inhabitants receive mail by rural free de-
livery. Alta Vista is the most convenient railroad station.
Bendena, one of the villages of Doniphan county, is located in Wolf
River township, on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 7 miles
south of Troy, the county seat. It has a bank, express and telegraph
ofifices, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The popula-
tion in 1910 was 150. This town was established in 1886 and for a time
called Albers in honor of John Albers, a pioneer of the neighborhood.
When the postofifice was established the name was changed to Bendena.
In 1861 Miss Strode taught one of the early schools of the county on the
site of the town. The only furniture in the room was rude benches
fastened to the wall.
Bender Family. — About the close of the year 1870 a family of Hol-
landers, or Germans, consisting of four persons — father, mother, son,
and daughter — moved into Osage township, Labette cotmty. The father
was William Bender, and the son and daughter were John and Kate.
KANSAS HISTORY 173
They erected a small frame house, which was divided into two parts
by studding, on which hung an old wagon-sheet for a partition. In the
front part they had a few articles for sale, such as tobacco, crackers, sar-
dines, candies, powder and shot, and just outside the door was a plain
sign, "Groceries." In the front room were also two beds. The family
pretended to furnish lunch and entertainment for travelers. Little was
known of them generall}', and they repelled rather than invited com-
munication with their neighbors. Kate traveled over the country some-
what, giving spiritualistic lectures and like entertainments, but created
very little stir or comment. The two young people occasionally went
to church and singing school, and the men frequently attended public
meetings in the township. The place was on the road, as then traveled,
from Osage Mission to Independence.
During 1871 and 1872, several parties traveled the road, making in-
quiries for persons who were missing, and who had last been heard of
at Fort Scott or Independence. A public meeting was held at Harmony
Grove schoolhouse to discuss the herd law, about March 10, 1873, when
the matter of so many people being missing and the fact that suspicion
rested upon the people of Osage township were discussed. It was de-
cided that a vigorous search should be made under the sanction of a
search-warrant. Both of the male Benders were present, but when oth-
ers expressed a willingness to have their premises searched the father
and son remained silent. About ten days before this meeting Dr. Wil-
liam York had left his home in Onion creek, Alontgomery count}-, in
search of a man and child by the name of Loucher, who had left Inde-
pendence for Iowa during the previous winter and had never thereafter
been heard of by their friends. Dr. York reached Fort Scott and started
to return about March 8, but never reached home. In the early part of
April, Col. A. M. York, with some 50 citizens from Montgomery county,
started from Independence to make a thorough search for his brother.
They went as far as Fort Scott, but could get no clue to the missing
man. On their return thej' visited the Bender place and tried to induce
Kate, who professed to be a clairvoyant, to make an effort to help dis-
cover the doctor. But Kate was able to elude their efforts without
throwing any suspicion on herself. That night the Bender family left
the place and went to Thayer, where they purchased tickets to Hum-
boldt and took the north-bound train at 5 o'clock on the following morn-
ing. A day or two thereafter their team was found hitched a short dis-
tance from Thayer, apparently nearly starved.
It was about May i that a man passing the Bender place noticed the
stock wandering around as though wanting care. On going to the stable
he found the team gone, and a calf dead in a pen, evidently having
starved to death. He then went to the house, but found no one there.
He notified the township trustee, who, with other parties, went to the
premises and broke into the house, where they found nearly everything
in usual order, little if anything aside from clothing and bed-clothing
having been taken. A sickening stench almost drove them from the
CYCLOPEDIA OF
house. A trap-door in the back room was raised, and it was discovered
that in a hole beneath was clotted blood which produced the stench. The
liouse was removed from where it stood, but nothing further was found
under it. In a garden near by a depression was noticed, and upon dig-
ging therein the body of Dr. York was found buried, head downward,
his feet being scarcely covered. His skull was crushed and his throat
was cut from ear to ear. On further search seven more bodies were
found, all of whom, except one, were afterward identified by their friends.
They were Mr. Loucher and his little daughter, seven or eight years ola,
buried in one hole; William Boyle, and three men named McCratty,
Brown, and McKenzie. The other body was never identified, and it is
altogether probable that other parties were murdered and their bodies
never found.
It seems that in the back room of the house, almost up against the
partition studding, a hole just large enough to let a man through had
been cut in the floor, the door to which raised with a leather strap.
Under this an excavation had been made in the ground, leaving a hole
some 6 or 7 feet in diameter and about the same in depth. It is sup-
posed that when a victim was killed in the daytime he was thrown into
this hole until night, when he would be taken out and buried. From
the victims the Benders seem to have procured, so far as could be ascer-
tained, about $4,600 in money, two teams of horses and wagons, a pony
and a saddle. The Benders made good their escape and were never ap-
prehended, although detectives thought they were able to trace their
wanderings through Texas and New Mexico. Parties supposed to be
the Benders were apprehended in many parts of the country and several
were brought to Labette county for identification, but they proved to
have little if any resemblance to the persons sought. Two women, sup-
posed to be Mrs. Bender and Kate, were arrested in Michigan in 1S90,
and brought to Labette county on requisition, but on habeas corpus pro-
ceedings they were released, the court being satisfied that they were not
the Benders, and these horrible crimes remain unavenged.
Benedict, an incorporated town of Wilson county, is located on the
Verdigris river in Guilford township, 8 miles northeast of Fredonia, the
county seat, and at the junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and
the Missouri Pacific railroads. It has a bank, telegraph and express of-
fices, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population
in 1910 was 215. The town was surveyed about the time the Missouri Pa-
. cific and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads were built through
this county. Substantial iron bridges were built over the Verdigris at
this point in 1887, and a $4,000 school house was erected. The Wilson
county old settlers society was organized at Benedict in 1897. The town
was piped for gas in 1898.
Bennington, one of the incorporated towns of Ottawa county, is lo-
cated on the Union Pacific R. R. and on the Solomon river, in Benning-
ton township, 9 miles southeast of Minneapolis, the county seat. It has
two banks, an opera house, two grain elevators, flour mill and a weekly
KANSAS HISTORY • 175
newspaper, as well as all the main lines of business. There are tele-
graph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with two rural
routes. The population in 1910 was 386. The community was settled
in 1870 and a store opened in 1873 by George Parker. When the rail-
road was built in 1878 the town was laid out. The promoters were Dan-
iel Struble and C. Nelson. An iron bridge was built over the Solomon
at a cost of $4,500; Markley Bros, put up a flour and saw mill run b}'
water power at a cost of $20,000, and in 1880 a $2,000 school house was
built.
Benson, Alfred W., lawyer and United States senator, was born in
Chautauqua county, N. Y., July 15, 1843, ^ son of Peleg and Hannah
(Washburn) Benson. He received an academic education at James-
town and Randolph in his native state, and in 1862 enlisted as a private
in the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth New York regiment ; was severely
wounded at the battle of Chancellorsville, and at the close of the war
was mustered out with the rank of major. In 1866 he was admitted to
the bar at Buffalo, N. Y., and in 1869 removed to Kansas, locating at
Ottawa. On May 10, 1870, he married Miss Unettie L. Townsend of
Manchester, Vt. Mr. Benson served for four years as a member of the
Kansas state senate; was district judge from 1885 to 1897, and on June
II, 1906, was appointed United States senator to fill the vacancy caused
by the resignation of Joseph R. Burton. On Aug. i, 1907, Gov. Hoch
appointed Mr. Benson one of the associate justices of the Kansas su-
preme court to complete the unexpired term of Adrian L. Greene, de-
ceased, and upon retiring from the supreme bench he resumed the prac-
tice of law.
Bentley, a town of Sedgwick count}^ is located near the Arkansas
river in Eagle township, and is a station on the St. Louis & San Fran-
cisco R. R., about 20 miles northwest of Wichita. It has a bank, a
weekly newspaper (the News), a money order postoffice, telegraph and
express service, telephone connection, and is the principal trading and
shipping point for that section of the county. The population in 1910
was 200.
Benton, a town of Benton township, Butler county, is a station on
the Missouri Pacific R. R. 14 miles southwest of Eldorado, the county
seat, and not far from the Sedgwick county line. It was settled in 1884.
incorporated in 1908, and in 1910 had ,a population of 240. Benton has
a bank, a money order postoffice with two rural delivery routes,. express
and telegraph offices, telephone connections, a number of well appointed
mercantile establishments, Methodist, Christian and Presbyterian
churches, good public schools, and is a shipping point of considerable
importance.
Bent's Fort. — (See Fort Lyon.)
Berlin, a hamlet of Bourbon county, is located 15 miles northwest of
Fort Scott, the county seat. It has rural free delivery from Uniontown
and in 1910 had a population of 15. Devon, on the Missouri Pacific, is
the nearest railroad station.
176 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Bern, a village of Nemaha county, is located in Washington township
on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 14 miles northeast of
Seneca. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper (the Gazette), express and
telegraph offices and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The
population in 1910 was 375.
Bernal, a money order postoffice of Reno county, is situated in Lin-
coln township, and is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 7 miles
south of Hutchinson. The railroad name is Elmer Station. Bernal has
telephone connection with the adjacent towns, is a trading point for the
people of that part of the county, and in 1910 reported a population of 40.
Berryton, a little village of Shawnee county, is a station on the Mis-
souri Pacific R. R., 9 miles southeast of the city of Topeka. It has a
money order postoffice with one rural delivery route, and is a trading
center for the neighborhood in which it is located. The population in
1910 was 75.
Berwick, a little station on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R.
in Nemaha county, is located 18 miles northeast of Seneca, the county
seat, and 3 miles from Sabetha. It has telegraph and express offices
and a money order postoffice. The population in 1910 was 31.
Bethany College, located at Lindsborg, Kan., was founded in 1881,
and is carried on under the auspices of the 'Swedish Lutheran church.
The purpose of the founders was to establish a school, "imparting higher
education founded on the principles of Evangelical Christianity." Rev.
Carl A. Swensson, who had been elected pastor of the Bethany Lutheran
church of Lindsborg in 1878, was active in organizing the school or
academy and became its first president.
The first building of the school contained recitation rooms and a
dormitory for men, while a separate dormitory was provided for the
female students. School opened on Oct. 15, 1881, with J. A. ITdden as
teacher, and about 30 students enrolled. The following year the Smoky
Valley district of the Kansas conference of the Augustana synod took
charge of the institution; a board of directors was appointed, and soon
afterward the college was incorporated under a state charter.
In 1883 a large dormitory was erected for male students and two
years later a main building was erected to furnish class rooms, a chapel
museum, library and science departments. The institution passed into
the hands of the Kansas conference in the spring of 1885, and the name
was changed to Bethany College and Normal Institute. From that time
its progress was both rapid and satisfactory. The school began to out-
grow its quarters, new buildings were needed, and with this end in view
the name was changed to Bethany College in Dec. 1886. The charter
also was changed so that the college was invested with power to convey
academic degrees.
The conservatory of music was begun in 1882, and the school of busi-
ness in 1884. In the fall of 1886 the model school was added, and in
1900 the school of fine arts, but this was later combined with the school
of music, and today the college has the following departments: Pre-
KANSAS HISTORY
parator}', normal, commercial, collegiate, a model school, art depart-
ment and a conservatory that has gained a wide reputation throughout
the state.
LIBRARY AND MAIN BUILDING, BETHANY COLLEG
Bethany has a fine main building equipped with ever}^ convenience
for recitation rooms and laboratories, a women's dormitory accommodat-
ing 92 students, a dormitory for men, an art hall, the Swedish pavilion
of the Louisiana Purchase exposition, which was donated, an auditorium
with a seating capacity of 3,000 and a $5,000 pipe organ, a gymnasium
and the Carnegie library. The student body consists mostly of the
Lutheran youth of the state and the college has an annual enrollment of
several hundred. In 1910, Ernst F. Pihlbrand was president of the col-
lege and C. F. Carlbert, vice-president.
One of the first steps taken by the school after its organization was
the formation of a chorus and orchestra to sing the Messiah, the pro-
ceeds to go toward the support of the school. Since that time the
oratorio has been sung twenty-five times at Lindsborg under the direc-
tion of the musical department, and during' Holy Week people come
from many parts of the state to hear this chorus as there is no other
like it in the country.
Bethel, a post hamlet in the central portion of Wyandotte county, is
situated on the Missouri Pacific R. R., about 10 miles west of Kansas
City, the county seat. It has a money order postofiice, which is the cen-
(I-12)
178 CYCLOPEDIA Ol'
ter of two rural free delivery routes, telegraph and express facilities, and
in 1910 had a population of 25.
Bethel College. — As early as 1882 a Mennonite seminary was estab-
lished at Halstead, Harvey county. When the Kansas conference of
the Mennonite church met in 1887 the city of Newton came forward with
an offer of financial aid if the conference would undertake to establish
a college at that place. The result was the organization by the confer-
ence of the Bethel College corporation, which was to have full charge
of the establishment and control of the institution. Bethel College was
opened to students on Sept. 20, 1893. The biennial report of the state
superintendent of public instruction for 1893-94 gave the value of the
property belonging to the college as $114,100, of which $45,000 was
represented by buildings, and $68,000 as a permanent endowment. Since
then the institution has kept pace with other schools of its character.
Six departments are presented to students, viz : Collegiate, Academic,
Music, Fine Arts, Elocution and Commercial. Probably no school in
the state offers better opportunities for the study of the German
language.
Beulah, a village of Sheridan township, Crawford county, is a station
on the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. 5 miles south of Girard, the
county seat. It has a money order postoffice, express and telegraph ser-
vice, a good local trade, and in 1910 reported a population of 100.
Beverly, an incorporated town of Lincoln county, is situated in Colo-
rado township and is a station on the Salina & Plainville division of
the Union Pacific R. R. 11 miles east of Lincoln, the county seat. Bev-
erly was settled in 1886, incorporated in 1904, and in 1910 reported a
population of 335. It has two banks, two creameries, a number of well
stocked general stores, a good public school, a money order postoffice
with one rural route, telegraph and express service, telephone connec-
tion with the surrounding towns, and does considerable shipping.
Bickerdyke, Mary Ann, familiarly known as "Mother Bickerdyke,"
army nurse and philanthropist, was born near Mt. Vernon, Ohio, July
19, 1817. Her father, Hiram Bell, was a descendant of the Pilgrims, and
her mother of one of the first families of New York. Her childhood was
spent upon a farm, where pure air and plenty of out door exercise de-
veloped her into a woman strong in both mind and body. She entered
Oberlin College, but was compelled by illness to leave just before grad-
uating. Her first experience as a nurse was in the Cincinnati hospital
during the cholera epidemic of 1837, and liking the work she continued
in it for several years. On April i"], 1847, she became the wife of Robert
Bickerdyke, in 1856 they removed to Galesburg, 111., where her husband
died about two years later, leaving her with two sons (James R. and
Hiram) to support. Again she took to nursing, and it seems that she
also practiced medicine, for the Galesburg directory for 1861 gives her
occupation as physician.
When the Civil war broke out she was one of the leaders among the
Galesburg women in providing necessities for the soldiers at the front.
KANSAS HISTORY I79
Later, when a physician in the Twenty-second Illinois infantry wrote
home of the illness and lack of suitable care among the soldiers, Mother
Bickerdyke's friends offered to care for her children if she would volun-
teer to go to the front as a nurse. With $500 worth of hospital supplies
she reported for duty at the regimental hospital at Cairo, 111. After the
actions at Belmont, Fort Donelson and Shiloh she was in the field hos-
pitals; followed the army in the Corinth and Atlanta campaigns; fre-
quently went over battle fields at night, with lantern and simple rem-
edies, searching for any wounded that might have been overlooked. Gen.
McCook said she was "worth more to the Union army than many of us
generals," and she was a great favorite with Gens. Sherman and Logan.
In March, 1866, she was relieved from duty and returned to her home
in Galesburg.
Her work in behalf of the soldiers was not ended, however. Thou-
sands of men discharged from the army thronged the cities in search of
employment. Mother Bickerdyke visited Kansas, where she found the
conditions favorable for many of these men to obtain homes. She next
appealed to wealthy friends for aid in carrying out her project. Jona-
than Burr, a wealthy banker, gave her $10,000, and C. B. Hammond, the
president of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad, promised free
transportation for soldiers and their familes for two years. Gen. Sher-
man, then in command at Fort Riley, allowed her the free use of govern-
ment teams to transport the veterans and their goods to their home-
steads, and between 1866 and 1868 over 300 families were settled in
Kansas through her efiforts. She also decided to make this state her
home and settled at Salina, where she opened a hotel, popularly known
as the Bickerdyke House.
After the Indian raids of 1868 she was active in behalf of the settlers,
and it was due to her efiforts that the war department issued rations for
500 people for ten months. She was also influential in securing the ap-
propriations from the state for the purchase of seed grain for the settlers
who had suffered from drought. In 1874, after spending four j^ears in
New York, she returned to Kansas to make her home with her sons on
a ranch near Great Bend. That year and the next she made several
visits to Illinois to solicit aid for the grasshopper sufferers. Her inces-
sant labors undermined her health, and she spent two years in California.
After her health was restored she secured employment in the United
States mint at San Francisco.
Mother Bickerdyke was instrumental in securing" pensions for more
than 300 army nurses, her own being the mere pittance of $25 a month,
and it was not granted until years after the close of the war. She wr.s
deeply interested in the work of the Woman's Relief Corps; belonged
to the Order of the Eastern Star; and was an honorary member of the
Society of the Army of the Tennesee, Mother Bickerdyke died at
Bunker Hill, Ellsworth county, Nov. 8, 1901, but was buried at Gales-
burg, 111., beside her husband.
Big Blue River, one of the principal water-courses of northeastern
l80 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Kansas, is composed of two branches. The north fork rises in Hamilton
county, Neb., and the south fork in Adams county of the same state.
They unite near the town of Crete, whence the main stream follows a
southerly course, flowing through the western part of Marshall county,
Kan., forming the boundary between the counties of Riley and Pottawa-
tomie, and emptying its waters into the Republican river at Manhattan.
There is also a Big Blue river in Missouri, where a battle occurred on
Oct. 22, 1864, in which a number of Kansas troops were engaged. The
engagement was an incident of the Price raid. On the 21st Gen. Curtis,
commanding the Union troops, was forced back from the Little Blue
through Independence and took a position on the west side of the Big
Blue, where he threw up fortifications and felled the trees in front of
his works to form an abatis. The next morning he disposed his troops
so that the right wing was composed of the First brigade (Col. Jenni-
son), the second brigade (Col. Moonlight), the Fourth brigade (Col.
Ford), and a brigade of Kansas militia commanded by Gen. M. S. Grant.
With the right wing was McLain's Colorado battery. The left wing
consisted of the Third brigade fCol. Blair), and was made up of the
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Tenth Kansas militia cavalry. Capt. Eve's
Bourbon county battalion, a detachment of the Fourteenth Kansas cav-
alry, Knowles' section of the Second Kansas battery and Dodge's Ninth
Wisconsin battery.
Early on the morning of the 22nd Gen. Blunt sent Col. Ford with six
companies of the Second Colorado cavalry to skirmish with the enemy
on the Independence road and feel his position. Ford engaged the
enemy and forced the Confederates under Gen. Shelby to withdraw
to Byram's ford 5 or 6 miles farther south. Col. Jennison was
sent to hold the ford and later was reinforced, but Shelby forced Jenni-
son's position and then flanked the Union line. Blunt and Deitzler began
falling back to Kansas City, which gave Shelby the opportunity to sever
the line, cutting off the Kansas militia under Gen. Grant, which was
engaged in guarding the fords near Hickman's mills. Even with this
it looked for a time as if the Confederates were defeated, but Shelby re-
ceived reinforcements and charged the Federal line. In this charge and
the pursuit which followed, the Kansas militia under Col. George W.
Veale were the chief sufferers, losing 36 killed, 43 wounded and 100
captured. Grant managed to extricate himself from his perilous posi-
tion and fell back to Olathe; Col. Moonlight withdrew to the Shawnee
mission, and that night the remainder of the Union army lay between
Westport and Kansas City.
Bigelow, a village of Marshall county, is located on the Missouri
Pacific R. R., 20 miles southeast of Marysville and 6 miles east of Irving.
It has banking facilities, express and telegraph offices and a postoffice
with one rural route. It was laid out in 1881, the immediate occasion
for making it a shipping point being the limestone quarries recently
opened in the vicinity. The population in 1910 was 200.
Big Springs, one of the oldest settlements in Douglas county, is lo-
KANSAS HISTORY l8l
cated in the northwestern part of the county 4 miles southwest of Le-
compton, from Avhich it has rural free delivery. The settlement was
named from the springs in the immediate vicinity. A number of men
took up claims near the present village in the fall of 1854 and the fol-
lowing year a postoffice was established with John Chamberlain as post-
master. In July, 1855, religious services were held by a United Brethren
minister and within a short time an organization of that denomination
was perfected. ■ A store was opened during the summer and several
dwellings were erected. On Sept. 5, 1855, a meeting of great political
significance took place at this little village — the Big Springs conven-
tion (q. v.). Not having a railroad the village hasnever grown and now
consists of three churches, several dwellings, a blacksmith and wagon
shop. In 1910 it had a population of 40.
Big Springs Convention. — The political condition of the people of Kan-
sas was freely discussed during the summer of 1855, and several mass
meetings were held to consider calling a convention to form a state gov-
ernment. At -the time the political elements of Kansas were varied,
each working to serve its own interests and the thoughtful leaders of the
free-state party saw that something must be done to harmonize them.
A movement for armed resistance, which has secretly been gathering
force, was revealed at the Lawrence 4th of July celebration in 1855.
The situation was one of peril, not only to the political parties in con-
troversy, but also to the communities of the territory. Among many
of the anti-slavery party a spirit of dissent was growing against an- or-
ganized movement proposing armed resistance to the territorial govern-
ment, and this sentiment led to the Big Springs convention.
The cause of complaint at this time was the character of the terri-
torial organization, and justification of resistance to it was based upon
the illegality of the legislature. To avert the revolt of those members
of the free-state party who were alienated by the demonstrations of
July 4 and the action of the convention held July 11, the leaders of this
disafifected branch of the party were asked to assemble for consultation
at the office of the Free State in Lawrence on July 17. Among these
men were W. Y. Roberts and his brother, Judge Roberts of Big Springs ;
Judge Wakefield and J. D. Barnes of the California road; William Jessee
of Bloomington, one of the ousted members of the legislature ; Judge
Smith and other prominent free-state men. As the office was too
small to accomodate the party, it was proposed to adjourn to the river
bank at the foot of New Hampshire street, where a set of timbers had
been erected for a warehouse under the shade of a tree. People they
met on the way were asked to the conference, so that by the addition of
John and Joseph Speer, editors of the Tribune, S. N. Wood, E. D. Ladd
and G. W. Dietzler there were 20 men, one of the most prominent being
Col. James H. Lane, who had just returned from the session of the
bogus legislature. The spirit of revolt attested in nearly every com-
munity against the political action enunciated at Lawrence was con-
sidered, and after due deliberation the assemblage concluded that the
l82 CYCLOPEDIA OF
only way to relieve the hazardous situation was by a convention in
which every community should be fairly represented and free from all
local influences. Big Springs was chosen for the location as its situa-
tion was ideal. Judge Roberts, who was one of the proprietors, offered
the hospitality of the town, which consisted of a rude hotel and several
cabins. This village was located about 4 miles from Lecompton and 2
miles south of the Kansas river on the Santa Fe road, in the northwest
corner of Douglas county. Sept. 5 was chosen for the date of the con-
vention and five delegates were apportioned to each of the 26 representa-
tive districts. Calls were printed and distributed in every precinct in
the territory.
The movement met with opposition from five of the first councilors —
Deitzler, Ladd, S. N. Wood and the Speer brothers — who feared that
such action would tend to divide rather than to unite the free-state fac-
tions, and thus lead to defeat. In accordance with the resolutions passed
at Lawrence on July 11, a convention with representatives from nearly
everv district in the territory assembled at Lawrence on Aug. 14. Its
members also were opposed to the idea of the Big Springs convention,
but when the statement of the situation upon which it was based had
been explained, the call exhibited and the assurance given that while the
cooperation of the assemblage was sought, the Big Springs convention
would be held regardless of its assent, the free-state convention issued a
call duplicating the first, but dated Aug. 14. This has led to the con-
clusion by many historians that the only call issued was by this assem-
blage.
After the conflicting elements had in a measure been harmonized the
next step was the election of delegates. The activity of the radical wing
of the free-state men somewhat complicated the situation, but by the
assistance of Lane a well balanced ticket was chosen for the Lawrence
district, consisting of 15 of the best men representing the various free-
state elements, each of which had a fair representation. Eight of these
men were from the town and seven from the country. The convention,
which organized the free-state party, assembled at Big Springs at the
appointed time — Sept. 5, 1855. On the evening of the 4th men from
everv direction began to gather. They came on horseback, in covered
wagons or other conveyances, many with tents and camp outfit, but
these were unnecessary as the inhabitants pressed upon the delegates the
hospitality of their cabins. Roberts had redeemed his promise for a
shaded platform witW ample seats, and abundant provisions, including
free meal tickets, had been made for the entertainment of the delegates.
It is estimated that there were over 100 delegates present, representing
every district and settlement in the territory.
The convention was called to order at 11 o'clock and temporarily or-
ganized by calling W. Y. Roberts to the chair and appointing D. Dodge,
secretary. A committee on credentials was appointed with instructions
to report immediately. A second committee was appointed to report
permanent officers and reported the following list: President, G. W.
KANSAS HISTORY 183
Smith ; vice-presidents, John Fee, J. A. Wakefield, James Salsburg, Dr.
A. Hunting; secretaries, R. G. Elliott, D. Dodge and A. G. Adams. The
committee on credentials reported lOO delegates. The usual committees
were then appointed, each consisting of 13 members, representing the
several council districts. The most important committees were those on
platform, state organization and resolutions, with Lane, Elliott and
Emery, respectively as their chairmen. The duties of these cummittees
were as follows: To report upon a platform for the consideration of
the convention; to take into consideration the propriety of a state or-
ganization; to consider the duty of the people as regards the pro-
ceedings of the late legislature; to devise action on the coming con-
gressional election ; miscellaneous business.
Col. James H. Lane, chairman of the committee on platform, presented
the report which was adopted. The substance of it was as follows:
To proffer an organization into which men of all political parties might
enter without sacrifice of their political creeds ; opposition and resistance
to all non-resident voters at the polls ; that all interests required Kansas
to be a free state : that all energies of the party were to be used to ex-
clude the institution of slavery and secure for Kansas the constitution
of a free state ; that stringent laws be passed, excluding all negroes, bond
or free, from the territory, but that such measures would not be regarded
as a test of party orthodoxy ; that the charge of abolition imputed to the
free-state partv was without truthful foundation ; attempts to encroach
upon the constitutional rights of people of any state would be discounte-
nanced; that there would be no interference with their slaves, conceding
to the citizens of other states the right to regulate their own institu-
tions ; "and to hold and recover their slaves, without any molestation or
obstruction from the people of Kansas."
This report called forth much warm discussion as many were in favor
of a more radical platform and were particularly opposed to the clauses
alluding to slavery and abolitionists, but the majority of the members
argued that such a conservative platform would be more likely to com-
mend itself to Congress and the inhabitants of Kansas than a radical
one and thus enable them to accomplish the main object, exclusion of
slaves from the territory. The committee on the late legislature made
a report in which the Missouri-Kansas legislature was repudiated as a
"foreign body, representing only the lawless invaders who elected
them ;" that the "hypocritical mockery of a repubhcan form of govern-
ment into which this infamous despotism has been converted," be dis-
avowed and disowned ; that the constitutional bill of rights had been
violated by the expulsion of members entitled to seats in the legislature,
bv the refusal to allow the people to select their own officers, by leaving
to the people no elections but those prescribed b}' Congress, and there-
fore beyond their power to abrogate, and by compelling the people "to
take an oath to support a law of the United States, invidiously pointed
out, by stifling the freedom of speech and the press, thus usurping the
power forbidden to Congress, libeled the Declaration of Independence ;
184 CYCLOPEDIA OF
and brought disgrace upon our Republican institutions at home and
abroad ;'' that no allegiance was due the spurious legislature and that its
laws were invalid, and that resistance to the laws would be made by
every peaceful means.
A resolution was offered impeaching the supreme court. Col. Lane ob-
jected to this and moved that it be stricken out, but his motion was not
sustained. Another resolution recommended the organization and dis-
cipline of volunteer companies throughout the territory. The committee
on state organization reported that its members deemed the movement
was "untimel)' and inexpedient," and caused the first reall}^ discordant
note in the convention. Stirring speeches were made upon the adoption
or rejection of the report, but the men in favor of the formation of a
state government argued and pleaded until their point was gained. The
report was rejected and in its place a resolution offered by Mr. Hutchin-
son was adopted : "That this convention, in view of its repudiation of
the acts of the so-called Kansas legislative assembly, respond most
heartily to the call made by the people's convention of the 15th ult., for
a delegate convention of the people of Kansas Territor}', to be held at
Topeka on the 19th inst., to consider the propriety of the formation of
a state constitution, and such other matters as may legitimately come
before it."
By the report of the committee on Congressional delegate, the time
for holding the election was changed from the date set b)' the legisla-
ture to Oct. 9, and it was resolved that the rules and regulations pre-
scribed for the March election should govern the election except the re-
turns, which, by the "people's proclamation" subsequently issued, were
to be made to the "Executive Committee of Kansas Territory," for Gov.
Shannon would not of course appoint judges of returns for such an elec-
tion. The date of the election was changed to the second Tuesday in
October (the 9th) in order to avoid recognizing the right of the late
legislature to call an election, and to avoid the oath to support the slave
code.
In the report of the committee on miscellaneous business, ex-Gov.
Reeder was defended from the charges made against him as the cause
of his removal. But probably the most important act of the conven-
tion was the nomination for a delegate to Congress. The nomination
of the free-state delegate was made in a short, forcible speech by Martin
F. Conway, who proposed the name of Andrew H. Reeder and there was
no opposing candidate. This action meant the vindication of Reeder
and showed the intention to fight the powers that had usurped the ter-
ritorial government and removed him from office. He was nominated
by acclamation.
A committee of three, 'consisting of S. C. Pomeroy, Col. J. H. Lane
and G. W. Brown, were appointed to wait upon Gov. Shannon and pre-
sent him with a copy of the proceedings of the convention. The Big
Springs convention gave hope and courage to the free-state people
throughout the territory. John Speer, who had been opposed to it
KANSAS HISTORY 185
from the first said, "The Big Springs convention became noted through-
out the Union. It was the first consolidated mass of the freemen of
Kansas in resistance to the oppressions attempted by the usurping legis-
lature, and was as intelligent, earnest and heroic a body of men as ever
assembled to resist the tyranny of George III. The people canje from
all portions of the territory. No hamlet or agricultural community was
unrepresented. Men started before daylight from dangerous pro-slav-
er)' places, like Kickapoo, Delaware, Lecompton and elsewhere, to avoid
assassination."
As soon as news of the work of the convention had spread, free-state
meetings were held at nearly every town and settlement where people
could assemble, resolutions indorsing the Big Springs platform were
passed, and delegates chosen for the Topeka constitutional convention.
Big Timbers. — Some distance above old Fort Atkinson on the Arkan-
sas river, and about 27 miles from Bent's fort, was a locality known as
"Big Timbers." Indians at various times have here met with the repre-
sentatives of the United States, for the purpose of negotiating treaties.
The localit_y has always been a favorite winter camping place for the
Indians, as an abundance of bufifalo, antelope, deer and elk feed, wood
and water were always at hand for their use. It was the intention of
the United States to establish here a military post and postoffice, but
this was never done, owing to an unwillingness to disturb the Indians.
Lieut. Abert mentions reaching Big Timbers on Jan. 21, 1847. In Nov.,
1849, Thomas Fitzpatrick, the celebrated Indian agent, passed by the
place en route to Fort Laramie, stopping long enough to hold some
conversations with portions of various tribes of Indians found camping
here, regarding a proposed treaty. On his return the following year he
found there a party of Indian traders and a portion of nearl}' all the
Indian tribes of that country assembled for the purpose of meeting him
again in order to ascertain at what time and place the representatives
of their Great Father wished to meet them in council, and for what
purpose. He remained there nearly a month. The assembly was com-
posed of Sioux, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kiowas and Apaclies, all of
which tribes at that time were very formidable and among the most
warlike on the continent. Big Timbers had been the location of some
trading house as Fitzgerald makes mention of the ruins of one.
Billings County was originally created as Norton, but on March 6,
1873, an act of the state legislature changed the name .to Billings in
honor of N. H. Billings, of Norton Center, representative from the looth
district. The change was in the nature of a jest and at the next session
of the legislature on Feb. 25, 1874, the name was changed back to
Norton. (See Norton County.)
Biological Survey. — Biology, "The Science of Life," treats of organic
bodies and includes botany, zoolog}', physiology, embryology, etc. A
biological survey of a state, therefore, is an inquiry into the character
of the animal and plant life within its Ijorders. In Kansas no official
survey of this nature has ever been made, but early in the '80s Prof. F.
l86 CYCLOPEDIA OF
W. Cragin undertook a biological survey under the direction of the
trustees of Washburn College, with which he was at that time con-
nected. His first report to the trustees was made on Aug. i8, 1884, and
related to fishes, lichens, algas, mosses, etc. On Jan. 15, 1885, he made
a second report, continuing the subjects formerly treated, with some
notes on mammals, particularly the panther or cougar, ferret, mink,
Mexican badger, buflfalo, several species of bats, field mice, etc., giving
some account of their characteristics, habits and haunts. This second
report also dealt with fresh water bivalves and mollusca, land shells,
mosses and fungi.
B}^ this time Prof. Cragin's work had attracted considerable attention
in scientific circles, but unfortunately the means were not available for
giving his reports a wide circulation. A third report on March 20, 1885,
gave many interesting facts concerning Kansas mammals, fresh water
bivalves, reptiles and batrachians, with a second series of notes on Kan-
sas fishes and "The faunal relations of Kansas." On Oct. 18, 1885, Prof.
Cragin filed with the trustees a fourth report in which was continued
the discussion of mosses and fresh water mollusca, with extensive notes
concerning Kansas spiders. Prof. Cragin continued his work in this di-
rection until he severed his connection with Washburn College, and the
results of his labors, published in the college bulletins, contain a great
deal of useful and valuable information regarding the fauna and flora
of Kansas. A later biological survey is now being conducted by the
faculty of the state university.
Bird City, a village of Cheyenne county, is located in the township
of the same name and is a station on the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy
R. R. 16 miles east of St. Francis, the county seat. It has a bank, a
money order postofifice with two rural delivery routes, telegraph and
express offices, Adventist and Methodist Episcopal churches, telephone
connection with the adjacent towns, a good local trade, and is a ship-
ping point of some importance. The population was 190 in 1910.
Birds of Kansas. — Probably the first attempt to make a scientific
classification of Kansas birds was in 1871, when the Kansas Educational
Journal published a catalogue prepared by Prof. Francis H. Snow of the
University of Kansas, which catalogue was "based upon the personal
observations of the author during a residence of six years in Kansas."
Prof. Snow's list contained the names of 239 birds, including 20 mem-
bers of the vulture species, 9 varieties of owls, 25 varieties of geese,
ducks and swans, 34 kinds of finches and sparrows, 4 kinds of crows, 11
varieties of flj'catchers, 12 of blackbirds, 22 of snipes, 17 of warblers,
and 8 of woodpeckers. Other species mentioned in his catalogue were
the cranes, herons, plovers, swallows, thrushes, shrikes, grouse and
mocking birds. He expressed the opinion that the Carolina parrot was
once numerous in the woods of eastern Kansas, and stated that it was
still to be found in sparsely settled districts. Prof. Snow observed that
during their migrations the pelican and cormorant were sometimes
found in Kansas, as were the gulls and terns, the loon, the horned grebe
KANSAS HISTORY 187
and the Carolina grebe, the last named sometimes making its nest and
hatching its young in the state. A large number of specimens were
gathered by Prof. Snow and mounted for the university museum.
In "1872 Prof. J. A. Allen of the museum of comparative zoology at
Cambridge, Mass., published a report of an "Ornithological Reconnois-
sance" made in May, 1871, by himself and Prof. S. F. Baird of the Smith-
sonian Institution, in the vicinity of Leavenworth and Topeka. This
report added to the list of Prof. Snow some 40 additional species of birds,
including the kite, merlin, whippoorwill, night-hawk, several wrens, the
long-spur, the black-headed grosbeak, etc.
A short time before his death in 1891 Nathaniel S. Goss (q. v.) pub-
lished a "History of the Birds of Kansas," a volume of nearly 700 pages
in which 529 birds were illustrated. The large collection of birds which
Mr. Goss spent several years in gathering together and mounting is
now in the state capitol at Topeka. Vernon Kellogg has also written
a work on the "Birds of Kansas."
Birkville, a little hamlet of Norton county, is situated in the eastern
part, 10 miles southeast of Norton, the county seat, from which place
the inhabitants receive mail by rural free delivery. Calvert on the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R. is the nearest railroad station.
Birley, a hamlet of Chase county, with a population of 32 in 1910,
is located about 10 miles southwest of Cottonwood Falls, from which
place mail is received by the inhabitants by rural free delivery. Bazaar
is the nearest railroad station.
Birmingham, a hamlet of Jackson county, is located on the Missouri
Pacific R. R. 4 miles southeast of Holton, the county seat. It has a
general store, a money order postoffice, telegraph and express ofifices,
and a population in 1910 of 50.
Bismarck Grove, one of the most beautiful natural parks in Kansas,
is situated on the north side of the Kansas river at Lawrence, and for
many years it was a favorite place for holding gatherings of all kinds.
Among the historic meetings that have been held there were the Quarter
Centennial celebration of the organization of Kansas Territory in 1879
and the Old Settlers' meeting in Sept., 1884. When the Western Na-
tional Fair Association was organized and incorporated in 1879, Bis-
marck Grove was selected as the place for holding the annual fair, and
for several years the exhibits of the association were given in the grove,
which had been fitted up for a fair ground. In later years the park has
fallen into disuse to some extent, though much of its natural beauty still
remains.
Bison, a village of Lone Star township. Rush county, is a station on
the Missouri Pacific R, R. 6 miles east of La Crosse, the cnantA- seat.
It has a bank, a weekly newspaper (the Bison Bee), telegraph and ex-
press offices, a telephone company, some good general stores, and its
money order postofifice has two rural delivery routes which supply the
adjacent agricultural districts with daily mail. The population in 1910
was 375.
158 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Black Jack, Battle of. — Late in May, 1856, Capt. H. C. Pate, in com-
mand of a company of Shannon's Sharp-shooters, started for Osawa-
tomie for the purpose of capturing John Brown. Near that place he
found two of Brown's sons — John and Jason, the former a member of
the legislature — working on their farms, arrested them and put them
in irons, but the elder Brown was in hiding. A few other free-state
men were arrested and some cabins burned. Soon after this Capt. Wood
arrived with a company of dragoons and the prisoners were turned over
to him, and on May 31 both companies moved together toward the Santa
Fe road, Wood going on to Lecompton with his prisoners. On the
march the two Browns were treated with great severity, and this, with
the stories of murder told on his father, caused John's mind to give way,
and at times he was violently insane.
Pate's company continued to the Santa Fe road near Hickory Point,
and made camp on the head of a small branch called Black Jack, 5 miles
southeast of Palmyra, at the head of a ravine on the edge of the prairie
a little north of the Santa Fe road. Phillips in his Conquest of Kansas
says, "The bottom of the ravine at Black Jack, besides the growing tim-
ber, had some deep water-drains or ruts, round which was a thicket;
there were several bogs on the spot where the camp was." That night
Pate's company occupied the town of Palmyra and took several pris-
oners. In the morning they plundered the place, and in the afternoon
six of his men attempted the same thing at Prairie City. Being Sun-
day, most of the people were at church, but as they attended services
armed the men rushed out when a watchman gave the alarm and two
of the men were captured.
As soon as he heard of the capture of his sons John Brown determined
to rescue them and watched for the enemy's camp with the design of
attacking it and releasing the prisoners. He hunted through the woods
of the Marias des Cygnes and Ottawa creeks. On Saturday night, Capt.
Shore, a free-state man who commanded the Prairie City company, had
been out assisting Brown in reconnoitering for the enemy. On Sunday
night Shore and his men accompanied by Capt. Brown continued the
search for the camp, but were unsuccessful. The}' had returned to
Prairie City when two scouts brought the news of Pate's camp on the
Black Jack, some 5 miles away. Brown had been accompanied from
Oswatomie by about 12 men, including three of his sons. Immediately
upon learning of the whereabouts of Pate, Brown and Shore, with about
20 men, moved toward the Black Jack. On arriving within a mile of
the camp, they dismounted, left the horses in charge of two men and
despatched two messengers for help — one to Palmyra and another to
Capt. Abbott's company some 8 miles distant on the Wakarusa. The
remainder of the party divided, each captain commanding his own men
and marched toward the enemy. There were about 50 men under Pate's
command. They had formed a kind of breastwork by placing four
wagons in a line several rods out on the prairie from the edge of the
ravine, and had pitched a tent behind the wagons. This was the con-
KANSAS HISTORY 189
dition of the camp at about 6 o'clock, when the alarm was given that
the free-state men were coming. Pate drew up his men behind the
temporary breastworks. His position was a strong one, as it afforded
shelter for his men, and except by coming up the ravine from the direc-
tion of Hickory Point, had to be approached over an open prairie. When
they ascertained the enemy's position. Brown directed Shore to go the
left and get into the ravine below them, while Brown was to go into
the upper part of the ravine, the bottom of which was covered with
long grass. Owing to a bend in the ravine, this division of the forces
would bring the enemy in range of both forces and under a cross-fire.
Shore, however, approached the enemy over the open prairie and poured
a volley on the pro-slavery men from the front, while Brown, who had
placed his men in the tall grass within the outer banks of the ravine,
opened fire upon their left flank. After the firing had lasted about five
minutes Pate retreated from the wagon to the ravine, where he found
shelter. This left Shore exposed to the fire of the concealed enemy and
he was forced to retreat up the slope until out of range. Shore and a
few of his men joined Brown in the ravine, where they continued firing
from the long grass. The firing had little effect as the free-state party
had only four guns of long range and there were only three or four
Sharpe's rifles in both companies.
The prisoners held by Pate had been stationed in the tent with a
guard and when the firing began they lay flat on the ground so that
the bullets whistled over their heads. After the battle had waged some
time one of the enemy rushed into the tent with the intention of shoot-
ing them but Dr. Graham, at whom he aimed, sprang up, received only
a slight flesh wound and rushed off to the men on the hill. The firing
lasted for about three hours, during which time 2 free-state and 3 pro-
slavery men were wounded. The latter knew that Shore and Brown
would soon receive reinforcements and one by one they gradually
slipped down the ravine until out of range, secured horses and rode
away. Pate's ammunition running low, he finally sent a young man and
a prisoner to Brown's camp under a flag of truce, but as Brown would
not talk with anyone but the commander of the force, Pate came out.
After some parleying, in which Pate claimed he was acting as an officer
under the United States marshal. Brown declared he would consider
nothing but unconditional surrender. As most of Pate's men had de-
serted him, he yielded and thus 21 men, besides the prisoners, provisions,
horses, mules and other camp equipage, as well as a quantity of the
plunder taken from Palmyra, were turned over to Brown. Soon after
the surrender, the free-state forces were augmented by Capt. Abbott
and about 50 men from the Wakarusa and later in the day by others.
The wounded were taken to Prairie City and cared for and Capt. Brown
moved with his prisoners to the thick woods of Middle Ottawa creek
back of Prairie City where he intrenched himself.
Black Jack Point. — (See Lone Jack.)
Black Kettle. — The Indian name of this Cheyenne chief was "Mo-ke-
190 CYCLOPEDIA OF
ta-ve-to," and for many years he was one of the powerful factors to be
reckoned with in determining the tribal policy, in the negotiation of
treaties, etc. His step-daughter became the wife of George Bent, one of
the noted family of trappers and fur traders. Black Kettle was engaged
in several predatory expeditions against the white settlers on the frontier,
and was connected with the Indian uprising in 1868. This proved to be
his last raid. With about 40 ragged, dirty and unkempt braves, he came
into the post at Fort Hays claiming that his band was composed of "good
Indians," but sorely in need of food. After the usual pow wow he
was given a supply of provisions, and immediate!}^ he and his followers
began running off stock, burning dwellings, killing and capturing the
settlers in Russell and Lincoln counties. When pursuit and retribution
became imminent he moved rapidly westward with his plunder, finally
taking refuge in his village on the Washita river. This village was
attacked by the United States soldiers commanded b}- Gen. George A.
Custer on Nov. 29, 1868. Like a whirlwind Custer and his troopers rode
through the village, firing right and left, and Black Kettle and most of
his warriors were killed before they had time to arm themselves for
defense.
Black Laws. — What are known as the "Black Laws" in Kansas his-
tory were passed by the first territorial legislature in 1855. Holloway
(p. 403) says the author of these laws were Joseph C. Anderson, after-
ward the prosecuting attorne}- that conducted the cases against the
free-state men belonging to Maj. Harvey's command who were captured
near Hickory Point in Sept., 1856. The objects of these laws were to
encourage the introduction of slavery into the Territory of Kansas, and
to provide severe penalties for the persons who interfered with slave
property. Every one inciting an insurrection or rebellion of slaves in
the territory, furnishing arms to slaves or committing "any overt
act in furtherance of such rebellion or insurrection," or advising by
speech, written or printed matter slaves to rebel, or who would bring
into the territory for circulation any book, pamphlet or circular for the
purpose of inciting insurrection should suffer the death penalty. Per-
sons enticing slaves away from their masters, or who aided in any way
in persuading slaves to leave their owners were subject to imprisonment
for ten years. Advising a slave to escape or harboring a runaway
slave subjected the offender to imprisonment for five years, and there
were some lighter penalties for minor offenses, but the above include
the principal features of the so-called "Black Laws." Persons opposed
to slavery were disqualified from acting as jurors in the trial of those
charged with the violation of the laws.
Black Vermillion River, a stream of northeastern Kansas, also called
the Black river, consists of two forks. The north fork rises in Marshall
county, near the northeast corner, and flows south ; the south fork
rises in the southern part of Nemaha county and flows northwest, the
two forming a junction near the little village of Vliets. From this
point the main stream follows a southwesterly course until it empties
into the Bio- Blue river near the southern boundarv of Marshall countv.
KANSAS HISTORY IQI
Black Wolf, a village of Ellsworth county, is located on the Smoky
Hill river in the township of the same name, and is a station on the
Union Pacific R. R. 7 miles west of Ellsworth, the county seat. It
has a money order postoffice, telegraph and express offices, telephone
connections, a grain elevator, a good local trade, and in 1910 reported
a population of 100.
Blackmar, Frank Wilson, educator, author and lecturer, was born at
Springfield, Erie county. Pa., Nov. 3, 1S54, a son of John S. and Rebecca
(Mershon) Blackmar, the former of Scotch and the latter of Huguenot
ancestry. He was educated in the public schools, the state normal school
at Edinboro, and in 1881 received the degree of A. B. from the University
of the Pacific at San Jose, Cal. He was then professor of mathematics
in that institution until 1886, when he became a graduate student in
Johns Hopkins University, where he was an instructor in history in
1887-88, and a fellow in history and politics in 1888-89. In the last
named year he received the degree of Ph. D. and left Johns Hopkins
to become professor of histor}' and sociology in the University of
Kansas. After occup_ying that chair for ten years, he was made pro-
fessor of sociology and economics in the same institution, which position
he still holds. When the graduate school of the University of Kansas
was organized in 1896 Prof. Blackmar was elected dean, and is still
occupying that office. He is the author of a number of works bearing
upon the subjects in which he has so long been an instructor, the prin-
cipal ones being as follows : "Spanish Colonization of the Southwest,"
1890; "Spanish Institutions in the Southwest," 1891 ; "The Story of
Human Progress," 1896; "History of Higher Education in Kansas,"
1900; ""Life of Charles Robinson," 1900; "Elements of Sociology; Eco-
nomics for Colleges ; Economics for High Schools," 1907. Besides
these he has contributed to reviews and written a number of pamphlets
on historical, sociological and economic topics. In 1885, at San Jose,
Cal., Prof. Blackmar married Miss Mary S. Bowman, who died on March
4, 1892, and on July 25, 1900, he married Miss Kate Nicholson of
Lawrence, Kan.
Blaine, a village of Pottawatomie county, is located in Clear Creek
township at the junction of the Leavenworth, Kansas & Western branch
of the Union Pacific R. R. and a branch of the Kansas Southern & Gulf,
the latter connecting it with Westmoreland, the county seat, 9 miles
south. All the main lines of business are represented, including banking
facilities. There is an international money order postoffice with three
rural routes. The town was laid out in 1879 and was at that time called
Butler with Blaine as the name of the postoffice.
Blair, a post-hamlet of Doniphan county, is located in Washington
township, on the St. Joseph & Grand Island railroad, 4 miles from
Wathena and about 7 east of Troy, the county seat. The population in
1910 was 50.
Blakeman, a village of Logan township, Rawlins county, is the first
station west of Atwood on the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy R. R.
192 CYCLOPEDIA OF
It has a money order postoffice, telegraph and express offices, and is
a shipping- and supply point for the neighborhood. The population
was 100 in 1910.
Bland, a small hamlet of Reno county, is located about 12 miles east
of Hutchinson, the county seat, in the Kisiwa creek valley, and some
4 miles west of Burrton, which is the most convenient railroad station,
and from which place the inhabitants of Bland receive mail by rural
free delivery.
Blind, State School for. — The state school for the blind, or blind
asylum, as it is frequently called, had its origin in an act approved by
Gov. Carney on Feb. 27, 1864. By this act Henry McBride of John-
son county. Fielding Johnson and Byron Judd of Wyandotte county,
were appointed commissioners to select a location for the institution
at some point in Wj^andotte county. They were also authorized to
accept as a donation a tract of land of not less than 10 acres for a site.
The city of Wyandotte (now Kansas City, Kan.) agreed to donate 9.6
acres in what was then known as Oakland park. Although this was
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slightly less than the amount of land specified in the act, the site was
approved, and in 1866 a small appropriation was made by the legis-
lature to pay the expenses of the commissioners. In 1867 the legislature
appropriated $10,000 for the erection of buildings by a commission to
be appointed by the governor. The first buildings were completed on
Oct. I, 1867, and on the 7th the school opened with nine pupils in at-
tendance.
KANSAS HISTORY I93
The first trustees were F. B. Baker, Frederick Speck and William
Larimer. They made a report on Dec. lo, 1867, showing the cost of
the buildings, etc., and the legislature of 1868 appropriated a little over
$11,600 for additional buildings and maintenance. The first annual
report of the board bears the date of Nov. 30, 1868, when the first fiscal
year of the institution was closed.
As in all schools for the education of the blind, the fundamental idea
has been to make the pupils self-supporting and, as far as their infirmity
will permit, useful citizens. In the selection of teachers the only con-
sideration with the board of control is fitness for the position. Conse-
quently the staff of instructors is composed of persons whose capabilities
are equal to those found in the best blind schools in the country. The
pupils are given the best of care and medical attention, and since the
school was opened about 700 pupils have been enrolled. The regular
school course is divided into eight grades and a four-years' high school
course, the whole corresponding to the course of study in the public
schools of the state. Text-books in raised type, so they may be read by
touch, are furnished by the United States government, and there is a
well selected library to which new books are added annually. On the
backs of these books the titles are printed in what is known as "New
York point," so that the pupils may be able to find any book without
assistance.
In addition to the regular literary course, the boys are taught piano
tuning, broom making, hammock weaving, etc., and the girls are taught
hand and machine sewing, crocheting, basket work, darning and patch-
ing — all occupations which fit them to become self-sustaining to a large
degree. Music is also taught, and all the pupils belong to either the
junior or senior chorus. One of the interesting features of the school
is the "fire drill," and it is surprising to see how quickly these sightless
children can vacate a building, without confusion, when the gong is
sounded.
. In 1910 the property of the school was- valued at $156,000 and there
were then 94 pupils in attendance. The superintendents of the school
since its organization have been as follows: W. H. Sawyer, 1867-69;
W. W. Updegraff, 1869-71; John D. Parker, 1871-74; George H. Miller,
1874-89; Allen Buckner, 1889-91; Lapier Williams, 1891-93; W. G.
Todd, 1893-95; George H. Miller, 1895-97; W. H. Toothaker, 1897-99;
Lapier Williams, 1899-1906; W. B. Hall, 1906 .
Blizzards. — The Enc3'clopedia Americana defines a blizzard as a pe-
culiarly fierce and cold wind, accompanied by a very fine, blinding snow
which suffocates as well as freezes men and animals exposed to it. The
origin of the word is dubious. It came into general use in American
newspapers during the bitterly cold winter of 1880-81, although some
papers claim its use as early as the '70s. Such a storm comes up and
takes the traveler without premonition. The sky becomes darkened
and the snow is driven by a terrible wind which comes with a deafening
roar.
a-13)
194 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Before the days of fences or well beaten roads the blizzard often
swept across the prairies of the great west. Travelers starting from
home, with a clear sky overhead, were occasionally overtaken by these
storms. In a sparsely settled country, with no fenced farms or other
means of finding one's way, all landmarks were soon obliterated by a
storm of this kind, and it is a wonder that more people were not lost.
Cattle with no means of protection were frequently found frozen stand-
ing in their tracks in the great drifts, and would be left standing as the
snow melted in the spring.
Another writer has said : "A blizzard is defined as a fierce storm of
bitter, frosty wind, with fine, blistering snow." No definition, however,
save that of actual experience can portray its terrible reality. Fre-
quently the temperature will drop from 74° above zero to 20° below
zero in 24 hours, and during this time the wind will blow a gale, ap-
parently from the four points of the compass. The air will be so filled
with the fine, blistering snow and sand that one cannot see ten feet
in advance. Turn either way and it is always in front. The air is full
of subdued noises, like the wail of lost spirits ; so all-absorbing in its
intensity is this wailing, moaning, continuous noise, that one's voice
cannot be heard two yards away. The early pioneers were of necessity
nomadic, and were in no way prepared for these sudden changes and
hundreds have lost their lives in blizzards when the temperature was not
zero, it being a physical impossibility to breathe, the air being so full
of fine, blistering snow and sand.
While there was more or less loss of life during the early settlement
of Kansas from these causes, the blizzard of Dec, 1885, and Jan., 1886,
was probably the most destructive to life and property of any storm that
ever swept over the state. This storm was general from the mountains
to the Missouri river. It started in the latter part of Dec, 1885, and an
unbroken blanket of snow extended from Williams, N. Mex., to Kansas
City. Railroad traffic on the plains was practically suspended. The
weather moderating, railroad traffic was resumed, when another storm,
more serious than the first, again tied up traffic, this time completely.
Temperature during the month of January ranged from 12° below zero
at Atchison to 25° below at Junction City, and 18° below at Dodge City.
A 44-mile wind a part of the time helped make things lively at the last
named place. All over the southwestern part of the state the precipita-
tion was chiefly sleet, which left the ground covered with ice. A big cut
on the Union Pacific near Salina was completely covered with snow,
and it required the combined efforts of all section men on the road be-
tween Lawrence and Brookville for nearly 16 hours with picks and
shovels to open it for traffic. This cut was about 20 feet deep and a
quarter of a mile long, and eleven locomotives were employed in "buck-
ing" the snow, but they all became stalled and had to be dug out. Many
points on the railroads were a week without mail from the outside
world, and cattle losses from some sections were reported from three
to twenty-five per cent.
KANSAS HISTORY I95
At Dodge City seven trains were snow-bound at one time — one being
an excursion train bound for California. Dodge City people exerted
themselves in entertaining the sojourners, who went away with the
opinion that Dodge City was a much misrepresented town. Many cat-
tle perished along the Arkansas river near this place, some while stand-
ing against the snow fences and others while trying to cross the river.
Losses of life during this blizzard were reported from Clark, Ellis,
Ellsworth, Finney, Ford and Wallace counties, together with a few
casualities from the southwestern part of the state. This loss of life
is accounted for to some extent by the fact that thousands of claim
holders settled in western Kansas in 1885, with few exceptions having
barely enough to commence the work of developing a homestead. Their
houses as a rule were mere shells and proved inadequate for the rigorous
winter. The plains country now is changed. Farms and good farm
houses, fences and well-traveled roads are everywhere, and casualties
from similar causes as obtained in 1885-86 have been rare during the
past twenty-five years.
Block, a hamlet of Miami county, is located about 8 miles southeast
of Paola, the county seat, from which place the people receive mail by
rural free delivery. Paola is the most convenient railroad station.
Bloomington, a village of Osborne county, is a station on the division
of the Missouri Pacific R. R. that runs from Downs to Stockton, 5 miles
west of Osborne, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice with
one rural route, telephone connections, a hotel, some general stores,
telegraph and express offices, and does some shipping. The population
in 1910 was 88.
Bloomington Guards. — An old map of Kansas shows the town of
Bloomington about 7 or 8 miles up the Wakarusa river from Lawrence.
Among the early settlers in that neighborhood was Samuel Walker,
who, with others, arrived in April, 1855. In his "annals" Mr. Walker
tells how, about six weeks after the settlers had made a beginning, he
was working on his cabin one day, when some 150 border ruffians under
the leadership of Samuel J. Jones, afterward sheriff of Douglas county,
rode into the settlement and gave Walker two weeks to leave the ter-
ritory. Mr. Walker then tells the story of the Bloomington Guards,
as follows :
"As soon as the Missourians were out of sight, I dropped my ax and
started around the settlement to let my friends know what was up. I
traveled all night afoot, and the next day 86 men met at my cabin. We
organized ourselves into a military company, calling it the 'Bloomington
Guards,' and choosing for it the following officers : Captain, Mr. Read ;
first lieutenant, Mr. Vermilya; second lieutenant, Dr. Miller; and myself
first sergeant. This was the first company organized in Kansas."
For a time Judge Wakefield acted as drill master. As the company
was without arms, a levy was made and Capt. Read went to Massa-
chusetts for a supply of Sharp's rifles. He never returned to Kansas,
but in Dec, 1855, he sent to Walker 80 Sharp's rifles, the arms arriving
196 CYCLOPEDIA OF
just in time for the company to march to Lawrence when that place
was threatened by an invasion of the pro-slavery forces. (See Border
War.)
Blowing Wells. — (See Artesian Wells.)
Blue Hill, an inland postoffice of Mitchell county, is located on Salt
creek in Hayes township, 16 miles southwest of Beloit, the county
seat, and about 12 miles south of Glen Elder, the nearest shipping point.
The population in 1910 was 15.
Blue Lodges. — Soon after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill,
a secret organization was formed in the South to assist in promoting
the interests of the slave power. The society was known by different
names, such as the "Friends Society," the "Social Band," the "Sons of
the South," etc., but by whatever name it might be known the object
was always the same. Each member took a solemn obligation, after
which he was given the signs, grips and passwords of the order. Severe
penalties were provided for any violation of the oath, or for divulging
the secrets of the organization, and it is known that, in a few instances
these penalties were executed upon offending members. Holcombe's
History of Vernon Count}^ Missouri, says : "The order was a branch
of or auxiliary to the famous Knights of the Golden Circle, the common
object being the same — the extension of slavery. The order of the
Golden Circle was composed of slaveowners, and was designed to effect
the acquisition of Cuba, Northern Mexico and Central America, and the
establishment of slavery in the territories. The 'Social Band' was made
up of pro-slavery men, with and without slaves, and was meant to be
a valuable active force in the extension of slavery into Kansas and Ne-
braska primarily."
Phillips' Conquest of Kansas (p. 45) says: "The Blue Lodge em-
braced great numbers of the citizens of Missouri, and was extended into
other slave states and into the territory (Kansas). Its plan of operating
was to organize and send men to vote at the elections in the territory,
to collect money to pay their expenses, and, if necessary, to protect
them in voting. It also proposed to induce pro-slavery men to emi-
grate into the territory, to aid and sustain them while there, and to
elect none to ofHce but those friendly to their views."
George Park, editor of the Parkville Luminary, whose newspaper
office was destroyed by a mob, presumably composed of members of the
Blue Lodge, in a letter to the St. Louis Democrat in May, 1855, said:
"Stringfellow and Atchison have organized a secret association, the
members of which are sworn to turn out and fight when called upon to
do so, and which is to be governed by the following rules : All belong-
ing to it are to share in the damages accruing to any member when pre-
scribed, even at the price of disunion. All are to act secretly to destroy
the business and character of Northern men ; and all dissenting from
their doctrines are to be expelled from the territory."
From these extracts the aims and objects of the society may be
learned, as well as the methods to be employed in attaining them.
KANSAS HISTORY 197
Among the leaders were David R. Atchison, the two Stringfellows, and
Alexander McDonald, afterward a Republican United States senator
from Arkansas during the reconstruction period. All the leaders of the
organization were desperate men, willing to accept any hazard, and
it was under the auspices of this society that a number of the forays into
Kansas were planned and executed. But the free-state sentiment was
too strong for even an oath-bound society to combat, and the Blue
Lodge succumbed to the inevitable.
Blue Mound, an incorporated city of Linn county, is situated in the
southwest corner at the junction of two branches of the Missouri Pa-
cific R. R. 13 miles southwest of Mound City, the county seat. A post-
office was opened a half mile north of the present town in 1854, with
John Quincy Adams as postmaster. It was moved several times, but
was finally located in the village of Blue Mound on June i, 1882. The
elevation known as Blue Mound was named by a Mr. Adams, who was
the first settler, because from a distance it looks blue, and thus the town
name followed.
The Blue Mound Town company was organized in April, 1882, and
the townsite was surveyed the same month. In May the first building
was moved to the town from about 3 miles southeast, and was used
by Alley Bros, as a store. The second was moved to Blue Mound from
Wall Street, by Innes Bros, and used as a hotel, until the new one vvas
finished for them in June. Religious services were held during the sum-
mer by a minister of the United Brethren church named Hinton. and
school was opened in October. The growth of the town was phenome-
nally rapid, for within six months there was a population of 200, with
three general stores, a harware store, furniture store, blacksmith shop,
drug store, harness shop and lumber yard. With the building of the
second railroad into the town it became a railroad center, and when
the coal beds of southeastern Kansas were opened it came into promi-
nence as a shipping point for coal and the manufactured mineral prod-
ucts of that section. Blue Mound is the banking and supply point for
a rich and extensive agricultural district. It has telegraph and express
offices and is one of the leading cities of the eastern counties. In 1910
the population was 596.
Blue Rapids, one of the principal towns of Marshall county, is located
12 miles south of Marysville, the county seat, a short distance below the
junction of the Big and Little Blue rivers. It is second in size among
the towns of the county and is an important manufacturing point on
account of the excellent water power obtainable. It has a glove and
mitten factory, cigar factory, electric plaster mills, banks, hotels and
city waterworks. The Union Pacific R. R. running north and south
and the Missouri Pacific east and west form good shipping facilities.
According to the census of 1910 Blue Rapids had 1,756 inhabitants.
The first attempt to establish a town on the site of Blue Rapids was
in 1857, when a town was laid out by James Waller, who lived on Elm
creek, Henry Poor and M. L. Duncan. Walter died. Poor shot and
198 CYCLOPEDIA OF
killed an officer of the army, then encamped at Marysville and was
obliged to leave the countr}^ The town was abandoned by Duncan
and no other attempt was made to utilize the water power until 1870
when a colony from Genesee county, N. Y., came in. A location com-
mittee "consisting of Rev. C. F. Mussey, H. J. Bovee and J. B. Brown
came in advance and located the site for the- proposed town. About
fifty families followed, among them were, S. H. Parmalee, T. Holbrook.
R. Robertson, M. T. Coe, D. Fairbanks, S. Smith, J. T. Smith, H. S.
Hurlbert, J. B. Waynant, C. J. Brown, G. R. Brown, T. F. Hall, J. B.
Brown, C. E. Olmstead, J. L. Freeland, J. V. Coon, R. S. Craft, John
McPherson, J. E. Ball, Y. Douglas, H. A. Parmalee, J. Yurann, V. R.
North, H. Woodward, E. L. Stone, J. S. Fisher, C. F. Roedel and C. F.
Mussey.
They bought from R. S. Craft and others a town site of 287 acres,
embracing the water power privileges, for $15,000, and secured 8,000
acres of farming lands. . Among the improvements made the next year
was a dam of stone, at the point where the rapids begins, and a wrought
iron bridge. The first business enterprises were, two general stores
opened by H. A. Parmalee and Yates Douglas and a drug store by A.
W. Stevens. W. H. Goodwin was the first lawyer and Dr. R. A. Wells
the first physician. The manufacture of brick was begun in 1872 by
Mr. Seip.
Blue Rapids was incorporated as a city of the third class on March
20, 1872. The first election was held in the town house, which was
called "Colonial Hall," in April. C. E. Olmstead was the first mayor.
Blue Rapids is one of the beautj^ spots of the state. It is laid out on
a gentle slope running down to the river, which is a beautiful sheet of
water. The current of the river strikes an abrupt rock about 40 feet
high on the right bank and turning to the left ripples over a solid rock
bottom, forming the rapids. It is in the midst of a rich farming district.
Blue, Richard Whiting, jurist and a member of Congress, was born
in Wood county, Va., Sept. 8, 1841, and was raised on a mountain farm
near the present city of Grafton. During the summer he worked on
the farm and in the winter attended such private schools as the locality
afforded, for Virginia had no free common schools in that period. In
1859 he entered Monongalia Academy at Morgantown, Va., then under
the supervision of Rev. J. R. Moore. He remained at this institution
several years, first as pupil and later as teacher. Subsequently he en-
tered Washington College, Pa., and remained there until he enlisted in
the Third West Virginia infantry, at the opening of the Civil war. Mr.
Blue was wounded in the battle of Rocky Gap, in southwestern Vir-
ginia, and promoted to second lieutenant, for gallantry in action. Within
a short time he was commissioned captain. In one of the engagements
he was captured and held as a prisoner of war at Libby prison and also
at Danville, Va. The regiment was mounted and after the Salem raid
was changed, by order of the secretary of war, to the Sixth West Vir-
gina cavalry. Its final service was in a campaign on the plains against
KANSAS HISTORY 199
the Indians at the close of the war. The regiment was mustered out at
Fort Leavenworth, so that Mr. Blue was in Kansas during the early
'60s. After his discharge from the army he returned to Virginia, taught
school, read law and was admitted to the bar of that state in 1870. In
1871 he came to Kansas to locate permanently, and settled in Linn
county, but in 1898 he removed to Labette county, and finally located
in Cherokee county. Mr. Blue took rank among the prominent law-
yers of Kansas; was twice chosen probate judge of his county; twice
elected county attorney, and twice chosen state senator. In 1894 he
was elected Congressman-at-large from Kansas ; was renominated by
acclamation in 1896, but was defeated by the wave of Populism that
swept over the country that year. After leaving Congress Mr. Blue
resumed his law practice, in which he was actively engaged until his
death on Jan. 27, 1907, at Bartles, Kan.
Bluemont College. — (See Agricultural College.)
Bluff City, an incorporated city of the third class in Harper county,
is located on Bluff creek and is a station on the Kansas Southwestern
R. R. 14 miles southeast of Anthony, the county seat. Bluff City has a
bank, a weekly newspaper (the News), a money order postoffice with
one rural route, express and telegraph offices, a telephone exchange,
good public schools, churches of some of the principal denominations,
some well stocked general stores, and is the principal shipping point
between Anthony and Caldwell. The population was 307 in 1910.
Blunt, James G., soldier, was born in Hancock county. Me., July 21,
1826, and passed his life until the fourteenth year upon his father's
farm. His restless disposition then led him to run away from home,
and for four years he followed the vocation of sailor upon the high seas,
visiting ports in many parts of the world. In 1845 he gave up the sea
to take up the study of medicine and on Feb. 20, 1849, he was graduated
at the Sterling Medical College at Columbus, Ohio. The following
January he located at New Madison, Ohio, where he practiced his pro-
fession until late in 1856, when he removed to Kansas and settled in
Anderson county. He quickly became an ardent free-state man and
when the Civil war broke out in 1861 he enlisted as a private in the
Third Kansas regiment, subsequently being promoted to lieutenant-
colonel. He served under Gen. Lane at the battle of Dry Wood and
then commanded a force that penetrated far into the Indian country
and broke up the band of the notorious Mathews, killing the leader. In
April, 1862, he was commissioned a brigadier-general and placed in com-
mand of the Department of Kansas. At once he began active opera-
tions in Missouri and Arkansas, distinguishing himself for bravery and
military skill in the battles of Cane Hill, Prairie Grove, Boston Moun-
tains, Fort Van Buren, Honey Springs and Newtonia. After the war
he settled in Leavenworth and engaged in business, spending a large
part of his time in Washington, D. C. About 1878 symptoms of soften-
ing of the brain appeared and he was taken to an insane asylum in
Washington, where he died on Aug. 3, 1881. Gen. Blunt was not a bril-
200 • CYCLOPEDIA OF
liant man, but he won and retained the confidence of the men under
his command and rendered Kansas important service as a soldier. His
death was sincerely mourned by his surviving comrades.
Board of Control. — On March 4, 1905, Gov. Hoch approved an act "to
provide for the management and control of the industrial school for
girls, the Kansas school for feeble-minded youth, the Osawatomie state
hospital, the Parsons state hospital, the Topeka state hospital, the state
industrial school for boys, the school for the blind, the school for the
deaf, the soldiers' orphans' home, and such other state charitable in-
stitutions as now exist or which may hereafter be created," etc.
The act provided for a board of control of three members, to be ap-
pointed by the governor within thirty days after its passage. Each
member was to receive an annual salary of $2,500 and actual traveling
expenses while in the performance of his duty, and was required to give
bond for ten times that amount. The first members were appointed for
two, four and six years, respectively, after which the tenure of office
was to be four years. Pursuant to the act Gov. Hoch, within the
specified time, appointed as the first board E. B. Schermerhorn, Sherman
G. Elliott and Harry C. Bowman. The board organized by electing Mr.
Schermerhorn as chairman; Mr. Elliott as treasurer, and Mr. Bowman
as attorney,- and on July i, 1905, succeeded the old state board of Chari-
ties and Corrections (q. v.) in the management of the state's charitable
institutions.
By thus placing all the charitable and benevolent institutions of the
state under the control of one board of only three members, Kansas
has centralized the responsibility of their management, and gains not
only in the cost of maintenance, but also in uniform and impartial treat-
ment of the institutions. As a further step toward securing impartiality
the act creating the board provided that no citizen of a county in which
any one of the institutions might be located should be eligible for mem-
bership thereon. One of the important duties of the board is to recom-
mend in its biennial reports such legislation as in the judgment of the
members is necessary for the interests of the several institutions, and
as these are all under one management there is little likelihood of
favoritism being shown, because the board is equally responsible for the
welfare of all. Since the adoption of this plan the old "log-rolling" meth-
ods of securing appropriations has been practically abolished, and the
support of the institutions has been placed upon a business basis. Dur-
ing the five years the board has been in existence the plan has apparently
accomplished all that was claimed for it by the advocates of the act creat-
ing it, and the institutions of Kansas are as well conducted as those of
any of her sister states.
Board of Pardons.— (See Pardons.)
Bodarc, a little hamlet of Butler county, is located on Walnut creek,
about 6 miles southeast of Augusta, which is the most convenient rail-
road station. Mail is supplied to the inhabitants from Douglas by rural
free deliverv.
KANSAS HISTORY 20I
Bodaville, a rural hamlet in Riley county, is near the northern line,
about 35 miles from Manhattan, the county seat, and about 12 miles
from Barnes, Washington county, from which place it receives mail.
Lasita, on the Rock Island R. R. 10 miles south is the nearest railway
station. The population in 1910 was 50.
Bogue, formerly called Fagan, a village of Graham county, is a sta-
tion on the Union Pacific R. R. 8 miles east of Hill City and not far from
the south fork of the Solomon river. It has a money order postoffice
with two rural routes, express and telegraph offices, telephone connec-
tion, a hotel, some good general stores, a public school, and in 1910 re-
ported a population of 150.
Bogus Legislature. — The so-called "Bogus" legislature of Kansas was
the first session, which convened in Pawnee in 1855. Andrew H. Reeder
the first territorial governor of Kansas, was commissioned in June, 1854,.
but did not arrive in the territory until Oct. 7. (See Reeder's Adminis-
tration.) On April 16, 1855, he issued a proclamation convening the
legislature at Pawnee on July 2, 1855, and the legislature assembled
there according to call. The pro-slavery members ousted all of the
free-state men, and then proceeded to the next business which was that
of adjourning to Shawnee Mission. Pawnee was about 100 miles from
the Missouri line, and as the legislators intended to enact a code of laws
for the territory that would meet with great disfavor among Kansans,
they thought they would be safer nearer home.
It is said that "a due supply of spirits were brought in bottles and
jugs each morning from Westport which was 4 miles distant, in
order to keep the legislature in spirits during the long summer days."
This legislature did an amazing amount of work. The laws passed by
it fill a large volume and were chiefly of local character. Most of the
laws were transcripts of the Missouri code. One enactment provided
that every officer in the territory, executive and judicial, was to be ap-
pointed by the legislature, or by some officer appointed by it. It also
enacted the notorious "Black Laws" (q. v.). One member of the legis-
lature is quoted as saying, "Kansas is sacred to slavery." This legisla-
ture created a joint-stock company, chartered prospective railroads giv-
ing them unheard-of privileges, and the charters and corporate trusts
they bestowed upon themselves. They located the capital at Lecomp-
ton, and after legislating themselves into every office and financial pros-
pect possible adjourned.
Boicourt, a money order post-village of Linn county, is situated on
the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. about 7 miles northwest of Pleas-
anton. It has an express office and in 1910 had a population of 100.
Boissiere Orphans' Home. — In the spring of 1892 Ernest Valeton
Boissiere, a Frenchman who held a large tract of land in Franklin
county, expressed his desire and intention to convey this land in trust
for the establishment of an orphans' home and industrial school. On
May II, 1892, the persons agreed upon as the trustees met at Mr. Bois-
siere's home at Silkville, when a deed to the property was executed, and
202 CYCLOPEDIA OF
the next day the charter of the institution was filed in the office of the
secretary of state. At the session of the Kansas grand lodge of Odd
Fellows at Fort Scott on Oct. 11-13, 1892, the trustees made a full re-
port of the matter, which was referred to a special committee, consisting
of several past grand masters, and this committee recommended the ac-
ceptance of the gift by the grand lodge. In the report the committee
said : "We recommend the said orphans' home and industrial school to
the favorable consideration of the Odd Fellows of the state, and hope
that they will contribute as liberally as their means will permit to
liquidate the claim assumed by the trustees against this property, so
that it may at once be made ready for the reception of children.""'
The grand lodge adopted the report and recommendation of the com-
mittee, and in a few months lodges and individual members of the order
had contributed over $12,500 for the establishment and support of the
home. At the grand lodge meeting at Topeka in Oct., 1893, the trustees
again made a complete report and asked for legislation on the part of
the grand lodge to carry out the pledges made at Fort Scott the preced-
ing year. They especially recommended the levying of a per capita
tax of $1.50 to carry into effect the original plan. The grand lodge again
adopted the report and recommendations of the trustees, but in the
meantime opposition to the scheme had developed, and Reno Lodge,
No. 99, of Hutchinson, brought suit in the district court of Shawnee
county to enjoin the officers of the grand lodge from levying the tax.
The court refused to grant the injunction and the lodge then appealed
to the supreme court, which affirmed the decision. Steps were then
taken to bring the question before the sovereign grand lodge at Chatta-
nooga, Tenn., in Sept., 1894. The sovereign grand lodge declared the
tax was lawful, but the following month the Kansas grand lodge met at
Wichita and voted to sever its connection with the enterprise and ex-
tend no further support to the institution.
Soon after executing the trust deed to his land (3,156 acres) in 1892,
Mr. Boissiere returned to France, where his death occurred on Jan. 12,
1894. With the action of the grand lodge in Oct., 1894, a number of
competent lawyers held that the land reverted to the Boissiere estate.
About the beginning of the year 1897 James A. Troutman, of the law
firm of Troutman & Stone of Topeka, went to France and secured a
quit-claim deed from Mr. Boissiere's sister, Madame Corrine Martinella
of Bordeaux. Troutman & Stone then became the plaintififs in a suit for
possession of the propert3^ but Judge S. A. Riggs of the Ottawa district
court (Franklin county) decided in favor of the seven defendant trustees.
The case was carried to the state supreme court on appeal and that
tribunal reversed Judge Riggs' decision. After some further delay
Troutman & Stone gained possession, and early in 191 1 sold it to J. O.
Patterson for $130,000.
Boling, a hamlet in the central part of Leavenworth county, is sit-
uated on the Leavenworth & Topeka R. R. about 9 miles southwest of
Leavenworth, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice and
telegraph facilities. In 1910 the population was 32.
KANSAS HISTORY 2O3
Bolton, a village of Montgomery county, is a station on the line of
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. that runs from Independence to
Tulsa, 8 miles southwest of Independence. It is a money order post-
office, is supplied with telegraph, telephone and express service, and is
a shipping and supply point for that section of the county. The popula-
tion m 1910 was 75.
Bonaccord, a rural hamlet of Dickinson county, is in the western part,
not far from the Saline count}- line, and about 12 miles from Abilene,
from which place the inhabitants receive mail by rural free delivery.
Bonded Debt. — (See Finances, State.)
Bondi, August, soldier and patriot, one of John Brown's men, was born
at Vienna, Austria, July 21, 1833. His father, Hart Immanuel Bondi,
was a Jew manufacturer of cotton goods. August was educated at the
Catholic college of the order of Piarists. When only fourteen years of
age he became a member of the Academic League and fought under
Kossuth during the Hungarian war for liberty. For this he was ex-
iled and in 1848 the family came to America. August spent seven years
in teaching and in mercantile pursuits in Missouri and Texas. In 1855
he came to Kansas at a time when the opposition to slavery was crys-
tallizing, and became an intense anti-slavery partisan. After remaining
two weeks at Lawrence, he went down the Missouri river and back by
land to acquaint himself with affairs on the border. With a partner,
he "squatted" on a claim on the Mosquito branch of the Pottawatomie,
in Franklin county. In the fall of 1855 he became acquainted with John
Brown, and after the burning of Lawrence he joined the company of
John Brown, Jr. When this force disbanded he did not return to his
claim, but joined John Brown, Sr., and took part in the engagement at
Black Jack. He was then with Brown in different raids along the bor-
der and at the battle of Osawatomie. In Feb., 1857, he laid out the town
of Greeley, Anderson county, and was appointed postmaster there. From
that time to the outbreak of the Civil war he kept the "undeground rail-
way" station at Greeley. In Oct., 1861, he enlisted in the Fifth Kansas
regiment and was present in nearly all the actions in which the regiment
was engaged. On Sept. 14, 1864, he was seriously wounded and made
prisoner by the Confederates near Pine Bluff, Ark., but was left on the
field. He was discharged in Dec, 1864, and in 1866 he located in Salina.
Mr. Bondi held many offices in Saline count}-, such as probate judge, dis-
trict clerk and postmaster, and was appointed a member of the state
board of charities. He was a Mason, a member of the Grand Army of
the Republic, and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. On
Sept. 30, 1907, Mr. Bondi fell dead on the street in St. Louis while on a
visit to his sister.
Bone Springs, a rural hamlet of Reno county, is located on a tributary
of the Ninnescah river, about 25 miles southwest of Hutchinson, the
county seat. Mail is supplied to the inhabitants by rural free delivery
irom Arlington.
204 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Bonilla's Expedition. — About the year 1594, the governor of the prov-
ince of Nueva Vizcaya commissioned Francisco Leiva Bonilla, a Portu-
guese explorer and adventurer, to lead an expedition against a predatory
tribe of Indians that had for some time been harassing the province. The
exact date of the expedition, as well as any definite account of its opera-
tions, is not obtainable, for the reason perhaps that it was in a measure
contra bando — i. e. illegal. Bonilla started upon his mission, but after
he was well out upon the plains he heard rumors of the wealth of
Quivira (q. v.) and decided to visit that province. In some way, just
how is not clear, the governor learned of this movement and sent a mes-
senger in the, person of Pedro de Calorza to recall the expedition. Calorza
failed to find Bonilla, who was so unfortunate as to get into a quarrel
with his lieutenant, Juan de Humana, in which he lost his life and
Humana then assumed command.
Just how far north or east the expedition proceeded is largely a mat-
ter of conjecture. Prof. John B. Dunbar is of the opinion that it may
have reached central Kansas, and possibly the gold mines of the Black
Hills in the western part of South Dakota. After Bonilla's death, and
while the expedition was crossing a large river, which Dunbar thinks
may have been the Platte, on balsas (rafts), three Mexican Indians took
advantage of the opportunity to desert. It was from one of these In-
dians, Jose or Jusepe by name, that Gov. Onate, of New Mexico, learned
of the expedition in 1598.
While Humana and his men were encamped at a place afterward
called Matanza they were surrounded by an overwhelming force of the
Escanjaque Indians, who set fire to the grass and then rushed upon the
camp. Bancroft says that only two people escaped the general slaughter
which ensued. These two were Alonzo Sanchez and a mulatto girl, who
eventually found their way to New Mexico, where they imparted to the
authorities the news of the fate of the expedition. According to an In-
dian tradition, Humana and his men were exterminated by the Es-
canjaques as they were returning from the mines of Quivira laden with
gold. It may be that this tradition is responsible, in some degree at
least, for Dunbar's suggestion that Humana visited the Black Hills re-
gion. Bancroft says that Zaldivar found traces of the expedition ir^
the fall of 1598, and closes his account of the event as follows: "When
we take into consideration their sources, it is not surprising that the
records of Humana's achievements are not very complete."
Bonita, a village of Johnson count}', is located in the southern part of
the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. about 5 miles south of Olathe, the
county seat. It was settled first in 1879, a postoffice was established in
the fall of that year, and the first store was opened about that time. The
town was first called Alta as it was the highest point on the railroad,
but as there was another postofifice by that name in the state it was
changed to Bonita. At the present time it has a money order postoffice,
telegraph and express facilities and in 1910 had a population of 35.
Bonner Springs. — These springs are located at the old town originally
KANSAS HISTORY 2O5
called Tiblow, for an old Indian chief, and have been well known for
years. Since the springs have been made an important suburban re-
sort for Kansas City, the place has been renamed in honor of Robert
Bonner and is now called Bonner Springs. About twenty springs are
located here, in a park owned by a private individual. A sanitarium is
also located here, using the waters which contain calcium, magnesium,
iron, chlorin, sulphuric, silicic and phosphoric acid. No attempt has
been niade to ship water from the springs.
Bonner Springs, one of the largest towns of Wyandotte county, is
located in the extreme southwest corner on the north bank of the Kansas
river and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroads,
17 miles west of Kansas City. It was named from the springs in the
vicinity. It is situated in a rich agricultural district and the excellent
transportation facilities have caused an immense amount of business to
be carried on. For years it has been the banking town for the western
part of the county and the shipping point for live stock, garden produce
and fruit. When the Kansas natural gas fields were developed, the gas
was piped to Bonner Springs and an immense cement factory, one of the
largest in the state, was erected. Today Bonner Springs is one of the
most prosperous and thriving towns in the eastern part of the state,
with excellent water, lighting and public school systems, beautiful
homes and churches, retail stores of all kinds, lumber yards and other
commercial concerns. There are two express companies, telegraph and
telephone facilities, and in 1910 Bonner Springs had a population of
over 1,350.
Boone, Daniel, hunter, trapper, Indian fighter and pioneer, was one
of the first white men of American birth to visit the Kansas Valley.
This fact is not generally known, because the many biographies of this
noted character make but slight mention of his 25 }'ears' residence west
of the Mississippi river. His grandfather, George Boone, was born in
Devonshire, England, 1666, and came to America in 1717, locating in
Berks county. Pa. Squire Boone, the father of Daniel, was born in
1698, before the family left England, and Daniel was born in Bucks
county, Pa., Feb. 11, 1735. In 1749 he went to North Carolina with his
parents, and in 1772 to Kentucky. In 1796, through defective titles and
the work of unscrupulous attorneys, he lost his land in Kentucky, re-
nounced his allegiance to the government of the United States, and be-
came a resident of the Spanish province of Louisiana, in what is now
St. Charles county. Mo. Two years later, upon his declaring his inten-
tion of becoming a Spanish subject, he was appointed commandant of
the Femme Osage district, which position he held until Louisiana passed
into the hands of the United States in 1803. For his services the Spanish
government gave him a grant of 2,000 acres of land in St. Charles county,
Mo. Boone was in the habit of taking long hunting trips, never losing
his love for nor his skill in the use of the rifle. Between the years 1805
and 1815 he hunted up the valley of the Kansas river for a distance of
100 miles from its mouth, and in the spring of 1818, when 83 years of
206 CYCLOPEDIA OF
age, he wrote to his son: "I intend by next autumn to take two or
three whites and a party of Osage Indians and visit the salt mountains,
lakes and ponds and see these natural curiosities. They are about five
or six hundred miles west of here."
The "natural curiosities" referred to were probably the Rock Saline
and its surroundings, in the Indian Territory just south of Harper
county, Kan., but there is no positive evidence that Boone carried out his
intention of visiting the place.
By the treaty of June 3, 1825, with the Kanzas Indians, the govern-
ment agreed to furnish these Indians with certain live stock, utensils,
etc., and Daniel Morgan Boone, a son of Daniel Boone, was appointed
to instruct the members of the tribe in the arts of agriculture. Under
date of Feb. 8, 1879, a son of this Daniel Morgan Boone wrote to W. W.
Cone of Topeka: "M)^ brother, Napoleon Boone, son of Maj. Daniel
Morgan Boone, and a direct grandson of the old Kentucky pioneer, was
the first white child born in the territory of Kansas — at least such is the
history in our family. My father was appointed farmer for the Kaw
Indians early in the year 1827. On his appointment he moved with his
family into a house he built, seven miles up the Kaw river from where
Lawrence was afterward built, on the north bank. Here my brother.
Napoleon, was born Aug. 22, 1828."
Daniel Boone died on Sept. 26, 1820, and at the time the above letter
was written the writer was the only survivor of the family. The place
mentioned in the letter is not far from the present station of Lake View
on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R.
Boot Hill. — Hays City's early history was one of bloodshed and vio-
lence. Being a frontier town and for a time the end of the Kansas Pa-
cific railway, it was the natural rendezvous of vicious characters and des-
peradoes. A year after the town was started the population numbered
over 1,000, the majority of which were of the undesirable classes, while
saloons, dance halls and bagnios flourished everywhere. In these re-
sorts the soldiers from Fort Hays almost daily met the desperate charac-
ters of the town and a carnival of crime and murder was the natural re-
sult. A place of sepulture was needed for the victims, and a hill about
a quarter of a mile from the older part of the town was used as a ceme-
tery, acquiring the name of "Boot Hill" on account of those who died
violent deaths and were buried "with their boots on." From 1867 to 1874
it is estimated that about seventy interments were made in this cemetery,
none of whom were buried with ceremony.
From time to time soldiers from the fort came over to "clean out"
the town, and in 1874 the better class of citizens successfully resisted
an attempt of this kind, after which there were few or no more inter-
ments made on Boot Hill. By 1904, the town of Hays City had spread
until it surrounded "Boot Hill." The ground then owned by Mr. G.
W. Sweeney was sold to P. J. Shutts, who had the bodies removed to
the regular cemetery to enable him to erect a fine residence on "this
ground, the last resting place of many a turbulent character."
KANSAS HISTORY 20/
Border Ruffians. — The term "Border Ruffian" in earl}' days was ap-
plied to those individuals on the western border of Missouri, who
sought by illegal and violent means to determine the domestic institu-
tions of Kansas Territory. The appropriate name was liked by the
owners, and Holloway writes : "Nor was this an ttnpopular appella-
tion among the border gentry. They gloried in it as much as Cicero
or Socrates did in that of philosopher, or the soldiers of the seven-
hilled-city that of Roman. Boats on the Missouri river took to them-
selves the name, hacks, omnibuses, hotels, houses and dogs, were not
infrequently adorned by the title 'Border Ruffian.' And woman so far
became blinded to the pure and virtuous, as to take unto herself the
name of Border Ruffian, and admire and praise those of that character."
The commerce of the plains, that in its width had given to the front-
ier a commanding place in population, wealth and political influence,
had also bred and trained an army of plainsmen, restless, daring, ad-
venturous, impatient of the bounds of civilization, passing the freight-
ing season beyond the restraints of law. In winter, and seasons of idle-
ness, they made residence in the border counties and were ready for any
adventure suggested. Also there were a large number of citizens on
the border between Kansas and Missouri who spent much time in loaf-
ing, gambling, drinking and carousing, and who were genuine ruffians
before the troubles in Kansas arose. A great many of these men became
willing tools of the politicians who sought to oppress, harass and
defeat the free-state men. In most of the invasions in Kansas the
ruffians were joined or led by the more respectable men of the border.
Some of these were men of ability who had occupied high positions of
public trust and profit, but who during the border wars, agitated by the
■davery question, unmindful of their dignity or honor, would throw off
restraint and play the coarse part of the real ruffian.
While the main objects of the Border Ruffian chiefs were the over-
throw and destruction of free-state men and the establishment of slav-
ery in Kansas, the ruffian border bands delighted in raiding towns, ran-
sacking houses, stealing horses, and doing whatever they could that
was annoying, exciting and rough. The towns and country along the
eastern tier of counties were raided with uncomfortable frequency.
Free-state men holding claims were driven from them, elections were
molested and crimes of violence committed. When the crash came be-
tween north and south many of these men became bushwhackers or
guerrillas.
Border War. — What is known as the "Border War" in Kansas was a
conflict between the advocates and opponents of slavery, to settle the
question as to whether Kansas should be admitted into the Union as a
free or slave state. The name arose from the fact that most of the
stirring scenes of that conflict were enacted in the eastern portion of
Kansas, near the Missouri border. Both sides were thoroughly aroused
by the debates in Congress on the bill organizing the territories of
Kansas and Nebraska, and as soon as the bill became a law thev were
208 CYCLOPEDIA OF
ready for action. The "War" lasted from 1854 until 1859, and, like all
affairs that continue through a period of several years, was made up of
a number of minor events. Most of these occurrences are described in
more or less detail in the sketches of the administrations of the terri-
torial governors, or of the various counties in which they were laid, as
well as under the titles of Wakarusa War, Pottawatomie Massacre,
Hickory Point, Franklin, Oswatomie, Black Jack, Fort Saunders, Fort
Titus, Marais des Cygnes, etc.
In the course of the contest, each side developed some strong and
efficient leaders. Prominent among the pro-slavery men were David R.
Atchison, Benjamin F. and John H. Stringfellow, Thomas Johnson, John
Calhoun, Samuel J. Jones and Daniel Woodson. On the free-state side
the most active and best known men were Charles Robinson. William
A. Phillips, James H. Lane, John Speer, George W. Smith, Cyrus K.
Holliday, George W. Deitzler and John A. Wakefield.
On May 12, 1854, more than two weeks before the passage of the
Kansas-Nebraska bill, the Emigrant Aid Society was organized in Bos-
ton, Mass., and in July it received a charter from the Connecticut
legislature. News of this movement reached western Missouri, and on
June 15 the Platte County Self Defensive Association was formed. At
a meeting at Weston, Mo., July 20, it was resolved to "remove an}- and
all emigrants who go to Kansas under the auspices of abolition soci-
eties." With the Emigrant Aid Society on one side and the Self Defen-
sive Association and kindred organizations upon the other, the issue
was clearly defined, though no acts of violence were co;nmitted in the
year 1854. Pro-slavery men crossed the river and held meetings among
the Kansas squatters. One of these meetings, on Salt creek in June,
pledged the squatters to give no protection to anti-slavery settlers, and
recommended slaveowners to bring their negroes to Kansas as soon as
possible. The first actual clash came in August, when the settlers at
Lawrence met at Judge Miller's house to adopt some form of squatter
regulations. A band of pro-slaveryites, under the leadership of an Indi-
ana lawyer named Dunham, attempted to break up the meeting. The
free-state men quietly adjourned until their opponents left, and then
proceeded with the meeting, electing John A. Wakefield chief justice.
Subsequently a compromise was eft'ected with the pro-slavery settlers,
and this squatter government ruled until the arrival of Gov. Reeder and
the inauguration of the regular territorial government.
The activit}' with which the emigrants from the Northern states
began founding settlements and making improvements of a permanent
character alarmed their opponents. The Platte Argus, a rabid pro-slav-
ery paper, declared that these "northern cattle" must be driven out, and
the Self Defensive Association met at Weston and resolved "That this
association will, whenever called upon by any of the citizens of Kansas
Territory, hold itself in readiness together to assist and remove an}^ and
all emigrants who go there under the auspices of emigrant aid societies."
With the election of March 30, 1855, for members of the first terri-
KANSAS HISTORY 2O9
torial legislature, the situation became more intensified. Missourians
in large numbers came over and voted for the pro-slavery candidates,
after which they returned to their homes across the river. The actual
free-state settlers refused to recognize the authority of a legislative body
elected by illegal votes, and also refused to obey the laws enacted by
such a body. On April 30, at a squatter meeting in Leavenworth, Cole
McCrea, a free-state man, shot and killed Malcolm Clark in self-defense.
McCrea was arrested, but the following September the grand jury failed
to find a bill against him. The same day that Clark was shot, a vigilance
committee of some 30 members was organized in Leavenworth. One
of its first acts was to tar and feather William Phillips, after which he
was ordered to leave the territory. Phillips was accused by the commit-
tee of having aided in the killing of Clark, b}' handing McCrea a revolver
just at the critical moment. He refused to leave the territorv^, and on
Sept. I, 1856, the day of the city election in Leavenworth, he v/as killed
in his house b}^ a pro-slavery mob.
Rev. Pardee Butler (q. v.) was banished on Aug. 16, and on the 28th
the Squatter Sovereign said editorially : "We will continue to tar and
feather, drown, lynch, or hang every white-livered abolitionist who dares
pollute our soil."
On Oct. 25, 1855, Samuel Collins was killed by Patrick Laughlin, who,
under the guise of a free-state man, had joined the Danites and then
published their ritual. Wilder says this was the first political murder
in Kansas, the killing of Clark in the preceding April having been done
in self-defense. Charles W. Dow was shot and killed by Franklin N.
Coleman near Hickory Point, 10 miles south of Lawrence, on Nov. 21,
1855, being the second free-state man to meet his death by violence.
Growing out of this murder were the arrest and rescue of Jacob Bran-
son, which started the Wakarusa war. On Dec. 6, 1855, Thomas W.
Barber (q. v.) was killed. This was one of the most wanton and cold-
blooded homicides of the entire border war.
Clouds, dark and portentous, overhung the Territory of Kansas at
the beginning of the year 1856. On Jan. 17, Stephen Sparks, his son
and his nephew, were waylaid on the way home from Easton from the
election of state officers under the Topeka constitution. Capt. Reese P.
Brown, a member-elect of the Topeka legislature, went to their assist-
ance, and with others succeeding in effecting their rescue. That night
Brown was assaulted by a pro-slavery mob at Leavenworth, armed
with knives and hatchets, and was so severely injured that he died be-
fore morning. The Squatter Sovereign of Feb. 20 recommended the
hanging of all who had anything to do with the Topeka constitutional
convention.
Then followed a systematic effort to drive the free-state men from
the territory on trumped-up charges. Judge Lecompte instructed the
grand jury to return indictments for treason against Andrew H. Reeder,
Charles Robinson, James H. Lane and a number of others. (See Reed-
er's Administration.) On April 19 Sherifif Jones attempted to arrest
(I-14)
2IO CVCLOl'EDIA OF
Samuel N. Wood at Lawrence, but Wood refused to be arrested. The
next day Jones called upon the citizens to aid in making the arrest, but
as the people of Lawrence did not recognize the validity of the laws
passed by the "bogus" legislature, they declined. On the 23d Jones re-
turned with a posse of United States troops and arrested several men
without resistance. That night Jones was shot and wounded by some
unknown part)', and the next da}' the citizens of Lawrence denounced
at a public meeting the shooting of the sheriff.
Matters now remained comparatively quiet until May 21, when a
deputy L^nited States marshal named Fain, accompanied by a strong
posse went to Lawrence and arrested George W. Smith, George W.
Deitzler and Gains Jenkins. It was no part of the free-state programme
to resist the Federal authorities, and the men arrested by the deputy
marshal offered no protest. Later in the day Sheriff' Jones visited Law-
rence with a body of his satellites and four pieces of artillery. The
Free-State Hotel, and the offices of the Herald of Freedom and the
Kansas Free State were destroyed ; stores were broken open and pil-
laged, and Charles Robinson's residence was burned to the ground.
Holloway says that Jones sat on his horse and viewed with complacency
the destruction of the hotel. "Gentlemen," said he to his posse, "this is
the happiest da}' of my life, I assure you. I determined to make the
fanatics bow before me and kiss the territorial laws." When the walls
of the hotel fell, the sheriff" again addressed his men with "I have done
it, by God I have done it. You are dismissed ; the writs have been exe-
cuted."
On the night of May 24-25, three days after the sack of Lawrence by
Sheriff Jones, occurred the Pottawatomie massacre (q. v.), when Doyle,
Wilkinson, and other pro-slavery settlers were killed by a party of free-
state men led by John Brown. Then followed the free-state attacks on
Franklin, the capture of Forts Saunders and Titus, and the battle of
Middle creek in Linn county. David S. Hoyt was killed by pro-slavery
men near Fort Saunders on Aug. 12, just before the place was captured,
and on the 19th of the same month a man named Hoppe, a brother-in-
law of Rev. Ephraim Nute, was shot and killed by a man named Fugit,
merely because he lived in Lawrence. Fugit was tried and acquitted by
a partisan court.
In Sept., 1856, Capt. Harvey, a free-state leader, fought the battles
of Slough creek and Hickory Point in Jefferson county, winning vic-
tories in both instances. Later Harvey was captured by United States
troops commanded by Col. Cooke and some of his men were sentenced
to five years in prison by Judge Cato. On Sept. 16 David C. Buffum
was killed by Charles Hays. (See Geary's Administration.)
Around Atchison and Leavenworth there was a reign of terror
throughout the year. Frederick Emery's gang of border ruffians, under
the guise of "regulators." harassed free-state men in every jiossihle
way. Steamboats bearing emigrants from the Xorthern states were
turned back, and settlers known to be opposed to slavery were ordered
KANSAS ?n STORY 211
to leave the territory. Phillips, in his Conquest of Kansas, tells how C.
H. Barlow, with eight families from Illinois, and two families from
Iowa, were disarmed in Missouri and escorted back to Liberty with
instructions not to set foot in Kansas. Laban Parker was killed and his
body tied to a tree about lo miles from Tecumseh. A large hunting
knife was left sticking in his breast, and tied to the handle of the knife
was a toad-stool, on which was written: "Let all those who are going
to vote against slavery take warning."
With regard to sending back free-state emigrants, a pro-slavery news-
paper of Missouri said : "We do not approve fully of sending these
criminals back to the east to be reshipped to Kansas — if not through
Missouri, through Iowa or Nebraska. . . . We are of the opinion,
if the citizens of Leavenworth city or Weston would hang one or two
boat loads of abolitionists, it would do more toward establishing peace
in Kansas than all the speeches that have been made in Congress dur-
ing the present session. Let the experiment be tried."
Notwithstanding the machinations of the opposition, free-state set-
tlers continued to pour into the territory. At meetings in Milwaukee,
Chicago, Buffalo, Boston, and other northern cities in June, 1856, the
people contributed nearly $250,000 for the relief of Kansas settlers and
to aid emigration. In August some 600 immigrants came in through
Iowa and Nebraska over "Lane's road."
The year 1857 started in with the promise of being as turbulent as
its predecessor. On 'Feb. 19 "Bill" Sherrard was killed by John W.
Jones at Lecompton (See Geary's Administration), and in April Martin
Kline was killed by Merrill Smith, the marshal of Leavenworth. James
Stevens was murdered at Leavenworth on July 31 by John C. Ouarles
and W. M. Bays, and the next day the murderers were hanged by the
citizens to an elm tree near Young's saw mill. William Knighten and
William Woods were arrested as accessories and taken to the Delaware
City jail.
The arrival of Gov. Walker in May, and the promises he made to give
the people a fair and impartial administration did much to allay the hos-
tile spirit, and the activities of the contestants were confined chiefly to
holding conventions and organizing for the purpose of carrying the elec-
tions. Late in the year trouble broke out in Linn and Bourbon counties
and continued throughout the year 1858. The free-state men arrested
the preceding year for treason were brought before Judge Cato for
trial, but the cases were "nollied" by the prosecuting attorney. Charles
Robinson was arraigned for trial in Judge Cato's court on Aug. 18,
charged with "usurpation of office," in having accepted the office of
governor under the Topeka constitution, but he was acquitted bv the
jury. Toward the close of the year interest centered in the adoption
and ratification of the Lecompton constitution. Excitement ran high,
but there was little actual violence.
The most atrocious event of the j'ear 1858 was the Marais des Cygnes
massacre on May 19, when nine free-state men were lined up and shot
212 CYCLOPEDIA OF
by Capt. Charles Hamelton's band of border ruffians. The free-state
party, having gained control of the legislature, passed laws of a more
liberal character than those of the first session, and this served as a stim-
ulus to emigration from the Northern and Eastern states, so that by
1859 the opponents of slavery were in a decided majority in the terri-
tory. However, the pro-slavery men were not yet willing to abandon
the fight. On Jan. 25, 1859, Dr. John Doy and his son Charles were
arrested in Kansas and taken to Weston, Mo., where they were lodged
in jail on a charge of "nigger stealing." In the first trial the jury dis-
agreed, but in June Dr. Doy was convicted and sentenced to five years'
imprisonment. On July 23 a company of Kansas men, led by Maj. J.
B. Abbott, went to Weston and released him. With the ratification of
■ the Wyandotte constitution on Oct. 4, 1,859, by a vote of nearly two to
one, the slave power recognized the "handwriting on the wall" and
retired from the field. The "Border War," which for five years had
disturbed the ejitire country, was ended, and the term "Bleeding Kan-
sas" was no longer applicable to the territory. There was some lack
of harmony during the year i860, but nothing occurred to cast more
than a slight ripple of discontent on the situation.
Bosna, a rural postoffice of Trego county, is located on Big creek,
about 12 miles southwest of Wakeeney, the county seat, which is the
most convenient railroad station.
Botkin, Jeremiah D., clergyman and member of Congress, was born
on April 24, 1849, in Logan county, 111. His early education was that
afiforded by the public schools, and after finishing the course in common
schools he spent one year at De Pauw University at Greencastle, Ind.
At an early age he was imbued with abolition sentiments and became a
Republican in politics. During the last year of the Civil war, when he
was but sixteen years of age, he made three attempts to enlist in the
army but was rejected because of being under size and age. In 1870
he entered the Methodist ministry, where he served six years as pre-
siding elder. In 1888 Mr. Botkin was elected a delegate to the general
conference of the Methodist church held at New York City, and to the
ecumenical conference at Washington, D. C, in 1891. He was a loyal
supporter of the Republican party, but ran. for governor on the Pro-
hibition ticket in 1888. He espoused the Populist cause soon after
the birth of that party and ran for Congress in the Third district in 1894,
but was defeated. Two years later he was elected on the Fusion ticket
as Congressman-at-large from Kansas. Upon retiring from Congress
he engaged in business at Winfield, where he still resides.
Boudinot Mission. — This mission was established under the direction
of the Presbyterian church among the Osage Indians in 1824, in what
is now Neosho county. It was located on the Neosho river, near the
mouth of Four Mile creek. After doing good work for over a decade
it was abandoned in 1837. (See Missions.)
Boundaries. — When La Salle, on April 9, 1862, laid claim to all
the territory drained by the Mississippi river and its tributaries in the
KANSAS HISTORY ' 2I3
name of France, and bestowed upon the region the name of "Louisi-
ana," in honor of Louis XIV, then king of France, he set up the first
boundaries ever established by a civiHzed nation to a territory includ-
ing the present state of Kansas. At the Louisiana Purchase exposi-
tion, held at St. Louis, Mo., in 1904, the United States general land
office had on exhibition a map showing the boundaries of the territory
claimed by La Salle. The eastern boundary began on the western
coast of Florida, at the mouth of the river of Palms, and extended
northward by an irregular line along the watershed dividing the streams
flowing into the Atlantic from those flowing westward into the Ohio
and Mississippi rivers or southward to the Gulf of Mexico; the north-
ern boundary was also an irregular line beginning at a point near the
present city of Buflfalo, N. Y., and extending in a northwesterly direc-
tion tO' the 49 parallel of north latitude, separating the basin of the
great lakes from the Mississippi valley, and thence along the 49th par-
allel to the crest of the Rock mountains; the western boundary fol-
lowed in a southeasterly direction the watershed dividing the western
tributaries of the Mississippi from the waters of the Pacific slope, to a
point on the Gulf of Mexico at about 92° west longitude ; the southern
boundary followed the gulf coast from this point to the place of be-
ginning.
By the treaties of 1762-63, all that part of Louisiana lying east of the
Mississippi passed into the hands of Great Britain, and that portion
west of the great river became a Spanish possession. By the secret
treaty of St. Ildefonso, which was concluded on Oct. i, 1800, this
province was ceded back to France, which nation, by the treaty of
April 30, 1803, transferred it to the United States. Article III of the
last named treaty provided that "The inhabitants of the ceded territory
shall be incorporated into the Union of the LTnited States, and admitted
as soon as possible, according to the principles of the Federal consti-
tution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages and immunities
of citizens of the United States," etc. In accordance with this provision
the Louisiana Purchase has been divided into states by the Federal
government.
When Missouri was admitted in 1821, the western boundary of that
state was fixed on a "north and south line passing through the mouth
of the Kansas river." This boundary was changed by the act of Con-
gress, approved June 7, 1836, adding to Missouri what is known as the
"Platte Purchase," embracing all of the land lying between the original
boundary and the Missouri river, north of the mouth of the Kansas.
This purchase includes the present counties of Platte, Buchanan, An-
drew, Holt, Nodaway and Atchison, in the State of Missouri. It was
by the act of Congress admitting Missouri and the subsequent act,
adding the above named territory to that state, that the eastern
boundary of the State of Kansas was established.
Section 19 of the organic act of May 30, 1854, defined the boundaries
of the Territory of Kansas as follows : "That all that part of the ter-
214 CYCLOPEDIA OF
ritory of the United States included within the following limits, except
such portions thereof as are hereinafter expressly exempted from the
operations of this act, to-wit: beginning at a point on the western
boundary of the State of Missouri, where the thirty-seventh i)arallel of
north latitude crosses the same ; thence west on said parallel to the
eastern boundary of New Mexico ; thence north on said boundary to
latitude thirty-eight ; thence following said boundary westward to the
east boundary of the territory of Utah, on the summit of the Rocky
mountains ; thence northward on said summit to the fortieth parallel
of latitude; thence east on said parallel to the western boundary of the
State of Missouri ; thence south with the western boundary of said
state to the place of beginning, be, and the same is hereby created
mto a temporary government by the name of the Territory of
Kansas."
The part expressly exempted was "to include any territories which
by treaty with an Indian tribe is not without the consent of said tribe
to be included within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any state
or territory."
Next to the eastern boundary, the first line to be established, as pro-
vided for in the organic act, was that between Kansas and Nebraska,
and in connection with that line there is some interesting history. As
earh' as 1844 the secretary of war recommended the organization of a
territory in the Indian country west of the Missouri river. An effort
was made in 1848 to establish a territorial government there, but it was
not until Oct. 12, 1852, that an election for a delegate to Congress Avas
held at the Wyandotte council house. Abelard Guthrie received all the
votes cast, but opposition to the movement developed and a second
election was held at Fort Leavenworth. At that election Guthrie de-
feated a man named Banow by a vote of 54 to 16. On Nov. 20. 1852,
Mr. Guthrie left Fort Leavenworth for Washington, and during the
ensuing sess.ion of Congress he wielded considerable influence in forcing
a consideration of the bill providing for the organization of Nebraska
Territory. On Oct. 11, 1853, Rev. Thomas Johnson was declared elected
delegate, after a bitter campaign between him and Mr. Guthrie. The
people farther up. the river voted for Hadley D. Johnson, of Council
Bluffs, Iowa, but the returns from the district appear to have been ig-
nored. Thomas Johnson went to Washington as soon as Congress
met in Dec, 1853, but Hadley D. Johnson did not arrive there until
early in Jan., 1854, when the latter began working for the establishment
of two territories instead of one, with the result that the "two John-
sons," as the}' were called, got into a controversy and both were forced
to vacate their seats. Both remained in Washington for awhile, how-
ever, to watch the trend of events. Hadley D. Johnson, in the Nebraska
Historical Report (vol. ii, p. 80), gives the following account of how the
40th parallel came to be selected as the dividing line:
"As to the dividing line between Kansas and Nebraska, a good deal
of trouble was encountered ; Mr. Johnson and his Missouri friends being
KANSAS HISTORY 21 5
very anxious that the Platte river should constitute the line, which ob-
viously would not suit the people of Iowa, especially as I believe it was
a plan of the American Company to colonize the Indians north of the
Platte river. As this plan did not meet with the approbation of my
friends or myself, I firmly resolved that this line should not be adopted.
Judge Douglas was kind enough to leave that question to me, and I
offered to Mr. Johnson the choice of two lines — first, the present line,
or second, an imaginary line traversing the divide between the Platte
and the Kaw. After considerable parleying, and Mr. Johnson not being
willing to accept either line, I offered the two alternatives — the 40th
degree of north latitude, or the defeat of the whole bill, for that session
at least. After consulting with his friends, I presume, Mr. Johnson very
reluctantly consented to the 40th degree as the dividing line between the
two territories, whereupon Judge Douglas prepared and introduced the
substitute in a report as chairman of the committee on territories, and
immediately probably the hardest war of words known in American
history commenced." (See Kansas-Nebraska Bill.)
On Aug. 26, 1854, the surveyor-general of the territories of Kansas
and Nebraska received instructions to make the boundary line between
Kansas and Nebraska "the principal base line wherefrom to start the
surveys, both on the north in Nebraska, and on the south in Kansas ;
and that boundary is the parallel of 40° north latitude. . . . Your
first operations will be to run and establish the base line, and con-
tinue the same for a distance of 108 miles on the parallel of 40° north
latitude."
Pursuant to these instructions, John Calhoun, the surveyor-general,
on Nov. 2, 1854, entered into a contract with J. P. Johnson, b}^ which
the latter was to run and mark the line for the 108 miles for $1,296.
Johnson secured the services of Ira H. Smith as assistant, and began
work about the middle of November. The 108 miles were run and
marked in eighteen days, and on Jan. 12, 1855, the plats were forwarded
to the general land office. Subsequently, Joseph Seidlej', a surveyor
of Springfield, 111., and a Mr. Manly reviewed and condemned the work
of Johnson and Smith. The survey was therefore set aside, the cor-
ners were ordered to be erased, and the line resurveyed for a distance
of 60 miles, though Johnson received a little over $1,000 for the work
he had done. A letter from J. M. Edmunds, commissioner of the gen-
eral land office, to Gov. Crawford, under date of Aug. 31, 1865, says
the 40th parallel was "astronomically established in 1854, by Capt. T.
J. Lee, topographical engineer, U. S. A."
Several efforts were made by the people of Nebraska to have the
territory lying between the 40th parallel and the Platte river annexed
to Kansas, but the inhabitants of the latter state seem to have been
generally satisfied with the lines as established by the organic act of
1854. The only instance to the contrary, of which any official record
can be found, was on Jan. 25, 1859, when Gov. Medary forwarded to
President Buchanan "joint resolutions passed by the legislative assem-
2l6 CYCLOPEDIA OF
bly of this territory, asking the annexation of that part of Nebraska
Territor}' lying south of the Platte river."
An act of Congress, approved July 8, 1856, directed "the southern
boundary line of the Territory of Kansas, from the State of Missouri
to the Territory of New Mexico, to be surveyed and distinctly marked,"
etc. Four companies of the First cavalry and two companies of the
Sixth infantry, under command of Lieut. -Col. Joseph E. Johnston, es-
corted the surveying party that ran the line in the summer and fall
of 1857, and on Oct. 22, 1859, John B. Floyd, the secretary of war,
transmitted to Lewis Cass, the secretary of state, a plat of the survey
"to be forwarded to the Territory of Kansas.." By the Missouri Com-
promise of 1820, the line of demarcation between free and slave ter-
ritory was fixed at 36° 30', which would seem to have been the logical
southern boundary of Kansas. The onl}' reason for moving that bound-
ary a half a degree farther north to the 37th parallel was probably be-
cause that was the line dividing the Cherokee lands from those of the
Osages. This parallel was astronomically established by J. H. Clark
and H. Campbell at the tim.e the survey was made in 1857.
The western boundary, "the summit of the Rocky mountains," was
rather vague, as at that time the surveys were so incomplete that the
actual location and direction of the "summit" were not definitely de-
termined. Old maps show the west line of Kansas territory as fol-
lowing the continental divide and including about two-thirds of the
present State of Colorado, the divide running a short distance west of
Leadville. But a new western boundary was established when Kan-
sas was admitted into the Union in 1861. The Wyandotte constitu-
tion named the 25th meridian west of Washington as the western line
of the proposed state, and this boundary was accepted by Congress,
the act of Jan. 29, 1861, giving the boundaries as follows:
"Beginning at a point on the western boundary of Missouri, where
the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude crosses the same ; thence
'west on said parallel to the twenty-fifth meridian of longitude west
from Washington ; thence north on said meridian to the fortieth parallel
of latitude ; thence east on said parallel to the western boundary of
the State of Missouri ; thence with the western boundary of said state
to the place of beginning."
As a matter of fact, the western line of the state is three miles west
of the meridian designated by the constitution and the act of admis-
sion. This is due to the fact that after the adoption of the constitu-
tion and the passage of the act, the surveyors in running the eastern
line of an Indian reservation in what is now the State of Colorado
made an error of three miles, so that the western boundary is really
that much farther west than was originally intended, or 102° 2' west
from Greenwich.
The eastern boundary' has been a subject for discussion ever since
Kansas became a state. Several times the claim has been advanced
that changes in the location of the mouth of the Kansas river have
KANSAS HISTORY 217
occurred since the western boundary of Missouri was established as
a north and south line passing through the mouth of that stream, and
that these changes have moved the mouth of the river some six miles
farther east. The line was established by Joseph C. Brown in 1823,
and the official plats of the public land surveys, both in Missouri and
Kansas, show the line as then marked. In the Kansas Cit)^ Journal
of March 6, 1899, appeared an article relating to this line, from the
pen of W. E. Connelley, in which the writer sa)'S :
"I notice that the old controversy concerning the state line between
the states of Kansas and Missouri has been out afresh this winter. The
Kansas legislature has been asked to appropriate the sum of $5,000
to pay the expenses of a suit to settle the matter in the courts. Per-
haps it would be as well that this be done. The result will settle
nothing not already known to any and every person having investi-
gated the matter. In 1884 this matter was all threshed over. At that
time many Kansans would consent to no less than six miles of Mis-
souri territory. As investigation proceeded the claim narrowed until
the fopt of Broadway, in Kansas City, Mo., was fixed as the point be-
yond which no Kansan could honorably retreat. I was county clerk
of Wyandotte count}', Kan., at that time, aYid an ardent supporter of
the Kansas claim — until I made an investigation of the matter. In
that }^ear I made an accurate and correct map and plat of every tract
of land in Wyandotte county, and also prepared an accurate descrip-
tion of each tract, for the tax rolls of the county. It was necessary
that I should locate definitely the state line. . . . The claim that
the state line has been changed since 1823, or that it was then er-
roneously located, is a preposterous absurdity."
But aside from the claim of error in the state line, caused by the
shifting of the mouth of the Kansas river, the boundary formed by
the Missouri river along the northeastern part of the State of Kansas,
has long been a matter of dispute. Gov. Martin, in his message to the
legislature of 1885, called attention to the boundary question as fol-
lows:
"Our eastern boundary is defined in the organic act, the act of ad-
mission, and in our state constitution, as the western boundary of the
State of Missouri. The location of that line from the mouth of the
' Kansas river to the north line of the state, is not definitely understood
by our people nor by the inhabitants of Missouri. By the treaties be-
tween the United States and the Sacs and Foxes, the act of Congress
of June 7, 1836, and the executive proclamation of March 28, 1837, it
appears that the 'Platte Purchase' extended only to the Missouri river,
and embraced only the territor}^ lying between that river and the orig-
inal boundary of the State of Missouri. Under the generally accepted
rules of construction, our eastern line therefore extends to the left, or
eastern bank, of the Missouri river, and at low water that stream lies
wholly within this state. On account of the rightful taxation of the
several great bridges which span the river, the jurisdiction of the courts,
2l8 CYCLOPEDIA OF
the service of civil and criminal process, on the river and on the bridges
spanning it, the sovereignty over islands, and for other reasons that
will suggest themselves, it is important that this line be definitely and
generally understood, at as early a day as practicable.' I recommend
the reference of the question to the attorney-general for the; suggestion
of such action as shall be thought proper."
No action was taken by the legislature upon the governor's recom-
mendation, probably for the reason that the members of the assembly
felt the subject to be a rightful one for Congressional consideration.
Federal Judge Dillon, in the case of Doniphan county vs. the St. Joseph
Bridge company, decided that the boundary was at the middle of the
channel of the Missouri river, and this only added to the confusion.
On March i, 1910, Congressman Charles F. Booher of Missouri intro-
duced in the national house of representatives a resolution "to en-
able the states of Missouri and Kansas to agree upon a boundary
line, and to determine the jurisdiction of crimes committed upon the
Missouri river and adjacent territory." The resolution was favorably
reported by the committee on judiciary on the 29th of the same month,
passed the house on April 18, the senate on May 26, and was signed
by the president on June 7, thus giving the two states all the authority
necessary for the adjustment of this vital question.
Bounties. — For many years after Kansas was organized as a ter-
ritor}- and the lands thrown open to settlement, the pioneers suffered
severely through the depredations of wild beasts upon their flocks and
herds and the destruction of vegetation or young orchards by rodents.
As early as 1869 some of the counties were authorized to offer a bounty
or premium on wolf scalps, but no general legislation on the subject
was passed until the act of March 6, 1877, which empowered county
commissioners to pay $1 for the scalp of each wolf, coyote, wild-cat
or fox killed within the county, and five cents for each rabbit. By the
act of Feb. 19, 1885, the premium on wolf, coyote, wild-cat and fox
scalps was raised to $5 each, and by the act of March 6, 1895, Wallace
county was authorized to offer a bounty for gopher scalps. On March
4, 1899, Gov. Stanley approved an act fixing the bounty on coyote
scalps at $1. and on the scalps of lobo wolves at $5.
The legislature of 1905 passed an act providing that, upon a petition
by ten residents and landowners of any township of th's state, the
boards of count}^ commissioners of the several counties of this state
were authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to direct any town-
ship trustee of any township in their respective counties to appoint
the road overseer or any other suitable person in any road district
where there were pocket-gophers, to see that pocket-gophers were
poisoned, killed or exterminated. It was made the duty of the person
so appointed to enter the farm, ground or premises of any person in
his respective district at least three times in each year to see that the
provisions of this act were fully complied with, and if the owner of
such premises failed to kill or exterminate the animals specified, said
KANSAS HISTORY 2ig
person so appointed by the township trustee should proceed to do
so. The person so appointed by the township trustee was to receive
a compensation of $2 per day of ten hours for labor performed, and
in addition to this he was to be allowed a comf)ensation for poison or
other necessaries used in the performance of such work. For all labor
performed in inspecting lands to see if there were gophers therein,
and in serving notices, such person was to be paid by the township at
the rate of $2 per day. Such person was required to make sworn state-
ment or voucher to the township trustee of time put in or poison used,
and a voucher for the amount, after being signed by the township
trustee and township clerk, was to be paid by the township treasurer
out of the township general fund, at any quarterly meeting. The
township trustee was authorized to charge such amounts to the taxes
of such person who neglected or refused to poison or in any other
way exterminate the pocket-gophers on his premises ; the county clerk
was directed to enter such amounts upon the tax-roll of the county,
and the count}- treasurer of such county was authorized to collect such
amounts, the same as other taxes, and place such sums to the credit
■of the respective townships in which collected ; but the expenses of
inspecting lands and serving notices was not to be charged on the
tax-rolls. The same session also passed an act providing for a bounty
of five cents for each crow killed within the limits of the county.
By the laws of 1907 it was provided that the county commissioners
■of each county in the state of Kansas might pay a bounty of $1 on each
coyote scalp and $5 on each lobo wolf scalp, if said coyotes and lobo
wolves were caught or killed in said county, and gophers, ten cents
each. No person was to be entitled to receive any bounty, without
first making it appear by positive proof, by affidavit in writing, filed
with the county clerk, that the coyote or lobo wolf or gopher was
captured and killed within the limits of the county in which applica-
tion was made. And it was further provided that whenever bounty
for any of these animals is awarded, the person to whom it was awarded
should deliver the scalp of the animal, containing both ears, to the
county clerk, who should personally burn the same, in presence of the
county treasurer of said county.
At the special session of 1908, the legislature passed an act provid-
ing that the board of county commissioners of each county in the
state might pay a bounty of ten cents on the scalp of each pocket-
gopher or ground-mole, if said pocket-gopher or ground-mole should
"be killed within the county. No person was to be entitled to receive
any bounty unless he should first make it appear by positive proof,
by affidavit in writing, filed with the county clerk, and to the satisfac-
tion of the board of county commissioners, that the pocket-gopher or
ground-mole for which a bounty was sought was killed within the limits
of said county in which application was made. And it was further
provided that whenever bounty for any animal was awarded, the per-
son to whom it was awarded should deliver the scalp of the animal,
220 CYCLOPEDIA OF
containing both ears, to the county clerk, who should personally burn
the same in the presence of the county treasurer of said county.
In 1909 a law was passed providing that the county commissioners
in each county in the State of Kansas shall pay a bounty of five cents
on each pocket-gopher, crow, or crow's head, and a bounty of one
cent on each crow's egg, if said pocket-gopher, crow or crow's egg be
caught, killed or taken in said count}^ No person is entitled, under
this law, to receive any bounty without first making it appear by posi-
tive proof, by affidavit in writing, filed with the county clerk, that such
gopher, crow% crow's head or egg was killed, taken or captured within
the limits of the county in which application for bounty is made, and
the mode of procedure and disposal is the same as already outlined in
other legislation mentioned.
But the legislation of Kansas granting bounties has not been con-
fined to the payment of premiums for the scalps of destructive ani-
mals or birds. Efforts have been made through the bounty system to
stimulate and encourage certain industries, the most notable instance
being that of sugar. About 1887 considerable attention was paid to
the various methods proposed of extracting sugar from sorghum cane.
By the act of March 5, 1887, the Kansas legislature authorized the
payment of a bounty of two cents a pound on sugar made "from beets,
sorghum "or other sugar-yielding canes" grown within the State of Kan-
sas, and manufactured under certain conditions and restrictions, chief
of which were that the sugar so manufactured should contain 90 per
cent, of crystallized sugar, and that the bounty should not aggregate
more than $15,000 in any one year. It was also enacted that the act
should continue in force for five years.
On March 2, 1889, Gov. Humphrey approved an act, amending the
act of 1887, increasing the amount that could be paid annually in
bounties to $40,000, and extending the time to seven }^ears. Two days
after the passage and approval of this act, the legislature appropriated
$18,658.30 for the payment of sugar bounties for the years 1887-88.
The act granting the bounty of two cents a pound on sugar expired
by limitation in 1896.
On March 5, 1903, the legislature passed an act providing for a
bounty of $1 per ton on sugar beets grown within the state, under
the conditions that the said beets should contain 12 per cent, of sugar,
and that the total bounty paid in any one year should not exceed $10,-
000. The last appropriation 'for the payment of bounty on sugar beets
was made by the legislature of 1905. Since that time the sugar in-
dustry has been forced to do without state assistance.
Bourbon County, on the Missouri border and in the third tier north
of Oklahoma, is one of the 33 counties created by the first territorial
legislature, with the following boundaries, "Beginning at the south-
east corner of Linn county; thence south 30 miles; thence west 24
miles ; thence north 30 miles ; thence east 24 miles to the place of be-
ginning." In 1867 the boundaries were defined as follows: "Begin-
KANSAS HISTORY 221
ning at the southeast corner of Linn county ; thence south on the east
Hne of the State of Kansas to the southeast corner of section 24, town-
ship 27, range 25 ; thence west to the southwest corner of section 23,
township 27, range 21 ; thence north to the southwest corner of Linn
county ; thence east to the place of beginning." By this second act,
the extent of the county from north to south was reduced to 25 miles,
and increased from east to west a little more than 25 miles, which
gives it an area of 637 square miles.
It was named after Bourbon county, Ky. At the present time it is
bounded on the north by Linn county, on the east by the State of
Missouri, on the north by Crawford county and on the west by Neosho
and Allen counties. It is divided into the following townships : Dry-
wood, Franklin, Freedom, Marion, Marmaton, Mill Creek, Osage, Paw-
nee, Scott, Timber Hill and Walnut.
The general surface of the country is undulating, the highest hills
being found in the northwest portion, where they rise to about 200
feet above the Marmaton river. The valleys of the streams average
about a mile in width and these bottom lands .comprise about one-third
of the area. Timber belts varying in width are found along the streams
and contain hackberry. hickory, oak, pecan and walnut. On the up-
lands and in some of the lower lands, hickory, maple, poplar and wil-
low have been planted. The main water-courses are the Little Osage,
which flows east a few miles south of the northern boundary, and the
Marmaton, which flows from west to east through the central por-
tion of the county. The Little Osage has several tributaries flowing
into it from both north and south, the main stream being Limestone
creek in the northwest part of the county. The main creeks flowing
into the Marmaton from the north are Turkey and Mill creeks, and
from the south Yellow Paint creek, which also has several small trib-
utaries. Drywood creek flows across the southeast corner.
The soil is deep and fertile, being underlaid with sandstone and
limestone at various depths. There are quarries at Redfield, Gilfillan
and near Hiattville. A good quality of cement is manufactured from
the stone found in the vicinity of Fort Scott. Mineral paint and clay
for brick are also plentiful. Natural gas was found in Bourbon county
in 1867 and has been utilized for lighting and heating. There are
numerous manufacturing plants, principally at Fort Scott.
The territory now embraced within the limits of Bourbon county
originally formed a part of the reservation of the New York Indians,
which was ceded to the government just previous to the organization
of the territory, when the lands were thrown open to settlement by
the whites. One of the first white men to enter the present limits of
the county was Lieut. Zebulon Pike, in his expedition of 1806.
For some time previous to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska act.
the settlers just across the line in Missouri had known of the fertility
of the soil in what is now Bourbon county, and only waited for the
organization of the territory to rush across the line and take claims.
2J2 CYCLOPEDIA OF
A majority of the early settlers were pro-slavery men, but there were
also men from the Northern states who were free soilers in politics,
though for some j'ears they were in the minority. Some of the men
who settled in the county in 1854 were Gideon Terrell, William and
Philander Moore in what is now^ Pawnee township, and Nathan Arnett
in Marmaton township. In 1855 Guy Hinton located in Walnut town-
ship ; James Guthrie, Cowan Mitchell, John and Robert Wells in
Marion township. Others who came during the next two years were :
Samuel Stephenson, Charles Anderson, John Van Sycle, D. D. Roberts,
Joseph Ray, H. R. Kelso, Gabriel Endicott, David Claypool and Ed-
ward Jones, who built the first sawmill in what is now Marmaton
township, the second mill in the county, the government having one
on Mill creek. David Endicott, one of the first to locate, assisted in
the surve}' of the land.
Scarcely had the first settlers become located when trouble over
politics began. It is estimated that on March 30, 1855, at least 300
armed Missourians came to the Fort Scott precinct and cast their votes,
while there were probably not more than 30 legal voters in the pre-
cinct. Early in the spring of 1855 a party of men came to Bourbon
county from Carolina, under the leadership of George W. Jones,
to assist in making Kansas a slave state. They were sent out under
the auspices of the Southern Emigrant Aid society. They were mild
mannered at first and went through the county visiting the free-state
settlers, asking them their opinion upon the political questions of the
day, how they were supplied with arms and ammunition, and inquir-
ing about the good land in the territory. In this way a complete list
of the free-state men was made. Later in the year nearly all the men
on the lists were made prisoners, and while thus held were advised
to leave the territory. As soon as they left, pro-slavery men were put
on their claims.
Earh' in August a part}- of Texas rangers arrived at Fort Scott. Ac-
companied by a considerable number of citizens of that town they
started northward through the border counties, intending to have "fun"
at the expense of the free-state settlers. Early in 1857 many of the
free-state men who had been driven from their homes returnd to Bour-
bon county. A number of new settlers from the Northern states also
came about this time, and as the free-state men grew in number they
also grew in confidence. In order to gain possession of the claims
from which the}' had been driven, they organized a "Wide Awake"
society, in opposition to the "Dark Lantern" lodges of the pro-slavery
men. Some of the most important leaders of this movement were J.
C. Burnett, Capt. Samuel Stevenson and Capt. Bayne. The meetings
were held at different settlers' cabins at intervals, to evade surprise by
the men of the "Blue Lodges." When all the plans of the "Wide
Awakes" were perfected, they notified the pro-slavery men who had
seized claims that did not belong to them, that they must leave. Most
of the pro-slavery men realized that resistance would lead to serious
KANSAS HISTORY 223
difficulties, if not to bloodshed, and left, but some had to be driven
ofi' the claims by arms. The border strife continued in Bourbon coun-
ty after it had nearly disappeared in other parts of Kansas Territory.
As a matter of reprisal some of the free-state men were arrested on
various charges. The district court was presided over by Joseph Wil-
liams, a pro-slavery man. The adjustment of claims was referred to
his court for a time, and usually decided in favor of the pro-slavery
claimant. This caused great dissatisfaction among the free-state men
and led them to take severe measures to secure the release of free^
state prisoners held at Fort Scott. Another result of Judge Williams
decisions was the formation of a "Squatter Court," in which the free-
state men heard the cases of contested claims. Dr. Gilpatrick of An-
derson county was made judge, and Henr}' Kilbourn, sheriff. The
proceedings of this body were regular and dignified, its decisions were
usually just and its decrees were rigorouslj' executed by the sherifif.
The proceedings of the court were naturally distasteful to the pro-
slavery men, and as a consequence an expedition was organized and
started out under command of Deputy United States Marshal Little
to capture the court. The attempt failed and four days later (Dec. i6,
1857,) Little organized a posse of about 50 men, for a second attempt.
They approached the cabin of Capt. Bayne. where the court was
sitting, and a short distance from it were met by messengers from the
court, consisting of Maj. Abbott, D. B. Jackson and Gen. Blunt, who
had been sent out under a flag of truce as Little was advancing. A
parley was held, at the conclusion of which Little said that if the court
did not surrender he would open fire. The messengers returned to the
cabin with the report of the conference, the decision was against sur-
render, the cabin was put in a state of defense, some of the chinking
between the logs was removed to form loop holes, Maj. Abbott told
Little that they would not surrender, and if he advanced beyond a
certain line the free-state men would fire. Little advanced, however,
received a volley from the cabin, which was returned, and then re-
treated half a mile. Four men were wounded but Little called for a
volunteer party and made a second attack with no better result, ex-
cept that no men were hurt. Finding it impossible to take the "fort"
without loss, the marshal started back to Fort Scott. The next day
he gathered a larger number of men and again started for the fort,
but upon arriving there found the cabin deserted, as the court had
moved to the Baptist church at Danford's mill.
B}^ Dec, 1857, Capts. Bayne and Montgomery had succeeded in
driving out of the district many of the pro-slaver}- men who unlaw-
fully held claims. The parties thus driven out congregated at West
Point, Marvel, Balltown and Fort Scott, where their Blue Lodges flour-
ished, and from these as centers raids were made to harass the free-
state settlers on Mine creek, the Little Osage and Marmaton. Almost
daily reports came of outrages committed by the Missourians, and the
free-state men would ride upon errands of swift retaliation.
224 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Late in December two companies of United States cavalry were
stationed at Fort Scott at the solicitation of the residents and order
was restored in the district, but early in Jan., 1858, they were with-
drawn and trouble broke out again. On the night of Feb.' 10, 1858,
Montgomery and a party of forty men started for Fort Scott to pun-
ish some of the bitter pro-slavery men who had been persecuting a
Mr. Johnson who lived in the town. (See Fort Scott.) On Feb. 26,
1858, two companies of United States cavalry were again stationed in
the town, and as Montgomery always avoided conflicts with govern-
ment forces, he began operating against the pro-slavery men in the
countr}^ with the object of driving them into the city. It is estimated
that as many as 300 families in the district were forced to flee from
their homes and take refuge in the towns. Capt. Anderson, in com-
mand, could not protect them in their isolated settlements, and the
result Montgomery wished was attained. But this was no -one-sided
guerrilla warfare, and it took all the sleepless vigilance and every re-
source of Montgomer}^ Bayne and John Brown combined, to protect
the free-state settlers against "the wolves of the border."
On June 7, 1858, some of Montgomery's men attempted to fire the
Western Hotel in Fort Scott, but no one was hurt and the fire was
extinguished. June 13, Gov. Denver arrived at Fort Scott; a meet-
ing was held and feeling ran high on both sides, but by judicious
treatment on the part of the governor peace was restored. The next
day a second meeting was held at Raysville, at which the governor
proposed a compromise, which in a measure restored peace for some
time. Subsequently a free-state man named Rice was arrested for
the murder of Travis, who had been shot on Feb. 28. This was re-
garded as a violation of the agreement made on June 15, and Mont-
gomery determined to rescue Rice. Accordingly he organized a party
of 100 men, among them John Brown, who wanted to destroy Fort
Scott, but as Montgomery's main purpose was to rescue Rice, he left
Brown outside the town and proceeded without him. Rice was re-
leased, Mr. Little was killed, Montgomery's men looted a store of a
stock valued at about $7,000, and 12 citizens were made prisoners.
The citizens then appealed to the governor for protection and, as there
were no troops to send, he advised the formation of home militia for
defense, a suggestion which was carried out. After the passage of the
arhnesty act, there was but little further trouble along the border and
peace came to stay in Bourbon county. After the Civil war began a
big Union demonstration was made at Fort Scott, which had been
one of the bitterest pro-slavery towns. Party differences were laid
aside for defense of the nation and by the middle of April two com-
panies had been raised on Drywood ; two companies were formed at
Fort Scott in May. Other companies were raised at Lightning creek,
Mill creek, and a company of home guards was organized. The most
important engagement which occurred during the war in Bourbon
county was the battle of Drywood (q. v.), which occurred late in Sept.,
KANSAS HISTORY 225
1861, between the Confederate forces under Gen. Rains and the Union
forces under Gen. J. H. Lane. Price's army passed through the east-
ern part of the county in Oct., 1864. While crossing the valley of the
Little Osage, members of the army committed many outrages and
for a time people of Fort Scott feared for the safety of the cit)^ Bour-
bon county ranked fifth in the number of men who entered the militia
during the war.
The county was organized Sept. 12, 1855, when S. A. Williams, the
probate judge, administered the oath of office to commissioners Col.
H. T. Wilson and Charles B. Wingfield. B. F. Hill was appointed
sheriff and William Margrave deputy sheriff. On Sept. 17 the fol-
lowing officers were appointed: James F. Farley, clerk; Thomas Wat-
kins, justice ; John F. Cottrell, constable. Gov. Reeder had appointed
William Margrave justice of the peace in Dec, 1854, the first in the
county. On Oct. 15 four additional justices and three constables were
appointed. At the same time A. Hornbeck was appointed treasurer;
W. W. Spratt, assessot; and H. R. Kelso, coroner. In November the
county was divided into five townships. From the time of its organiza-
tion until Jan., 1858, the affairs of the county were in the hands of the
county court, consisting of a probate judge and two commissioners, but
the form of government was then changed and placed in charge of a
board of supervisors, one from each township. In 1860 it was again
changed and three commissioners took the place of the board. In
1855, t>y the act creating the county, the seat of justice was located
at Fort Scott. In 1858, on account of border troubles, it was changed
to Marmaton by a special law of the legislature. An election to de-
termine the permanent location of the county seat was held on May
II, 1863, when Fort Scott received the majority of votes cast and again
became the county seat, where it has since remained.
In 1865 th'e citizens voted $150,000 in bonds for the purpose of sub-
scribing a like sum to the capital stock of the Missouri River, Fort
Scott & Gulf railway. The road was completed to Fort Scott in Dec,
1869, and on Jan. 7, 1870, the bonds were delivered to the road. In
1867 a proposition to vote $150,000 worth of bonds to purchase stock
of the Tebo & Neosho railroad was carried, but the commissioners de-
cided it was not advisable to purchase stock of this road and ordered
that $150,000 be subscribed to the capital stock of any road that would
start at Fort Scott, run north of the Marmaton in the general direction
of Humboldt. This amount was subscribed to the stock of the Fort
Scott & Allen County Railroad company, on condition that the road
should be completed west of the county by July i, 1872. The Fort
Scott, Humboldt & Western succeeded this road, and asked for the
deliverance of the bonds, but the conditions had not been complied
with and the bonds were issued to the Fort Scott, Humboldt & West-
ern under that name. At the present time there are about 125 miles
of main track railroad in the county. The Missouri Pacific operates
two lines — one traversing the center from east to west, the other cross-
(I-15)
226 CYCLOPEDIA OK
ing ihe county from north to southeast, both Hoes passing through
Fort Scott. The St. Louis & San Francisco enters in the northeast,
passes through Fort Scott and at Edward branches, both the lines
entering Crawford county. The Missouri, Kansas & Texas enters in
the east from Missouri, passes through Fort Scott, thence southwest
into Crawford count}-.
The first schools in the county were private ones at Fort Scott,
opened in 1857, but the district school system was not organized until
1859. One district, later known as No. 10, was organized on Dec. 10
of that year. In i860 four more districts were organized and since
that time progress in education has been steady, until at the present
time Bourbon county has a public school system as fine as any county
in the state.
According to the L'. S. census for 1910, the population of the county
was 24,007. The value of the farm products for the same year was
$1,504,134, the principal crop being corn, with a value of $754,039, and
hay second, with a value of $432,994.
Bourgmont's Expedition. — Dumont and Bossu both tell of a Spanish
expedition which was sent out from Santa Fe in 1720, having for its
object the punishment of the Missouris, a powerful tribe of Indians in-
habiting what is now the central and western parts of the State of Mis-
souri, for wrongs inflicted upon the Spaniards. The commander of the
expedition was instructed to visit the Osages and secure their assist-
ance in the destruction of the Missouris. Through a mistake in the
route, the expedition first reached the Missouri villages. Supposing
them to be the Osages, the Spanish commander unfolded his plan, and
asked the chiefs to aid him in carrying it out. With a diplomacy rarely
excelled, the Missouri chiefs concealed the identity of their tribe and
consented to the arrangement. The Indians were then furnished with
arms, and during the following night they massacred the entire caravan
except a Jacobin priest. This story is repeated by Chittenden, in his
"American Fur Trade," but Prof. John B. Dunbar, who has made ex-
tensive researches pertaining to the early French and Spanish move-
ments in the southwest, thinks it largely in the nature of a myth, or
at least an incorrect account of the Villazur expedition (q. v.) of that
year.
Most historians have adopted the theory that news of a Spanish ex-
pedition of some sort reached New Orleans, and the French govern-
ment of Louisiana determined to establish a fort at some suitable point
on the Missouri river, as a means of holding the allegiance of the In-
dians and guarding against Spanish invasion or interference.
According- to the Michigan Pioneer Collections (vol. 34. p. 306)
Etieime Venyard Sieur de Bourgmont was temporarily in charge of
the post of Detroit in the early part of the i8th century, during the ab-
sence of Cadillac, and in 1707 he deserted and went to the Missouri
river, where he lived for several j^ears among the Indians. His familiar-
ity with the country and his acquaintance with the natives of that sec-
KANSAS HISTORY 2.2J
tion doubtless led to his selection as the proper man to lead the expe-
dition. M. de Liourgmont was at that time in France, but he hurried
to America and soon after his arrival at New Orleans set out at the
head of a body of troops for the Missouri river. His first work was to
erect Fort Orleans (q. v.), where he established his headquarters.
Du Pratz's narrative says: "The Padoucas, who lie west by north-
west of the Missouris, were at war with several neighboring- tribes all
in amity with the French, and to conciliate a peace between all these
nations and the Padoucas, M. de Bourgmont sent to engage them, as
being our allies, to accompany him on a journey to the Padoucas in
order to bring about a general pacification."
Du Pratz himself states that his narrative was "extracted and
abridged from M. de Bourgmont's journal, an original account, signed
b}- all the officers, and several others of the company." A few years
ago a translation of Bourgmont's original journal was made by Prof.
Dunbar, and a copy of his translation was presented by him to the
Kansas Historical Society. According to this account, Bourgmont left
Fort Orleans on July 3, 1724, crossed the Missouri river on the 8th, and
"landed within a gunshot of the Canzes village, where we camped."
The Canzes came in a body to Bourgmont's camp, and seven of the
leading chiefs assured him that it was the desire of all the young men
of the tribe to accompany him to the country of the Padoucas. On
the 9th Bourgmont sent five of his Missouris to the Otoes, to notif}-
them of his arrival at the Canzes village and that it was his intention to
continue his journe}' as soon as he could complete his arrangements.
Two weeks were then spent in securing horses from the Canzes, and
in other necessary preparations. Sieur Mercur and Corporal Gentil
left the Canzes village on the 24th with a pirogue loaded with supplies,
which they were to take to the Otoes for Bourgmont, whose intention
it was to return that way.
Ever3^thing was being made ready, Bourgmont resumed his march
on the 25th. Besides his Indian allies, he was accompanied b}- M. de
St. Ange, an officer; Sieur Renaudiere, engineer of mines; Sieur du
Bois, sergeant; Sieur de Beloin, cadet; Rotisseau, corporal; nine French
soldiers; three Canadians, and two employees of Renaudiere. On July
31, when within ten days' journey of the Padouca villages, Bourgmont
became too ill to retain his seat in the saddle. A litter was constructed
and he was carried for some distance in it, but his illness increasing,
he was forced to discontinue his march. In this emergency he decided
to send a Padouca woman, who had been a slave among the Canzes, and
a boy of sixteen or seventeen years of age to inform the Padoucas that
he was on his way, but was ill, and that he would be with them as soon
as he was able.
Gaillard, one of the soldiers, volunteered to conduct the woman and
boy to the Padoucas. Bourgmont gave him a letter to the Spanish (in
case he met them), and also a letter in Latin to the chaplain. Gaillard
was instructed to bring the Padouca chiefs to meet Bourgmont, and in
22« CYCLOPEDIA OF
case they declined to come to wait at their villages until his arrival. A
fewr days later Bottrgmont decided to return to Fort Orleans, where on
Sept. 6 he received a letter from Sergt. du Bois advising him of Gail-
lard's arrival among the Padoucas on Aug. 25.
Having recovered his health, Bourgmont again left Fort Orleans on
Sept. 20 and arrived at the Canzes village on the 27th. On Oct. 2 Gail-
lard arrived at the camp with three Padouca chiefs and three waniors.
and reported some 60 others four days' distant. On the 8th the expe-
dition left the Canzes village, moved up the valley of the Kansas river,
and on the iSth reached the Padoucas. The next day the chiefs of that
tribe were called together, Bourgmont made a speech to them, dis-
tributed presents, and concluded a ti-eaty of peace. On the 22nd he set
out on his return to Fort Orleans, where he arrived on Nov. 5.
Franklin G. Adams, for many years secretary of the Kansas His-
torical Society, and George J. Remsburg, an acknowledged authority
on the archaeology of the Missouri valley, think that the Canzes village
mentioned in Bourgmont's journal was located near the present town
of Doniphan, in Doniphan county, Kan. A map of the expedition in
Volume IX, Kansas Historical Collections, shows this place to the
starting point west of the Missouri, .whence the expedition moved
southwest to the Kansas river, which was crossed near the northwest
corner of the present Shawnee county ; thence up the south bank of the
Kansas and Smoky Hill rivers, crossing the latter near the mouth of
the Saline ; thence following the Saline to the Padouca villages in the
northern part of what is now Ellis county.
Who were the Padoucas? Parrish, in his account of the expedition,
speaks of them as the Comanches, and this may be correct. On a map
published in 1757, in connection with Du Pratz's History of Louisiana,
the country of the Padoucas is shown extending from the headwaters
of the Republican to south of the Arkansas, the great village of the
tribe being located near the source of the Smoky Hill. Other author-
ities say that "Padoucas" was the Siouan name for the Comanches,
a branch of the Shoshones. The Comanches were a "buffalo nomad"
tribe that ranged from the Platte to Mexico.
The theory that the Bourgmont expedition was the sequel of some
Spanish expedition massacred by the Indians is hardl}' tenable when
it is carefully considered in the light of known facts. The Villazur ex-
pedition, the only Spanish expedition of 1720 of which there is any
authentic record, was massacred on Aug. 16, while Bourgmont's com-
mission bore date of Aug. 12, 1720, four days before the massacre oc-
curred. It is far more likely that Bourgmont was sent out — just as
other explorers of that day were sent out — with the general view of
establishing amicable relations with the Indians and thereby profit by
the fur trade, etc.
Bow Creek, a little village of Phillips county, is situated near the
southern boundary, about 15 miles southeast of Phillipsburg. It was
formerly a postoffice, but the inhabitants now receive mail by rural free
KANSAS HISTORY 229
delivery from Stockton. Kirwin is the most convenient railroad station.
The population was 66 in 1910.
Bowersock, Justin De Witt, member of Congress, was born at Co-
lumbiana, Ohio, Sept. 19, 1842. His father was of Irish and his mother
of Scotch descent. He was educated in the common schools, and at the
close of his academic course went to Iowa City, Iowa, where he en-
gaged in business as a grain merchant. In 1877 he^ located at Law-
rence, Kan., where he saw the possibilities of water power. Fie built a
dam across the Kansas river, and with the power thus developed estab-
lished several manufacturing plants. Mr. Bowersock was made presi-
dent of the Kansas Water Power company ; organized the Douglas
County bank (now the Lawrence National) in 1878, and was elected
president of that institution in 1888. He is also president of the Bower-
sock Mills & Power company, the Kansas Water Power company, the
Griffin Ice company, the Lawrence Iron works, the Lawrence Paper
Manufacturing company and the Kansas & Colorado Railroad company.
He has always taken an active part in municipal affairs and in' 1881 was
elected mayor of Lawrence, which position he filled until 1885. In 1886
he was elected to the Kansas house of representatives, and to the state
senate in 1894. In 1898 he was nominated by the Republican party of
the Second district for Congress, and in November was elected. His
record during his term commended him to the people of his district,
who honored him with four reelections. Mr. Bowersock is a member
of the Congregational church, the Lawrence Commercial club and the
Merchants' Athletic association. On Sept. 5, 1886, Mr. Bowersock mar-
ried Mary C. Gower, of Iowa City, Iowa.
Boyd, a village of Eureka township, Barton county, is a station on
the Missouri Pacific R. R., 4 miles west of Hoisington and 12 miles
northwest of Great Bend, the county seat. It has a money order post-
office, and is a trading and shipping point for the neighborhood. The
population was 40 in 1910.
Boyle, a station on the Union Pacific R. R. in Jefferson county, is
located about 5 miles from Valley Falls and 9 miles from Oskaloosa,
the county seat. It has a money order postoffice. The population in
1910 was 18.
Boys' Industrial School. — (See Industrial Schools.)
Bradford, a money order postoffice of Wabaunsee county, is a station
on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 21 miles southeast of Alma,
the county seat. It is a shipping and supply point for the neighbor-
hood and in 1910 reported a population of 63.
Brainerd, a village of Butler county, is a station on the line of the
Missouri Pacific R. R. that runs from Eldorado to McPherson, 17 miles
northwest of Eldorado. It has an express office, telephone connections,
and is a shipping and supply point for the neighborhood. Brainerd
was formerly a postoffice, but the people there now receive mail by
rural free delivery from White Water. The population was "Ji in 1910.
230 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Branscomb, Charles H., who with Charles Robinson selected the
site for the town of Lawrence, was a native of New Hampshire. He
was educated at Phillips Academy, Exeter, N. H., and Dartmouth Col-
lege, where he graduated in 1845. Subsequently he studied law at the
Cambridge Law School, was admitted to the bar and practiced for six
years in Massachusetts. Upon the organization of the Emigrant Aid
Society (q. v.) Mr. Branscomb became one of its agents. He came to
Kansas in July, 1854, and went up the Kansas river as far as Fort Riley
to select a location for a town, but finally agreed with Dr. Robinson on
the site of Lawrence. On July 28 he conducted the pioneer party of 30
persons sent out by the society to Lawrence, where they arrived on
Aug. I. The second party, also conducted by Mr. Branscomb, arrived
in October. He continued to act as agent for the aid society until 1858,
when he located in Lawrence and opened a law office. He immediately
began to take an active part in the political life of the territory; was
elected to the territorial house of representatives ; was a member of
the Leavenworth constitutional convention ; and after his removal to
St. Louis, Mo., was a member of the Missouri legislature.
Branson, Jacob, one of the early settlers of Douglas county, located
at Hickory Point, about 10 miles south of Lawrence on the old Santa
Fe road. It was a very beautiful tract of land, part heavy timber and
the rest fertile prairie. Many of the early settlers came from Indiana,
some of the people who took claims returned to the east temporarily,
some never returned. Missourians and others took up these abandoned
claims and sometimes laid claim to others which were afterward re-
sumed by the original settlers. Jacob Branson, who was the leader of
the free-state men in the locality, encouraged free-state men to settle
at Hickory Point and the pro-slavery men endeavored to get as many
men of their faction to settle there as they could. Most of the difficul-
ties in Kansas during the territorial period arose over the question of
slavery, but disputes about claims in many cases precipitated the quar-
rels. The antagonistic elements brought into daily conflict could not
long remain without open rupture ; one of the most serious occurrences
of this kind took place at Hickory Point. A man named Franklin Cole-
man was among the second claimants at Hickory Point and a dispute
arose between him and Charles W. Dow, who had also settled on an
unoccupied claim. Coleman was prominent in the neighborhood as a
pro-slavery man, while Dow lived with Branson, the acknowledged lead-
er of the free-state party in the Wakarusa district. Coleman trespassed
on Dow's claim and was warned that he must stop. The feeling be-
tween the two men was rapidly tending toward a crisis, when on the
morning of Nov. 21, 1855, Dow met Coleman and some other pro-slavery
men, among them Buckley and Hargus, at the blacksmith shop at Hick-
orv Point. They denounced Dow and unfortunately Dow and Cole-
man met on the road going toward Dow's claim. Dow left Coleman
at his claim and just after he passed up the road Coleman fired at him;
the gun missed fire and Dow begged for mercy but Coleman shot him
KANSAS HISTORY 231
and he died in the road. Immediately Coleman started for Westport,
Mo., to give himself up to the governor, but not finding him surrendered
to Samuel J. Jones, the sheriff of Douglas county, who was a friend
of the pro-slavery party. After Dow's funeral the settlers of Hickory
held a meeting, when resolutions of condolence were passed and
a committee was appointed to take steps toward bringing the murderer
to justice. At this meeting Branson advocated radical measures with
regard to Coleman and his companions, Buckley and Hargus. Sheriff
Jones, in the meantime was on his way to Lecompton with his prisoner,
but on the way was met by some of Coleman's neighbors. Buckley told
of the threats made against him by Branson and the sheriff concluded
to make another arrest. A warrant was sworn out by Buckley who
said that he feared for his life. Justice Cameron issued a peace war-
rant for the arrest of Branson. It seems that the pro-slavery party ex-
pected the free-state men would attempt to rescue Branson, but believed
the)' would do so in Lawrence, after the prisoner was taken there,
under which circumstances there would be an excellent excuse for
assaulting that stronghold of the abolitionists. Armed with this war-
rant and accompanied by Buckley and some fifteen pro-slavery men,
Jones went to Branson's house on the evening of Nov. 26 and arrested
him. This posse had been met before they served the writ by S. P.
Tappan of Lawrence, a free-state man, who learned of their mission,
and immediately informed Branson's friends of the intended arrest;
a young man who lived at Branson's also aroused the neighbors as soon
as Jones and his party left. The sheriff with the posse did not ride at
once toward Lawrence, so that considerable time elapsed before they
started north. In the meantime the friends of Branson were aroused
and planned his rescue. Phillips, in his Conquest of Kansas, says, "the
intention was to have Branson rescued in Lawrence," but Tappan and
the young man who had left Branson's had both been busy; about four-
teen of the free-state men were gathered at Abbott's house near which
the posse would have to pass on the way to Lawrence. They had gath-
ered so quickh' and Jones was so slow that for a time the party at Ab-
bott's began to think they had taken a different road or gone to Le-
compton, when the alarm was given by the guard on the road. The
party in the Abbott house rushed out and Jones attempted to evade
them by going off the road. This was prevented by the free-state men
spreading out. Jones demanded what was the matter, to which the
free-state men replied that was just what they wanted to know. The
tree-state men told Branson to ride over to them, which he did ; both
sides declared that they would shoot but neither did. Jones tried in
every way to induce the free-state men to give Branson up, but this
they refused to do. Finding that nothing availed but to fight, and not
being willing to shed blood, Jones was obliged to leave Branson in the
hands of his friends and returned to Franklin. The numerical strength
of the contestants in this bloodless encounter was about equal, as it is
estimated that there were about fifteen men on each side. Later in the
232 CYCLOPEDIA OF
night the rescuing party having been augmented by a few men, rode
into Lawrence, where they told of the threats Jones had made against
the Abolitionists of Lawrence. The arrest of Branson was both violent
and irregular and it is doubtful whether any legal officer would have
sustained the arrest had the rescue been questioned. There were only
three Lawrence men concerned in the rescue, and Charles Robinson
saw that it would not do for the city to take any action in the rescue or
harbor the rescuers. A meeting of the citizens of Lawrence was called
and Mrs. Robinson in writing of it said, "Mr. Branson said at the meet-
ing that he had requested to leave Lawrence, that no semblance of an
excuse existed for the enemy to attack the town, with tears streaming
down his weather-beaten cheeks he offered to go home and die there
and be buried by his friend." To this the free-state citizens would not
hear but after the Wakarusa camp was established, Tappan, Wood and
Branson moved there as a precautionary measure, as Wood had taken
such a prominent part in the rescue.
Brantford, a village of Washington county, with a population of 75,
is located near the Republic county line, about 20 miles southwest of
Washington, the county seat. It was formerly a postoffice, but mail is-
now supplied to the people there by rural free delivery from Clyde.
Brazilton, a town of Crawford county, is located in Walnut town-
ship and is a station on the Pittsburg & Chanute division of the Atchi-
son, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 8 miles northwest of Girard, the county
seat. It has a money order postoffice, express, telegraph and telephone
service, some good general stores, and does considerable shipping. The
Catholics and Lutherans are the leading religious denominations. In
1910 Brazilton reported a population of 150.
Breckenridge College.— On Feb. 14, 1857, the legislature of Kansas
passed an act as follows: "An institution of learning is hereby incor-
porated under the name and style of 'Breckenridge College' to be lo-
cated at or near Lodiana City in Browne county, Kansas Territory.'^
The directors named were W. H. Honnell, Samuel M. Irvine, F. B.
Montfort, Walter Lowrie, Robert J. Breckenridge, John Ford, Elijah
M. Hubbard, Henry W. I^onnell, John M. Scott, John Calhoun, Austin
Forman, J. P. Blair, and James G. Bailey.
Breckenridge County was created by the first territorial legislature
in 1855 and named for John C. Breckenridge, who was the next year
elected vice-president of the United States. When first created it was
attached to Madison county for all civil and judicial purposes, but by
the act of Feb. 17, 1857, the county was fully organized "with all the
rights, powers and privileges of other organized counties of the terri-
tory; and the county seat of Breckenridge is hereby temporarily lo-
cated at Agnes city," etc. The act of Feb. 27, i860, provided for the
location of a permanent county seat by vote of the electors of the
county.
As originally established, the county was 24 miles square, lying im-
mediately south of Richardson (now Wabaunsee) county, but by the
KANSAS HISTORY 233.
act of Jan. 31, 1861, the southern boundary was moved southward to
the line between townships 21 and 22 south. On Feb. 5, 1862, the gov-
ernor approved an act changing the name of Breckenridge to Lyon
county. (See Lyon County.)
Bremen, a village of Marshall county, is located in Logan town-
ship 9 miles northwest of Marysville, the county seat, on the St. Joseph
& Grand Island R. R. It has banking facilities, telegraph and express
offices and a postoffice with two rural mail routes. The population in
191 1 was 200.
Brenner, a station on the Burlington & Missouri River R. R. in Doni-
phan county, is located in Wayne township 5 miles south of Tro}'. It
has telegraph and express offices and a money order postoffice. The
population in 1910 was 40. It was laid out by the railroad company
in 1872 and during the next decade was an important grain market, the
dealers buying principally for the Atchison millers.
Brewer, David J., jurist, was born at Smyrna, Asia Minor, June 20,
1837, a son of Rev. Josiah and Emilia (Field) Brewer, and a nephew
of Stephen J. Field, who was one of the associate justices of the United
States supreme court from 1863 to 1897. David J. Brewer was educated
at Yale College and the Albany Law School, and in June, 1859, located
at Leavenworth, Kan., where he began the practice of law. He was
United States commissioner in 1861-62; judge of the probate and crim-
inal courts of Leavenworth county from 1863 to 1865; judge of the
district court from 1865 to 1869; county attorney in 1869-70; an asso-
ciate justice of the Kansas supreme court from 1870 to 1884; resigned
his position On the supreme bench on April 8, 1884, to become United
States circuit judge; and on Dec. 18, 1889, was commissioned associate
justice of the United States supreme court where he remained until
his death. In 1896 Judge Brewer was appointed a member of the
Venezuelan boundary commission, and three years later was a member
of the British- Venezuelan arbitration tribunal. Always a friend of and
a believer in popular education. Judge Brewer was the president of the
Kansas State Teachers' Association in 1869, and he also served as a
member of the Leavenworth school board. He was the author of sev-
eral books on legal subjects. Judge Brewer was twice married. On
Oct. 3, 1861, he married Louise R. Landon of Burlington, Vt. She died
on April 3, 1898, and on June 5, 1901, he married Emma Minor Mott of
Washington, D. C. Judge Brewer died at Washington of apoplexy on
March 28, 1910. He is remembered by many friends, in Kansas as
a genial companion, an able lawyer and a just judge.
Brewster, one of the thriving towns of Thomas county, is located
near the western boundary in Hale township, and is a station on the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 18 miles west of Colby, the
county seat. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper (the Hustler), a hotel,
a good retail trade, telegraph and express offices, a money order post-
office with two rural routes, and is the principal shipping point between;
Colby and Goodland. The population in 1910 was 200.
234 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Bridgeport, a ^•illag■e of Saline county, is located in Smoky \'iew
township, on the iNIissoiiri I'acific and the Union Pacific railroads and
on the Smoky Hill river, 15 miles south of Salina, the county seat. It
has telegraph and express offices and a money order postoffice with
two rural routes. The population in 1910 was 120.
Briggs, a rural hamlet of Geary county, is located about 15 miles
almost due east of Junction City, the county seat, and about the same
distance south of Manhattan, whence the inhabitants receive mail by
rural free delivery. The population was 30 in 1910.
Bristow, a rural hamlet in the central part of Osborne count}-, is
about ID miles southwest of Osborne, the county seat and most con-
venient railroad station.
Bristow, Joseph Little, journalist and United States senator, was
born in Wolfe county, Ky., July 22, 1861, a son of William and Sa-
vannah (Little) Bristow. He came to Kansas with his father in 1873;
married Margaret Hendrix of Flemingsburg, Ky., in 1879; and in 1886
graduated at Baker University, Baldwin, Kan. From the time he at-
tained to his majorit}^ Mr. Bristow took an active interest in political
affairs, and the j^ear he graduated was elected clerk of Douglas county,
which office he held for four years. Upon retiring from the clerk's
office in 1890 he bought the Salina Daily Republican and edited the
paper for live years. In 1894 and again in 1898 he was elected secretary
of the Republican state committee. His work in the campaign of 1894
commended him to Gov. Morrill, who, when inaugurated in Jan., 1895,
appointed Mr. Bristow his private secretary. The same year he sold
the Salina Republican and bought the Ottawa Herald, which paper he
owned for ten 3'ears, during which time he directed its policy and wrote
many of the editorials himself. In March, 1897, he was appointed fourth
assistant postmaster-general by President McKinley, and in 1900, under
direction of Mr. McKinley, investigated the Cuban postal frauds. Three
years later, under President Roosevelt, he conducted a searching in-
vestigation of the postoffice department. In 1903 he purchased the Sa-
lina Dail)^ Republican-Journal, which he still owns, and in 1905 he was
appointed by President Roosevelt a special commissioner of the Panama
railroad. In Aug., 1908, he was nominated by the Republicans of
Kansas at the primary election for United States senator, and the fol-
lowing January he was elected by the legislature for the term ending
on March 3, 1915.
Broderick, Case, jurist and member of Congress, was born near
Jonesboro, Grant county, Ind., Sept. 23, 1839. His father, Samuel
Broderick, was an Irish-American, and his mother, Mary Snyder, was
of German descent. His early education was that provided by the
public schools in the sparsely settled districts of Indiana. When Case
\\as but a few years of age his family moved to the western part of
Indiana, where he was reared until his nineteenth year. In 1858 he
immigrated to the Territory of Kanjas and settled in Douglas town-
ship, Jackson county, where he became owner of a small farm. In the
KANSAS HISTORY 235
winter of 1861 Mr. Broderick and a partner contracted to supply Fort
Laramie with corn. They outfitted an ox train, as there were no rail-
roads west of the Missouri river at that time, and made the trip to
Laramie and return in three months. In the fall of 1862, Mr. Broderick
enlisted at Fort Scott, Kan., as a private in the Second Kansas battery,
and was honorably discharged at Fort Leavenworth in Aug., 1865. He
then returned to his former home, where he engaged in farming, and
devoted his spare time to the study of law. In 1866 he was elected jus-
tice of the peace of Douglas township and served in that capacity until
elected probate judge of Jackson county in 1868. He removed to Holton
and served as probate judge for four succeeding terms. In 1870 he was
admitted to the bar and elected county attorney in 1876 and 1878. In
1880 he was elected to the state senate to represent Jackson and Potta-
watomie counties, and in March, 1884, President Arthur appointed him
associate justice of the supreme court of Idaho Territory for a term of
four years. He removed to Boise, Ida., entered upon the discharge of
his duties, and served several months over his term, when he requested
the President to relieve him. In Sept., 1888, he returned to Holton and
resumed his law practice in partnership with E. E. Rafter and R. G.
Robinson. In 1890, the Republican convention nominated Mr. Brod-
erick for Congress. He was elected, and continued to be nominated
and reelected tmtil he had served eight j^ears. During this time he was
a member of the judiciary committee of the house. At the expiration
of his fourth term he reopened a law office in Holton.
Broderick County, one of the counties of Kansas territory, was
created Feb. 7, 1859, and named in honor of David Broderick, United
States senator from California. It included territory now within the
State of Colorado, and was bounded as follows: "Commencing at the
point where the 104th meridian of longitude crosses the thirty-eighth
parallel of latitude, and running from thence due west to a point 20
miles west of the 105th meridian of longitude ; thence due north to a
point 20 miles south of the thirty-ninth parallel of latitude ; thence due
east to the 104th meridian of longitude ; thence due south to the place
of beginning." Simon G. Gephart, \\'. Walter and Charles Xichols
were appointed commissioners with authority to locate the seat of
justice near the center of the county.
Bronson, an incorporated city in the western part of Botn-bon coun-
ty, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R. about half-way between
Fort Scott and lola. It has 2 banks, an international money order post-
ofifice with four rural routes, express and telegraph offices, telephone
connections, a semi-weekly newspaper (the Bronson Pilot), a large re-
tail trade, good public schools, etc., and in 1910 reported a population
of 595. The city was settled in 1885 by G. H. Requa. J. W. Timmons
and a few others, and was named for Ira D. Bronson of Fort Scott.
Requa and Martin opened the first store in Sept., 1881, and the same
month the postoffice was established with Mr. Requa as postmaster.
The growth of Bronson has been slow but substantial, and it is the
principal shipping and supply point for a rich agricultural district.
236 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Brooks, a station on the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. near the
south line of Wilson county, is located in Newark township 15 miles
southeast of Fredonia, the county seat. It receives its mail from Cherry-
vale in Montgomery county. The population in 1910 was 21.
Brooks, Noah, author and journalist, was born at Castine, Me., Oct.
30, 1830. After attending the public schools and local academy he went
to Boston, Mass., to study landscape painting, but in 1855 he formed
a partnership with John G. Brooks and engaged in merchandising at
Dixon, 111. In May, 1857, he came to Kansas and located on the Repub-
lican river about 10 miles above Fort Riley. A little later he went to
California and began the publication of a newspaper at Marysville.
This venture was not a success and he next became the Washington
correspondent of the Sacramento Union. While in Washington he
formed the acquaintance of President Lincoln, who appointed him pri-
vate secretary, but before he entered upon his duties the President was
assassinated. Mr. Brooks then returned to the Pacific coast, where he
engaged in various lines of work for several years, after which he went
to New York, and from 1871 to 1876 was a member of the editorial staff
of the New York Tribune. For about twelve years he was the editor
of the Newark (N. J.) Advertiser, but retired from newspaper work
and spent the remainder of his active life in writing books. One of
these books — "The Boy Settlers" — deals with Kansas as he knew the
territory some forty years before. Mr. Brooks died in 1903.
Brookville, one of the incorporated towns of Saline county, is a sta-
tion on the Union Pacific R. R. 16 miles southwest of Salina, the county
seat. It has a bank^ a newspaper, telegraph and express offices, and a
money order postoffice with two rural routes. The population in 1910
was 280. The town was founded in 1870 by the Union Pacific R. R.
The first settler was John Crittenden, and the first building, outside of
those put up by the railroad, was erected by M. P. Wyman. Brookville
became a city of the third class in 1873. William Brownhill was the
first mayor. The first store in the place was opened by George Snyder.
The first newspaper was the Brookville Transcript, established in Nov.,
1879, by Albin & Tupper.
Broom-Corn (Sorghum vulgare) is described as a "plant ot the order
of grasses, with a jointed stem, growing to a height of 8 or 10 feet,
extensively cultivated in North America, where the branched panicles
or heads are made into brooms, clothes brushes, etc., the seed being fed
to poultry and the blades to cattle."
Kansas is one of the greatest broom-corn growing states of the
Union. It has been raised for years, and seldom fails to yield a hand-
some return to the cultivator. It grows in every county of the state,
though the largest crops are raised in the western portion. In 1900
broom-corn was grown in every county except eleven. The acreage
for that year was 47,776; the yield was 18,674,385 pounds, and the value
of the crop was $655,344.60. Ten years later (1910) broom-corn was
grown in only JJ of the 105 counties. Those counties which produced
KANSAS HISTORY . 237
no broom-corn in that year were Atchison, Barton, Brown, Chase,
Douglas, Ellis, Franklin, Geary, Greenwood, Harvey, Jefferson, Jewell,.
Johnson, Kiowa, Lincoln, Marshall, Mitchell, Morris, Pottawatomie,
Pratt, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Smith, Trego, Wabaunsee, Washington
and Wyandotte. Although fewer counties engaged in the production,
the area planted in broom-corn in 1910 had increased to 111,308 acres,
the yield to 39,561,123 pounds, and the value of the total crop to $1,604,-
603.43. The five leading counties in 1910 were Kearny, with 18,754
acres, 5,626,200 pounds, the value of which was $225,048; Stevens,
15,045 acres, 4,964,850 pounds, value, $198,594; Hamilton, 10,878 acres,
3,263,400 pounds, value, $130,536; Seward, 8,289 acres, 3,000,618 pounds,
value, $110,023; Morton, 6,109 acres, 2,443,000 pounds, value, $97,744.
It will be observed that these five counties are all situated in the ex-
treme southwestern part of the state, a region once regarded as the
"Great American Desert," yet in one year the value of the broom-corn
crop alone amounted to more than three-quarters of a million dollars.
Grant, Finne}', Stanton, Meade and Haskell, in the same section of
the state, also produced large crops of broom-corn, and Greeley,
Wichita, Scott, Wallace and Cheyenne farther north were likewise
heavy producers. Clay, Dickinson, Kingman and Saline counties each
reported but one acre.
Broughton, a thriving little town of Clay county, is situated in Clay
Center township, on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and the Union
Pacific railroads, 5 miles southeast of Clay Center. It has a money
order postofiice with two rural delivery routes, telegraph, telephone and
express service, a hotel, some good general stores, good public schools,
a population of 160, and is the busiest little town between Clay Center
and Manhattan.
Brown County, one of the northern tier, was created by the first ter-
ritorial legislature with the following boundaries : "Beginning at the
northwest corner of Doniphan county; thence west 24 miles; thence
south 30 miles; thence east to the west line of Atchison county; thence
north to the northwest corner of Atchison county ; thence east with said
north line of Atchison county to the southwest corner of Doniphan
county; thence north with said west line of Doniphan county to the
place of beginning."
In all the places where the name appears in the act of 1855 it is
spelled "Browne." It was named for Albert G. Brown, United States
senate from Mississippi, who spelled his name without the final "e."
Dr. J. H. Stringfellow, a member of the Kansas legislature of 1855.
stated that the county was named after O. H. -Browne, a member of the
house from the Third representative district, but the final "e" was
dropped in the spelling of the name, by subsequent legislatures.
On Sept. 17, 1855, the commissioners of Doniphan county passed the
following resolutions: "That the county of Brown be and is hereby
organized ai a municipal township to be known as Brown county town-
ship," and ordered that the election for n delegate to Congress be held
238 CYCLOPEDIA (JF
at the house of W". C. Foster, on the south fork of the Xemaha. The
commissioners also appointed William C. Foster and John C. Bragg-
justices of the peace and William Purket constable. The following
summer an order was issued to survey the boundaries between Don-
iphan and Brown counties, which was done, but in 1858 the legislature
transferred some of the territory of Brown to Jackson county, which
left it in its present shape; an exact square 24 miles each way. In
September Brown county was divided into two townships. Walnut and
Mission.
Brown county is bounded on the north by the State of Nebraska ;
on the east by Doniphan county ; on the south by Atchison and Jack-
son, and on the west by Nemaha county. It has an area of 576 square
miles and is divided into the following townships : Hamlin, Hiawatha,
Irving, Mission, Morrill, Powhattan, Robinson, Walnut and Wash-
ington. It is well Avaterered by Cedar creek in the southwest. Wolf
creek in the east, and numerous other creeks, the most important of
which are Pony, Walnut, Roys, and Craig.
The surface of the county is gently undulating. The creek bottoms
average about half a mile in width and all the streams are fringed with
belts of timber, the principal varieties being oak, walnut, honey-locust,
hackberry, sycamore, elm, box-elder and basswood. Limestone is
abundant and sandstone of a good quality is found, both of which are
quarried for local use. Two mineral springs in the western part of the
county are claimed to have medicinal properties. Brown is one of the
leading agricultural counties, corn, winter wheat and oats being the
largest crops. It is also a good horticultural region, and there are over
200,000 fruit trees of bearing age.
According to MorrilTs History of Brown County, one of the over-
land routes, the "California Trail," (q. v.) "wound along the divides
passing Drummond's Branch, crossed the western part of the present
site of Hiawatha, followed the divide between the head waters of A\'olf
and Walnut, and left the county near the present site of Sabetha."
Some of the first settlers in Brown county were Missourians who
marked claims and then returned home to spend the winter, while
others from a greater distance made permanent settlements. As early
as April 10, 1854, William Gentry and H. C. Gregg settled in Powhattan
township. On Ma}- 11, 1854, Thurston Chase and James Gibbons lo-
cated on \\'o\i creek. They were followed by A\'illiam and James
Metts, who settled in what is now Hamlin township. On Aug. 3 E. R.
Corneilison entered a claim on Walnut creek and the following March
brought his family to the new homestead. His brother William also
came at that time. W. C. Foster came to Brown count}- in the fall
from Nemaha. John Belk, his sons, William and King, and Thomas
Brigham settled near Padonia and Jacob Englehart settled on a farm
not far from the present town of Hiawatha.
Early in the spring of 1855. the settlers on Walnut creek formed a
protective association, elected officers and made rigid laws for the pur-
KANSAS IIISTURV 239
pose of enforcing the right of actual settlers and prohiljiting the sale
oi intoxicating liquors to the Indians. The first trial under these laws
took place at the house of Jesse Padon, on the bank of the Walnut.
Complaint was made against Robert Boyd and Elisha Osborn for sell-
ing liquors to the Indians and sixteen settlers gathered, determined to
enforce the law, the only settler absent from the gathering being ill.
Although the accused were not present, the trial proceeded, they were
declared guilty and the verdict rendered was that their stock of liquors
should be destroyed and that they should each pay a fine of $20. Padon
was appointed to execute the order of this court and was accompanied
by all the settlers to see the decree enforced. Boyd and Osborn kept
their liquors at the edge of Pilot Grove, som'e 3 miles from Padonia.
When Padon informed them of the decision of the court they declared
themselves willing to give up the liquor and pay the fine, but upon
promise to sell no more to the Indians, they were allowed to remain in
the county and retain the liquor, though they paid the fine.
The first white child born in the county was Isaac Short, who was
born in Aug., 1855. The first marriage was that of Fliram Wheeler
and Elizabeth E. Root on Jul}' 30, 1857. The first school was taught
in 1856 in a log cabin erected the year before on John Kerey's farm
and John Shields was the first teacher. The cabin was also used as a
church as the first religious ser\-ices in the county were held there soon
after it was built. A Methodist minister named Allspaugh held services
in a gro\e near John Belk's farm house in 1855. Early in 1857, the
Methodists organized a church at the house of William Belk, and a
Baptist minister held services at the residence of E. H. Niles.
A branch of the underground railroad was established through
13rown county for fugitive negroes, and many of them were passed over
this line by John Brown and other anti-slavery men.
Early in the spring of 1857, quite a colony came from Maine, among
them George Ross, J. G. Leavitt, I. P. Winslow, Noah Hanson, W. G.
Sargent and Sumner Shaw. The Iowa Indian trust lands lying in
Brown county were advertised for sale to the highest bidders on June
4, 1857. They sold rapidly, but eventually most of the lands fell into
the hands of speculators, some of the settlers lea\-ing as soon as they
perfected title to their claims, without making an}- permanent improve-
ments.
The first 4th of July celebration was held by a public gathering on
the farm of John Powe on Mulberry creek in 1857. Sometime during
the summer of that year Philip Weiss contracted to make a weekly trip
to Iowa Point to bring the mail. This was probably the first mail route
in the county and was purely a private enterprise. He used a team of
horses and a lumber wagon for his trips, and carried passengers, express
and freight as well as mail. An act of 1855 provided for a mail route
from St. Joseph via Highland to Marysville, Kan., but it was not started
until 1838. On Aug. 8, 1857, the first postofifice was established at Clay-
tonvillc. with George E. Clayton as postmaster.
240 CYCLOPEDIA OF
On Feb. 14, 1857, the state legislature detached Brown from Doni-
phan county and located the temporary county seat at Claj^tonville.
The act also provided for the election of three commissioners to locate
a permanent county seat. The new board of commissioners organized
on March 16, 1857, and among other business divided the county into
four municipal townships, Iowa, Claytonville, Walnut Creek and
Lachnane. On March 31 the commissioners held a second meeting and
appropriated $500 to build a court-house on the north square in Clay-
tonville — a frame building 20 by 30 feet — to be ready for occupation
by June i, and William Oldham was appointed to build it.
At the election on Oct. 5, the free-state men carried the county by a
vote of 136 to 72, E. N. Morrill being elected to the legislature by the
counties of Brown and Nemaha. On Nov. 16 the free-state board of
county commissioners organized when Ira H. Smith was chosen county
surveyor ; David Peebles, clerk ; and John S. Tyler, assessor. At the
election I. P. Winslow, Isaac Chas« and I. B. Hoover were chosen com-
missioners to locate the permanent count}' seat. They met on Dec. 14
at Swain's store and the first ballot resulted, Padonia r, Hiawatha i.
and Carson i. The following day the board visited the town sites of
Carson, Hamlin, Padonia and Hiawatha. Padonia offered to donate a
square of ground and a $3,000 court-house ; Hiawatha offered to erect
a building 20 by 30 feet for a court-house and donate every alternate
lot of the town site, and Carson offered one-half of the lots in the town
site and $1,500 in labor and building material. A second ballot resulted
the same as the first, but on a third two votes were cast for Carson and
I for Padonia. The county seat, therefore, was removed to Carson, but
it did not remain there long, as the next legislature passed an act pro-
viding for an election to submit the question to a vote of the people,
which resulted in 128 votes for Hiawatha and 37 for Carson, with a few
scattering. On May 25, 1858, the county commissioners appropriated
$2,000 for building a court house with jail and offices attached. On
Oct. 4, 1877, 'the county commissioners decided, "That a proposition be
submitted to the people on the 6th day of November, authorizing the
board to build a court house, the cost not to exceed $20,000." This
measure was approved by the people and the commissioners, early in
1878, contracted with E. T. Carr of Leavenworth for its erection.
At the outbreak of the Civil war nearly one-half the voters in the
county entered the army, forming a party of Company I, Thirteenth
Kansas infantry, and in 1864, the militia was ordered to gather at Atchi-
son. The Hiawatha company consisted of 65 men ; the Walnut creek
company of 41, and Robinson company of 100. Upon their departure
to the front the home-guard was organized and within twenty-four
hours had an enrollment of 79 men.
The first newspaper, the Brown County Union, was established by
Dr. P. G. Parker in the spring of 1861, at Hiawatha, but the office was
destroyed by fire the following winter. On Aug. 20, 1864, H. P. Steb-
bins started the Union Sentinel and the third paper, the Hiawatha Dis-
patch, made its appearance in 1870.
KANSAS HISTORY 24I
There are three lines of railroad in the county with over 97 miles of
main track. The St. Joseph & Grand Island enters the county on the
east, about midwa}' north and south, crosses in a northwesterly direc-
tion through Hiawatha and enters Nemaha county. A line of the Mis-
souri Pacific, built in the early '80s, crosses the northern boundar}- about
the center, passes through Hiawatha and leaves at the southeast corner.
The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific road enters in the south, branches
at Horton near the southern boundary, one line leaving near the south-
east corner, the other traversing the county in a northwesterl}' direction
and connecting with the main line in Nebraska. Hiawatha, the county
seat, is a large shipping point for all agricultural products and has sev-
eral factories, but Horton in the south is the largest town in the county,
and has the repair shops of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific road
located there, and is also the division point of that road.
In 1910 the population of Brown county was 21,314, and the total
value of farm products, exclusive of live stock, was $2,921,381. The
principal crops were corn, $1,920,240; hay, including all kinds, $428,716;
oats, $394,522; Irish potatoes, $63,578; wheat, $37,614.
Brown, John, abolitionist, frequently referred to as "Osawatomie
Brown," was born at Torrington, Conn., May 9, 1800, a son of Owen
and Ruth (Mills) Brown. His earliest American ancestor was Peter
Brown, who came over in the Maj'flower in 1620, and his grandfather,
John Brown, was a captain in the Connecticut militaia during the
Revolution. This Capt. Brown married Hannah Owen, of Welsh ex-
traction, and Ruth Mills was of Dutch descent, so that John Brown
of Osawatomie was an admixture of three nationalities. His maternal
grandfather, Gideon Mills, was also a Revolutionary soldier. In 1805
Owen Brown removed with his family to Ohio, where John grew to
manhood, working on the farm and as a currier in his father's tannery,
part of the time as foreman. When about 20 3'ears of age he took up
the study of surveying and followed that occupation for a few years.
He then went to Crawford county, Pa., where he lived until 1835,
when he located in Portage county, Ohio. In 1846 he went to Spring-
field, Mass., and engaged in the business of buying and selling wool
on commission. No sooner had he established himself in this busi-
ness than he tried to force up the price of wool, but the New Eng-
land manufacturers combined against him and he was compelled to
ship some 200,000 pounds to Europe, where he sold it at a loss, be-
coming bankrupt. Gerrit Smith then gave him a piece of land near
North Elba, N. Y., in the bleak, desolate region of the Adirondacks,
and here Brown lived until 1851. He then returned to Ohio and again
engaged in the wool business, this time with better success.
Owen Brown was one of the early school of abolitionists, a disciple
of Hopkins and Edwards, and from his earliest childhood John Brown
breathed an atmosphere antagonistic to the institution of slavery. He
was twice married — first to Dianthe Lusk, a widow, who bore him
seven children ; and second to Mary Ann Day, bv whom he had thirteen
(I-16)
242
CYCLOl'EDIA OF
children. Eight of the t-\venty children died young, and of those who-
grew to maturity all were abolitionists. Five of his sons removed
from Ohio to Kansas in 1854 and selected claims some 8 to 10 miles
from Osawatomie, where they were joined by their father on Oct. 5,
JOHN BROWN MONUMENT, OSAWATOMIE.
1855. Father and sons were mustered in as militia by the free-state
party and turned out to aid in the defense of Lawrence. Two of
Brown's sons were captured by the United States cavalry, which was
used to aid in enforcing the territorial laws passed by a pro-slavery
KANSAS HISTORY 243
legislature, and John Brown, Jr., with his hands fastened behind his
back, was driven by a cavalry company 9 miles on a trot to Osawatomie.
Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography says : "This state of
things must be fully remembered in connection with the so-called
'Pottawatomie Massacre,' which furnishes, in the opinion of both frisnds
and foes, the most questionable incident in Brown's career."
In Jan., 1859, Brown left Kansas with a number of slaves taken
from Missouri owners and went to Canada, where he arranged the
details for his raid on Harper's Ferry, Va. Through the national Kan-
sas committee he secured 200 rifles, and on June 3. 1859, he left Boston
with $500 in gold and permission to keep the rifles. Late in that
month Brown and his associates rented a small farm near Harper's
Ferry, where they were to complete the preparations for their raid.
Brown's daughter, Anne, and a daughter-in-law, Owen Brown's wife,
were installed as housekeepers. Here Brown was visited in August
by Frederick Douglass, to whom he imparted his plan for the seizure
of the United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, and, if necessar}' to
carry out his purpose, the capture of the town itself. Douglass did
not look with favor on the scheme, but Brown, having consecrated
his life to the abolition of slavery, was not to be dissuaded. Accord-
ingly, on Sunday evening, Oct. 16, 1859, Brown mustered 18 of his
men and moved on the arsenal. At half-past ten the gates were broken
in with a crow-bar, the small guard was overpowered without difficulty,
and by midnight the town was patrolled by the raiders. Six men were
sent to bring in some planters living in the vicinity, with their slaves,
it being Brown's idea to free and arm the negroes to aid in bringing
about a general uprising. Unhappily for the scheme a train got
through Harper's Ferr}' and carried the news to Washington. Capt.
Robert E. Lee, who afterwards won distinction as a Confederate gen-
eral, hurried from Washington with a companj' of marines, and the
citizens armed themselves to aid the troops in capturing the raiders.
Brown and six of his men barricaded themselves in the engine room
and held out against great odds until two of his sons were killed and
he was wounded. He was tried before a Virginia court, convicted of
treason and sentenced to be hanged. His execution took place on Dec.
2, 1859, and it is said that no man ever met his fate with greater forti-
tude. His body was buried at North Elba, Essex county, N. Y., near
the farm given him by Gerrit Smith.
John Brown has been called a fanatic, and some have even gone
so far as to adjudge him insane, though there is no positive evidence
to show that he was mentally unbalanced. From boyhood the doc-
trines of abolition had been drilled into him, until the idea that all men
ought to be free became with him a sort of obsession. His methods
were not always of the best character, but he had the courage of his
convictions and was willing to lay down his life for a principle. His
battles of Black Jack and Osawatomie were insignificant when com-
pared with Gettysburg or Chickamauga, but they began the conflict
that ended in the annihilation of chattel slavery in the United States.
244 CYCLOPEDIA OF
On Aug. 30, 1877, a monument was unveiled at Osawatomie "In
memory of the heroes who fell in defense of freedom," John J. Ingalls
delivering the dedicatory address. The monument was erected by the
John Brown Memorial association. Some years later the Women's
Relief Corps of Kansas started a movement to have the battlefield of
Osawatomie set apart as a public park. The field was purchased on
May 13, 1909, and on Aug. 31, 1910, the park was dedicated with
imposing ceremonies, ex-President Roosevelt being the orator of the
occasion. Besides these recognitions of Brown's valor, the Kansas
legislature of 1895 passed a resolution requesting the authorities in
charge of the United States statuary hall at Washington to permit the
Lincoln soldiers' and Sailors' National Monument association to place
a statue of John Brown in the hall, but nothing farther came of the
movement.
Brown, Mary A., second wife of John Brown, was born in Wash-
ington county, N. Y., April 15, 1816. Her maiden name was Mary A.
Day. At the age of sixteen years she became the wife of Brown and
assumed the care and management of his five motherless children.
After the execution of her husband she retired to the Adirondack re-
gion of New York, where she lived in seclusion until 1862, wlien, ac-
companied by her family, she removed to Iowa. In 1864 sh(- went
to California and was not again east of the Rocky mountains until
1882. In that year she visited Chicago at the request of the John
Brown Memorial Association, and on Nov. 11. 1882, she arrived in
Topeka, where she was the guest of T. D. Thacher. This was her
first visit to Kansas, as she remained in New York when her husband
and his sons came to the territory in the '50s. A reception was given
Mrs. Brown in the senate chamber on the evening of the 15th. She
then visited Lawrence and Osawatomie and returned to California.
She died on Feb. 29, 1884.
Brown, William R., lawyer and member of Congress, was born at
Buffalo. N. Y.. July 16, 1840. He was educated at Phillips Academy,
Exeter. N. H.. and at LTnion University, Schenectady, N. Y.. graduating
at the latter institution when 22 years of age. After leaving college
he studied law and in 1864 was admitted to the bar. Soon after that
he came to Kansas and located at Lawrence, where he took an active
part in political life. In 1866 he removed to Emporia and entered
into partnership with Judge R. M. Ruggles. He served as deputy clerk
of the supreme court and was journal clerk of the lower house of the
state legislature in 1866-67. At the close of the session Mr. Brown
dissolved his partnership with Judge Ruggles and opened a law office
at Cottonwood Falls, Chase county. The same year he was elected
judge of the Ninth judicial district. Always a public-spirited man,
with the welfare of the people at heart, he served as judge until March
I, 1875. when he resigned, having been elected to Congress the pre-
vious fall as a Republican. After serving one term in Congress, Mr. _
Brown became the senior member of the law firm of Brown & Zim-
merman of Hutchinson.
KANSAS HISTORY 245
Brownell, a tdwn of Waring township, Xess count}-, is a station
on the Missouri Pacifis R. R. about i6 miles northeast of Ness City,
the county seat. It has a bank, a money order postoiilice with one rural
delivery route, express and telegraph offices, telephone connections, a
good retail trade. Baptist and Methodist churches, good public schools,
and in 1910 reported a population of 200.
Brownsville, an inland hamlet of Chautauqua county, is located near
the east line of the county, 11 miles northeast of Sedan, the judicial
seat, and about the same distance southwest of Elk City in Montgom-
ery county, whence it receives its mail by rural route. The nearest
railroad station is Monett, on the Missouri Pacific about 5 miles south-
west. The population according to the report of 1910 was 15.
Bruce, a thriving little town of Crawford county, is a station on the
St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. about 12 miles southwest of Girard,
the county seat, and 4 miles west of Cherokee, from which place mail
is received by rural free delivery. In 1910 the population was 164.
Buchanan, James, 15th president of the United States, from 1857 to
1861, and under whose administration Kansas was admitted into the
Union, was born at Mercersburg, Pa., April 23, 1791. His father, a
native of County Donegal, Ireland, came to America in 1783 and set-
tled in Cumberland county. Pa., where he married and raised a family
of eleven children, of which James was the second. After attending
the local schools, the future president entered Dickinson College, where
he graduated in 1809. He then studied law and in 1812 began practice
at Lancaster, Pa. Although a Federalist and opposed to the War of
1812, his first public address at Lancaster, in 1814, was in favor of
enlisting more troops, and even enrolled his own name. In Oct., 1814,
he was elected to the Pennsylvania legislature, and the succeeding
year was reelected. He then declined further political honors for the
purpose of devoting all his talent and energies to the practice of his
profession, but the death of the young woman to whom he was be-
trothed caused him' to change his plans, and in 1820 he was elected
to represent his district in Congress. After serving in that capacity
for ten years. President Jackson appointed him minister to Russia in
183 1. In the fall of 1833 he returned to Pennsylvania, and the follow-
ing year was elected L^nited States senator by the legislature of that
state. In 1839 President Van Buren tendered him the attorney-gen-
eralship of the United States, but he declined, preferring to remain in
the senate. In 1845 h^ entered the cabinet of President Polk as sec-
retary of state, where his tact on the Oregon boundary question and
the annexation of Texas proved of great value to the administration.
In 1852 he was defeated by Franklin Pierce for the Democratic nomina-
tion for president, and after the latter was inaugurated he appointed
Mr. Buchanan minister to England. He was nominated and elected
president in 1856. The principal events of his administration were the
Dred Scott decision ; the Kansas troubles, which he had inherited from
President Pierce's administration the John Brown raid on Harper's
246 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Ferry, Va. ; the trial and execution of Brown, and the secession of
some of the Southern states. Mr. Buchanan's alliance with the slave
power; his efforts to force the admission of Kansas under the Le-
compton constitution, which would have made Kansas a slave state ;
and his failure to prevent the secession of states, caused him to be
severely criticised, yet he promptly signed the bill admitting Kansas
under the Wyandotte constitution as a free state. He was succeeded
by Abraham Lincoln on March 4, 1861, and five days later retired to
his country seat at Wheaton, where for a time he kept aloof from the
cares of public life. Subsequently he spent some of his leisure time
in writing a vindication of his policy, his book being published in
1866 under the title of "Buchanan's Administration." James Buchanan
died at Lancaster, Pa., June i, 1868.
Buckcreek, a station on the L^nion Pacific R. R. in Jefferson county,
is located on the southern line of the county just where the railroad
crosses the border, 6 miles from the east line. It is 12 miles from
Oskaloosa, the county seat. Mail is supplied from Williamstown by
rural route.
Buckeye, a rural hamlet of Dickinson count)^, is situated in the town-
ship of the same name, about 8 miles north of Abilene, the county
seat and most convenient railroad station, from which place mail is
received by rural free delivery. The population was 40 in 1910.
Bucklin, one of the principal towns of Ford county, is located in the
southeastern part, 27 miles from Dodge City, at the junction of two
divisions of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R. It was in-
corporated in 1909 and in 1910 reported a population of 696. Bucklin
has two* banks, a weekly newspaper (the Banner), an international
money order postoffice with two rural routes, a grain elevator, tele-
graph and express service, a telephone exchange, hotels, mercantile
establishments, Protestant churches, good public schools, and is the
shipping and supply point for a large agricultural district.
Bucyrus, a village in the northeastern part of Miami count}', is on
the Missouri Pacific railroad, 15 miles northeast of Paola, the county
seat. It has a money order postoffice, telegraph station and express
office, and in 1910 the population was 200.
Buffalo. — Not until Cortez reached Anahuac, the capital of the
Aztecs, in 1521, was the buffalo known to Europeans. Montezuma at
that time had a well appointed menagerie, and among the animals of
his dollection the greatest rarity was the "Mexican Bull, a wonderful
composition of divers animals. It has crooked Shoulders, with a Bunch
on its Back like a Camel; its Flanks dry, its Tail large, and its neck
covered with Hair like a Lion. It is cloven footed, its Head armed like
that of a Bull, which it resembles in Fierceness with no less strength
and Agility."
This is probably the first description of the American buffalo in
print. In 1530 Cabeca de Vaca encountered buffalo in a wild state in
what is now Texas. He also left a description of them, telling of the
KANSAS HISTORY 247
■quality of their meat and of the uses of buffalo robes. Coronado in
1542 reached the buffalo country on his way to Quivira, and traversed
the plains that were "full of crooke-backed oxen, as the mountain
Serena in Spaine is of Sheepe." In 1612 an English navigator named
Samuel ArgoU mentions meeting with buffalo while on a trip to Vir-
ginia, discovering them some miles up the Pembrook (Potomac) river,
probably near Washington, D. C. Father Hennepin encountered buf-
falo in 1679 while on a journey up the St. Lawrence river. Marquette
has said that the prairies along the Illinois river were "covered with
buffaloes." Lewis & Clark, the explorers, when on their return trip
down the Missouri in 1806, mention having to wait an hour for a herd
that was then crossing the river.
Col. Richard I. Dodge, in his "Plains of the Great West," describing
a herd met with in Kansas, says: "In May, 1871, I drove in a light
wagon from old Fort Zarah to Fort Larned on the Arkansas, 34 miles.-
At least 25 miles of this distance was through one immense herd, com-
posed of countless smaller herds of buffalo then on their journey north.
. . . The whole country appeared one great mass of buffalo, moving
slowly to the northward. . . . The herds in the valley sullenly got out
of my way, and, turning, stared stupidly at me, sometimes at only a few
yards' distance. When I had reached a point where the hills were no
longer than a mile from the road, the buff'alo on the hills, seeing an
untjsual object in their rear, turned, stared an instant, then started at
full speed towards me, stampeding and bringing with them the numer-
ous herds through which they passed and pouring down upon me all
the herds, no longer separated, but one immense compact mass of
plunging animals, mad with fright, and as irresistible as an avalanche.
. . . Reining up my horse, ... I waited until the front of the mass
was within 50 yards, when a few well-directed shots from my rifle split
the herd, and sent it pouring off in two streams to my right and left.
When all had passed me they stopped, apparently satisfied, though
thousands were yet within range of my rifle and many within less than
100 yards. Disdaining to fire again, I sent my servant to cut out the
tongues of the fallen. This occurred so frequently within the next 10
miles, that when I arrived at Fort Larned I had twenty-six tongues in
my wagon. ... I was not hunting, wanted no meat, and would not
voluntarily have fired at the herds. I killed only in self-preservation
and fired almost every shot from the wagon." This herd is estimated
to have numbered about 4,000,000 head.
Accounts are numerous of the existence of buffalo in other remote
localities, but on the great plains they throve best and were to be found
in greatest numbers. The mating season occurred when the herd was
on the range, when the calves were from two to four months old.
During the "running season" the herds came together in one dense
mass of many thousands — in many instances so numerous as to blacken
the face of the landscape. Kearney, Neb., was probably very near the
center of the buffalo range, and every year the plains Indians had their
248 CYCLOPEDIA OF
buffalo hunt. The buffalo supplied man}' of their wants, the skins being
carefully tanned to supply clothing, bedding, and covers for tepees ; the
meat not intended for immediate consumption was stripped off the car-
cass, carefully dried, and thus made available for use until the next
hunt. The hides of the old bulls were used as a covering for a water
craft known as "bull boats" — being carefully stretched over a round
framework, the hairy side within. These boats were constructed more
easily than by hollowing out logs.
"Of all the quadrupeds that have lived upon the earth, probably no
other species has ever marshaled such innumerable hosts as those of
the American bison. It would have been as easy to count or to esti-
mate the number of leaves in a forest as to calculate the number of
buffaloes living at any given time during the history of the species pre-
vious to 1870."
From 1820 to 1840 it has been estimated that approximately 652,275
buffaloes were killed by buffalo hunters, the total value of which at
$5 each would be $3,261,375. Where Indians killed one for food the
the hide and tongue hunters killed fifty. This incessant slaughter was
kept up year after year, thousands of hunters — whites and Indians —
being employed for no other purpose than to kill as many as they could.
Buffalo Bill (W. F. Cody) was once engaged in this business and is
said to have killed 4,280 in 18 months, while thousands of others were
likewise engaged of whom no record is had. In 1871 several thousand
hunters were in the field and it is estimated that from 3,000 to 4,000
buffaloes were killed daily.
The building of the Pacific railroads divided the buffaloes into two
large herds that ranged on either side of the Platte river. The esti-
mated numbers in these herds at this time was about 3,000,000 each
and it was never thought by western men in those days that it would
be possible to exterminate such a mighty multitude. But the same im-
provident v/ork of destruction continued and by 1875 the southern herd
had been exterminated. The northern herd in 1882 was thought to
number about 1,000,000 head, but by 1883 it was almost annihilated,
and Sitting Bull and a few white hunters that year had the distinction
of killing the last 10,000 that remained.
This wholesale slaughter of the buffalo brought about more than one
uprising among the Plains Indians, who foresaw the total destruction
of their food supply, and some sanguinar}' wars were the result. Dur-
ing the construction of the Kansas Pacific and Atchison. Topeka &
Santa Fe railroads the buft'aloes were so numerous as to impede work,
and on more than one occasion trains were derailed by running into
herds.
After the extermination of the southern herd a new industry sprang
up, the bones of the slaughtered millions being carefully gathered and
shipped back east, where they were ground into fertilizer to be used
on the impoverished farms of the older sections. Thousands of car-
loads were shipped, the average price paid being from $4 to $6 a ton.
KANSAS HISTORY 249
Charles J. (Buffalo) Jones, for many ^-ears a resident of Kansas, suc-
ceeded in a measure in domesticating the buffalo, and has made experi-
ments in crossing them with the Galloway breed of cattle, the product
(Catalo) taking the characteristics of the buffalo.
To save the animals from total destruction the United States secured
a number of buft'aloes and placed them in the Yellowstone National
Park where they might be free from molestation. This small herd in-
creases very slowly owing to losses of calves through predatory ani-
mals. Outside of a few public and private collections, the buffalo has
entirely disappeared.
Buffalo, one of the incorporated towns of Wilson county, is located
in Clifton township on the Missouri Pacific R. R. and on Buft'alo
creek, 15 miles northeast of Fredonia, the county seat. It has a bank,
a weekly newspaper, brick and tile works, a feed mill, express and tele-
graph offices, and an international money order postoffice with two
rural routes. The town is located in the oil and gas fields. The
population for 1910 was 807.
Buffalo was founded in 1867, when a postoffice was established there
with Chester Gould as postmaster. The first store was opened in
1869 by the Young Bros., and the first hotel by John Van Meter, in
1870. The Buffalo Agricultural Society was organized in 1872. In
1886 the railroad was built, which was an impulse to the growth of
the place. The next year the first bank was started. The town was
incorporated as a city of the third class in 1898, and the first election
held in October of that year, when the following officers were chosen :
Mayor, E. B. Johnson; police judge, A. Jamieson ; clerk, C. M. Callar-
man ; treasurer, J. L. Dryden; street commissioner, O. P. Neff"; coun-
cilmen, W. L. Ward, J. S. Blankenbecker, B. E. Jones, A. A. McCann,
G. K. Bideau.
Buffalo Bill. — The sobriquet of "Buffalo Bill," known throughout
the country as a synonym for daring and superior marksmanship with
the rifle, is claimed by two men, both of whom won the appellation
in Kansas. These men are William Mathewson, a pioneer of Wichita,
and William F. Cody, better known in late years as proprietor of the
"Wild West show." Although the latter is more widely known, there
is little doubt that Mathewson was the first to receive the title of
Buffalo Bill. He was born in Broome county, N. Y., Jan. i, 1830, and
while still in the "teens" came west and went as far as Denver with
the celebrated scout. Kit Carson. James R. Mead, a pioneer Indian
trader, in an interview in the St. Louis Republic of June 24, 1906,
says that Mathewson struck the Santa Fe trail near old Fort Zarah
and established a trading post near the site of the present city of Great
Bend, and that he gained the name of Buffalo Bill in the winter of
1860-61 by supplying the settlers with buffalo meat during a scarcity
of provisions.
William F. Cody was born in Scott county, Iowa, Feb. 26. 1846.
His father was killed in the "Border War" in Kansas, and in 1860-61,
250 CYCLOPEDIA OF
when only 15 years of age he became a pony express rider across the
plains. While thus occupied he gained a knowledge of the country
that led him to accept the duties of guide and scout, and in the Civil
war he was a member of the Seventh Kansas cavalry. "Who's Who
in America," for 1910-11, says' Cody "contracted to furnish the Kansas
Pacific railway with all the buffalo meat required to feed the laborers
engaged in construction, and in 18 months (1867-8) killed 4,280 buffalo,
earning the name of 'Buffalo Bill,' by which he is best known." From
1868 to 1872 he was a government guide and scout in the operations
against the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, and he has probably par-
ticipated in more Indian fights than any other living man. He was
elected to Nebraska legislature in 1872; again became a scoiit, for the
Fifth U. S. cavalry; was judge advocate of the Nebraska National
Guard, and in 1883 organized the Wild West show, with which he
has traveled extensively in this country and Europe. This fact has
kept his name before the public, while Mr. Mathewson has been con-
tent to pursue the "even tenor of his way." Mead, whose interview is
referred to above, was an intimate acquaintance and associate of
Mathewson, and was no doubt fully acquainted with the facts. From
his statement it will be seen that Mathewson was known as "Buffalo
Bill" at least six years before the name was applied to Cody. Capt.
Jack Crawford, the well known scout, also makes the statement that
Col. Mathewson is the original "Buffalo Bill."
During his life on the frontier, Mathewson always tried to main-
tain friendly relations with the Indians, but on one occasion it be-
came necessary for him to discipline the Kiowa chief, Satanta. with
his fist, which he did so thoroughly that he became known among the
Indians as "Zane-pong-za-del-py," which in English means "Bad man
with the long beard."
Buffalo County, now extinct, was created by the legislature of 1879,
with the following boundaries : "Commencing where the north line
of township 20 south, intersects the line of range 27 west, thence south
along range line to its intersection with the north line of township
24 south : thence west along township line to where it intersects the
east line of range 31 west; thence north along range line to where it
intersects the north line of township 20, south ; thence east to the place
of beginning."
It was bounded on the north by Lane county, east by Ness and
Hodgeman, south by Foote and west by Sequo3^ah and Scott counties.
In 1881 the northern tier of townships was taken from Buffalo and
added to Lane, the remainder being made a part of a new county called
Gray, and later was taken to form Finney county.
Buffalo Grass.— (Buchloe dactyloides Engelm), a species of low,
fine-leafed creeping perennial, rarely growing more than 4 to 6 inches
high, was once very plentiful on the western plains. It gre^v on the
dry prairies and river bottoms from South Dakota to Texas, attained
its growth early and cured long before frost time, preserving all its
KANSAS HISTORY 25 1
nutriment and forming the principal forage of the buffaloes during
winter. It seemed to thrive best where most trampled. As the plains
country settled up, and tame grasses have been introduced the buffalo
grass has gradually disappeared, the newer varieties crowding it out.
(See Short Grass Country.)
Buford Expedition. — Immediately after the passage of the Kansas
Nebraska bill in 1854, which provided that the people of Kansas might
form a constitution establishing or prohibiting slavery, as they saw fit,
a struggle was at once commenced between the slave power and the
free-soilers for possession of the new territory. (See Slavery.) The
adjoining slave state of Missouri took up the fight at once, and by send-
ing voters into the territory succeeded in electing the members of the
first legislature. But by the latter part of 1855 it became evident that
Missouri alone could not force slavery into Kansas, and an appeal was
sent to the other slave states for help. This appeal contained the fol-
lowing statement : "The great struggle will come off at the next elec-
tion in Oct., 1856, and unless at that time the South can maintain her
ground all will be lost. The time has come for action — bold, determined
action. Words will no longer do any good; we must have men in
Kansas and that by the tens of thousands. A few will not answer."
The people of the South generally conceded that Kansas would be
admitted as a free state, yet there were some who were willing to make
sacrifices to continue the fight. Among these was Jefferson Buford, a
lawyer of Eufaula, Ala., who had won the rank of major in the Indian
war of 1836. On Nov. 11, 1855, he issued a call for emigrants to be
ready by Feb. 20, 1856. To every one who would agree to go to Kansas
he guaranteed free transportation, means of support for one year, and
a homestead of 40 acres of first rate land. He pledged $20,000 of his
own monej' and asked for contributions, agreeing to put one bona fide
settler in Kansas for every $50 thus donated. On Jan. 7, 1856, Buford
sold 40 of his slaves for $28,000 and put most of the proceeds into the
enterprise. He then made a canvass of the principal towns of the state,
asking and receiving donations. In this work he was aided by some
of the pro-slavery leaders.
His arrangements were completed by April 4, and on that date 400
men assembled at Montgomery, ready for the start. Of these men 100
were from South Carolina, 50 were from Georgia, i was from Illinois,
I from Massachusetts, and the rest were Alabamians. On the 5th they
embarked on the steamboat Messenger, bound for St. Louis via Mobile.
As they marched to the landing they carried two banners, one of which
bore the legend : "The Supremacy of the White Race," and on the
reverse the words, "Kansas the Outpost." On the other banner was in-
scribed : "Alabama for Kansas — North of 36° 30'," and on the reverse,
"Bibles — not Rifles." The last was inspired by the fact that on the
day before their departure from Montgomery a religious congregation
had presented every man with a Bible.
The expedition arrived in Kansas on May 2, and the men immediately
252 CVCLOrEDlA OI'
began looking for suitable land upon which to locate. But just at that
juncture the governor called on the citizens to turn out "in sufficient
force to execute the laws." Buford collected his men, some at Lecomp-
ton, some at Lawrence, and they were enrolled and armed as part of
the territorial militia. About 11 a. m. on the 21st they joined the pro-
slavery forces near Lawrence, but after the destruction of that town Col.
Buford "disclaimed having come to Kansas to destroy property, and
condemned the course which had been taken."
In June Buford went South and to Washington, D. C, to solicit aid.
At Washington, he succeeded in securing the cooperation of the lead-
ing pro-slaverj' men in Congress. L'pon his return to Kansas, late in
the year 1856, he found that Gov. Geary had disbanded the militia ; some
of his men had returned to their homes in the South; some had en-
listed in the United States troops in Kansas ; others had joined the
opposition and became free-state partisans, and a few had become peace-
able settlers. Broken in spirit, Buford went back to Alabama, having
sufifered a net loss of over $10,000 by his undertaking. He died at
Clayton, Ala., Aug. 28, 1861, of heart disease.
Buhler, a town in Little River township, Reno county, is located on
the Little Arkansas river at the point where it is crossed by the St.
Louis & San Francisco R. R., about 12 miles northeast of Hutchinson,
the county seat. It has a bank, a money order postoffice with two rural
routes, two grain elevators, hotel, creamery, telegraph, telephone and
express service, some good mercantile houses, schools, churches, etc.,
and in 1910 reported a population of 275.
Bunch, a rural hamlet of Butler county, is located about 18 miles
nearly due south of Eldorado, the county seat, and 8 miles northwest of
Wingate, which is the nearest railroad station. Mail is delivered from
Atlanta.
Bunkerhill, an incorporated city of the third class in Russell county,
is located in Center township, and is a station on the Union Pacific R.
R. 9 miles east of Russell, the county seat. It has a bank, a money order
postoffice with three rural routes, telegraph and express 'offices, tele-
phone connections, a graded public school, an opera house, hotel, grain
elevator, machine shop, a cornet band, Protestant churcheS. and in 1910
reported a population of 242.
Burden, an incorporated citj' of the third class in Cowley county, is a
station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. in Silver Creek town-
ship 17 miles northeast of Winfield, the county seat. Burden has a bank,
a weekly newspaper (the Times), a flour mill, an international money
order postoffice with three rural routes, telegraph, telephone and ex-
press service, a large retail trade. Baptist, Methodist and Christian
churches, good public schools, and is the principal shipping point for a
rich agricultural district. The population in 1910 was 424.
Burdett, a town in Browns Grove township. Pawnee county, is a sta-
tion on the division of the Atchison, Topeka &: Santa Fe R. R. that
runs from Larned to Jetmore 24 miles west of Larned. It has a bank.
KANSAS HISTORY 253
a money order postoffice with one rural route, telegraph and express
offices, a grain elevator, hotel, some good mercantile houses, and is
the chief shipping and supply point in the western part of the county.
The population in 1910 was 300.
Burdick, a town of Diamond Valley township, Morris county, is a
station on the Strong City & Superior division of the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe R. R. 23 miles from Strong City and about 20 miles south-
west of Council Grove, the county seat. It has a bank, a mone}- order
postoffice, telegraph and express offices, telephone connections, Protes-
tant churches, a good retail trade, important shipping interests, and in
1910 reported a population of 225.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. — Early in the '80s, the people of Kansas
began to feel the need of legislation to determine questions regarding
the rights of labor. As the result of this agitation, the legislature of
1885 passed an act creating a "bureau of labor and industrial statistics."
By this act the governor was authorized to appoint a commissioner to
be known as the "Commissioner of Labor Statistics," for a term of two
years, whose salar}- was fixed at $1,000. The commissioner was given
power to "take and preserve testimony, examine witnesses under oath,"
to enter any public institution in the state, au}^ factory, workshop or
mine, in the discharge of his duties, and require persons, companies or
officers of corporations to furnish answers to his interrogatories when
investigating any subject.
On May i, 1885, the governor appointed Frank H. Betton of Wyan-
dotte the first commissioner of labor statistics. Kansas is one of the
pioneer states in the organization of such a department, for although
the value of authentic and accurate information in regard to the work-
ing classes was recognized, the first action in this regard was not taken
until 1869, when the state of Massachusetts organized the first state
labor bureau.
In his report, transmitted to the governor on Jan. i, t886, the labor
commissioner reported upon conciliation and arbitration, labor organi-
zations in Kansas, views of the workingmen, convict labor, the mining
industries of the state : reviewed the growth of manufacturing industries
in the state, furnished a wage table and reported upon the railroads
within the boundaries of Kansas.
In 1886, in order to procure accurate results, the commissioner
inaugurated a system of monthly blanks, distributed them among the
labor organizations, with a request that they be distributed among the
various members, and requested that the questions be answered and the
blanks returned to the commissioner's office. Statistics were also gath-
ered from ninety per cent, of the manufacturing and kindred industries,
whicii show that the average number of employees in Kansas in iSS''-,
was 13,988.
In 1887 a bill was passed by the legislature to encourage cooperative-
societies, and another "to secure the laborers in and about coal mines
and manufactories the payment of their wages at regular intervals, and
254 CYCLOPEDIA OF
in lawful money of the United States." This last act was due to the
efiforts of mining companies and some other corporations in various
parts of the country to pay their employees in scrip good for trade at the
companies' stores.
In 1898 a law was passed "to create a state society of labor and in-
dustry," which provided that whenever seven or more laborers, me-
chanics or wage earners of any kind, "now organized or (who) shall
hereafter organize in any cOunty, city or muncipality in the State of
Kansas," for the purpose of collecting and studying statistics of labor
and industry or for "the investigation of economic and commercial or
industrial pursuits," the organization was to be allowed one delegate
for the first 50 members or fraction thereof and one delegate for each ad-
ditional 100 or majority fraction thereof, to represent it at the annual
meeting of the state society of labor and industry, which was fixed by
law for the first Monday in Feb., 1899, and each year thereafter on the
same da.te. These annual meetings are held at the state capitol at To-
peka. By the act of creation, the delegates from the different societies
in the state were authorized to elect a president, vice-president, secre-
tary and assistant secretary, "which officials shall constitute a state
bureau of labor and industry and said secretary shall be ex officio com-
missioner of the bureau of labor and industry and state factory inspec-
tor, and said assistant secretary shall be ex officio assistant commissioner
of said bureau." The duties of the commissioner remained practically
the same as they were under the bureau of labor statistics, but he was
instructed to pay particular attention to industrial pursuits, strikes and
other labor difficulties, also to cooperation and trade-unions.
During a little more than a quarter of a century since the Kansas
bureau of labor statistics was created, legislative enactments have wid-
ened the scope of the bureau and had for their purpose the improvement
of the industrial conditions and the protection of the interests of the
laboring classes.
This has necessitated an increase in the personnel of the bureau, which
in 1910, consisted of the following members : A commissioner and
factory inspector, an assistant commissioner and assistant factory in-
spector, two deputy factory inspectors, a chief clerk, a statistical clerk,
and a stenographer.
At each session of the legislature, labor has received increased recog-
nition, until today there are more than forty labor laws, most of which
were enacted as a result of suggestions from the bureau. Two of the
most important of these laws are the child labor law and the law pro-
viding for the report of all accidents due to defects and faults in the
operations of machinery, or other industrial equipment. By the fire
inspection law, the commissioner of labor is ex officio state superin-
tendent of inspection, and thus brings under the scope of factory in-
spection, the work of inspecting fire escapes and means of egress in
buildings of three stories or more in height.
During the year 1910 the inspector and his assistants inspected 1,555
KANSAS HISTORY 255
manufacturing establishments representing 26 different branches of
industry and employing 54,948 laborers. The bureau has gathered
statistics from 458 labor organizations, located in 74 cities of Kansas,
and as a result of the investigation of labor difficulties, strikes and acci-
dents, has been able to suggest legislation upon these subjects, which
is one of its most important functions.
The enforcement of the labor laws of Kansas rests with the labor
bureau. Prosecutions with regard to the infringement of the child
labor laws have been made in over thirty cases. The enforcement of the
eight-hour law by the bureau has been accompanied by great success,
which has led to a better recognition of the law. Commissioner John-
son, in his report of the current work of the bureau of labor, at the
twelfth meeting of the State Society of Labor and Industry, said that
the following resolution was adopted at the third annual convention
of the state federation, "On the question of cooperation with the State
Society of Labor and Industry, we desire to say that we consider this
one of the most vital questions that will come before this convention.
We wish to point out the fact that in the state of Kansas the trade-
unions control absolutely the state bureau of labor. They elect in con-
vention assembled the labor commissioner and his assistants, a privi-
lege not given to organized labor in any other state in the Union.
This plan of allowing the labor-unions to elect the officials
of the bureau makes it possible to place union men as factory inspec-
tors, statistical clerks, etc., and in fact, in the State of Kansas every em-
ployee of the labor bureau is a union man."
Burlingame, formerly the judicial seat of Osage county, is located
northwest of the central part of the county, 16 miles from Lyndon and
26 miles south of Topeka, and is one of the important towns in that
section of the state. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. from To-
peka diverges at this point, one branch going to Emporia and the other
to Alma. Potter's clay and coal are found in the vicinity and these,
with live stock, grain and produce, form the chief shipments. There
are three weekly papers, ample banking facilities, planing mill, electric
lighting plant, churches, graded and high schools, an opera house and
public halls. All the leading fraternities are represented. The town is
well supplied with express and telegraph facilities and has an inter-
national money order postoffice with six rural routes. The population
in iQio was 1,422.
Burlingame is the oldest town in Osage county having been built up
from the nucleus started under the name of Council City in 1855. ^^
1857 the site was surveyed which took in a larger area and the name
was changed to Burlingame in honor of Anson Burlingame afterward
minister to China. The name of the postoffice was not changed until
Jan. 30, 1858, and later in the year the town company was organized.
Being at the crossing of Switzler creek, Burlingame was the most im-
portant stop on the Santa Fe trail with the exception of Council Grove.
The trail formed the principal street of the town. Improvement was
256 CYCLOPEDIA OF
rapid from 1857 until the breaking out of the war. A bridge was put
across the Switzler, saw mills and grist mills were built, and durable
buildings, some of them of stone, were put up. In i860 it was incor-
porated as a city by act of the legislature and became a city of the third
class in 1870. Three years afterward the city hall with the records were
burned. The first officers elected were: Mayor, Phillip C. Schuyler;
councilmen, S. R. Canilif, George Bratton, E. P. Sheldon and Joseph
McDonald. The next year the county seat was located here, and re-
mained until 1875 when it was taken to Lyndon.
During the war growth was suspended. A large round fort was built
in 1862 and a number of armed men stationed within to protect the
town from destruction threatened by Bill Anderson, one of Quantrill's
guerrilla band. As soon as peace was restored again business activity
was renewed. A large three-story grist mill was built in 1866. The
Atchison. Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. reached Burlingame in 1869, and
the event was duly celebrated by an excursion from Topeka on Oct. 4.
Two destructive fires have occurred, one in 1873 and the other in 1883
the latter causing a property loss of $10,000.
Burlingame, Anson, lawyer and diplomat, was born at New Berlin,
N. Y., Nov. 14, 1820, and was a direct descendant of a family which set-
tled at Warwick, R. I., at a very early day. He was educated in the
common schools and the University of ]\Iichigan, where he graduated in
1841. In 1846 he received his degree from the law department of Har-
vard University and formed a partnership with Henry S. Briggs for the
practice of law in Boston. In 1854 he joined the newly formed American
party and was elected to Congress on that ticket. He assisted at the
birth of the Republican party and openly opposed slavery in the
speeches he made in Congress, of which body he was a member in 1856.
He was reelected in 1858, but failed of reelection in i860. In Sept.,
1859, he visited Kansas and received many honors from the prominent
men of the territory during his visit. President Lincoln appointed
Mr. Burlingame minister to Austria in 1861, and upon his return to the
United States William H. Seward persuaded him to remain in the diplo-
matic service. He therefore, went to China on a mission for the United
States government. He was appointed special envo}' to the United
States by the Chinese government and led the official party that ratified
a treaty on July 28, 1868, which is known by his name. Mr. Burlingame
died at St. Petersburg, Russia, Feb. 23, 1870.
Burlingame, Ward, journalist and for many years chief clerk of the
dead letter division of the United States postoffice department, was
born at Gloversville, N. Y., Feb. 6, 1836. He received his education in
the public schools of his native town and later attended the academy at
Kingsboro, N. Y. Early in 1858 he located at Leavenworth, Kan. Mr.
Burlingame's first newspaper experience was on a daily paper called the
Ledger, edited by George W. McLane. Later he assisted at the birth of
the Leavenworth Daily Herald, which was established in connection
with the weekly edition, and while on this paper he occupied nearly all
KANSAS HISTORY 257
I he places offered by such a printing establishment, from distributing the
])apers among the local subscribers, to writing editorials. Subsequently
he worked on the Times and Evening Bulletin. After the election of
1862 Gov. Carney invited him to become his private secretary and he
went to Topeka. In Jan., 1866, Mr. Burlingame went to Washington,
D. C, as confidential secretary to James H. Lane, then United States
senator from Kansas, and remained with him during the spring of that
year. On his return to Kansas he was given editorial charge of the
Leavenworth Conservative, owned at that time by M. H. Inslej-. Dur-
ing Gov. Crawford's second term Mr. Burlingame served as his private
secretary, and he continued to hold the same position during the first
administration of Gov. Harvey and until F"ebruary of the second term,
when he resigned to accept the position of private secretary to Alexan-
der Caldwell, who had been elected United States senator. He was
also private secretary to Gov. Osborn during his second term, at the
expiration of which he became Senator Plumb's private secretary, and
also acted as Washington correspondent for the Atchison Champion.
Mr. Burlingame's newspaper service in Kansas ended with his editor-
ship of the Topeka Commonwealth, of which he was one of the founders.
On Feb. i, 1880, he was appointed to a clerical position in the dead letter
division of the postofiice department, and was promoted to that of chief
clerk, which position he held for over ten years. In 1907 he resigned
his position because of failing health and returned to Topeka, where he
died on Dec. 3, 1908.
Burlington, the judicial seat and most important town of Coffey
county, is located just south of the central part of the county, at the
junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Missouri, Kansas
& Texas railroads, and on the Neosho river. It is a progressive little
cit}', with waterworks, fire department, electric lights, and a number
of commercial and manufacturing interests, including 2 banks, a daily
and a tri-weekly newspaper, flour mill, grain elevators, tile factory, 3
cigar factories, creamery, carriage and wagon factory, and all lines of
mercantile enterprises. It has excellent graded and high schools, and
all denominations of churches. There are telegraph and express offices
and an international money order postoffice with 6 rural routes. The
population according to the report of the government census of 1910
was 2,180.
The Burlington town company was incorporated in 1857, by O. E,
Learnard, Charles Morse, J. A.' D. Clark. T. T. Parsons and C. W.
Southway. The town was named for Burlington, Vt., the home of O.
E. Learnard, the principal promoter. The first building was a combina-
tion of two small buildings brought from Hampden, and was used for
a store in which James Jones kept a stock of goods. The second build-
ing was a wagon shop erected by Edward Murdock, and the third was
the "Burlington Hotel," which was constructed by F. A. Atherly on con-
tract with the town company. Rev. Peter Remer and family came in
Mav. Mrs. Remer was the first woman in Burlington. Dr. Samuel G.
' (I-17)
258 CYCLOrEDIA OF
Howe, the philanthropist and husband of JuHa Ward Howe, located a
Wyandotte "float" in that year. It was surveyed into lots and a part
of it sold and incorporated in the town. A great deal was done that
first year in way of improvements. Several houses and business estab-
lishments were built, and in addition a bridge was constructed across
the Neosho and a mill was put in operation. During the war every
thing was at a stand-still, the men having all enlisted in the army or
being engaged in . protecting the border. The unsettled condition of
affairs pertaining to the location of the county seat was a drawback to
the growth of the town until after 1866. By 1870 new life was in evi-
dence in the progress of the town. A little carding mill which had been
started in 1863 grew into a woolen mill, with a cotton gin in connection,
a water mill had been built by Cross & Son at a cost of $55,000, and
another mill was built in that year at a cost of $16,000. In 1873, a
$28,000 school house was erected. The first bank was opened in 1870.
The first newspaper, the "Neosho Valley Register," was published by
S. S. Prouty, in 1859.
Burnett, Abraham, an Indian chief of the Pottawatomie tribe, was a
son of Kaw-kee-me, a sister of the principal chief of the Pottawatomies
at the time the Chicago treaty was concluded in 1821, and in that treaty
Abraham was awarded a section of land. He lived with his people in
Indiana until 1848, when he came to the tribal reservation near Topeka,
Kan. A few miles southwest of the city of Topeka is an elevation which
is still known as Mount Burnett, or Burnett's Mound, where he had his
home. Like many of the red men, he loved "fire-water" and on his fre-
quent trips to Topeka, before the era of prohibition in Kansas, he some-
times imbibed more than was good for him. As he weighed over 400
pounds it was something of a task to get him into his spring wagon
when he was in a state of intoxication. He married a white woman of
German extraction, and it is said that when he went home drunk he
would test her temper by throwing his hat in at the window. If it re-
mained in the house he would follow it, but if it was thrown out he
would retire until he was sober before attempting to enter his domicile.
He drew his annuity from the United States government with great
regularity, and generally spent the most of it in Indian fashion — for
gewgaws and fire-water. It was Burnett's boast that he never missed
attending a circus in Topeka during his long residence near that city.
He died on June 14, 1870, and his remains rest in an unmarked grave
near the mound upon which he had so long made his home.
Burns, one of the important towns of Marion county, is located in
Milton township, and is a station on the Florence & Arkansas division
of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway system, 21 miles south-
east of Marion, the county seat. It has two banks, a money order post-
office with two rural delivery routes, express and telegraph offices, tele-
phone connections, a weekly newspaper (the Citizen), several good gen-
eral stores, hotel, schools, churches, etc. Burns was incorporated in
1905 and in 1910 reported a population of 489.
KANSAS HISTORY 259
Burr Oak, one of the principal towns of Jewell county, is located in
Burr Oak township ii miles northwest of Mankato, the county seat. It
is on White Rock creek and the Missouri Pacific R. R., and is con-
nected with Otego by daily stage. It has banking facilities, an opera
house, a hospital, fire department, a weekly newspaper, churches and
schools, express and telegraph offices, and a postoffice with four rural
mail routes. The population in 1910 was 1,132. Grain and live-stock
are the principal products shipped.
Burr Oak was settled in 1870 by A. W. Mann, Zack Norman, I.ee M.
Tingley, Thomas Richard Comstock, James McCormick, Frank Gilbert,
A. J. Godfrey, D. H. Godfrey, Allen Ives, John E. Faidley and E. E.
Blake. The town was laid out in 1871 by A. J. Godfrey, and the post-
office established. John E. Faidley kept the first store. It was incor-
porated as a city of the third class in April, 1880, the first officers were :
J. K. McLain, mayor; W. M. Spurlock, city clerk; A. W. Mann, treas-
urer ; T. W. Carpenter, O. F. Roberts, A. J. Godfrey, George Quigley
and Dr. J. E. Hawley, councilmen.
Burrton, an incorporated town of Harvey county, is located 18 miles
west of Newton, at the junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
and the St. Louis & San Francisco railroads, which makes it an impor-
tant shipping point for a rich agricultural district, the chief articles of
export being grain, hay and live stock. Burrton has two banks, two
weekly newspapers (the Graphic and the Grit), an international money
order postoffice with four rural routes, several churches, a graded pub-
lic school, an opera house, a number of first class mercantile houses,
telegraph, telephone and express service, and in 1910 reported a popula-
tion of 689.
Burt, a little inland village in Woodson county, is on Turkey creek, in
the northern part of the count}^ 8 miles northwest of Yates Center, the
county seat, whence it receives mail by rural route. Moody, about 7
miles northeast, is the nearest railroad station and shipping point. The
population in 1910 was 53.
Burton, Joseph Ralph, United States senator, was born on the old
Burton homestead, near Mitchell, Ind., Nov. 16, 1851, the son of Allen C.
and Elizabe-th (Holmes) Burton. He is descended from English ances-
tors, who came to America to escape the reign of Cromwell, and settled
near Richmond, Va. His great-grandfather, John P. Burton, removed
from Virginia to North Carolina during the Revolutionary war, and in
1820 went to Indiana, where he founded the Indiana line of Burtons.
Elizabeth Holmes was of Scotch-German descent. Joseph R. Burton
was reared on his father's farm, attended the district school and the
academ}^ at Mitchell, and at the age of sixteen received an appointment
as cadet at the United States naval academ}' at Annapolis, but failed to
pass the physical examination. He taught school for a time, spent three
years in Franklin College, Franklin, Ind., and one year at DePauw Uni-
versity at Greencastle. In 1874 he began to read law in the office of
Gordon, Brown & Lamb, at Indianapolis, and in 1875 was admitted to
26d C VCLOI'EniA Ol-
the bar. In the spring of that year he married Mrs. Carrie (Mitchell)
Webster of Princeton, Ind. In 1876 Mr. Burton was nominated by the
Republicans for presidential elector and made many speeches during
the campaign. In 1878 he removed to Kansas and located at Abilene,
where he formed a partnership with Judge John H. Mahan for the prac-
tice of law. He was electecl to the Kansas legislature in 1882 ; was
reelected in 1884 and again in 1888; was commissioner to the World's
Columbian exposition at Chicago in 1893; and in 1895 lacked but one
vote of being the Republican nominee for I'nited States senator. In
Jan., 1901, he was elected United States senator, but two j'cars later was
indicted by a Federal grand jury at St. Louis on the charge of accepting
money from a corporation of questionable integrit}' of that city to use
his influence with the postofifice department to prevent the company
being denied the use of the mails. Burton claimed that the money was
paid him as attorney's fees, and that he had done nothing more than
other senators were doing every day, but the pressure became so strong
that on June 4, 1906, he resigned his seat in the senate. (See Bailey's
Administration.) Sjnce retiring from the senate, Mr. Burton has given
his entire attention to his law practice, extensive operations in real
estate, etc.
Busby, an inland hamlet in the eastern part of Elk county, is 12 miles
east of Howard, the county seat, whence it receives mail daily. The
population in 1910 was 47. The nearest railroad station is Buxton on
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, in Wilson county.
Bushong, a town of Lyon county, is located in the northwestern part
of the count}-, about 20 miles from Emporia, and is a station on the Mis-
souri Pacific R. R. 24 miles west of Osage City. It has a bank, a money
order postoffice with one rural route, a number of general stores, hotel,
public school, telegraph, telephone and express service, and does con-
siderable shipping. The population in 1910 was 250.
Bushton, a town in Farmer township. Rice county, is a station on the
Missouri Pacific R. R. 15 miles northwest of Lyons, the county seat.
It has a bank, a monej' order postofiice with two rural routes, a weekly
newspaper — the News — a flour mill, a grain elevator, telegraph and ex-
press offices, telephone connections, a good public school, and is the cen-
ter of a large retail trade. Bushton was incorporated in 1907 and in
1910 reported a population of 222.
Bushwhackers. — Webster defines the word bushwhacker as meaning
"One accustomed to beat about or travel through bushes, one who lives
in or frequents the woods ; applied specifically by the Federal troops in
the Civil war to irregular troops of the Confederate states engaged in
guerrilla warfare. Hence a guerrilla or bushfighter.'
Although this definition makes the words "bushwhacker" and "guer-
rilla" synonymous, there is really a distinction between them. The true
bushwhacker generally fights under cover, while the guerilla frequently
lias sufficient courage to come out into the open. (See Guerillas.)
KANSAS HISTORY 26 1
Butlbr County, the largest in area in Kansas, is located in the south-
eastern part of the state, in the second tier of counties north of Okla-
homa, and fifth west from Missouri. It is one of the original thirty-three
counties created by the first territorial legislature, and was named in
honor of Senator Butler of South Carolina. The boundaries as described
in the creative act were as follows: "Beginning at the southeast corner
of Wise county: thence south 30 miles; thence west 30 miles; thence
north 30 miles : thence east 30 miles to the place of beginning."
This gave the county an area of 900 square miles, but changes have
been made in the boundaries at different times, so that today the county
is bounded on the north by Marion and Chase counties ; on the east by
Greenwood and Elk ; on the south by Cowley ; and on the west by Sedg-
wick and Harvey, and has an area of 1,428 square miles, being larger
than the state of Rhode Island.
It is a prairie county but has considerable land of a slightly rolling
character. The surface in the western part is principally "bottom" land
and rolling prairie. The eastern part is in many places broken and
rough. The river and creek bottoms comprise about one-fifth of the
area and are from a mile to two miles in width. The timber belts along
the streams range from a quarter of a mile to a mile in width, the prin-
cipal varieties being oak, walnut, hickory, mulberry, sycamore, elm and
hackberrjr. The principal streams are the Whitewater, in the north-
west part of the county, which joins the Walnut at Augusta. These
two streams have a number of tributaries, the most important of the
Whitewater being Henry, Wentworth, Bakers, Rock and Meadow
creeks; those of the Walnut the Cole, Durechon, Satchels, Bemis, Bird,
Turkey, Four Mile, Little Walnut, Eight Mile and Muddy creeks.
Limestone is abundant and extensive quarries have been developed,
from which large quantities of stone are shipped to nearby cities. Gyp-
sum has been found in small quantities in the western part of the
county. Coal is found in thin layers in some places but has never been
mined extensively.
There is a little waste land, as the soil is rich and deep, adapted to
the growth of almost every variety of grain and fruit. Kafir-corn, oats,
corn and winter wheat are the leading crops, and Butler ranks first in
acreage and value of sorghum, forage, grain, Kafir-corn, alfalfa, and
prairie hay. Live stock raising has been an important industry from the
early days and the county leads in the number and value of animals
slaughtered or sold for that purpose. There are in the county, over
250,000 fruit trees of bearing age.
It is probable that the first settlements in Butler county were made
about 1854, by men who located along the streams and established cattle
ranches and trading posts. But the first authentic records of settle-
ment do not date back of May, 1857, when William Hildebrand located
in what is now Eldorado township. In June of the same year, Samuel
Stewart of Lawrence organized a colony to settle in the county. They
followed the old California trail to the point where it crossed the Wai-
262 CYCLOPEDIA OF
nut river, where they arrived on June 15, 1857. The Osage trail also
crossed at this point. Within a short time a town site was surveyed,
and here, on the banks of the Walnut, the "land of gold" was found and
named Eldorado. Among the members of this pioneer colony were Wil-
liam Bemis, Henry Marten, Jacob Carey, H. Bemis, William Crimble,
and some ten other families. A man named Schaffer took a claim on the
west bank of the Walnut and built a cabin just north of the site of the
present town of Eldorado. His claim extended across the west branch
but was not entered until 1868. In 1858 and 1859, it was estimated that
there were about fifty actual settlers in Butler county, prominent among
them being Judge Lambdin, Archibald Ellis, Judge Harrison, P. P. John-
son, George Donaldson, J. D. Connor and James Gordy. Cutler in his
History of Kansas says, "At the election under the Lecompton constitu-
tion, Dec. 21, 1857, there is no record of any returns from Butler county,
but in Oct., 1857, Madison and Butler counties polled 69 free-state and
7 Democratic votes. On Aug. 2, 1858, an election was held at the old
Eldorado town site, on the Lecompton constitution, and the entire vote
(21) polled, was cast against that infamous platform."
During the war few new settlers came. In 1861, a company for home
defense was raised among the settlers northeast of Eldorado, and placed
under command of P. G. D. Morton, but its only service consisted of
capturing a wagon train of supplies on the way to the Indian Territory
in violation of a military order. In the winter of 1861, the company
built and occupied a fort about two miles northeast of Eldorado, but in
the spring it was disbanded and most of the members joined the army
at Fort Leavenworth.
In 1867 two brothers named Moorehead moved into a cabin which
had been built by a man named Schaffer, and opened the first store on
a small scale, though Schaflfer had kept supplies when he lived there.
This is believed to be the first store on the site of the present city of
Eldorado, which is located over two miles above the old town. The
same year E. L. Lower built a house and opened a regular store. In
JNIarch, 1868, B. F. Gordy entered 160 acres of land upon which all that
part of Eldorado south of Central avenue now stands and the town site
was laid out early in the spring. A. G. Davis, William Vann and two
men named Chandler and Atwood settled in Towanda township in July,
1868: D. L. McCabe, in Rock Creek township, about the same time;
Philip Cams in July, 1869, took up land in Rosalia township, and Hol-
land Ferguson in Fairmount township.
The first religious services in the county were held at the Lambdin
home. A Presbyterian society was organized at Eldorado and a build-
ing commenced in 1872, but was not completed until 1877. The first rec-
ord of a district school is found in Chelsea township. It was Vaught by
Sarah Satchel. The second was in Eldorado township in 1861, the
funds for it being raised by subscription among the settlers. The first
marriage was that of Jacob E. Chase and Augusta Stewart in Eldorado
township in Jan., 1859. The first birth of a white child was I. Johnson
KANSAS HISTORY 263
in Towanda township. Tlie first newspaper in the county was the Wal-
nut Valley Times, the first issue of which bears the date of March 4,
1870, with Murdock and Danforth as editors and publishers. On June i,
of that year the partnership was dissolved and T. B. Murdock became
the sole owner, and continued to issue the paper until 1881 when he
sold it to Alvah Sheldon. One of the early banking houses was con-
ducted by Neal Wilkie and S. L. Shotwell, and the Bank of Eldorado
was opened for business on April 5, 1880, by Edward C. Ellett and N.
F. Frazier. A year later the Butler county bank was opened under a
charter from the state. The Eldorado mills, one of the earliest manufac-
turing concerns, was built in 1870, by Wheeler and Burdett, on the east
bank of the Walnut, and the Walnut Valley mills were erected in 1882.
Lawrence was the nearest established postoffice when the first settlers
located in Butler county. All mail addressed to box 400 at Lawrence
was taken by a hack to Emporia, whence it was sent down by anybody
who was passing. But a regular distributing station was established at
Chelsea in 1858, with C. S. Lambdin as postmaster, at Eldorado in i860,
with D. L. McCabe as postmaster, and in 1863, mail was also brought
from Cottonwood Falls. •
In every new country during the period of settlement there is a time
when lawless characters will drift into the community. In the late
'60s and early '70s, Butler county was no exception to this rule. It
was believed a band was operating around Douglas and a vigilance
committee was formed. In Nov., 1870, four men were shot as mur-
derers and horse thieves, the first lynching in the county.
Early in its history, the people of Butler county took a deep interest
in agriculture. The Butler County Horticultural and Agricultural So-
ciety was organized in March, 1872, and has become one of the flourish-
ing institutions of the county. It assisted materially in introducing new
and hardy species of fruit trees that would stand the Kansas climate, and
it is due largely to this society that Butler county has such fine orchards.
The first railroad proposed across Butler county was the Kansas Ne-
braska railroad, which asked for a subscription of $150,000. This propo-
sition was carried when put to the yote of the people, but the panic of
1873 came on, and the building of the road was abandoned. In May,
1872, the proposition to subscribe for $150,000 worth of the bonds of the
Fort Scott, Humboldt & Western railroad, was voted down, as was
the next proposition of the same sort, on July 13 of the same year. In
April, 1876, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe company proposed build-
ing a branch line from Cedar Point down the valley of the Walnut to
Eldorado, and asked the county for a cash bonus of $3,000 a mile. The
question was discussed, and in Feb., 1877, bonds aggregating $99,500
were voted to the Eldorado & Walnut Valley railroad. Work was im-
mediately started and the road was finished as far as Eldorado on July
31, 1877. Several other roads were proposed but never built, and no
further railroad building occurred until 1879, when the St. Louis, Fort
Scott & Wichita company began building a line east and west across
264 CYCLOPEDIA OF
the county, though bonds were not voted by the county in its behalf
until 1880.
At the present time four railroad companies operate lines in Butler
county. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe enters on the northern
boundary and runs south through Eldorado to Augusta, where a branch
runs southwest to Caldwell, the main line continuing into Oklahoma ; a
line of the Missouri Pacific crosses the county from east to west through
Eldorado, with a branch from that city to McPherson ; the St. Louis &
San Francisco crosses the county south of Eldorado, with a branch from
Beaumont to Winfield ; and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific crosses
the northwest corner Of the county.
Butler county was organized by an act of Feb. 11, 1859, and on April
30, of that year, the board of county supervisors met at the home of
George T. Donaldson. The board consisted of P. G. Barrett, chair-
man, G. T. Donaldson and I. S. White. They decided that the annual
meeting should be held in Chelsea Hall, but other meetings were to be
held at their residences, except the probate clerk, who was to hold office
at J. C. Lambdin's until further notice. On June 13, 1859, the second
meeting of the board was held and P. G. D. Morton was appointed
count)' auditor. The first county treasurer was C. S. Lambdin, ap-
pointed Sept. 19, 1859; J- C. Lambdin was the first probate judge; a
man named Emmil the first clerk of the district court, and John R.
Lambdin was the first register of deeds. There is no record that there
was a sheriff until 1863, when J. T. Goodall was elected, but Dr. Lew-
ellen was acting in that capacity in 1859. In 1864, M. Vaught was ap-
pointed superintendent of schools. G. T. Donaldson was elected to the
state legislature in 1863, when the county consisted of but one district.
The first election for the location of the county seat was held on May
21, 1864, and the old town of Eldorado was chosen, but there were no
buildings suitable for county offices and the board decided not to move
there until such provision was made. The question again came up in
Aug., 1867, and a third election was held on May 10, 1870, when Chelsea
received 256 and Eldorado 2,524. In April, 1871, a contest between Eldo-
rado and Augusta occurred with the following result: Augusta 712
votes, Eldorado 743, and the question of a county seat location was at
last settled. For some time most of the officers held their offices at their
homes and Dunlevy's building was used for some public purposes. In
July, 1870. an effort was made to issue $25,000 worth of bonds for the
erection of county buildings but the proposition was voted down. On
July 19, 1870, the land now occupied by the court-house was deeded to
the county by C. C. and Henry Martin for the consideration of $1.00.
and a contract for a court-house was let to I. W. Branson for $3,750.
The building was completed in April, 1871, and used until 1875, when
extensive additions were made at a cost of $8,000, which with the erec-
tion of a jail, brought the total up to $15,000. These improvements
were completed in March, 1876.
In 1908, Butler county was divided into the following townships :
KANSAS HISTORY 20^
Augusta, Benton, Bloomington, Bruno, Chelsea, Clay, Clifford, Doug-
las, Eldorado, Fairmount, Fairview, Glencoe, Hickory, Lincoln, Little
Walnut, Logan, Milton, Murdock, Pleasant, Plum Grove, Prospect,
Richland, Rock Creek, Rosalia, Spring, Sycamore, Towanda, Union and
Walnut.
In 1910 the population, according to the U. S. census report, was
23,059. The value of field crops in that year was 3,103,888, and of all
farm products $6,843,341. Corn led the list with a value of $923,498;
hay, including alfalfa, stood second with a value of $815,246; other lead-
ing crops were Kafir corn, $764,256 ; oats, $322,583 ; Irish potatoes, $89,-
694. The value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter was $3,289,-
163 ; of poultry and eggs, $247,369, and of dairy products, $199,635.
• Butler, Pardee, one of the pioneer clergymen of Kansas, was born
in Onondaga county, N. Y., in 1816, a son of Phineas Butler, an old
Henry Clay Whig. In 1819 the family removed to the Western Reserve
in Ohio, where Pardee united with the Christian church, and in time was
ordained to the ministry. In 1855 he removed to Kansas and entered a
claim about 12 miles from Atchison. It is said he also owned property
Mn Missouri opposite Atchison. On Aug. 16, 1855, while waitmg at Atchi-
son for a boat to go east on business, Mr. Butler met Robert S. Kelley,
assistant editor of the Squatter Sovereign, and in the course of the con-
versation remarked that he would have become a regular subscriber to
the paper some time before but for the fact that he disliked its policy.
Kelley replied : "I look upon all free soilers as rogues, and they ought
to be treated as such." To this Mr. Butler replied that he was a free
soiler and expected to vote for Kansas to be a free state, whereupon
Kelley angrily retorted: "I do not e.xpect you will be allowed to vote."
Nothing further was said at the time, but early the next morning Kel-
ley and a few other pro-slavery men called at the hotel and demanded
that Butler subscribe to some resolutions which had been adopted at a
recent meeting, one of which was as follows : "That we recommend the
good work of purging our town of all resident abolitionists, and after
cleansing our town of such nuisances shall do the same for the settlers
on Walnut and Independence creeks, whose propensities for cattle
stealing are well known."
Butler was a man of positive views and undaunted courage, and
naturally refused to sign a resolution so contrary to his opinions. The
mob then seized him, blackened his face, placed him upon a raft and set
him adrift upon the Missouri river. Phillips, in his Conquest of Kan-
sas, says that a flag was raised on the raft bearing the inscription :
"Eastern Emigrant Aid Express. The Rev. Mr. Butler, Agent for the
Underground Railroad. The way they are served in Kansas. For Bos-
ton. Cargo insured — unvoidable danger of the Missourians and the Mis-
souri river excepted. Let future Emissaries from the North beware.
Our hemp crop is sufficient to reward all such scoundrels."
Holloway gives a different account of the inscription on the flag. He
says : "A horse was represented on the flag at full speed with Mr. But-
266 CYCLOPEDIA OF
ler upon him; a negro was clinging behind him, while Mr. Butler was
represented as exclaiming: 'To the rescue, Greele}^ I've got a negro!'
Over the painting was printed in large letters 'Eastern Abolition Ex-
press.' The other side of the flag bore the following inscription : 'From
Atchison, Kansas Territory. The way they are served in Kansas.' "
Whichever account regarding this flag may be the correct one, it
is certain that Mr. Butler was thus ignominiously banished from the
territory where he had chosen to make his home. But if his assailants
thought for a moment that he would remain away permanently they
reckoned without their host. He soon returned, perfected the title to his
claim, and continued to live in Kansas until his death, which occurred
at Farmington, Atchison county, Oct. 20, 1888. He was again mal-
treated by a mob led by his old enemy, Kelley, on March 30, 1856, when
he was given a mock trial and sentenced to Kang, but this decree was
changed and he was given a coat of tar and cotton wool. At the same
time he was informed that if he ever appeared in Atchison again he
would be put to death. Even this did not dampen his ardor for
the free-state cause. He never shirked what he conceived to be his duty,
and he contributed in no small degree to making Kansas a free state.
Butterfield's Overland Despatch. — In the spring of 1865, David A.
Butterfield, a pioneer of Colorado, but then a resident of Atchison, began
preliminaries for inaugurating a gigantic freighting business between
the Missouri river and the Rocky mountains and the territories beyond.
Having succeeded in interesting some eastern capitalists in the pro-
posed scheme, by early summer the stock and equipment for the con-
cern were ready, considerable money having been spent in advertising
the enterprise in the metropolitan papers of the east. The new com-
pany was capitalized at $3,000,000, of which amount one-half was paid
in. E. P. Bray, a noted eastern express man, was elected president ; W.
K. Kitchen, treasurer; and D. A. Butterfield, the originator, was made
superintendent and manager. The main office was at Atchison, with
branch offices in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, St. Louis,
Chicago, Leavenworth, Denver and Salt Lake City. L^p to this time no
direct route had been mapped out, except that it had been decided to fol-
low up the Kansas and Smoky Hill rivers, if, after a thorough investiga-
tion, it proved the shorter and more feasible. To determine this ques-
tion, Col. Isaac E. Eaton, a civil engineer of Leavenworth, was sent out
to make a survey of the entire route, and this he did, reporting the
same entirely practicable. The new road as surveyed was between 60
and 70 miles shorter than the northern road via the Little Blue and the
Platte. It also had the advantages of grass, wood and water every 5
miles of the distance, except from the head of the Smoky Hill to Sand
creek, a distance of 21 miles. The new route being so much shorter it
was plain that two days' travel could be saved, an item of some moment
to a busy man.
An immense freight business soon developed between the Missouri
river and Denver, and it was the ambition of Mr. Butterfield that his
IvANSAS HISTORY 267
Overland Despatch should handle it. Twelve hundred mules and
wagons in proportion had been purchased for the enterprise, and on
June 25, 1865, the first wagon train left Atchison with 150,000 pounds
of freight for Denver and other Colorado points. The enterprise was
proving such a success that during the summer the route was stocked
for a line of stages. The initial coach of this line, carrying passengers
and express matter, left Atchison on Monday, Sept. 11, and arrived at
Denver on the 23d, Mr. Butterfield accompanying this coach. The
arrival of the first stage in Denver was the occasion for an imposing
reception and royal banquet to its promoter. The route as finally de-
cided on was 592 miles long, a saving of 61 miles over the road up the
main Platte and its South Fork. The list of stations on the line after
leaving Atchison was about as follows : Mount Pleasant, Grasshopper
Falls, Indianola, Rossville, St. Mary's, Louisville, Manhattan, Fort
Riley, Junction City, Chapman's creek, Abilene, Solomon river, Salina,
Spring creek, Ellsworth, Buffalo creek. Hicks' Station, Fossil creek,
Forsythe's creek. Big creek, Louisa Springs, Bluft'ton, Downer, Castle
Rock Station, Eaton, Henshaw creek, Pond creek and Willow creek
(this station being at about the west line of the state). From east to
west the line traversed the counties of Atchison, Jefferson, Shawnee,
Pottawatomie, Riley, Geary, Dickinson, Saline, Ellsworth, Russell, Ellis,
Trego, Gove, Logan, and Wallace.
Transportation by this route grew from the start, and had it been
accorded the military protection that the Holladay line enjoyed, it is
believed that it would have been a money maker. Indians, however,
gave the company much trouble. They attacked and burned several
stations, waylaid stage coaches and killed the drivers, until finally the
proprietors were forced to quit. Inside of eighteen months from the
inauguration of the enterprise the whole business and equipment passed
into the hands of Ben Holladay, the "overland stage king." This gentle-
man later sold out the Smoky Hill line to Wells, Fargo & Co., who
operated the line at considerable loss from the time they took hold of it
until the completion of the Kansas Pacific railroad to Denver, when they
abandoned the line.
Buxton, a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. in Wil-
son county, is located near the west line, in Duck Creek township, 10
miles southwest of Fredonia, the county seat. It has a money order
postoffice. The population in 1910 was 50. This town was established
in 1886, at the time the railroad was built. The land was owned by the
Arkansas Valley Town and Land company, which laid off the lots. In
May, 1887, the Jurett postoffice, which had been established on the claim
of H. H. Garner in 1871, was brought to Buxton and took that name.
Buxton is credited with being the most important hay shipping station
in the county.
Byers, a rural hamlet of Meade county, receives mail by rural free
delivery from Meade, the county seat, which is the most convenient rail-
road station.
268 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Cabbell, a little hamlet of Logan county, is located in the valley of
Hackberry creek, in Elkader township, about 20 miles east of Russell
Springs,' the county seat, and 13 miles south of Oakley, from which a
rural free delivery route supplies mail.
Cabeca de Vaca. — (See Nunez, Alvarez.)
Caches. — In 1812 an American named Beard, in company with
about a dozen companions, made an expedition to Santa Fe, N. M., for
trading or speculative purposes. He returned to the U. S. in 1822, and
after interesting some St. Louis capitalists in an enterprise "undertook
to return to Santa Fe the same fall with a small party and an assortment
of merchandise. Reaching the Arkansas late in the season, they were
overtaken by a heavy snow storm, and driven to take shelter on a large
island. A rigorous winter ensued, which forced them to remain pent
up in that place for three long months. During this time the greater
portion of their animals perished ; so that, when the spring began to
open, they were unable to continue their journey with their goods. In
this emergency they made a "cache" some distance above, on the north
side of the river, where they stowed away the most of their merchandise.
From thence they proceeded to Taos, where they procured mules and
returned to get their hidden property." The caches are located at a
crossing on the Arkansas river, near the mouth of Mulberry creek, a
short distance east of the present Fort Dodge in Ford county. They
have been used on many occasions since that time.
Cactus, a small settlement of Norton county, is near the eastern
boundary, about 14 miles from Norton, the county seat. The inhabi-
tants receive mail by rural delivery from Prairie View, which is the
nearest railroad station.
Cadmus, a hamlet of Linn county, is situated in the north central part
on Elm creek. It has rural free delivery from Fontana. In 1910 the
population was 80.
Cairo, a village of Pratt county, is a station on the ^^''ichita & Pratt
division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 11 miles east of
Pratt, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, express ofHce,
some good general stores, a flour mill, and is a shipping point for the
surrounding country. The population was 40 in 1910.
Calderhead, William A., lawyer and member of Congress, was born
in Perry county, Ohio, Sept. 26, 1844, a son of Rev. E. B. Calderhead,
a minister of the United Brethren church. He was educated in the
common schools and by his father, and in the winter of 1861-62 he
attended Franklin College at New Athens, Ohio. In Aug., 1862. he
enlisted as a private in Corhpany H, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth
Ohio infantry, but was afterward transferred to Company D, Ninth
veteran reserves, on account of disability, and was finally discharged on
Tune 27. 1865. He then attended school for one term and in the fall
KANSAS HISTORY 269
of 1868 came to Kansas, where he engaged in farming. In 1872 he set-
tled on a homestead near Newton, and taught for one year in the Xewton
public schools. After studying law for some time under the preceptor-
ship of John W. Ady, he was admitted to the bar in 1875. Mr. Calder-
head then went to Atchison, where he spent the next four years in
reading law and teaching in the country schools during the winter
seasons. In the fall of 1879 he located at Marysville, Marshall- county,
and opened a law office. In 1888 he was elected county attorney and
served for two years, and he was for several years clerk of the city board
of education. In 1894 he was elected to Congress and served one term.
Four years later he was again elected to Congress and was reelected at
each succeeding election until 1908. Upon retiring from Congress. Mr.
Calderhead resumed the practice of law at Marysville-.
Caldwell, an incorporated cit}- of Sumner county, is located i.^ miles
southwest of Wellington, the county seat, and 3 miles from the southern
boundary of the state. The first settlement was made in ;\Iarch, 1871,
and the city was named for Alexander Caldwell, United States senator
from Kansas. A log building was erected b}- the town companv, and
was occupied by C. H. Stone with the first stock of goods in the place.
Mr. Stone was also the first postmaster, the ofiice being established
soon after the town was laid ottt. In July, 1879, Caldwell was incor-
porated as a city of the third class, and at the election on Aug. 7. N. J
Dixon was elected mayor; J. D. Kelly, police judge; J. A. Blair. F. G.
Hussen, H. C. Challes and A. Rhoades, councilmen: J. D. Kell)', Jr.,
was appointed the first city clerk.
Caldwell is situated at the junction of the Atchison, Topeka <& Santa
Fe. the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, and the Kansas Southwestern
railroads, which makes it an important shipping point. It has 2 banks.
2 grain elevators, 2 flour mills, 2 weekly newspapers (the Advance and
the News), a number of well stocked mercantile establishments, an
international money order postoffice with 7 rural routes, express and
telegraph offices, telephone connections, good hotels, graded public
schools, churches of the leading denominations, etc. In the immediate
vicinity are large deposits of stone, large quantities of which are shipped
annually. The population in 1910 was 2,205.
Caldv/ell, Alexander, financier and United States senator, was born
at Drake's Ferry, Huntington county. Pa., March i, 1830. He received
a common school education, and in the Mexican war served as a private
in the company commanded by his father, Capt. James Caldwell, who
was killed in action at the City of Mexico on Sept. 13, 1847. From 1853
to 1861 Mr. Caldwell was an officer in a bank at Columbia, Pa., and for
the next ten years was engaged in transporting military supplies to
western posts, and in building railroads in Kansas. In 1871 he was
elected to the United States senate to succeed Edmund G. Ross, but
resigned in 1873. He then organized the Kansas Manufacturing com-
pany, for the manufacture of wagons and farm implements, and was
president of the company from 1877 to 1897. He was one of the organ-
270 CYCLOPEDIA OF
izers of the Oregon Land Improvement company in 1882, to locate town
sites and construct irrigating canals along the Oregon Short Line (now
the Union Pacific) railroad. In 1897 he acquired a large block of stock
in the First National bank of Leavenworth, and since then has been the
president of that institution.
Calhoun County, one of the counties created by the first territorial
legislature, was named for John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. The
boundaries, as defined by the creative act, were as follows: "Beginning
at the northwest corner of Jefferson county ; thence west 25 miles ;
thence south to the main channel of the Kansas or Kaw river; thence
along said channel to the southwest corner of Jeft'erson county ; thence
north to the place of beginning."
The territory included within these lines embraces the southern part
of the present county of Jackson and that part of Shawnee county lying
north of the Kansas river. In 1857 the legislature added the northern
part of the present county of Jackson, the boundaries being defined by
the act as follows : "Beginning at the southwest corner of Jefferson
county, thence north with the west boundary thereof to the northwest
corner of said Jefferson county; thence east between sections 24, 25,
19, 30 on range line between ranges 16 and 17 east, township 7 south;
thence north with said range- line to the first standard parallel; thence
west along the south boundaries of Brown and Nemaha counties with
the first standard parallel to the corner of sections i and 2, of township
6 south, of range 12 east; thence south with the section lines between
the first and second tier of sections to the middle of the main channel
of the Kansas river; thence down the Kansas river, in the middle of
the main channel thereof, to the place of beginning."
The county was organized with these boundaries in 1857, and at the
election of Oct. 4, 1858, Golden Silvers was chosen to represent the
county in the territorial legislature. An election to determine the loca-
tion of the county seat was held on Oct. 11, 1858, and Holton received
a majority of all the votes cast. Some doubts were raised as to the
legality of the election, and to settle this question Mr. Silvers secured
the passage of an act, which was approved by Gov. Medary on Feb. 9,
1859, declaring Holton the permanent county seat. Two days later he
approved another act changing the name to Jackson county. (See
Jackson County.)
Calhoun, John, the first surveyor-general of Kansas, was born Oct.
14, 1806. In Nov., 1833, he founded the Chicago Weekly Democrat,
the first newspaper in that town. The same year he became' surveyor
of Sangamon county. 111., and took an active part in the political life of
that period. In 1838 he made many speeches during the campaign and
was elected a member of the Illinois house of representatives. In 1844
he was defeated for Congress and in 1846 was the candidate for governor
of Illinois on the Democratic ticket but was again defeated. In 1852
he was the Democratic nominee for Congress but the Republican candi-
date was elected. He became interested in Abraham' Lincoln and soon
after they became acquainted he gave Lincoln a book on surveying.
KANSAS HISTORY 27I
This was the beginning of a friendship that lasted through life. On
Aug. 4, 1854, Mr. Calhoun was commissioned surveyor-general of the
territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and made ex-officio register of the
land offices, soon to be opened. He opened an office at Wyandotte, and
the first report of his survey was made on Oct. 26, 1856. He was a
pro-slavery man; entered actively into the political life of the territory;
was president of the Lecompton constitutional conventipn ; and it was
largely due to his efforts that the constitution was submitted to the
people only in a modified way.
Gen. Thomas Ewing, Jr., who was one of the committee appointed
by the territorial legislature in 1858 to investigate election frauds, in
a letter to his father dated Jan. 18, 1858, said: "Calhoun left for Wash-
ington today — fled. He would have been brought up for forging elec-
tion returns, of which there is evidence enough, I believe, to warrant
a presentment. He is the instigator of all the frauds, I have not a shadow
of a doubt."
The Kansas Historical Society has a manuscript entitled "A Vindi-
cation of John Calhoun," written by his brother, A. H. Calhoun, in which
it is claimed that Mr. Calhoun opposed the clause in the Lecompton
constitution establishing slavery and favored the submission of the in-
strument to popular vote, but these statements are not corroborated by
the records of the convention. Mr. Calhoun died .at St. Joseph, Mo..
Oct. 13, 1839, from the effects of an overdose of strychnine.
California Trail. — This historic highway ran from the Missouri river
to the Pacific coast. From the time of the first rush incident to the
California gold discoveries, up to about 1850, the bulk of travel for those
remote sections passed over the Oregon trail (q. v.) which had its start
from" Independence, Mo. Before this travel had begun to subside this
old highway had lost much of its identity, and to the generation then
using it was better known as the "California trail." On the completion
of the new military road considerably shortening the distance between
Fort Leavenworth and Salt Lake, travel for Oregon, Utah and Cali-
fornia begun starting from Fort Leavenworth and St. Joseph, Mo., prac-
tically deserting the Oregon trail. From early days Fort Leavenworth
had been an important distributing point, much freight being hauled
from there to other military posts on the frontier. During the early
'50s, St. Joseph developed into an important outfitting point. Shortly
after the admission of Kansas, Atchison and Leavenworth immediately
sprung into prominence, their geographical location on the west bank
of the Missouri river militating against the successful competition of
any Missouri towns.
The Independence branch (Oregon road) entered the state in Johnson
county, followed the Santa Fe trail to a point near Gardner, where the
trails divided, the California (Oregon) trail turning north, entering
Douglas county and passing through the old town of Franklin, the sites
of the present towns of Eudora and Lawrence, the old town of Marshall,
and entering Shawnee county; thence west on the divide south of the
2-2 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Kansas river, past the site of the present village of Tecumseh to Papan's
ferry on the Kansas river, now in the city of Topeka. At this point
the road divided, the Oregon trail crossing the river and the California
road following west along the south side past the old Uaptist Indiaji
Mission, to the only rock bottom ford on the river at Uniontown. Frum
there the road' crossed to the north side of the river, passed up the
stream through St. Mary's mission to Cross creek, thence in a north-
erh- direction to the crossings of the Big and Little Blue rivers, thence
up the divide in a northwesterly direction to the Platte river. The road
from St. Joseph west ran through what is now Wathena and Troy in
Doniphan county, and intersected the militar}' road at a point on the
Kickapoo reservation. In 1849 Capt. Howard Stanbury surveyed for
the government a route from Fort Leavenworth to Salt Lake. Dis-
covering a more practicable crossing of the Blue river at a point 6 miles
higher up stream than the old "Independence,"' "Mormon" or "Cali-
fornia" crossing, the road was changed. By 1851-52 the upper road had
become the popular one, and Frank J. Marshall, an Indian trader who
had located at the lower crossing in 1846, operating a ferry, moved to
the new location. In 1852 Marshall was operating a store, postoffice,
eating-house, saloon and ferr}^ A California-bound pilgrim of that year,
in describing Marshall's place said : "Here for a dollar one could get
a cup of bad coffee, a slice of bacon and a portion of hard bread. For
the same price one could get a drink of bad whisky. For the same
amount he would carry a letter to St. Joseph and place it in the post-
office there. His ferry charges were $5 for wagons and $1 each for men
and beasts." Marshall conducted this place until 1856. when he sold
out to the Palmetto colony from South Carolina.
From the earh' '60s until the L^nion Pacific railroad superseded the
stage coach and the wagon trains, it is probable that the bulk of travel
Avestward was by way of Atchison and Leavenworth over the California
road. Besides having good steamboat landings the first of these cities
was about 15 miles nearer than St. Joseph.
The California trail was about 2,000 miles long, of which 125 miles
were in Kansas. A number of short trails marked "California roads"
are shown on the early Kansas surveys. The most notable of these
was the Fayetteville emigrant trail (q. v.), but they were all merely
"feeders" of the original trail. In 1835 the territorial legislature passed
c. number of acts making certain roads or portions of roads public high-
ways. Six of these acts refer to portions of the California trail.
Many hardships were endured by the early pioneers and freighters
who went over this trail. During the Oregon and LUah emigration the
travel was attended with a great mortality, and during the period of the
California gold excitement it is said that the mortality was as great as
10 per cent. Ezra Meeker, the Oregon pioneer, has placed it at this
figure, which some authorities are inclined to think is too low. One
writer has said that at least 5,000 emigrants died along the trail in
1-849-50, and that the graves of these unfortunates were soon dug into
by coyotes and the corpses torn to pieces.
KANSAS HISTORY 273
Calista, a village of Kingman county, is a station on the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe. R. R., 9 miles west of Kingman, the county seat.
It has a money order postoffice, an express office, eeneral stores, lumber
yard, etc., and in 1910 reported a population of 75.
Callison, a discontinued postoffice of Graham county, is located about
12 miles southeast of Hill City, the county seat, and about the same
distance southwest of Palco, from which place the inhabitants receive
mail by rural free delivery.
Calumet. — Among the Indians of North America, especially the tribes
inhabiting the Mississippi valley and the region about the great lakes,
the "Calumet" was an important ceremonial observance on various
occasions. The word, however, is not of Indian origin, being derived
from the Norman word "chalumeau," the name of a rustic pipe or
musical instrument used by the Norman shepherds in the rural fes-
tivities. The early Norman-French settlers of Canada applied it to the
ceremonial pipe of the Indians, and in time it came into general use, but
was corrupted into the "calumet." Many people have the impression
that the calumet was purely a "peace pipe," but as a matter of fact it
was as often used as a "war pipe." The bowl of the pipe was usually
made of clay or some soft stone, larger than the ordinary individual
tobacco pipe. The stem was a hollow cane, reed, or twig of some 'tree
from which the pith had been removed, and was generally a yard or
more in length. In the councils of a tribe the calumet was a method of
expressing opinion. When the question of proclaiming war was before
the council, the stem of the pipe was decorated with the feathers of
the eagle, hawk, or some bird of prey. The pipe was filled with tobacco
and passed among the warriors. Those who accepted it took a solemn
puflf or two, thus proclaimed themselves in favor of war, while those
who merely passed it on to their next neighbor, without touching the
stem with their lips, expressed themselves as opposed to hostilities. If
the pipe was used to vote on a peace treaty, or some similar question,
the stem was decorated with the feathers of the water-fowl, or some
song bird of a retiring, peaceful disposition.
Among the Indians the ceremony of smoking the peace calumet was
often accompanied by singing and dancing. Charlevoix tells how "The
Osages send once or twice a year to sing the calumet among the Kas-
kasquias," and soon after Iberville landed at Biloxi bay and began the
erection of Fort Maurepas, in 1699, the neighboring tribes assembled at
the fort and spent three days in singing, dancing and smoking the
calumet. When the commissioners of the United States concluded a
treaty of peace with some Indian tribe, the ceremony generally closed
by passing around the calumet decorated as a pipe of peace, and it is
probably due to this fact that the pipe has come to be regarded by so
many as an emblem of peace.
Calvert, a village of Emmett township, Norton county, is a station
on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincv railroads, 8 miles east of Norton, the countv seat. It has a
(I-18)
274 CYCLOPEDIA OF
money order postoffice, a flour mill, a grain elevator, a good local retail
trade, and in 1910 reported a population of 50.
Cambridge, a village of Cowley county, is located in Windsor town-
ship, and is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 22
miles east of Winfield, the county seat. It has a bank, some good gen-
eral stores, a money order postoffice with two rural routes, express and
telegraph offices, a hotel, churches of the leading denominations, tele-
phone connections, and being located in the midst of an agricultural and
stock raising district is a shipping point of considerable importance.
The population in 1910 was 225.
Camp Alert. — (See Fort Larned.)
Camp Bateman, a temporary military encampment, was established
in Oct., 1857, by Lieut.-Col. George Andrews, of the Sixth United States
infantry, with a detachment of his regiment. The camp was located at
a place called Cincinnati, not far from Fort Leavenworth, and was
occupied until May 8, 1858, when it was abandoned.
Camp Beecher. — Hamersly's "Armj- and Navy Register" says this
camp was "on the Little Arkansas river a short distance from its mouth,
where it joins the Arkansas river, about one mile from Wichita." The
camp was established in June, 1868, on or near the site where J. R. Mead
founded his trading post in the fall of 1863, and was at first called Camp
Davidson. In Oct., 1868, the name was changed to Camp Butterfield.
and the following month to Camp Beecher. It was abandoned as a
military camp in Oct., 1869.
Camp Butterfield. — (See Camp Beecher.)
Camp Davidson. — (See Camp Beecher.)
Camp Leedy, a temporary military encampment at Topeka, was estab-
lished as a mobilizing point for Kansas troops at the time of the Span-
ish-American war (q. v.), and was named for John W. Leedy, at that
time governor of the state. It was located about half a mile south of
the state-house, on what was known as the "Douthitt tract," not far
from the fair grounds.
Camp MacKay. — (See Fort Atchison.)
Camp Magruder, near Fort Leavenworth, was a sort of stopping place
for recruits en route to L'tah in July and August, i860, under command
of Lieut. -Col. George B. Crittenden of the mounted riflemen. No per-
manent fortifications nor quarters were ever erected on the site.
Camp Supply.— In the fall of 1868, at the time of the Black Kettle
raid. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, whose headquarters were at Fort Hays,
ordered Gen. George A. Custer to locate a camp at some convenient
point in the Indian Territory. Custer selected the rising ground between
W'olf and Beaver creeks, about a mile and a half above where they unite
to form the north fork of the Canadian river, in what is now the north-
west corner of Woodward county, Okla., and here on Nov. 18 he estab-
lished Camp Supply. Although some 30 miles south of the southern
boundary of Kansas, it is intimately connected with the state's military
history, as the Nineteenth Kansas reached this post on Nov. 28, 1868.
KANSAS HISTORY
275
after a trying march of fourteen days from Camp Beecher, the wagon
train belonging to the regiment not arriving until the afternoon of Dec.
I. After the Indians were compelled to make terms, they received
rations at Camp Supply.
Camp Thompson. — On April 29, 1858, Lieut.-Col. George Andrews of
^he Sixth United States infantry established a camp near Forf Leaven-
worth and nametl it Camp Thompson. It was not intended for more than
temporary uccupany. and was abandoned on May 7, 1858, less than ten
days after it was established.
Campbell College, located at Holton, Kan., is a result of the merger
vi two institutions. Campbell University of Holton and Lane Univer-
sity (q. v.). In 1879 the people of Jackson county determined to estab-
lish an institution of higher education at Llolton, and a public meeting-
was called lo devise wavs and means. The result of this meeting was
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CAMPBELL COLLEGE.
the appointment of a committee to correspond with A. G. Campbell, a
wealthy mine owner of Utah, who had been a resident of Jackson
county, to see what he would contribute toward the school. Mr. Camp-
bell ofifered a sum of money to the enterprise equal to a paid-up sub-
scription of not more than $20,000 by the citizens of Jackson county.
A canvass was at once begun and in a short time, subscriptions to the
amount of $10,000 by the people of Jackson county were reported. Mr.
Campbell gave a like amount and $1,100 additional for the purchase of
II acres of land for the campus. In 1880 a fine stone building was
276 CYCLOPEDIA OF
erected and leased by Prof. J. H. Miller, and in September the school
was opened. In 1883 a dormitory was built and by 1887 the school had
grown to such an extent that an addition was built.
In the summer of 1896 a corporation was organized under the name
of the University company, which became the owner of the institution
and B. F. Kizer was elected president. Campbell College was organized
under the auspices of the United Brethren church, which had been
offered the property of Campbell Universit}^ provided the church would
operate the school. A charter was granted to the college on Nov. 26,
1902, and on Jan. 6, 1903, Campbell University deeded to the new insti-
tution all her belongings at Holton, and the A. G. Campbell bequest of
$100,000. The people of Holton agreed to raise $10,000, as an endow-
ment, provided the church would raise $40,000, within five years.
A relocation committee was appointed by the board of trustees of
Lane University in June, 1902, and later in the summer the two insti-
tutions were consolidated. The new college was opened to students in
Sept., 1903.
Campbell College has a four-year college course, a two-year normal
course, a three-year academic course and a one-year preparatory course.
The commercial department has grown up with the college and offers
courses for training in all branches of business. In 1910, Thomas D.
Crites was president of the college ; W. S. Reese, dean ; they were ably
assisted by a faculty of fourteen able instructors, and an enrollment of
over 500. The United Brethren churches of Kansas, Missouri and
Oklahoma have assured the college their support, which places it upon
a firm financial foundation.
Campbell, George, lawyer and author, was born in Yates county,
N. Y., April 29, 1848. He was educated at Starkey Seminary, Eddy-
town, N. Y., and subsequently studied law. In 1870 he came to Kansas
and settled in Mound Valley township, Labette county, where he
engaged in farming and stock raising, and also taught school. In 1873
he married Sarah E. Drenner of Mound Valley. He had been reared
in the Republican faith, and was a member of that party until 1872,
when he joined the Liberal Republican movement and supported Horace
Greeley for president. He was active in organizing the Greenback
party and in 1884 was one of the organizers of the Farmers' and
Laborers' Union, which he assisted in establishing in 26 states. Mr.
Campbell entered the field of journalism as editor of the Kansas State
Alliance, published at Parsons, which was made the official organ of the
Populist party when it was organized in 1890. Subsequently he removed
to Oswego and opened a law office, then went to Coffeyville, Kan., where
he served as county judge, and in 1899 was elected to the state senate.
Mr. Campbell has gained a wide reputation as an author, his best known
works being, "The Life and Death of Worlds," "America, Past, Present
and Future" and "The Greater United States."
Campbell, Philip Pitt, lawyer and member of Congress, is a native of
Nova Scotia, having been born at Cape Breton in that province on April
KANSAS HISTORY 277
25, 1862, a son of Daniel A. and Mary (McRae) Campbell. Coming to
Kansas at an early age, he was educated at Baker University, where he
received the degree of A. B. in 1888, and the degree of A. M. in 1891.
He was admitted to the bar in the fall of 1889, and on Nov. 23, 1892,
married Miss Helen E. Goff of Walnut, Crawford county. Mr. Camp-
bell began the practice of his profession in Pittsburg, where he is still
located. He has always taken a keen interest in public questions, and
after locating at Pittsburg came to be recognized as one of the active
Republicans of the county. In 1902 he was nominated by his party to
represent the Third district in Congress, was elected in November of
that year, and has been reelected at each succeeding election to 1910.
Campus, a village of Grinnell township, Gove county, is a station on
the Union Pacific R. R. near the northwest corner of the county, about
20 miles from Gove, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice,
telephone connections, general stores, a lumber yard, etc., and in 1910
reported a population of 50.
Canada, a hamlet of Marion county, is a station on the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 5 miles west of Marion, the count}- seat. It
has telegraph and express offices and a money order postoffice. The
population in 1910 was 61.
Candle Box. — As the depositor}^ of fraudulent election returns the
Calhoun "candle box" is an interesting incident in early history. Gov.
Robert J. Walker came to Kansas determined that Kansas citizens
should have fair play. Although he defended the territorial legislature
as legitimate, he entreated the free-state men to vote in the election of
delegates to the Lecompton constitutional convention; offered military
protection at the polls, and pledged himself to oppose the constitution
if it were not submitted to the people. Surveyor-General John Calhoun
and his colleagues were candidates for delegates in Douglas county, and
Gov. Walker compelled them to pledge themselves that the constitution
should be submitted to the people for ratification or rejection. The
surveyor-general and his friends did not approve of Mr. Walker's policy.
because submission of the constitution to the people would lose Kansas
to slavery and would defeat the Calhoun chance for United States
senator.
The fall election came and by fraud, violence and a Cincinnati direc-
tory, the pro-slavery party won. Gov. Walker investigated the election,
probed the fraud, and gave the certificates to the free-state men. This
did not increase his popularity with the Calhoun faction, which made
the Lecompton constitution, but refused to submit it as a whole to the
people, Calhoun was president of the convention, the recipient and judge
of the returns, with power to issue certificates of election, ignoring the
governor who should have had this presidency and power. When the
non-submission of the constitution became apparent, Gov. Walker and
his friends made every effort to have it rejected by Congress, which
resulted in a big contest between the two elements represented. ''The
pro-slavery element had power in Congress to bind in the thrall of that
constitution. Frauds were charged and denied. The battle wavered.
JjS CYCLOPEDIA OF
Nothing but the exposure of these frauds, shocking the moral sense of
the nation and making the glaring wrong impossible, could give victory
to the people. Such exposure could save Kansas to freedom and prevent
immediate civil war likely to grow out of the enforcement of a consti-
tution forced on a protesting people. The territorial legislature — free-
state because of Gov. Walker's rejection of the fraudulent returns —
seconded their friends at Washington by instituting an investigation.
They appointed a committee to inquire. Calhoun determining they
should not see the returns tied to Missouri." L. A. McClean, the chief
clerk to Mr. Calhoun, was left to manage the situation. While at a ball
at the Eldridge House, he was summoned before the investigating com-
mittee and swore that Mr. Calhoun had taken the returns to Missouri
with him. When Mr. McClean returned to the office after the ball he
concealed the retin"ns in a place soon made known by one of the em-
ployees of the sur\-eyor-general. This employee was known as Dutch
Charley and was employed by Mr. Calhoun as a man of all work. He
was a free-state man, and deeply interested in the plots of his employers,
which plots he revealed to Gen. Brindle, receiver of the land-office at
Lecompton, to whom he was a faithful friend. When McClean gave
his testimony Brindle suspected it was false and urged Dutch Charley
to investigate the night after McClean returned from Lawrence to
Lecompton. McClean put the returns in a candle box which he con-
cealed in the ground under the woodpile in front of the office. Dutch
Charley tracked him from the window, reported it to the authorities.
The free-state sheriff of Douglas coiuit}- with a posse called upon
McClean and recovered the bo.x and election returns. When the people
found that McClean had sworn falsely they would nut sustaui him and
he fled into Missouri.
Caney, one of the four important towns of Montgomery county, is
located near the Oklahoma line at the junction of the Missouri Pacific
and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R., 20 miles southwest of Inde-
pendence, the county seat. It is in the gas belt and has grown very
rapidly, especially in the past ten years, during which time it has trebled
its population. It has a good system of waterworks and an efficient
fire department. The combined output of the gas wells in the vicinity
is 175,000,000 cubic feet per day. The largest oil tank farm in the state
is located near here. It covers 800 acres. The manufacturing interests
in Caney include 2 large glass factories, a brick and tile works, a large
zinc smelter and an oil refinery. There are 2 banks, an ice and cold
storage plant, 3 public school buildings, a public library, 2 weekly news-
papers (the Chronicle and the News), telegraph and express offices and
an international money order postoffice with one rural route. The town
was incorporated in 1905. About this time it received extensive adver-
tising throughout the whole nation on account of a gas well which took
fire and burned furiously for several months. Tourists, many of whom
were from distant states, flooded the town to view the immense flames,
the roaring of which could be heard for miles. According to the census
of 1910 the population of Caney was 3, 597.
KANSAS HISTORY 279
The first store in Caney was opened by Dr. J. W. Bell in 1869. A gen-
oral merchandise store was established Idv O. M. Smith in 1870. A mail
route was established in that year which enabled the settlers to get their
mail regularly. The town was laid out and a number of business enter-
])rises started. The first newspaper (the Caney Chronicle) was started
in 1885. Caney was organized and incorporated as a city of the third
class in 1887. The first officers were : Mayor, P. S. Hollingsworth ;
police judge, F. H. Hooker; clerk, F. H. Dye; councilmen, William
Rodgers, Flarry Wiltse, J. J. Hemphill, J. A. Summer and W. B. Wil-
liams. The first railroad reached Caney about 1887.
Canfield, Arthur Graves, educator, was born at Sunderland, Vt., March
27, 1859. He received his early education in the common schools and
at Burr and Burton Academy, after which he entered Williams College
at Williamstown, Mass., where he graduated in 1878. In 1882 he re-
ceived the degree of A. M. He then went to Europe and spent some
time in the Universities of Leipzig, Berlin, Gottingen and Paris. Upon
his return to the United States in 1883 he was appointed assistant in
modern languages at the University of Kansas, and in 1887 became pro-
fessor of French language and literature in that institution. In 1898
Prof. Canfield resigned his place in the University of Kansas to accept
a professorship of French language and literature in the University of
Michigan, which position he still holds. He is a member of the Phi
Beta Kappa fraternity and of the Modern Language Association of
America.
Canfield, James Hulme, lawyer, author and educator, was born at
Delaware, Ohio, March 18, 1847, the son of Rev. E. H. and Martha
(Hulme) Canfield. His parents went to Brooklyn, N. Y., when he was
a child, and when his mother died in 1855 he was sent to a Vermont
farm. He attended the country schools until he was fourteen years of
age, then returned to Brooklyn and graduated at the Brooklyn Col-
legiate and Poh'technic Institute in 1864. For a year he traveled in
Europe and in 1868 graduated at Williams College. From 1868 to 1871
lie was superintendent of railroad construction in Iowa and Minnesota
and at the same time read law. In 1872 he was admitted to che bar in
Michigan, located at St. Joseph and opened a law office. He became
superintendent of the St. Joseph schools and acted in that capacity until
1877, when he was elected professor of history in the University of
Kansas, which position he held until 1891. He was then chosen chan-
cellor of the LIniversity of Nebraska. He was president of the Kansas
State Teachers' Association in 1885 and of the Nebraska State Teachers'
Association in 1894. In 1893 the degree of LL. D. was conferred upon
him by Williams College and in 1895 he Avas elected president of the
LTniversity of Ohio. In 1899 he accepted the position of librarian of
Columbia University. Mr. Canfield was a member of the Society of
Colonial Wars, the American Library Association and the Century,
Authors' and Quill clubs. He was the author of a "History of Kansas,"
"Local Government in Kansas," and several other books. He died at
New York City, March 30, 1909.
28o CYCLOPEDIA OF
Canton, one of the important towns of McPherson count}-, is located
in the township of Canton on the Marion & McPherson branch of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., and the Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific, 14 miles east of McPherson, the county seat. It has 2 banks,
a weekly newspaper (the Pilot), a flour mill, 2 grain elevators and a
creamery. It is an important grain shipping point for a large and
wealthy farming district. The town is supplied with express and tele-
graph offices and has an international money order postoffice with 3
rural routes. The population according to the census of 1910 was 648.
Canton was founded in 1879 when the railroad was built from Marion
to McPherson. A postoffice was established the same year. In less
than 3 years it was a village of 250 inhabitants, with a bank, several
mercantile establishments, a good district school and two churches.
Cantonment Martin, the first military post in Kansas under the author-
ity of the United States government, was established on Isle au Vache,
or Cow island, in Oct., 1818, when Capt. Wyly Martin, with a detach-
ment of the Third rifle regiment, reached the island as the advance guard
of Maj. Long's expedition and went into winter quarters. A fort of
Cottonwood logs was erected and named "Cantonment Martin," for the
commander of the detachment. John O'Fallon, afterward a prominent
citizen of St. Louis, was the post sutler. It was Capt. Martin's intention
to vacate the cantonment early in the spring of 1819 and continue his
march westward, but his supplies failed to arrive as expected, and he
remained at the post until the arrival of the main body of the expedition
under Maj. Long in July. A council was held here with the Kansas
Indians. (See Long's Expedition.)
Cantrell, Jacob, one of the early settlers of Douglas county, came
from Missouri, and Cutler says he built the first log cabin where the
city of Baldwin now stands. The name is also spelled Cantrel and
Cantral. He was not particularly active in the political troubles of the
period, but spent his time in developing his claim. However, at the
battle of Black Jack, June 2, 1856, he went to the aid of the free-state
forces. Soon after this he was captured by some of the border ruffians
and given a mock trial on the charge of being guilty of "treason to Mis-
souri." The sentence was death, and he was accordingly shot on June
6, 1856.
Canyon, a small hamlet of Finney county, is situated in the valley
of the north fork of the Pawnee river, about 25 miles northeast of Garden
City, the county seat. Mail is received by the people of Canyon by
rural free delivery from Ravanna.
Capioma, a hamlet of Nemaha county, is located in Capioma town-
ship 15 miles southeast of Seneca, the county seat, and 9 miles south
of Sabetha, from which place it receives mail. It is one of the historic
places in the county, having been platted in 1857. This plat was not
recorded until two years later for the reason that there was no place to
record anything in those early days. A school building was put up in
1857, and a hotel in 1859. The place was named after an Indian chief.
The population in 1910 was 45.
KANSAS HISTORY 28 1
Capital. — In the establishment of civil government in a new territory
or state, one of the early questions to come up for consideration and set-
tlement is the location of the seat of government. Kansas became an
organized territory by the act of May 30, 1854, which designated Fort
Leavenworth as the temporary seat of government, and provided that
some of the public buildings there might be used as territorial offices.
Gov. Reeder, the first territorial governor, assumed the duties of the
office early in Oct., 1854, but soon became dissatisfied with the quarters
and offices provided for him at the fort, and on Nov. 24 he removed the
executive office to the Shawnee Methodist Indian mission, about a mile
from the Missouri line and less than 3 miles southwest of the town of
Westport, Mo. At that time the mission buildings were the best and
most commodious in the territory.
Acting under the authority conferred upon him by the organic act.
Gov. Reeder called the first territorial legislature to meet at Pawnee —
near Fort Riley — on July 2, 1855, and on June 27 the governor removed
his office to that place. The legislature soon became dissatisfied with
the accommodations at Pawnee and adjourned to the Shawnee mission,
where Judge Franklin G. Adams says the executive office was reestab-
lished on July 12. (See Reeder's Administration.)
On Aug. 8, 1855, the two branches of the legislature met in joint
session to vote on the question of locating the permanent seat of govern-
ment. The competitors for the honor were Leavenworth, Lawrence,
Tecumseh, St. Bernard (in the northern part of Franklin county near
the present village of Centropolis), White Head, Kickapoo, Lecompton,
Douglass and One Hundred and Ten. Three ballots were taken, the last
one resulting as follows: Lecompton, 25; St. Bernard, 11; Tecumseh, 2;
all the others having dropped out of the race. F. J. Marshall, H. D.
McMeekin and Thomas Johnson were appointed commissioners to select
the grounds at Lecompton upon which were to be erected suitable build-
ings for the governor and legislature. (See Capitol.) The first records
dated at Lecompton as the capital were the executive minutes of Gov.
Shannon on April 20, 1856.
A special session of the legislature was held at Lecompton in Dec,
1857. This was the third territorial legislature, and the first otie con-
trolled by the free-state men. When it met again in regular session on
Jan. 4, 1858, considerable dissatisfaction was manifested toward Lecomp-
ton, and on the second day of the session adjourned to Lawrence, which
became practically the capital of the territory, as the governor main-
tained his office there during the session. This legislature passed an
act providing for the removal of the capital to Minneola, in the northern
part of Franklin county, a little east of Centropolis. Railroad com-
panies were chartered to build lines which would center at Minneola,
and members of the legislature were financially interested in building
up the town. The governor vetoed the act, but it was passed over his
veto. Subsequently the attorney-general of the United States declared
the act in violation of the oreanic law and therefore null. This ended
282 CYCLOPEDIA OF
ihe attempts to remove the territorial seat of government from
Lecompton.
In the meantime the free-state men had adopted a constitution, elected
state officers, and designated Topeka as the capital of the territory.
But as this action was not authorized by any act of Congress the
national administration declined to recognize the constitution or the
seat of government thus established.
The legislature of 1859 ^n^^ at Lecompton on Jan. 3, and on the 5th
adjourned to meet at Lawrence on the 7th. The legislature of i860 also
voted to adjourn to Lawrence, which action was vetoed by Gov. Medary,
but the resolution was passed over the veto and the session was held at
Lawrence, the governor remaining at Lecompton. The last territorial
legislature was convened at Lecompton on Jan. 7, 1861, and the next
day removed to Lawrence, where it continued in session until Feb. 2.
A week later the state government was inaugurated.
The Wyandotte constitution, under which Kansas was admitted to
statehood, designated Topeka as the temporary seat of government, but
provided that "The first legislature under this constitution shall provide
by law for submitting the question of the permanent location of the
capital to a popular vote, and a majority of all the votes cast at some
general election shall be necessary for such location."
Pursuant to this constitutional requirement, the first state legislature,
which met on March 26, 1861, passed an act ordering the question to
be submitted to the people at the general election on the 5th of the fol-
lowing November. The statement has been repeatedly published that
at the election Topeka received 7,996 votes ; Lawrence, 5,291 ; all other
places, 1,184. But in 1910 Secretary Martin of the State Historical
Society found the certificate of the board of commissioners — Joseph P.
Root, John W. Robinson and Samuel A. Stinson — who canvassed the
returns. This certificate gives the result in detail, as follows : Topeka,
7,859 votes; Lawrence, 5,334; Baldwin City, 400; Sac and Fox Agency,
184; Emporia, 158; Manhattan, 100; Leavenworth, 95; Lecompton, 39;
Burlingame, 28; Clinton, 25; Ogden, 21; Junction City, 20; Mapleton,
15; Council Grove, 12; Shawnee, 9; Paola, 7; Greenwood, 6; Osawa-
tomie, 5 ; Ash Point, Indianapolis and West Point, 4 each ; Ashland, Big
Springs, Neosho Rapids and Wabaunsee, 3 each ; Clifton, Delaware,
Kickapoo, Marion, Minneola, Superior and Whisky Point. 2 each ; Ben-
nett's Station, Geary City, Hendricks Creek, Fort Scott, Plymouth,
Junction, Olathe, Spring Hill, INIansfield, Mound City, Potosi, Stanton,
\\'yner, Rodgersville, Minomae, Marysville and Tecumseh each received
one vote. Topeka had a clear majority of 1,604 over all competitors, and
the question of a permanent capital was settled.
The above figures are interesting as showing the aspirations of some
of the embryo cities of Kansas half a century ago. Some of these places
that then put forward their ambitions are now nothing more than a
name and a memory, while others, without the influence and prestige
of. being the state capitol, have gone steadily forward and have become
KANSAS HISTORY
283
cities of considerable size and importance in the industry and commerce
of the state. The legislature of 1862 accepted from the Topeka Asso-
ciation a grant of 20 acres of land for a state-house, thus indorsing the
action of the people in selecting that city as the permanent seat of
government. (See Capitol.)
Capitol. — The first building to be known in history by this name was
the temple of Jupiter, located on the Capitoline hill in the city of Rome.
In time the whole hill, including the temple and the citadel, came to
be known as the "Capitol." Webster defines the word as used in this
country as "The edifice at Washington in which the Congress of the
United States holds its sessions ; also the building in which a state legis-
lature meets; a state-house."
When Gov. Reeder first took up his residence at Fort Leavenworth
he was furnished with quarters in a brick building on the west side of
the parade ground, and the executive office was in a stone building
belonging to the quartermaster's department. Prentis says : "It was
furnished with republican simplicity." On Nov. 24, 1854, the governor
removed to the Shawnee mission in Johnson county in order to obtain
more comfortable quarters. Although the business of the territory was
transacted in these temporary quarters, none of them could be called a
"Capitol" according to Webster's definition, because no legislative ses-
sions were held there.
APITOL AT PAWNEE.
The first capitol or state-house in Kansas was the one at Pawnee,
in which the- first territorial legislature met on July 2, 1855. Concerning
it Cutler, in his History of Kansas, says : "The Pawnee Association had
built a 'capitol' of stone, two stories in height. 40 by 80 feet in size,
'well provided with seats and writing tables.' " The legislature that
met there was composed of pro-slavery men, and, as Pawnee was in a
284 CYCLOPEDIA OF
free-State settlement, the members had no desire to remain long in the
enemy's countr}-. Consequently, the assembly promptly adjourned to
the Shawnee mission, where the remainder of the session was held in
the mission school building, but the people of Kansas have always looked
upon it as the first capitol of the territory, and on Feb. 26, 1901, Gov.
Stanley approved the following joint resolution:
"That the Congress of the United States be requested to grant unto
the State of Kansas a certain stone building standing and situated on
the Fort Riley military reservation in said state, which was built and
used for the first legislative assembly of the Territory of Kansas, and
so much of the grounds upon which the building stands, not exceeding
one acre in extent, exclusive of the right of way heretofore granted to
the Union Pacific Railway company for its railway, for the purpose of
enabling the state of Kansas to preserve said building from decay and
as an historical relic of the state."
Congress granted the request, but in order that the military author-
ities at Fort Riley might have full police powers over the building, the
title was not accepted by the state, so that while nominally the old
capitol is the property of the State of Kansas it is really a part of the
military reservation. In 1907 Col. Samuel F. Woolard of Wichita, a
member of Gov. Hoch's military stafif, while attending the encampment
of the National Guard at Fort Riley, noticed the condition of the old
building, and upon his return home from the encampment suggested
to some of the citizens of Wichita that a fund be raised by voluntary
contributions for the purpose of repairing the walls and placing the old
capitol in a better state of preservation. On Oct. 12, 1901, the Wichita
Beacon announced that the fund then amounted to $40. From that time
contributions came in more rapidly, and in April, 1908, some $400 had
been collected, which was used to repair the walls, plant vines, place
signs on the ruins, etc.
Shortly after the legislature designated Lecompton as the territorial
seat of government, William M. Nace was employed by contract to erect
a frame house there for the use of the legislature. This frame "capitol"
stood on Elmore street, and the first legislative session held in it began
on Jan. 12, 1857. Congress made an appropriation of $50,000 for the
erection of a suitable state-house at Lecompton, but the entire amount
was exhausted upon the foundation and a very small portion of the main
walls. No further work was ever done on the building by the govern-
ment, and the only use of the foundation was as a fortress for some
pro-slavery forces during the border troubles. By the act of June 4,
1861, the first state legislature transferred the old capitol grounds in
Lecompton to the Kansas College Association, and at the same session
the governor was authorized to dispose of the materials that had been
collected for the completion of the building. The college association
finished the building on different lines from those first contemplated,
and it was used for some time as Lane L'niversity (q. v.) and still later
as a high school.
286 CYCLOPEDIA OF
When the free-state people gained control of the legislature the ses-
sions were held at Lawrence, where they occupied two temporary capi-
tols, both of which were merel}^ rented for the purpose. One of these
was "the new brick building, just south of the Eldridge House," and
the other was "the old concrete building on Massachusetts street north
of Winthrop."
The mass convention at Topeka on Sept. 19, 1855, and the constitu-
tional convention of the succeeding month, were both held in a building
at Nos. 425-427 Kansas avenue, which had been erected by Loring Farns-
worth. This building became known as "Constitution Hall." It was
used as a "capitol" by the state government set up under the Topeka
constitution, and also by the actual state government established en
Feb. 9, i8(3%. In the basement of this old building were stored supplies
sequestered from certain pro-slavery towns during the embargo of the
Missouri river by pro-slavery decree. After the question of locating the
permanent seat of government had been settled by the election of 1861
(see Capital), the legislature of 1862 accepted from the Topeka Asso-
ciation the tract of ground in that city bounded by Jackson, Harrison,
Eighth and Tenth streets for a site for a state-house.
By the act of March 2, 1863, the state officers were authorized to enter
into a contract with Wilson I. Gordon, Theodore Mills and Loring
Farnsworth for the erection of a temporary capitol on lots Xo. 131, 133,
135 and 137, on Kansas avenue in the city of Topeka, and to lease the
said temporary capitol for five years, at an annual rental not exceeding
$1,500, the building to be ready for occupancy by Nov. i, 1863. This
building included the site of the old Constitution Hall. In the sidewalk
in front of the place where it stood is a large cast-iron tatblet bearing the
inscription : "Constitution Hall, where the Topeka constitutional con-
vention met in 1855, and the Topeka legislature was dispersed b}- Col.
E. V. Sumner, July 4, 1856. Used as state capitol 1864-69. Placed here
by the Daughters of the American Revolution, July 4, 1903."
The present capitol of Kansas had its inception in the act of the legis-
lature, approved by Gov. Crawford on Feb. 14, 1866. By the provisions
of this act the governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer
and superintendent of public instruction were constituted a commission
to erect on the grounds donated by the Topeka Association a building
according to plans and specifications submitted by E. Townsend Mix.
An appropriation of $40,000 was made to begin the erection of the east
wing, and the ten sections of land granted to the state by Congress to
aid in the construction of a state-house were ordered to be sold at a
price not less than $1.25 an acre, the proceeds to be applied to the erec-
tion of the building. For the completion of the east wing the legisla-
ture of 1869 authorized a bond issue of $70,000. The west wing was
ordered by the act of March 7, 1879, which appropriated $60,000 for that
purpose, and a tax of one-half mill on the dollar was levied for the years
1879 ^iid 1880, the revenue derived from this tax to go into the state-
house fund. By the act of Feb. 10, 1881, an additional appropriation of
KANSAS HISTORY 287
$35,000 was made for the west wing, and the one-half mill tax was con-
tinued for the years 1883 and 1884. The central portion of the building,
including the dome, was ordered by the act of March 4, 1887, and the
one-half mill tax was again levied for the years 1887 and 1888. This tax
was reduced by the next legislature to two-fifths of a mill for the next
two years, and in 1895 it was reduced to one-fourth of a mill. By the
act of March 11, 1891, an appropriation of $60,000 was made for certain
specific purposes, to-wit : $9,000 for the completion of contracts already
let ; $17,560 for the north and south steps ; $23,440 for concrete floors,
etc.; and $10,000 for the completion of the basement in the south wing.
The last direct appropriation — $100,000 — was made bj^ the act of March
29, 1901, and in 1903 the state-house was pronounced finished.
Owing to the fact that the funds for the erection of the capitol were
derived from various sources — direct appropriations, bond issues, the
proceeds of the land sales, and the revenues raised by the special tax
levies — it is almost impossible, without weeks of labor in going through
the different records, to give the actual total cost of the edifice, but it
was not far from $3,500,000.
From north to south, the extreme length of the capitol is 399 feet ;
from east to west, 386 feet ; the dome is 80 feet square at the base ; the
height to the balcony of the dome is 258 feet, and to the top, 281 feet,
6 inches. The dome was originally surmounted bv a flag-staff 40 feet
high, but it was struck by a bolt of lightning some years ago and has
never been replaced.
Regarding space, arrangement, etc., the Kansas state-house is one of
the best in the Union. Within its walls there are commodious offices
for all the various state officers, the board of railroad commissioners,
the state board of health, the state board of agriculture, the supreme
court room, with rooms for each of the justices, the horticultural and
historical societies, the state museum, the state library, the free emplo)--
nient bureau, halls and committee rooms for the two branches of the
state legislature, etc.
Carbondale, one of the principal towns of Osage county, is located in
Ridgeway township on the Atchison, Topeka &: Santa Fe R. R. 16 miles
north of Lyndon, the county seat. It has churches, public schools, bank-
ing facilities, and all the main lines of mercantile activity. A good
quality of coal is mined in the vicinity. The town is supplied with
express and telegraph offices and a money order postoffice with four
rural routes. The population in 1910 was 461.
The town was founded in 1869 by a company composed of T. J- Peter.
J. F. Dodds, C. P. Dodds and L. R. Adams. The first buildings were
erected by the Carbon Coal company and consisted of houses for the
miners and a store for provisions. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
R, R. had reached this point before the town was started, and mining-
was begun at once on the Dodds farm half a mile from the railroad. A
postoffice was established and C. P. Dodds, the railroad agent, was made
postmaster. He opened a store the next year and did a flourishing busi-
288 CYCLOPEDIA OF
ness. The growth of the town was very rapid for a time, several mines
being in operation. In 1881 a tragedy occurred in connection with the
burning of the shaft in W. L. Green's mine in which nine men lost their
lives from suffocation and fire damp. Three of those who were killed
belonged to the rescue party.
Carbondale was incorporated as a city of the third class on Oct. 15,
1872. The first mayor was C. C. Moore; clerk, A. V. Sparhawk; treas-
urer, J. R. Cowen; police judge, J. S. Conwell ; marshal!, E. Piatt; coun-
cilmen, M. T. Perrine, E. W. Teft, George Mullan, S. S. Stackhouse and
G. W. Luman.
Cardan, a hamlet of Marshall county, is located in Marysville town-
ship 4 miles from Marysville, the county seat, on the St. Joseph & Grand
Island R. R. It has telegraph and express offices, a postoffice and gen-
eral lines of merchandising. The population of 1910 was 50.
Carl, a hamlet of Jackson county, is located 12 miles west of Holton,
the county seat. It receives mail from Soldier by rural route. The
population in 1910 was 21.
Carlton, one of the thriving villages of Dickinson county, is located
in the Holland creek valley, about 18 miles southwest of Abilene, the
county seat, and is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R. It has a
money order postoffice with one rural route, telegraph and express
offices, some good general stores, and in 1910 reported a population of
225. It is the principal shipping and supply point for the southwestern
portion of the county.
Carlyle, one of the principal villages of Allen county, is located on
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 5 miles north of lola, the county
seat. It has a money order postoffice with one rural delivery route,
telegraph station and express offices, a good village school, some mer-
cantile and shipping interests, and in 1910 reported a population of 200.
Carmen, a new postoffice in Meade county, is located in the upper
Crooked creek valley, about 15 miles northwest of Meade, the county
seat. Before the office was established the people of Carmen received
their mail by rural delivery from Mertilla. (Some maps show Carmen
in Gray county, near the boundary line.)
Carneiro, a village of Ellsworth county, is located in the township
of the same name and is a station on the Union Pacific R. R. 12 miles
east of Ellsworth, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice
with one rural route, telegraph and express offices, general stores,
Methodist and Christian churches, and being located in a district
devoted to agriculture and stock raising is an important shipping point.
The population in 1910 was 76.
Carney, Thomas, second governor of the State of Kansas, was born
in Delaware county, Ohio, Aug. 20, 1824. His father, James Carney,
died in 1828, leaving a widow and four small sons. Thomas remained
with his mother until he was nineteen years of age, and frequently
hauled the products of their little farm with an ox team to Newark,
36 miles distant. When he was nineteen he left home with about $3.50
KANSAS HISTORY 289
in his pocket and went to an uncle, Elijah Carney, at Berkshire, Ohio,
where he stayed for several months, working for his board mornings,
evenings and Saturdays while he attended school. In the fall of 1844
he found employment with a retail dry-goods concern at Columbus,
receiving $50 a month and board the first year and $100 a month and
board the second year. He then took a position with a wholesale
dry-goods house in Cincinnati, into which he was admitted as a part-
ner, the firm of Carney, Swift & Co. becoming one of the best known
dry-goods houses in the country. After some twelve years in Cin-
cinnati his health became impaired, and in 1857 he visited the West,
partly for his health and partly in search of a new location. The fol-
lowing spring, in partnership with Thomas C. Stevens, he opened
the first wholesale house in Leavenworth, Katt. Mr. Stevens retired
in 1866, when the firm took the name of Carne}^ Fenlon & Co., which
in 1868 established the house of E. Fenlon & Co. in St. Louis, Mo.
Several changes ensued and finally Mr. Carney became the sole pro-
prietor of the business. He also founded the wholesale shoe house
of Carney, Storer & Co., later Thomas Carney & Co. This business
was disposed of by Mr. Carney in 1875.
Upon locating in Kansas Mr. Carney took an active interest in pub-
lic affairs. In 1861 he was elected to the second state legislature, and
while in that body served upon some of the most important commit-
tees. His record as a member of the legislature commended him to
the Republican party for governor, and he was nominated for that office
by a convention at Topeka on Sept. 17, 1862. At the election on the
4th of the following November he was elected over W. R. Wagstaflf
by a majority of 4,627 votes, and on Jan. 12, 1863, was inducted into
the office. Historians have hardly done justice to the unselfish
patriotism displayed by Gov. Carney during his term of two years.
By personally indorsing the bonds of the state he established the credit
of Kansas upon a firmer basis than it had ever been before, and it was
largely due to his untiring efforts that the educational and charitable
institutions of the state were established on a firm foundation. At the
close of his term as governor he resumed his business operation, which
he laid aside the day he was inaugurated in order to give his entire
attention to the duties of his official position. In 1865 and 1866 he
was mayor of the city of Leavenworth ; was one of the founders of the
First National Bank of that city, and was for several years a member
of the board of directors; and he was also one of the directors of the
Kansas City, Lawrence & Fort Gibson railroad. In addition to his
mercantile, banking and railroad interests in Kansas, he was associated
with mining operations in the Gunnison country. While visiting his
mines there he wrote several letters for the Leavenworth papers, which
were widely read and enjoyed by his numerous friends in Kansas. In
1875 he practically retired from business.
On Nov. 13, 1861, at Kenton, Ohio, Gov. Carney was united in mar-
riage with Miss Rebecca Ann Cannady, who was born at Kenton on
(T-19)
2C)3 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Oct. 9, 1827. She was a woman of high Christian character, noted far
and wide for her interest in charitable work. She died at Leavenworth
on Sept. 25, 1894. Gov. Carney's death occurred on July 28, 1888, and
was due to apoplexy. At the time of his election to the office of gov-
ernor he was a wealthy man, but in later years financial reverses came
— due, it is said, to the unworthy schemes of designing politicians —
and he died comparatively poor.
Carney's Administration. — Gov. Carney was inaugurated on Jan. 12,
1863. He came into office at a time when the affairs of the state were
in a discouraging condition. The Civil war was at its height; the
counties along the eastern border were constantly menaced by guer-
rillas ; those on the west suffered from frequent Indian forays, and to
protect the people from these incursions the state had neither, arms,
ammunition nor means of subsisting troops. The credit of the state
— not yet fully established — had been impaired the preceding year by
the sale of bonds in such a way as to lead to the impeachment and
removal from office of the secretary of state and auditor, and the
increasing population made necessary certain expenditures for educa-
tional and benevolent purposes.
In his inaugural message the governor said: "We stand by the
administration, because the administration is the organized authority
of the nation. It has labored to avoid our present troubles. It has
sought Union in the spirit of Union. It has done nothing, proposed
nothing, asserted nothing in opinion or principle, which invaded, or
which threatened to invade, the rights of the states, or violate the letter
or spirit of the constitution.
"I do not wish to indulge in poetic speech or empty declamation.
Neither will feed the hungr)' or relieve the suft'erer. We must ren-
der both substantial aid. And this the state should do. Loyal com-
monwealths of the Republic have cared for the soldier, by appointing
sanitary committees : b}' appropriating funds for their families, while
the heads thereof were in the field, and by relieving, on the battlefields
or at home, the wounded and the sick.
"Kansas should be the rival of the noblest of these commonwealths.
We stand first, because in proportion to population and wealth, we
have mustered more men to combat rebellion than any loyal state in
the Union. This has been done, too, at immense sacrifice. Many of
our families have been left almost in destitution. I have been an eye
witness to the fact, that in many instances the faithful mother, and
in some instances only children have been left to attend to the house-
hold and the farm."
This portion of the message — written by one who was on the ground,
and who was familiar with the situation — has been quoted at length
to show that the people of Kansas, loyal to the core, were willing to
make sacrifices and endure hardships, in order to preserve the Union
of which the state had so recently become a member. The governor
urged the acceptance of the grant of land for a state university ; the
KANSAS HISTORY 29I
erection of a penitentiary at the earliest possible day ; that a tax be
levied upon foreign insurance companies doing business within the
state; an amendment to the constitution to permit the citizen soldiery
to vote; and such legislation as might be found necessary for the
advancement of the educational interests and benevolent institutions
of the state. Referring to the bonds that had caused so much trouble
the preceding session, he said:
"In November, 1861, this state made a contract, through the agent
created by its authorized agents, with the secretary of the interior, at
Washington, for the sale of $150,000 of its fifteen-year seven per cent,
bonds at 85 cents on the dollar. Only a portion of this contract has
been fulfilled. Ninety-five thousand six hundred dollars of these bonds
is all that has been delivered, and only $64,600 paid for. This leaves
ii. difference of $54,400 of these bonds that will have to be delivered to
the secretary of the interior, before the contract can be consummated.
The legislature of 1862, for reasons of its own, took the completion of
this contract out of the hands of its agents, and their attorney, and
placed it wholly in yours.
"To complete this contract you will have to authorize the issue of
$54,400 of seven per cent, fifteen-year bonds, which, added to the
$31,000 now held by the secretary of the interior, and not paid for, will
make the required amount. . . . Now I call upon you to do j^our
duty. You must meet this responsibility or forfeit the credit of the
state. Its wants are imperative and its character is at stake. I will
not, if I can help it, and you will not, I know, permit a stain to rest
upon that credit, or blur upon that character."
In accordance with the governor's recommendations, the legislature,
by the act of March 2, 1863, authorized the issue of $54,400 fifteen-
year seven per cent, bonds. Immediately after the adjournment of the
legislature. Gov. Carney went to Washington, where he met the sec-
retary of the interior and found him ready to carry out his part of the
original agreement. Thinking, however, that the state ought to realize
more than 60 cents on the dollar, the governor went on to New York
and found that he could negotiate the bonds to better advantage. He
then asked the secretary of the interior to release the state from the
contract. The secretary readily consented, the governor returned to
New York, where he sold $54,000 of the new issue and $1,000 of the
old at 93 cents; $26,000 of the old issue at par, and $4,000 at 95 cents.
In his message of Jan. 13, 1864, he thus explains his reasons for the
course he adopted:
"I was led to regard the spirit, rather than the letter, of the law,
because, on the first sale of bonds made, I realized $3,850 more than
otherwise could have been realized ; because, in the arrangement made
with the secretary of the interior, I secured $3,900, and $234.71 inter-
est, accruing between April 25th and July ist, 1863, more than other-
wise could have been secured ; and because in the last sale of $4,000 of
the old issue of bonds, there were made $400 more than otherwise
292 CYCLOPEDIA OF
would have been made, thus saving to the state $8,384.71 by the course
1 pursued. Another potent reason influenced me. The credit of the
state was estabHshed by it, at the very point where, above all others
it was most important it should be established, both for it and its citi-
zens, nameh% in the city of New York."
The message does not state — probably owing to the governor's
modesty — that one of the potent influences in establishing the state's
credit in New York was his personal indorsement of the bonds, yet
such was the case. The Topeka Commonwealth of Jul}- 29, 1888, in
commenting on the ^transaction, said: "At this very critical moment
Kansas was indeed in a pitiable condition. She was the seat of a ter-
rible conflict and her finances were bankrupt. Governor Carney him-
self started east and. negotiated a loan for a sum of money consider-
ably over $100,000. It was made negotiable by the fact that he endorsed
the paper individually. At this time he was very rich and thus an
individual endorsing the paper of the State of Kansas for a fortune
secured money with which to conduct the state government."
The legislature of 1863 adjourned on March 3, after enacting laws
providing for the promotion of the state university, the agricultural
college and the state normal school; the employment of teachers for
the deaf and dumb ; the location of an insane asylum at Osawatomie ;
the erection of a penitentiary at Lansing, and for funding the old ter-
ritorial debt. On April 30 the commissioners appointed by the gov-
ernor to select a site for the state university reported that they had
decided on a tract of 40 acres near the city of Lawrence, and on Nov.
2 the governor issued a proclamation declaring the university per-
manently located there. Manhattan was selected as the site of the
agricultural college ; the state normal school was established at Em-
poria, and on the last day of the year the directors of the penitentiary
reported that they had made a contract for the erection of a building.
(For a more complete account of these institutions see each under its
appropriate title.)
The summer of 1863 was a trying time for Kansas. All along the
eastern border the people lived in constant fear of guerrilla invasions
from Missouri. Appeals to the general government for aid were
futile, as the Confederate armies at this time were particularly aggres-
sive, and the life of the nation was the first consideration of the Federal
administration. In this emergency the governor organized the patrol
guard — a force of 150 mounted men — and some of this force were on
duty day and night, watching the border. Each man of this force
received from the private funds of the governor a dollar a day for his
services and the use of his horse, though the United States furnished
rations and forage. After the battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg,
the Federal government found it possible to send troops to Kansas and
the patrol was discontinued. A few days later the guerrilla leader,
Ouantrill, who it appears was waiting for just such an opportunity,
made his famous raid to Lawrence. (See Quantrill's Raid.) By the
KANSAS HISTORY 293
act of Feb. 26, 1864, the legislature authorized the state to refund to
the governor "the sum of $10,000, or so much thereof as may be neces-
sary," to reimburse him for his expenditures in protecting the state.
In troublous times, when the constituted legal authorities of a com-
munity are engrossed in repelling invasion or suppressing rebellion, law-
less characters frequently take advantage of conditions to commit law-
less acts, and often mob rule is the result. This was true of Kansas
in 1863. In his History of Kansas, p. 374, Cutler says : "During the
year 1863. so annoying became the depredations of lawless bands of
jayhawkers that means were devised for self-protection, and the most
effective seemed to be a vigilance committee under the control of brave,
discreet loyalists."
On the night of May 16, a desperado named Sterling, with three of
his gang, went to the home of a Mr. Kelsey, near the head of the Big
Stranger, and upon being admitted knocked down the proprietor, took
$40 in money and four horses and departed. A posse was hurriedly
organized and the ruffians were captured at Atchison the following
morning. One of the gang, a man named Parker, turned state's evi-
dence and on Monday morning all four were taken to the woods a short
distance from town, where Sterling was hanged. The intention was
to hang all four, but the others begged so piteously that their lives were
spared.
A few nights later two men named Mooney and Brewer, with others
of the Sterling gang, attempted to rob a man about 15 miles northeast
of Atchison. They were pursued, captured and taken to Atchison,
where they were confined in jail. About nine o'clock on the morning
of Saturday, May 23, some 400 or 500 men, on horseback or in wagons,
came in from the surrounding country. Two hours later 100 of these
men, selected for the purpose, went to the court-house, where the two
men were on trial by jury, everybody being excluded except the wit-
nesses, lawyers and jurors. The trial lasted for four or five hours, at
the end of which time the jury returned a verdict of guilty. Then the
100 men quietly took Mooney and Brewer away from the officers and,
with the crowd following, conducted them to a spot about half a mile
from the town, where the}' were hanged. No excitement prevailed, and
as soon as the two men were dead the people quietly returned to their
homes.
Another lynching occurred on June 3, when James Melvine and
William Cannon were hanged at Highland. These two men had
robbed Mr. Devine, Mr. Beeler and Mr. Martin of a pair of mules, a
wagon and some other property. Martin, Beeler and Devine imme-
diately started in pursuit, and when about a mile from the village of
Kennekuk fired on the bandits, leaving them for dead. They recovered,
however, and another pursuit followed. Near Mt. Pleasant, Atchison
county, they were overtaken, captured and taken to Highland, where
they were tried by a jury of twelve men. A verdict of guilty was ren-
dered, and the execution quickly followed the verdict.
294 CYCLOPEDIA OF
The records do not show that the governor, in any of these cases,
made any effort to apprehend or punish the men who did the lynch-
ing. He knew the conditions that prevailed all through the eastern
part of the state, and no doubt realized that the people were exercis-
ing the "higher law" of self-protection. Nor is there any doubt that
the prompt and efficient manner in which summary justice was meted
out to offenders had a great influence in restoring order in the dis-
tricts where the lynchings occurred.
On Nov. 3, 1863, there was an election for chief justice of the supreme
court, district attorneys and members of the legislature. Robert
Crozier was elected chief justice, receiving 12,731 votes, only 14 scat-
tering votes being cast against him.
Gov. Carney's message to the legislature at the opening of the ses-
sion on Jan. 12, 1864, is one of the longest ever presented to a Kansas
general assembly. In it he reviews in detail the negotiations of the
state bonds ; urged that provisions be made for a complete geological
survey of the state ; that measures be adopted to encourage immigra-
tion ; devoted considerable attention to the guerrilla warfare along the
border, and the work of the Kansas soldiers in the field. In locating
the state university at Lawrence, the preceding legislature had made
a requirement that a fund of' $15,000 should be raised before the law
became effective. On this subject the governor said: "Amos Law-
rence, of Boston, Mass., gave ?io,ooo to it ; the citizens of Lawrence
advanced $5,000, making the amount required, which sum has been
deposited with the treasurer of state. I am loth to recommend the
expenditure of money, devoted by law to specific objects : but I think
this case so clearly exceptional, that I do not hesitate to urge the
legislature to return to the citizens of Lawrence the amount contributed
by them. Their gift, as we know, was a generous one ; it was noble as
well as generous. In a fell hour they lost, as it were, their all. Rebel
assassins did this fatal work. Where, then, the patriotic heart in the
state, that would not say promptly 'Return to these public-spirited men
the generous gift, which, when wealthy, they promised, and which
promise, when poor, they fulfilled?"
In this part of the message the governor referred to the Quantrill
raid of the previous August. The legislature accepted the governor's
recommendation, and by the act of Feb. 15, 1864, directed the state
treasurer to "refund and pay over to the mayor of the city of Law-
rence, or the person acting as mayor, to be refunded to the contributors
to the university fund, the sum of $5,167. to be deducted from the
endowment fund," etc.
The legislature adjourned on March i. The most important laws
of the session were those regulating the granting of pardons ; provid-
ing for the appointment of commissioners to locate a blind asylum in
Wyandotte county ; authorizing the governor to appoint a state geolo-
gist ; establishing a bureau of immigration ; abolishing grand juries ; pro-
posing an amendment to the state constitution to enable soldiers to
KANSAS HISTORY 295
vote, and several acts to encourage the construction of railroads. One
action of the legislature which caused widespread comment and much
adverse criticism, was that of voting for a United States senator for
the term beginning on March 4, 1865. Another assembly would meet
in Jan., 1865, and many contended that it was the proper body to elect
a senator ; that such an election by the session of 1864 would be "pre-
mature and unwarranted, if not actually illegal." However, a resolu-
tion to elect a senator was adopted by the house early in the session.
On Feb. 6 it was taken up in the senate and the question of calling
a joint convention was decided in the affirmative by a vote of 17 to 8.
The joint convention accordingly met on the 8th and, after some
acrimonious debate, voted to cast a ballot for senator. The vote stood :
Thomas Carney, 68 ; against a fraud, i ; blank, 2 ; excused from voting,
27. As Gov. Carney was the only one voted for, he was charged by
some of having instigated the whole proceedings, through "his inor-
dinate desire to go to the senate." But his subsequent action would
indicate that the charges were unfounded. A certificate of election was
made out to him, but when the Republican convention met at Topeka
on April 21 he announced that he never intended to claim the office.
And he never did.
The Republican convention above referred to selected as delegates
to the national convention at Baltimore Gen. James H. Lane, A. C.
Wilder, Thomas N. Bowen, W. W. H. Lawrence, Martin H. Insley
and F. W. Potter. On June i the Democrats held a convention at
Topeka and selected as delegates to their national convention at Chi-
cago W. C. McDowell, Wilson Shannon, Orlin Thurston, L. B. Wheat,
H. J. Strickler and J. P. Taylor.
A Republican convention for the nomination of a state ticket assem-
bled in Topeka on Sept. 8, 1864. Samuel J. Crawford was nominated
for governor ; James McGrew for lieutenant-governor ; R. A. Barker
for secretary of state ; John R. Swallow for auditor ; William Spriggs
for treasurer; J. D. Brumbaugh for attorney-general; Isaac T. Good-
now for superintendent of public instruction ; Jacob Safford for justice
of the supreme court, and Sidney Clarke for representative in Con-
gress. Ellsworth Cheeseborough, Nelson McCracken and Robert Mc-
Bratney were named as presidential electors, but before the election
Cheeseborough and McCracken both died and their places on the ticket
were filled by Thomas Moonlight and W. F. Cloud.
Two political conventions — the Republican Union and the Demo-
cratic — met in Topeka on Sept. 13. The former nominated the follow-
ing state ticket, which was indorsed by the Democrats : For governor,
Solon O. Thacher; lieutenant-governor, John J. Ingalls ; secretary of
state. William R. Saunders; auditor, Asa Hairgrove ; treasurer, J. R.
McClure ; attorney-general, Hiram Griswold, superintendent of public
instruction, Peter McVicar ; associate justice of the supreme court,
Samuel A. Kingman ; representative in Congress, Albert L. Lee ; presi-
dential electors, Nelson Cobb, Andrew G. Ege and Thomas Bridgens.
296 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Mr. McVicar declined the nomination for superintendent of public
instruction and John S. Brown was selected to fill the vacancy on the
ticket.
Early in October the news spread rapidly through the state that
the Confederate Gen. Price was marching toward Kansas with a large
force of troops, and that his movements were being accelerated by the
close pursuit of the Federal army. Invasion seemed imminent, and
for the time interest in the political campaign was almost entirely lost.
On the 8th Gov. Carney issued a proclamation calling out the militia
of the state, under command of Gen. George W. Deitzler. ( See War
of 1861-65.)
The entire Republican ticket was elected on Nov. 8, and the admin-
istration of Gov. Carney came to an end with the inauguration of Gov.
Samuel J. Crawford on Jan. 11, 1865.
Carona, a town of Ross township, Cherokee county, is situated on
the Missouri Pacific R. R. about 10 miles north of Columbus, the
county seat. The railroad name was formerly Folsom. It has a money
order postoffice, express and telegraph facilities, telephone connections,
and is a trading and shipping point for the neighborhood in which it is
located. The population in 1910 was 350.
Carroll, a little hamlet of Greenwood county, is located 12 miles
southeast of Eureka, the county seat, and 10 miles west of Toronto,
the nearest shipping point, from which place it obtains its mail.
Carruth, William Herbert, professor of German language and litera-
ture in the University of Kansas, was born on a farm near Osawatomie,
Kan., April 5, 1859, the son of James H. and Jane (Grant) Carruth.
His father, from whom he inherited his love of books, was a home mis-
sionary of the Presbyterian church, and from his mother he inherited
courage, energy and an independent disposition. He worked his way
through school and college, graduating at the University of Kansas
in 1880. In the fall of that year he began' teaching in the university
as assistant in modern languages and literature. In 1882 he was elected
professor of modern languages. In 1884 this department was divided,
one branch embracing French and the other German, and Prof. Car-
ruth remained at the head of the latter. In 1886 he spent a year of
study abroad at Berlin and Munich. Three years later he was Morgan
fellow at Harvard for a year, receiving the degree of A. M., and in 1893
he received the degree of Ph. D. from the same institution. He is an
able translator and has edited several volumes of college texts. In
1887 with F. G. Adams Prof. Carruth published an account of Municipal
Suffrage in Kansas. In 1900 two volumes entitled "Kansas in Litera-
ture," compiled by Prof. Carruth, were published. In 1908 Putnams
brought out a volume of his poems, "Each in His Own Tongue." He
is a member of the honorary fraternity of Phi Beta Kappa and of the
Modern Language Association, and is district vice-president of the
American Dialect Society. He took an active part in the organization
of the Central States Modern Language Conference and was presi-
KANSAS HISTORY 29/
dent of it from 1895 to ^897. In 1896 he was president of the Kan-
sas Academy of Language and Literature. Prof. Carruth is a director
of the Kansas Historical Society ; a member of the executive com-
mittee of the State Temperance Union ; one of the Committee of Twelve
of the American Modern Language Association on entrance require-
ments to college, and for several years was managing editor of the
Kansas LTniversity Quarterly. He has been active in university exten-
sion work; was secretary of the Lawrence Civil Service Reform club,
and served on the common council and board of education of Law-
rence.
Carson, Christopher C, a famous guide, scout and frontiersman in
the early settlement of the West, is better known to the readers of
American histor}- as "Kit" Carson. He was born in Madison county,
K3'., Dec. 24, 1809, but while he was still in his infancy his parents
removed to Howard county. Mo. At the age of fifteen years he was
apprenticed to a saddler, but two years later he joined an overland
trading expedition to Santa Fe. This determined the course of his
career. He was an expert, with the rifle and the wild life of the plains
had a fascination for him that he could not shake off. He married
an Indian woman and for sixteen years supplied his food with his rifle.
Eight )'ears of that time he was in the employ of Bent and St. Vrain,
who engaged him to furnish meat to their forts. In 1842, after the death
of his wife, he went to St. Louis to place his daughter in school and
there met Col. John C. Fremont, who was fitting out his first exploring
expedition to the Rocky mountains. Carson was engaged to act as
guide to the expedition, and he was also with Fremont on his second
expedition and in the conquest of California. In 1847 he was sent
to Washington as a bearer of despatches and President Polk nominated
him as lieutenant in the United States mounted rifles, but the senate
refused to confirm the nomination. In the meantime Carson had mar-
ried a Spanish woman of New Mexico in 1843, ^^'^ i" 1853 he drove
a flock of some 6,500 sheep over the mountains to California, where
he sold them at prices that repaid him well for the venture. During
the Civil war he was loyal to the Federal government and rendered
valuable services in New Mexico, Colorado and the Indian Territory,
being brevetted brigadier-general at the close of the war. Many of
Carson's exploits were along the line of the old Santa Fe trail in Kan-
sas and New Mexico, and he has been called the ''Nestor of the Rocky
mountains." Inman says of him : "He was brave but not reckless ;
a veritable exponent of Christian altruism, and as true to his friends
as the needle to the pole. Under the average in stature, and delicate
in his physical proportions, he was nevertheless a quick, wiry man, with
nerves of steel, and possessing an 'indomitable will. He was full of
caution, but showed coolness in the moment of supreme danger that
was good to witness." Carson died at Fort Lyon, Col., May 23, 1868.
Carter, Elizabeth, one of the pioneer mission teachers of Kansas, was
born at the Shawnee Baptist mission in Johnson county on Jan. 24,.
298 CYCLOPEniA 01-
1835, a daughter of Rev. Robert Simerwell. She was educated at
Upper Alton, became a teacher in the Baptist Kansas mission, and was
the first teacher at Ottawa. Throughout her life she was an enthu-
siastic worker for the advancement of the Baptist church in Kansas.
She died at Auburn, Shawnee county, Jan. 3, 1883. The claim has
been made that Mrs. Carter was the first white female child born in
Kansas, but that honor belongs to a daughter of Daniel Yoacham.
(See Dillon, Susanna A.)
Carter, Lawrence, the first white child born in the city of Lawrence,
was born on Oct. 25, 1855, and the comments of the Herald of Free-
dom of Jan. 20, 1855, are interesting a half century later. The editorial
said: "The first birth in this city was on the 25th of October last.
The Lawrence Association donated the boy a first class city lot, and
named him Lawrence Carter after the city and his parents. We learn
that the little fellow is quite healthy, and is growing finely. May he
live to see our beautiful city ranking with the first in the L^nion.
. . . We may be allowed to say, in this connection, that the first
white child born in Chicago is now but twenty-two years old, while
the city boasts a population of near 80,000. May not a destiny equally
prosperous await our own Lawrence?"
Garwood, a rural postoffice of Wichita county, is located in Edwards
township, about 12 miles northwest of Leoti, the county seat. It is in
the Ladder creek valley and is a trading center for the neighborhood.
It has a store, a Presbyterian church, and is connected by telephone
with the surrounding country.
Cace, Nelson, lawyer and writer, was born in Wyoming county. Pa.,
April 22, 1845. When he was about a year old his parents removed
to Lee county. 111., where he grew to manhood. In 1866 he graduated
at the Illinois State Normal School, and after teaching one year he
entered the law department of the University of Michigan, where he
graduated in 1869. He then came to Kansas and located at Oswego,
where he began the practice of law. He was twice appointed probate
judge of Labette county by Gov. St. John; served two terms as regent
of the State Normal School under Gov. Humphrey; was one of the
first board of trustees of the Labette county high school ; was for ten
years president of the Oswego board of education ; was for seventeen
years a trustee of Baker University, and was also a trustee of Oswego
College for young women. For three j'ears he was editor of the Oswego
Independent, and he is the author of a history of Labette county. In
1872 Judge Case married Mary E. Claypool of Attica, Ind., who died
in 1892, and later he married Miss Georgiana Reed, teacher of art in
Baker I'niversity.
Cash City, an extinct town of Oark county, was laid out by Cash
Henderson of Wichita in township 35, range 25, at the crossing of the
Tuttle, Ashland and Meade Center trails. A weekly newspaper (the
Cash City Cashier) was established, the first number making its appear-
ance on Oct. 29, 1886. An old map of the county shows two projected
KANSAS HISTORY 299
lines of railroad running through Cash City, but tlie roads were not
built and the town finally disappeared.
Cassoday, a town of Butler county, is situated in the northeast cor-
ner, about 20 miles from Eldorado, the county seat, and 12 miles from
De Graff, the nearest railroad station. Although so far from the railroad,
Cassoday is a town of considerable commercial importance. It has a
bank, some well stocked mercantile establishments, good schools, and
is the trading center for a rich agricultural district. The population in
1910 was 300. Its money order postofifice has one rural route emanating
from it. and it has telephone connections with the surrounding towns.
A daily stage line connects Cassoday with Eldorado.
Castaneda, Pedro De, who might be termed the official chronicler of
the Coronado expedition (q. v.) to Ouivira in 1540-42, was a native of
the Biscayan town of Najera in Spain. He came to America before
the middle of the i6th centur)^, and became prominently identified
with the government and affairs of Mexico. His account of the Coro-
nado expedition was first written in Mexico soon after the event, but
the original manuscript has disappeared. After his return to Spain,
Castaneda made a copy, which was finished on Oct. 26, 1596. His nar-
rative was not published, but remained in the archives in manuscript
until translated into French by Henri Ternaux-Compans, whose trans-
lation was rendered into English at Paris by Eugene F. Ware, of Kan-
sas City, Kan. The Spanish manuscript, now in the Lenox Library,
New York, was translated into English by George P. Winship, assist-
ant in American history in Harvard University, and his translation
was published in the 14th annual report of the L^nited States Bureau
of Ethnology.
Castle Rock. — One of the most interesting works of nature in the
state from a geological standpoint is known as "Castle Rock," a natural
formation located in Gove county, in the valley of the Hackberry, about
ID miles from its mouth. This castellated mass is composed of a
coping of limestone and the shaft of chalk and compact shale. Its
unique formation was produced by the shales wearing away, the
strongly cemented stone serving as a protection to the upper surface.
In this way mountainous appearing masses are frequently produced,
especially where various streams cut their way through the hard stone
into the softer materials below. Similar formations are met with in
Ellis county which show isolated columns which rise from 20 to 70
feet in height.
Castleton, a town of Reno county, is a station on the Hutchinson &
Blackwell division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 14 miles
south of Hutchinson. It has a bank, a grain elevator, a hotel, a mone}-
order postoffice with one rural route, express and telegraph offices, tele-
phone connections, a good local trade and ships large quantities of
grain and live stock. The population was 275 in 1910.
Catalpa, a rural postoffice of Gove county, is located in Larrabee
township on Indian creek, and about 12 miles southeast of Gove, the
300
CYCLOPEDIA OF
county seat. Pendennis, on the Missouri Pacific, is tlie nearest rail-
road station.
Catharine, a rural postoffice of Ellis county, is located on Victoria
creek, in Catharine township, about 9 miles east of Hays, the county
seat, and most convenient railroad station. The population of the vil-
lage was 50 in 1910.
Catholic Church. — (See Roman Catholic Church.)
Cato, a village of Crawford county, is located in the northeastern
part, about 12 miles from Girard, the county seat, and 3 miles north-
west of Drywood, which is the nearest railroad station. Mail is received
by rural delivery from Arcadia. The population was 112 in 1910.
Cato, Sterling G., associate justice of the Territory of Kansas, was
a native of Alabama. He was appointed on Sept. 13, 1855, to succeed
Judge Rush Elmore and served until in July, 1858, when he was suc-
ceeded by Elmore and left the territory'. Repeated eflforts have been
made by the Kansas Historical Society to learn something of Judge
Cato's early life and antecedents, but without avail. He was a strong
pro-slavery advocate, was in the pro-slavery camp at the time of the
"Invasion of the 2,700," and many of his decisions were of a bitterly
partisan character. He connived with Sheriff Jones, of Douglas county,
and issued writs for the arrest of several prominent members of the
Topeka (free-state) legislature, but released from custod}" George W.
Clarke, who w^as charged with the murder of Thomas W. Barber, a
free-state man. On Oct. 20, 1857, he issued a writ commanding Gov.
Walker to issue certificates of election to a number of pro-slavery men
who claimed to have been elected members of the legislature, but
owing to the palpable frauds committed in the election, the governor
refused to obey the order of the court. (See Walker's Administra-
tion.) S. S. Prouty, correspondent of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat,
in writing to his paper of Judge Cato, said: "It is almost a mockery
to call where he presides a court."
Cave, a money order post-village in the southeast corner of Gray
county, is in Hess township, about 20 miles southeast of Cimarron,
the countv seat, and 12 miles from Fowler, which is the most convenient
railroad station. Cave has a general store, and is the trading center
for that part of the county. The population was 40 in 1910.
Cave Springs, an inland hamlet of Elk county, is 9 miles northeast
of Howard, the county seat. It receives mail daily by rural route from
Severy, Greenwood county, about 10 miles northwest. The nearest
railroad station is Fiat, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, 5 miles
west.
Caven, a rural hamlet in the northwestern part of Pratt county, is
about 14 miles from Pratt, the county seat, and 8 miles north of Cul-
lison, the nearest railroad station, from which mail is received by rural
delivery.
Cawker City, the second largest town in Mitchell county, is located
in Cawker township in the northwestern part of the county, near the
KANSAS HISTOE'i:' 3OI
junction of the north and south forks of the Solomon river and on the
Missouri Pacific R. R. i8 miles west of Beloit, the county seat. It
is an incorporated city of the third class, has a public library, an opera
house, 2 banks, flour mill, a creamery, a grain elevator, 2 weekly news-
papers (the Ledger and the Public Record), express and telegraph
ofifices, and an international money order postoffice with four rural
routes. The population in 1910 was 870.
Cawker city was founded in 1870 by E. H. Cawker, J. P. Rice and
R. G. F. Kshinka of Milwaukee, and John J. Huckle of Towanda, Pa.
The first building was erected by E. H. Cawker. Mr. Huckle built
a dwelling and then returned to Pennsylvania and brought out a colony
of his neighbors. By June, 1870, a steam sawmill was in operation.
The plat of the town was not recorded until 1871. The government
located a land office here in 1872. In 1874 it was taken to Kirwin, -which
was more centrally located. The town was incorporated that year
as a city of the third class and an election held, at which the following
officers were chosen : Mayor, F. J. Knight ; councilmen, A. Parker, D.
A. Hauling, W. Woodmansee, P. Wolf and J. A. Pope; police judge,
L. S. Tucker.
Cecil, an inland hamlet of Labette county, is located in the southern
part of the county, about 13 miles from Oswego, the county seat, and
4 miles south of Bartlett, the nearest railroad station, whence it receives
mail by rural route.
Cedar, one of the principal towns of Smith county, is a station on
the Missouri Pacific R. R. in Harvey township, about 15 miles south-
west of Smith Center, the county seat. It has a money order post-
office with one rural route, express and telegraph offices, a bank, a
grain elevator, a hotel, telephone connections, a graded school, Chris-
tian and Methodist churches, and in 1910 reported a population of 400.
Being located in the Solomon river valley, in a fertile agricultural dis-
trict, it is an important trading centei' and shipping point. The name
was formerly Cedarville.
Cedar Bluffs, a village of Beaver township, Decatur county, is situated
on Beaver creek and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R. about 12
miles north of Oberlin, the county seat. It has a bank, a mone}- order
postoffice with two rural routes, express and telegraph offices, telephone
connections, good schools and churches, a large retail trade, and does
some shipping. The population in 1910 was 200.
Cedar Junction (R. R. name Corliss), a village in the northwestern
part of Johnson county, is located on the south bank of the Kansas
river and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. about 19 miles south-
west of Kansas City. It has a mone}' order postoffice, several general
stores, express and telegraph facilities, is the supply and shipping point
for a rich district and in 1910 had a population of 161.
Cedar Point, a village of Chase county, is a station on the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. about 20 miles southwest of Cottonwood
Falls, the county seat. It has a bank, a money order postoffice with
302 CYCLOPEDIA OF
one rural route, express and telegraph offices, telephone connections,
some good mercantile concerns, and being located on the Cottonwood
river in a rich agricultural district is an important shipping point for
grain, live stock, etc. The population in 1910 was 200.
Cedar Vale, the second largest town in Chautauqua county, is located
near the west line, at the junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa
Fe and the Missouri Pacific railroads, in Jefiferson township, 20 miles
west of Sedan, the county seat. It has the best of public schools,
churches of all the leading denominations, 2 banks, a weekly newspaper
(the Commercial), natural gas for lighting and heating purposes, tele-
graph and express offices, and an international money order postoffice
with 3 rural routes. The population in 1910 was reported as 948.
Cedar Vale was located in 1870 by a town company on land filed
upon by E. W. Davis, who later refused to deed the land to the com-
pany and was only persuaded to do so under threat of hanging. The
first building was a store room erected by J. R. Marsh, Charles Snyder
and O. C. Hill, in which they opened a small stock of goods, and in
which the postoffice was located. The nexf was a hotel built by a
company formed for the purpose, and the third was a store put up
by Riley Bros. Several new general stores, two blacksmith shops,
another hotel, a drug store, a millinery store and a number of shops
for various wares completed the improvements for the 3^ear 1870. The
postoffice was established with J. R. Marsh as postmaster. The town
grew rapidly and soon outstripped Osrow, her rival, located 4 miles
down the Big Cheney river. A grist mill was built in 1871 by D. F.
Taber, and was run by water power, Cedar Vale being on the Big
Cheney.
The first Fourth of July celebration took place in 1870, with an attend-
ance of 1,000 people or more. The first school district was organized
in 1871, and the first school in the village was taught by Miss Lizzie
Conklin in 1872, with an attendance of 33 pupils. The first religious
services were held in the same year by "Old Father Record," in the
school building.
Cedron, a money order post-hamlet of Lincoln county, is located
in the township of the same name on the headwaters of Spillman
creek, and about 20 miles northwest of Lincoln, the county seat. Lucas,
on the Union Pacific, is the nearest railroad station.
Cellar Kitchen Convention. — On Dec. 23, 1857. a large number of
free-state delegates met in convention at Lawrence, to decide on the
question of voting on the Lecompton constitution and electing state
officers under it. In an address before the Kansas Historical Society
on Jan. 17, 1882, Richard Cordley said : "The discussion proceeded
for two days. The radicals were the most eloquent and high-toned ;
the conservatives were the most experienced and shrewd. The radicals
comprised the j'ounger men, who followed impulse and conviction ; the
conservatives comprised the more cautious men and the political man-
agers. As the discussion progressed the breach widened rather than
KANSAS HISTORY 3O5
Otherwise. There was no sign of agreement, and no ground of com-
promise was found. A vote was reached at last, and the radical policy
was adopted by a decided majority. The conservatives thereupon
withdrew to the basement of the Herald of Freedom office and organized
another convention, which was known as the "Cellar Kitchen Conven-
tion."
This convention nominated candidates for state offices (see Denver's
Administration), but at the election the candidates received only about
half the votes of the free-state party. The failure of Congress to admit
Kansas under the Lecompton constitution settled the whole matter,
and the "Cellar Kitchen Convention" has been almost forgotten.
Cement. — The cement of commerce may be divided into four classes :
I. Hydraulic lime, which is made from limestone containing a small
proportion of clay (8 or lo per cent.) by burning at a low temperature
and slaking the product with water. 2. Hydraulic or natural rock
cement, made from an impure limestone, containing a larger percentage
of clay than that used for hydraulic lime, by being burned at a low
temperature and then ground to powder. 3. Portland cement, which
is made from an artificial mixture of carbonate of lime — chalk, ground
limestone or marl — with certain proportions of clay, burned at a white
heat, and the clinker ground to powder. 4. Slag cement, which is
made by mixing finely ground volcanic ash or slag from a blast furnace
with a small proportion of slaked lime.
Of these four classes, Portland cement is by far the most impor-
tant, and the manufacture of slag cement is still in its infancy in the
United States. The manufacture of cement in Kansas began at Fort
Scott in 1868, and the next year the capacity of the plant was increased
to ID barrels a da}', and the amount of capital invested was $4,000. At
that time the nearest source of supply was Louisville, and the price of
ordinary hydraulic cement was $10 a barrel. The Fort Scott com-
pany cut the price one-half, and soon had all the orders it could fill.
When the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad was built to Fort Scott,
the demand increased, railroad companies began to use cement in con-
struction of their lines, and in 1871 the plant was enlarged to 50 bar-
rels a day. Still the market widened with improved transportation
facilities, and in 1879 the company was turning out 700 barrels daily.
A second mill was erected in 1887, and in a short time it also was
turning out 700 barrels a day, though the price had dropped to less
than $1 a barrel. Improved methods were introduced, to cheapen the
cost of production, and in 1900 Kansas mills had a capacity over 125,-
000 barrels for the 3'ear, which had been increased to nearly 240,000
in 1906.
The manufacture of Portland cement began in 1899. The first mill
was erected at Tola and started with a capacity of 2,500 barrels a day,
which was soon doubled. A second mill was established there in 1904.
In 1905 mills were built at Independence and ^Neodesha. Mills are
also in operation at Fredonia, Humboldt, Chanute, Yocemento and
304 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Bonner Springs. In 1908 three of the largest mills were consolidated
under one management — the United States Portland Cement company,
with a capital of over $12,500,000. The industry was greatly stimulated
by the discovery of natural gas, and in 1910 the fifteen mills in the
Kansas and Oklahoma gas belt turned out over 1,000,000 barrels a
month. There is also a large quantity of cement plaster manufactured
in Kansas. (See also articles on Geology and Gypsum.)
Cemeteries, National. — There are three national cemeteries in Kansas
— one at Fort Leavenworth, one at Fort Scott, and one at Baxter
Springs. The one at Fort Leavenworth was established in i86r, and
contains an area of 15 acres, inclosed by a stone wall. It is a portion
of the government reservation, which is a magnificent natural park.
It is beautifully located half a mile west of the garrison, which is
approached by way of a broad macadamized roadway that connects the
city of Leavenworth with the fort. The view of the government reserva-
tion from the cemetery is imposing and picturesque. Water for the
cemetery is supplied by cisterns and the post waterworks, and there is
fine surface and underground drainage. The lodge is a six-room stone
building, with a brick out-building, and there is a rectangular rostrum.
The interments in the Fort Leavenworth cemetery number 3.174. of
which 1,729 are known and 1,445 ^re unknown.
The cemetery at Fort Scott is located about one and a half miles
from the heart of the city. The grounds were established as a cemetery
by the government on Nov. 15, 1862, with an area of 10.26 acres, inclosed
by a stone wall. The cemetery is rectangular in shape, 924 feet long,
extending east and west, and 478 wide, north and south. A part of
the ground was donated by the city, a part by the Presbyterian church,
and the rest was purcahsed-by the government, for $75. Through the
stone wall mentioned are entrances at either end of the cemetery made
by means of iron folding gates swinging from stone pillars. The sur-
face of the ground is a graceful slope. The crest of the slope is at
the east end and fox a short distance the descent is extremely light,
but soon becomes of greater fall, extending about half the length of
the grounds, and again becomes more mild reaching to the other
extremity of the place. The main entrance is in the center of the west
wall at the foot of the grade. A wide driveway passes up the gentle
slope to the center of the cemetery, and at about half the length of
the grounds divides, branching to either side around the more abrupt
slope to the summit, enclosing a heart-shaped plat, tastefully
ornamented with shade trees. At regular intervals upon the margins
of this plat four mounted cannon are stationed to guard, as it were,
these holy and sacred precincts. Immediately upon the brow of the
crest, at about equal angular distances from the superintendent's resi-
dence building and rostrum, rising out of a large, grass covered mound,
is the tall flag staff, upon the summit of which the national emblem
mournfully keeps untiring watch over the resting place of its defenders.
At the other end of Ihe cemetery and about half its length, separated
KANSAS HISTORY 3O5
by the central driveway and surrounded by a driveway on the remain-
ing three sides, are the two rectangular plats or panels occupied by the
interments. These plats of equal size are of even and. moderate grade.
Here, side by side, in rank and file, like as in solid phalanx they marched,
the veterans lie buried. The surface of these plats is smooth and even,
with no perceptible marks of the graves except the little block of
marble standing at the head of each. The entire grounds, excepting
the drives; is covered with a blue grass sod, and the whole is under-
drained with tiling, by which the surface is always kept dry. The
enclosure is also adorned with a profusion of artistically arranged shade
trees, and the burying plats are embellished with numerous evergreens,
through whose dark green foliage ma}' be seen the ghostlike white-
ness of the marble blocks, giving the whole a weird and mournful
appearance. There are 666 interments in the cemetery, .177 of whom
are unknown. At dififerent places among the graves are stanzas of
poetry appropriate to the place, printed in enduring letters on tablets.
The cemetery is reached from the city by a fine macadamized drive,
alongside of which is a walk, and on either side of both a row of shade
trees. This improvement was made during the year 1882 at a cost
of about $18,000. Upon the summit of the grade, at the east end of
the grounds and near one corner, is the tasty, two-story brick resi-
dence of the superintendent, and back of this building in the corner
are the stable and out-houses. (See Baxter Springs.)
Census. — The first census taken in Kansas was in accordance with
the provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, which stipulated that
"Previous to the first election, the governor shall cause a census or
enumeration of the inhabitants and qualified voters of the several coun-
ties and districts of the territory, to be taken by such persons, and in
such mode as the governor shall designate and appoint."
The enumeration taken under this provision was completed on the
last day of Feb., 1855, ^"d showed the total resident population of the
territory to be 8,501, of whom 2,905 were qualified voters; 151 were
free negroes; 192 were slaves, and 408 were persons of foreign birth.
It was under this census that Gov. Reeder divided the territory into
districts for the election of members of the first territorial legislature.
On Jan. 21, 1858, Gov. Denver approved an act of the legislature pro-
viding for a census to be taken in certain districts, viz: Oxford and
Shawnee townships in Johnson county ; Walnut township, Atchison
county ; and Tate and Potosi townships in Linn county. The act also
appointed commisioners to take the census. Each commissioner was
to receive $5 for his work, and w^as required "to visit every dwelling,
cabin, tent or building in which he can find inhabitants, and take the
name of each inhabitant, as provided in the first section, specifying the
date of his settlement." The act was passed by the free-state legisla-
ture to aid in the investigation of frauds committed at the election of
Jan. 4.
Section 26, Article 2, of the Wyandotte constitution provided that
(I-20)
3o6 CYCLOPEDIA Ol"
"The legislature shall provide for taking an enumeration of the inhab-
-itants of the state, at least once in ten years. The first enumeration
shall be taken in A. D. 1865."
Several enumerations were made in the year i860. On Feb. 7 a com-
mittee of the legislature reported the population as being 97,570. The
census made to and reported b)' Gov. Robinson showed a population
of 71,770. In June the marshal caused a census to be taken, which
showed a population of 143,643, and the official United States census
— the first ever taken in Kansas — gave the number of inhabitants as
107,206. The first state census, taken under the provisions of the Wyan-
dotte constitution mentioned above, was made in May, 1865, and showed
the population to be 140,179, of whom 127,270 were whites, 12,527
were negroes, and 382 were Indians.
During the first twenty years of statehood the growth of population
was rapid. In 1870 it was 364,399, an increase of nearly 250 per cent,
during the preceding decade, and in 1880 it was 996,096, an increase
of nearly 175 per cent, over 1870. Since then the increase has not been
so marked, yet Kansas has kept pace with her sister states. In 1890
the population was 1,427,096. This had increased to 1,470,495 in 1900,
and in 1910, the last United States census 3'ear, the population was
1,690,949.
Centennal Exposition. — (See Expositions.)
Center, a little inland hamlet in Chautauqua county, is located on
North Cheney' Creek about 10 miles north of Sedan, the county seat,
whence it receives mail daily by rural route. The nearest railroad
station is Rodgers on the Missouri Pacific, about 7 miles south. The
population, according to the report of 1910, was 38.
Centerville, a village of Linn county, is situated in the western por-
tion of the county on Sugar creek and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas
R. R. about 12 miles northwest of Mound City, the count)' seat. It
has a mone}' order postoiilice. express and telegraph offices, and is the
shipping and supply town for a considerable agricultural district. In
1910 the population was 175.
Central City, a village of Anderson county, is located on a branch
of Scipio creek, about 8 miles west of Garnett, the county seat, and
4 miles from Harris, on the Missouri Pacific, which is the nearest rail-
road station. The population was 57 in 1910. Mail is received from
Garnett by rural delivery.
Central College, located at Enterprise, Dickinson county, was
founded by six citizens of that city, who purchased the site and erected
a three-story stone building 65 by 75 feet, in which was opened '"Har-
rison Normal College." On July 10, 1891, the founders met with the
Central College Association, to which the property was transferred,
and the charter of Central College was filed on the i6th. The institu-
tion was conducted under the name of Central College until in 1896,
when it was turned over to the western conference of the German
Methodist church, and the name was changed to Enterprise Normal
Academy.
KANSAS HISTORY 3O7
Central Normal College, located at Great Bend, was first opened in
1888, with D. E. Sanders as president and William Stryker as principal.
Hazelrigg's History of Kansas, published in 1895, says the school then
enrolled 400 students. In 1898 the Central Normal College company
was organized and purchased the property, which originally cost some-
thing like $40,000, engaged a competent faculty, reorganized the institu-
tion with Porter Young as president, and broadened the scope of the
college. Under the new' management eight courses of study were intro-
duced, viz. : Preparatory, common school teachers', special science,
scientific, classical, pedagogical, oratorical and commercial. There is
also a special course in shorthand and typewriting.
Centralia, one of the important towns of Nemaha county, is located
10 miles southwest of Seneca, the county seat, on the Missouri Pacific
R. R. which runs through the southern part of the county east and
west. It is also on the Vermillion river. It has banking facilities, a
public library, a weekly newspaper (the Journal), telegraph and express
offices, and an international money order postoffice with four rural
routes. All the main lines of business activity are represented. The
population in 1910 was 665.
A settlement known as Centralia was made in 1859 a mile north of
the present town. J. W. Tuller erected a store in i860 and shorth-
afterward a school house, a drug store and a hotel were constructed.
These, with a law office and a blacksmith shop, comprised the town up
to 1867. When the railroad came through the site was moved. The
town company purchased 240 acres of land, half of which was given
to the railroad for building a depot. The first building erected was
a store by I. Stickel in 1867. Four other business buildings followed
before 1871. In 1873 a $7,000 mill was built by John Ingram. The
first school was taught in a frame building erected at a cost of $2,500,
J. S. Stamm being the teacher. The first marriage occurred in i860
between Albert Clark and Sara Mitchell. The town was incorporated
as a city of the third class in 1882 and the first election held the same
year.
Centropolis, one of the oldest settlements of Franklin county, is
situated on Eight Mile creek about 10 miles northwest of Ottawa, the
county seat, and 8 miles west of Norwood, the nearest railroad .station.
The first white settler on the town site was Perry Fuller, who estab-
lished a store in 1855, for trade with the Indians. The business pros-
pered and Mr. Fuller was the prime mover in the formation of the
Centropolis Town compan}- in 1856. The men who formed tiie (organ-
ization intended that it should not only be the seat of justice of the
county, but also aspired to have it the capital of Kansas Territory.
It was therefore named Centropolis at the suggestion of Joel K. Goodin,
a member of the association. A number of business houses and dwell-
ings were erected during 1856. The following year the town company
built a large sawmill, and during that year Centropolis reached the
height of its importance. The first school in the town was taught dur-
308 CYCLOPEDIA OF
ing the winter of 1855 by William Cator. The first school house was
used until 1877, when it was replaced by a good frame building with
a capacity of 80 scholars. The first newspaper in Franklin county,
excepting that issued by Jotham Meeker at the Indian mission, was
the Kansas Leader of Centropolis, which appeared in the spring of
1857. Centropolis prospered up to i860, but as no railroad reached the
town it never lived up to the great expectations of its founders. Today
it has several general stores, a money order postofifice, is the supply
town for a considerable district, and in 1910 had a population of 117.
Cess, a rural postofifice in the extreme southeast corner of Morton
county, is in Cimarron township about 25 miles from Richfield, the
county seat. Hooker, Okla., is the most convenient railroad station.
Chaffee, a small hamlet of Rush county, is located about 8 miles
northeast of Lacrosse, the county seat and most convenient railroad
station. Mail is received by rural delivery from the postofifice at Bison.
^ Chalk, a small hamlet in the extreme southwest corner of Wabaun-
see county, is about 17 miles south of Alma, the county seat, and 8
miles north of Comiskey on the Missouri Pacific, which is the nearest
railroad station. Mail is delivered to the people of Chalk from the
postoiBce at Eskridge.
Chalk Beds. — Not until the early '70s was the existence of chalk
known in the U. S. About that time, however, it became known in
scientific circles in Kansas that practically limitless beds of chalk occur
in the Cretaceous formations of this state, the discovery having been
made by the late Dr. Bunn, while a student at the Universit}' of Kansas.
These beds have been found in a number of Kansas counties, the
chalk once forming the bed of the Cretaceous ocean. Should a demand
ever arise for the article the supply would be practically unlimited. As
a rule this chalk is soft and fine grained. A large portion of it is slightly
tinged with yellow, from oxide of iron, while much is snowy white. It
also differs from the old world article, in that the Rhizopod shells, which
sometimes comprises nearly the entire makeup of the latter, are entirely
\\'anting in that found in the Kansas beds. The amount of impurities
in the Kansas chalk rarely amounts to more than 15 or 16 per cent.
In 1909, Charles H. Sternberg of Lawrence, an authority on the
Kansas chalk beds, issued a volume entitled "Life of a Fossil Hunter,"
in which the following description of conditions in one of the Kansas
chalk beds might be typical of others : "Both sides of my ravine are
bordered with cream-colored, or }'ellow, chalk, with blue below. Some-
times for hundreds of feet the rock is entirely denuded and cut into
lateral ravines, ridges, and mounds, or beautifully scultptured into tower
and obelisk. Sometimes it takes on the semblance of a ruined city,
with walls of tottering masonry, and only a near approach can convince
the eye that this is only another example of that mimicry in which
nature so frequently indulges. The chalk beds are entirely bare of vege-
tation, with the exception of a desert shrub that 'finds a foothold in the
rifted rock' and sends its roots down every crevice. . . . Sometimes I
KANSAS HISTORY 3O9
come upon gorges only two feet wide and fifty feet deep ; sometimes for
five miles or more the sides of the ravine will be only a few feet high."
These chalk beds are rich in specimens of extinct animal and plant
life and have yielded many of J:he world's finest specimens of the fauna
and flora of the Cretaceous period. The first thorough exploitation of
the beds was in 1876, when expeditions under Prof. Benjamin F. Mudge
and Mr. Sternberg went out, each procuring many rare specimens,
During subsequent years Mr. Sternberg has been an assiduous collector,
finding fossil remains of the mososaur, ram nosed tylosaur, giant Cre-
taceous fish, Cretaceous shark, giant sea tortoise, crinoids and fossil
leaves. The most of his specimens were obtained in the counties of
Logan and Gove, and many now enrich some of the world's most noted
museums, including- the British Museum of Natural History, London;
the Royal Museum of Munich; the Smithsonian Institution, Washing-
ton; American Museum of Natural History, New York; Carnegie
Museum, Pittsburg, Pa. ; University of Kansas, Lawrence, and other
institutions. (See also Geology and Paleontology.)
Chance, a small hamlet of Stockholm township, Wallace county, is
situated on a branch of Ladder creek, about 15 miles southwest of
Sharon Springs, the county seat and most convenient railroad station.
It has a money order postofifice and is a local trading center for the
neighborhood.
Chanute, the largest town in Neosho county and one of the most
important in southeastern Kansas, is located on the Neosho river in
Tioga township at the junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and
the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroads, 14 miles northwest of Erie, the
count}' seat. It is a gas, oil and manufacturing center, having the largest
oil and gas wells in the state located in the immediate vicinity. Some
of the industries are car repair shops, of which the monthly pay roll
exceeds $40,000, brick and tile works, cement plants, zinc smelter, glass
factories, flour mills, oil refinery, planing mill, gas engine works, boiler
works, egg case factory, machine shops, broom factories, torpedo manu-
factory, an ice plant, drilling tool factory and lime plant. Chanute has
an electric light plant, city waterworks, good fire and police depart-
ments, an opera house, 4 banks, 4 newspapers, fine church buildings and
excellent schools. Several oil and gas companies have their head-
quarters at this point. There are express and telegraph offices and an
international money order postofifice with six rural routes. The popu-
lation in 1910 was 9,272.
In 1870 when the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston R. R. (now
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe) crossed the Missouri, Kansas and
Texas line within the limits of Neosho county four rival towns sprang
up, in the vicinity of the junction. They were New Chicago, Chicago
Junction, Alliance and Tioga. Two years of the most bitter animosity
ensued until the four were consolidated in 1872, and the name of
Chanute given it in honor of Octavius Chanute, a railroad civil engi-
neer. The business buildings of the other three towns were all moved
3IO CYCLOPEDIA OF
to New Chicago and this location forms the business section of Chanute
at the present time. At the time of the consolidation the combined
population was 800. The next year the town was incorporated as a
city of the third class. New Chicago, which was the largest of the four,
had been organized as a town in 1870 and incorporated as a city of \ht
third class in 1871, with C. A. Dunakin as mayor. The New Chicago
postoffice was established in 1870 with a Mr. Moore postmaster. The
first school house in the vicinity was a large, expensive building located
in the south end of New Chicago. A bridge was built over the Neosho
about 1871, which the citizens of New Chicago managed to have placed
in a position to their own advantage.
In 1883 the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. extended its line
from Chanute to Pittsburg, thus connecting the town with cheap fuel.
This was followed by a general growth in business and population. A
particular boom was experienced by the discovery of oil and gas. The
Standard Oil companj- in 1897 built a pipe line from Benedict, 17 miles
away, at a cost of $37,000. which was afterward purchased by the city
of Chanute for $65,000. From this line the city derives considerable
revenue.
The first newspaper established in Chanute after the consolidation
was the Chanute Democrat which was started in 1879 by Bowen &
Hite. There were two papers before the consolidation, the New Chicago
Transcript, established in Sept., 1870, by George C. Crowther, and the
New Chicago Times, established in 1872 by A. L. Rivers, the name being
later changed to Chanute Times.
Chaplin, an inland hamlet of Elk county, is located about 8 miles
southwest of Howard, the county seat, whence it receives its mail daily
by rural route. The nearest railroad station is Grenola, about 6 miles
south on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. The population in 1910
was 36.
Chapman, an incorporated city of Dickinson county, is located on the
Smoky Hill river, just above the mouth of Chapman creek, and is a
station on the Union Pacific R. R. 11 miles east of Abilene, the county
seat. The first settlement was made at Chapman in 1868, and the same
year Jackman's mill was built on Chapman creek a little northeast of
the present town. James Streeter and S. M. Strickler laid out the town
in 1871 and the growth has been steady from that time to the present.
Chapman has 2 banks, a weekly newspaper (the Advertiser), a flour
mill, some well stocked mercantile establishments, churches of the lead-
ing denominations, an international money order postoffice with four
rural routes, express and telegraph offices, telephone connections, a fine
public school system and the county high school. It is the most import-
ant shipping point between Abilene and Junction Cit}', and in iQio
reported a population of 781.
Chardon, a rural'money order postofiice of Rawlins county, is located
in Clinton township, between two branches of Sappa creek and about 12
miles south of Atwood, the county seat. It is a trading point for that
section of the county.
KANSAS HISTORY 3II
Charities and Corrections. — The tendency of modern government is
to concentrate power and responsibility into fewer hands. Prior to
1873 each of the Kansas benevolent institutions had its own board of
trustees, but by the act of March 13, 1873, the blind, deaf and dumb and
insane asylums were all placed under the control of one board of six
trustees. The legislature of 1876 created a "State Board of Charities
and Corrections," to consist of five persons to be appointed by the
governor, and placed under the control of this board the same institu-
tions as were formerly controlled by the act of 1873.
The first board of charities and corrections, appointed by Gov. Osborn
in 1876, consisted of John T. Lanter, J- P- Bauserman, W. B. Slosson,
John H. Smith and Thomas T. Taylor, any three of whom were to con-
stitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
By the act of Feb. 27, 1901, the state insane hospitals, the feeble
minded school, the asylum of the deaf and dumb, the school for the
blind, the soldiers' orphans home and the girls' and boys' industrial
schools were placed under the control of the board, which in 1905 was
superseded by the Board of Control (q. v.).
Charleston, a village of Gray county, is a station on the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 13 miles west of Cimarron, the county seat.
It has a money order postofifice, does some shipping, and is a trading
point for that section of the county.
Charlotte, a discontinued postoffice of Sherman county, is located on
Beaver creek about 10 miles north of Goodland, the county seat, from
which place the people receive mail by rural delivery.
Chase, one of the principal towns of Rice county, is a station on the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 8 miles west of Lyons, the county
seat. It has a bank, a money order postoffice with one rural route,
express and telegraph offices, telephone connections, a weekly newspaper
(the Register), a hotel, some good mercantile establishments, churches
of the leading denominations, and a graded public school. Chase was
incorporated in 1902, and in 1910 reported a population of 263.
Chase County, 01-ganized in 1859 and named for Salmon P. Chase,
chief justice of the United States supreme court, is located 50 miles
south of the Kansas river and 100 miles west of Missouri. It is
bounded on the north by Morris county ; on the east by Lyon and
Greenwood : on the south by Greenwood and Butler, and on the west
by Marion. The earliest settlement was made in 1854, when Seth
Hayes, an Indian trader at Council Grove located a cattle ranch on
the Cottonwood river, near the mouth of Diamond Spring creek. Two
years later Nathan Corey, Daniel Holsinger and Gabriel Jacobs located
in the eastern part of the county. Among those who came in 1857
were: Dr. M. R. Leonard, B. McCabe, J. Lane, M. Coyne, A. Howell,
C. T. Hegwer, William Osmer, William Dixon, Walter Watson, A.
B. Wentworth, Milton Ford, James Fisher, and several families from
Illinois. The first marriage was in 1857, between a Mr. Pine and Jane
Wentworth. The firfet school house was erected in Bazaar township
312 CYCLOPEDIA OF
in i860, the schools previous to that time having been taught in private
houses. The first birth was that of George Holsinger in 1857. The
first postofhce was located in Bazaar township in i860, with George
Leonard as postmaster. The first death was that of Mrs. M. R. Leon-
ard in 1859. The Fratchet grocery store, established in 1859 in Cot-
tonwood township, was the first business enterprise in the county.
There were 549 people in the county when it was organized by act
of the legislature in 1859. It was formed out of territory taken frorii
Butler and Wise (Morris) counties. Three townships — Falls, Bazaar
and Cottonwood — were formed, and voting places fixed. The first
election was held on March 26 and resulted as follows : M. R. Leonard,
probate judge ; A. W. Smith, sheriiT ; Sidney A. Breese, register of
deeds; R. C. Farnsworth, superintendent of public instruction; J. F. R.
Leonard, surveyor; J. W. Hawkins, coroner; C. S. Hill, clerk of the
board of supervisors ; Samuel N. Wood, Augustus Howell and Barnard
McCabe, supervisors. There were 72 votes polled. Chase county was
located in the Fifth judicial district and for some time court was held
in the Congregational church at Cottonwood Falls. Unlike many of
the counties, Chase lived within her means and did not vote bonds in
extravagant amounts or build expensive public buildings which she
could not afiford. The first court-house was a log building, which was
bought in 1863 from George W. Williams for $175. In 1871 $40,000
were voted for public buildings, and two years later the present court-
house was completed at a cost of $42,600. The square in which it stands
was donated by the city. The first county officers served without pay.
The first assessment was made in 1859 and the total valuation of prop-
erty was $71,536. Lodges, churches and societies of diffeient kinds
were organized early in the history of the county.
When the war began in 1861, out of the 262 voters of Chase county,
^2 enlisted at once. Samuel N. Wood was made captain of Company
I, Second Kansas infantry. He was made brigadier-general of the
state militia in 1864, and a number of other Chase county men achieved
distinction in the war for the preservation of the Union.
The first railroad was the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, built some
time in the early '70s. It enters the county from the east, about 8 miles
below the north line, runs west to Strong City and Cottonwood Falls,
thence southwest through Elmdale and Clements and on into Marion
county. There is a branch of the same line operating between Strong
City and Abilene which runs northwest from Strong City and leaves
the county near the northwest corner. A branch line connects Cotton-
wood Falls with Bazaar, a few miles to the south.
The county is divided into 8 townships : Bazaar, Cedar, Cottonwood,
Diamond Creek, Falls, Matfield, Strong and Toledo. There are 11 post-
offices as follows: Cottonwood Falls, the county seat; Bazaar, Cedar
Point, Clements, Elk, Elmdale, Homestead, Hymer, Matfield Green.
Saflfordville, and Strong City.
In surface the county is somewhat broken and hilly, especially in the
KANSAS HISTORY 3I3
southern portion, while in the north are gently rolling slopes. In some
places along the streams the slopes terminate in abrupt bluffs. The
Cottonwood river is the principal stream and with its numerous tribu-
taries forms the water system of the county. It enters the county from
the west about 12 miles from the southern line, flows northeast to
Cottonwood Falls and thence east into Lyon county. Some of the im-
portant creeks are Diamond, Fox and Middle creeks on the north, and
Fork and Cedar on the south. The river bottoms average over 2 miles
in width, those on the creeks three-fourths of a mile and together com-
prise about one-eighth of the total area. The timber belts along the
streams average less than half a mile in width and contain the following
varieties of wood : walnut, cottonwood, btirr-oak, sycamore, ash, hickory,
hackberry, box-elder, redbud and buckeye. Limestone of an excellent
quality and material for building-brick is found in abundance.
Chase is strictly an agricultural and stock raising county. Grazing
lands are plentiful. The total value of farm products in 1910 was nearly
$3,000,000, of which live stock sold for slaughter amounted to $1,500,000,
and corn, the largest field crop, brought $500,000. Tame grasses
amounted to $250,000. There are 100,000 fruit trees of bearing age.
The population of the county according to the census of 1910 was
7,527. The assessed valuation of property that year was over $18,000,000,
which makes the wealth per capita nearly $2,500.
Chattel Mortgages. — Every mortgage or conveyance intended to
operate as a lien upon personal property, which is not accompanied by
immediate delivery, followed by an actual and continued possession of
the property mortgaged, is absolutely void as against the creditors of
the mortgagor, and as against subsequent purchasers or mortgagees in
good faith, unless the mortgage or a true copy thereof be forthwith de-
posited in the office of the register of deeds in the county where the
property is situated, or if the mortgagor be a resident of some other
county of this state, then of the county of which he is a resident. As
between the original parties, any personal property that may be sold
may be mortgaged, for the mortgage is at least a contract or an assign-
ment. The description of the property in the mortgage must be suffi-
ciently definite to enable third persons to identify it. If the mortgagor
reserves the right of possession, the mortgagee cannot replevy or other-
wise take possession before conditions are broken. After conditions
are broken, the mortgagee may take possession or obtain it by replevin,
but possession, however obtained, whether by replevin or consent, or
under a stipulation in the mortgage, does not give the mortgagee an
absolute ownership, though he may sell the property on reasonable
notice to the mortgagor, but must account for the surplus after his debt
is paid. The remedy for conditions broken is like foreclosure of real
estate mortgages and cuts ofif all equities of redemption, for it is an
enforcement of the terms of the mortgage.
Every mortgage filed is void as against the creditors of the person
making the same, or against subsequent purchasers or mortgagees in
314 CYCLOPEDIA OF
good faith, after the expiration of two years from the filing thereof, un-
less, within 30 da3's next preceding the expiration of the term of two
years from such filing and each two years thereafter, the mortgagee, his
agent or attorney, makes an affidavit exhibiting the interest of the mort-
gagee in the property at the time last aforesaid, claimed by virtue of
such mortgage, and, if said mortgage is to secure the payment of money,
the amount yet due and unpaid. Such affidavit shall be attached to and
filed with the instrument or copy on file to which it relates. If such affi-
davit is made and filed before any purchase of such mortgaged property
is made, or other mortgage deposited, or lien obtained thereon in good
faith, it is valid to continue in effect such mortgage as if the same had
been made and filed within the period provided. A copy of any such
original instrument, or any copy thereof so filed, including any affidavit
made in pursuance of the statute, certified by the register in whose office
the same is filed, will be received in evidence, but only of the fact that
such instrument or copy and such affidavit was received and filed accord-
ing to the indorsement of the register thereon. When the mortgage is
paid or satisfied due entr)- must be made of that fact on the record.
Chautauqua, one of the incorporated towns of Chautauqua county, is
a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. in Belleville town-
ship, in the southern part of the county, 7 miles from Sedan, the judicial
seat. It has a bank, a grist mill, a weekly newspaper (the Globe), ex-
press and telegraph offices, and a money order postoffice. It is the ship-
ping point for a large agricultural area. The population in 1910 accord-
ing to the census report was 348. The chief incentive for founding a
town at this point was the mineral springs. The landscape is interesting
and picturesque, and the springs are said to have great curative proper-
ties. The town was located in 1881, and by the next year there were 300
inhabitants. The first newspaper, the Chautauqua Springs Spy, was
established in 1882 by C. E. Moore and L. G. R. :McPherson. It had .:!5d
subscribers. Some of the early business men who came in during the
first two years were: B. F. Bennett, drugs; T. J. Johnson, drygoods ;
F. M. Fairbanks, livery barn; Thomas Br3^ant, drygoods; Bennett &
Binns, grocery store ; George Edwards, drugs ; Richard Foster, hard-
ware ; C. C. Purcell, drugs ; James Randall, grocery store ; Mrs. Bush,
millinery ; James Allreid, who owned a saw mill ; Castleberry, the hotel
man. and six others who established livery barns, blacksmith shims and
wagon shops.- The school district was organized in 1880.
The original town site consisted in 80 acres, belonging to Dr. G. W.
Woolsey and Dr. T. J. Dunn, to which additions were made by J. C.
Kvles and Binns & Bennett. Chautauqua was incorporated as a city
of the third class in 1882 and the following officers were chosen at the
first election : mayor, Thomas Bryant ; clerk, S. Booth ; treasurer, I. H.
Wilson ; marshal, B. F. Atkinson ; councilmen, O. F. Shoupp, N. M. Lee.
F. A. Fairbanks. E. Moore and S. Cheney.
Chautauqua County, formerly the southern half of Howard county, is
located in the southern tier of counties and is the fourth west from the
KANSAS HISTORY 315
Missouri line. It is bounded on the north by Elk county, on the east by
Montgomery county, on the south by the State of Oklahoma, and on
the west by Cowley county.
Chautauqua county was not settled until after the war, the first white
man to occupy land being Richard Slater, who took a claim in Salt creek
valley, Salt Creek township, in 1868. Although the land still belonged
to the Osage Indians and was not open to settlement until 1870, a num-
ber of people made homes in the vicinity before that time. Among these
pioneers were William Bowcher, in Lafayette township : O. Hanson,
Harrison township ; H. S. Halliday, Sedan township ; Alexander Shaw-
ver, Caneyville township ; George M. Ross, Summit township ; John' W.
Morris and John Sutton, in Belleville township, all of whom came in
1869. By the time the county was organized in 1875, the population was
over 7,000. The first marriage was between Ebenezer Horton and
Martha Starks of Salt Creek township in 1869, the first birth was that
of Abigail Slater in the same year, in the same township. Elgin in Hen-
dricks township was the first town.
The incorporation of Chautauqua county was provided for b}' act of
the legislature, to take effect June i, 1875, and Sedan was designated as
the county seat. When the day arrived M. B. Light, clerk of Chautau-
qua county, moved to the place appointed, while the other officers were
retained at Elk Falls until the constitutionality of the division could be
tested in the courts. The court upheld the division and the necessary
changes were made, thus bringing to a close a bitter and expensive
county seat war, which was hindering development. The debt of How-
ard county, most of which was incurred in useless county seat elections,
was divided equally between the two new counties. The debt of Chau-
tauqua count}^ at the beginning was therefore $30,000. In order to
avoid new county seat troubles Sedan ofifered to build a court-house and
donate it to the county in consideration that the county seat remain
there. The building was put up by private donations and its construc-
tion was fraught with the greatest difficulties on account of the unset-
tled condition of the location of the county seat. The construction was
under the management of H. B. Kelly, who was the proprietor of the
paper. The walls and roof were built at a cost of $4,000 and turned over
to the county. This proved satisfactory and Sedan became the perma-
nent' county seat. A jail was built in 1877.
The first school building was erected in 1870 at Elgin. A number
of others were erected in 1872 in different parts of the county. In 1880
the school population was over 2,000, and in 1881 the money raised by
taxation for school purposes was over $71,000. The school population
in 1882 was double that of 1880, and the valuation of school property
had increased from $4,500 to $52,200. There were three graded schools
in the county at that time. At present all the schools are graded. The-
school population is 4,000, the number of districts 93, all of which are
supplied with good substantial buildings, in most cases brick or stone.
The county is divided into 12 civil townships, viz : Belleville, Caney-
3l6 CYCLOPEDIA OF
ville, Center, Harrison, Hendricks, Jefferson, Lafayette, Little Caney,
Salt Creek, Sedan, Summit and Washington. The towns and villages
number more than a score, the principal ones being Sedan, the county
seat, Brownsville, Cedar Vale, Center, Chautauqua, Cloverdale, Colfax,
Elgin, Farmersburg, Grafton, Hale, Hewins, Jonesburg, Leeds, Lowe,
Monett, Xiotaze, Peru, Rogers, Sedan, Spring Creek and Wauneta.
There are two lines of railroads in the county, the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe, and the Missouri Pacific. The former, a branch diverging
from the main line at Cherryvale in Montgomery county, enters the
county on the east and traverses the southern portion, the line terminat-
ing at Cedar Vale on the western border. The Missouri Pacific crosses
from east to west a few miles south of the center. This company oper-
ates a line which enters the county in the northeast corner and con-
nects with the first at Peru Junction. The total railroad mileage
is 94.
The surface of the county is level in the northern part and hilly toward
the south. Bottom lands along the creek beds average a mile in width
on the larger streams and one-fourth of a mile on the small streams,
and comprise one-fourth of the total area. The streams are numerous
with the watersheds bearing toward the south. The three important
branches of Caney creek — Big Caney, Middle Caney and North Caney —
are the larger streams. Salt and Bee creeks in the northeastern portion
are next in importance. These streams are belted with thin strips of
timber native to Kansas soil.
Among the natural products of the county are sandstone of excellent
quality for paving and building, limestone from which an excellent
quality of lime is produced, and marble which takes a high polish is
found in the hills about Sedan. There are a number of gas wells from
which all the important towns are lighted and heated. Coal has been
found along the streams. This is one of the leading oil producing coun-
ties of the state, thousands of barrels of oil being carried out daily by
the pipe lines.
There are over 416,000 acres of land in the county, of which 250,000
are under cultivation. The value of farm products in 1910 was nearly
$1,500,000, of which Indian corn amounted to $167,000 and Kafir corn
to a similar figure. The field crops furnished about half the total income
and barnyard products about half.
The assessed valuation of all property was $13,930,000 in 1910. The
population in the same year was 11,429.
Chautauqua Springs are situated in a little valley south of the village
of Chautauqua Springs, Chautauqua county, and the waters have more
than a local reputation on account of their freedom from salts of lime
and magnesium. An analysis of these waters show them to contain so-
dium bicarbonate, calcium bicarbonate, calcium sulphate, magnesium
bicarbonate, iron bicarbonate and silica.
Chavez, Antonio Jose, was a Mexican merchant engaged in trade be-
tween Santa Fe and the United States. In Feb., 1843, he left Santa Fe
KANSAS HISTORY 317
with 5 servants, 2 wagons, 55 mules, some $10,000 or $12,000 in specie
and gold bullion, and a small lot of furs. Owing to the early season, the
Santa Fe trail was in bad condition and he was compelled to abandon
one of his wagons. About April 10, while encamped on the Little Arkan-
sas river, near the boundary between Rice and McPherson counties,
he was robbed by 15 men claiming to be Texan troops, under the com-
mand of John McDaniel. After the booty was divided — amounting to
some $400 or $500 each — the party separated, part of the men starting
back to the settlements. Those who remained behind killed Chavez
and found a considerable sum in gold concealed on his person and about
the wagon. His body and all his effects were thrown into a ravine, the
plunder packed on some of Chavez's mules and the party then set out for
the States. A posse of citizens from Jackson county, Mo., led by George
Buchanon, sheriff" of the county, met the gang near Council Grove and
captured several of the men. As the crime was not committed in Mis-
souri the malefactors were turned over to the Federal authorities. In
the trial which ensued three of the men were found guilty of murder
and hanged, and the others were sentenced to various terms of impris-
onment.
Chelsea, a hamlet of Butler county, is on a branch of the Walnut river
about 8 miles northeast of Eldorado, the county seat, from which place
mail is received by rural delivery.
Cheney, an incorporated city of the third class in Sedgwick county,
is located in Morton township, 26 miles west of Wichita, and is a station
on the Wichita & Pratt division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
R. R. It has 2 banks, a grain elevator, a weekly newspaper (the
Sentinel), hotels, mercantile houses, good public schools, etc. The popu-
lation in 1910 was 734. From its international money order postoffice
three rural routes emanate, supplying daily mail to a large number of
inhabitants of the Ninnescah valle)'. It has express, telegraph and
telephone facilities, and is probably the most important shipping point
on that division of the Sante Fe, with the exception of Kingman.
Chepstow, a little hamlet of Washington county, with a population of
25 in 1910, is situated in the Coon creek valley, about 16 miles south-
east of Washington, the county seat. Mail is received by rural deliver}-
from the Greenleaf postoffice. Barnes, on the Missouri Pacific, is the
nearest railroad station.
Cherokee, one of the principal incorporated cities of Crawford county,
is located near the southern boundary, at the junction of the St. Louis
& San Francisco and the Missouri Pacific railroads, 12 miles south of
Girard, the county seat. When the Kansas City, T"ort Scott & Gulf
R. R. was under construction, supply camps and boarding "shanties"
were established at suitable places along the line for the accommodation
of the workmen. A building of this nature was erected by William
Sharp on the site of Cherokee early in the year 1870, which was the be-
ginning of the present city. The land had been entered by John G.
Knox and John J. Hoke, but it was donated to the railroad company,
3l8 CYCLOPEDIA OF
which in April, 1870, laid out the town and began selling lots. A
school house was erected the following year, and in ]SIay, 1874, W. K.
Goode removed his newspaper outfit from Girard and began the publica-
tion of the Cherokee Pharos, which was the firs.t newspaper.
The Cherokee of the present day is one of the busy cities of south-
eastern Kansas. It has two national banks, flour mills, grain elevators,
an ice plant, a broom factory, a telephone exchange, good hotels, churches
of the principal denominations, a graded school system, telegraph and
express offices, a number of first class mercantile establishments, and a
weekly newspaper (the Sentinel). The postoffice at Cherokee issues
international money orders, and from it emanate two rural delivery
routes which supply a large district with daily mail. Sheridan town-
ship, in which the city is situated, is one of the finest agricultural regions
in that section of the state, and Cherokee is the shipping point for large
quantities of grain and live stock. Coal of fine quality is extensively
mined near the city. According to the U. S. census for 1910, the popu-
lation was 1,452.
Cherokee County, located in the extreme southeastern part of the
state, was created by the first territorial legislature and named McGee,
but as Mabillon W. McGee, for whom it was named, was a pro-slavery
man, the free-state legislature of i860 changed the name to Cherokee in
honor of the Cherokee Indians. At the present time the county is
bounded on the north by CraAvford county ; on the east by the State of
Missouri; on the south by the State of Oklahoma, and on the west by
Labette county. It has an area of 589 square miles.
The general surface of the country is undulating prairie, considerably
cut up by shallow draws. A water-shed extends through the county
from north to south dividing it into two nearly equal parts. The eastern
half is drained by Spring river and its tributaries, the most important of
which are Cow, Shawnee and Brush creeks, and the western portion is
drained by the Neosho river and its tributaries, the largest of which are
Lightning, Cherry, Fly and Four Mile creeks.
The county is divided into the following townships : Cherokee, Craw-
ford, Garden, Lola, Lowell, Lyon, Mineral, Neosho, Pleasant View,
Ross, Salamanca, Shawnee, Sheridan and Spring Valley. The valleys
of the streams vary from a half-mile to a mile in width and in the aggre-
gate comprise about a quarter of the area. The soil is of a dark vege-
table mould underlaid by a reddish brown clay subsoil and is ver}- fertile.
Corn, winter wheat and oats are the principal crops, but the county
ranks high in horticulture, having about 300,000 fruit trees of bearing
age, more than 250,000 of which are apple. Limestone is plentiful and
is found in nearly all of the ravines. Sandstone is found west of Spring
river near the tops of the high ridges, and both kinds of stone are exten-
sively quarried for local use. An abundance of potter's clay is found in
many parts of the county, which is used in the manufacture of brick and
retorts of zinc smelters. Coal of an excellent quality underlies a large
portion of the county, is extensively mined both for local demand, and
KANSAS HISTORY 3I9
immense quantities are exported to different parts of the state. Cher-
okee is the second largest coal producing county in Kansas. The south-
eastern part of the county lies practically in the heart of one of the rich-
est and most productive lead and zinc regions in the United States and
the output of this district amounts to several million dollars a year.
Previous to 1825 the land now embraced within the boundaries of
Cherokee county belonged to the Osage Indians. By a treat)' made that
year they ceded their lands in Arkansas, Missouri and those lying be-
tween Texas and the Kansas river, except a strip 50 miles wide, and
running as far west as the Osages had formerly claimed, and between
this strip and the state of Missouri a tract where neither Indians nor
white settlers were allowed to remain. In 1835 a treaty was concluded
between the government by which the Cherokees were granted this
neutral land and the strip subsequently became known as the "Neutral
Lands'' (q. v.), which were opened to settlement under the provisions
of the treaty of 1868.
As early as 1820 a Presbyterian mission was established on the Marais
des Cygnes river and another a few miles south on the Neosho, the mis-
sionaries being the first whites in the locality. The first settlers came
to Cherokee county from Georgia in 1835. They were quarter-breeds
and members of the Cherokee tribe. David M. Harlan, Richard Fields,
George Fields, John Rogers and Dennis Wolf, who had trouble with the
tribal officers in the Indian Territory and withdrew from the tribe, came
to the strip to settle. John Rogers located where Lowell now stands;
the Field brothers and Wolf, farther north, in what is now Garden town-
ship. A Baxter, for whom the town of Baxter Springs was named, had
a claim there about 1858. Another man, named Commons, located about
3 miles northeast of Baxter. A fight occurred between the two men
over Commons' claim and Baxter and his son-in-law were killed. Their
families moved away and were not heard of again. In 1858 a few whites
moved in, but the next year, by solicitation of the Indians, President
Buchanan ordered them off and they were forced to leave by L'nited
States troops under Capt. Sturgis, and their houses burned.
In the summer of 1868, the first school house was erected at Wirtonia.
It was built by subscription by the settlers but later became the property
of district number 32. The first white child was born in Cherokee county
as early as 1840, in what is now Garden township, and was a member
of the Harlan family who lived there for a time. The first marriage
license in the count}' was issued to Clark Johnson and Vienna Young,
who were married on Nov. 6, 1867, but the first marriage occurred on
Dec. 5. 1866, when John N. Burton married Mary AVilson. Ou Oct. 20,
1869, the first session of the Cherokee county teachers' institute was
held, and on Nov. 20, 1869, the Cherokee county agricultural and horti-
cultural society was organized at Brush Creek school house. Spring
Valley township, which shows the attention paid to agricultural pur-
suits at this early day. C. W. Willey was elected president ; H. C.
Vetch, vice-president; J. Wallace, secretary; and B. L. Devore, treas-
320 CYCLOPEDIA OF
urer. and the first fair was held the next year. This association has
become one of the well recognized institutions of the county.
Religious services were held in the county at an early day, as the set-
tlers gathered at some convenient cabin for the purpose in different
townships. The Methodists had several circuit riders in the county as
early as 1867, and the first church was organized by C. C. McDowell at
his house in Shawnee township the same 3"ear. Other denominations
followed and churches were erected at Baxter and Columbus, where the
Baptist church was organized in 1870. The following year the Presby-
terians perfected an organization, since which time nearly every denomi-
nation has established a church.
Immigration into the county was rapid during the decade from 1865
to 1875 and it was estimated that by the latter year the county had a
population of nearly 13,000, most of the settlers having come from Illi-
nois and Indiana, with a few from New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Before the war there were but two settlements — one at the crossing of
the military road over Shawnee creek, and the other on the "mound"
on the west side of Spring river. Both were trading posts but were
demolished during the war. Baxter Springs (q. v.) claims the honor
of being the oldest permanent settlement in the county. John Appleby
located at Columbus in 1868, and was probably the first actual settler in
the town. He was followed by Judge Fry, who built a house and
opened a hotel.
By the act of creation in 1855 Cherokee county was attached to Bour-
bon county for all military and civil purposes. On Aug. 3, 1866, the
governor appointed A. V. Peters, Reese Caldwalder and J. W. Wallace,
special commissioners and Julius C. Petit special clerk for the purpose
of organizing the county, and designated Pleasant View as the tem-
porary county seat. It was located about 10 miles northeast of the
present city of Columbus. An election was held on Nov. 6, 1866. when
the following officers were elected : Representative, D. C. Finn ; county
commissioners, J. W. Wallace, U. G. Ragsdell and B. F. Norton; county
clerk, William Little ; probate judge, D. C. Finn ; clerk of the district
court, F. M. Logan; sherifl^, H. B. Brown; register of deeds, F. M.
Logan ; surveyor, C. W. Jewell ; county attorney, J. A. Smith ; treas-
urer, D. Callahan ; county superintendent, Sidney S. Smith ; coroner, J.
Miller. At the general election on Nov. 5, 1867, the location of the
county seat was submitted to a vote of the people. Columbus — then
known as Cherokee Center — and Baxter Springs were the contestants.
Baxter Springs received 136 votes and Cherokee Center 3. The com-
missioners held their last meeting at Pleasant View April 10, 1868, and
the first at Baxter Springs on April 14. The new location of the seat
of justice did not suit the people, and the commissioners were petitioned
to call another election, which was ordered for May 12, 1868, when the
vote resulted as follows : Baxter Springs, 600 ; geographical center of
the county, 639; Cherokee Center, i ; the center, 95. As no place received
a majority another election was held on May 26, when Baxter Springs
KANSAS HISTORY 321
received 965 ; geographical center, 920. By this vote Baxter remained
the county seat, but the people were still dissatisfied and on Feb. 17,
1869, another election was called to settle the matter. It was believed
that if a fair election could be held the geographical center of the county
would be chosen, for that location was supported by every precinct in
the county. Eventually Columbus was chosen, but it was suspected that
both the supporters of Baxter Springs and Columbus had practiced fraud
with regard to the ballots. The county records were at once transferred
to Columbus and established in a room of a house on the south side of
the public square, where they remained until a temporary court-house
was erected in the spring of 1871 on the northeast corner of the public
square at a cost of $1,500. The new court-house was finished in 1889 at
a cost of $70,000, and is one of the finest buildings of its kind in the
state.
The first newspaper established in the county was the Baxter Springs
Herald. It was owned and edited by B. R. and N. J. Evans, but they
had only a meager support in their enterprise. The Cherokee Sentinel,
the second paper in the county, appeared at Baxter Springs in Oct.,
1868, edited by M. W. Coulter and D. E. Holbrook. The Columbus Inde-
pendent was started on Sept. i, 1870, by A. T. and W. J. Lea.
Cherokee county is the richest county in Kansas in mineral resources.
The existence of lead and zinc ores was known to the Indians long before
white settlement began. In 1872, zinc was discovered in what is now
Garden township, and evidences of it were noted near Baxter Springs,
but until 1876 it was not known that the ore existed in sufficient quan-
tities to be of commercial value. In the spring of 1877 John Shoe and
John McAllen, two miners from Joplin, Mo., made some examinations
on Short creek and obtained permission from a man named Nicholls to
sink a shaft on his land. At a depth of 15 feet they discovered a rich
deposit of mineral. The land was bought by the West Joplin Zinc com-
pany for $1,000 and the land near was laid out as Empire City. A Ger-
man named Moll owned 160 acres of land where the town of Galena now
stands. Lead was discovered there in the spring of 1877. Other rich
deposits were located during the spring and summer, and people flocked
to the locality so rapidly that on June 19, 1877, Galena was incorporated.
The first coal shaft in the county was sunk at Scammon in 1877. It was
owned and operated by the Scammon brothers and was the first coal
shaft opened in Kansas south of the Leavenworth district. Since then
various companies have entered the field and opened mines, so that today
Cherokee county ranks second in production and value of coal.
Late in 1869 the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf railroad was com-
pleted to Fort Scott, and from there it was pushed southward toward
Columbus, being completed to that point on April 8, 1870. A branch
of the same road was finished to Baxter Springs that year, and later it
was extended to Galena. In 1872, the St. Louis & San Francisco railroad
was extended through Cherokee county, and a narrow gauge road was
built from Weir City in the northern part of the county to Messer, but
(I-21)
it was later abandoned. In the fall of 1876, the St. Louis & San Fran-
cisco was completed to Columbus. In 1886-87 the Nevada & jNIinden
railroad (later absorbed by the Missouri Pacific) was built through the
county from the center of the northern boundary to the southwest
corner, and in 1894, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas extended a branch
from the main line at Parsons to Mineral City. In 1901 this branch was
completed through Columbus and Galena to Joplin, Mo., so that today
excellent transportation facilities are afforded by a perfect network of
railroads composed of the main and branch lines of these system.s.
The population of the county in 1910 was 38,162. Although the
county isVich in mineral resources, agriculture is an important industry.
The value of farm products for 1910 was $2,397,988. The five principal
crops, in the order of value, were: corn. $720,709; wheat, $498,381 ; hay.
$289,125; oats, 262,828; Irish potatoes, $59,Soo. The value of animals
slaughtered or sold for slaughter during the year was $251,914, and the
value of the dairy products was $152,050.
Cherokee Strip. — The tract of land known as the "Cherokee Strip," or
more properly speaking the Cherokee Outlet, lies just south of the
southern boundary of Kansas. It is 57 miles wide from north to south,
and extends from the Arkansas river on the east to the Texas panhandle
on the west. While it was in possession of the Indians its beauty and
fertility were so widely advertised that many thought it a veritable
paradise. Consequentl}' several eft'orts were made to have the strip
opened for settlement, but without avail. About 1885 ^ railroad com-
pany began the construction of a line from Arkansas City, Kan., toward
Fort \\'orth, Tex., the sur\ey passing through the Cherokee Strip. The
Indians ajjpealed to the courts for an injunction, but in the case oi the
Cherokee Nation vs. the Southern Kansas Railway it was decided that
the United States had the power to exercise the right of eminent do-
main over Indian lands, and the railroad went through. This did not
please the Indians, and in 1892 the strip was sold to the I'nited States.
It was opened to white settlers on Sept. 16, 1893.
In the southern part of Kansas is another tract of land once known
as the Cherokee Strip, or at least it was frequently called by that name.
It was ordered to be sold to white settlers by the act of Congress, ap-
proved May II, 1872. (See Neutral Lands.)
Cherryvale, one of the four important towns of Montgomery county,
is located near the east line, 12 miles northeast of Independence, the
county seat. It is a railroad center, being the point where the main line
■of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. diverges, one line running
south and the other southwest, and where the St. Louis & San Francisco
diverges both lines running eastward. Cherryvale is a manufacturing
town. It has a large zinc smelter which handles most of the zinc that
comes from the world famous Joplin-Galena district, 6 brick and tile
plants, iron works, glass plant, implement factory, oil refinery, foundry,
machine shops, shovel factory, grain elevators, flour mills, planing mills,
creamery, ice and cold storage plant, etc. The city also has 2 daily
KANSAS HISTORY 323
and weekly newspapers (the Republican and the Journal), a well
equipped fire department, an electric light and power plant, churches,
lodges and schools, and good banking facilities. Cherryvale is con-
nected with Independence and with Coffe^'ville by an electric interurban
railway. It is supplied with telegraph and express offices and has an
international money order postoffice with 6 rural routes. The popula-
tion in 1910 was 4,304.
The town was laid out in 1871 by the Kansas City, Lawrence & South-
ern Kansas Railway company. The first building was the Grand Hotel
erected by a Mr. Darr. The first store was opened by C. A. Clotfelter and
J. P. Baldwin. A number of business enterprises had been established
by 1873, when the town was swept by fire. The buildings were later
replaced b}- brick structures, but the growth of the town was slow until
1879, when a large increase in the railroad mileage in this section of the
country opened up the avenue of trade. The first church organization
was effected in 1871 and the first school was taught in 1873 by Miss
Mary Greenfield.
Cherryvale was incorporated as a city of the third class in 1880. The
first election was held in April of that year and the following officers
chosen; mayor, C. C. Kincaid ; police judge, A. Wood; councilmen, A.
Buch, J. M. Richardson, Frank Bellchamber, J. A. Handley and A. V.
McCormick. At the first meeting of the council, the following officers
were appointed: treasurer, A. Palp; clerk, M. F. Wood; marshal, J. C.
Cunningham; street commissioner, B. F. Hinds.
In 1889 bonds to the amount of $5,000 were voted for use in prospect-
ing for coal. Gas was found instead of coal and later oil was discovered.
There are at present 31 gas wells in the vicinity from which the total
output is 160,000,000 cubic feet of gas per day, the largest well produc-
ing 11,000,000 cubic feet. It is said to be the largest gas well in the
state. Cherryvale has a live commercial club, which is doing a great
deal to promote the general prosperity of the town.
Chester, a small hamlet in the extreme southwest corner of Gray
county, is in Montezuma township 25 miles from Cimarron, the county
seat, and about 16 miles north of Plains, which is the nearest railroad
station. Chester was formerly a postoffice, but the people there now
receive mail by rural delivery from Colusa.
Chetolah, an extinct town of Geary county — or rather a projected
town — was located near the mouth of Lyon creek in 1855 by a town
company of which Dr. A\'illiam A. Hammond was president and Capt.
Nathaniel Lyon was secretary. A survey was made by Abram Barry
and G. F. Gordon, but there was never a house built upon the site.
Chetopa, the third largest incorporated city in Labette county, is
located at the junction of the Missouri Pacific and the Missouri, Kan- ,
sas & Texas railroads 10 miles south of Chetopa, the county seat. It
is lighted b}' electricity and natural gas, and has waterworks and a fire
department. There are three public school buildings, an opera house,
fine church buildings, 2 banks, 2 weekly newspapers (the Advance and
324 CYCLOPEDIA OF
the Clipper), flour mills, a creamery and a brick plant. It has a money
order postoffice with six rural routes, telegraph and express offices,
and some well stocked stores. The population in 1910 was 1,548.
The site of Chetopa was located by Dr. Lisle for a colony formed at
Powhatan, Ohio, in 1857. ^^ that time John McMurtry was living within
the present limits of the town. The place was named for Chetopa,
the Osage war chief, who was living in the vicinity at the time, and
who was a great friend of Dr. Lisle. The little settlement flourished
until the war broke out. In 1863 about 40 houses in and about Chetopa
were destroyed by the United States troops to prevent them from
falling into the hands of the Confederates. After the war was over
the settlers returned, and others came with them and the permanent
settlement was begun. The Chetopa town company, with George Lisle
as president, met at Humboldt in 1868 and the town site was selected.
A charter was secured in March of that year and the sale of lots began.
The first building on the new site was the Western Hotel, opened by
Perry Barnes. M. H. Dersham erected a house and put in a stock of
drugs. Several other business enterprises were started that year. A
weekly stage line was established between Fort Scott and Chetopa in
1869, which was soon made tri-weekly. The growth of the town was
slow until the railroad boom, which began in Feb., 1870, when $50,000
bonds were voted to the Missouri, Kansas & Texas company, which
completed its line to Chetopa. This was to be the railroad center for
this part of the country. The Missouri, Kansas & Texas officials
promised to build their shops and locate their offices here, and people
came with a rush to get in on the "ground floor." Large wholesale
and retail enterprises were undertaken on borrowed capital. The
National Hotel was built at a cost of $12,000, costly public improve-
ments, for which the town had to be bonded, were erected, the public
school house costing $24,000. Finally a disagreement between the rail-
road officials and persons interested in the town caused the railroad
support to be entirely withdrawn. All prospects fell with a crash. Peo-
ple moved away, property became a drug on the market until the
assessed valuation of all property was less than the town's bonded
indebtedness.
Chetopa was chartered as a village in 1869 and became a city of the
third class in 1870. The trustees of the village were M. G. Pratt, W.
Gage, Henry Lisle, Leander Brown and A. S. Corey. The following
were the first officers of the city : Mayor, F. M. Graham ; councilmen,
W. B. Gregory, C. H. Ludlow, W. A. Nix, G. A. Degraflf and Dr. L.
P. Patty. The postoffice was granted in 1859, but on account of there
being no mail routes it was of no value to the town until 1866, when
it was arranged to get the mail weekly from Humboldt. Col. W.
Doudna, was the first postmaster.
The first bank was opened in 1868 and operated for two years, the
next was opened in 1870 by Ketchem & Co., and was succeeded the
next year by the National Bank. The first flour mill was built by
KANSAS HISTORY 325
Gilbert Martin in 1869. The library association was established in
1875-
The first and most disastrous fire occurred in 1871, when $25,000
worth of property was destroyed. Another fire in 1873 destroyed prop-
erty to the extent of $4,000, and another in 1882 burned several good
business houses. A hook and ladder company was organized in 1871,
and a fire company in 1874.
The town was invaded in 1873 by the Hiatt boys from the Territory,
who were there for plunder and robbery. They were driven out before
any damage was done.
Cheyenne, a discontinued postoffice of Osborne county, is situated
near the southeast corner, about 20 miles from Osborne, the county seat.
Mail is received through the office at Luray by rural free delivery.
Luray is the most convenient railroad station.
Cheyenne County. — On March 6, 1873, Gov. Osborn approved an
act creating a number of new counties out of the unorganized territory
in the western part of the state. One of these counties was Chej^enne,
the most northwestern county of Kansas, the boundaries of which were
defined by the act as follows : "Commencing where the east line of
range 37 west, intersects the fortieth degree of north latitude ; thence
south with said range line to the first standard parallel ; thence west
with said parallel to the west line of the State of Kansas ; thence north
with the state line to the fortieth degree of north latitude; thence
east with said parallel to the place of beginning."
A survey of the public lands in the county was made in 1874, and
in 1876 the first cattle ranch — the "T" ranch — was located about 9 miles
above Wano on the Republican river. The country was then full of
Indians and buffalo hunters. The first actual settlers came to the
county in 1879, when the Day brothers located on the "Big Timber,"
but they left the following spring, about the time that A. M. Brena-
man, L. R. Heaton and a man named Bateham came with their families.
Jacob Buck also settled in the county, near Wano, and in the spring of
1880. By Aug. 23 of that year there were enough settlers to justify
the establishment of a postoffice at Wano, with A. M. Brenaman as
postmaster. The first mail was carried from Atwood, the county seat
of Rawlins county, on Oct. 15, 1880. Graham & Brenaman opened
the first store in Sept., 1880, in a sod house, and it said their stock
of goods was neither large nor particularly well assorted, consisting
of a few necessary staple articles, such as a frontier settlement de-
manded. The first school was taught at Kepferle. School district No.
I was organized on Dec. 3, 1881, and the following subscriptions were
made to pay a teacher: G. T. Dunn, $5; L. R. Heaton, $5; S. O'dell,
$5; Jacob Buck, $8; John Quistorf, $3; F. J. Graham, $3; H. Miller,
W. H. Holcomb, J. A. Hoffman and John Long, $2.50 each; G. W.
Howe, $1.50, making a total of $40.50, in addition to which the patrons
agreed to board the teacher. School was opened on Jan. 10, 1882, in a
building donated by F. J. Graham, with ten scholars in attendance.
326 CYCLOPEDIA OF
In the winlcr o\ 1883 Che}-enne county was made a municipal town-
ship and attached to Rawlins county for judicial and revenue pur-
poses. It was organized as such with A. M. Brenaman as district
clerk and county superintendent, and John Long as sheriff and surveyor.
Two years later (1885) the property of Cheyenne county was valued
at $150,000 for taxation. In April of that year the site of Wano was
selected by John Dunbar, W. W. McKay and John Goodenberger, in
the southwest quarter of section 14, township 3 south, range 40 west,
about a mile northeast of the present town of St. Francis. The name
was selected by A. M. Brenaman when the postoffice was established.
Wano is a Spanish word, meaning "good," esto wano signifying "very
good."
On Sept. 7, 1885, the Cheyenne Count)- Agricultural Society was
organized at Wano, Avith the following directors : A. L. Emerson,
Jacob Buck, L. R. Heaton, John G. Long, W. W. McKay, A. M.
Brenaman, L. P. Rollins, Dr. J. C. Burton and John Elliott. At the
same meeting it was decided to hold a fair on the ist and 2nd of October.
The Cheyenne Rustler of Oct. 9, 1885, says: "The first exhibit of the
Cheyenne County Agricultural Society was successful beyond the
expectations of the most sanguine friends of the enterprise," and pub-
lishes a list of the prize winners.
The first newspaper published in the county was the ^^'ano News,
which was established by A. M. Brenaman. It was printed at Atwood,
and but five numbers were issued. It was followed by the Echo,
which lived but a short time. The Cheyenne County Rustler was
started on July 3, 1885, and was soon followed by the Cheyenne County
Democrat and the Bird City News.
Toward the close of 1885 an agitation was started for the organiza-
tion of the county. There was some opposition to the movement, but
on March 10, 1886, a petition praying for an independent county organ-
ization was presented to Gov. John A. Martin, who appointed Morris
Stine to take a census of the inhabitants and the valuation of property.
On the 30th of the same month Mr. Stine made his report to the gov-
ernor, showing a population of 2,607, of whom 855 were householders.
The value of the property at that time, exclusive of railroad property,
was "$509,124, of which $258,740 represented the value of the real
estate." On April i, 1886, Gov. Martin issued his proclamation declar-
ing Cheyenne county organized, appointing J. M. Ketcham, W. W.
McKay and J. F. Murray commissioners ; B. W. Knott, county clerk,
and designating Bird City as the temporary county seat. On Feb. 26,
1889, an election was held to determine the location of the permanent
county seat. The town of St. Francis received a majority of the votes,
and the county authorities established their offices there. Within a
short time the county owned lots worth $3,000 and buildings worth
$4,000 in the new county seat, when the question was raised as to
the legality of the election. To settle the matter the legislature of
1 891 passed an act, which was approved by Gov. Humphrey on Feb.
KANSAS HISTORY 327
5, declaring- "That the said election for the purpose of permanently
locating the count}- seat of Cheyenne county, held Feb. 26, 1889, be
and the same is hereby legalized, and the town of St. Francis is hereby
declared to be the permanent county seat of said county."
It -was also provided that the act should take effect and be in force
from and after its publication in the official state paper. Such pub-
lication -was made on Feb. 6, 1891, the day following the approval of
the act by the governor. (See St. Francis.)
By the act of Feb. 25, 1889, the section lines in the county were
declared to be public highways, and roads have been opened and im-
proved on a number of these lines. The county has but one line of rail-
road — the Orleans & St. Francis division of the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy system — originally known as the Burlington & Missouri River
railroad.
On Feb. 20. 1903, the legislature passed an act providing that when
a majority of the electors should petition the county commissioners
for a county high school, the board should order such a school estab-
lished at the point designated, if the school district would guarantee
to furnish a suitable building, the necessary school furniture, etc. Under
the provisions of this act the county high school was located at St.
Francis, the town furnishing a modern school building of ten rooms.
The surface of Cheyenne county is generally undulating, with a few
high bluffs along some of the streams. The bottom lands are usually
narrow. There is not much native timber, but a large number of
artificial groves have been planted about the farm houses. The soil
is largely of sandy nature. Cheyenne is one of the leading counties in
the state in the production of Kafir corn, broom-corn and spring
wheat. Corn, barley and sugar beets are important crops. The Repub-
lican river flows in a northeasterly direction across the county and
has a number of tributaries, the principal ones being Bluff, Cherry,
Plun-i and Hackberry creeks. Little Beaver creek flows across the
southeast corner, and about 3 miles of the Big Beaver are in the extreme
southeastern part. Irrigation ditches have been constructed along the
Republican river, and hundreds of acres of land are under irrigation.
The county is divided into the following civil townships : Alexander,
Beaver, Benkelman, Bird Cit}', Calhoun, Cherry Creek, Cleveland Run,
Dent, Eureka, Evergreen, Jaqua, Jefferson, Lawn Ridge, Nutty Combe,
Orlando, Porter and Wano.
According to the U. S. census of 1910, the population of Chej^enne
county was 4,248, a gain of 1,608 during the preceding decade. The
assessed value of the property in that year was $6,486,668, and the
value of all farm products, including live stock, was $1,215,954. The
five leading crops, in the order of value, were: wheat, $325,302; corn,
.S3i7,256; barley, $123,345; hay (including alfalfa), $101,737; broom-
corn, $65,008.
Cheyenne county has an altitude of over 3,000 feet. It was named
for the Cheyenne Indians, and was crossed by the old Leavenworth
328 CYCLOPEDIA OF
& Pike's Peak express, which was established in 1859. The area of
the county is 1,020 square miles. It is in the 39th senatorial, the 107th
representative, the 17th judicial and the 6th Congressional districts.
According to the U. S. Postal Guide for July, 1910, there were at that
time but four postofifices in the count)-, viz. : Bird City, Jaqua, St.
Francis and Wheeler.
Cheyenne Expedition of 1857. — In the spring of 1857 the Cheyennes
became somewhat troublesome on the western frontier. On May 18
Col. E. V. Sumner despatched Maj. Sedgwick with four companies of
cavalry up the Arkansas river, and two days later left Fort Leaven-
worth with a force of cavalry and infantry, intending to meet Sedgwick
on the south fork of the Platte on July 4. The union was effected, and
after leaving two companies of dragoons at Fort Laramie for Gen.
Harney's Utah expedition, Sumner moved over to the Solomon river.
On July 29, while passing down the Solomon in pursuit of the Indians,
he came upon some 300 Cheyennes drawn up in battle array. Sum-
ner charged and put the Indians to flight, killing 9 and wounding a
large number, with a loss of 2 killed and 9 wounded. On the 31st he
reached the Indian village, which he found deserted, with 171 lodges
still standing and nearly as many more taken down read}' for removal.
Everything indicated a precipitate flight, and after destroying the vil-
lage, Sumner continued the pursuit to within 40 miles of the Arkansas
river.
While encamped near old Fort Atkinson, on Aug. 11, he received
information that the Cheyennes refused to come to Dent's fort, where
the agent was waiting to distribute their annual presents, and that
they had notified the agent that he would not be permitted to take
the goods out of the country. Sumner wrote to the adjutant-general
of the United States arm}^ imparting this information, and adding:
"I have therefore decided to proceed at once to Bent's fort with the
elite of my cavalry, in the hope that I may find the Cheyennes col-
lected in that vicinity, and, by further blow, force them to sue for peace ;
at all events this movement will secure the agent and the public
property."
Before reaching Bent's fort, Sumner received an order to break up
the expedition and send four companies of cavalry to join Gen. Har-
ney's expedition. The latter part of the order was subsequently coun-
termanded, and on Sept. 16 the expedition reachefl Fort Leavenworth,
having traveled over 1,800 miles.
Cheyenne Raid, 1878. — When the last of the Indian tribes was
removed from Kansas to the Indian Territory, hope was entertained
that depredations on the western frontier would cease. But in Sept.,
1878, Dull Knife's band of northern. Cheyennes, dissatisfied with the
rations furnished by the government, decided to return to their former
homes. They accordingly left the reservation, moved northward inta
Kansas, and on the 17th attacked the cattle camps south of Fort Dodge,,
where thev killed several white men and drove ofl: some of the cattle.
KANSAS HISTORY 329
News of the event reached Gov. Anthony the next day and he appealed
to Gen. Pope, commanding the department, but Pope thought it was
nothing more than a "scare." The governor sent Adjt.-Gen. Noble
to Dodge City with arms and ammunition, but the Indians had moved
on northward. Lieut.-Col. William H. Lewis, with a detachment of
troops from Fort Dodge, pursued the Indians and came up with them
at a canon on Famished Woman's fork. In the fight that ensued Lewis
was killed. Telegrams from various points in the western part of the
state poured into the governor's ofifice appealing for aid, but still Gen.
Pope declined to act.
On Sept. 30 the Cheyennes appeared in Decatur county. Dr. W.
B. Mead, in the Kansas Magazine for Nov., 1909, gives an account of
a meeting at Oberlin when it became known that the Indians were in
in the county. At that meeting a number of men volunteered and were
divided into three small companies commanded by W. D. Street, J. W.
Allen and Solomon Rees. They went in different directions, scouring
the western part of the county, but Capt. Rees' company was the only
one that came in contact with the savages. A running fight of several
miles followed, in which one Indian was killed, and it was thought
several others were wounded. All together, 17 white persons were killed
in Decatur county. The Indians were finally overpowered and returned
to the reservation. This was the last Indian raid of any consequence
in Kansas. Hazelrigg's History of Kansas says : "Of the many In-
dian raids in Kansas, none was ever characterized with such brutal
and ferocious crimes, and none ever excited such horror and indigna-
tion as the Cheyenne raid of 1878."
On Nov. II, 1878, Gov. Anthony wrote to the secretary of war
demanding the surrender of the chiefs to the civil authorities to be
tried on the charge of murder. The chief. Wild Hog, and six others
were surrendered in December, and on Feb. 15, 1879, were taken from
Fort Leavenworth to Dodge City for trial. They were finally tried in
Ford and Douglas counties, but the evidence was insufficient to con-
vict, and in Oct., 1879, the Indians were released by order of Judge
Stephens of Lawrence.
After the raid the government established a cantonment in the In-
dian Territory, on the north fork of the Canadian river, between Fort
Supply and Fort Reno, for the better protection of the settlers in west-
ern Kansas. The post was occupied by five companies of foot soldiers
and one company of mounted infantry. Steps were also taken by the
state to afford security to the western settlements. Gov. St. John,
who succeeded Anthony in Jan., 1879, in his first message to the legis-
lature, recommended the establishment of a military contingent fund.
The act of March 12, 1879, appropriated $20,000 for such a fund. (See
Frontier Patrol.)
The legislature of Kansas in 1909 appropriated $1,500 to the board
of county commisisoners of Decatur county for the purpose of erect-
ing a monument to the memory of the citizens of that county who were
killed on Sept. 30, 1878, victims of the Cheyenne raid.
330 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Chicago Exposition, 1893.— (See Expositions.)
Chicopee, one of the principal towns of Crawford county, is located
in Baker township, 13 miles southeast of Girard, the county seat, and
4 miles southwest of Pittsburg. It is in the coal fields, and the chief
occupation of the people is mining and shipping coal, the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe and the Missouri Pacific railroads furnishing excel-
lent transportation facilities. The town has a money order postoffice,
telegraph and telephone facilities, Catholic and Protestant churches,
good public schools, some well stocked stores, and in 1910 reported a
population of 955.
Chief Justices. — The chief justices of Kansas during the territorial
regime were Samuel D. Lecoinpte and John Pettit. The former served
from Oct. 3, 1854, to March 9, 1859, and the latter from March 9, 1859,
to the establishment of the state government on Feb. 9, 1861.
Following is a list of the 'chief justices since the state was admitted
into the Union, with the term of service of each : Thomas Ewing, Jr.,
Feb., 1861, to Nov. 28. 1862, when he resig-ned : Nelson Cohh. Nov. 28,
1862, to Jan., 1864; Robert Crozier, Jan., 1864, to Jan., 1867; Samuel A.
Kingman, Jan., 1867, to Dec. 30, 1876; Albert H. Horton, Dec. 31, 1876,
to April 30, 1895, when he resigned; David Martin, April 30, 1895, to
Jan., 1897; Frank M. Doster, Jan., 1897, to Jan., 1903; William A.
Johnston, Jan. 1903, to .
Chikaskia River, a tributary of the Arkansas river system, is formed
by the union of Sand creek and another small stream in the southern
part of Kingman county. Its general course is southeast, across the
southeast corner of Harper county and through the county of Sumner,
crossing the southern boundary of the state near the town of Hunne-
well. and finally emptying into the salt fork of the Arkansas near the
town of Tonkawa, Okla.
Children's Aid Societies. — Within recent years the attention of the
public has been drawn to the needs of dependent or neglected children,
particularly the latter, who, while nominally possessed of a home, are
permitted to grovi' up in an environment where they are almost cer-
tain to become criminals or professional paupers. Many of the states,
proceeding on the theory that it is easier and better to train the child
than to reform the adult, have established houses of detention, juvenile
courts, and similar institutions, and have given great encouragement
to private societies engaged in caring for such children.
In this work, Kansas has kept pace with the more progressive ideas
in the other states, as her reformatory, industrial schools, etc., bear
witness, while from the early days of settlement in the state various
private and religious societies have done benevolent work of a most
important character in caring for and providing homes for dependent
and neglected children.
As an encouragement to such societies, an act was passed by the
legislature on March 15, 1901, which defined "Children's Aid Society,"'
as "any duly organized and incorporated society, which had for its
KANSAS HISTORY 331
object the protection of children from cruelty, and the care and con-
trol of neglected and dependent children." The act provided that "any
constable, sheriff, police or other police officer, may apprehend with-
out warrant" and bring before the court, as neglected, any child —
apparently under the age of fourteen years, if a boy, or sixteen, if a
girl — who is dependent upon the public for support, if found begging,
receiving alms, thieving, or sleeping at night in the open air ; or who
is found wandering about late at night, not having any home or set-
tled place of abode or proper guardianship ; or who is found dwelling
with a thief, drunkard or vagabond, or other dissolute person ; or who
may be an orphan or deserted by parents ; or having a single parent
undergoing imprisonment for crime.
Any child apprehended by an officer may be brought before the proper
court within three days and the case investigated. If the child is
found to be neglected the court may order its delivery to "such chil-
dren's aid societ}^ or institution" as in his judgment is best suited to
care for it.
By this act the court has authority to appoint probation officers,
whose duty it is to make investigations concerning the children brought
before the court, report the same and take charge of the child before
and after the trial. When a child is placed in charge of an aid society,
the society becomes its legal guardian, and is "authorized to secure
for such children legal adoption in such families as may be approved
by the society on a written contract for their education in the public
schools." These contracts cover the entire period of the child's minor-
ity, but the right is reserved to withdraw the child from custody when-
ever its welfare requires.
The trustees of charitable institutions may transfer children to aid
societies, in order to have the society find homes for them.
Any person over the age of sixteen 3'ears, who has charge of a child,
who willfully ill treats, neglects, abandons or exposes such child to
ill treatment or neglect, is subject to a fine or imprisonment at the
discretion of the court. If it is suspected that a child is being ill
treated, the proper officials may authorize any person to search for
the child and when found, take it to a place of safety until brought
before the court, '\^'hen any county board commits a child to an aid
society to care for and provide with a home, the county may pay the
society a reasonable sum, not to exceed $50, for the temporary care of
such child.
Section 13 of the act provides that children under the age uf six-
teen, who are charged with ofifenses against the laws of the state, or
brought before the court by the provisions of this act, are not "to
be confined in the jails, lockups or police cells used for ordinary
criminals," and the municipalities are required to make separate pro-
vision for their custody. No societies, except those incorporated under
the laws of Kansas, are allowed to place a child in a home within the
the state unless permission to do is first obtained from the proper state
^^2 CYCLOPEDIA OF
authorities. Under the operations of this law a number of children's
aid societies have been formed in the state, and by their careful sys-
tematic work, hundreds of children have been taken from unwholesome
or immoral surroundings and placed in an atmosphere where they may
become useful citizens.
Children's Home Society of Kansas. — This organization is very
similar to the Children's Aid Society. The National Children's Home
Society was chartered on May 23, 1885, at Chicago, and the Kansas
branch was chartered March 20, 1894, at Topeka, with J. T. Clark,
president ; Jesse Shaw, vice-president ; S. S. Ott, secretary ; Dr. J. E.
Minney, treasurer; and Rev. O. S. Morrow, state superintendent. The
aim of the society is to place orphan children in homes where they
are adopted or by contract and indenture. In addition to the general
board there are local boards in different towns and cities. After the
children are placed in a home, they are looked after by supervisors,
who see that they have proper care. Some 1,300 children have been
placed in good homes by the society, which is chiefly maintained by
private donations, though the state has at times contributed to its sup-
port, notably in 1893, when the legislature appropriated $1,800 to aid
the society's work, and in 1897, an appropriation of $1,400 was made
for a like purpose.
Chiles, a post-village in the northeastern part of J\Iiami county, is a
station on the Missouri Pacific R. R. 11 miles northeast of Paola, the
county seat. It has a money order postoffice and telegraph station. In
1910 the population was 100.
Chingawassa Springs. — These springs are located in a beautiful nat-
ural park in the northeastern part of Marion county, about 6 miles
from the city of Marion, and not far from Antelope station on the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R. Within a radius of a quarter
of a mile there are about 30 springs that bubble out of the blufi's. the
water flowing from them forming quite a stream. One of the springs
has a constant flow of about 1,500 gallons an hour. The bottoms and
sides of some of them are encrusted with deposits of sulphur, and in
a few the odor of hydrogen' sulfid is pronounced. About 1888 steps
were taken to improve the resort by building a hotel and constructing
a "dummy" line to connect with the railroad, but the arrangements
were never fully carried out. The park is a favorite place for picnic
parties, etc.
Chisholm Trail. — In the spring of 1865 Jesse Chisholm, a half-breed
Scotch-Cherokee, an adopted member of the Wichita Indians, who
owned a ranch on the creek east of Wichita bearing his name, "located
a trail from his ranch to the present site of the Wichita agency, on
the Wichita river, Indian territory, distance 220 miles. This trail sub-
sequently became, and is still known as the Chisholm trail. It was-
established for the purpose of enabling the traders in the Arkansas
valley to obtain wagon communication with the Indians in the Indian
Territory, and the trail was used by these traders for years in the-
KANSAS HISTORY 333
transportation of merchandise to tribes in the territory. Afterward
the trail was used by Texas cattle drivers, and still later by the govern-
ment in the transportation of supplies to Fort Sill, south of the Wichita
agency. The principal points on the trail are Wichita, Clearwater,
Caldwell, Pond Creek, Skeleton Ranch, BufTalo Springs, Mouth of
Turkey Creek, Cheyenne Agency, Wichita Agency and Fort Sill." The
Rock Island railroad now follows the Chisholm trail from Wichita to
the north fork of the Canadian. The original trail started at Wichita
and ended at the North Canadian, but lengthened out it reached from
Abilene, Kan., to San Antonio, Tex. The trail is now a thing of the
past, giving way as settlers occupied the lands.
Cholera. — Pathologists describe the malady known as Asiatic cholera
as "a malignant disease due to a specific poison which, whein received
into the human body through the air, water, or in some other way,
gives rise to the most alarming symptoms and very frequently proves
fatal to life. An attack of cholera is generally marked by three stages,
though these often succeed each other so rapidly as not to be easily
defined. There is first a premonitory diarrhoea stage, with occasional
vomiting, severe cramps in the abdomen and legs, and great muscular
weakness. This condition is succeeded, and often within a remark-
ably short period, by the second stage, which is one of collapse, and
is called the algid or cold stage. This is characterized by intense pros-
tration, great thirst, feebleness of circulation and respiration, with
coldness and blueness of the skin, and loss of voice. Should death not
take place at this, the most fatal period, the sufferer will then pass
into the third or reaction stage of the disease. This, though very
frequently marked by a high state of fever, with a tendency to con-
gestion of the internal organs, as the brain, lungs, kidneys, etc., is
a much more hopeful stage than that which has preceded it, and the
chances of recovery are very much increased."
It is called the Asiatic cholera because it has for centuries had its
home in the East, though some medical writers insist that under another
name it has been epidemic in other parts of the world. In his History
of India, Mill says : "Spasmodic cholera had been known in India
from the remotest periods, and had at times committed fearful ravages.
Its effects, however, were in general restricted in particular seasons
and localities, and were not so extensively diffused as to attract notice
or excite alarm. In the middle of 1817, however, the disease assumed
a new form, and became a widely spread and fatal epidemic."
This is said to have been the first great cholera epidemic recorded
in history. In 1830 the disease made its first appearance in Europe,
where its nature was recognized the following year, and in 1832 it
crossed the ocean to the United States. The coast cities in the north-
ern states were the first to suffer, after which the disease extended
westward to the Ohio river, then descended that stream and the
Mississippi to New Orleans, where it wrought fearful havoc, as many
as 500 deaths occurring in one day. The disease also reached some
33 I CYCLOPEDIA OF
of the western tribes of Indians, the Sacs and Foxes losing many of
their "braves" through cholera. A few cases appeared along the rivers
each year until 1835, but at no time was the mortality any where near
as great as in 1832.
In 1848 there was another visitation of cholera, beginning at Xew
Orleans late in the year. In April, 1849, it reached St. Louis, and before
the close of the year over 4,000 deaths from cholera were reported
in that city. Gold seekers, on their way to California, came in con-
tact with the malad}^ at St. Louis, and several of the steamboats ascend-
ing the Missouri carried cholera patients, thus aiding in the spread
of the disease. One of these boats, the "Sacramento," arrived at St.
Joseph on April 21 and reported one death on the trip. The "James
Monroe" left St. Louis with a large number of California emigrants,
but by the time Jefiferson Cit}' was reached the epidemic on board had
become so alarming that the officers and crew deserted the steamer,
which lay at Jefiferson Citj- for several months before being taken back
to St. Louis. In September the news was received at St. Louis that
the cholera was raging among the Indians of the northwest as far
north as the headwaters of the Mississippi. The Eighth United States
infantr}-, which was on duty in the West, lost about one-third of its
members. Gen. Worth being one of the victims. About 900 deaths
from cholera occurred at St. Louis in 1850, and a few deaths were
reported in 185 1. Among those who died in the latter year was Father
Christian Hoecken, the Jesuit missionar}', whose death occurred on
board the "St. Ange" while ascending the Missouri river to the scene
of his labors. In the summer of 1855 the steamboat "Golden State"
left St. Louis for the trip up the Missouri river with several hundred
Mormons on board. Cholera broke out in the steerage and a number
of the passengers died.
It was in this year that the cholera appeared among the white peo-
ple of Kansas for the first time. On Aug. i, 1855, a case was dis-
covered at Fort Riley. The disease developed rapidly, and on the 2nd
there were several deaths. Panic seized the troops and the citizens in
the vicinity of the fort, and all who could get away left at the first
opportunit}-. Even the surgeon at the fort abandoned his post, leaving
Maj. Ogden to act as both commander and surgeon. Fifteen deaths
occurred on the 3d, among them the gallant Ogden. His remains were
later taken to New York, but the attaches of the fort erected a monu-
ment there to commemorate his fidelity and his unselfish efforts in
striving to check the ravages of the disease and administer comfort
to the sufferers. Various estimates have been made as to the number
of deaths, but at this late day accurate figures are difficult to obtain.
It is possible that not less than 100 lost their lives as victims of the
scourge in 1855.
Another epidemic, and one more wide-spread and more fatal in its
results, occurred in the summer of 1867. On July i the first case was
reported at Fort Harker. At that time the population of the town of
KANSAS HISTdRV 335
Ellsworth, not far from the fort, was about i,ooo. As soon as the
news reached the town there was a general hegira, and in a few da_vs
the population was less than loo. The Eighteenth Kansas battalion
was at the fort, and Company C lost 13 of its members, the other com-
panies suffering less severely. About a week later the battalion was
ordered to the southwest, and on the i6th encamped on Walnut creek,
about ID miles above Fort Zarah. Col. H. L. Moore, commanding the
battalion, in an address before the Kansas Historical Societ}^ on Jan.
19, 1897, said :
"The day brought no new cases, and everybody felt cheerful, hop-
ing that the future had nothing worse in store than a meeting with
hostile Indians. By 8 p. m. supper was over, and in another hour the
camp became a hospital of screaming cholera patients. Men were
seized with cramping of the stomach, bowels, and muscles of the arms
and legs. The doctor and his medicines were powerless to resist the
disease. One company had been sent away on a scout, as soon as the
command reached camp, and of the three companies remaining in
camp the morning of the 17th found 5 dead and 36 stretched on the
ground in a state of collapse."
That morning the quartermaster and commissar}' stores were thrown
away, the sick were loaded in wagons, and the battalion resumed its
march. Strange as it may appear, not a man died during the day, and
when the command went into camp that night near Pawnee Rock
some one shot a buffalo calf, from which soup was made for the invalids.
This gave them additional strength and hope, and a little later they
•vere all turned over to the surgeon at Fort Earned.
Concerning the epidemic at Fort Hays this year the official records
)f the surgeon-general's office say: "The first case at Fort Hays was
a citizen who had just arrived from Salina. On the same day, Jul}''
II, a colored soldier of the garrison was taken sick and died next
day. During July, August and September 33 cases and 23 deaths are
reported among the colored troops, whose mean strength during the
three months was 213 men. Sept. i a white soldier was attacked,
but recovered ; the rest of the white troops, averaging during the three
months 34 men, escaped." '
This report does not include any account of the ravages among the
citizens, but it is known that the settlements along Big creek wei-e
stricken with terror and that many of the people abandoned their homes.
Rumors of the fatality have no doubt been greatly exaggerated, but
the epidemic was a severe one all over the western part of the state.
R. M. Wright, in his "Personal Reminiscences," in volume VH, Kan-
sas Collections, says : "The cholera was perfectly awfnl that summer
on the plains ; it killed soldiers, government employees, Santa Fe traders
and emigrants. Many new graves dotted the roadsides and camping
places, making fresh landmarks."
Gen. Custer was at Fort Wallace when the news of the epidemic
reached him. Fearing for the safety of his wife, who was at Fort
336 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Rilev, he left his regiment under command of a subordinate officer and,
with an escort of 100 men, under Capt. Hamilton, hurried toward Fort
Riley. For thus abandoning his command without orders, Custer was
tried by a court-martial and sentenced to "loss of rank and pay for one
year," though part of the sentence was afterward remitted upon the
recommendation of Gen. Sheridan.
■ The disease broke out among the Wichita Indians, where the city
of Wichita now stands, and in what is now the northern part of the
city early settlers found over 100 Indian graves, one being that of
Owaha, the hereditary war chief. About the middle of the summer
orders came from Washington for the Indians to remove to their old
homes on the Washita, but they refused to go until their crops were
gathered. In the fall they started for the Washita, but the scourge
accompanied them, and at Skeleton creek so many of their dead were
left unburied that their bleaching bones gave name to the stream.
Other Indian tribes also suffered. The cattle trade was seriously inter-
fered with, whole herds sometimes being left without any one able
to look after them because herders were stricken with cholera. This
was especially true along what was known as the Abilene cattle trail,
and also along the old Chisholm trail.
For a long time cholera was supposed to be as contagious as small-
pox, but in the latter '80s the investigations of such eminent physicians
as Koch and Emmerich of Germany, and Jenkins of New York, have
demonstrated that the disease is due to certain forms of bacilli, that
it is not contagious, and that it can easily be prevented from becom-
ing epidemic by proper sanitation and the prompt isolation of cases.
The theories of these men were thoroughly tested in 1892, when four
vessels arrived about the same time in New York harbor, each report-
ing deaths from "cholerine" during the passage. The vessels were
detained at quarantine, and by order of President Harrison a large num-
ber of tents were sent to Sandy Hook early in September for the
accommodation of the passengers until the danger was past. The
epidemic was quite severe on board the ships and in the isolation camp,
but the quarantine officers were so strict in the enforcement of the
regulations established that only two deaths were reported in the city
of New York, thus demonstrating the efficacy of the proposed methods
in dealing with the disease.
While the above mentioned conditions prevailed at New York, the
Kansas State Board of Health was not idle. On Sept. 15, 1892, a cir-
cular was sent out to the local boards of health, in which was the fol-
lowing statement: "Asiatic cholera is today kept from our midst only
through the excellence of our maritime quarantine service. The danger
to us is imminent. If it does not eventually elude the vigilance which
has thus far kept it at bay, it will be a fortunate exception to the usual
history of the disease."
As precautionary measures, the state board recommended: ist.
Thorough sanitary inspection of every city, town and village; 2nd, The
KANSAS HISTORY 337
drainage of stagnant ponds and low, wet grounds ; 3d, Careful cleansing
and disinfection of all sewers, public drains, privy vaults, slaughter
houses, pig pens, etc. ; 4th, The destruction, entire and complete, of
all accumulations of filth that may be discovered; 5th, Inspection of
markets as to quality of food offered for sale ; 6th, Advising the people
not to eat unripe, partially decayed or indigestible fruit or vegetables.
On March 10, 1893, Gov. Lewelling approved an act of the legislature
then in session authorizing the state board to estabhsh and maintain
quarantine stations whenever any part of the state was threatened
with Asiatic cholera, and appropriating $10,000 for the fiscal years
1894-95. The act also provided severe penalities for failure to observe
the regulations prescribed by the board of health. The stringency of
the quarantine at New York prevented the disease from spreading to
the interior, and by the act of Feb. 13, 1895, the Kansas legislature
ordered the unexpended balance of the cholera appropriation of 1893
covered into the general fund. Since the successful quarantine at
New York but little has been heard of the cholera in this country, and
it is highly improbable that the United States will ever again experience
a severe epidemic — a splendid illustration of the truth of the old adage,
"Knowledge is power."
Choteau, a hamlet of Johnson county, is located in the northern part
on the south bank of the Kansas river and the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe R. R. about 12 miles southwest of Kansas City. It was named
from the trading post established in this locality by the Chouteau
brothers about 1827, but has never lived up to early expectations. The
mail for the town is received at Holliday, about three-quarters of a
mile east.
Chouteaus, The. — Among the early French traders and trappers who
operated in the country from St. Louis west in the latter part of the
eighteenth century and the early part of the nineteenth, the name of
Chouteau stands preeminent. Auguste Chouteau, one of the founders
of the city of St. Louis, was born at New Orleans on Aug. 14, 1750. In
the early part of the year 1764, although not yet 14 years of age, he was
sent up the Missouri river from Fort Chartres by his step-father, Pierre
Liguest, with a company of 30 men to select a site for trading post, and
it is said that the boy's suggestions led to the selection of the spot where
St. Louis now stands. After Liguest's death, Auguste succeeded to the
business, and later formed a partnership with John Jacob Astor which
was the inception of the American Fur company. In 1794 he built Fort
Carondelet in the Osage country' ; was commissioned colonel of the
militia in 1808; and in 1815 was appointed one of the commissioners to
make treaties with the Indians who had fought on the side of the British
in the War of 1812, the other two commissioners being Ninian Edwards
and William Clark. He was one of the first trustees of the town of
St. Louis; served as justice of the peace and as judge of the court of
common pleas ; was the first president of the Bank of Missouri, and held
other important positions. His policy in dealing with the Indians was
(1-22)
338 cvcLorKuiA of
to treat them fairh', and he enjoyed the confidence and friendship of the
red men until his death, which occurred on Feb. 24, 1829. His tombstone
in the Catholic cemetery at St. Louis bears the epitaph : "Sa vie a etc
un modele de vertus civilles et Sociales."
Jean Pierre Chouteau, a brother of Auguste, was born at New Orleans
on Oct. 10, 1758, and as soon as he was old enough he engaged in the
fur trade. He established several trading posts in the Indian country,
one of which was on the upper Osage river in what is now southwestern
Missouri. Soon after Louisiana was ceded to the United States, he gave
up the fur trade and became a merchant in St. Louis, where he died
on July 10, 1849.
Abottt 1825 Frederick, Francis G. and Cyprian Chouteau, three
brothers of a younger generation, received a license to trade with cer-
tain Indian tribes west of the Missouri river, and immediately set about
the establishment of trading posts in their new domain. As there were
no roads at that time, their goods were transported through the woods
on the backs of pack-horses. Chittenden, in his American Fur Trade,
says that Francis G. Chouteau started a post on an island 3 miles below
Kansas City, but that the flood of 1826 washed it into the river. He
then went about 10 miles up the Kansas river and established a new
post. For some time he was superintendent of the trading posts of the
American Fur company. In 1828 he established his residence in Kansas
City, where he passed the remainder of his life, his son, P. M. Chouteau,
succeeding to the business.
Frederick Chouteau was born in St. Louis in 1810. AMien he first
came to the Kansas valley in 1825, he and his brother Cyprian first built
trading houses about 5 miles above Wyandotte (Kansas City) on the
south side of the Kansas river, where they traded with the Shawnee
and Delaware Indians. A little later another post was established
farther tip the river. Daniel Boone, in a letter to W. W. Cone of Topeka,
dated Aug. 11, 1879, says: "Frederick Chouteau's brother established
his trading post across the river from my father's residence the same
fall we moved to the agency, in the year 1827." Two or three years
later Frederick Chouteau went up the river to the mouth of Mission
creek, about 10 miles above the present city of Topeka. and opened a
trading house there, taking his goods up the Kansas river in keel boats.
This post was maintained until about 1842, when it was abandoned,
and a new one was started on Mill creek in Johnson county. Here the
floods destroyed practically everything he had in 1844 and forced him
to move to higher ground. He was then engaged in the Indian trade
at Council Grove until 1852 or 1853, when he returned to Johnson coun-
ty. He was burned out by Ouantrill in 1862, but rebuilt and passed the
remainder of his life in that count)'. Frederick Chouteau was married
four times, two of his wives having been Indian women, and by his four
marriages became the father of eleven children.
Pierre Chouteau, Jr., a grandson of Auguste, was born at St. Louis
on Jan. 19, 1789. In 1813 he entered the fur trade in partnership witli
KANSAS HISTORY 339
a man named Berthold, and later was a member of the firm of Bernard
Pratte & Co., which still later took the name of Pratte, Chouteau & Co.
This firm purchased the western department of the American Fur com-
pany in 1834. In 1831 Pierre Chouteau, Jr., was a passenger on the
steamer "Yellowstone" up the Missouri river. About the last of Ma}- the
steamboat was compelled to tie up just below the mouth of the Niobrara
river on account of low water. While waiting there it was Mr. Chou-
teau's custom to go ashore each day and pace up and down the bluffs
looking for signs of rain. From this the place took the name of "Chou-
teau's BlufTs," by which it is still known.
Chouteau's Island, an island in the Arkansas river, was one of the
landmarks of the old Santa I-'e trail. It may seem strange that a land-
mark of such a character would get lost, but Chouteau's island has been
located in several places. Probably the earliest mention of it in any
written account was that made by Jacob Fowler in his journal of Glenn's
Expedition. Coues, in a note on page ^2 of Fowler's journal, says: "If
there has been but one of this name, Chouteau's island has floated a
good many miles up and down the river — at least, in books I have
sought on the subject."
Inman's "Old Santa Fe Trail" (p. 40) says: "The island on which
Chouteau established his trading post, and which bears his name e\-en
to this day, is in the Arkansas river on the boundary line between the
United States and Mexico. . . . While occupying this island, Chou-
teau and his old hunters and trappers were attacked by about 300
Pawnees, whom they repulsed with the loss of 30 killed and wounded.
These Indians afterward declared that it was the most fatal alTair in
which they were ever engaged. It was their first acquaintance with
American guns."
He also describes the island as a "beautiful spot, with a rich carpet
of grass and delightful groves, and on the American side was a heavily
timbered bottom." On page 42, in referring to Beard's party being
obliged to remain for three months "on an island not far from where
the town of Cimarron, on the Santa Fe railroad is now situated," he
identifies the island as Chouteau's.
Capt. P. St. George Cooke, when parleying with the outlaw Snively
fSee Santa Fe Trail), said: "Your party is in the United States; the
line has not been surveyed and marked, but the common judgment agrees
that it strikes the river near the Caches, which you know is above this ;
some think it will strike as high as Chouteau's island, 60 miles abo\'e
the Caches."
Thwaites, in his "Early Western Travels," locates the island "In the
upper ford of the Arkansas river, just above the present town of Hart-
land, Kearny county, Kan.," and further says: "The name dates from
the disastrous expedition of 1815-17, when Chouteau retreated to this
island to withstand a Comanche attack." (Vol. 19, p. 185.)
This coincides with the statement of Capt. Cooke, that the island is
60 miles above the Caches. In the notes accompanying Brown's original
340 CYCLOPEDIA OF
survey of the Santa Fe trail is the following statement regarding this
island : "It is the largest island of timber seen on the river, and on the
south side of the river at the lower end of the island is a thicket of wil-
lows with some cottonwood trees. On the north side of the river the
hills approach tolerably nigh and on one of them is a sort of mound con-
spicuous at some miles distant."
From this description, coupled with information from other sources,
the island has been located by later writers in section 14, township 25,
range 37 west, which brings it near the town of Hartland, as suggested
by Thwaites, and which is no doubt the correct location. There is also
a difference of opinion as to whether Chouteau had a trading post on
the island. Inman states positively that he established a post there, and
other writers make the same statement, but Chittenden, in his "Amer-
ican Fur Trade" (p. 540), says: "Chouteau's island was a well known
point on the upper Arkansas. The name dates from the Chouteau-De
Munn expedition of 1815-17. While on his way to the Missouri in the
spring of 1816 with the furs collected during the previous winter, Chou-
teau was attacked by a war party of 200 Pawnees and lost i man killed
and 3 wounded. He retreated to an island in the Arkansas where he
could more effectually defend himself and the name arose from this
incident. Chouteau did not have any trading post here, as asserted by
some authorities."
Christadelphians, or Brothers of Christ. — In 1844 John Thomas came
to America from England and soon after landing in the New World
became identified with the Disciples of Christ (q. v.), but within a short
time his views on religion changed. He became convinced that "the
cardinal doctrines of the existing churches corresponded with those of
the apostolic church predicted in the Scripture; that the only authori-
tative creed was the Bible, the originals of which were inspired of God
in such a manner and to such an extent as to secure absolute truth-
fulness ; and that the churches should strive to return to primitive
Christianity in doctrine, precept and practice."
He soon began to publish these views and organized a number of
societies in the United States, Canada and England. No name was
adopted until the outbreak of the Civil war, when the members applied
to the government to be exempted from militar}^ duty because of con-
scientious scruples, and finding it necessary to have a distinctive name
adopted that of Christadelphians. They do not accept the doctrine of
the trinity, holding that Christ was son of God and son of man, mani-
festing divine power and working out man's salvation, of which he was
the only medium ; that the soul is by nature mortal and that eternal life
is given by God only to the righteous; that Christ will come to earth
personally to raise and judge his saints and set up a Kingdom of God
in place of human governments. Admission to membership is upon con-
fession of faith in the doctrines of the church and baptism by immersion.
The policy of the church is congregational, each congregation conduct-
ing its own affairs. They have no ordained ministers, those who speak
KANSAS HISTORY 341
and conduct services being called lecturing or serving brethren. Usually
their meetings are held in halls or private residences. There are no
associations of the congregations or ecclesias as they are called, although
they have fraternal gatherings. In 1890 there were four organizations
in Kansas, one each in Barber, Cherokee, Elk and Shawnee counties,
with a total membership of 39. By 1906 the organizations had dropped
to 3 but the membership had increased to 58.
Christian Church, or Diciples of Christ, sometimes called Campbellites,
is one of the distinctively American church organizations. It grew out
of a great revival movement which began in northern Tennessee and
southern Kentucky about the beginning of the nineteenth century. One
of the centers of this revival was Cane Ridge, Ky., and John Allen Gano,
one of the earliest of the disciples, at a meeting held June 22, 1845, said,
"The first churches planted and organized since the great apostacy, with
the Bible as the only creed or church book, and the name Christian as
the only name, were organized in Kentucky in the year 1804. Of these
the Cane Ridge was the first."
The organizers of this church decided to take the Bible as the standard
of faith to the exclusion of all creeds, and believed the name "Christian"
to have been given the disciples by divine authority. Similar move-
ments took place in other sections of the country about the same time.
Thomas Campbell, a Presbyterian minister, arrived in the United States
and began to preach in western Pennsylvania, where people of various
Presbyterian denominations resided and he invited all to his communion.
This caused dissention and charges were preferred against him. He
insisted that he was acting according to the Bible and began to preach
a restoration of apostolic Christianity, protesting against creeds and
advocating the sufficiency of the scriptures, but at no time advocated
separation from the fellowship of the church. Many were converted to
the new belief and the Christian Association was formed. Campbell
asked for admission to it but there was so much controversy over his
admission that the members of his church formed an independent Church
of Christ on May 4, 1810, under the name of "The First Church of the
Christian Association of Washington." In 1812, the question of baptism
came up. The Campbells, father and son, were immersed and at the
next meeting of the church other members of the organization expressed
a desire to be immersed upon confession of faith. From that time the
church accepted baptism as a divine ordinance and the custom has been
maintained.
In 1831 a union of the Washington and Cane Ridge churches was
effected which was the beginning of an era of great progress and expan-
sion of the Christian church. In 1900 there were 10,000 churches with
1,250,000 communicants in the United States. The largest and strongest
bodies of this organization are found in the newer states of the west and
southwest; Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio having the
largest number of members. The first work of the Christian church in
Kansas was begun during the early '60s, though services were held at
342 cvci.ni'huiA (.1-
Centropolis, Franklin county, as early as 1858. One of the first or^sran-
izations was established at Holton, Jackson county, July 13, 1862, by
Mr. and Mrs. Allen, B. Scholes and three others. The first services were
held in the court-house by Elder A. J. Francis but no building was
erected until ten years later. A Christian cliurch was organized at Erie.
Xeosho county, in the spring of 1869 by C. F. Stauber, though services
had been held previous to that time by George Booth. The same year
a church was organized at Ottawa by Warren Skells. In 1869, the
Christians organized in Jefferson count}^ and erected a church within a
short time after. A year later a church was organized at Girard. Craw-
ford county, with 25 members who held services in a school house until
1871, when a church building was erected. Cherokee county was opened
to white settlement in 1870. and in October of that year a Christian
church was organized there with 40 members by J. A. Murray. There
were a few Christians among the early settlers of Shawnee county.
They met in a hall at Topeka under the leadership of elders, with an
occasional evangelist, until 1870, when an organization was perfected
and T. W. Mousen called as the first pastor. At Fort Scott, Bourbon
county, a church was started in the fall of 1871 by Dr. Franklin of Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, with 10 members. In 1876 a church was started at
Hiawatha, Brown county, by James McGuire and it has become one of
the leading congregations of the state. With the spread of the faith and
growth of the church it has become divided and now consists of the Dis-
ciples of Christ, or Christian church, and the Churches of Christ.
In 1880, according to the census, there were 5
