From the collection of the
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San Francisco, California
2007
THE
Kansas Historical
Quarterly
NYLE H. MILLER, Managing Editor
KIRKE MECHEM, Editor
JAMES C. MALIN, Associate Editor
Volume XX
1952-1953
(Kansas Historical Collections)
VOL. xxxvn
Published by
The Kansas State Historical Society
Topeka, Kansas
72285
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XX
Number 1-February, 1952
PAGE
THE PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST: XV. John M. Stanley
and the Pacific Railroad Reports Robert Taft, I
With the following illustrations:
John Mix Stanley's "Prairie Indian Encampment," cover,
portrait of Stanley and his "Saint Paul" (1853),
"Herd of Bison, Near Lake Jessie" (1853),
"Fort Union, and Distribution of Goods to the Assinni1-
boines" (1853);
Gustavus Sohon's "Fort Benton — Head of Steam Navigation
on the Missouri River" (Probably 1860-1862),
"Mode of Crossing Rivers by the Flathead and Other
Indians" (Probably*1860-1862);
John E. Weyss' "Brownsville, Texas" (1853);
Arthur Schott's "Military Plaza — San Antonio, Texas"
(1853?), between pp. 16, 17.
THE ANNUAL MEETING: Containing Reports of the Secretary,
Treasurer, Executive and Nominating Committees; Annual
Address of the President, THE KAW OR KANSA INDIANS, Frank
Haucke; Memorials to Milton R. McLean and Charles H.
Browne; Election of Officers; List of Directors of the Society,
Kirke Mechem, 24
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 66
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 68
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES . 69
Number 2-May, 1952
PAGE
THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1844 ALONG THE KANSAS AND
MARAIS DES CYGNES RIVERS S. D. Flora, 73
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY Allan G. Bogue, 82
VINCENT B. OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES,
Edited by Joyce Farlow and Louise Barry, 108
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY,
Compiled by Helen M. McFarland, Librarian, 134
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 150
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 152
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 159
(iii)
Number 3-August, 1952
PAGE
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886 161
BACKGROUND NOTES ON THE BOURNE LISTER CULTIVATOR,
Patricia M. Bourne and A. Bower Sageser, 183
With a sketch of the Bourne Lister Cultivator, p. 185.
VINCENT B. OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES — Part Two:
September, 1862- July, 1865. .Edited by Joyce Farlow and Louise Barry, 187
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 224
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 227
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 231
Number 4— November, 1952
PAGE
THE ADMINISTRATION OF FEDERAL LAND LAWS IN WESTERN KANSAS,
1880-1890: A Factor in Adjustment to a New Environment,
George L. Anderson, 233
THE REV. Louis DUMORTIER, S. J., ITINERANT MISSIONARY TO
CENTRAL KANSAS, 1859-1867 Sister M. Evangeline Thomas, 252
With Father Dumortier's map of Catholic mission stations in the St. Mary's
area (1866), facing p. 264.
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1887 271
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 298
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 302
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES . 304
Number 5— February, 1953
PAGE
DR. SAMUEL GRANT RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS,
Minnie Dubbs Millbroo^ 305
LIGHT ON THE BRINKLEY ISSUE IN KANSAS: Letters of William A. White to
Dan D. Casement James C. Carey and Verlin R. Fosterling, 350
THE ANNUAL MEETING: Containing Reports of the Secretary, Treasurer,
Executive and Nominating Committees; Annual Address of the Presi-
dent, DANIEL WEBSTER WILDER, by William T. Beck; Election of Offi-
cers; List of Directors of the Society Nyle H. Miller, 354
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 378
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 379
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 382
(iv)
Number 6-May, 1953
PAGE
ASPECTS OF THE NEBRASKA QUESTION, 1852-1854 James C. Malin, 385
CAPT. L. C. EASTON'S REPORT: Fort Laramie to Fort Leavenworth
Via Republican River in 1849 Edited by Merrill J. Mattes, 392
With the following illustrations:
Captain Easton's map of 1849, facing p. 400;
Sketches of Fort Leavenworth (1849), facing p. 418,
and Fort Laramie (1849), facing p. 417.
KANSAS NEGRO REGIMENTS IN THE CIVIL WAR .... Dudley Taylor Cornish, 417
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY,
Compiled by Helen M. McFarland, Librarian, 430
«.
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 450
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 456
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES . . 461
Number 7-August, 1953
PAGE
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE," May 21, 1856:
Part One, The Contemporary Phase James C. Malin, 465
With a sketch of the ruins of the Free-State Hotel, Lawrence, cover.
MIDWESTERN ATTITUDES ON THE "KANSAS FEVER,"
Edited by Philip D. Uzee, 495
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION: From the Diary
of Father Maurice Gailland, S. J.,
Edited by the Rev. James M. Burke, S. /., 501
With the following illustrations:
Chapel of the Pottawatomie Indian Mission at St. Marys and
portrait of the Rev. Maurice Gailland, S. J., facing p. 512;
Pottawatomie Indians at St. Mary's Mission in 1867 and
St. Mary's Mission, 1867, facing p. 513.
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 530
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 538
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 543
(v)
Number 8— November, 1953
PAGE
STATE ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAND GRANT TO KANSAS FOR INTERNAL
IMPROVEMENTS Thomas LeDuc, 545
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE/' MAY 21, 1856: Part
Two, The Historical Phase — Concluded James C. Malin, 553
With the following illustrations:
Portraits of Judge Samuel D. Lecompte, facing p. 592,
and Col. Daniel Read Anthony, facing p. 593;
Photographs of the original recommendation of the Douglas
county grand jury, May, 1856, concerning the Emigrant
Aid Company hotel and the two newspapers at Lawrence,
between pp. 592, 593.
THE MISSING IMMIGRANT SHIP Gladwin A. Read, 598
With a reproduction of a painting of the American packet ship
Roger Stewart, cover.
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY .- 600
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 601
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 605
ERRATA AND ADDENDA, VOLUME XX 607
INDEX TO VOLUME XX 609
(vi)
THE
KANSAS HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
February 1952
Published by
Kansas State Historical Society
Topeka
p| CACC KJf^TF ^ decreased printing appropriation will make it
r LC/\^L INv^ I L necessary to publish The Kansas Historical Quarterly
with fewer pages for several issues. The same standards will be maintained.
It is hoped that the situation which caused this reduction will be remedied in
the next session of the legislature.
Volume XX, now being published, will consist of eight numbers, covering
the years 1952-1953. The index for this volume will appear as part of the
November, 1953, issue.
— THE EDITORS.
KIRKE MECHEM JAMES C. MALIN NYLE H. MILLER
Editor Associate Editor Managing Editor
CONTENTS
PAGE
THE PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST: XV. John M. Stanley
and the Pacific Railroad Reports Robert Taft, 1
With the following illustrations:
Portrait of John Mix Stanley, and his
"Saint Paul" (1853),
"Herd of Bison, Near Lake Jessie" (1853),
"Fort Union, and Distribution of Goods to the Assinni-
boines" (1853);
Gustavus Sohon's "Fort Benton — Head of Steam Navigation
on the Missouri River" (Probably 1860-1862),
"Mode of Crossing Rivers by the Flathead and Other
Indians" (Probably 1860-1862);
John E. Weyss' "Brownsville, Texas" (1853);
Arthur Schott's "Military Plaza — San Antonio, Texas" (1853?),
between pp. 16, 17.
THE ANNUAL MEETING: Containing Reports of the Secretary,
Treasurer, Executive and Nominating Committees; Annual
Address of the President, THE KAW OR KANSA INDIANS, Frank
Haucke; Memorials to Milton R. McLean and Charles H.
Browne; Election of Officers; List of Directors of the Society,
Kirke Mechem, 24
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 66
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 68
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 69
The Kansas Historical Quarterly is published in February, May, August and
November by the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kan., and is dis-
tributed free to members. Correspondence concerning contributions may be
sent to the secretary of the Historical Society. The Society assumes no respon-
sibility for statements made by contributors.
Entered as second-class matter October 22, 1931, at the post office at To-
peka, Kan., under the act of August 24, 1912.
THE COVER
John Mix Stanley's "Prairie Indian Encampment.'
Courtesy Detroit Institute of Arts.
THE KANSAS
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Volume XX February, 1952 Number 1
The Pictorial Record of the Old West
XV. JOHN M. STANLEY AND THE PACIFIC RAILROAD REPORTS
ROBERT TAFT
(Copyright, 1952, by ROBERT TAFT)
IN the preceding number of this series, many of the illustrators of
the Pacific railroad Reports were considered. Two, however, re-
main to be discussed, those who were present on Gov. I. I. Stevens'
survey of the northern route.1 The principal artist of this survey,
John M. Stanley, deserves more than mere mention for at least two
reasons: he is represented in the reports of the surveys by more
plates than any other artist, and in the second place, no early West-
ern artist had more intimate knowledge by personal experience of the
American West.
Born in New York state in 1814, he spent his boyhood there.
When he was 20 he moved to Detroit and the following year he be-
gan painting portraits and landscapes. No record of any artistic
training exists, but from 1835 until 1839 he apparently made his
living as an itinerant artist in Detroit, Fort Snelling (where he
painted Indians), Galena and Chicago. He then moved East. No
DR. ROBERT TAFT, of Lawrence, is professor of chemistry at the University of Kansas
and editor of the Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. He is author of Photog-
raphy and the American Scene (New York, 1938), and Across the fears on Mount Oread
(Lawrence, 1941).
Previous articles in this pictorial series appeared in the issues of The Kansas Historical
Quarterly for February, May, August and November, 1946, May and August, 1948, May,
August and November, 1949, February, May and August, 1950, August and November,
1951. The general introduction was in the February, 1946, number.
1. The survey of the 32d parallel under Capt. John Pope completed the survey on this
route begun by Lieutenant Parke from Fort Yuma to Fort Fillmore. Captain Pope began
his survey near the latter place on February 12, 1854, and traveled eastward across much
country that was unknown. The survey was completed at Preston, Tex. (near present
Denison), on May 15, 1854 (Reports of Explorations and Surveys to Ascertain the Most
Practicable and Economic Route for a Railroad From the Mississippi River to the Pacific
Ocean, v. 2). As can be seen by an inspection of a map, most of Pope's route lay through
Texas. No illustrations accompany Pope's report but a contemporary report by a private
concern covered a somewhat similar survey of a route through Texas and west, and the
report is accompanied by 32 interesting illustrations, see A. B. Gray, Survey of a Route
for the Southern Pacific R. R. on the 32nd Parallel for the Texas Western R. R. Company
(Cincinnati, 1856). The plates are by Carl Schuchard. Schuchard, a German, was
born in 1827 and was a mining engineer who joined the '49 rush to California. Later
he became a surveyor, settled in Texas where he lived for a number of years, but spent
much of his later life in Mexico where he died on May 4, 1883. Schuchard's original
sketches for the report cited above were destroyed in a fire in the Smithsonian Institution,
apparently the same fire that destroyed a number of Stanley paintings (see p. 10). I am
indebted to Llerena Friend of the Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas, for
information concerning Schuchard.
2 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
definite record of his wanderings exists for the next few years, but
in the early spring of 1842 an advertisement of the firm of Fay and
Stanley appeared in Washington ( D. C. ) papers. Although positive
proof that the Stanley of this firm was John M. Stanley is lacking,
the circumstantial evidence is excellent. The advertisement an-
nounced that Fay and Stanley were prepared to take daguerreotype
likenesses and would offer instruction and complete outfits for the
practice of the art. Evidently in his three years in the East, Stanley
— if it be granted that he was the Stanley of our interest — had ac-
quired a knowledge of the new art, for it had been introduced into
this country in the fall of 1839. Certain it is that Stanley later made
use of daguerreotypy on one of his Western expeditions.2
Sometime during the summer or fall of 1842, Stanley decided to
go to the Indian country with Sumner Dickerman of Troy, N. Y., for
the express purpose of painting the American Indian of the West.
Whether he was influenced by his predecessor, Catlin, who had
achieved by 1842 a considerable reputation with his collection of
Indian paintings, is unknown. Dickerman's part in the enterprise,
too, is not known with certainty. He probably helped to finance the
expedition and certainly he was the companion and helper of Stan-
ley for several years.3
In the fall of 1842 the two arrived in Fort Gibson (in present
2. The information on Stanley thus far given in the text is based on an account
given by Stanley's son, L. C. Stanley, and published by David I. Bushnell, Jr., in "John
Mix Stanley, Artist-Explorer," Annual Report Smithsonian Institution . . ., 1924, pp.
507-512, subsequent reference to this biographic material is indicated by L. C. S. Stan-
ley's manuscript account of bis father is said to be in the Burton Historical Collections,
Detroit.
The advertisement of Fay and Stanley appeared in The Independent, Washington, on
March 15, 1842, p. 3, and in many subsequent issues between this date and May 31, 1842.
The same advertisement, with minor variations, also appeared in the National Intelligencer,
Washington (see, for example, the issue of March 29, 1842, p. 3). The Independent of
March 18, 1842, p. 3, had a brief comment on the firm of Fay and Stanley and identified
Fay as one who had a "long and respectable connection with the Press of South Carolina"
but made no direct comment on Stanley. Mention is made of "a competent artist" in the
account which may or may not mean Stanley. Further circumstantial evidence that it
was John M. Stanley who was concerned is borne out by the fact that the firm of Fay and
Stanley became Fay and Reed in the advertisement of the firm for June 3, 1842, in the
Independent (p. 4, c. 5). As will be pointed out shortly in the text, Stanley was in the
Southwest in the year 1842 and the change in the firm may have arisen from Stanley's
withdrawal for this trip. Comment and letters in Diary and Letters of Josiah Gregg (Nor-
man, Okla., 1941), M. G. Fulton, editor, v. 1, p. 188, also suggest that Stanley, a friend of
Gregg's may have had a knowledge of daguerreotypy in 1846; Stanley's subsequent use
of the daguerreotype in 1853 will be discussed in the text which follows. For the intro-
duction of daguerreotypy in the United States, see Robert Taft, Photography and the Ameri-
can Scene (New York, 1938), ch. 1.
3. L. C. S. identified Dickerman only by the two words "of Troy." W. Vernon Kinietz,
John Mix Stanley and His Indian Paintings (Ann Arbor, 1942), p. 17 (Footnote 3), states
that Stanley's will assigned Dickerman a one-fourth interest in Stanley's Indian Gallery
to be described later in the text. Dickerman was born in 1819. He is listed as a resident
of Troy in the city directories from 1836 to 1843. He was a Civil War veteran and lived
in Maryland for some years after the war. He returned to Troy in 1881 where he died
on July 21, 1882. — See Troy Daily Times, July 22, 1882. I am indebted to Fanny C.
Howe, librarian, Troy Public Library, for this information. I have also corresponded with
Kate L. Dickerman of Troy, who wrote me on March 21, 1951, that Sumner Dickerman
was her uncle and that she remembered him relating stories of his adventures in the
Indian country with Stanley. Miss Dickerman, age 90, also wrote me that Stanley
painted portraits of her aunt and other members of the family which hung for many
years in the Dickerman home. Miss Dickerman, the last of her family, stated that no
records of Stanley or Dickerman in the Indian country were available in the family.
PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST 3
Oklahoma) and Stanley immediately set up a studio. Fort Gibson,
established in 1824, was an important post on the early Southwest-
ern frontier and in many respects an ideal one for Stanley's purpose.
Through it passed an almost continuous stream of frontiersmen,
border characters, and Indians of many tribes. Located in the
Cherokee country it was easily accessible to Seminoles, Creeks,
Osages, Chickasaws, many of whom had been forced to migrate by
the government in the years preceding Stanley's first visit. Visits,
too, from the native Plains Indians farther west were also frequent
and Stanley never lacked for subjects. Four of these visitors, two
Pawnee Pict chiefs and the wife and child of one of them, were
among Stanley's early subjects. Stanley wrote concerning them:
On the arrival of the two chiefs and this woman at Fort Gibson, we took
them to our studio for the purpose of painting their portraits. They very
willingly acceded to my wishes, and manifested by signs that they wanted some-
thing to eat. We accordingly had as much meat cooked as would appease the
appetite of six men, which they ate in a short time, and then asked for more.
We again provided about the same quantity, which, to our astonishment, they
also devoured. It was the first meat they had eaten for some five or six days.4
But Stanley's great opportunity came the following spring when
a grand Indian council was called to convene at Tahlequah by the
celebrated Cherokee, John Ross. Tahlequah, the capital of the
Cherokee Nation, was only some 20 miles from Fort Gibson, but
Stanley moved his studio to the Indian town and during the four-
weeks' session of the council and the succeeding summer months,
was exceedingly busy recording the scenes and the participants of
the Indian gathering.
By June 1, 1843, several thousand Indians from a wide circle of
the Indian country were present, and an observer of the scene has
left us the following interesting account of the events witnessed:
Every variety of dress can be seen here from the well dressed person down
to the almost naked Osage. Plumes and feathers are worn with profusion and in
every shape that can be imagined; hand kerchiefs of every color, silver bands
for the arms, head and breast; medals, beads and hunting shirts of every shape
and color; in truth, I cannot give you anything like a correct idea of the great
variety of dress worn by the tawny sons of the forest. We have almost as great
a variety in the color of persons as we have in dress. Where nature has not
given the color, paint is used to supply the deficiency. Besides the various
Indian Tribes there are persons from almost every nation. Here are Germans,
Scotch, Irish, English, Spanish and various other nations. I have no doubt if
strict inquiry was made, not excepting some of the sable sons of Africa.5
4. Catalogue of Pictures in Stanley and Dickerman's North American Indian Portrait
Gallery; J. M. Stanley, Artist (Cincinnati, 1846), pp. 21, 22.
5. Arkansas Intelligencer, Van Buren, June 24, 1843, p. 2. Van Buren, located only
some half-dozen miles from Fort Smith, which in turn was only some 50 miles below Fort
4 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Stanley painted one such meeting of the council, the painting
being one of the few surviving Stanley pictures. It is now owned
by the National Museum and has been called by one authority "one
of the most valuable and important Indian pictures in existence." 6
Late in the fall of 1843, Stanley accompanied Gov. P. M. Butler,
the U. S. agent to the Cherokees, to a council held for the Comanche
and other "wild prairie Indians" who had been for some years a
source of trouble near the boundary of the Texas Republic and the
United States. Texas commissioners were supposed to be present
but failed to appear, but the council was held on "the head-waters
of the Red River" (probably near the present southwestern corner
of Oklahoma ) and Stanley was able to secure a number of Coman-
che Indian portraits and landscape views.7
It seems probable that from the fall of 1842 until late in April,
1845, Dickerman and Stanley lived continuously in the Indian coun-
try. In the fall of 1845 they were in Cincinnati where Stanley was
Gibson on the Arkansas river, was thus an important post near the early Southwestern
frontier; its newspaper is an invaluable source of information on the early history of this
region.
Mention is made of the presence of Stanley and Dickerman in the Indian country in
the Arkansas Intelligencer a number of times, including issues of July 15, 1843, p. 2; Sep-
tember 23, 1843, p. 2 (which stated that Stanley had just returned from the Creek Busk
which he painted, the painting being listed in the Stanley catalogue); October 28, 1843,
p. 2, and other issues specifically cited later.
The observer of the council stated that when his account was written ( June 1 ) the
number of persons present for the council were estimated at "two to five thousand."
In Stanley's catalogue, Portraits of North American Indians, published by the Smithsonian
Institution, December, 1852 (usually found as part of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collec-
tions, v. 2, 1862), p. 18, the number present at the council is estimated at 10,000. I have
seen other estimates as high as 20,000. In this catalogue Stanley has dated the painting
of most of his pictures. It is apparent from these dates he was busy with the painting of
the council and with portraits of visitors to the council during June, July, August and
September of 1843. On p. 18 of this source, Stanley states that the council was in session
for four weeks during June, 1843. Stanley's painting of the council, "International Indian
Council," is now in the National Museum. Reproductions may be found in the Bushnell
article cited in Footnote 2 and in the Kinietz book cited in Footnote 3.
6. Bushnell, loc. cit., p. 511.
7. In the "Preface" to the proposed Indian portfolio by Stanley now in the Museum
of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York City (for a discussion of this port-
folio see F. W. Hodge, Indian Notes, v. 6, No. 4, Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation, New York, October, 1929), the statement is made that Stanley accompanied
Butler on two expeditions to the prairie tribes of Texas. The first was probably made in
the early spring of ] 843 as brief mention is made on Butler's return from this council in
the National Intelligencer, April 27, 1843, p. 3 (reprinted from the Shreveport Red River
Gazette of April 12). The second trip of Stanley with Butler to the headwaters of the
Bed river is identified in the same "Preface" as taking place in the winter of ] 843-1 844
for Butler was reported as preparing to meet the Prairie Indians on the Red river on No-
vember 25, 1843, in the National Intelligencer, November 18, 1843, p. 3, and later his
return from the council is reported in the Arkansas Intelligencer, December 30, 1843, p. 2,
and January 6, 1844, p. 1.
In both of these accounts mention is made of Stanley's presence at the council. In fact,
Stanley made badges, at the suggestion of Butler, to designate each of the tribes presented,
a courtesy which greatly pleased the Indians. One Comanche woman thought so much of
Stanley that she gave him her prized riding whip. Additional information on this
council will also be found in Niles Register, Baltimore, January 13, 1844, p. 306, and
January 27, 1844, p. 339. Stanley's paintings (in his catalogue of 1852) of the Comanche
Indians which were undoubtedly secured on this expedition are dated "1844" which must
mean that Stanley completed them at Fort Gibson after his return from the last expedition
in December, 1843.
P. M. Butler received his title of governor from the fact that he was governor of South
Carolina from 1836 until 1838. He was agent to the Cherokees from 1838 to 1846 and
was killed in battle in the Mexican War in 1847. — See Dictionary of American Biography
v. 3, pp. 365, 366.
PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST 5
actively engaged in finishing some 83 paintings preparatory to public
exhibition.8
The gallery was opened for public exhibition on January 19, 1846,
and the Stanley portraits were on display in Cincinnati until Febru-
ary 14. Advertisements of the event announced "Season tickets ad-
mitting a gentlemen and one lady $1, can be procured at the door.
— This collection can be seen by gas light as well as day light/' 9
It was but natural that the gallery should be compared with
Catlin's. Comment on this comparison is not extensive but the
Cincinnati Gazette, January 21, 1846, stated: "Of the artistic merits
of these pictures, in our judgment, they are fully equal to any of
that class we have ever seen — not excepting those by Catlin; nor
are we alone in our estimate in this respect" ( see, also, p. 9 ) .
Stanley soon became restless after his gallery was completed and
leaving its future exhibition to Dickerman, he again started west.
He was in St. Louis in the spring of 1846, and a few weeks later was
in Independence, Mo., ready to start out over the Santa Fe trail for
new scenes.10 He joined Col. S. C. Owen's train which included the
famous Josiah Gregg, whose Commerce of the Prairies published in
8. The departure of Stanley and Dickerman from the Indian country of the Southwest
is reported in the Arkansas Intelligencer, May 3, 1845, p. 2, and the Arkansas Banner,
Little Rock, May 21, 1845, p. 3. In the first of these reports it was stated that the partners
were leaving for "the mouth of the Yellowstone on the Upper Missouri, where they were
to continue their painting of Indian portraits and scenes." I have found no evidence that
this contemplated plan was carried out. In fact, the reference which follows, if correct,
would seem to be good evidence against such a possibility.
The Cincinnati Gazette, January 21, 1846, reported: "Messrs. Stanley & Dickerman
the proprietors of these pictures, are already most favorable known to many of our citizens,
by a residence of some months in our city, during which time they have been elaborating
these pictures from the numerous sketches and materiel gathered during their three years
residence and travel among the tribes of the 'far West.' " I am indebted to Prof. Dwight
L. Smith of the department of history, Ohio State University, Columbus, who searched
the Gazette and Cists' Western General Advertiser for January and February, 1846, seek-
ing items concerning the first exhibition of Stanley paintings. The Cincinnati catalogue
cited in Footnote 4 was used in connection with this exhibition and lists 100 paintings and
34 sketches. One of the paintings was "John M. Stanley, the Artist, Painted by Mo9ney."
The copy of the catalogue I have used (in the New York Public Library) bears evidence
that the last two pages were inserted after the original publication in 1846. Several of the
paintings, for example, are of incidents in the Northwest in 1847, and the last two pages
are unnumbered while the remaining pages ( 34 ) are numbered. The first 34 pages cata-
logued 83 paintings, and an advertisement in the Cincinnati Gazette January 26, 1846,
stated there were 83 paintings in the gallery. It is obvious then that the New York Public
Library copy of this catalogue was one used for exhibitions after 1846.
9. Cincinnati Gazette, January 20, 26, 1846; February 14, 1846. The Cherokee Ad-
vocate, Tahlequah, of March 12, 1846, p. 3, noted the various comments in the Cincinnati
papers on the Stanley and Dickerman gallery and was moved to make their own comment:
"We perceive from Cincinnati papers that Messrs. Stanley and Dickerman have been
exhibiting recently in that city their extensive collection of Indian portraits and it will
afford pleasure to their numerous friends in this country, to learn that they are receiving the
meed of praise from an intelligent public, which their merit as artists and gentlemen so
richly deserves."
10. Cist's Western General Advertiser, Cincinnati, January 28, 1846, stated that Stan-
ley "proposes in April next to resume his interesting employment in other and yet un-
explored fields of labour" and in Diary and Letters of Josiah Gregg (Norman, Okla., 1941),
edited by M. G. Fulton, v. 1, p. 188, is a letter of Gregg's dated April 17, 1846, which
mentioned Stanley and indicates that Gregg was expecting Stanley to be in St. Louis at or
before the time Gregg's letter was written. An editorial note (p. 188) states that Gregg and
Stanley were fellow-residents of Independence, Mo. If Stanley was a resident of Independ-
ence it could not have been a matter of more than a few months.
6 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
]
1844 has become a Western classic. Gregg continued with the train
only a hundred miles or so and then turned back to join another
venture but the train also contained another writer whose diary
many years later also became well known. Susan Magoffin's diary,
like Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies, is among the most valued
written records of the Santa Fe trail. Susan, a young bride of 19,
noted in her diary on June 20, 1846, that Stanley was a member of
the same train, after wishing that an artist could portray the many
interesting and novel scenes as the train lay encamped at Council
Grove (in present central Kansas).11
Unfortunately, if Stanley made any sketches along the Santa Fe
trail, they have been lost. Before he started on the overland expedi-
tion, however, he had made an excursion from Independence to the
Kansas river where he painted Keokuk, the celebrated chief, and
others of the Sac and Fox tribe.12
Owen's train reached Santa Fe on August 31, 1846. The Mexican
War was then only several months old and Col. Stephen W. Kearny
and his troops, who reached Santa Fe at about the same time as the
Owen train, promptly took over the city from the Mexican govern-
ment and planned to go on to California to aid in its conquest. Re-
organization of Kearny's troops was made at Santa Fe and a scien-
tific staff was added which included Stanley as the artist of the
expedition.13
Kearny's troops left Santa Fe on September 25 for the long over-
land trip to California, which was reached in December. On Decem-
ber 6 a pitched battle between the troops and Mexicans some 40
miles east of San Diego caused severe casualties, hardships and
sufferings, but reinforcements appeared at an opportune moment
and the goal of San Diego was reached on December 12. Stanley
managed to retain his sketches during the six days of battle and
hardship and was taken abroad the U. S. sloop Cyane at San Diego
where he was able to prepare some of them for publication and to
finish others in oils. A number of his sketches were doubtless
among those reproduced lithographically in the official report of
11. Down the Santa Fe Trail and Into Mexico — The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin
(New Haven, 1926), edited by Stella M. Drumm, p. 19. For Gregg's departure with
Owen's train, see Diary and Letters of Josiah Gregg (previously cited), v. 1, pp. 192
(footnote), 197 and 202 (Footnote 7).
12. Stanley's catalogue of 1852, pp. 35-40.
13. National Intelligencer, November 14, 1846, p. 3, reported that Kearny left Santa
Fe for California on September 25, and that the scientific staff of the expedition included
"Mr. Stanley employed at Santa Fe as the artist of the expedition." W. H. Emory's official
report of the Kearny expedition (House Ex. Doc. No. 41 [serial No. 517], p. 45, 30 Cong.,
1 Sess. [1848]) stated that the party as organized at Santa Fe included "J. M. Stanly,
draughtsman."
PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST 7
Kearny's long march to the sea.14 The plates in general are very
crudely done in black and white, the most interesting one being
"San Diego from the Old Fort." The Cyane with Stanley aboard
arrived in San Francisco in the early spring of 1847, and here Edwin
Bryant, the author of the well-known What I Saw in California, in-
cluded Stanley's sketches in the California sights that came before
his eyes. Writing in 1848, he stated:
Mr. Stanley, the artist of the [Kearny] expedition completed his sketches
in oil, at San Francisco; and a more truthful, interesting, and valuable series
of paintings, delineating mountain scenery, the floral exhibitions on the route,
the savage tribes between Santa Fe and California — combined with camp-life
and marches through the desert and wilderness — has never been, and probably
never will be exhibited. Mr. Stanley informed that he was preparing a work
on the savage tribes of North America, and of the islands of the Pacific, which,
when completed on his plan, will be the most comprehensive and descriptive of
the subject, of any that has been published.15
These paintings, valuable in their time and day, would now be
priceless but apparently with two exceptions they all have disap-
peared, most of them in a fire which in 1865 destroyed some 200
of Stanley's paintings. The exceptions noted above are "Indian
Telegraph" (smoke signal) and "Black Knife" (Apache) both por-
traying incidents of Kearny's overland march to California.16
After finishing the sketches and paintings of the Kearny expedi-
tion in 1847, Stanley spent the next several years in further wander-
ings making sketches for his proposed Indian portfolio. He was in
14. Twenty-three plates of scenery and Indian portraits in black and white, three
of natural history and Indian hieroglyphics, and 14 botanical plates appear in the official
report. Apparently all were after sketches by Stanley although nowhere is there direct
statement of this fact save in the case of the 14 botanical plates. Both senate and house
printings of the report exist: W. H. Emory, Notes of a Military Reconnaissance, From Fort
Leavenworth, Missouri to San Diego, California (Washington, 1848), 30 Cong., 1 Sess.,
Senate Ex. Doc. No. 7 (serial No. 505), and 30 Cong., 1 Sess., House Ex. Doc. No. 41
(serial No. 517). The lithography of the plates in both printings I have examined were
by C. B. Graham although Charles L. Camp, Wagner's the Plains and the Rockies (San
Francisco, 1937), p. 112, reports that in the senate edition he examined the plates of
scenery were lithographed by E. Weber and Co.; a point which illustrates the fact made
previously that general conclusions on plates cannot be based on the examination of single
volumes.
There is, of course, the possibility that some of the views in the Emory report were
not based on Stanley's original sketches. Ross Calvin in Lieutenant Emory Reports (Albu-
querque, 1951), states (pp. 3, 4) that some of the illustrations "are so inaccurate as to
make it clear that the draughtsman never beheld the scenes he was attempting to depict"
but does not explain the discrepancy further. Calvin's statement still does not preclude
the possibility that all the original drawings were made by Stanley as has already been
observed in the text, the plates reproduced in this report are extremely crude. The
lithographer may well have been the cause of the inaccuracies.
15. Edwin Bryant, What I Saw in California (New York, 4th ed., 1849), pp. 435-
436. Bryant had ample opportunity to observe "the desert and wilderness" for he made
the overland crossing himself and was made alcalde of San Francisco in the spring of
1847 by General Kearny. Bryant's book is one of the most interestingly written of all the
early accounts of the overland trail. Bryant (1805-1869) lived in California for some
time but spent his last years in Kentucky. For an obituary, see San Francisco Bulletin,
January 3, 1870, p. 2.
16. The "Indian Telegraph" was either repainted or painted for the first time in 1860
(Kinietz, op. cit., p. 33) and therefore was not one of the paintings seen by Bryant. It is
now owned by the Detroit Institute of Arts. "Black Knife" was among the original paint-
ings of 1846 and was one of those that escaped the disastrous fire of 1865. It is owned by
the National Museum. Both of these paintings are reproduced in black and white in the
Kinietz book.
8 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Oregon by July 8, 1847, and was busily occupied for some months
making portraits of the Northwestern Indians. Late in November,
he started for the famous Whitman Mission to paint the portraits
of Dr. and Mrs. Whitman. When within six miles of the mission,
he was met by two friendly Indians who informed him of the Whit-
man massacre and warned him that his own life was in danger.
With the aid of an Indian, he made his way with great caution to
Fort Walla Walla where he was one of the first to report the mas-
sacre.17 Stanley continued in the Northwest until the summer of
1848 and his extensive Indian gallery acquired many additions.
About August 1 he took ship for the Hawaiian Islands — the
Sandwich Islands. His painting career was again resumed on the
Islands where portraits of Kamehameha III and his queen were
made and which are still on display in the Government Museum,
Honolulu. Stanley lived in Honolulu for over a year but on No-
vember 17, 1849, he sailed for Boston.18
Upon Stanley's return to the United States, his Indian gallery was
enlarged and he seems to have spent most of 1850 and 1851 in dis-
playing the gallery in a number of Eastern cities.19 Early in 1852
he took his collection of Indian paintings to Washington where he
made arrangements with Joseph Henry, secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution, for their free display in the library room of the
17. For an extended account of Stanley in the Northwest, see Nellie B. Pipes, "John
Mix Stanley, Indian Painter," The Oregon Historical Quarterly, Salem, v. 33 (1932), Sep-
tember, pp. 250-258.
18. In The Polynesian, Honolulu, August 19, 1848, p. 55, there was record of the
arrival of the American brig Eveline at the port of Honolulu "13 days from Columbia
River"; George M. Stanley was listed as one of the passengers. I believe that this is a
record of John M. Stanley's arrival in Honolulu for in a succeeding issue of this paper
there is an account of John M. Stanley's artistic activities with the comment that he "re-
cently arrived from Oregon." — Ibid., September 16, 1848, p. 70. Additional comment
on Stanley's activities in the Islands will be found in the Sandwich Island News, Honolulu,
August 21, 1848, p. 187; The Polynesian, April 14, 1849, p. 190.
Stanley left the Islands for the United States on November 17, 1849, for a letter
from one Charles Jordon Hopkins of King Kamehameha's retinue, written November 16,
1849, stated that Stanley was to sail on the following day and directed that Stanley be
paid $500 for his portraits of the king and queen. The letter bears the receipt of Stanley
for this sum. A copy of a letter in the Hawaiian archives, dated February 4, 1850, is
directed to Stanley in Boston, expressing the hope he had a pleasant return voyage. I am
indebted to Mrs. Dean Acheson of Washington, D. C., Stanley's granddaughter, for copies
of these letters.
19. In the New York Tribune, November 28, 1850, p. 1, there appeared for the first
time the advertisement:
"INDIANS — Will be opened at the Alhambra Rooms, 557Vz Broadway, on THURSDAY
EVENING, November 28, STANLEY'S NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN GALLERY, containing 134
Oil Paintings consisting of Portraits, life size of the principal Chiefs and Warriors of fifty
different tribes roving upon our Western and South-wessern [sic] Prairies, New-Mexico,
California and Oregon, together with landscape views, Games, Dances, Buffalo Hunts and
Domestic Scenes, all of which have been painted in their own country during eight years
travel among them, the whole forming one of the most interesting and instructive exhibitions
illustrative of Indian life and customs ever before presented to the public.
"Descriptive Lectures may be expected at 3 P. M. on Wednesday and Saturday; also,
each Evening at 7% o'clock. Open at 9 A. M. to 10 P. M.
"Single Tickets 25 cents. Season Tickets $1. Can be obtained at the principal Hotels
and at the Door. STANLEY & DICKERMAN, Proprietors."
This advertisement ran for a week but comment and other small advertisements indi-
cated that the gallery was on exhibit in New York for at least two months and probably
longer. — See New York Tribune, January 21, 1851, p. 5, January 23, p. 5, January 24, p. 1.
PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST 9
institution. Here they remained for over a dozen years, the gallery
being gradually enlarged by Stanley until it numbered some two
hundred paintings. The gallery attracted considerable public in-
terest, not only among visitors to Washington but among residents
of the city and among members of congress.20
Stanley's purpose in bringing his gallery to Washington for free
display was primarily to interest members of congress in its pur-
chase and thus to establish a national gallery. He had spent ten
years of his life in travel, adventure, toil and labor in securing the
150-odd paintings that made up the collection at the time of its
first display in the capitol. The private exhibition of the gallery,
although it may have given him a living, did not return him any-
thing on the investment he had made, which in 1852, Stanley esti-
mated was $12,000. This sum included nothing for time and labor,
but had been spent for materials, transportation, insurance and
traveling expenses.
Catlin had urged the purchase of his Indian gallery by congress
without success and had taken it abroad where it was rumored it
was to stay. Stanley felt that his collection was more representative
of the Western Indians and certainly he had traveled far more ex-
tensively in the American West than had Catlin. Capt. Seth East-
man, himself an Indian artist of note, saw Stanley's gallery when it
was brought to Washington in 1852 and wrote Stanley "that I con-
sider the artistic merits of yours far superior to Mr. Catlin's; and
they give a better idea of the Indian than any works in Mr. Catlin's
collection."
With such encouragement, Stanley was able to bring his gallery
to the attention of the senate committee on Indian affairs, who rec-
ommended its purchase for $19,200. The question of its purchase
was debated in the senate and although strongly urged by Senator
Weller of California and Senator Walker of Wisconsin, the purchase
bill was defeated 27 to 14 when it came to a vote in March, 1853.21
20. The first notice I have found of Stanley's gallery in Washington occurs in the
National Intelligencer, February 24, 1852, p. 1, which stated that the gallery had been
2?°™3£ br°u8ht to, this city-" Henfy reported to the board of the Smithsonian on March
22, 1852, that Stanley had deposited his gallery of Indian portraits in the institution and
that they "had attracted many visitors" (32 Cong., 1 Sess., Senate Misc. Doc. No. 108
(serial No. 629), p. 108. See, also, Henry's comment on Stanley's gallery in 32 Cong.,
2 Sess., Sen. Misc. Doc. No. 53, p. 27. Henry stated here that there were 152 paintings in
the collection which is the number listed in the catalogue of 1852; note the comment of
Senator Weller, however, as given in Footnote 21. L.C.S. mentions the display of the
gallery in Eastern cities during 1850 and 1851.
21; , Fo£ Eastman's comment, see letter of Eastman's dated January 28, 1852, and
quoted by Kinietz, op. cit., p. 17. For Eastman (1808-1875) as a painter of the American
Indian, see David I. Bushnell, Jr., "Seth Eastman, Master Painter of the North American
Indian, Smithsonian Misc. Collections, v. 87 (1932), April, 18 pages.
Senator Weller of California introduced the matter of the purchase of the Stanley
gallery to the senate on December 28, 1852, where the matter was referred to the com-
mittee on Indian affairs, The Cong. Globe, 32 Cong., 2 Sess. (1852-1853), p. 158 Weller
10 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Stanley continued to urge the purchase of the gallery even after
the initial defeat of the first measure and apparently it was dis-
cussed in congress a number of times but all such attempts failed.
The Smithsonian itself was asked to buy this collection but lack of
funds prevented such a move. Stanley added to the gallery, how-
ever, and by 1865 it numbered some 200 portraits. A fire on Janu-
ary 24, 1865, in the wing of the institution which housed the gallery
caused the destruction of all but five of the paintings. Not only did
Stanley suffer a heart-breaking loss but the nation suffered an irrep-
arable loss in its historical portraiture.22
Stanley's career before 1853 has been described in some detail to
show his importance as a Western illustrator and to show that he
was by far the best equipped both by ability and experience, of any
of the artists that accompanied the Pacific railroad surveys.23
Early in 1853 Isaac I. Stevens, an army engineer and assistant in
charge of the coast survey office in Washington, applied to Presi-
dent Franklin B. Pierce for the governorship of the newly organized
territory of Washington, which had been formed from the northern
half of Oregon territory. In his application to President Pierce,
Stevens stated that if the President could find anyone better quali-
fied for the place, it was the President's duty to appoint that person.
Evidently Pierce thought Stevens the best qualified, for one of his
first acts as President was to send Stevens' name to the senate for
stated that there were 154 paintings in the collection, 139 in substantial gilded frames.
The committee to whom the matter was referred examined the exhibit and were very
favorably impressed but they failed to arouse enough enthusiasm among the rest of the
senators when the matter came to a final vote on March 3, 1853, ibid., p. 1084. Senator
Weller apparently quoted Stanley when he reported Stanley's investment as $12,000 "in
addition to time and labor."
The National Intelligencer item cited in Footnote 20 stated Stanley's hope when it re-
ported that the gallery "may become the foundation of the great national gallery."
22. The annual reports of the Smithsonian Institution from 1852 to 1866 contain
frequent mention of the Stanley gallery and the facts stated above come from this source.
That Stanley was hard pressed financially is all too evident in his request of the institution
for an allowance of $100 a year to pay the interest on money that Stanley had borrowed
so that he would not have to sell the gallery privately (Annual Report of the Smithsonian
Inst. for 1859 [Washington, 1860], p. 113). The destruction by fire and the fact that
the gallery had grown to 200 paintings is reported in the Annual Report of the Smithsonian
Institution for 1864 (Washington, 1872), p. 1J9.
23. Some idea of Stanley's method in the field can be gathered from a memorandum
which he prepared for Stevens on plans for the work of the artists of the surveys (see
Reports, v. 1, Stevens Report, pp. 7 and 8). Stanley stated in part: "Sketches of Indians
should be made and colored from life, with care to fidelity in complexion as well as feature.
In their games and ceremonies, it is only necessary to give their characteristic attitudes, with
drawings of the implements and weapons used, and notes in detail of each ceremony rep-
resented. It is desirable that drawings of their lodges, with their historical devices,
carving &c, be made with care."
That Stevens was more than satisfied with his selection of Stanley is indicated in a
letter of October 29, 1853, after Stanley's part in the survey was virtually complete. The
letter reads in part: "The chief of the exploration would do injustice to his own feelings
if he omitted to express his admiration for the various labors of Mr. Stanley, the artist of
the exploration. Besides occupying his professional field with an ability above any com-
mendation we can bestow, Mr. Stanley has surveyed two routes — from Fort Benton to the
Cypress mountain, and from St. Mary's valley to Fort Colville over the Bitter Root range
of mountains — to the furtherance of our geographical information, and the ascertaining of
important points in the question of a railroad; and he has also rendered effectual services
in both cases, and throughout his services with the exploration, in intercourse with the
Indians." — Reports, v. 1, Stevens report, p. 67.
PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST 11
confirmation as governor of the new territory. Stevens' commis-
sion was issued March 17. The duties of the position were arduous
enough, for, in addition to the governorship, Stevens was also
superintendent of Indian affairs for the territory. Not satisfied
with his dual role of governor and Indian commissioner, Stevens
also applied to Secretary of War Jefferson Davis for the position
as head of the northern railroad survey, and received the commis-
sion for this task on April 8.24
Such combined responsibilities would have given pause to most
men but not to Governor Stevens. Stevens was exceedingly ener-
getic, able and ambitious and doubtless would have become a
figure of greater national importance had it not been for the bullet
which ended his life when, as major general, he personally led
a charge against Confederate forces at the battle of Chantilly,
September 1, 1862.
However, as soon as Stevens' appointment as head of the north-
ern survey was confirmed, he started with characteristic thorough-
ness and vigor to make his plans for the survey. His chief assistant
was Capt. George B. McClellan, who achieved greater prominence
than his chief in the Civil War, and who was directed to start the
survey from the Pacific coast side. Stevens organized his own
party to begin the survey at the eastern terminus of St. Paul and
on May 9, 1853, left Washington for the West. His companion as
he left Washington was John M. Stanley whom Stevens with good
judgment had selected as the artist for the expedition.
How extensive Stevens had made his plans and carried them
through since he received his appointment on April 8, can be
judged by the comment of the St. Paul correspondent to the New
York Tribune. Writing on May 25, two days before Stevens and
Stanley arrived in the frontier town, he stated:
Gov. Stevens is said to be a regular go-ahead man and so far the work shows
for itself. His men, baggage, and about 150 mules have already arrived, and
the work has been going on for over a week. How he has managed so to
expedite his affairs is a problem.
The shipments of merchandise and emigration to St. Paul this spring have
been enormous; so that many of our merchants, who purchased even in the
winter, have not yet received their supplies. The Governor has crowded them
off and hurried his effects along. It is not easy to define how much the people
of the West admire such a character. Ten years is a lifetime here, and twenty,
time out of memory.25
24. In the above discussion I have followed Hazard Stevens, The Life of Isaac Ingalls
Stevens (Boston, 1900), v. 1, ch. 15. For his appointment as survey head, see v. 12 of the
Reports, p. 31.
25. New York Tribune, June 3, 1853, p. 5.
12 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Stevens and Stanley arrived in St. Paul on the evening of May
27. The camp established by Stevens' vanguard was about an
hour's ride from St. Paul. Some idea of the drive and intensity of
the survey's commanding officer is revealed when he recorded in
his official diary: "Starting from St. Paul at 3& a. m. on the 28th, I
reached our camp in about an hour, and had the pleasure of rousing
the gentlemen of the expedition from their sleep." 26
Completion of organization for the start of the survey required
over a week and in that interval Stanley was busy. A sketch of
St. Paul (reproduced between pp. 16, 17) and one of the celebrated
"Minne-ha-ha, or the Laughing Water" — made immortal by Long-
fellow— are among Stanley's efforts which have survived as illus-
trations in the official report.
At St. Paul, too, an assistant artist, Max Strobel, was employed to
aid Stanley. Before the expedition started, a St. Paul reporter saw
some of Strobel's efforts and wrote: "I have already seen some of
the Artist's work, and can promise the public when Gov. Steven's
Report is made up and given to the world, there will be something
as pleasing to the eye as to the mind." 27 Strobel, however, could
not stand the intense pace and effort upon which Stevens insisted
and turned back from the expedition before it was long on its way
westward.28 Little else is known about Strobel, although one of his
sketches ( a view of St. Paul ) is known in lithograph. A comment,
"Mr. Strobel is a very accomplished artist and on his return [from
the Stevens survey] has rendered valuable service to Minnesota by
his sketches of the Minnesota river from Lac qui Parle to Traverse
des Sioux," shows that he is worthy of inclusion in our group of
Western artists. In the fall of 1853, he joined Fremont's expedition
at Westport and apparently withstood the hardships of that winter
overland journey. None of his work on this expedition, or that made
subsequently, is known at present.29
Stevens had his organization of the survey completed by June 6
and his command started the westward journey in various groups.
The general route of the expedition was that made famous by their
26. Reports, v. 12, p. 36.
27. New York Tribune, June 3, 1853, p. 5. This account lists Stanley and Strobel
as artists and although in the quotation above the plural artists' is employed, it must apply
to Strobel's work as it was written before Stanley reached St. Paul.
28. Ibid., August 3, 1853, p. 5. Strobel was not the only one who turned back as a
result of Stevens' drive and insistence upon his way of doing things. This same account
stated that there were over 25 who had returned and Stevens' official account also de-
scribed his difference of opinion with members of the survey resulting in withdrawal from
the expedition. Stevens mentions Strobel's discharge because he was "inefficient," Reports,
v. 12, p. 55.
29. For the comment on Strobel see New York Tribune, August 3, 1853, p. 5; for a
reproduction of Strobel's view of St. Paul, see I. N. Phelps Stokes and Daniel C. Haskell,
American Historical Prints . . . (New York, 1933), plate 85a with comment on
jge 111; for Strobel with Fremont, see S. N. Carvalho, Incidents of Travel and Adventure
' Far West (New York, 1859), p. 29.
PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST 13
predecessors 50-years earlier, Lewis and Clark; a route which has
been concisely summarized as "up the Missouri and down the
Columbia." It is true that little of the journey was by water — as
of necessity it could not be from the nature of the survey — and the
starting point, St. Paul, was some distance from the Missouri river.30
The expedition, however, headed westward across Minnesota terri-
tory and into present North Dakota where the route of the expedi-
tion roughly paralleled the Missouri.
Much of the country traversed was mapped for the first time and
even after Lewis and Clark's trail was actually picked up, the only
guide to the region were the notes of those classic early explorers.
Fort Union, the famous frontier outpost on the Missouri, and 715
miles distant from St. Paul, was reached on August 1.
Stanley has left us some notable illustrations of a number of the
incidents in the seven or eight weeks of this part of their Western
journey, some 13 plates in the official report representing his work.
Three of these illustrations are of particular interest: "Herd of
Bison, Near Lake Jessie" (reproduced between pp. 16, 17), "Camp
Red River Hunters," "Distribution of Goods to the Assiniboines" (re-
produced between pp. 16, 17 ) .
The first of these illustrations is particularly important as it is one
of the few pictures still extant made by an actual observer of the
enormous number of buffalo on the Western plains before the day of
the railroad. A writer to whom Stanley talked concerning this pic-
ture recorded Stanley's comments in this paragraph:
The artist in sketching this scene, stood on an elevation in advance of the
foreground, whence, with a spy-glass, he could see fifteen miles in any direction,
and yet he saw not the limit of the herd.
Who can count the multitude? You may only look and wonder! Or, if you
seek to estimate the "numbers without number," what sum will you name, ex-
cept "hundreds of thousands?"
And Stevens who, unlike Stanley, had never seen the buffalo in
their natural range, was also greatly impressed.
About five miles from camp [he wrote] we ascended to the top of a high hill,
and for a great distance ahead every square mile seemed to have a herd of
buffalo upon it. Their number was variously estimated by the members of the
party — some as high as half a million. I do not think it is any exaggeration to
30. Actually Stevens instructed one group of his expedition to ascend the Missouri
from St. Louis to Fort Union and to make meteorological, astronomical and topographical
observations above St. Joseph, Mo. Nine of the survey made the river trip, see Reports,
v. 12, pp. 79-82. The general course of the Stevens party through present North Dakota
was such, as one of the party stated, "to turn the Great Bend of the Missouri, and to
cross its tributaries, where the least water was to be found." — New York Tribune, Sep-
tember 13, 1853, p. 5. Roughly it would correspond to a route that would follow north
of U. S. 52 from Fargo to Minot and then U. S. 52 westward. Jessie lake (Griggs county),
for example, which is mentioned later in the text was on the Stevens route as was the
Butte de Morale, of which Stanley made a sketch which was reproduced in the Reports.
The Butte de Morale is some seven miles from Harvey, N. D., almost in the center of the
state.
14 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
set it down at 200,000. I had heard of the myriads of these animals inhabiting
these plains, but I could not realize the truth of these accounts till to-day, when
they surpassed anything I could have imagined from the accounts which I had
received. The reader will form a better idea of this scene from the accompany-
ing sketch taken by Mr. Stanley on the ground, than from any description.31
The party at the time these vast herds of buffalo were first
encountered was traveling westward through present east-central
North Dakota (Griggs county) and were approaching the Mis-
souri river country proper.
A few days after Stanley sketched the buffalo (July 10), the
survey encountered a large train of Red river hunters who were
coming southward on a hunting and trading expedition from their
settlement, Pembina, almost on the Canadian border. The Red
river hunters were Europeans: Scotch, Irish, English, Germans,
with Indian wives and their half-breed children. Over thirteen
hundred persons were in the train and they carried their belongings
in the well-known Pembina carts, two-wheeled affairs, and housed
themselves at night in over a hundred skin lodges.
The men dress usually in woollens of various colors [wrote Stevens]. The
coat generally worn, called the Hudson Bay coat, has a capot attached to it.
The belts are finely knit, of differently colored wool or worsted yarn, and
are worn after the manner of sashes. Their powder horn and shot bag, at-
tached to bands finely embroidered with beads or worked with porcupine quills,
are worn across each shoulder, making an X before and behind. Many also
have a tobacco pouch strung to their sashes, in which is tobacco mixed with
kini-kinick, (dried bark of the osier willow scraped fine,) a fire steel, punk,
and several flints. Add to these paraphernalia a gun, and a good idea will be
formed of the costume of the Red river hunter.
The women are industrious, dress in gaudy calicoes, are fond of beads
and finery, and are remarkably apt at making bead work, moccasins, sewing
&C.32
Stanley's sketch shows their camp but only a few of the hunters
and one of their carts although Stevens noted that there were over
800 of the carts in their train. The camp was visited with interest
by the members of the survey and at evening when the two expedi-
tions camped together a band of Chippewa Indians who were
traveling with the hunters entertained the whites with a prairie
dance. The caravans passed on, the survey forging northwestward,
the hunters, in part at least, going on to St. Paul for trade.33
81. The first quotation on the buffalo is from Stanley's Western Wilds (see Footnote
46), p. 8; Stevens' comment from Reports, v. 12, p. 59.
32. The date was July 16; Stevens in ibid., pp. 65, 66.
33. The St. Paul correspondent of the New York Tribune reported the arrival of 133
carts of the hunters in that frontier town on July 20, see New York Tribune, August 3,
1853, p. 5. Mention is made of their meeting with the Stevens party.
An excellent description of the Pembina carts and of the Red river colonists may be
found in a letter to the New York Tribune, July 27, 1857, p. 5.
PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST 15
The survey was now nearing Fort Union and four days before
their arrival at the post, they reached an encampment of some
1,200 Assiniboines. Stevens, in his role of Indian commissioner,
met them in council, heard their speechs and complaints and dis-
tributed to them supplies from his store of goods carried for such
purpose. Stanley was one of the group selected by Stevens to the
council and he took the opportunity to add to his store of sketches.34
As the survey neared the famous frontier outpost of Fort Union,
Stevens ordered a dress parade of his forces as they marched upon
the fort. A Philadelphia Quaker, who was a member of the survey,
wrote home the day after their arrival (August 2). Unfortunately
Stanley made no sketch of the event but the Quaker's lively account
still conveys after nearly a hundred years, some of the color and
interest of the grand entry.
We arrived here yesterday afternoon [he wrote] and were received with
a salute of 13 guns. During the march in, the Governor took his horse, the
first time in several days, and rode at the head of the column. An American
flag, made on the way, to the manufacture of which I contributed a red flannel,
was carried in the forward rank, and flags, with appropriate devices, represent-
ing the parties carrying them, were respectively carried by the various corps.
The Engineer party, a large locomotive running down a buffalo, with the
motto "Westward Ho!" Our meteorological party — the Rocky Mountain,
with a barometer mounted, indicating the purpose to measure by that simple
instrument, the hight of those vast peaks, with inscription "Excelsior/' The
astronomical party had a device representing the azure field dotted with
stars, the half -moon and a telescope so placed as to indicate that by it could
these objects be entirely comprehended. Teamsters, packman, hunters, &c,
also carried their insignia, and thy brother acted as "aid" to the Governor
in the carrying of orders.35
The survey remained at Fort Union for over a week while ani-
mals were rested, supplies added, and plans made for the weeks
ahead. Stevens offered any member of his party an honorable dis-
charge at this post and a return to St. Louis but so interested had
they become and so accustomed to Stevens intensity, that not a man
took up the offer. Here at Fort Union, too, we have the first direct
statement of Stanley's activities with the daguerreotype. "Mr.
Stanley, the artist," wrote Stevens, "was busily occupied during our
34. Stevens, Reports, v. 12, pp. 73-76. Included in the panorama of Stanley's Western
Wilds (see Footnote 46), p. 10, was a painting of the Assiniboine council; the illustration
in the text depicts the distribution of goods. Another member of Stevens' party also wrote
an interesting account of the Assiniboine council, see New York Tribune, September 13,
1853, p. 5.
35. Ibid. Stevens, Reports, v. 12, p. 78, also makes brief comment on the entry to
Fort Union. The writer of this letter was probably Elwood Evans, as he was a native of
Philadelphia and accompanied Stevens' expedition. — See Hubert H. Bancroft's Works, v. 31
p. 54.
16 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
stay at Fort Union with his daguerreotype apparatus, and the In-
dians were greatly pleased with their daguerreotypes/' 36
Doubtless he made daguerreotype views of the fort itself but no
record of these — or of his original sketches — is now available. The
fort itself appears in the background of one of Stanley's illustrations
of the official report and is among the few views of this famed out-
post now extant (reproduced between pp. 16, 17).
Fort Benton, also on the Missouri, the next stopping place on the
route of the survey, was reached on September 1, some three weeks
being required to make the trip from Fort Union. Stanley's activi-
ties in this interval are represented by nine illustrations, including
several Indian councils, and a view of Fort Benton. The last view
shows the general character of the country around Fort Benton.
Indian tepees beyond the fort, however, are drawn taller than the
fort itself — possibly an error of the lithographer — so that the fort
suffers by comparison. (A much more interesting view of Fort
Benton itself was made by Gustav Sohon (reproduced between
pp. 16, 17), who also contributed to the Stevens report, but whose
work we shall discuss later. )
It was at Fort Benton, however, that Stanley's most interesting
experience of the entire trip was begun. Stevens continually stressed
the importance of satisfactory relations with the Indians through
whose country the railroad might pass. To this end, the many coun-
cils and distribution of goods with the tribes encountered had been
made. At St. Louis he had induced Alexander Culbertson who had
lived in the Indian country for 20 years, to accompany him and had
appointed him special agent to the Blackfoot Indians.37 The move
was an exceedingly fortunate one in several ways, for Culbertson's
experience and the fact that his wife was a Blackfoot saved the
survey several times from difficulties with the Indians. Stevens,
Stanley, Culbertson and others left the main command at Fort Ben-
ton to visit the Piegans, one of the tribes of the Blackfoot confed-
eracy, who were reported encamped some 150 miles north of the
fort. They had not gone far when a messenger from the fort over-
took them to announce that an advance party from the Pacific coast
detachment had arrived from the west. Stevens and Culbertson
turned back to arrange further plans for the survey but Stanley
36. Reports, v. 12, p. 87. Another comment on Stanley's use of the daguerreotype will
be found in this same volume, p. 103.
37. Letter of Stevens dated "Fort Benton, Upper Missouri, September 17, 1853,"
and published originally in the Washington Union for November 23; see, also, New York
Tribune, November 24, 1853, p. 6.
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PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST 17
volunteered to proceed to the Piegan village as Stevens was intent
on inviting all the Blackfeet to a grand council at Fort Benton.
With an interpreter, three voyageurs, and a Blackfoot guide ob-
tained at the fort, Stanley pressed further north in search of the
Indian camp. On the third day after leaving Stevens, Stanley wrote
in his report:
The first rays of the sun found us in the saddle, prepared for a long march.
But one day more remained for me to find the Piegan camp. The night had
been clear and cold, silvering the scanty herbage with a light frost; and while
packing up, the men would stop to warm their fingers over a feeble fire of
buffalo-chips and skulls. After a short march of twelve miles, we reached the
divide between Milk and Bow rivers.
At 1 o'clock I descended to a deep valley, in which flows an affluent of
Beaver river. Here was the Piegan camp, of ninety lodges, under their chief
Low Horn, one hundred and sixty-triree miles north, 20° west, of Fort Benton.
Little Dog conducted me, with my party, to his lodge, and immediately the
chiefs and braves collected in the "Council Lodge," to receive my message.
The arrival of a "pale face" was an unlocked for event, and hundreds followed
me to the council, consisting of sixty of their principal men.
The usual ceremony of smoking being concluded, I delivered my "talk,"
which was responded to by their chief saying, "the whole camp would move at
an early hour the following morning to council with the chief sent by their
Great Father." The day was spent in feasting with the several chiefs, all seem-
ing anxious to extend their hospitality; and while feasting with one chief,
another had his messenger at the door of the lodge to conduct me to another.38
Early the next morning, the Piegans broke camp and "in less than
one hour the whole encampment was drawn out in two parallel
lines on the plains, forming one of the most picturesque scenes I
have ever witnessed/' wrote Stanley. Stanley reported, too, that he
had been able to secure a number of sketches while on the northern
trip, the most interesting of those surviving being "Blackfeet Indians
[hunting buffalo]— Three Buttes." 39
38. Reports, v. 1, Stevens report, pp. 447-449. The portion quoted has been con-
densed somewhat. Stevens also described Stanley's excursion, see ibid., v. 12, pp. 107, 114,
115. The location of the Piegan camp given by Stanley would indicate that he went well
north of the U. S. -Canadian border into present Alberta.
39. Ibid. Evidently this sketch was also used in the Stanley panorama (Stanley's
Western Wilds, p. 15), and Stanley had also apparently planned to use it in his projected
portfolio (letter press of portfolio p. 8, see Footnote 7). Other views included in the
panorama which belong to the same group of sketches were a view of Fort Benton, "Cutting
Up a Buffalo," and "A Traveling Party [of Blackfeet]."
Stevens, in a letter dated "Sept. 16, 1853, Fort Benton, Upper Missouri" (reprinted
from the Boston Post in the National Intelligencer, November 26, 1853, p. 2), wrote a
friend that Stanley was at the time of writing in the midst of the Blackfeet and went on
to say: "We have traversed the region of the terrible Blackfeet, have met them in the
war parties and their camps, and have received nothing but kindness and hospitality."
Stanley, too, reported concerning the Blackfeet: "During my sojourn among them I was
treated with the greatest kindness and hospitality, my property guarded with vigilance,
so that I did not lose the most trifling article." — Reports, v. 1, p. 449.
Evidently Stevens' employment of Culbertson and his Blackfoot wife was a master
stroke, for the Blackfeet usually gave trouble to whites entering their territory. The
liberal distribution of goods and presents, in one case amounting to a value of $600, to
Indians encountered, was also no doubt a contributing factor to amicable relations.
2—1264
18 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Stanley was gone for 11 days on this side excursion, and shortly
after his return to Fort Benton the survey again started westward.
The detailed description of the remaining journey becomes com-
plex, as there were many side excursions and a number of divi-
sions made of the party. Stevens, too, was anxious to assume his
territorial duties, so with several of his party, including Stanley,
he left the main command and pressed on to Fort Vancouver ( pres-
ent Vancouver, Wash.) which was reached on November 16. As
they left Fort Benton on September 22, the last thousand miles of
the journey were covered in about seven weeks. Their route in
general from Benton was southwest to Fort Owen ( present Stevens-
ville, Ravalli county, western Montana), northwestward to the
Coeur D'Alene Mission (present Cataldo, Idaho, on U. S. 10),
northward to Fort Colville (near present Colville, Wash.) and
then down the Columbia to Fort Vancouver, Stevens and Stanley
descending the Columbia in a canoe from Fort Walla- Walla ( some
25 miles west of the present city of Walla- Walla) to Vancouver.
Captain McClellan's party working eastward was met on October
18 at Fort Colville where Stevens remained several days discussing
and planning with McClellan the future work of the survey. Sev-
eral days had also been spent at the Coeur D'Alene Mission just
before McClellan was met. One of the most attractive of the many
illustrations in the official reports is Stanley's sketch of the mission.40
The last stage of the survey is illustrated by some 30 Stanley
sketches in addition to the sketch of the mission.41 Among the more
interesting of these views are"Fort Owen," "Fort Okinakane," "Hud-
son Bay Mill," "Chemakane Mission," "Old Fort Walla Walla" and
"Mount Baker."
Very shortly after the arrival of Stevens and Stanley at Fort
40. The site of the Coeur D'Alene Mission was established by Father De Smet about
1845; it was designed and built by Father Anthony Ravelli, S. J., and opened for services
in 1852 or 1853; its use was discontinued in 1877 but the old mission was restored in 1928.
It is known locally at present as the Cataldo Mission. — See the Rev. E. R. Cody, History
of the Coeur D'Alene Mission (Caldwell, Idaho, J930). I am also indebted to the public
library of Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, for information about the mission.
41. The number varies depending upon whether one is using the 1859 or 1860 print-
ing of the final Stevens' report. Some of the differences to be noted are: ( 1 ) the lithography
in the 1859 printing (Supplement to v. 1) was by Julius Bien of New York in the two
copies I have seen; in the 1860 printing (v. 12, pt. 1), the lithography was by Sarony,
Major and Knapp; (2) the plate numbers and page insertions of the plates are different,
in general, in the two printings; (3) "Crossing the Hell Gate River Jan. 6, 1854," is
credited to Stanley in the 1859 printing; to Sohon (as it should be) in the 1860 printing;
(4) "Main Chain of the Rocky Mountains as Seen From the East . . .," is credited
to Stanley in the 1859 printing; to "Stanley after Sohon" in the 1860 printing; (5) "Source
of the Palouse," is uncredited in the 1859 printing; "Source of the Pelluse," is credited to
"Stanley after Sohon" in the 1860 printing; (6) "Big Blackfoot Valley/' is credited to
Stanley in the 1859 printing; to Sohon in the 1860 printing.
As is to be expected since the plates for the Stevens' report were lithographed by two
firms, the same title will show illustrations differing more or less in detail. In the copies
I have seen the coloring is superior in the Sarony, Major, and Knapp printings but even
lithographs from the same house will differ in brilliance of color depending upon how much
the stones were used and inked.
PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST 19
Vancouver, Stanley was dispatched to Washington with the pre-
liminary Stevens reports of the survey. The return trip was made
by ship down the coast to the Isthmus, across the Isthmus, and then
on the Star of the West to New York City, where Stanley arrived
on January 9, 1854. He then went on to Washington.42
Stanley's return to Washington marked the end of his Western
adventures. The remainder of his life was spent as a studio artist
in Washington, Buffalo, and lastly in Detroit, where he died in
1872.43
One additional episode in Stanley's life, however, should be de-
scribed, because previous biographers of Stanley have overlooked
it and because it is important in the story of Western illustration.
It was over a year after Stanley^ return to Washington in January,
1854, before work was begun preparing the field sketches as illustra-
tions for Stevens' final report.44
Stanley did use his field sketches almost immediately for the
preparation of a huge panorama of Western scenes for public exhi-
bition. By summer the panorama was well under way and Stanley's
studio was "Daily the resort of our most distinguished citizens who
express the greatest admiration of this grand panoramic work."45
The work, consisting of 42 episodes, went on display in Washington
on September 1. Two hours were required to view it. A 23-page
handbook, Scenes and Incidents of Stanley's Western Wilds, describ-
ing the panorama, which was primarily a depiction of the northern
survey route, could be purchased at the door of the National The-
atre for ten cents after the admission fee of 25 cents had been paid.
The Washington papers were generous and fulsome in their praise
of these Stanley pictures. In addition to display in Washington
42. Stanley's arrival in New York is given in the New York Tribune, January 9, 1854,
p. 5, where an "M. Stanley" is listed among the passengers of the Star of the West and
in the next column under "Oregon" it specifically stated that J. M. Stanley, the artist of
Stevens' survey, arrived on the "Star of the West." Stanley was back in Washington by
January 19, 1854, as Stanley's report of his visit to the Piegans is dated "Washington City,
January 19, 1854" (see Footnote 38).
43. For the remainder of Stanley's life see Kinietz, op. cit., and obituaries in the
Detroit Free Press, April 11, 1872, p. 1, and the Detroit Advertiser and Tribune, April 10,
1872, p. 4.
44. The National Archives (Washington) in their file of material on the Pacific rail-
road surveys has a letter by Stanley, dated April 3, 1855, to Lt. J. K. Warren who with
Capt. A. A. Humphreys was in charge of the preparation of the reports for publication
by the War Department, stating that it would take Stanley 5% months to complete the
necessary illustrations, a list of 57 proposed illustrations on the list are those which finally
appeared in the report. Apparently Stanley had a few illustrations ready at the time the
letter was written for he so stated. Stevens in a letter to Capt. A. A. Humphreys of the
War Department dated September 26, 1854 (also in the National Archives), directed that
Stanley be paid $125 a month for his work of preparation, "a small compensation however in
view of his ability and experience." Apparently, too, this rate of pay was Stanley's compensa-
tion while on the actual survey. — See Hazard Stevens, op. cit., v. 1, p. 306. This sum was
probably the standard rate of pay for Charles Koppel also received $125 a month while on
Lieutenant Williamson's survey. — See 33 Cong., 1 Sess., Sen. Ex. Doc. 29 (serial No 695)
p. 113.
45. Daily Evening Star, Washington, August 9, 1854, p. 3.
20 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
and Georgetown, it was exhibited in Baltimore for three weeks, and
finally it was reported in the Washington press to be on the way to
Boston and to London for exhibition.46
Like most of Stanley's original work it has disappeared. It would
be priceless at the present day.
The last of the Pacific railroad survey artists we can mention but
briefly. He was Gustav Sohon, one of the enlisted men who brought
supplies from the Pacific coast to the Indian village of St. Marys,
west of the Rockies, for the Stevens party proper in the summer of
1853. Later he accompanied Lt. John Mullan, who under Stevens'
orders surveyed the mountains on the northern route for possible
passes in the winter of 1853-1854, and from this time until 1862 he
was frequently associated with Mullan in the Northwest. Some ten
or a dozen of his sketches are included in the final Stevens report,
but by far the most interesting of Sohon's work now available was
reproduced in a report by Mullan published in 1863. Included
among these illustrations were "Walla-Walla, W. T. in 1862," "Fort
Benton" (not dated but probably 1860-1862), the most satisfying
illustration I have seen of this famous frontier post and head of
steamboat navigation on the Missouri ( reproduced between pp. 16,
17); "Coeur D'Alene Mission in the Rocky Mountains," a different
view than Stanley's illustration of 1853, and "Mode of Crossing
Rivers by the Flathead and Other Indians," showing the use of hide
"bull-boats" ( reproduced between pp. 16, 17 ). A number of Sohon's
original Indian sketches are now in the United States National Mu-
seum. They are stated to be "the most extensive and authoritative
pictorial series on the Indian of the Northwest Plateau in pre-reser-
vation days." 47
The only other government report for this period that can ap-
proach the Pacific railway Reports from the standpoint of Western
illustration is the Emory account of the United States-Mexico bound-
ary survey, and to conclude this chapter of our story, brief comment
46. Many comments and advertisements on Stanley's Western Wilds appeared in the
Washington Star from August 9, 1854, to January 18, ]855. A copy of the handbook of
Stanley's Western Wilds is in the collections of the Library of Congress. According to the
Washington Star of December 14, 1854, p. 3, it was written by Thomas S. Donaho.
47. For Sohon (1825-1903) see John C. Ewers "Gustavus Sohon's Portraits of Flat-
head and Pend D'Oreille Indians, 1854." Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, v. 110
(1948), November, 68pp. The above quotation is from this source. For Mullan's report
see Capt. John Mullan, Report on the Construction of a Military Road From Fort Walla-
Walla to Fort Benton (Washington, 1863). The excellent lithography in the Mullan book-
was by Bowen and Co. For comment on the Sohon illustrations in the Stevens report, see
Footnote 41. No trace of the original Stanley and Sohon sketches for the Stevens report
has been found. They are not in the National Archives although a letter in the Archives
from Stevens to Capt. A. A. Humphreys, dated March 11, 1858, requested that all of the
sketches of Stanley and Lieutenant Mullan (presumably those of Sohon) to be used in
the report be sent to Stevens. Humphreys has a notation dated March 12, 1858, on the
Stevens letter stating that the sketches requested had been sent Stevens. What happened
to them subsequently I have been unable to determine.
PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST 21
on the illustrations will be made. The survey began initially in the
spring of 1849 and as a result of a series of obstacles was not com-
pleted until the fall of 1855.
The report, in three volumes, was published in 1857-1859. The
first volume includes the general account and details of the survey
and the last two volumes deal with the botany and zoology of the
region transversed. These two volumes are illustrated with many
wonderful plates including a number of hand-colored plates of
birds.
Part one of the first volume includes the illustrations of most gen-
eral interest and here will be found 76 steel engravings, 12 litho-
graphs (a number colored) and 20 woodcuts. These elaborate illus-
trations are primarily the work of two artists who accompanied the
survey, Arthur Schott and John E. Weyss (or Weiss).
The survey in its final stages worked in two parties, one traveling
west and the second, starting from Fort Yuma (Arizona), traveling
east. Weyss accompanied the first party, which was under the im-
mediate command of Emory; Schott, under Lt. Nathaniel Michler,
was with the second.48
Among the most interesting of the illustrations in this volume are
"Military Plaza — San Antonio, Texas/' by Schott (reproduced be-
tween pp. 16, 17), "Brownsville, Texas," by Weyss (reproduced
between pp. 16, 17), and "The Plaza and Church of El Paso," by A.
de Vaudricourt who was with the survey in 1851.
Schott was a resident of Washington for many years after his
return from the survey. He was an ardent naturalist and his name
appears frequently in the reports of the Smithsonian Institution in
the 1860's and 1870's. His death occurred in 1875 at the age of 62.49
48. The official title of the report is United States and Mexican Boundary Survey
Report of William H. Emory, 34 Cong., 1 Sess., House Ex. Doc. 135 (Washington, 1857),
vols. J and 2 (in two pts.). Mention of Weyss (sometimes spelled Weiss in the report)
and of Schott as members of the survey and of their responsibility as illustrators is made on
pp. 15, 24, 96 and 124 of v. 1. The engravings were by the Smillies (see Footnote 53) and
W. H. Dougal; the lithography by Sarony, Major and Knapp. The list of illustrations on
pp. X and XI calls for 74 steel engravings but in the copy I examined there were two
number 32's and 33's of different titles (two not included in the list) making a total of
76 engravings.
W. H. Dougal (1822-1894?), the engraver of some of the plates in the Emory report,
should be included in our list of Western artists, for he visited California himself in 1849
and 1850 and made a number of sketches which have been reproduced with a brief
biographical account of Dougal's life in Off for California (letters, log and sketches of
William H. Dougal), edited by Frank M. Stanger (Biobooks, Oakland, Cal., 1949).
49. For mention of Schott, see Annual Report of Smithsonian Institution for 1866,
p. 27; for 1867, p. 48; for 1871, p. 423; for 1873, p. 390; for 1877, p. 44; see, also, 39
Cong., 2 Sess., Senate Misc. Doc. No. 21, v. 1, January 16, 1867, pp. 7-1 J. Schott appears
in Washington city directories from 1858 until his death in 1875. He must have been
a remarkable man for he is listed at various times as a naturalist, engineer, physician and
referred to as a well-known professor of German and music. His death, at the age of
62, occurred in Washington (Georgetown), D. C., on July 26, 1875. — See National Republi-
can, Washington, July 28, 1875, p. 2, and Georgetown Courier, July 31, 1875, p. 3.
S. W. Geiser, Naturalists of the Frontier (Dallas, 1948), p. 281, gives a very brief sketch
of Schott.
22 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Weyss later became Major Weyss during the Civil War, serving
as a member of the staff of engineers of the Army of the Potomac.
After the war he again turned to employment in Western surveys
and according to Wheeler was "for many years connected with
Western explorations and surveys under the War Department."
Several plates in the report prepared by Wheeler were based on
sketches by Weyss. He died in Washington, D. C., on June 24,
1903, at the age of 83.50
There is little biographic data available on A. de Vaudricourt.
The San Antonio Ledger, October 10, 1850, described him as an
"accomplished and gentlemanly draughtsman and interpreter who
has made a number of beautiful sketches of the most striking parts
of our country. . . ." He was connected with the survey for
less than a year and he then disappears from view.51
Actually there were at least two other artists on these Mexican
boundary surveys, John R. Bartlett and H. C. Pratt. Some of their
work is reproduced in Bartlett's account of the survey. Bartlett,
who was U. S. commissioner for the survey for several years, was
an amateur artist, but Pratt, who accompanied him, was a profes-
sional and is reported to have made "hundreds" of sketches and
some oil portraits of Indians. Bartlett, however, in his report, em-
ployed his own sketches very nearly to the exclusion of those of Pratt.
As a probable result, the illustrations ( 15 lithographs and 94 wood-
cuts ) , with two exceptions, are of no great interest. The excep-
tions are a double-page lithograph of Fort Yuma, Ariz, (by Pratt),
and of Tucson, Ariz., and surrounding desert by Bartlett.52
50. See The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union
and Confederate Armies (Washington, 1891), Series I, v. 36, pt. 1, p. 294, for Weiss
(note change of spelling) in the Civil War where it is stated that Weyss was commissioned
by "the governor of the State of Kentucky."
The comment by Wheeler will be found in George M. Wheeler, Report Upon United
States Geographic Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian (Washington, 1889),
v. 1, p. 52. I am indebted to Meredith B. Colket, Jr., of the Columbia Historical Society,
Washington, for locating the death date of Weyss which he found in certificate No. 149,509,
bureau of vital statistics, District of Columbia health department. A death notice of Weyss
will be found in The Evening Star, Washington, June 24, 1903, p. 5.
51. The quotation concerning Vaudricourt is reprinted in the National lintelligencer
for November 2, 1850, p. 3. Ibid., September 24, 1850, p. 4, reported that Vaudricouit
was head of the topographic party of the survey that was to work from Indianola (Texas)
to El Paso, and the same newspaper July 22, 1851, p. 1, reported that Vaudricourt had
severed his connection with the survey. Bartlett (see Footnote 52) v. 2, p. 541, also made
mention of Vaudricourt and stated that Vaudricourt left the survey soon after they reached
El Paso. Harry C. Peters, America on Stone (Doubleday, Doran and Company, 1931),
p. 392, lists an A. de Vaudricourt who made a lithographic illustration for Bouve and Sharp
of Boston in 1844-1845, but gives no further information concerning him.
52. For Bartlett (1805-1886), see Dictionary of American Biography, v. 2, pp. 7, 8,
and his report, Personal Narrative of Explorations and Incidents in Texas, New Mexico,
California, Sonora, and Chihuahua, Connected With the United States and Mexico Bound-
ary Commission During the Years 1850, '51, '52, '53 (New York, 1854), two volumes.
Bartlett, Emory and others become involved in a serious contretemps and their differences
required many written words of discussion, explanation and recrimination. Bartlett, in his
own report, makes mention of his own and Pratt's sketches in v. 1, p. 357, and v. 2, pp. 541,
545 and 596. Pratt (1803-1880) is listed by D. T. Mallett, Mallett's Index of Artists
(New York, 1935), p. 352, as a landscape painter. Contemporary mention of Pratt's
Indian portraits made on the survey will be found in the San Diego Herald, February 14,
1852 (reprinted in the National Intelligencer, March 20, 1852, p. 3).
PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE OLD WEST 23
The two views here reproduced from the Emory report ( those of
Brownsville and San Antonio, Tex.) are copies of steel engravings
by the celebrated American engravers, James Smillie and James D.
Smillie.53
The Brownsville engraving is based on a sketch by John E. Weyss
and, I believe, can be safely dated 1853. Weyss joined the survey
in that year and was a member of the party which passed Browns-
ville.54
Arthur Schott's interesting and well-known view of the "Military
Plaza, San Antonio" is more difficult to date. Schott was probably
in southern Texas as early as the fall of 1851 and he seems to have
passed through San Antonio as late as the fall of 1855, and may have
been there at times between those two dates. In the absence of
conclusive evidence, it seems best for the present to date the view
1853 with an uncertainty of plus or minus two years.55
53. For the Smillies (father and son), see Dictionary of American Biography, v. 17,
pp. 232, 233.
54. Emory's Report, v. 1, pp. 15, 58, 60, 6J.
55. When Emory was appointed to the survey in September, 1851, he almost imme-
diately left Washington for Texas. He reported (ibid., p. 10), ". . . after a dreary
march across the prairies and uplands of Texas, [I] reached El Paso in November [1851],
and resumed my duties in the field on the 25th of that month." According to Bartlett,
Personal Narrative, v. 2, p. 596, Arthur Schott accompanied Emory at this time. Whether
San Antonio was visited on the way to El Paso is uncertain. Emory and his party met
Bartlett at Ringgold Barracks in December, 1852. Emory and his group then returned east
through Texas by wagon train. — Ibid., pp. 513, 532. When the survey was reorganized in
the spring of 1853, Schott was in the field with the survey in southern Texas by April,
1853. — Emory's Report, v. 1, pp. 15, 16. Apparently he was in Texas before the opening
of the survey's work in the spring, as there is a record of botanical collections made by
Schott at Indianola, Tex., in January and February, 1853, as there is also for the years
1854 and 1855. — W. R. Taylor, "Tropical Marine Algae of the Arthur Schott Herbarium,"
Field Museum of Natural History, Publication 509, Chicago, 1941, pp. 87-89; Botanical
Series, v. 20, No. 4. In none of those years is the evidence clear cut that Schott was
actually at San Antonio, something over 100 miles northwest of Indianola. In the fall of
1854 Schott was assigned to Lt. N. Michler's command which commenced the survey east-
ward from San Diego on November 16, 1854. — Emory's Report, v. 1, pp. 24, 101. Michler's
party on their return passed through San Antonio from the west in November of the fol-
lowing year. — Ibid., pp. 124, 125.
The only other attempt to date the original sketch on which Schott's view of San
Antonio is based, as far as I know, is that given by I. N. P. Stokes and D. C. Haskell,
American Historical Prints (New York, 1933), p. 112. Stokes and Haskell assign it the
date "1852-53" but the evidence for the assignment of the date is not given. Correspondence
either directly or indirectly with the Texas Historical Association, the Barker Texas History
Center, the San Antonio Public Library, and others, has not given positive evidence for a
specific date. I am indebted to Llerena Friend of the Barker Texas History Center, and
E. W. Robinson and Col. M. L. Crimmins of San Antonio who considered the matter for me.
The Annual Meeting
THE 76th annual meeting of the Kansas State Historical Society
and board of directors was held in the rooms of the Society on
October 16, 1951.
The meeting of the directors was called to order by President
Frank Haucke at 10 A. M. First business was the reading of the
annual report by the secretary.
SECRETARY'S REPORT, YEAR ENDING OCTOBER 16, 1951
At the conclusion of last year's meeting, the newly elected president, Frank
Haucke, reappointed John S. Dawson and T. M. Lillard to the executive com-
mittee. The members holding over were Robert C. Rankin, Milton R. McLean
and Wilford Riegle. After the death of General McLean, April 17, 1951, Mr.
Haucke appointed Charles M. Correll for the unexpired term.
APPROPRIATIONS
The 1951 legislature granted a number of increases for the biennium that
began July 1. They include: salary for an additional cataloguer in the library;
an increase of $1,000 a year in the contingent fund; $2,000 for repairing and
restoring oil paintings; $1,500 for modern light fixtures in the reading rooms;
an increase of $1,000 a year in the Memorial building contingent fund; $4,000
for painting; $6,000 for repairing the heating system; $2,200 for miscellaneous
repairs; and salary for an additional janitor. Our request for $6,000 a year
to continue the Annals of Kansas was disallowed in the budget and it re-
quired a good deal of lobbying on the part of friends of the Society to restore
the appropriation. The microfilming fund, at our request, was reduced $2,000
a year. The appropriation for printing was reduced $4,845 for the biennium.
Although the senate voted unanimously to give the Society an increase in this
fund, the bill was killed by the house committee.
At the Old Shawnee Mission, the contingent fund was increased $1,000 a
year; and at the First Capitol of Kansas there was an increase of $100 a year.
THE KAW MISSION AT COUNCIL GROVE
The sum of $23,500 was appropriated for the purchase of the "Old Kaw
Mission" building at Council Grove, and $2,500 a year for maintenance and
the salary of a caretaker. The secretary of the Historical Society was named
custodian of the property.
The bill which authorized this purchase was sponsored by Sen. W. H.
White of Council Grove and Rep. L. J. Blythe of White City. Upon informa-
tion supplied by the Historical Society, the introduction to the bill read as
follows:
WHEREAS, the town of Council Grove was the most important point on the
Santa Fe trail between the Missouri river and Santa Fe, New Mexico, taking
its name from the agreement made there in 1825 between the federal govern-
ment and the Osage Indians; and
WHEREAS, Council Grove is notable historically as a camping place for
Fremont's expedition of 1845 and for Doniphan's troops bound for the Mexican
(24)
THE ANNUAL MEETING 25
war in 1846 and as supply headquarters for the Overland Mail beginning in
1849; and
WHEREAS, The area centered at Council Grove became a reservation for
the Kansas Indians in 1846; and
WHEREAS, In 1850, the Methodist church established a manual training
school for the Kansas Indians at Council Grove in a building erected by the
federal government; and . . .
WHEREAS, Said building and the grounds on which it is situated would pro-
vide, if acquired by the state, an outstanding and beautiful monument to
commemorate the history of the Santa Fe trail and the Indians for whom the
state of Kansas was named; and
WHEREAS, The present owner of said "Old Indian Mission" and the site on
which it is located is willing to sell the same to the state of Kansas for his-
torical purposes at a reasonable price: Now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas., etc.
The money for the purchase of the building became available July 1. A
caretaker had been employed and had just moved into the building when the
July floods came. The first floor, the installations in the basement, and the
grounds were badly damaged. On July 25, a formal request was presented
to the governor for assistance from the emergency fund. The amount
needed, as estimated by a responsible local contractor, was $2,155. This
request was passed over without recommendation by the committee in
charge of the fund. A renewal of the request was made September 28. Since
the Society is without funds, it is hoped that some action will be taken to
make these repairs possible.
LIBRARY
During the year, 3,044 persons did research in the library. Of these, 935
worked on Kansas subjects, 1,219 on genealogy and 890 on general subjects.
Many inquiries were answered by letter, and 219 packages on Kansas sub-
jects were sent out from the loan file. A total of 5,184 newspaper clippings
were mounted, covering the period from July 1, 1950, through June 30, 1951.
These were taken from seven daily newspapers which are read for clipping,
and from 700 duplicate papers turned over by the newspaper department.
Two thousand, six hundred ninety-five pages of clippings from old volumes
were remounted and are ready to be rebound. Thirty-two pieces of sheet
music have been added to the collection of Kansas music, The Kansas Call by
Lucy Larcom, published in 1855, being of outstanding interest.
Gifts of Kansas books and genealogies were received from individuals.
Dr. Edward Bumgardner gave a unique work which he has compiled, en-
titled Trees of a Prairie State. This is a two-volume set, one volume con-
taining the text and the other photographs of trees. Typed and printed
genealogical records were presented by the Children of the American Colonists,
the Topeka Town Chapter of the Colonial Dames of America, the Daughters
of the American Revolution and the Daughters of Colonial Wars. Gifts from
the Woman's Kansas Day Club included books, manuscripts, clippings,
museum pieces and pictures.
PICTURE COLLECTION
During the year, 692 pictures were added to the picture collection. Of
unusual interest are 136 pictures of early Manhattan, the gift of R. L. Fred-
rich through the Woman's Kansas Day Club; a picture of the Kansas race
26
KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
horse Smuggler from Mrs. Samuel J. Kelly of Olathe; 15 pictures of Silkville
from Harold S. Sears of Nanton, Canada, whose grandparents were members
of the Silkville colony; 16 copies of pictures of early Caldwell made from the
originals, lent through the courtesy of Mrs. Jessie Wiley Voils, a Kansas writer
now living in New York; 18 pictures of Louisville, Pottawatomie county, and
vicinity from Charles Darnell, Topeka, and several photographs of the
Kanopolis dam from the U. S. National Park Service.
ARCHIVES DIVISION
The following public records were transferred during the year to the
archives division:
Source Title Dates Quantity
Governor's office Correspondence Files 1947-1949 24,400 mss.
Board of Agriculture
.Correspondence Files
Minutes and Corre-
spondence State
board of Housing .
Statistical Rolls of
Counties
Statistical Rolls of
Cities .
1921-1944 5,600 mss.
1933-1944 1,200 mss.
1944 1,714 vols.
. . 1950 1,375 vols.
Commission of Revenue
and Taxation, Ad
Valorem Division .
State Labor Depart-
ment
Applications for
Emergency Warrants
Correspondence Em-
ployment and Payroll
Reports, Factory
Inspection Reports . .
1940-1944
c. 1,630
case files
. 1927-1941 116,000 mss.
State Library
Appearance Docket, Order
Book, and Claim Register,
Court of Industrial
Relations 1920-1924 3 vols.
.Stub Book of State
Militia Commissions
Issued by the Governor 1864 1 vol.
Workmen's Compensa-
tion Commissioner.
Awards and Orders
in Docketed Cases
1927-1945 9,600 mss.
These records total 3,093 volumes and about 158,000 manuscripts. The
large groups of papers from the Labor department, which fills 44 transfer
cases, has not yet been examined in detail. Much of this material probably
will not be of permanent value and will be destroyed.
THE ANNUAL MEETING 27
Installation of the new stacks was completed last winter. For the first
time in 45 years the archives are now in place on permanent shelves where
they are readily accessible.
The floods of last July resulted in only one known instance of damage to
state records. The Board of Engineering Examiners reported that eight
transfer cases of engineering applicants' folders, 1931-1948, which had been
stored in the basement of the Merchants' Moving and Storage Company,
were ruined by water seepage. Fortunately, the board had microfilmed these
records in 1949, and had deposited the film negative with the archives di-
vision for safe-keeping, so that no serious loss was caused by the destruction
of the original documents.
Microfilming of Insurance department records was completed during the
year. This group now totals 517 rolls, or approximately 51,700 feet of film.
The annual statements of insurance companies, 1870-1943, is by far the
largest series, amounting to 406 100-foot rolls. An old Adjutant General's
record, "Enrollment of Soldiers Under an Act of 1883," also was microfilmed
this year, as were four series of census records for 1855, 1865, 1870 and 1875.
Microfilming of archives during the year totaled 279 reels.
MANUSCRIPT DIVISION
Accessions during the year were four manuscript volumes and approximately
475 individual manuscripts, in addition to several documents which were
lent for microfilming.
Dr. Edward Bumgardner of Lawrence presented a group of autograph
letters written between 1893 and 1947 by such prominent Kansans as William
Allen White, A. W. Benson, Charles F. Scott, George McGill, U. S. Guyer and
Errett P. Scrivner. Dr. Bumgardner also gave an album containing the auto-
graphs of all the governors of Kansas from Robinson to Am, including the
signatures of two territorial governors, Reeder and Shannon.
From Miss A. Blanche Edwards of Abilene the Society received a collection
of letters written to her father, J. B. Edwards, between 1905 and 1932. These
letters are concerned with the early history of Abilene and with recollections
of "Wild Bill" Hickok. Miss Edwards also gave 11 photographs, including
several of "Wild Bill" and members of his family.
An unusual collection, received through the Oklahoma City libraries from
Mrs. Walter M. Robertson of Oklahoma City, is a group of 2,500 waybills of
the Central Branch Union Pacific railroad for 1879. These waybills are
mounted in a large unbound book measuring 16 by 12 inches and six inches
thick.
Harold S. Sears of Alberta, Canada, gave two interesting records. One
is a cash and day book kept by his father, Charles Sears, from 1858 to 1889,
containing a statement of his relations with E. V. de Boissiere, the founder
of Silkville. The other is the cash and day book of Silkville and the De Bois-
siere Odd Fellows Orphans' Home and Industrial School, 1884-1896. De Bois-
siere, a wealthy French industrialist and humanitarian, attempted to establish
a silk industry in Kansas shortly after the Civil War ended. He bought a
4,000-acre tract in Franklin county where he succeeded in growing cocoons
and producing a fine quality silk which won first honors at the Philadelphia
Centennial in 1876. Unfortunately the market was not profitable, except, so
he said, for the commission merchants, and he was never able to establish
28 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the business on a paying basis. In 1892 de Boissiere gave the property to the
Kansas Grand Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as a home and
industrial school for orphans of deceased members.
Vera Smith of Topeka presented a group of letters of Corydon Carlos Olney,
describing his experiences in the Civil War as a member of the First New York
dragoons. Olney came to Kansas after the war, settling in Ottawa county.
The Society bought a collection of 51 letters written in 1865 by John
Merrill of Hixton, Wis. Morrill was then serving with the 48th regiment of
Wisconsin Volunteers, which was stationed in Kansas near Olathe and at
Fort Lamed. This collection included a rare issue of a soldiers' newspaper,
The Plains, dated Fort Larned, November 25, 1865.
Several manuscript collections were microfilmed. Edgar B. Corse of
Greensburg and Mrs. Benjamin O. Weaver of Mullinville lent a group of
14 papers relating to the history of Greensburg and the Greensburg Town
Company, 1884-1888. Mrs. Weaver and the Kiowa County Historical Society
also sent a diary and account book of W. S. Winslow of Mullinville, covering
the period 1890 to 1908. Sarah and Ed Francis of Topeka lent a small
group of papers of Edmund Francis, written at New Orleans in the 1860's.
A roster and history of Company K, llth Kansas Volunteer regiment, 1862-
1865, was lent by George E. Grim of Topeka. Records of Wabaunsee com-
munity, including records of Wabaunsee township, 1858-1922, records of the
First Church of Christ, 1857-1917, and a teacher's record book for 1876-
1877, were filmed through the courtesy of H. E. Smith of Wamego. G. H.
Dole of Pullman, Wash., sent a typed copy of the autobiography of Artumus
Wood Dole, 1835-1902, in which he related his experiences in Kansas from
1856 to 1867. A diary of R. B. Landon, 1881-1916, which includes a number
of photographs of persons and scenes in western Kansas, was lent by Mrs.
Mabel Plumer of Downs. Correspondence and business papers of Silas Dins-
moor, now in the possession of Dartmouth College, also were filmed. Dins-
moor was born in New Hampshire and was graduated from Dartmouth in
1791, but spent most of his life on the frontier in Mississippi, Louisiana, Ken-
tucky and Ohio. The Dinsmoor papers were discovered in Topeka and the
Society was instrumental in arranging for their transfer to Dartmouth.
Additional manuscripts were received from Paul Adams, Topeka; Mrs.
H. D. Ayres, Wichita; Will T. Beck, Holton; Margaret J. Brandenburg, Wor-
cester, Mass.; George H. Browne, Kansas City, Mo.; W. S. Campbell, Norman,
Okla.; the Chester County Historical Society, West Chester, Pa.; Charles M.
Correll, Manhattan; Mrs. Karl E. Gutzmer, Newton; Frank Hodges, Olathe;
Tracy F. Leis, Denison, Tex.; Mrs. Neil Little, West Lafayette, Ind.; Wilbur
N. Mason, Kansas City, Mo.; Theodore W. Morse, Mound City; Wayne W.
Polk, Sidney, Iowa; Case Broderick Rafter, Washington, D. C.; J. C. Ruppen-
thal, Russell; Burton Sears, Evanston, 111.; the estate of William Elmer Smith,
Wamego, and the Woman's Kansas Day Club.
MICROFILM DIVISION
Approximately two and one-half million photographs have been made by
the microfilm division since its establishment in 1946. Over half a million
were made the past year: 289,751 of archives and 213,823 of newspapers.
Because of the poor condition of the files of early Caldwell newspapers,
published during the years the city was a cow town, the following were
THE ANNUAL MEETING 29
microfilmed: The Weekly Advance, March 1, 1894-December 27, 1901;
Commercial, May 6, 1880-May 3, 1883; Free Press, September 19, 1885-May
15, 1886; Industrial Age, July 29, 1887-January 11, 1889; Journal, May 17,
1883-February 22, 1894; News, January 5-December 28, 1893; Post, January
2, 1879-May 10, 1883; Standard, February 7-September 11, 1884; Weekly
Times, June 5, 1886-July 2, 1887. Another famous southern Kansas news-
paper, the Oklahoma War Chief, published for the purpose of opening Okla-
homa for settlement, was filmed. The newspaper was issued at Wichita,
Caldwell and elsewhere and is dated from January 12, 1883, to August 12,
1886.
The microfilming of the Salina Journal, including the Republican and Re-
publican-Journal, is practically completed. Earl C. Woodward, business man-
ager of the Journal, sent all the Journal's files to the Historical Society. They
were collated here with the Society's own files and 206,001 pages were
microfilmed during the year. Thus the entire Salina Journal, from 1871
through 1950, will soon be available- on microfilm.
NEWSPAPER AND CENSUS DIVISIONS
Eighty-five hundred certified copies of census records were issued during
the year, an increase of more than 40 percent over the preceding year.
March, 1951, with 1,018 records issued, was the biggest month since January,
1942, early in World War II. The copies, which are furnished the public
without charge, are used to establish proof of age for war work, social security
or other retirement plans.
During the year, 3,642 patrons called in person at the newspaper and
census divisions. They consulted 3,692 single issues of newspapers, 4,545
bound volumes of newspapers, 820 microfilm reels and 13,315 census vol-
umes.
The Society's annual List of Kansas Newspaper and Periodicals was not
published this year due to the severe cut in the printing appropriation. It is
hoped that sufficient money will be available to issue the publication next
year.
The Society's collection of original Kansas newspapers, as of January 1,
1951, totaled 54,134 bound volumes, in addition to more than 10,000 bound
volumes of out-of-state newspapers dated from 1767 to 1951. The Society's
collection of newspapers on microfilm now totals 3,076 reels.
As a gift to the Society, one of our members, George H. Browne of Kansas
City, Mo., paid for the microfilming of all the early Lecompton newspapers
which are held here and at the Library of Congress. The Congressional
Library microfilmed its holdings. The issues in the Historical Society col-
lection which are not duplicates of the Library of Congress holdings were
microfilmed here. The two films were then spliced together, with the issues
and pages in consecutive order. The resulting film filled one reel and con-
tained the following: The Lecompton Union, April 28, 1856- July 30, 1857,
and the National Democrat, July 30, 1857-March 14, 1861.
Publishers of the following Kansas daily newspapers are regularly donating
microfilm copies of their current issues: Angelo Scott, lola Register; Dolph
and W. C. Simons, Lawrence Daily Journal-World; Dan Anthony, III, Leav-
enworth Times, and Arthur Capper, Henry Blake, Milt Tabor and Leland
Schenck, Topeka Daily Capital
30 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Among the most interesting single issues of newspapers received during
the year were a copy of The Plains, published at Fort Lamed, November 25,
1865, and a photostat copy of the Wallace News, dated at Fort Wallace,
Kan., December 27, 1870. The latter was edited by passengers on a Kansas
Pacific train snowbound at Wallace, but the actual printing seems to have
been done when the train reached Denver.
Two bound volumes of early newspapers published by A. Sellers, Jr., and
dated from 1866 to 1874, were received from M. Beatrice Skillings of Mc-
Pherson. In the volumes were files of the Pottawatomie Gazette, Louisville,
July 17, 1867-May 20, 1868; Wabaunsee County Herald, Alma, April 1, 1869-
March 9, 1871; Wabaunsee County News, Alma, May 15, 1872-December 30,
1874, and the Arcola (111.) Record, March 29, 1866-April 18, 1867. The
Illinois collection may be unique, for the available newspaper catalogues do
not show these issues anywhere else in the United States.
Among the donors of miscellaneous newspapers were: E. A. Menninger,
Stuart, Fla.; Otto J. Wullschleger, Marshall county; W. G. Clugston, Frank
Green, Charlotte Leavitt, Walter Saar, Winter Veterans Administration Hos-
pital, Topeka; Mrs. D. W. Smith and Frank Barr, Wichita, and the Woman's
Kansas Day Club.
ANNALS OF KANSAS
The work of compiling the Annals has now been completed. Beginning
with the year 1886, where Wilder's Annals left off, this day-by-day history
of the state has been carried down through 1925. The rough manuscript
of these 40 years runs to 4,000 typed pages, more than a million and a quarter
words. This completes the first and most tedious part of the task. Miss
Jennie Owen and her assistant, James Sallee, are now rechecking and revising
this manuscript. Before it can be published, of course, it must be greatly
condensed. In rechecking, it will be possible for Miss Owen to recommend
many of the necessary cuts.
The Annals was authorized by the 1945 legislature. For a time, until Miss
Owen became familiar with the task, she worked alone; however, in the past
five years she has had eight different assistants. During this time, thousands
of newspaper volumes have been read, and notations made for the compila-
tion. Chief sources were the Topeka Daily Capital, Topeka State Journal,
Wichita Eagle, Wichita Beacon, and the Kansas City Star and Times. All
other dailies, and many of the weeklies were used for supplementary material
and checking. In addition, hundreds of other sources were consulted, includ-
ing, for example, official reports of state departments.
During the past year, the period from 1919 to 1925, inclusive, was com-
piled. Many Kansas events of those years made copy of nationwide signifi-
cance. Governor Allen's handling of a coal strike, together with his industrial
court, and William Allen White's campaign against the Ku Klux Klan, kept
Kansas in the headlines. The Non-Partisan league was in the news, as were
Minnie J. Grinstead, who in a "voice like a Kansas cyclone" seconded the
nomination of Calvin Coolidge for president; Glenn L. Martin, who predicted
planes would fly from New York to Europe in less than a day, and Amelia
Earhart, who was licensed to fly. Dorothy Canfield's Brimming Cup was a
best seller; Tom McNeal authored When Kansas Was Young; Georgia Neese
(Clark) and Sidney Toler (Charley Chan) were on the stage in New York;
Zazu Pitts, Phyllis Haver and Charles (Buddy) Rogers were getting favorable
THE ANNUAL MEETING 31
notices, but Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle's films were being banned in his native
state. William Allen White won a Pulitzer prize. Longren, Beech, Cessna
and Stearman built airplane factories. The Victory highway was under
construction. The Meadow Lark was named the state bird. The University
of Kansas acquired "Phog" Allen. Women and girls went all out for the
Gloria Swanson bob, and nearly everybody played Mah Jongg.
MUSEUM
The attendance in the museum for the year was 48,862. This is the
largest number of visitors ever recorded and is an increase of nearly 3,000
over last year. Many school groups came from over the state. On April 20,
the Santa Fe and Rock Island railroads happened to bring special trains of
school children to Topeka at the same time, and for a few hours the museum
was jammed with nearly 2,000 boys and girls.
There were 39 accessions. Among the most attractive was a collection
of dishes from the William Allen White home in Emporia. Among them is
the gold-band white china which was used by Mr. and Mrs. White at their
wedding breakfast. A few years ago, when Mrs. White promised this china
to the Society, she remarked that "This set is all the dishes we had in the
world." Also in the White collection are a copper coffee-pot and a hot water
pitcher, some large cups and three beautiful pieces of Irish lusterware.
A case of dental instruments, used by Dr. Eben Palmer in his practice from
1871 to 1907, was donated by his son, F. R. Palmer of Topeka.
There used to be a time when no parlor was complete without a collection
of souvenir plates on which pictures of local scenes and buildings were re-
produced. The plates have again become popular. During the past year
a number, both old and new, have been added to the museum collection.
SUBJECTS FOR RESEARCH
Extended research on the following subjects was done during the year:
Biography: Mary Ellen Lease; Joseph L. Bristow; Jotham Meeker; Francis
Huntington Snow; "Wild Bill" Hickok; William Allen White; Edward Hogue
Funston; John Brown; Jedediah Strong Smith. General: History of Sumner
county and Caldwell; Civil War west of Missouri; Emporia Methodist Church;
civil service; removal of Indians from Ohio; history of American historical
periodicals since 1895; prices and inflation in the Revolutionary period;
Indian agents chosen by religious groups; music in Kansas; border troubles,;
Fort Leavenworth; labor speeches of Clyde Reed; military order of the Loyal
Legion; Paxico community; Valencia; Smoky Hill trail; Silkville; floods,
bridges; Topeka parks; Indian legends; Kansas points of interest.
ACCESSIONS
October 1, 1950, to September 30, 1951
Library:
Books 770
Pamphlets 1,642
Magazines (bound volumes) None
Archives:
Separate manuscripts 158,000
Manuscript volumes 3,093
Manuscript maps None
32 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Reels of microfilm 321
Private manuscripts:
Separate manuscripts 475
Volumes 4
Reels of microfilm 5
Printed maps, atlases and charts 364
Newspapers (bound volumes) 670
Reels of microfilm 412
Pictures 692
Museum objects 35
TOTAL ACCESSIONS, SEPTEMBER 30, 1951
Books, pamphlets, newspapers (bound and microfilm reels)
and magazines 447,863
Separate manuscripts (archives) 1,790,611
Manuscript volumes (archives) 58,317
Manuscript maps (archives) 583
Microfilm reels (archives) -\ 682
Printed maps, atlases and charts 11,782
Pictures 25,195
Museum objects 33,506
THE QUARTERLY
The 19th bound volume of The Kansas Historical Quarterly, which is now in
its 20th year, will be ready for distribution soon. Features for the year include:
Alberta Pantle's "History of the French-Speaking Settlement in the Cottonwood
Valley," Dr. James C. Malin's "The Motives of Stephen A. Douglas in the Or-
ganization of Nebraska Territory," and the delightful journal of Mrs. Stuart
James Hogg, "A British Bride in Manhattan, 1890-1891." Dr. Robert Taft's re-
vised manuscript, based on "The Pictorial Record of the Old West" series in
the Quarterly, will shortly be issued by Scribner's in book form. Thanks are
due to Dr. James C. Malin of the University of Kansas, associate editor of the
Quarterly, who continues to take time from his busy schedule to read articles
submitted for publication.
OLD SHAWNEE MISSION
During the past year sight-seers from 28 states and a number of foreign
countries visited the Mission. There has been a noticeable increase in the
number of school classes and other groups brought on conducted tours. Many
boy scout troops and similar organizations visit the buildings to learn how
Indian boys and girls lived and were taught a hundred years ago.
Although the Mission was operated by the Methodist church, it was pri-
marily a manual labor school and was supported by the federal government.
Other Missions also gave similar instruction, among them the near-by Friends
Mission, where there was at one time a teacher of agriculture by the name of
Calvin Austin Cornatzer. Recently a picture of his wife, Emily Smith Cornat-
zer, was presented to the Mission by a granddaughter, Mrs. H. D. Ayres of
Wichita. Mrs. Ayres also donated to the museum a wood bread-mixing bowl
and a chest of drawers which had belonged to her grandparents and were
used at the Friends Mission.
THE ANNUAL MEETING
33
THE FIRST CAPITOL
During the past year the outbuildings were painted and minor repairs were
made on the Capitol building. The number of visitors for the year was 2,787.
The July floods, which closed the highways during most of the tourist season,
were apparently responsible for this unusually low figure.
THE STAFF OF THE SOCIETY
The various accomplishments noted in this report are due to the Society's
splendid staff of employees. I gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to
them. Special mention, perhaps, should be made of the heads of depart-
ments: Nyle H. Miller, assistant secretary; Helen M. McFarland, librarian;
Edith Smelser, custodian of the museum; Mrs. Lela Barnes, treasurer; Edgar
Langsdorf, archivist and manager of the building; and Jennie S. Owen, annal-
ist. Attention should also be called to the work of Harry A. Hardy and his
wife, Kate, custodians of the Old Shawnee Mission, and to that of John
Scott, custodian of the First Capitok
Respectfully submitted,
KIRKE MECHEM, Secretary.
At the conclusion of the reading of the secretary's report, Frank
A. Hobble moved that it be accepted. Motion was seconded by
Joseph C. Shaw and the report was accepted.
President Haucke then called for the report of the treasurer,
Mrs. Lela Barnes:
TREASURER'S REPORT
Based on the audit of the state accountant for the period
August 22, 1950, to August 21, 1951.
MEMBERSHIP FEE FUND
Balance, August 22, 1950:
Cash
U. S. savings bonds, Series G
Receipts:
Memberships
Reimbursement for postage . .
Interest on bonds
Books .
$4,661.33
8,700.00
$804.00
727.35
242.50
6.00
$13,361.33
Disbursements
Balance, August 21, 1951:
Cash
U. S. savings bonds, Series G
$4,963.27
8,700.00
1,779.85
$15,141.18
$1,477.91
13,663.27
$15,141.18
3—1264
34
KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
JONATHAN PECKER BEQUEST
Balance, August 22, 1950:
Cash $144.03
U. S. treasury bonds 950.00
$1,094.03
Receipts:
Bond interest $27.31
Savings account interest 1.28
28.59
$1,122.62
Disbursements :
Books $49.74
Balance, August 21, 1951:
Cash $122.88
U. S. treasury bonds 950.00
1,072.88
$1,122.62
JOHN BOOTH BEQUEST
Balance, August 22, 1950:
Cash $66.00
U. S. treasury bonds 500.00
$566.00
Receipts:
Bond interest $14.40
Savings account interest .64
15.04
$581.04
Balance, August 21, 1951:
Cash ..-. $81.04
U. S. treasury bonds 500.00
$581.04
THOMAS H. BOWLUS DONATION
This donation is substantiated by a U. S. savings bond, Series G, in the
amount of $1,000. The interest is credited to the membership fee fund.
ELIZABETH READER BEQUEST
Balance, August 22, 1950:
Cash (deposited in membership fee fund) $671.19
U. S. savings bonds (shown in total bonds, member-
ship fee fund 5,200.00
Receipts:
Interest (deposited in membership fee fund)
$5,871.19
130.00
$6,001.19
THE ANNUAL MEETING 35
Disbursements :
Three pen and ink drawings of Shawnee Mission
bldgs. by Harry Feron $17.50
Balance, August 21, 1951:
Cash $783.69
U. S. savings bonds, Series G 5,200.00
5,983.69
~ $6,001.19
STATE APPROPRIATIONS
This report covers only the membership fee fund and other custodial funds.
It is not a statement of the appropriations made by the legislature for the
maintenance of the Society. These disbursements are not made by the treas-
urer of the Society but by the state auditor. For the year ending June 30,
1951, these appropriations were: Kansas State Historical Society, $97,251.44;
Memorial building, $12,784.80; Old Shawnee Mission, $5,526.00; First Capitol
of Kansas, $2,250.00.
On motion by Wilford Riegle, seconded by Robert T. Aitchison,
the report of the treasurer was accepted.
The report of the executive committee on the audit by the state
accountant of the funds of the Society was called for and read by
John S. Dawson:
REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
September 26, 1951.
To the Board of Directors, Kansas State Historical Society:
The executive committee being directed under the bylaws to check the
accounts of the treasurer, states that the state accountant has audited the
funds of the State Historical Society, the First Capitol of Kansas and the Old
Shawnee Mission from August 22, 1950, to August 21, 1951, and that they
are hereby approved. JOHN S. DAWSON, Chairman.
On motion by John S. Dawson, seconded by Robert Stone, the
report was accepted.
The report of the nominating committee for officers of the
Society was read by John S. Dawson:
NOMINATING COMMITTEE'S REPORT
September 26, 1951.
To the Board of Directors, Kansas State Historical Society:
Your committee on nominations submits the following report for officers
of the Kansas State Historical Society:
For a one-year term: William T. Beck, Holton, president; Robert Taft,
Lawrence, first vice-president; Angelo Scott, lola, second vice-president.
For a two-year term: Nyle H. Miller, Topeka, secretary.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN S. DAWSON, Chairman.
The report was referred to the afternoon meeting of the board.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY
The annual meeting of the Kansas State Historical Society con-
vened at 2 P. M. The members were called to order by the presi-
dent, Frank Haucke.
The address by Mr. Haucke follows:
Address of the President
FRANK HAUCKE
THE KAW OR KANSA INDIANS
MY paper today is on the Kaw Indians: The Indians who gave
our state its name, and for whom our famous river was
named; and the tribe that gave to this nation a vice-president. His-
torians do not credit them with being the most colorful or spectac-
ular tribe to dwell within our state, yet they left their mark on
Kansas history. As long as Kansas exists the memory of the Kansa
or Kaw Indians will live.
These Indians were known by some 50, and perhaps even more,
versions of the name Kansa, which means wind people or people
of the south wind. Kaw was the word used by the early French
traders as sounding something like that used by the Indians them-
selves. Since about 1868 it has been the popular name of this group
of Indians.
There is a difference of opinion as to whether the Kaw Indians
lived in what is now Kansas in the aboriginal period of American
history. Some historians hold that they originated east of the Al-
leghenies and were drifting west when they first became known to
white men. The earliest recorded notice of the Kaw Indians was
by Juan de Onate in 1601. In 1702 Iberville estimated that they
had 1,500 family units. From this, the tribe has diminished until
today there are fewer than 25 full bloods.
It is known that the Kaw Indians moved up the Kansas river in
historic times as far as the Big Blue. In 1724 de Bourgmont spoke
of a large village. Native narrators gave an account of some 20
villages along the Kansas river before the Kaws moved to Council
Grove in 1847.
In 1724 de Bourgmont set out from New Orleans for the Kansas
river to visit the Padoucas, or Comanche Indians, who were not
friendly to the fur trade. He was met by a party of Kansas chiefs
and was escorted to their village. The grand chief informed de
(36)
THE ANNUAL MEETING 37
Bourgmont that the Kaw Indians would accompany him on his
journey. The French remained for some time with the tribe before
setting out on their journey. The Kaws supplied them with wild
grapes during their stay, from which the French made wine.
In 1792, when the Spaniards owned Louisiana, they thought
some of developing an overland trade between New Mexico and
Louisiana. Pedro Vial was sent from Santa Fe to Governor Caron
at St. Louis to open communications for that purpose. In his daily
account of the journey, he reports that when his party reached the
great bend of the Arkansas river they were made captive by the
Kaw Indians and taken to their village on the Kansas river.
Lewis and Clark recorded in 1804 that the Kaws lived in two
villages with a population of 300 men. These explorers reported
that their number had been reduced because of attacks by the Sauk
and Iowa Indians. Two years later they found that the lower vil-
lage had been abandoned and that the inhabitants had moved to
the village at the mouth of the Big Blue. The Kaws were furnishing
traders with skins of deer, beaver, black bear, otter, raccoon; also
buffalo robes and tallow. This trade brought the tribe about $5,000
annually in goods sent up from St. Louis.
The first recorded official treaty with the Kaws was in 1815, at
St. Louis. This was a treaty of peace and friendship. In it the
Kaws were forgiven for their leanings toward the British in the
War of 1812. One of the signers of this treaty was White Plume,
who was just coming into prominence and who later became one
of the great chiefs of the tribe. He was the great-great-grandfather
of Charles Curtis.
On August 24, 1819, Maj. Stephen Long met with the Kaws
and Osages on Cow Island east of the present Oak Mills, Atchison
county. Secretary of War John C. Calhoun had sent out an ex-
ploring expedition with Major Long commanding. They went up
the Missouri in a steamboat and were to ascend the Kansas river to
the Kaw village, but found it unnavigable. A messenger was sent
ahead to summon the Kaw tribe to council at Cow Island. When
the Indians assembled, they were more interested in the demonstra-
tions made by the steamboat than in the council. The bow of this
boat was in the shape of a great serpent with a carved head as high
as the deck. Smoke and fire were forced out of its mouth, which
greatly interested the Indians. The council and entertainment con-
tinued for some time. The Indians admitted their depredations,
promised peace and accepted their presents. Rockets were fired
and the flag of the United States was raised.
38 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The Kaw tribe signed a treaty at Sora creek (Dry Turkey creek),
August 16, 1825, giving consent to a survey of the Santa Fe trail.
They promised unmolested passage to citizens of the United States
and the Mexico Republic. The tribe received $500 in cash and
$300 in merchandise. The place of the treaty was about five miles
west of present McPherson.
The Kaw Indians ceded to the United States on June 3, 1825, a
vast tract of land which extended along the Missouri river from the
mouth of the Kansas river to the northwest corner of the state of
Missouri; thence west to the Nodeway river in Nebraska; thence to
the source of the big Nemaha river; thence to the source of the
Kansas river, leaving the old village of the Pania Republic to the
west; thence on a ridge dividing the waters of the Kansas river
from the Arkansas to the west line of Missouri; thence on that line
thirty miles to the place of beginning: the mouth of the Kansas
river. They reserved a tract on both sides of the Kansas river, be-
ginning 20 leagues up the river, including their village, extending
west 30 miles in width through the lands ceded as above. This
village was two miles east of present Manhattan on the north bank
of the Kansas river.
The reservation thus set aside by the Kaw Indians was held by
them until 1846. As construed, the treaty covered a tract of the
best land in Nebraska, reaching from the Missouri to Red Cloud
and extending north at one point more than 40 miles. This domain
was cut off at the head of the Solomon, from where it reached to
within 12 miles of the Arkansas northwest of Garden City. Thence
it followed the divide to the Missouri line. It included nearly half
of the state of Kansas. For this the Kaws received $4,000 in mer-
chandise and horses, an annual tribal annuity of $3,500 for 20 years,
plus the limited reservation. They also received some cattle, hogs
and chickens and some half-breed allotments.
The Kaws did not own so vast a tract of land. They never had
possessed it and much of it they had never even hunted on, as far
as can be determined. The government wished to extinguish the
Indian title and having purchased it from the Kaw Indians no other
tribe could set up a claim to it.
The Kaw town at the mouth of the Blue river was partly depopu-
lated about 1827. That year an agency was established on allot-
ment number 23, which was on the north bank of the Kansas river
and in what is now Jefferson county. This town was south of pres-
ent Williamstown. There was appointed for the Indians a black-
THE ANNUAL MEETING 39
smith and a farmer. The farmer was Col. Dan Morgan Boone, son
of the great pioneer. White Plume was the head of the village.
Frederick Chouteau was the Indian trader. His trading post was
on what is now Lakeview. This agency was abandoned after 1832.
Frederick Chouteau moved his trading post to Mission creek.
By 1830 the Kaw population had moved down the Kansas river
and settled in two villages at Mission creek and one about a mile
west of Papan's ferry, or north of the present town of Mencken.
This was the largest Indian village near the present city of Topeka
and was located in the southwest quarter of Section 16, Township
11, Range 15. The Indians made a good selection, because in 1844,
1903 and 1951, when all the valley was submerged, this spot at
Menoken and surrounding land was dry. After the recent flood
we visited this spot and found* it high and dry and have pictures
showing the land. There was another Kaw village, but little is
known of it. Remains of Indian burial grounds have been un-
earthed in several places, one south and west of the Skinner Nursery
in Shorey, North Topeka. The extent to which these Indians
roamed over this territory is still unknown.
In 1830 the missionaries turned attention to the Kaw Indians, and
the Rev. Wm. Johnson was appointed missionary to them. He
started as a missionary to the Kaws at Mission creek. He went to
the Delaware Indians in 1832, returning to the Kaws in 1834. In
the summer of 1834 he began work on the mission buildings. He
continued there until 1842, when he died. In 1844, the Rev. J. T.
Perry was sent to continue this missionary work. Nothing of ac-
count was accomplished and the school was discontinued. Much
of the missionaries' time was spent in learning the language, which
did not leave much time to use the language after it was learned.
It has been recorded that during Johnson's stay with the Kaws a
book was printed in the Kansa language; however no trace of the
book has ever been found. These old mission buildings erected by
Johnson were occupied for a time by a Kaw woman and her half-
breed Pottawatomie husband. In 1853 he tore these buildings
down.
On January 14, 1846, the Kaws ceded two million acres of the
east end of their tract. It was provided that if the residue of their
land should not afford sufficient timber for the tribe the government
should have all the reservation. The lack of timber existed, so the
government took over the land. Another tract of land 20 miles
square was laid out for them at Council Grove. Until 1847 the
40 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
territory now embraced in Morris county was held by various tribes
as neutral ground upon which all had a right to hunt.
In 1859 the Kaws signed a treaty retaining a portion of their res-
ervation intact, nine miles by 14 miles. The remainder was to be
sold to the government and the money used for the benefit of the
tribe. These lands were sold by acts of congress of 1872, 1874,
1876 and 1880.
From 1847 to 1873 the Kaws dwelt on their diminished reserve
in the Neosho valley near Council Grove, Morris county. They
settled in three villages, each with a chief.
The largest village was on Cahola creek south of the town of
Dunlap. Hard Chief, Kah-he-ga-wah-che-cha, ruled here from the
time the tribe moved from the Kaw valley until some time in the
1860's when he died. He was never considered a very brave or
outstanding chief. He was succeeded by Al-le-ga-wa-hu, who was
one of the greatest chiefs ever to rule over the Kaws. He was of
fine character, was trusted by all, and was considered the wisest
leader of the tribe. He was tall and stately, about six feet, six, and
was an eloquent orator. He was one of the few Indians of his time
who could not be bribed.
Chief Al-le-ga-wa-hu had three wives, one of whom was his fa-
vorite. As was the custom with the Kaws, when a young man mar-
ried he married the oldest daughter of a family and the other sisters
also became his wives. A story is told of the beauty of his favorite
wife and how he tried to please her on all occasions. Once when
she was ill she craved the delicacy of dog meat. Not having a dog,
the chief went to Council Grove in search of a nice fat one. He
found one that could be purchased for $2, but not having the $2,
he had to borrow the money from a friend before he could carry
home the prize.
The second village was known as Fool Chief's village and was lo-
cated in the valley near the present town of Dunlap. Fool Chief
ruled over this village for a long time. Fool Chief had a strong and
positive nature and was a serious type of man. He was a good
speaker and many times represented the Kaws when officials were
out from Washington. His death was caused by overeating on the
day his annuity money was received. He, like many others, had
been on short rations. Like most of the Kaws, he had a large roman
nose and high cheek bones.
The third village was located near Big John creek, southeast of
Council Grove, and was not far from the agency. At one time this
THE ANNUAL MEETING 41
village was situated within a mile of Council Grove. Peg-gah-
hosh-he was the first chief to rule here. He was a stubborn leader
and much set in his ways. He died about 1870 and was succeeded
by his nephew. Neither were considered outstanding leaders. In
the Kaw tribe, chiefs obtain leadership through inheritance; war
chiefs through bravery.
In the fall of 1848 Seth Hayes moved into the reservation as In-
dian trader. The next to arrive were the Chouteau brothers. The
Chouteaus of St. Louis were associated with the Astors of New York
in the American Fur Company, which came to dominate the busi-
ness.
In 1850 the population of the Kaws was about 1,700. The agent
of the tribe resided in Westport, Mo., the law at that time not re-
quiring the agent to live at the agency.
Several attempts to improve the condition of the Kaw Indians
were undertaken during their stay in Morris county. In 1850 the
Methodist Episcopal church, desiring to help civilize the Indians,
entered into a contract with the government to establish a school.
The board of missions erected a stone mission or schoolhouse at
Council Grove and subcontracted with T. S. Huffaker to teach the
school. The school was closed in 1854, because of the large expense
of $50 per capita annually. The government refused to increase
the appropriation. The pupils were either orphans or dependents
of the tribe. All were boys, as the girls were not allowed to go to
school. Mr. Huffaker reports that he knew of only one Indian who
was converted to the faith. The Kaws never took kindly to the re-
ligion of the white man. They kept and guarded their own beliefs.
Thomas Sears Huffaker was 24 years old when first employed as
an Indian teacher. Mr. Huffaker's influence with the Kaw Indians
continued long after he gave up teaching. His name is mentioned
in their treaty with the government in 1862 and in many other rec-
ords pertaining to the tribe.
The Huffaker family lived for many years in the building after
the closing of the school. Five children were born at the mission,
and three in another home across the street. Carl Huffaker was one
of the latter three, and it was from him that the state of Kansas pur-
chased this old building last spring. It is to be a museum devoted
to the Kaw Indians and the Santa Fe trail. The building is two
stories high. It was built of stone from a nearby quarry and of
native lumber from the original Council Grove. When constructed
it had eight rooms, and in each gable two large projecting chimneys.
42 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The walls are very thick and the whole building is still a beautiful
and solid structure.
This building has been used for many purposes: schoolhouse,
council house, courthouse, meeting house, and fortress during In-
dian raids. Governors, officials of state, and officers of the army
have been entertained there. It was a welcome resting place for
many a weary traveler on the trail.
From 1854 to 1863 there was practically no missionary or religious
work among the Kaws. In 1852 and 1853 over four hundred of the
tribe died of small pox. Their burial grounds were scattered all
along the Neosho valley. Many died from other epidemics and par-
ticularly from hardships to which they were subjected by the pres-
sure of white settlers, the killing of their game and the introduction
of whisky. The traders were not permitted to sell whisky, but the
Indians had no trouble in getting it as long as they had money or
something to trade. When their annuity was received, the money
in most cases went for liquor instead of food. As a result, they and
their families were starving most of the time. In looking through
government reports on the Kaw Indians we find that teachers, agents
and others again and again requested that some action be taken to
stop the liquor traffic. Some recommended that annuities be re-
ceived annually so the Indians would have to work for food in the
meantime. When traffic was opened on the Santa Fe trail this prob-
lem increased.
The Civil War affected the lives of the Kaw Indians. John Dela-
shmitt came from Iowa and enlisted a company of Kaws numbering
80 men for service in the Union army. They left their women and
children at home to tend their meager fields and to live as best they
could. In 1863 the population was reduced to 741 and the follow-
ing year to 701. During the latter part of the war the Kaws could
not go on buffalo hunts to secure meat because of the danger of
their being killed in the campaigns against the Plains Indians.
Many amusing stories are told of the Kaw soldiers in the Civil
War. After enlisting they went to Topeka where they were issued
uniforms. Just as soon as they received them they took out on foot
for Council Grove with their uniforms under their arms. Just be-
fore they reached their destination they put the clothes on and
walked in all dressed up to show their kinsmen what a soldier
really looked like. When they were at Fort Leavenworth, in the
heat of the summer they would insist on walking through the streets
in their drawers alone. One of the head chiefs of the Kaws was a
sergeant.
THE ANNUAL MEETING 43
When a Kaw enlisted in the army it was necessary for him to
take on a new name, as his Indian name was not sufficient for the
records. Many of the Indians at this time took French names, such
as Chouteau. Some believe a good many Kaws have French blood
because of their French names, which in many cases is not true. In
later years many Kaws took on other names; the son of Al-le-ga-
wa-hu, for example, took the name of Albert Taylor.
After the treaty of 1859, when the Kaw reservation was reduced
in size to what was known as the diminished reserve, the agency
of the tribe was moved from Council Grove to a point about four
miles southeast of the city, near the mouth of Big John creek on
what is now the Haucke land. The buildings erected by the gov-
ernment were substantial structures, consisting of an agency build-
ing, house and stables, storehouse, council house and two large
frame school buildings. They were constructed of native oak and
black walnut sawed from the forests of the Neosho. The govern-
ment also built some 150 small stone buildings for the use of the
individual Indian families. The Kaw Indians did not appreciate
these stone houses and continued to live in their tents which they
considered more healthful. However, in bad weather, they did
stable their ponies in these buildings.
Many of the agency buildings still stand on the Haucke land. We
have tried to preserve them as much as possible. The old cabin
occupied by Washunga still stands. He was a minor chief when
the Kaws lived in Council Grove and a head chief after their re-
moval to Oklahoma. Here Vice-President Charles Curtis spent a
few of his boyhood years with his grandfather and grandmother,
Louis and Julia Papan.
Land near the agency was homesteaded by my father, August
Haucke, who left Germany when a young man and headed for the
new world. He left behind him a brilliant career as a professional
soldier, having served as military instructor at the German general
staff headquarters at Potsdam, near Berlin. He participated in the
Franco-Prussian War. In the siege of Paris he commanded a tele-
scope rifle corps, and when Napoleon III surrendered, he com-
manded a body guard, guarding him from being assassinated by his
own people on account of his surrender.
When my father reached the Eastern shores of our country he
was advised to go West, where there were many opportunities for
young men. He took this sage advice and bought a railroad ticket
to Topeka, where he outfitted himself with a team, wagon and sup-
plies and started out on the trail. He learned from Harry Richter,
44 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
who was later lieutenant governor, that the Kaw Indian land would
soon be opened for homesteading and decided to stay and prove up
on a claim. While doing this he worked on the section of the Mis-
souri, Kansas & Texas railroad at 50 cents a day. He lived in Morris
county until his death, with my mother, who had accompanied her
family to America from Germany at about the same time.
I recall hearing my father tell about the acquisition of the right-
of-way through the Kaw reservation. Many farmers contended that
the Missouri, Kansas & Texas did not have right-of-way through
the reservation but had merely traded firewater for permission to
build through the Indian land. This condition continued until
about 1920, when my father and Mr. Brown, counsel for the Mis-
souri, Kansas & Texas, worked out a peaceful right-of-way settle-
ment with the farmers and the railroad through what was formerly
the Kaw reservation.
In the summer of 1859, the most serious trouble between the
Kaws and the whites took place. Much horse thieving had been
going on and the settlers blamed the Kaws. Two white men had
been suspected of some of the work. They were caught, and after
they confessed one side of their heads was shaved before they were
set free. The Indians watched this performance with interest. The
Indians, who had stolen horses from two Mexicans, were threatened
with the same treatment.
Early on the morning of June 2, a hundred Kaws came riding
down the trail from the west, painted and feather-decked for war.
Al-le-ga-wa-hu was leading them. They stopped their ponies in
front of the Hays tavern in Council Grove and the Indians said,
"You white men are all cowards. You shave each other's heads but
are afraid of the Indians. Mexicans are a heap worse than Indians
but you protect them. If you want the horses the Indians stole
come and get them."
Mr. Hays fired into the mob and the Indians returned the fire.
One white man was hit by a shot and another by an arrow. The
Indians then withdrew across the river. Before the town had time
to organize themselves, the Kaws had returned from the Elm creek
woods. The settlers started south and several times the Kaws raced
the settlers from west to south, south to west, until they were ex-
hausted. Then the Kaws retreated to the timber along Elm creek.
After organizing and selecting a leader, the settlers worked their
way into the woods, where a battle was waged. The settlers drove
the Kaws back. The Kaws then took their position on the bluff,
where their warriors lined the bluff for a mile. The settlers were
THE ANNUAL MEETING 45
in the open prairie, with the Kaws on the bluff in front of them and
the timber a long way back of them. They dared not fall back with
no reinforcements in sight. The Indians threw sun reflections in
their eyes from mirrors and flourished their spears and blankets.
The Kaws then began a series of attacks. They charged three times
but the settlers held their ground. The settlers kept looking for
help, as messengers had been dispatched for assistance at the start
of the battle. In the afternoon they saw a few heads coming to-
ward them in the grass in the rear and their shouts of joy led the
Kaws to believe that a large number had come to help.
The Kaw leaders counseled together and several of them ap-
proached with a white flag. The settlers demanded the two who
had shot the white men. The Indians again counseled and returned
saying that they would surrender the man who had shot Parkes but
that they did not know which of their number had shot the other
man. The settlers were sure that a young chief greatly loved by
the tribe was the guilty one. The Kaws then tried to buy the lib-
erty of the two, offering half of the money they would receive from
the government. The settlers insisted that the Indians be turned
over to them. At that point the young chief spoke up and said that
since his people had offered to give him up he would kill anyone
who came near him. The young braves and the chief overpowered
him and tied and bound him. He and the other warrior were then
turned over to the settlers and taken to Council Grove on horse-
back, where they were both hanged.
With the sun the next morning two squaws entered the trading
post and trudged sorrowfully up the trail to the suspended bodies
of their dead. They were the mother of the brave and the young
wife of the chief. Their cries could be heard up and down the val-
ley. Each carried a large knife with which she hacked her head
and breast until blood flowed from the wounds. They poured ashes
over themselves and rubbed the blood near the bodies of their dead.
Some of the settlers cut the bodies down so they could be returned
to the Indian burial grounds. One of the men at the post was as-
signed to drive the ox cart in which the bodies were placed. Sev-
eral others went along as guards. The tribe assembled at Elm creek
to meet them. Without warning a low moan arose from the tribe,
which frightened the oxen, and they overturned the cart, dumping
the bodies on the ground.
In 1863 Mahlon and Rachel Stubbs were sent by the Friends
church of Indiana to establish a mission school among the Kaw In-
dians. Several years later their son, A. W. Stubbs, became inter-
46 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
preter for the Kaw Indians. We owe a debt of gratitude to the
family of A. W. Stubbs, who are now living in Kansas City, for mak-
ing the papers of their father available to us and for giving them
to the Kansas State Historical Society.
Mr. and Mrs. Stubbs went from Indianapolis to St. Louis by rail,
by boat to Hannibal, and by rail to Leavenworth. There friends
met them and conveyed them by wagon to their destination, the
newly erected mission buildings near the agency on what is known
as the R. O. Scott farm. There were two buildings, 30 x 60 feet,
two stories high, and here the Stubbs family lived for three years.
The buildings were not furnished, and Mahlon Stubbs had to make
furniture for them and desks for the school rooms. School opened
May 1, 1863, with Martha Townsent as teacher. She had 36 boys
and three girls as pupils, most of them in a nude state.
The work at the mission was very difficult. When the children
were brought in, they were not only naked, but they had to be
thoroughly scrubbed and barbered. Most of them, of course, could
not speak a word of English. Mrs. Stubbs took entire charge of the
work of the boarding school. She cooked, washed and sewed for
the pupils. Mr. Stubbs farmed and raised cattle and hogs. Owing
to this hard work, Mrs. Stubbs' health failed. Mr. Stubbs then ac-
cepted the position of farmer of the Friends Kansas Manual Labor
School. This position was tendered him by Mai. H. W. Farnsworth,
U. S. Indian agent. The Stubbs family moved into the old stone
house at the agency. This house had been occupied by Joseph Dun-
lap, the Indian trader, as it was not needed by the government.
Mr. Dunlap moved into a settler's house near the mouth of Rock
creek, erected before the land was allotted. His was the only white
family allowed on the whole reservation, aside from government
employees.
During this year as farmer Mr. Stubbs gave the Kaws their first
lesson in trying to plow their little fields with ponies. This proved
to be a slow job, for they were ignorant about work. It was a dif-
ficult task to teach them to properly harness a pony and many times
he found them with the collar on the wrong end up and the wrong
side to the horse.
At the end of that year there was a change in administration and
Democrats were appointed to succeed all employees from the agent
down. The Stubbs family then moved to a farm near Lawrence.
Here they remained for two and a half years, when Mahlon Stubbs
was appointed Indian agent by President Grant. President Grant
adopted what was known as Grant's peace policy and turned over
THE ANNUAL MEETING 47
the management of all the Indian tribes to the various leading
church denominations. Those in Kansas and Indian territory were
allotted to the Friends and they were given full charge and allowed
to select all employees at the various agencies. Schools were
opened, encouragement given to the Indians to raise stock and to
learn to farm. A strong effort was made to better the conditions of
the Indians and this continued until there was a change of adminis-
tration. Grant's plan was not a complete success for the reason that
some of the churchmen selected for agents were good churchmen
but not good business men and their accounts fell into a hopeless
tangle.
Agent Farasworth in one of his reports to the superintendent of
Indian affairs said that the extrejne simplicity of the Quaker system
rendered it unattractive to Kaw Indians. Others suggested that the
pageantry of the Catholic church would have more appeal to the
Indians as it would be something they could see and have some
understanding of.
A. W. Stubbs relates that in 1864 his parents boarded about 20
recaptured women and children for several months at the Kaw Mis-
sion School, which they were conducting at the time. They were
received from the Cheyenne, Kiowa and Comanche tribes and were
left at the school until their families called for them. Some of them
seemed anxious to find their families, but one middle-aged woman
was actually indignant because she had not been able to remain
with her captors. None of them complained of cruel treatment, al-
though the women had to assist in curing buffalo meat and dressing
the hides brought in by the men.
Mr. Stubbs records terrible prairie fires in 1864 and 1865. He re-
lates that the bluestem grew eight or ten feet high and that it was
impossible to stop a prairie fire after it was once started. If the fire
happened to overtake a person walking across the prairie his only
chance for life was to lie face down in a buffalo trail or any bare
spot and let the fire sweep over him. Many died before the flames
passed over them. Sparks would fly across the Neosho and set fires
on the other side. Mr. Stubbs tells about a couple of farmers cross-
ing the high divide south of the Neosho, near Americus, with a load
of hogs in a wagon. They saw a cloud of smoke to the northwest,
from where the wind was blowing a gale, but paid little attention
until the flames were only a short distance away. One of the men
then jumped out; ran ahead a few paces, struck a match and
kindled a fire. By the time the burned space was large enough to
hold the team and wagon, they were surrounded by flames and the
48 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
heat was so intense that the hogs in the wagon began to squeal and
they had difficulty in holding the frightened team.
In September, 1865, the Kaws ventured forth on a hunting trip
into the buffalo country. That fall and winter they killed approxi-
mately 3,000 buffalo and sold the robes for an average of $7 each.
This income was in addition to the meat and tallow. They also
carried on trade with other Indians. These sources of income car-
ried them well through the winter and spring. But the winter of
1866-1867 was spent in futile efforts to find buffalo. It was a severe
one and many of the Kaws died of starvation and exposure.
As long as the buffalo lasted, the Indians held annual hunting
parties in the buffalo country. Mr. Stubbs describes an incident
that occurred on one of the buffalo hunts he accompanied. After
being out some time, the hunters spied some antelope, which the
Indians killed. One of the young chiefs was hungry and pulled out
his knife and ripped one of the animals open. Taking out the liver,
he cut off a generous hunk, put it in his mouth, and began chewing
with relish. He wanted Mr. Stubbs to join him in the feast, but
Mr. Stubbs wasn't hungry at the moment. The savage was quite a
sight with the blood streaming down his face. He then took out
the stomach, cut a hole in it, and drank the milk which the young
animal had recently taken. Mr. Stubbs records that his feeling was
one of pity for the Indian who owned so much in land and yet had
so little.
In 1867 a Mr. Goodal of Cleveland offered to instruct the Kaws in
the manufacture of woolen goods by use of hand wheels and looms,
thinking this would be something the Kaws might enjoy doing, as
well as being something profitable, but they turned down the offer.
Up to about 1868 the Kaw Indians had been able partially to sup-
port themselves by going to the buffalo country winter and summer-
for meat, hides and robes. Their small annuity was not enough to
keep them. The merchants and traders at the agency often assisted
them, relying on appropriations from congress to reimburse them.
The Kaws were surrounded by fertile soil, but they were averse to
farming. In addition to having no desire to farm, they had no tools,
and there was a shortage of seed.
On March 13, 1869, the Kaws entered into a contract with the
Southern branch of the Union Pacific, later known as the Missouri,
Kansas & Texas railroad, for right-of-way and the privilege to cut
timber. Thousands of ties and other timber were sold from the Kaw
lands and the proceeds used for subsisting them. Mr. Stubbs re-
ceived permission to sell off the tops and down lumber for cord
THE ANNUAL MEETING 49
wood and this was a big help to the Kaws. Many of them were
handy with an ax and spent considerable time cutting and hauling
wood, which work they seemed to enjoy. Wood sold in Council
Grove for $3 a cord. Up to this time even the Indians had not been
allowed to cut and haul wood and they had had to use only dead
trees and limbs. Thousands of fine walnut and oak trees were con-
verted into bridge timber and ties, as well as hickory and other
hardwood varieties. When the railroad was completed to Parsons,
A. W. Stubbs was invited to take a group of 25 Kaws to dance and
assist at the celebration, all expenses paid. This pleased the Indians
and was a change from their humdrum life.
Mr. Stubbs was quite an authority on Kaw words, having served
as their interpreter, and in his papers we find many Kaw names and
words. He gives the meaning of Neosho as "Water in it." He dis-
putes the general understanding as to the meaning of "Topeka."
He says that at one time some folks stopped at the ferry north of
Topeka and wanted to cross. The water at that time was very high
and the Indians shook their heads no, and said "Too-Beega," mean-
ing the stream was too big to cross.
After the coming of the railroad there was a strong desire on the
part of the whites to secure farms in this fertile valley and great
pressure was brought upon Washington to open these lands for
settlement.
About this time the last Indian battle this far east in Kansas took
place. It was on the morning of June 2, 1868, when several hundred
well-armed and mounted Cheyenne and Arapahoe warriors ap-
peared on the hills west of Council Grove. They came to fight the
Kaws, against whom they had held a grudge for a long time. The
Cheyennes were led by Little Robe. The battle took place near the
agency on what is known as the E. W. Curtis farm. The Kaws se-
creted themselves along the banks of Little John creek and refused
to engage in battle in the open. The experience of the Kaws in the
Civil War helped them as fighters. The Cheyennes were prepared
to fight in the open, and failing to dislodge their enemies, they left.
In 1872 Columbus Delano, Secretary of the Interior, came to the
agency in a special railroad car to discuss removal with the Kaws.
The chiefs and head men were called into a council to meet with
him. A. W. Stubbs was the official interpreter. According to the
papers of Mr. Stubbs, the secretary pictured in glowing terms the
advantage of going to a new country where they could be near other
tribes, especially their kinsmen, the Osages, and where wild game
4—1264
50 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
was plentiful. The secretary assured them that from the sale of
these lands they could not only buy as good a reservation, but have
a large surplus with which to improve homes, buy needed supplies
for farming, and in fact live better than they had ever lived before.
When the secretary had finished his lengthy report, Al-le-ga-wa-hu,
the head chief, arose, deliberately folded his blanket beneath his-
arms, then began his reply in slow and measured terms, carefully
weighing each word. Mr. Stubbs records that this was one of the
most earnest, eloquent, and at the same time pitiful, appeals to
which he ever listened. It was not only a faithful portrayal of the
previous dealings of the Indians with the whites, but was prophetic
of what the future held in store for the people for whom their chief
was pleading. After recounting the history of their past experi-
ences at some length, Chief Al-le-ga-wa-hu stretched himself to his
full height of six feet, six inches, and looking the secretary in the
eye, vehemently declared:
Be-che-go, great father, you treat my people like a flock of turkeys. You
come into our dwelling places and scare us out. We fly over and alight on
another stream, but no sooner do we get well settled than again you come
along and drive us farther and farther. Ere long we shall find ourselves across
the great Bah-do-Tunga (mountains) landing in the "Ne-sah-tunga" (ocean).
The chief continued protesting against giving up the land where
their dead were sleeping on the hill tops, where they had their fields
and their homes.
Al-le-ga-wa-hu was followed by others, some favoring and some
opposing the move, and after they had all had their say the secre-
tary spoke again. This time in an authoritative voice. He told
them that he appreciated their attachment to their land, yet, he
said, "It is the policy of the President, to give to the Red Men a
country to themselves, where you can meet and mingle together free
from the interruption of the whites and it is my duty to say to you
that you must sell your lands here and select a new reservation in
the Indian Territory."
After the close of this conference, the agent was instructed to ap-
point two commissioners to accompany a delegation of the head
men of the tribe to look over the proposed new reserve. This re-
serve was in the west end of the country to which the Osages had
already been removed. Thomas H. Stanley and Uriah Spray, well-
known friends of the Indians, were named as commissioners. A. W.
Stubbs accompanied them as interpreter. In the midsummer of
1872, this party, consisting of about 25, started out in covered wag-
ons and on horseback.
THE ANNUAL MEETING 51
An interesting story has come down from a pioneer woman who
lived near Cottonwood Falls, about their passing through there.
She was making lye soap in a big iron kettle outside her house when
three of the Indians came near the kettle and motioned that they
wanted to eat from it. She kept shaking her head no, but could not
make them understand her. They simply thought she was unwill-
ing to share with them. Finally one Indian took the spoon from her
and took a big bite. Tears came to his eyes but he never changed
the expression on his face. He passed the spoon to the Indian next
to him, who ate with tears in his eyes and he in turn passed it on
to the third, who did likewise. After which they turned away and
rejoined their party.
Their route lay along the Arkansas river to the mouth of Beaver
creek. Everyone was more than pleased with the country. They
saw many wild turkeys and deer, as well as much small game. The
Indians picked up handfuls of dirt and ran it through their fingers
and found the land to be all that they desired. After spending a
few days looking over the prairie country and the valley of the Big
and Little Beaver, they drove on to Pawhuska. Here a council was
held with the Osage chiefs and an understanding was had between
the two tribes. Mahlon Stubbs negotiated for the purchase of 100,-
000 acres from the Osages, and then went to Tahlequah, capital of
the Cherokee nation, and secured a ratification of the deal by the
Cherokee council.
When the Indians learned of their approaching removal to the
Indian country, there was much weeping and wailing and daily
visits to the graves of their dead. For an hour or more at early
dawn and at the close of the day they gave vent to their anguish
in lamentations that could be heard for miles.
On August 12, 1925, a monument to an unknown Kaw Indian was
unveiled on the Haucke land overlooking the Neosho valley. Here
were placed the remains of a Kaw chief, his horse and parapher-
nalia. Rock for the monument was hauled from the nearby hills by
members of the American Legion and the Boy Scouts. The Haucke
family donated the money for its erection, which was done by local
stone masons. It was at this service that I was made honorary
chief of the Kaw tribe and given the name of Ga-he-gah-skeh, mean-
ing white chief. A representative group of Kaw Indians from Okla-
homa, headed by Ernest Thompson, took part in the ceremonies at
the unveiling and in the adoption ceremonies. I was presented
with a Kaw headdress, blankets and other Indian objects. A. W.
Stubbs spoke. This monument stands as a reminder of the years
52 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the Kaws spent in the Neosho valley. In 1930, it was dedicated by
Vice-President Charles Curtis.
After my father moved to the land formerly occupied by the In-
dians, he was kept busy reburying their dead. White men would
come out and dig up the graves looking for treasure, which they
never found, then would go away, leaving the bodies on top of the
ground.
While the Indians were inspecting the new country in the Indian
territory, Mahlon Stubbs, Indian agent; J. M. Byers of Ohio, and
J. Lew Sharp of Council Grove, commissioners, were engaged in
the work of appraising the Kansas reserve, diminished and trust
lands, preparatory to opening them for sale and white settlement.
Riding in a spring wagon, they drove back and forth across the
country, estimating what each 40-acre tract would readily sell for.
They were equipped with tents and cooking outfits, employed a
cook, and camped out the three months required to complete the
work. The stony uplands were valued at $1 per acre, the best bot-
tom lands at $10. This averaged, on the entire 200,000 acres, about
$3 per acre.
Before time came for the removal, settlers became very impatient
at the delay, and in the fall of 1872 C. V. Eskridge, then lieutenant
governor of Kansas, headed a large delegation of Lyon county citi-
zens and called a meeting near the mouth of Rock creek, to take
some action to hasten the opening of the reserve. The lieutenant
governor made a stirring appeal to his audience of several hundred
farmers, telling of the great advantages to the Indians of having
these fertile lands cultivated, and concluded by urging his hearers
to move in and take possession without waiting for authority from
Washington. Agent Stubbs had heard of the proposed invasion and
had wired Washington for instructions. After the lieutenant gov-
ernor finished his talk, Stubbs was called upon for a few remarks.
He started out by saying that he would like to read them a tele-
gram which he thought would be of interest to them. He read:
"Keep all settlers off the Kaw Reservation, if necessary send to Fort
Riley for troops."
The reading of this telegram dampened the ardor of the crowd,
whereupon Lew Sharp of Council Grove, who, with other citizens
of Council Grove, was opposed to any "Emporiaites" taking a hand
in settling the reserve, jumped into a wagon box and delivered a
fiery talk in which he criticized the lieutenant governor for taking
THE ANNUAL MEETING 53
part in such an affair and for openly advising citizens to violate the
law of the land. He was heartily applauded, after which the as-
sembly broke up.
The 42d congress appropriated $25,000 for removal purposes and
to subsist the tribe for one year. Bob Stevens, who had been a
contractor for the M., K. & T., tried to secure this contract for
removal and promised Agent Stubbs a handsome profit if he would
enter into his scheme. Mr. Stubbs spurned the proposition. I re-
call hearing my father say what an honest and trusted man Mahlon
Stubbs was, and how he was respected by all who knew him.
When the time came to move the Kaws, Stubbs hired about 40
men with teams to haul the poorer families. The other members of
the tribe were instructed to pack their ponies as they had always
done in going to and from the buffalo country. In this way, only
a small amount of the $25,000 was expended. After providing sub-
sistence, there was some $12,000 left. This was to revert to the
United States treasury at the end of the fiscal year.
When they reached their new reservation, the Indians found that
no buildings had been erected for their use. The families of the
government employees were cooking meals under the trees and
sleeping in tents. Winter was coming on and the matter was se-
rious. Agent Stubbs met the commissioner of Indian affairs in
Lawrence, and told him of the situation and asked permission to
use this sum to build buildings. He received the backing of the
commissioner. Contracts were let and before winter set in they
had a six-room stone house for the agent, a three-story school build-
ing to house the children, a stone schoolroom, and a frame dwelling
for the farmer. Some trouble was encountered in getting these bills
settled, as it had been appropriated for removal and subsistence.
Agent Stubbs had technically violated the law and being under
bond had laid his bondsman liable. After several years, authorities
viewed these buildings and sufficient proof was given so the ac-
count was passed.
After the Kaw Indians were removed to the territory, settlers
were allowed to take possession of the lands. When they learned
the price at which they had been appraised there was great dis-
satisfaction. Very few made payments and the department at
Washington appealed for a lower price. Through the influence of
the politicians this appeal had its effect, and after waiting several
years the Kaws got about half what they were promised. As a re-
54 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
suit, the Kaws virtually exchanged their lands in Kansas for one-
half the acreage in Indian territory.*
After two or three weeks of visiting, receiving gifts and bidding
their friends goodby, about five hundred Kaws left Council Grove
for their new reservation on June 3, 1873. They were 17 days on
the way. The Kaw agency was established at Washunga, which is
about one mile north of the present town of Kaw City, in Kay
county, Oklahoma. Rations of beef and other foods were issued to
them, as well as clothing, cooking utensils and farming equipment.
A school was established at Washunga, where Indians of other
tribes were permitted to attend. Board and clothing were fur-
nished to the students by the government, also medical attention;
and a general beneficial supervision was given. The full bloods
continued to live in their tepees and dugouts, but the half-breeds
occupied the log houses built by the government. The Kaws did
not care to do much farming, and raised only corn and garden
vegetables, and those only in small patches.
When they first reached Indian territory, the tribe would go on
buffalo hunts. Men, women and children would make up the
party. They traveled in wagons and on ponies and would go a
distance of 75 to 100 miles west of the reservation. Some still
hunted with bows and arrows, but the majority used rifles of the
muzzle-loading type. When a buffalo was killed, they would skin
the animal and jerk the meat, to dry and preserve it. This process
was by cutting a narrow strip of meat until a hand hold was ob-
tained, then the meat was pulled off in strips and hung to dry. The
last big general hunt was started in November, 1873, and ended in
February, 1874. They made $5,000 on the furs obtained on this
trip. While they were on the hunt one of the Indian women gave
birth to a son. This boy was Forrest Chouteau who later took a
prominent part in affairs of the Kaw tribe.
Chief Al-le-ga-wa-hu died shortly after they reached Oklahoma
and he was succeeded by Washunga. Washunga was the last of
0 Following the opening of the Kaw land for settlement, the battle between the white
settlers began. Three men from Council Grove came down to run father off his claim.
They told him that if he knew what was best for a "foreigner" he would leave. Father
reached inside the door of his shack for his .44 Colt and said in no uncertain terms, "You
had better go back to Council Grove or I will blow you to pieces." They immediately
hurried back to Council Grove. The sheriff surmised something was up and started down
to meet them on their return. He asked what they were up to. One replied that he
wouldn't go back down there for all the land on the reservation.
A little later, a man by the name of Knight filed ownership against father. Knight, a
quasi-politician, pulled some strings and the land was awarded to him. Father wired his
attorneys in Washington. As a result, the Secretary of the Interior held an investigation
which resulted in the debarring of three attorneys, the firing of five clerks — and U. S. Sen-
ator Preston B. Plumb had to make a lengthy explanation. Father was awarded the land.
When ownership was finally established on all homesteads, there was an era of corner-
stone moving. Father remarked that half the cornerstones had been moved or thrown into
the streams. Many surveys followed.
THE ANNUAL MEETING 55
the blood chiefs of the Kaws and he ruled until his death in 1908.
Since that time leaders have been selected for the convenience of
the tribe in handling business transactions but they still talk of
Washunga as their last chief.
Agent Stubbs' term expired in 1875 and his name was sent by the
President to the senate for confirmation. Bob Stevens used his in-
fluence with Senator Ingalls and induced him to vote against con-
firmation. The department was surprised and wired Stubbs to come
to Washington to fix it up with Ingalls. Senator Ingalls could not
be changed in his vote. The department then abolished the Kaw
agency, attached it to the Osage, and appointed Mr. Stubbs as
superintendent in charge. He remained there until ill health made
retirement necessary.
On several occasions the Kaws were dissatisfied with conditions
in general and sent delegations to consult with the authorities in
Washington. In 1878 A. W. Stubbs took a young chief by the name
of Eagle Plume to Washington to see if something could not be
done to alleviate the condition of the Kaws. Being without funds
for the trip, Eagle Plume gave entertainments at several points en
route. From the donations received, he and Mr. Stubbs were able
to reach Washington. They were given the audience they desired
and their expenses home were allowed by the government. While
in Washington they attended the open house given by the Presi-
dent.
In less than ten years after the Kaws paid for their reservation,
the government entered upon a vigorous policy of dissolving reser-
vations in the western half of Indian territory. From 1890 to 1893
the Cherokee commission negotiated 11 agreements. By these
agreements about 12,000 Indians sold their reservations to the gov-
ernment and received allotments as part of their consideration for
relinquishment. These surplus lands were then opened to white
settlers. The Indians on the Osage, Kaw, Ponca, Otoe and Missouri
reservations had acquired their titles by purchase, therefore were
able to resist successfully the offers and threats of the commission.
Agent Miles, of the Osage agency to which the Kaws were assigned,
said in 1890 that the Kaws opposed taking allotments because they
felt it would deprive them of the lands which they had paid for. In
1892 a group of mixed bloods expressed their desire to take allot-
ments and insisted on having 160 acres per capita set apart for
them. At this time there were only 125 full bloods. The Kaws held
their lands in common. Each could occupy as much land as he de-
sired. In 1899 the agent reported that some of the more intelligent
56 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
and ambitious members of the tribe were taking advantage of the
others and were taking over large areas. Finally the Kaws got to-
gether and decided to take their allotment. No doubt the fact that
the half-breeds outnumbered the full bloods was a deciding factor.
On August 24, 1900, the national council passed unanimously a res-
olution which read:
Whereas certain interests peculiar to the Kaw Tribe of Indians both of land
and money [are] now pending before the Department at Washington, Be it
therefore resolved by the Kaw Council this day in Session that we respectfully
urge the Hon. Secretary of the Interior Through the Hon. Commissioner of
Indian Affairs to allow a delegation of four (4) from the Kaw tribe to wit:
Wah-Shun-Gah, Governor, Forrest Chouteau Councilman, W. E. Hardy, Sec.
and Achan Pappan Interpreter to visit Washington at the convenience of the
Hon. Secretary of the Interior for the purpose as above stated, and that the
expense of said delegation be paid from the Kaw Tribal Funds.
Charles Curtis played quite a part in the matter. From Topeka
on September 10 he wrote the commissioner of Indian affairs re-
minding him of his promise to receive this delegation in Washing-
ton, if the Kaws passed such a resolution. Permission was granted
and the group visited Washington. Later, a special investigator
was sent out and he recommended that all the lands be allotted.
Each member was permitted to select 160 acres for a home. In
1901 the agent reported that all the Kaws had made their selections
of land. On December 16 of that year Curtis submitted to the of-
fice of Indian affairs a resolution of the tribal council dated De-
cember 12, 1901, requesting the government to resurvey the reser-
vation so each member could make his selection. Many of the
cornerstones of the survey of 30 years previous had been removed.
On February 7 Walter E. Strumph was instructed to make the
survey.
That same year the Kaws proposed to make an agreement for the
division of their lands, distribution of their funds and the sale of
their landed interests in Kansas. On January 15, Washunga, in
reply to a letter from Curtis, stated that he preferred that a delega-
tion be sent to Washington and asked that seven Kaws be allowed
to come and treat with the government for final disposition of their
matters. Curtis transmitted this letter to the commissioner of In-
dian affairs, asking the granting of this request, and suggested that
the following should go: Chief Washunga, Forrest Chouteau, Wah-
noh-o-e-ke, Wm. Hardy, Mitchell Fronkier, Akan Pappan and W.
E. Hardy. This request was granted. A general council was held
February 1, 1902, and the seven named in Curtis' letter were elected
by a majority vote. They were empowered to enter into any agree-
THE ANNUAL MEETING 57
ment which they thought to be in the best interests of the tribe.
On February 8 an agreement was signed. This agreement was the
product of Curtis' pen and was known as "Agreement of the Kansas
or Kaw Indians of Oklahoma Territory among themselves relative
to their tribal lands and funds, and memorial to Congress/'
According to this agreement the roll of the tribe as shown by
records of the local Indian agent December 1, 1901, was declared
to be the roll of the tribe. This also listed all descendants of mem-
bers born between that date and December 1, 1902. There was
to be set apart to each member of the tribe 160 acres of land for a
homestead, which, with certain provisions, was not to be taxable,
and was to be inalienable for a period of 25 years from January 1,
1903. Those that had already selected homesteads were to be per-
mitted to retain them, and others were given 30 days in which to
make their selections.
After the selections had been made, the remaining Kaw lands in
Oklahoma territory were to be divided equally, with certain provi-
sions, among members of the tribe, giving to each the same number
of acres of farming and grazing land as near to his homestead as
possible. The land set aside, other than homesteads, should be
tax free while held by them, not to exceed 25 years. It was not to
be sold or encumbered for a period of ten years. The uninherited
lands of minors should be inalienable during their minority.
The division of the land was to be left entirely to the Indians and
their agent. It was to be the duty of the agent and the clerk in
charge of the subagency, together with a committee of three mem-
bers of the tribe to be selected by the agent, clerk and tribal coun-
cil, to divide the surplus lands. The head chief of the tribe was to
be furnished deeds by the Secretary of the Interior and he in turn
was to execute the deeds. The agent was to deliver them to mem-
bers of the tribe. Each member was entitled to a separate deed
for lands given as a homestead. An approved deed operated as a
relinquishment to the individual member of all right, title and in-
terest of the United States and Kaw tribe in and to lands embraced
therein. Disputes among members of the tribe as to selection of
land were to be settled by the agent.
The Kaws ceded to the United States 160 acres including the
grounds of the school and agency buildings. The government was
to maintain a school there for at least ten years. Twenty acres were
to be reserved for a cemetery. Eighty acres at Washunga were to
be set aside as a townsite, to be laid off in lots and sold at auction.
The Secretary of the Interior was to be empowered, in his discre-
58 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
tion and at the request of any member of the tribe, to issue a cer-
tificate to such member authorizing the sale of any or all of his
lands, and the acquisition of a pro rata share of the funds of the
tribe. The member was to have the right to manage and dispose
of his property the same as any other citizen, but his lands should
be subject to taxation, and his name would be dropped from the
rolls of the tribe.
On February 21, 1902, Agent Mitscher transmitted the agreement
to Commissioner Jones with his approval. On March 10, the agree-
ment was transmitted to the house of representatives and was in-
corporated in an act of congress.
Agent Mitscher felt this was a good move because "a community
of interests tends to dependence, carelessness, indifference, shift-
lessness and downright laziness."
On February 23, 1903, Mitscher forwarded to the office of Indian
affairs a complete or final roll of the tribe with the names of 247
persons, 11 children having been born between June 20 and Decem-
ber 1. This was approved March 24. Homestead allotments cov-
ered 39,670 acres.
The Kaw allotment commission was made up of Mitscher, Edson
Watson, the clerk, Chief Washunga, Forrest Chouteau and Wm.
Hardy. The commission passed a resolution that these members
be paid $4 per day and the same for an interpreter. This to be
paid from tribal funds.
The division of the surplus land was started on April 8 and was
completed by the 17th. A total of 60,263 acres was allotted to 247
allottees, or about 245 acres to each, in addition to the homestead
of 160 acres.
In the agreement drawn up by Curtis and incorporated in an act
of congress, it was designated that all claims which the Kaws might
have against the government should be submitted to a commission
to be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior; and that the gov-
ernment should render to the tribe a complete accounting of all
monies agreed to be paid to them which they were entitled to under
any treaty. This commission was appointed, with Wm. C. Braly,
Chas. J. Groseclose and Ed. Fox, the members.
Samuel J. Crawford, former governor of Kansas, was the attorney
of record for the Kaws. His principal application was for money
due the Kaws as evidenced by various certificates of indebtedness,
or script transactions, concerning lands in Kansas. The committee
reported that the Kaws were entitled to $155,976.88. On November
26, 1904, the tribe agreed to this. An act of March 3, 1905, pro-
THE ANNUAL MEETING 59
vided for the payment of this amount to the Kaws, stipulating that
the Kaws should deliver to the government a general release of all
claims and demands of every name and nature against the United
States. On April 22, 1905, a general council of the Kaws was held.
There were 45 signatures on the release, and none opposed it. The
first signers were Chief Washunga, Wah-mo-o-e-ke, Forrest Chou-
teau, Wm. Hardy, Mitchell Fronkier, W. E. Hardy and Charles
Curtis.
In 1923 oil was discovered on some of the lands held by minor
allottees. On February 13, Curtis introduced in the senate a bill
providing that the period of restriction against alienation on surplus
lands allotted to minor members of the Kaw tribe be extended for
a period of 25 years in all cases where the allottees had not reached
the age of majority. On March 4 the bill became a law. There
were now on the reservation 420 Kaws, of whom 77 were full bloods.
Curtis took a homestead about a mile north of Washunga. His
share of the surplus lands was 259 acres. His daughters had ad-
joining homesteads and his son had a homestead southwest of theirs.
Restrictions against alienation of surplus lands expired in 1928
and restrictions on homesteads in 1948. Due to sales, etc., the
tribal acreage in 1945 was 13,261. The Kaws numbered 544, of
whom 314 resided at the agency.
In an article in the Wichita Eagle in 1932 it was stated that only
two members of the Kaw tribe, other than the immediate family of
Charles Curtis, held the original land allotted at the time the reser-
vation was divided. In addition to the Vice-President, his sister,
Mrs. Colvin, and her two sons, held allotments. Seven members of
the Curtis family owned 2,800 acres. Ernest Thompson and Mrs.
Raymond Bellmard were the only other Kaws still retaining their
land at that time.
In the latter part of September of 1951, the Indian claims com-
mission ruled that the federal government owed the Kaw Indians
$2,493,688.75 for land the tribe once owned. It was ruled that the
amount the tribe received for its land was so grossly inadequate as
to constitute an unconscionable consideration. It was the payment
for the release in 1905 that the government found so inadequate.
This past summer we made several trips to Kaw City to learn as
much as possible about the remainder of the tribe, where located,
etc. After practically each inquiry we were told to visit Forrest
Chouteau, who is now living in Newkirk, Okla. We made several
trips to Newkirk and enjoyed on these occasions the hospitality of
his home. Forrest Chouteau is the son of Peter Chouteau, who
60 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
lived on the reservation at Council Grove, and his mother is a full-
blood Kaw by the name of Wysaw. Peter Chouteau served three
years in the Civil War. It was then that he took the name of Chou-
teau.
The Forrest Chouteaus have several children. Forrest attended
the government school at Washunga and later was a disciplinarian
and industrial teacher there. Pie also served as postmaster at Wa-
shunga. His wife is an Oneida Indian and was laundry supervisor
at Washunga when she met Forrest. Forrest Chouteau has always
been a leader in the tribe and has made many trips to Washington
in their interest.
The Chouteaus have a very comfortable home in Newkirk and
take an active part in church affairs. Forrest is a 32d degree Mason.
His children have positions of responsibility in industry and govern-
ment. One daughter is employed by the collector of revenue in
Wichita. Their home has all the refinements of any typical Ameri-
can home. We asked Mr. Chouteau if he was sorry that the Indians
didn't roam the plains as in the past. He said, "No, I like this,"
pointing to his home, "just press the button and you have lights."
Mr. Chouteau told us that there were only 25 Kaw full bloods
left. In Kaw City we visited with the remaining members of the
tribe and renewed friendships with those who had attended our
celebration in Council Grove in 1925.
John Hoeffer of Kaw City kindly gave us an oil painting of Wa-
shunga for the museum.
Ernest Thompson, now deceased, one of the Kaw Indians who
had oil on his land, did much to help the Kaws. Many of his Kaw
relics have been placed in a museum in the library at Ponca City.
We visited Washunga and viewed the old agency buildings, now
falling apart. In the cemetery we found a fine monument on the
grave of Chief Washunga and many other Kaw graves with fine
markers.
There is one blanket Indian left among the Kaws, Silas Conn. He
still wears his hair in braids and is blind. Most any day he can be
seen on the streets of Kaw City or Washunga or on his daily walk
between the two.
Following the address of the president, Kirke Mechem reviewed
briefly his 21 years as secretary of the Society. He spoke of the
more important accomplishments of that period and of the organi-
zation's expanding activities; also of the less serious aspects of its
work. In closing he paid tribute to the many friends who had been
of assistance, to the legislators who had supported the Society with
THE ANNUAL MEETING 61
appropriations, to the directors and executive committee, and to
members of the staff.
John S. Dawson spoke in appreciation of Mr. Mechem's years of
service to the Society.
The following memorials to Milton R. McLean and Charles H.
Browne were read by Wilford Riegle:
MILTON R. McLEAN
The death of Brig. Gen. Milton R. McLean, adjutant general of Kansas, on
April 17, 1951, ended the career of one of the most useful citizens the state of
Kansas ever had. General McLean was a gentleman in the highest sense of
the word. He was courteous, but efficient and firm. And even in the last years
of his life, though plagued with constant ill health, he never lost that quiet
dignity that marked his lifetime of service.
The general was born in Clinton," 111., on December 9, 1874. After gradu-
ating from the high school at Havana, 111., he attended Northwestern Univer-
sity, Chicago. At the age of 15 years, he was employed as a telegrapher by
the Illinois Central railroad and spent four years with that company.
Coming to Kansas in 1894, General McLean found employment as book-
keeper in a Wellington bank, later being promoted to cashier. In addition he
took an active part in Wellington's civic affairs and served as treasurer of the
board of education for 20 years. He continued his employment in the bank
until the National Guard began active preparation for federal service in 1917.
Though the National Guard first engaged General McLean's attention as a
hobby, it gradually became his life's work. He was appointed captain in the
signal corps in November, 1907. In 1915 he was made major of the inspector
general's department. Two years later, he was transferred to the signal corps.
During World War I, after graduation from the army signal school at Langre,
France, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned as signal officer of
the 35th infantry division.
Separated from the service on June 6, 1919, McLean was commissioned as
a major in the inspector general's department, Kansas National Guard, and
almost immediately thereafter he was named the assistant adjutant general of
Kansas. Promotion to brigadier general came with his appointment to the
position of adjutant general on February 10, 1925.
It got so that it made no difference whether a Republican or Democrat was
elected governor, for General McLean, as adjutant general, won such universal
confidence and respect that for many years his reappointment became a habit.
He was a member of the committee on arrangements at many inaugural cere-
monies. He served as treasurer of the National Guard Association for nearly
30 years.
General McLean set up and directed the operation of machinery for draft-
ing thousands of Kansans for World War II and the Korean war. His selective
service work was constantly praised by the national authorities. He was
founder of the Kansas Safety Council and was active in organization for civil
defense.
In 1925 General McLean took out a life membership in the Historical So-
ciety. He was for the past ten years a member of the executive committee and
62 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
in 1946-1947 was the Society's president. The general never failed to give of
his time and services to further the interests of his adopted state.
General McLean was also a Past Grand Commander of the Grand Command-
ery of Knights Templar of Kansas, and was a member of various other Ma-
sonic bodies.
Though the fine old soldier is dead, the excellence of his work and the ex-
emplary qualities of his life will always be remembered.
CHARLES H. BROWNE
The death of Gen. Charles H. Browne of Horton, on June 13, 1951, was a
shock to the entire state. He had been an active member of this Society since
1907, a member of the board of directors continuously since 1933, and served
as president in 1941-1942. He was one of the last of the old school of soldiers-
editors-statesmen which included such distinguished Kansans as D. R. Anthony,
M. M. Beck, Preston B. Plumb, John A. Martin, M. M. Murdock, Noble L.
Prentice, and Eugene F. Ware.
Charles Browne was a man of strong personality, able, intelligent, and de-
voted to the things that he believed would contribute to a better city, state
and nation. As a newspaperman who owned his paper, he was in a position to
make his views known and his influence felt throughout the state.
He learned the publishing business under his uncle, Ewing Herbert of
Hiawatha, and later worked for a time on the Atchison Champion when its
editor was Jay House. In 1907 he acquired his own paper, the Horton Head-
light, and was its editor and publisher from that time until his death.
Three times Charles H. Browne left his newspaper to enter military service,
first in the Mexican border "incident" of 1916, and again in World Wars I
and II. In 1916 he had been a member of the First infantry regiment of the
Kansas National Guard for eleven years, and he had moved up through the,
noncommissioned ranks to the first step in the commissioned officers' corps,
second lieutenant. During the first World War he was commander of Com-
pany E, 139th infantry regiment, which fought at St. Mihiel and in the Argonne
Forest. After that war he returned to private life with the rank of major, but
almost immediately was called to help in the reorganization and training of
the Kansas National Guard. In 1921 he was made colonel of the 137th in-
fantry— the youngest full colonel Kansas has ever had in the National Guard.
He commanded this regiment for 21 years, leading it to Camp Robinson, Ark.,
in 1940 when it was called into federal service, and retiring in 1941 only after
protesting vigorously the decision of the army's doctors that his health could
not stand the rigors of active military service. Even then he could not retire
completely to civilian life. In 1942 he accepted a call from the governor to
organize and train another infantry regiment, to be known as the Kansas State
Guard. For this work he was promoted to brigadier general, the rank which
he held at his death.
In addition to his long service as a citizen soldier, Charles Browne gave his
time and effort to many other causes. His interest in the history of his state,
demonstrated as a member and officer of this Society, was only one of many
interests. He was a leader in Republican political organizations. He was
active in patriotic and veterans' organizations as well as in civic and social
groups. In every move for a better community his personal influence and the
THE ANNUAL MEETING 63
influence of his newspaper could always be counted on. Kansas has lost in
him one of her finest and most upright citizens. He will be long remembered
by his friends.
Mr. Riegle moved that the memorials be spread on the records
of the Society and that copies be sent to members of the families.
The motion was seconded by Joseph C. Shaw.
The report of the committee on nominations was called for:
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON NOMINATIONS FOR DIRECTORS
September 26, 1951.
To the Kansas State Historical Society:
Your committee on nominations submits the following report and recom-
mendations for directors of the Society for the term of three years ending
October, 1954:
Bailey, Roy F., Salina. - McArthur, Mrs. Vernon E.,
Beezley, George F., Girard. Hutchinson.
Bowlus, Thomas H., lola. McFarland, Helen M., Topeka.
Brinkerhoff, Fred W., Pittsburg. Malone, James, Topeka.
Campbell, Mrs. Spurgeon B., Mechem, Kirke, Topeka.
Kansas City. Mueller, Harrie S., Wichita.
Cron, F. H., El Dorado. Philip, Mrs. W. D., Hays.
Ebright, Homer K., Baldwin. Rankin, Robert C., Lawrence.
Farrell, F. D., Manhattan. Ruppenthal, J. C., Russell.
Gray, John M., Kirwin. Sayers, Wm. L., Hill City.
Hamilton, R. L., Beloit. Simons, W. C., Lawrence.
Harger, Charles M., Abilene. Skinner, Alton H., Kansas City.
Harvey, Mrs. A. M., Topeka. Stanley, W. E., Wichita.
Haucke, Frank, Council Grove. Stone, Robert, Topeka.
Hodges, Frank, Olathe. Taft, Robert, Lawrence.
Lingenfelser, Angelus, Atchison. Templar, George, Arkansas City.
Long, Richard M., Wichita. Trembly, W. B., Kansas City.
WToodring, Harry H., Topeka.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN S. DAWSON, Chairman.
On motion by John S. Dawson, seconded by W. F. Thompson,
the report of the committee was accepted unanimously and the
members of the board were declared elected for the term ending
in October, 1954.
There being no further business, the annual meeting of the So-
ciety adjourned.
Refreshments were served in the secretary's office at the close of
the meeting. Mrs. Frank Haucke presided.
64
KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The afternoon meeting of the board of directors was called to
order by President Haucke. He asked for a rereading of the report
of the nominating committee for officers of the Society. The re-
port was read by John S. Dawson, chairman, who moved that it be
accepted. Motion was seconded by Mrs. W. D. Philip and the fol-
lowing were unanimously elected:
For a one-year term: William T. Beck, Holton, president; Robert
Taft, Lawrence, first vice-president; Angelo Scott, lola, second vice-
president.
For a two-year term: Nyle H. Miller, Topeka, secretary.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
DIRECTORS OF THE KANSAS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
AS OF OCTOBER, 1951
DIRECTORS FOR THE YEAR ENDING OCTOBER, 1952
Barr, Frank, Wichita.
Berryman, Jerome C., Ashland.
Brigham, Mrs. Lalla M., Council
Grove.
Brock, R. F., Goodland.
Bumgardner, Edward, Lawrence.
Correll, Charles M., Manhattan.
Davis, W. W., Lawrence.
Denious, Jess C., Dodge City.
Fay, Mrs. Mamie Axline, Pratt.
Godsey, Mrs. Flora R., Emporia.
Hall, Mrs. Carrie A., Leavenworth.
Hall, Standish, Wichita.
Hegter, Ben F., Wichita.
Jones, Horace, Lyons.
Lillard, T. M., Topeka.
Lindquist, Emory K., Lindsborg.
Lindsley, H. K., Wichita.
Means, Hugh, Lawrence.
Norton, Gus S., Kalvesta.
Owen, Arthur K., Topeka.
Owen, Mrs. E. M., Lawrence.
Patrick, Mrs. Mae C., Satanta.
Payne, Mrs. L. F., Manhattan.
Riegle, Wilford, Emporia.
Rupp, Mrs. Jane C., Lincolnville.
Scott, Angelo, lola.
Sloan, E. R., Topeka.
Smelser, Mary M., Lawrence.
Stewart, Mrs. James G., Topeka.
Van De Mark, M. V. B., Concordia^
Wark, George H., Caney.
Williams, Charles A., Bentley.
Wooster, Lorraine E., Salina.
DIRECTORS FOR THE YEAR ENDING OCTOBER, 1953
Aitchison, R. T., Wichita.
Anderson, George L., Lawrence.
Anthony, D. R., Leavenworth.
Baugher, Charles A., Ellis.
Beck, Will T., Holton.
Capper, Arthur, Topeka.
Carson, F. L., Wichita.
Chambers, Lloyd, Wichita.
Chandler, C. J., Wichita.
Cotton, Corlett J., Lawrence.
Dawson, John S., Hill City.
Euwer, Elmer E., Goodland.
Farley, Alan W., Kansas City.
Hobble, Frank A., Dodge City.
Hogin, John C., Belleville.
Hunt, Charles L., Concordia.
Knapp, Dallas W., Coffeyville.
Lilleston, W. F., Wichita.
Malin, James C., Lawrence.
Mayhew, Mrs. Patricia Solander,
Topeka.
Miller, Karl, Dodge City.
Moore, Russell, Wichita.
Raynesford, H. C., Ellis.
Redmond, John, Burlington.
Rodkey, Clyde K., Manhattan.
Russell, W. J., Topeka.
Shaw, Joseph C., Topeka.
Somers, John G., Newton.
Stewart, Donald, Independence.
Thomas, E. A., Topeka.
Thompson, W. F., Topeka.
Van Tuyl, Mrs. Effie H., Leavenworth.
Walker, Mrs. Ida M., Norton.
THE ANNUAL MEETING
65
DIRECTORS FOR THE YEAR ENDING OCTOBER, 1954
Bailey, Roy F., Salina.
Beezley, George F., Girard.
Bowlus, Thomas H., lola.
Brinkerhoff, Fred W., Pittsburg.
Campbell, Mrs. Spurgeon B.,
Kansas City.
Cron, F. H., El Dorado.
Ebright, Homer K., Baldwin.
Farrell, F. D., Manhattan.
Gray, John M., Kirwin.
Hamilton, R. L., Beloit.
Harger, Charles M., Abilene.
Harvey, Mrs. A. M., Topeka.
Haucke, Frank, Council Grove.
Hodges, Frank, Olathe.
Lingenfelser, Angelus, Atchison.
Long, Richard M., Wichita.
McArthur, Mrs. Vernon E., Hutchinson.
McFarland, Helen M., Topeka.
Malone, James, Topeka.
Mechem, Kirke, Topeka.
Mueller, Harrie S., Wichita.
Philip, Mrs. W. D., Hays.
Rankin, Robert C., Lawrence.
Ruppenthal, J. C., Russell.
Sayers, Wm. L., Hill City.
Simons, W. C., Lawrence.
Skinner, Alton H., Kansas City.
Stanley, W. E., Wichita.
Stone, Robert, Topeka.
Taft, Robert, Lawrence.
Templar, George, Arkansas City.
Trembly, W. B., Kansas City.
Woodring, Harry H., Topeka.
5—1264
Bypaths of Kansas History
WESTERN KANSAS REPORTS ON AN INDIANA EDITORIAL EXCURSION
IN 1879
From the Lakin Eagle, August 22, 1879.
What queer ideas eastern people have of things in general out west. The
editorial excursion that halted at Dodge yesterday, were wonderfully inquisitive
when they beheld a large ox train standing near the depot ready for their
trip south. The greatest curiosity was manifested by these people from the
east. While some were endeavoring to ascertain the number of oxen hitched
to one wagon and began counting the animals up one side and down the other
others were speculating how it was possible to get the yoke on these cattle
with such extended horns, but when told that they had been yoked when quite
young, they appeared perfectly satisfied, and were quite certain it was next
to improbability to place yokes on oxen with horns six feet from tip to tip.
Another was closely scrutinizing the wheels of the wagon, making measure-
ments of the fore wheels and comparing the measurement with the hind
wheels, which he found were considerable the largest. Just what particular
ideas run through his mind we are unable to guess — unless it was how those
small wheels could keep out of the way of the larger ones. Still another
picked up one of the drivers long whips, and as he had had early training in
driving his father's oxen while turning over the virgin soil of Indiana, he of
course could not resist the temptation of giving an exhibition of his skill in
handling a bull whip.
The first sweep he made raked three bonnets and two plug hats besides
twisting the lash around his own neck several times, which came very near
choking him to death — he lost no time in extracting himself and getting to the
car, where, no doubt, he was severely censured by the ladies and gentlemen
for his actions. — Ford County Globe.
Yes, what funny nonsensical ideas Easternites do have of "out-west."
While stopping at Lakin for dinner, some surmised perhaps that even
victuals were furnished free, and they ate accordingly; and after the conductor
having waited twenty-five minutes longer than the usual time, hallooed "all
aboard," a burly Hoosierite, who, from his outward appearance had already
taken down an over-sufficiency, remarked:
"Say conductor, it was agreed that we have plenty of time to get our meals,
and I ain't fairly commenced yet!"
Another who saw a slow move of the train which was pulling ahead
to get more water no doubt to quench the thirst of the weary traveler on his
farther sojourn, was about to yell, "hold on!" when his immense understand-
ing covered by a pair of box-toe styled number twelves, struck a clod of ye
hard "virgin soil," plunging his helpless remains head-long into a pool of mud,
not more than fifteen feet distant from him, terribly dilapidating a fine plug
hat, and shamefully plastering his uncommonly huge proboscis.
The third sincerely wanted to know whether it was not "lonesome" out
(66)
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 67
here? How could it be when we are almost constantly entertained by similar
preliminaries as the above?
Notwithstanding "all in all," we were led to believe that the growing and
yet forthcoming "Hoosier Press" will be vastly appreciated, as we noticed
some very handsome and intelligent looking young lady typographers in the
"out-fit," and to those who took occasion to grace our small sanctum we feel
very thankful.
When ye take another excursion brethern, take with ye a pilot who will
guide you safely through; an interpreter who can demonstrate to you fully
those many encumbrances that ye are liable to encounter on such an occasion,
and don't fail to bring with ye a "Baron Rothschild" with lots of ready money,
for those who erred so ignominiously.
OBSERVER.
A BIBLE FOR THE STATE HOUSE
From the Salina Evening Journal, May 10, 1916.
MARSHAL NEEDS BIBLE
State Auditor Surprised When Hussey's Bill for Good Book Was Presented
Topeka, May 10 — Of course if Lew T. Hussey, state fire marshal, wants to
spend $1.25 of the state's funds for a Bible, W. E. Davis, state auditor, prob-
ably will not turn down the voucher. But when the said voucher was pre-
sented at the auditor's office today without a word of explanation Davis'
curiosity was aroused.
"Now I wonder what Hussey wants with a Bible in his office," mused
Davis. "Of course, as state fire marshal he is always fighting fire. But he
hasn't said anything about using the Bible in his war against fire loss."
So Davis sat down and wrote the following letter to Hussey:
"I have the voucher which you have approved for the purchase of one
Bible. This item is so unusual that I believe some explanation should be re-
quested. I am returning you the voucher and would be pleased to have you
indorse thereon the purpose for which the Book is to be used in the work of
your department."
While no official explanation is forthcoming from Hussey's office, it is
understood that his able and resourceful assistant, Imri Zumwalt of Bonner
Springs, intends to use quotations from the Bible to send out dope urging
all good citizens to fight the fire loss. The voucher will probably be allowed
in the long run. In fact, Davis says there are several other departments for
which he would be glad to approve vouchers for the purchase of Bibles, if
the heads of the departments would agree to read all the Ten Commandments
and the Golden Rule.
Kansas History as Published in the Press
Part 3 of "The Geography of Kansas/' by Walter H. Schoewe, and
"Kansas Flood Producing Rains of 1951," by R. A. Garrett, were
included in the September, 1951, issue of Transactions of the Kansas
Academy of Science, Lawrence. Some items of Kansas history of
1871 were recalled by Editor Robert Taft in the December issue.
In that year the Kansas Natural History Society became The Kansas
Academy of Science. Also in the December number were the
Transactions' annual list of Kansas college enrollments and "A Geo-
graphic Study of Population and Settlement Changes in Sherman
County, Kansas/' by Walter M. Koolmorgen and George F. Jenks.
Ernest Dewey's column of historical stories and legends has con-
tinued to appear regularly in the Hutchinson News-Herald. Some
of the recent articles included: "Dry Dust Has Buried Mysteries
[Disappearance of Early-Day Travelers on the Prairie] Forever/'
September 16, 1951; "The Winning of the West Was Not Entirely a
Masculine Job/' October 7; "Dick [Broadwell] Did Well, But It
Wasn't in Cattle," a sketch of a member of the Dalton gang, No-
vember 4; "A Pioneer Pathfinder [Jedediah Smith] Buried in Lost
Grave," November 18; "Gunman Ed [Prather] Tried to Run His
Luck Too Long," November 25, and stories of Asa T. Soule, who
established the town of Ingalls and built a 96-mile irrigation ditch
on the Arkansas river, January 6, 13, 1952.
The Hoisington Dispatch, September 20, 1951, printed a history
of the Hoisington Methodist church. In 1887 the Rev. F. F. Bern-
storf came to Hoisington and began the organization. Work was
begun on the first church building in 1889.
The High Plains Journal, Dodge City, has continued to publish
Heinie Schmidt's historical column, "It's Worth Repeating." Among
recent articles were: "Offerle, Our Neighbor to the East," Septem-
ber 27, 1951; "The Glory That Was Santa Fe [Kansas]," October 18,
25; "Mount Jesus, an Early-Day Landmark on the Ft. Dodge-Camp
Sully Trail," November 8; "The Dalton Hangout and the Cimarron
Holdup," December 13; "Sixty-Sixth Anniversary of White Fury
From the Sky," a history of the blizzard of 1886, January 3, 1952;
"Site of a Hodgeman County Ghost Town Recalls Unfilled Dream
of Pioneers," the story of Morton City, an all-Negro settlement, by
E. W. Harlan, January 10, and "Slaves Find Freedom in Morton,
Now Hodgeman Co. Ghost Town," January 17.
(68)
Kansas Historical Notes
Officers recently elected by the Russell County Historical Society
were: John G. Deines, president; Judge J. C. Ruppenthal and
Luther D. Landon, vice-presidents; Merlin Morphy, secretary; A. J.
Olson, treasurer, and Mrs. Dora H. Morrison, director.
Dr. Edward Bumgardner, Lawrence, was the featured speaker at
the September 26, 1951, meeting of the Shawnee Mission Indian
Historical Society of northeast Johnson county. Newly elected offi-
cers of the society are: Mrs. James Glenn Bell, president, Mrs.
Homer Bair, 1st vice-president; Mrs. David M. Huber, 2d vice-presi-
dent; Mrs. Tom Davis, recording secretary; Mrs. John Blake, cor-
responding secretary; Mrs. Chas. Houlehan, treasurer; Mrs. Kenneth
Carbaugh, historian; Mrs. C. L. Curry, curator; Mrs. A. M. Meyers,
chaplain, and Mrs. John Barkley, parliamentarian.
A group of 265 Kiowa county pioneers attended the annual Old
Settlers Day party in Greensburg October 4, 1951. Purple ribbons
were awarded to 81, indicating over 60 years in the county. Officers
chosen for the coming year included: Will Sluder, president; C. E.
Freeman, 1st vice-president; Robert Parkin, 2d vice-president; Mrs.
Benjamin Weaver, secretary, and Mrs. L. V. Keller, treasurer. The
Kiowa County Historical Society is going ahead with plans to build
a memorial museum in the Big Well park in Greensburg. Several
sizable donations have already been received.
Mrs. Mary Ellen Smith Dorsey was elected president of the Clark
County Historical Society at the annual meeting and pioneer mixer
in Ashland, October 27, 1951. Other officers elected included: Paul
Randall, vice-president; Mrs. Charles McCasland and Jerome C.
Berryman, honorary vice-presidents; Melville Campbell Harper,
recording secretary; Rhea Gross, corresponding secretary; William
Moore, treasurer; Mrs. Dorothy Berryman Shrewder, historian; Mrs.
Bertha McCreery Gabbert, curator, and Myron G. Stevenson, audi-
tor. Speaker at the meeting was Heinie Schmidt of Dodge City,
who spoke on the purpose and need of local historical societies.
Nyle Miller, secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, dis-
cussed the writing of the four constitutions for Kansas at the annual
meeting of the Riley County Historical Association, October 29,
1951. Dr. C. W. McCampbell was elected president of the organi-
(69)
70 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
zation. Other officers chosen included: Alvin Springer, vice-presi-
dent; Mrs. Max Wolf, secretary, and Joe Haines, treasurer. Di-
rectors elected were Bruce Wilson, Mrs. Eva Knox and Dr. George
Filinger. C. A. Kimball was the retiring president.
B. H. Oesterreich, Woodbine, was chosen president of the Dickin-
son County Historical Society at the October 31, 1951, meeting in
Chapman. Other officers elected were: Mrs. Viola Ehrsam, Enter-
prise, 1st vice-president, and Mrs. Lawrence Kehler, Solomon, sec-
retary. All were elected for two-year terms of office. Included on
the program were papers on the history of Chapman, churches of
Chapman and the Dickinson county high school.
The first annual meeting of the Comanche County Historical So-
ciety was held in Protection, November 5, 1951. Willis Shattuck,
Ashland, pioneer of Clark county, gave an address on "Pioneering,
Then and Now." The officers of the society were re-elected. They
are: Warren P. Morton, Coldwater, president; Fred Denney, Pro-
tection, vice-president; Mrs. Nellie Riner, Protection, recording
secretary; Mrs. Lillian Lyon, Coldwater, corresponding secretary,
and F. H. Moberley, Wilmore, treasurer.
A dinner meeting of the Wyandotte County Historical Society
was held November 6, 1951, with Nyle Miller, secretary of the Kan-
sas State Historical Society, as the principal speaker. Officers were
elected as follows: Alan W. Farley, president; Stanley B. Richards,
1st vice-president; Grant Harrington, 2d vice-president; Sixten
Shogran, secretary, and Harry Hanson, treasurer. Clifford R. Mill-
sap was the retiring president.
Dr. Ernest Mahan was elected president of the Crawford County
Historical Society at the annual meeting in Pittsburg November 8,
1951. Other officers chosen were: Prof. L. E. Curfman, vice-presi-
dent; Mrs. Mae Stroud, secretary, and Mrs. William Walker, treas-
urer. Directors elected were: Oscar Anderson, Mrs. Cecil Gregg
and Mrs. Viola Holroyd. Ralph Shideler was the retiring president.
The Rev. Harold R. Karnes gave an illustrated lecture at the meeting
on the building of King Solomon's temple.
The Stevens County Historical Society was organized at a meeting
in Hugoton November 15, 1951, under the sponsorship of the Hugo-
ton Woman's Club. Mrs. Ben Parsons was elected president. Edith
Thomson was elected vice-president and Margaret Morgan secre-
tary-treasurer. Speakers at the meeting were Nolan McWhirter,
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 71
curator of the No-Man's Land Historical Museum, Goodwell, Okla.,
and Heinie Schmidt, Dodge City.
M. N. Penny was elected president of the Lawrence Historical
Society at the annual meeting December 4, 1951. Other officers
elected were: Lathrop B. Read, Jr., vice-president; Mrs. L. H.
Menger, secretary, and R. B. Stevens, treasurer. Members of the
board of directors are: Dolph Simons, Mrs. E. M. Owen, Maud
Smelser, Shipman Winter, Jr., and Mrs. Robert Haggart. Principal
speaker at the meeting was Nyle Miller, secretary of the Kansas
State Historical Society, who spoke on early Kansas newspapers and
journalism. A permanent historical museum in the city building is
planned for Lawrence. Members of a city historical committee,
appointed by City Manager James Wigglesworth to gather and
preserve historical items, are: Walter Varnum, chairman; R. B.
Stevens, secretary, and Mrs. E. M. Owen, Maud Smelser and Arthur
B. Weaver.
John S. Dawson was the principal speaker at the annual meeting
of the Shawnee County Historical Society in Topeka December 11,
1951. Trustees elected for three-year terms were: J. Clyde Fink,
A. J. Carruth, Jr., J. Glenn Logan, Charlotte McLellan, Mrs. Erwin
Keller, T. M. Lillard, Mrs. Harold Cone, Maud Bishop, Helen M.
McFarland and Harry Colmery. Homer B. Fink was chosen to fill
the vacancy caused by the death of Paul B. Sweet. Paul Lovewell
presided at the meeting in the absence of T. M. Lillard, president.
The trustees met January 22, 1952, and re-elected the officers.
They are: T. M. Lillard, president; Paul Lovewell, vice-president;
Paul Adams, secretary, and Annie B. Sweet, treasurer. The group
considered a proposal that the old city library building be used for a
museum after it is vacated by the library.
The 34th annual dinner meeting of the Native Sons and Daughters
of Kansas was held January 28, 1952, with Dr. Franklin D. Murphy,
chancellor of the University of Kansas, as the guest speaker. The
Senator Capper award for the winner of the collegiate speech con-
test was presented to William Nulton, Pittsburg. Nyle H. Miller,
secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, gave a memorial
tribute to the late Sen. Arthur Capper. C. W. Porterfield, Holton,
was elected president of the Native Sons, and Mrs. Ray S. Pierson,
Burlington, of the Native Daughters. Other officers chosen by the
Native Sons were: Maurice Fager, Topeka, vice-president; R. A.
Clymer, El Dorado, secretary, and G. Clay Baker, Topeka, treasurer.
72 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Other officers of the Native Daughters are: Mrs. David McCreath,
Lawrence, vice-president; Mrs. Ethel Godin, Wamego, secretary,
and Mrs. Ivan Dayton Jones, Lyons, treasurer.
The Land Mortgage Company in the Early Plains States, is the
title of an article by Allan G. Bogue, University of Western Ontario,
London, Canada, printed recently in pamphlet form. Presented
first at a meeting of the Agricultural History Society and the Mis-
sissippi Valley Historical Association on April 20, 1950, the article
was published in Agricultural History, Baltimore, January, 1951.
The 80th anniversary address by Dr. Emory Lindquist at the con-
vention of the Kansas Conference of the Augustana Lutheran
Church, Loveland, Colo., April 30, 1950, has been published in a
15-page booklet. The Kansas conference was organized in 1870
with the Rev. A. W. Dahlsten as the first president. Kansas, Ne-
braska and Missouri were included in the conference area.
A brief history of the German-Russian settlements in Ellis county
was published recently in a four-page pamphlet entitled Diamond
Jubilee — German-Russian Colonists, 1876-1951. Included are the
names of the colonists still living who arrived in the county in 1876-
1878.
The story of the cattle drives, and the trails, towns and people
involved, is told in Trail Drive Days, new 264-page book by Dee
Brown and Martin F. Schmitt, illustrated with 229 photographs and
sketches.
The History of Baker University is a 356-page, recently published
book by Homer K. Ebright of Baldwin. The organization of the
college was accomplished in 1857 and the charter granted by the
territorial legislature early in 1858.
Dodge City, 1872-1886, "the wickedest little city in America," is
portrayed in Stanley Vestal's new book, Queen of Cowtowns —
Dodge City (New York, c!952).
THE
KANSAS HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
May 1952
N
Published by
Kansas State Historical Society
Topeka
KIRKE MECHEM JAMES C. MALIN NYLE H. MILLER
Editor Associate Editor Managing Editor
CONTENTS
THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1844 ALONG THE KANSAS AND
MARAIS DES CYGNES RIVERS S. D. Flora, 73
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY Allan G. Bogue, 82
VINCENT B. OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES,
Edited by Joyce Farlow and Louise Barry, 108
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY,
Compiled by Helen M. McFarland, Librarian, 134
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 150
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 152
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 159
The Kansas Historical Quarterly is published in February, May, August and
November by the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kan., and is dis-
tributed free to members. Correspondence concerning contributions may be
sent to the secretary of the Historical Society. The Society assumes no respon-
sibility for statements made by contributors.
Entered as second-class matter October 22, 1931, at the post office at To-
peka, Kan., under the act of August 24, 1912.
THE COVER
Post headquarters at Fort Leavenworth in 1872. The fort
is this year celebrating its 125th anniversary. The picture is
through the courtesy of Sgt. W. O. Yount.
THE KANSAS
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Volume XX Mat/, 1952 Number 2
The Great Flood of 1844 Along the Kansas and
Marais des Cygnes Rivers
S. D. FLORA
A VAILABLE records indicate that the flood of 1844 was five to
-**• six and one half feet higher than the disastrous flood of 1951
from Manhattan to below LawreiTce on the Kansas river, and at
Ottawa on the Marais des Cygnes (Osage) river. Most, if not all,
of the tributaries of the Kansas river also had great floods, possibly
record-breaking floods.
It staggers the imagination to contemplate the damage had the
1951 flood equaled or exceeded that of 1844. Kansas was not
open to settlement until ten years after 1844. About the only white
men in the territory at the time were a few fur traders, a compara-
tively few military personnel and a few missionaries, mostly in
the eastern portion. In the 107 years between these floods, pros-
perous farm communities, towns and cities were built over the state,
and especially in lowlands along the rivers. This presented a
tremendous flood hazard.
It is a well recognized fact that nature, having produced a great
flood, will eventually produce another as great. A small difference
in the distribution of the heavy rains on July 10-12, 1951, and their
continuation for one day longer, would in all probability have pro-
duced a flood equal to that of 1844.
In a recent article Verne Alexander, area hydrologic engineer,
U. S. Weather Bureau, stated:
The main storm center [the one that produced the torrential rains of July
9-12, 1951] was near the divide between three river basins — the Osage, Kansas,
and Neosho. From a meteorological standpoint, if this center had occurred 75
miles further northwest, 40 per cent more precipitation would have been added
to the Kansas Basin.1
S. D. FLORA of Topeka, a senior meteorologist, retired, was head of the United States
Weather Bureau at Topeka from 1917 to 1949. He is the author of Climate of Kansas, pub-
lished in 1948 by the Kansas State Board of Agriculture.
1. Civil Engineering, Easton, Pa., November, 1951.
(73)
74 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Had these rains, in addition, continued one day longer there are
many reasons to believe the high-water marks of 1844 would have
been reached, or even exceeded, along the Kansas river.
CRESTS OF THE 1844 FLOOD ALONG THE KANSAS AND MARAIS DES CYGNES
(OSAGE) RIVERS
Crest of 1844 Flood
Height of as Previously
1844 Flood Crest of Crest of Determined by
Over 1951 1844 1951 Reference to
Location (in Feet). Flood.* Flood. 1903 Flood. f
On Kansas River
Manhattan 6.5 40.0 33.5 40.0
Topeka 6.1 42.5 36.4 42.4
Near Topeka, at Bishop 5.8 42.2 ... ...
Near Topeka, at Menoken 3.4 J 39.8 . . . 42.2
Near Lawrence, at Lake
View 5.0 § 35.4 30.4
Kansas City, Mo.|| 2.0 38.0 36.0 38.0
On Marais des Cygnes
(Osage) River
Ottawa 7.0 49.1 42.1 40.0
* Assuming the difference in height of the two floods was the same at the gage site
as at the high-water mark.
f Taken from Climate of Kansas, 1948, pp. 279, 280.
j Crest of 1951 probably raised by ridge of high ground. See remarks under Menoken
discussion.
S Determined as "More than 5 feet."
Kansas City crest was on the Missouri river and determined from a definite high-water
mark.
Many, if not all, tributaries of the Kansas river also had great
overflows in 1844, but as far as is known, no high-water marks exist
along these streams.
In a paper prepared for the State Historical Society in 1878, O. P.
Hamilton, of Salina, remarked on the 1844 flood as follows:
On the Solomon river driftwood, and a buffalo carcass (pretty well dried
up) were found lodged in trees at a height that would cover the highest
bottoms several feet, . . . indicating . . . high water. Evidences of
great floods were also found on the Smoky Hill, and the water must have
flooded the present town site of Salina, Kansas four feet deep.
This great flood was seen by the Indian trader, Bent, located on the upper
Arkansas river, who was ... on his way to Missouri. He had to follow
the divides as best he could. Every river was full from bluff to bluff.2
Z. R. Hook, agent for the Union Pacific and present mayor of
Manhattan, a man exceptionally well versed in river lore, stated
that early settlers in the Blue river valley above Manhattan were
told about the great flood by Indians, who advised them to build
their houses well above the valley floor. Apparently, this advice
was generally taken at the time, but later settlers disregarded it.
2. O. P. Hamilton, A Brief Sketch of the Great American Desert .... p. 8.
GREAT FLOOD OF 1844 75
There is also considerable evidence that in 1844 the Marais des
Cygnes ( Osage ) river reached the highest stages ever known along
that stream.
The cause of the 1844 flood, which crested at Kansas City on the
Missouri on June 16, was evidently the same as that of all other
great floods in Kansas — prolonged and heavy rains over a wide
area. Precipitation records at the time were kept only at two places
in the territory, at Leavenworth and Ft. Scott. At Leavenworth the
first four months of the year were fairly dry, but during May and
June a total of 20.53 inches was measured. Ft. Scott also had com-
paratively dry weather for at least the first three months of the year,
but recorded a total of 27.43 inches in May and June.
The diary of the Rev. Jotham Meeker, a missionary who lived
near the present city of Ottaw*a, mentioned continuous rains from
May 7 to June 10 and a great flood on the Marais des Cygnes.
Andreas, in his History of Kansas, quoted from the Wyandotte
Herald:
The spring of 1844 was warm and dry until May, when it commenced to
rain, and continued for six weeks — rain falling every day. What is now
. . . Kansas City, Mo., [evidently referring to ground along the Missouri
river] was covered with 14 feet of water.3
The diary of Father Hoechen, of the Pottawatomie Mission on
Sugar creek, stated: "June [1844]. Here as everywhere around,
it has been raining for forty days in succession and great floods
covered the country. The damage, however, was not great."4
Investigations show that the 1844 flood at Manhattan was about
6,5 feet higher than that of 1951. The crest of the latter, as regis-
tered at the official gage, was 33.5 feet. Assuming that the dif-
ference in level between the two floods was the same at the site
of the gage as at the location of the high-water mark of 1844, this
would make a stage of 40.0 feet for 1844.5
The 1844 high-water mark at Manhattan was reported by Z. R.
Hook as follows: "According to Indian legend, 'The Big Water*
( of 1844 ) came to the present location of the southeast corner of the
Campus of the Kansas State College which at its lowest point is
40.0 feet above zero datum of the river gage."
In a letter dated January 13, 1952, Mr. Hook quoted levels run
by the city engineer which show that this high-water mark was
3. A. T. Andreas and W. G. Cutler, History of the State of Kansas (Chicago, 1883),
p. 292.
4. The Dial, St. Mary's, October, 1890, p. 17.
5. S. D. Flora, Climate of Kansas (Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture,
June, 1948), p. 287.
76 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
6.5 feet above a near-by high-water mark of the 1951 flood. He
stated that this is the minimum difference, since no one can say
exactly where the drift line (of the 1844 flood) stopped at the
campus site, where the ground rises very rapidly.
The height of the 1844 flood at Topeka was 6.1 feet above that of
1951, equal to a reading of 42.4 feet on the Topeka gage, according
to the best evidence available.
F. W. Giles, one of the nine men who drew up an agreement for
the town association of Topeka on December 5, 1854, only ten
years after the great flood, mentioned it in his book, Thirty Years in
Topeka:
. . . The Kansas river bottoms were flooded for its entire length. At
the site of Topeka, the river's breadth was from the line of Third street on the
south to the bluffs two miles to the north . . ., the water standing to the
depth of twenty feet, where now, in the first ward of Topeka [North Topeka]
dwell three thousand people.6
Since all activities and building in the early days of Topeka
centered on lower Kansas avenue, it seems evident that Giles re-
ferred to the intersection of Third street and Kansas avenue, about
one half mile from the present location of the river gage. Third
street dips down each way from Kansas avenue.
This location is confirmed in an early history of Shawnee county
by W. W. Cone, who remarked: "During the flood, Major Cumings
[Richard W. Cummins?], paymaster U. S. Army, wishing to cross
from the south to the north side of the Kaw river, stepped into a
canoe at about the corner of Topeka avenue and Second street
and was rowed by an Indian from there to the bluffs [on the north
side]."7 A contour map of the Topeka quadrangle, prepared by
the state and U. S. Geological Survey, indicates the elevation of
Second and Topeka is not more than three to five feet higher than
the intersection of Third and Kansas avenue. The ground slopes
away rapidly to the north, east and west of Second and Topeka.
It seems very likely that the place where Major Cummins stepped
into the boat, probably near the time of the crest, was at about the
elevation at Third and Kansas.
George A. Root, a resident of Topeka, and for more than 55
years an official of the State Historical Society, a man exceptionally
well informed in regard to such matters, stated that the level of
Third street at Kansas avenue had never been raised more than
the thickness of the pavement. The slope of the street at that
6. F. W. Giles, Thirty Years in Topeka (Topeka, 1886), p. 156.
7. W. W. Cone, Historical Sketch of Shawnee County, Kansas (Topeka, 1877), p. 7.
GREAT FLOOD OF 1844 77
point indicates that there could have been no reason to lower it.
It is believed that the ground level at this place still marks the
approximate crest of the 1844 flood.
On November 26, 1951, levels were run from a high-water mark
of the 1951 flood near Second and Kansas avenue to Third and
Kansas by Guy E. Gibson and Robert L. Lingo, engineers of the
water resources division of the State Board of Agriculture, with the
following results:
Elevation Above 1951
High-Water Mark
Floor of gutter southeast corner of intersection 7.69 feet
Floor of gutter southwest corner of intersection 7.72
Floor of gutter northwest corner of intersection 5.96
Floor of gutter northeast corner of intersection 6.02 "
Average elevation of four comers 6.8 feet
W. E. Baldry, city engineer at Topeka for many years and a man
thoroughly familiar with all paving jobs, gave it as his opinion the
ground level averages eight inches, or 0.7 foot, below the floor of
the gutter in each case.
Subtracting 0.7 from 6.8, the average of the four gutters, gives
6.1 feet which, according to evidence available, is the height of the
1844 flood above that of 1951 at this point. Assuming that the
same difference in elevation of the two floods prevailed at the site
of the river gage, the gage reading of the 1844 flood would have
been 42.5 feet. The crest of the 1951 flood was 36.4 feet.
In addition to the high-water mark at Third and Kansas avenue,
there exist two other legendary high-water marks of the 1844 flood
a few miles from the city. One is located near the former site of
the Rock Island station, Bishop, a little less than half a mile south
of the river and five miles almost due west from the present loca-
tion of the river gage on the Topeka avenue bridge. The other is
near the former Union Pacific station, Menoken, 4/2 miles northwest
of the Topeka avenue bridge, 1/s miles north of the river, and 2M
miles northeast of Bishop.
The 1844 high-water mark at Bishop was pointed out by B. A.
Snook, 323 Lindenwood, Topeka. He has been familiar with the
Bishop locality for many years. He identified it as the elevation of
the midway point of a sloping northwest-southeast section of a
graveled road, about 300 feet in length, leading southeast from a
bridge across a creek one-fourth mile southeast of the Bishop sta-
tion. This road makes a sharp turn in the vicinity of the bridge
and another turn about 300 feet from it. It is practically straight
78 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
between these two points. It has been graded down somewhat in
the immediate vicinity of the bridge, but there are no indications
that the elevation of its mid-section has been changed materially.
Mr. Snook stated that this high-water mark had been pointed out
to him by a half-breed Indian, called Captain Ernest, who once
lived in a cabin near by. He told Mr. Snook he obtained the in-
formation from an old Indian, name not known, who had been
there during the 1844 flood. The fact that Mr. Snook located this
point definitely on two successive occasions and the fact that the
elevation in relation to the flood crest checks so closely with the
high-water mark in Topeka, indicates much credence is to be given
his statement.
Levels were run to this high- water mark on November 26, 1951,
from a near-by high-water mark of the 1951 flood by Guy E. Gibson
and Robert Lingo, the same engineers who ran levels at Third and
Kansas. The high-water mark of 1951 in question was a one- x two-
inch wooden stake, driven horizontally into a section of steeply
sloping ground beside the road, about 35 feet southeast of the
abutment of the bridge mentioned. It had been set by Phil C.
Gravenstein, county field engineer, shortly after the flood subsided
and while the marks of the high point were visible on the ground.
These levels showed that the 1844 flood at this point was 5.8 feet
higher than that of 1951 and corresponded to a stage of 42.2 feet
on the Topeka gage.
According to an Indian legend, the flood of 1844 covered the
valley from bluff to bluff in the vicinity of Topeka, except for a
small knoll 4/2 miles northwest of the city near the site later oc-
cupied by the Union Pacific station, Menoken. Menoken is on
the north side of the river and about 2/2 miles northeast of the
other high-water mark near Bishop, which is on the south side of
the river.
E. C. Kassebaum, whose residence was located on this knoll,
reported that a half-breed Indian told him this legend. George A.
Root reported the same legend. He learned of it through talks with
Indians on the Pottawatomie reservation, near Topeka, in 1897.
In 1928 levels run by V. R. Parkhurst, a civil engineer especially
interested in floods, from a high-water mark of the 1903 flood then
existing in a shed adjacent to the barn of Mr. Kassebaum, to the
crown of the knoll, indicated that the 1844 flood at this place was
9.5 feet higher than that of 1903 at this location. Assuming the
same difference existed at the site of the Topeka river gage, this
would be equivalent to a stage of 42.2 feet.
GREAT FLOOD OF 1844 79
In 1947 this location was surveyed by engineers from the water
resources division of the State Agricultural Board, under super-
vision of George S. Knapp, chief engineer, and a map was prepared
showing contour lines for each foot. Elevations were determined
by reference to U. S. C. & G. S. bench mark Q-115, near the Menoken
station. Elevation of this bench mark is given as 902.006 ft., 1929
general adjustment. The elevation of the top of the knoll, as de-
termined by this survey, is 902.4 feet.
The 1903 high-water mark near the Kassebaum barn had been
destroyed before this survey was made, but the engineers were able
to locate high-water marks of the 1903 and 1951 floods on what is
known as the Christman house, approximately half a mile south
of this knoll, which they refer to as "The Legendary Island."
Elevation of the 1951 HWM on Christman house 898.33
Elevation of 1903 HWM on Christman house 892.94
Height of 1951 flood over 1903 flood 5.39 feet.
A high-water mark of 1951 near the knoll, "The Legendary Is-
land," was found to have an elevation of 898.5 feet, or 3.9 feet below
the top of the knoll. The contour map shows that with a flood crest
below 900 feet there would have been a peninsula instead of an
island at this place in 1844. If that flood had reached an elevation
of 902.4 feet, water would have covered the knoll and there would
have been no island. It seems logical that the knoll, or island,
must have been at least 0.5 foot above the 1844 flood, making its
height at this point 901.9 feet, or 3.4 feet above the crest of 1951.
Assuming the same difference obtained at the site of the Topeka
river gage, this would correspond to a reading of 39.8 feet.
The following is offered to explain why the difference between
the 1951 and 1844 crests at this site was less than at other points
of record in the Kansas river basin:
The 1903 flood barely reached the high ridge of which the "Leg-
endary Island" was a part and its flow was probably not materially
affected. The 1951 flood came well up on this ridge and was also
obstructed by the ridge of ground that divides Soldier creek basin
from the basin of the river proper. This ridge extends northwest
for at least 11 miles. The ledge on which the "Legendary Island"
was located is over 4,000 feet long and almost at a right angle to
the direction of flow at this place.
Very little of the water of the 1951 flood escaped into the basin
of Soldier creek to the north over this high ridge. The 1844 flood
was so high it overflowed this ridge entirely and a considerable
80 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
part of its water flowed into the Soldier creek basin. Consequently,
its flow would not be retarded as the 1951 flood water was. These
factors, in all probability, account for the fact that the difference
in elevation between the 1951 and 1844 floods was not as great at
this place as in most other parts of the Kansas river valley between
Manhattan and Lawrence.
No high-water marks of the 1844 flood are known to exist in
Lawrence, but there are records of one near Lake View, about
five miles, airline distance, upstream and near the Kansas river.
Levels run from a near-by 1951 high-water mark by Prof. W. C.
McNown, of Kansas University, indicate that the 1844 flood was
"more than 5 feet" higher than that of 1951 at this place. Assuming
that the same difference between the height of the two floods ob-
tained at the site of the Lawrence river gage, this would make a
reading of at least 35.4 feet for the 1844 crest reading. The read-
ing of the 1951 crest was 30.4 feet.
This high-water mark was described in a letter dated February 9,
1952, from Prof. J. O. Jones, an associate of Professor McNown, as
follows:
Mr. Henry Beurman, who is quite an elderly man who has lived on a farm
in the vicinity of Lake View most, if not all, of his life, reported that his aunt
told him facts she obtained from the Sweezer family, one of the early settlers in
the vicinity. When the Sweezer family first settled on Sweezer Creek there
was a spring where Mrs. Sweezer did the family washing. Near the spring
was a tree in the crotch of which was a log. The Sweezers ascertained the
log floated to that location in the great flood of 1844. The tree had been cut
down prior to Prof. McNown's visit but he was able to get a rough idea of the
height of the log from Mr. Beurman's recollection of it. On the basis of that
evidence Prof. McNown determined the height of the 1844 flood was more
than five feet above that of 1951.
There are no known high-water marks of the 1844 flood in Kansas
City, Kan., but prior to 1920 there was a definite high-water mark
cut in the stone of one of the piers of the Hannibal and St. Joseph
railway bridge across the Missouri river in Kansas City, Mo.
Verne Alexander, area engineer, U. S. Weather Bureau, reported
as follows concerning this in a letter dated August 8, 1951:
38.0 feet, from the highwater mark of 1844, established and authenticated
by Octave Chanute, Supervising Engineer of the First Hannibal and St.
Joseph Railway Company bridge in Kansas City, Mo. The mark, which was
cut into the stone of one of the piers, was destroyed in 1920 at the time of
rebuilding the bridge. New piers were erected at that time. The value of 38
feet has been accepted as correct by the U. S. Engineers. Historical books on
file in the Engineers office place the date of the highwater at June 16, 1844.
GREAT FLOOD OF 1844 81
The crest of the 1951 flood on the Missouri at Kansas City was
36.0 feet from 5 to 7 A. M. on July 14.
An approximate high-water mark of the 1844 flood of the Marais
des Cygnes at Ottawa was reported by Warren J. Sheldon, a prom-
inent merchant and life-long resident of Ottawa. He stated that
his father, who settled near Ottawa in 1859, knew of a log left
by the flood near what is now the intersection of Seventh and Pop-
lar streets.
Prior to the 1951 flood, an investigation, based on levels in
the office of the city engineer, indicated that this intersection was
at an elevation of 40.0 feet above zero datum of the river gage and
2.4 feet higher than the crest of the 1928 flood, the highest of record
at that time.
Investigations made by R. A. (Barrett, official in charge, Weather
Bureau Office, Topeka, indicated that the intersection in question
was about seven feet higher than a 1951 high-water mark in that
vicinity. Levels were not run at the time. The difference was
scaled from a contour map furnished by the city engineer and there
is a possibility of an error of plus or minus a foot, according to Mr.
Garrett. Assuming that the same difference in levels of the two
floods obtained at the gage site, this would correspond to a gage
reading of 49.1 feet. The crest in 1951 was 42.1 feet.
The Seventh and Poplar intersection is 4,000 feet downstream,
south-southeast of the gage. This conceivably might affect the
slope of the water at times of high crests. It might account for
the difference in elevation of the 1844 flood arrived at in the two
investigations. It is believed that the value obtained by comparison
with the 1951 crest near the 1844 high-water mark, 49.1 feet, is a
closer approximation of the true value.
Farmer Debtors in Pioneer Kinsley
ALLAN G. BOGUE
HISTORIES of the Plains States in the 19th century seldom omit
the money lender and his dread instrument, the mortgage. But
for the most part the financial burdens of the "embattled farmers"
have been described in general terms. The following study is a de-
scription of how the farmers of a township in the Populist belt of
Kansas obtained their holdings and of the debt they placed upon
them during the first 35 years of settlement. So misinterpreted in
Populist literature have been the mortgage system and the operation
of the land laws that a reconsideration of them is long overdue.
This can be done successfully only through detailed studies, and
later, broader generalizations can safely be drawn.1
Lying in the valley of the Arkansas river between the 94th and
the 100th meridians is Edwards county, Kansas. The administra-
tive township of Kinsley is situated in the northwest quarter of the
county and lies, but for portions of six sections, to the north and west
of the Arkansas river. In round figures the township embraces
29,000 acres of land. Kinsley, the county seat, is located in the
township. Of this town a correspondent of the Atchison Champion
said: "For a long time it was the westernmost town that really
aimed to get a respectable living [in the Arkansas valley]. Dodge
was further on, but Dodge, in those days, lived on the Government
and its own wickedness/' 2
The bulk of the township is situated on a strip of flood plains and
terraces extending from two to five miles west of the Arkansas. At
a distance of some three or four miles from the river a gentle rise
marks the limits of the "first bottoms." The soil here is of somewhat
different character than that on the flood plains. Portions of six
sections lie east of the Arkansas in what are called "the sand hills." 3
ALLAN G. BOGUE, who did graduate work at the University of Kansas, is assistant li-
brarian at the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
1. The writer owes much to Prof. James C. Malin of the University of Kansas and to his
ingenious search for new lines of approach to the history of the grasslands of North America.
This study was designed to supplement work which Professor Malin had already published
on Kinsley township or near-by areas. See his articles in The Kansas Historical Quarterly:
"The Kinsley Boom of the Late Eighties," v. 4 (1935), February, May, pp. 23-49 and 164-
187, "The Turnover of Farm Population in Kansas," ibid., November, pp. 339-372, and
"J. A. Walker's Early History of Edwards County," v. 9 (1940), August, pp. 259-284.
See, also, "The Adaptation of the Agricultural System to Sub-humid Environment. Illus-
trated by the . . . Wayne Township Farmers' Club of Edwards County, Kansas,"
Agricultural History, Baltimore, v. 10 (1936), July, pp. 118-141.
2. Kinsley Mercury, January 8, 1887.
3. An account of the physical characteristics of Edwards county may be found in United
States Department of Agriculture, et aL, Physical Land Conditions Affecting Use, Conserva-
tion and Management of Land Resources — Edwards County, Kansas (mimeographed, June,
1944).
(82)
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 83
The soils on the flood plains are known locally as "deep hard
lands." Officially, they are designated as "deep, friable, silty, to
clayey soils," and "characterized by friable, granular to crumb-like,
silty to slightly sandy surface soils which are eight to 10 inches thick
and grade into somewhat heavier but friable . . . subsoils, 20
to 30 inches thick. In general they are fertile, easily tilled, absorb
moisture at a moderate rate and have a high moisture storage
capacity." 4 Drainage is generally adequate but the occasional
saline spot or poorly drained area occurs.
The moderate slopes at the edge of the bottoms and along the
drainage way in the northwest corner of the township are marked
by a "friable or moderately friable, silty to clayey soil" which is
similar to the "deep hard lands." 5 Soil conservation experts classi-
fied all lands in the township to "the west of the Arkansas as fit for
cultivation in 1940 when they surveyed Edwards county. The area
of the township lying east of the river, however, was classified as fit
only for grazing or woodland use and that with severe restrictions.
Precipitation in the county ranges on an average from 24 inches
on the eastern edge to 22 inches on the western boundary. Some
75% of the precipitation falls during the growing season which on
the average lasts 175 days. Both rainfall and growing season are,
however, subject to wide variations from the mean. The average
annual temperature stands between 55 and 56 degrees.
Yields in Edwards county are 88% of the state average and also
fall somewhat below those of some of the neighboring counties.
Today wheat is the dominant grain crop although a significant
acreage of sorghum is grown. But in the 30 crop years between
1911 and 1940, ten wheat crops failed and only fair to poor crops
were harvested in 11 other years. Drought which was sufficient
to cause crop failure has occurred in as many as four consecutive
years.
Kinsley township fell within the boundaries of the land grant
given to the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railway in 1863. Land
in the sections designated by odd numbers therefore became the
property of that corporation to be sold in aid of the construction
of its line. The land in sections bearing even numbers was eventu-
ally allocated directly to individuals by the federal government with
the exception of sections 16 and 36, Township 24, Range 19, the
state school lands. In this article the land transferred directly to
4. Ibid., p. 5.
5. Ibid., p. 9.
84 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
individuals by the federal government will be referred to as govern-
ment land.
The tract books of the United States Land Office identify the
settlers who obtained title to government land.6 The first such
settler filed his application to homestead the northwest quarter of
section 4, T25, R19 in June, 1873. He obtained his final certificate
15 months later under the act of 1872 which allowed Union veterans
to subtract the period of their war service from the five years of
residence which were ordinarily necessary under the homestead
act of 1862. The last settler to obtain government land in the town-
ship received his final certificate in 1903. Strictly speaking, title
did not pass irrevocably until the patent to which the final certificate
entitled a settler was issued, but for most purposes title was con-
sidered to vest in the claimant for government land as soon as he
could show a final certificate.
TABLE 1
DISPOSAL OF GOVERNMENT LAND IN KINSLEY TOWNSHIP
Unsuc- Unsuc-
Successful cessful Final Successful cessful Final
Entries Entries Certificates Entries Entries Certificates
1872 ., 3 .. 1888
1873 14 9 . . 1889 . . . . 2
1874 10 9 1 1890 2 2
1875 5 10 6 1891 1
1876 10 12 6 1892 143
1877 6 9 11 1893 .. 1 3
1878 19 9 8 1894 .. 1 1
1879 12 5 18 1895 . . . . 1
1880 337 1896 1 .. 2
1881 334 1897 .. .. 5
1882 115 1898 1
1883 452 1899 .. .. 1
1884 148 1900 .. .. 1
1885 521 1901
1886 214 1902
1887 111 1903 1
Totals 102 94 102
In all, 91 individuals obtained title to 102 parcels of government
land. Sixty-seven homesteads were granted.7 Fifty of these were
160-acre homesteads which were obtained under the provisions of
6. Duplicate sets of land office tract books for the State of Kansas are held in the Na-
tional Archives and in the Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C. These books are
more enlightening than the county deed records since they show the names of settlers who
subsequently relinquished their claims and include the date of the final certificates as well
as that of the patents. Kinsley township fell in the land district administered from Lamed.
7. The word homestead will be used throughout this article to refer to land either ac-
quired by its owner under the terms of the various federal homestead acts or land in the
process of being thus acquired. In the legal sense of course a homestead is a holding which
its owner holds free from the claims of creditors under certain conditions.
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 85
the soldiers' and sailors' homestead act of 1872. Until 1879 only
veterans, or, in certain cases, their heirs or widows, were allowed
to homestead more than 80 acres within the boundaries of a rail-
road land grant. Twenty individuals obtained tracts under the
terms of the pre-emption act of 1841, while four homesteaders
commuted their claims and purchased them for cash under the
terms of the commutation clause of the homestead act of 1862.
Finally, 11 settlers acquired title to timber claims.8
But all of those who aspired to ownership of government land in
Kinsley township were not successful. Of the 196 entries filed be-
tween 1872 and 1898, 94, or 35 homesteads and 59 timber claims
were given up. In other words 34% of all homesteaders and 84% of
all those claiming land under the timber culture acts failed to obtain
title.
The entry figures include some duplication. Of the 91 individuals
who obtained title to 102 parcels of land, 24 had filed papers on a
total of 25 other pieces of land which they eventually threw back
into the public domain. Of those who failed to obtain any land
whatsoever, two had sought both homestead and timber claims.
The 94 canceled entries, therefore, represented the activities of only
67 individuals who did not obtain at least some land from the fed-
eral government. Altogether, 158 individuals laid claim to govern-
ment land in Kinsley township, of whom 41% failed to obtain title
to any land. Another 15% obtained only part of the holdings which
they claimed originally.
If such percentages appear startling we should remember that
all entrymen did not desire to obtain final title. Claims were sold
despite the lack of final certificate or patent.9 In only four of the
94 cases where the entrants threw up their claims did they abandon
them outright. Instead, formal relinquishments were filed at the
land office. Such formality could hardly have been accidental.
Somewhat different were the cases of the four settlers who filed
timber claims and relinquished them years later, only to homestead
the same tracts. Whatever other advantages this practice involved,
it undoubtedly postponed the day when a settler must pay taxes on
his holdings.
In 1873 the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company
8. Aside from the U. S. Statutes at Large a comprehensive summary of the various acts
under which title was transferred from the government in this township may be found in
Thomas Donaldson, The Public Domain (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1884).
9. See, for instance, Orange Judd's matter-of-fact reference to the practice in "Who
Shall Go West," pt. 1, Prairie Farmer, October 24, 1885, p. 701; also Harold Hathaway
Dunham, Government Handout, A Study in the Administration of the Public Lands, 1875-
1891 (New York, 1941), pp. 144-164.
86 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
made its first sales of land in the administrative township of
Kinsley.10 Between 1873 and 1898, when the Santa Fe's title to
several parcels of land was closed out by bankruptcy sale, the land
department of the company sold land in the township to 110 indi-
viduals at prices varying from $1.25 to $10 per acre. In the order
of the frequency with which they availed themselves of the terms,
purchasers bought on 11-year contract, on six-year contract, for
cash, and on two-year contract. One contract provided for com-
plete payment at the end of one year.11
Two-year contracts involved merely the division of the principal
into three parts. One-third, plus a year's interest on the unpaid
principal, was paid down and the other installments, plus interest,
were paid at the end of the first and second years. When purchas-
ers used the six-year plan they paid one-sixth of the principal down
and interest on the remainder. The second payment was limited
to interest on the principal, and the final five payments were made
up of one-sixth of the principal and interest on the principal out-
standing. Similarly, combinations of interest and principal pay-
ments were arranged to extend over 11 years.
Interest on unpaid principal stood at seven percent over the whole
period during which the Santa Fe sold land. Obviously this interest
rate should not be compared with the rate then charged on mort-
gage loans, since the Santa Fe set both the rate of interest and the
purchase price. An attractive rate of interest could be well com-
pensated for by raising the price. Discounts of 10% were given on
at least some cash sales and at times discounts were given to the
purchaser who made improvements to the land which he was buy-
ing on credit.
Sales in the township by the Santa Fe were spread over 22 years,
but by far the largest number were grouped in the three-year period
between 1876 and 1878, and in the two years, 1884 and 1885. Sales
in 1873 were limited to three. One of these transferred sections 33,
T24, R19, and 5, R24, T18, to the Arkansas Valley Town Company.
Section 33 is the site of the town of Kinsley. A second sale trans-
ferred a quarter section to Edward Kinsley, an employee of the
Santa Fe in Boston. The consideration was a nominal one of $1.00.
The last sale in 1873 gave possession of the northeast quarter of
section 7, T25, R19, to two local men.
10. The most useful published account of the early operations of this company is still
Glenn D. Bradley, The Story of the Santa Fe (Boston, 1920). Administration of the land
grant is discussed in Chapter 5.
11. The analysis of the land sales of the Santa Fe which follows is based on data taken
from the tract book of the Santa Fe and from the 15 volumes of the sales record held in
the tax division of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company, Topeka.
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 87
Not until 1876 did the turnover of railroad land in the township
become rapid. In that year 29 sales were made. An additional 27
followed during the next two years. Over the next five years only
ten sales were made, but in 1884 and 1885 the total number of sales
recorded was 33.
TABLE 2
SANTA FE LAND SALES: KINSLEY TOWNSHIP
Total Successful Total Successful
Sales Buyers Sales Buyers
1873 3 - 2 1882 3 3
1874 6 2 1883 4 4
1875 1 1 1884 11 9
1876 29 10 1885 22 17
1877 14 3 1886 3 3
1878 13 4 1892 2
1879 2 2 1894 1
1880 1 .. 1895 1 1
1881
Totals 116 61
Actually only 110 individuals purchased land and only 58 individuals or
their assignees were successful in obtaining deeds. The totals in TABLE 2
stand at 116 and 61 because three buyers returned a second time to purchase
land, two others similarly returned but failed to complete one of the transac-
tions and one individual failed on two separate purchases. In the early years
of its land business the Santa Fe issued a separate contract for each quarter
section or less which was sold. TABLE 2, however, has been worked out in
terms of the individual purchasers rather than in terms of contracts. All land
contracts issued to the same buyer and bearing the same date have been
treated as part of one sale.
Of the 56 sales transacted in 1876, 1877 and 1878, 39, or 70%,
were eventually canceled. Some of the blame for the cancellations
may be placed specifically upon the weather.12 In 1879 and 1880
drought severely damaged the crops in west central Kansas and
thereby the hopeful plans of many settlers. The officials of the
Santa Fe were not unaware of the settlers' problems. A corres-
pondent of the Kinsley Graphic reported in August, 1879, that the
railway company had offered to furnish seed wheat to all farmers in
Hodgeman, Pawnee, Ness, Edwards and Ford counties who had
experienced crop failure.13 The company offered to bear the trans-
12. In his study of the turnover of farm population in selected townships throughout
Kansas, Professor Malin has discounted the influence of physical phenomena in either raising
or lowering the number of settlers that left pioneer communities. Rather he emphasized group
behavior, writing, "under any given set of general conditions, the farm operators in all parts
of the state reacted in much the same manner, the variations of local physical environment
exercising only a secondary or minor influence." "The Turnover of Farm Population in
Kansas," The Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 4 (1935), November, pp. 339-372. One can ac-
cept this qualification and still argue that years of drought played a significant role in pro-
ducing cancellations since, according to Professor Malin, the inflow of population into pio-
neer areas fell off at such times. The outgoing settlers therefore, who would have assigned
or sold their contracts to newcomers, allowed them to lapse on their departure instead.
13. Taylor Jackson in Kinsley Graphic, August 9, 1879.
88 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
portation charges on the seed but the terms were to be "cash on de-
livery." The writer claimed that few settlers could meet these
terms, since the stores of cash which they had brought into the
region with them were exhausted.
Some months later the Graphic recorded that 15 or 20 men had
been sent west to work on the railroad on the previous morning and
added that the railroad was pledged to furnish work for settlers
who desired it.14 In July, 1880, after repeated references to exodus
from the county, the Edwards County Leader reported that, "The
Railroad Company will furnish every farmer in the county with 25
bushels of wheat — money or no money — and take their note at 7%
interest. This is a good stand off, and we hope the boys wont be
slow to take advantage of it." 15
Few who defaulted on their agreements in the late 1870's had a
great financial stake in the land. On only seven of the 20 contract
sales made in 1876 and eventually canceled, was any principal paid.
Of the 18 sales made during the next two years and eventually
canceled, however, a portion of the principal was paid on all but
one.16 But on only one of the 24 contracts of these years on which
principal was paid did the Santa Fe receive more than one install-
ment of the purchase price. During this period the company did
not cancel contracts immediately upon default. In most cases con-
tracts were canceled two or three years after the payments had
been allowed to lapse.
With the return of more favorable seasons in 1881, central Kansas
began to appear more attractive to prospective land buyers. By
1883 the Arkansas valley was beginning to experience a real estate
boom. As a result, the Santa Fe was able to dispose of all but a
few parcels of its land in Kinsley township during 1884 and 1885.
Seventeen of the 26 cash sales made in the township were transacted
in these two years, and the percentage of failure among purchasers
stood at 21% in comparison to 69% in the earlier period of heavy
sales.
In all, 58, or 53%, of the 110 original purchasers of railroad land
in Kinsley township, saw land deeded either to themselves or to
their assignees. Of the 58, 15, or 26%, assigned their contracts to 18
assignees. The total number of individuals who received deeds
from the Santa Fe, therefore, was 61.
The manner in which contracts were recorded and deeds issued
14. Kinsley Graphic, October 18, 1879.
15. Edwards County Leader, Kinsley, August 26, 1880.
16. Three contracts whose terms are in doubt fell in this period.
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 89
makes it difficult to sort out all of the buyers who obtained holdings
in several townships. But at least seven of the original 58 were
speculators, if we define such individuals as those who held their
land for a rise in price with no intention of farming it themselves.
Of these, Edward Kinsley obtained 160 acres; R. E. Edwards, mer-
chant and banker of Kinsley, purchased 340 acres within the town-
ship and at least 100 acres outside its boundaries; Peter Chesrown
of Ashland county, Ohio, bought 480 acres within the township;
and Graham and Ellwood of Dekalb, 111., held a section and a half.
Two purchases formed part of much larger transfers outside the
boundaries of the township. In this class fell a quarter section
obtained by Alexander and Fred Forsha of Topeka in 1885, as part
of a purchase which included ten and a quarter sections in adjacent
townships, and 1,100 acres in "Kinsley township, which Ott and
Tewkesbury of Topeka purchased as part of a transfer of 5,200
acres. It is possible that other purchases should be classed as
speculative. Of the 21 purchasers who bought more than 160 acres
of railroad land, only five can be identified subsequently from the
census rolls as rural residents in Kinsley township, whereas a ma-
jority of those buying 160 acres or less appear in the returns of the
census taker.17
In numbers, the small purchaser outweighed those who obtained
relatively large units. Of the 58 original successful buyers, 40
bought a quarter section or less. The purchases of 15 fell between
160 and 640 acres. Three purchasers obtained more than a section.
Three in the first class, however, and one in each of the other two
size groups, purchased additional land outside Kinsley township.
These five purchases ranged in total size from 400 to 6,000 acres.
In terms of acreage, the story is somewhat different. In round
figures, the 40 purchasers of a quarter section or less bought 4,580
acres, while the remaining 18 buyers purchased 8,420 acres.
Although it has its limitations, a grouping by place of residence
at the time of purchase gives some clue to the background of those
who purchased railroad land. Of the 110 individuals whose names
appear in the sales record of the railway, 42 gave their address as
Kinsley, and 13 others resided elsewhere in Kansas. Thirty-two pur-
chasers came from Illinois, six came from Iowa, five from Wisconsin
and four from Pennsylvania. Missouri and Massachusetts both
contributed two buyers while Minnesota, Connecticut, Delaware
and New Mexico were all represented by one purchaser.
17. The manuscript census rolls of 1870 (federal), 1875 (state), 1880 (federal), 1885,
1895 and 1905 are held by the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka.
7—2826
90 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Those who were successful in completing contracts issued prior
to 1879, took, on the average, 49 months to meet their obligations
to the railway company. Successful contractors from 1882 onward
paid out in 44 months on the average. The difference is not one
from which significant conclusions can be drawn. The fact that
funds were available more cheaply on mortgage security during the
second period may have encouraged contractors to pay out more
quickly.
There was no great overlapping among those who purchased rail-
road land and those who obtained land from the government.
Fifty-eight of the original purchasers of railroad land and 18 as-
signees can be described as successful in their dealings with the
Santa Fe. Five of the original 58 succeeded in obtaining both gov-
ernment and railroad land. One of the 18 assignees obtained title
to government land. Five of the remaining 85 individuals who
received patents on government land attempted railroad land con-
tracts but failed to complete them.
Seventy-nine percent of those who purchased railroad land elected
to buy their land on credit. Twenty-one percent paid cash.18 Nine
of the 23 who made up the group of cash purchasers obtained units
of 320 acres or more. Two of these, the Forshas and Ott and
Tewkesbury, received 11,000 acres in total at a cost of $1.75 and
$1.25 per acre. The prices paid by the seven other large purchasers
ranged between $4.00 and $10.00 per acre.
Of the 87 individuals who sought to take the contract route to
ownership, 52, or 60%, failed either to obtain a deed or to assign
their contracts to someone who did so. In contrast, 34 out of 100
settlers who attempted to homestead land in the township, failed in
their efforts. The record on timber claims, however, was worse
than that made by the contractors with the Santa Fe. If we con-
sider totals, 41% of all individuals who sought land under the home-
stead, pre-emption, and timber culture acts, were completely unsuc-
cessful. In comparison, when cash sales of railroad land are con-
sidered along with contracts, 47% of the purchasers or their assignees
failed to obtain a deed. The percentages are surprisingly close.
If such percentages seem to indicate that price had little effect
on the success or failure of those seeking title to land in Kinsley
township, the conclusion is modified by a comparison between the
prices actually obtained by the Santa Fe in cash sales and on suc-
cessful contracts and the prices specified in canceled contracts of
the same years. In 1876, 1877, 1878 and 1885 a considerable num-
18. Actually 25 cash purchases were made but two buyers returned to obtain addi-
tional land.
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 91
her of both successful and abortive sales were transacted. In each
of these years, the average price in cash sales and successful con-
tracts fell below the average on the canceled contracts of the same
year by amounts ranging from $1.25 to $2.60 per acre. The average
price paid by successful purchasers on both cash sales and contracts
in the four years was $4.90 per acre; the average price which un-
successful purchasers agreed to pay was $6.70 per acre.
With this summary of the way in which the land in Kinsley
township entered private ownership, let us examine its role as mort-
gage security in a pioneer western township.19
Of the 91 settlers who were successful in obtaining title to gov-
ernment land, 41, or 45%, did not mortgage their holdings. The
remaining 50, or 55%, did mortgage 53 tracts of land which they had
acquired from the government. Thirty-eight homesteads, eight
pre-empted parcels, five timber claims and two commuted home-
steads were thus encumbered. In other words, 58% of the home-
steads in the township were eventually mortgaged by the home-
steader who obtained title, while 50% of the commuted homesteads,
40% of the pre-emptions and 41% of the timber claims were similarly
burdened.
The dates on which the settlers mortgaged their land are of some
significance since they give a clue to the reasons underlying the de-
cisions to encumber land. It is interesting also to discover whether
the pattern of mortgaging differed radically on land which had been
obtained under the terms of the homestead act and on land which
had been obtained under other provisions of the land code.
Of the 53 parcels of government land which were eventually
mortgaged by their owners, 51% was mortgaged within six months
after the settler had received his final certificate. Another 9% was
mortgaged during the second six months of ownership. A further
15% was mortgaged in the second year and only 2% after five
19. All mortgage statistics used hereafter are derived from an analysis of the mortgage
registers of Edwards county, held in the office of the register of deeds at Kinsley. Those
interested in the technique of mortgage studies should read: Arthur F. Bentley, "The Con-
dition of the Western Farmer as Illustrated by the Economic History of a Nebraska Town-
ship," Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science, Baltimore, llth
series (1893), pt. VII, VIII; Robert Diller, Farm Ownership, Tenancy, and Land Use in a
Nebraska Community (Chicago, 1941); Eleanor H. Hinman and J. O. Rankin, "Farm
Mortgage History of Eleven Southeastern Nebraska Townships: 1870-1932," University of
Nebraska, Agricultural Experiment Station Research Bulletin, 67, Lincoln, 1933; William
Gordon Murray, "An Economic Analysis of Farm Mortgages in Story County, Iowa, From
1854 to 1930," Research Bulletin, No. 156, Agricultural Experiment Station, Iowa State
College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts, Ames, 1933; David Rozman, "Land Credit in
the Town of Newton, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, 1848-1926," Journal of Land and
Public Utility Economics, v. Ill (1927), November, pp. 372-384; U. S. Census Office,
Report on Real Estate Mortgages in the United States at the Eleventh Census, and Report
on Farms and Homes at the Eleventh Census, 1890. Since 1930 various agricultural econo-
mists have published mortgage studies dealing with the recent history of farm mortgage
loans in restricted areas. An excellent example of the techniques used is provided by Jos.
Ackerman and L. J. Norton, "Factors Affecting Success of Farm Loans," Illinois Agricultural
Experiment Station Bulletin, 468, Urbana, 1940.
92 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
years had elapsed. There was little difference between the per-
centage of homesteaded and the percentage of pre-empted land
which was mortgaged within the first year of ownership. All of
the mortgages on pre-empted land were placed, however, by the
end of the third year of titled possession, while 16% of the home-
steaded land was mortgaged after the third year of titled posses-
sion. All of the timber claims were mortgaged in the first year
after title was obtained. Only four out of 70 successful home-
steaders, or 6%, commuted their homesteads and paid for their
land at the pre-emption rate of $1.25 per acre. Two of the four
mortgaged their land, but only after two and five years had elapsed
after the date when they acquired title. That the pre-emptors
and those who commuted homesteads bought their land for cash
seems to have had little effect upon the percentage of those who
mortgaged their holdings soon after obtaining title. Fifty percent
of the mortgagors among pre-emptors and "commuters" encumbered
their land within a year of acquiring title; 58% of the homesteaders"
who mortgaged did so during their first year of titled possession.
TABLE 3
DATE OF ENCUMBERING GOVERNMENT LAND
Home Pre-emp- Commu- Timber Combined
steads tions tations Claims Totals
Mortgaged: No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
within 6 months after title, 20 52 4 50 . / . . 3 60 27 51
between 6 months and 1
year after title 2 5 1 12X . . 2 40 59
between 1 year and 2
years after title 6 16 2 25 ,, * 8 15
between 2 years and 3
years after title 4 11 1 12^ 1 50 .... 6 11&
between 3 years and 5
years after title 5 13 . . .. 1 50 . . .. 6 11&
more than 5 years after
title 1 3 1 2
Of the 61 individuals to whom the Santa Fe deeded land, 19, or
32%, mortgaged all or part of their holdings. Ten of the 19 mort-
gaged all or part of their holdings within six months after they had
obtained title. One other purchaser mortgaged within a year after
the Santa Fe had given him his deed, a second within two years, and
the remaining seven recorded mortgages on their land from two to
13 years after acquiring their deeds from the railway. A smaller
percentage of those who paid hard cash to the railroad for their
land found it necessary to mortgage that land later than did those
who homesteaded government land. As in the case of the govern-
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY
93
ment land which was mortgaged, however, more than 50% of the
railroad land encumbered by its first owner was mortgaged within
six months after title had passed.
In total, the farmers of Kinsley township recorded 343 first mort-
gages and 80 junior mortgages between March 15, 1876, and De-
cember 31, 1905. In only a few years, however, did second mort-
gages play a significant role in farm financing in the township.
Four first mortgages were filed on the security of agricultural
land in Kinsley township during 1876. During the next 30 years,
filings rose and fell in a cyclical pattern. Peaks were reached in
1879, 1886 and 1905. In 1879, 30 mortgages were recorded to the
value of $16,821. In 1886, 52 mortgages represented loans of
$62,538. The same number of mortgages was filed in 1887, but the
amount of funds transferred under their terms dropped to $53,644.
In 1905, 26 mortgages secured a total debt of $70,806. The lows
occurred in 1883, when three mortgages totaling some $2,000 in
value were filed, and in 1896, when one mortgage secured a loan
of $375.
TABLE 4
MORTGAGE DEBT IN KINSLEY TOWNSHIP
, FIRST MORTGAGES N
Number Amount Acres
Second Mortgages
Number Amount
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
4
9
12
22
14
4
2
2
5
15
37
38
13
10
4
9
12
10
10
2
1
1
2
4
10
18
11
21
17
24
$1,299
3,711
4,320
16,249
8,003
3,200
1,600
1,200
2,850
16,554
55,462
48,120
40,300
12,640
5,050
7,658
14,200
9,800
9,270
550
375
550
650
7,447
4,780
13,550
17,300
27,072
29,596
68,771
640
1,353
1,670
3,191
1,598
597
241
400
1,043
2,411
5,991
5,284
2,611
1,986
929
1,038
1,630
1,344
1,928
50
160
320
400
531
1,791
2,584
296
3,618
4,220
6,125
1
8
8
1
1
1
1
2
15
14
14
3
2
1
1
2
$100
572
1,387
73
1,000
732
1,000
881
7,076
5,525
11,358
25,772
2,625
75
1,500
900
140
4,800
400
2,035
, TOT,
\.L ^
Number
Amount
4
$1,299
9
3,711
13
4,420
30
16,821
22
9,391
5
3,273
3
2,600
3
1,932
6
3,850
17
18,435
52
62,538
52
53,645
27
51,658
13
38,412
6
7,675
10
7,733
13
15,700
12
10,750
10
9,270
2
550
1
375
1
550
2
650
4
7,447
11
4,920
18
13,550
12
22,100
21
27,072
18
29,996
26
70,806
94 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The percentage of agricultural land under first mortgage behaved
in the same fashion as did the number of loans outstanding and
the value of the first mortgage debt. Slumping somewhat between
1880 and 1885, it reached a peak in 1890 when 42% of the agri-
cultural land in the township was under mortgage. By 1900 the
percentage stood at 15%, but the figure had risen to 25% by 1905.
TABLE 5
FIRST MORTGAGE DEBT AT S-YEAR INTERVALS
Number of Value of Encumbered Percentage
First First Acres of Acres
Mortgages Mortgages (Agricultural) (Agricultural)
Jan. 1, 1880 35 $20,093 4,766 17%
- " 1885 26 15,465 3,755 13%
" " 1890 76 109,478 11,851 42%
" " 1895 47 59,483 7,140 25%
" " 1900 25 30,183 4,225 15%
' 1905 46 50,562 7,139 25%
The first peak of mortgaging in the township coincided with the
first large issue of titles by the federal government. In 1879 there
were more final certificates issued than in any other year in the
history of the township. The 26 settlers who obtained final certifi-
cates in 1878 and 1879, had, for the first time, real estate security
which they could convert into funds. Accentuating the demand
for equipment and supplies, which one suspects was normal in a
pioneer area, was the drought which struck the counties of the
99th meridian in 1879. In April, 1880, the Edwards County Leader
passed along the rumor that the county commissioners had passed
an order at their last meeting which forbade the township trustees
to extend aid to parties who were able to work and had mortgage-
able property.20 The editor stated that such an order should cer-
tainly be passed if it had not already been done.
In all, title to 57 tracts of government land was granted during
the seven years, 1874-1880. During the same period, title passed
from the Santa Fe railway company on 24 parcels of land. Those
same years saw 78 mortgages filed.
The majority of the mortgages which were recorded by the
farmers of Kinsley township before 1881 evidently represented an
effort to obtain supplies and equipment. Of the 61 first mortgages
filed in the five years, 1876-1880, ten were apparently negotiated
to refinance mortgage loans which were coming due. Six repre-
sented part of the payment in real estate transactions and four
20. Edwards County Leader, April 22, 1880.
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 95
settlers evidently borrowed to pay out on their pre-emptions.21 Five
loans patently represented mercantile credit, since they were drawn
for uneven sums payable at the store of R. E. Edwards. When
these 25 loans are eliminated, 36 are left unexplained. Lumping
the five mercantile credit loans with the 36 unexplained loans, 41
loans were unconnected with real estate transactions or the act of
refinancing previous obligations. Presumably these 41 loans, or
67% of the first mortgage loans obtained by Kinsley settlers in the
early period of the township's history, were used to buy food,
stock and equipment, although a few doubtless financed the mort-
gagor's departure to other pastures.
During the real estate boom of the mid 1880's, land sales and re-
financing accounted for a much more significant proportion of the
first mortgages than during the 1870's. Of the 90 first mortgages
recorded during 1885, 1886 and 1887, 58, or 64%, were obviously
refinancing or related to real estate transactions. By the years 1903,
1904 and 1905 this percentage had risen to 71%.22
It has been pointed out in other studies that hard-pressed settlers
often commuted their homesteads with borrowed funds. As soon
as such settlers had evidence of title they secured their loan with
a mortgage and used any surplus in the loan above the land office
price for family living. Such mortgages, it is inferred, were born
of desperation, or of the desire to obtain speculator's profits by a
quick sale as soon as the settler had obtained title. Similarly, the
pre-emption law was used to obtain title quickly.23 Since none of
the commuted homesteads in Kinsley township was mortgaged
within the first year after title had passed from the government,
such use of the commutation clause of the homestead act was not
illustrated in Kinsley township. However, 50% of the pre-emptors
who mortgaged their claims did so during the first six months of
ownership. Presumably these settlers used a portion of their loans
to purchase their land. But the percentage of pre-emptors who
mortgaged within six months of obtaining absolute title was no
21. When a mortgage was recorded within six months after purchase of the property by
the mortgagor it was assumed that the indenture represented part of the purchase price.
Undoubtedly the assumption leaves a margin for error.
22. This total includes eight mortgages filed by six purchasers of railroad land within
six months after the Santa Fe had issued the deeds.
23. Charles Lowell Green, "The Administration of the Public Domain in South Dakota,"
South Dakota Historical Collections, v. 20 (1940), pp. 204-225, and Harold Hathaway
Dunham, Government Handout, A Study in the Administration of the Public Lands, 1875-
1891, pp. 188-190. Basic material is contained in the Annual Reports of the General Land
Office during the 1880's, in Thomas Donaldson, The Public Domain, and in the Report
of the Public Lands Commission (1905). Actually Kinsley township was settled for the
most part before the abuses of the commutation clause of the homestead act and the pre-
emption act became most widespread.
96 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
greater than the percentage of homesteaders who mortgaged their
holdings during the same time.
Of the 19 purchasers who mortgaged railroad land, ten did so
within six months after they had obtained their deeds. In every
case, these men closed out contracts which still had several years
to run. Presumably these buyers were mortgaging to obtain the
funds with which to pay off the railroad. Since the prevailing inter-
est rate on mortgage funds stood above the rate specified in the
Santa Fe contracts at the time, they must have discerned some other
advantage in obtaining full title to their land. Such advantage per-
haps lay in the ability of those who had outright ownership to give
a warranty deed promptly in case the opportunity to sell presented
itself.
During 1876 and 1877, 13 loans were made on first mortgages in
Kinsley township. Ten of the mortgagees were residents of Ed-
wards county. Between 1878 and 1894, the borrowers of Kinsley
township obtained more than 50% of the funds borrowed on first
mortgage in all but two years from outside Kansas. Only six loans
on first mortgages were recorded between 1895 and 1898 but they
were all obtained within the county. Between 1899 and 1902, out-
of-state capital was again the most important source of credit.
Beginning with 1903, however, local lenders became more important
than nonresident lenders and this continued to be the case through
1904 and 1905.
TABLE 6
PERCENTAGE OF NONRESIDENT CAPITAL LOANED ON FmsT MORTGAGES IN
KINSLEY TOWNSHIP: 1876-1905
Year Percent Year Percent
1876 27 1891 82
1877 24 1892 74
1878 66 1893 52
1879 88 1894 96
1880 99 1895
1881 100 1896
1882 . . 1897
1883 100 1898
1884 47 1899 77
1885 60 1900 90
1886 65 1901 51
1887 76 1902 83
1888 96 1903 20
1889 88 1904 48
1890 66 1905 42
The creditors of Kinsley farmers resided in most of the central
and northeastern seaboard states, as well as in Missouri, Illinois,
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 97
Indiana and Ohio. A few loans may well have come from Great
Britain. The first Eastern investor to lend money in the township
was William H. Hanson of Suffolk county, Massachusetts, who in
1876 lent $350 at 8% per annum on the security of the southeast quar-
ter of section 6, T25, R19. The next year, E. R. Robbins of Middle-
bury, Vt, was in the field. With others of his family, he was to
make numerous loans in the township. In 1878 the National Loan
and Trust Company of Topeka entered the district. Other com-
panies followed the next year, which also saw the Travelers' Insur-
ance Company of Hartford become the first of the Hartford insur-
ance companies to lend funds in the township.24
Many of the most important of the early Western mortgage agen-
cies lent funds at Kinsley.25 Of these, the J. B. Watkins Land Mort-
gage Company of Lawrence made the greatest number of loans
over the period of this study.26 Drawing funds from both Great
Britain and the Eastern United States, this company made at least
38 first mortgage loans in the township, totaling over $30,000. Fif-
teen of these loans, however, represented part of the purchase price
of sales made by the company while disposing of foreclosed land,
or they were loans drawn by the company on its own land in an
effort to raise capital.
An effort was made to work out the proportion of the funds
loaned on first mortgage which the mortgage agencies brought to
the township. In only three years, between 1879 and 1888, did
they handle less than 40%. Again in 1891, 1892 and 1893, the mort-
gage companies apparently played an important role, but the loans
of these years were drawn for the most part on the companies' own
property, as their officials strove to raise funds on the large amounts
of land which they were foreclosing. By 1894 most of the com-
panies had entered receivership. In 1901 the J. B. Watkins Land
Mortgage Company, and the Warren Mortgage Company of Em-
poria, appeared among the mortgagees in Kinsley township, but
the loans of the first company represented only a portion of the sale
price of land which was being sold incident to the liquidation of the
24. The Annual Reports of the Connecticut Commissioner of Insurance Companies con-
tain much information on the lending activities of the Hartford companies. See particularly
1875 and 1876. The lending policy of the Travelers' Insurance Company is described in
the 1891 Report, pt. 2, pp. xxx and xxxi.
25. The Annual Reports of the Connecticut Bank Commissioner, 1888-1895, of the
Massachusetts Commissioner of Foreign Mortgage Companies, 1890-1895, of the New York
Superintendent of Banking relative to Foreign Mortgage, Loan, Investment and Trust Com-
panies, 1891-1896, and of the Vermont Inspector of Finance, 1889-1893, provide the most
satisfactory catalogue of the Western mortgage companies of this period.
26. A. G. Bogue, "The Land Mortgage Company in the Early Plains States," Agricul-
tural History, v. 25 (1951), January, pp. 20-33.
98 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
corporation. The Warren Mortgage Company, however, was doing
a legitimate brokerage business.
During the heyday of the Western mortgage companies in 1886-
1887, the newspapers of Kinsley carried the advertisements of at
least nine loan agents representing mortgage companies, three in-
digenous loan companies and three local banks. Puffing the agent
of the Watkins company, the editor of the Kinsley Graphic re-
marked, "L. W. Higgins is loaning money at rates so low, and on
time so long that the borrower is liable to forget that he ever has it to
pay." 27
The commissions of the mortgage companies and of the local
agents were often taken in the form of second mortgages. At least
50% of the second mortgages filed from Kinsley township were of
this type. The notes backed by such mortgages seldom stipulated
a rate of interest but merely specified that the principal should be
paid in ten equal semiannual installments.
The role of the local banks in the field of farm credit is worth
mention. Two banks were started in Kinsley during the 1870's.
The Edwards County Bank began operations as a private bank and
the Edwards Mercantile Bank grew out of the merchandising busi-
ness of R. E. and W. C. Edwards. In 1882 the Edwards County
Bank was organized as a state bank with a capital of $32,000. By
August, 1887, this capital had been increased to $100,000 and was
supposedly paid up in full. In January, 1885, the Kinsley Graphic
listed among the things that it would like to see, "At least two more
banks in Kinsley so that money could always be had whenever good
security was furnished." 28 In March, 1887, the Kinsley Exchange
Bank was organized as a state bank with a capital of $50,000. The
officers of this institution came from Iowa. During July of the same
year, the Edwards Mercantile Bank was reorganized as the First
National Bank of Kinsley. Thus by the summer of 1887 there were
three incorporated banks at the service of the community.
Before 1900 the three banks made only eight loans on real estate
security in Kinsley township totaling $14,563. With the exception
of three loans to the amount of $4,733, these loans were secured
by second mortgages which bore a higher rate of interest than did
the first mortgages of the same years. If the $3,439 lent by R. E.
Edwards in the same period and secured by six first mortgages and
five second mortgages is added in, the total of $18,002 allocated by
27. Kinsley Graphic, March 12, 1886.
28. Ibid., January 16, 1885.
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 99
local credit agencies still falls far short of the $30,000 which the
J. B. Watkins Land Mortgage Company provided. The local banks
were more interested in short term loans backed by chattel or per-
sonal security than in first mortgage farm loans.
But the local banks did perform a useful function in the long-
term field by acting as local agents. The Bank of St. John which
was located in an adjoining county, the Edwards Mercantile Bank
and later the First National Bank of Kinsley, the Kinsley Exchange
Bank, and the Edwards County Bank, all acted as local agents for
either mortgage companies or individual Eastern investors. If the
local banking institutions and capitalists did not themselves lend
heavily on first mortgage they did perform the function of bringing
lender and borrower together. In 1887 there was a tendency for
this function to be shifted to a separate agency. The Kinsley
Loan and Trust Company, which was organized in 1887, num-
bered R. E. Edwards of the Edwards Mercantile Bank among
its directors and the Edwards County Investment Company, or-
ganized at about the same time, listed L. G. Boies of the Ed-
wards County Bank on its governing board. This development
marked an attempt on the part of local men to enter the invest-
ment company field and to obtain all instead of merely part of the
middleman's fee or commission on funds which were sent from the
East for investment.
The local banks shared in the financial misfortunes which struck
down the nonresident investment and mortgage companies. The
Edwards County Bank entered receivership in 1890. It was fol-
lowed three years later by the Kinsley Exchange Bank. The First
National managed to survive the year 1893 and reorganized under
a state charter in 1894.29
The provisions in the mortgages filed on land in Kinsley town-
ship varied in their complexity. When the mortgagees were local
men, the indentures were usually simple and short — a mere transfer
of the security in case the terms of the notes should be broken. The
mortgages filed by Eastern investors or their agents were much
longer and filled with a greater variety of terms which were de-
signed to safeguard the mortgagee.
In most of the forms used by Eastern investors, the failure of the
mortgagor to pay taxes and the insurance on improvements promptly
broke the contract. But in no case of foreclosure in the township
29. For a comment upon the difficulties faced by a national bank in this area see the
Kinsley Graphic, February 16, 1894; also James C. Malin, "The Kinsley Boom of the Late
Eighties," The Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 4 (1935), May, p. 184.
100 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
did such grounds serve as the sole excuse for bringing suit. Gen-
erally a clause was included, "waiving all exemption, appraisal and
redemption laws." Often the mortgagor authorized the levy of $25
for attorney fees in case he allowed his loan to become delinquent.
It was generally specified that default would entitle the mortgagee
to immediate possession of the premises and rents, issues and
profits. This clause had no validity in so far as actual possession
upon default was concerned, but evidently did insure that the pur-
chaser of the sheriff's deed was entitled to any crops growing on the
security when the deed was issued. Most mortgages recorded by
nonresident mortgagees named a place of payment in the Eastern
United States — a provision which insured that the mortgagor would
pay the cost of exchange.
More unusual was the clause used by J. B. Watkins in 1879, which
specified that payment should be made "in gold coin of the United
States of America." This proviso reflected the fear of Watkins' con-
servative clients that the monetary supply of the country was about
to be inflated by large infusions of greenbacks or silver.30 In 1879
E. R. Bobbins inserted a clause seldom found in the mortgages on
the land in Kinsley township when he bound several mortgagors to
"break forty acres of prairie within a year." 31
The average rate of interest on first mortgage loans stood in 1876
at 11%. From this figure the trend was downward until 1889, when
the rates of interest on nine mortgage loans averaged 7.4%. Over the
next ten years the annual average stood between 8% and 10%, with
the exception of 1892, when 12 loans called on the average for
interest payments at the rate of 6.9% per annum. The loans of this
year were unusual in that five of them were drawn by the J. B.
Watkins Land Mortgage Company and the Jarvis Conklin Mortgage
Trust Company on holdings which they had foreclosed. Since the
companies were themselves paying the interest on these loans, the
rate was put at 6%, which had little relation to the price of funds in
Kinsley township. After 1899 the average rate on loans recorded
from Kinsley township hovered around 7%, with the 22 loans, which
were recorded in 1905, averaging 6.6%.
30. Edwards county, "Mortgage Register A," p. 300; J. B. Watkins, Lawrence to Ed-
ward Lewis, Philadelphia, Pa., December 2, 1878, "J. B. Watkins Papers," University of
Kansas.
31. Edwards county, "Mortgage Register A," p. 344.
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 101
TABLE 7
INTEREST RATES IN KINSLEY TOWNSHIP
Number Rate Number Rate
1876 4 11% 1891 6 8.356
1877 7 10.7 1892 12 6.9
1878 12 11.5 1893 9 8.2
1879 21 9.8 1894 10 8.3
1880 13 9 1895 2 10
1881 4 8.5 1896 1 10
1882 2 11 1897 1 8
1883 2 9 1898 2 10
1884 5 9.2 1899 4 8.4
1885 14 8.4 1900 9 6.9
1886 33 7.8 1901 18 6.9
1887 37 7.5 1902 10 6.5
1888 13 7.6 1903 21 7.3
1889 9 7.4 1904 17 7.2
1890 48. 1905 22 6.6
The mortgagees of Edwards county consistently wrote a higher
rate of interest into their contracts than did nonresident lenders.
Invariably the papers negotiated by the Western mortgage com-
panies called for the lowest average rate of interest. In 1887 for
example, six loans obtained in Edwards county averaged 9% interest,
the over-all average of the 37 first mortgage loans recorded from
the township stood at 7.5%, the 30 mortgages held by nonresidents
of Kansas averaged 7.3%, and the 22 loans negotiated by the mort-
gage agencies called for an average rate of 6.9%.
Comparison of the resident and nonresident rate is complicated
by the problem of the commission. The local resident who lent his
own funds or accepted a mortgage as part payment in a real estate
transaction probably did not take a commission from the mortgagor.
Both the mortgage companies and their local agents received com-
missions. Often these commissions were paid by the mortgagor
in addition to the rate of interest specified in the note and mort-
gage. But at times the companies wrote a flat or net rate into their
papers from which they subtracted both their own commission
and that of their local agents. A 9% loan negotiated by the J. B.
Watkins Company in August, 1887, was of this type.32 The note
specified 9% and that was the actual cost to the borrower. Signifi-
cantly, the average rate on the six loans obtained locally in that
year was also 9%. The local and nonresident level tended to equate
at a common level. The local lender was neither more merciful
nor more obdurate than the nonresident when specifying the interest
which his debtor must pay.
32. See letters of D. M. Sprankle to L. W. Higgins, Kinsley, June-September, 1887, in
"J. B. Watkins Papers."
102 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
In general, the loans of local lenders were for a shorter period
of time than those of nonresidents. The early Western mortgage
companies almost invariably loaned for periods of three or five
years. Such companies avoided repayment by installments because
of the extra accounting involved. As competition among the com-
panies stiffened, however, an increasing number of them gave
"one year after the first interest payment the privilege of paying
$100, or multiples thereof, on the principal upon sixty days notice"
or some similar privilege. Such provisions became almost standard
with major lending companies after 1900. Payment of the principal
over a term of years also became very common after the turn of
the century.
Of the 343 first mortgages analyzed in this study, judgment was
rendered against the debtor on 52, or 15%. Only 46 sheriff's deeds
were issued, however, since a few mortgagors managed to buy
the judgment before the judicial sale or compromise the case in
some other way. One sheriff's deed represented the foreclosure of
three first mortgages obtained by the same mortgagor on different
portions of his property. Thirty-one first mortgages were termi-
nated by the mortgagor deeding over his property to the mortgagee,
his agent or the holder of a second mortgage. Undoubtedly such
deeding represented failure no less than did the issuance of a
sheriff's deed. Seventy-nine first mortgages, or 23% of those filed
in Kinsley township ended, therefore, with the mortgagor giving
up his land. Some half-dozen purchasers bought encumbered land
and assumed the payment of first mortgages while giving second
mortgages of their own as part of the purchase price. Foreclosure
of the first mortgage wiped out the title of these individuals as well
as that of the original mortgagors.
The mortgages negotiated in two groups of years were particu-
larly ill-fated. Of 36 first mortgages filed in 1879 and 1880, 18, or
50%, were closed out by foreclosure or deeding. Liquidation took
place during 1880, 1881 and 1882 for the most part. Of the 88 first
mortgages recorded in 1886, 1887 and 1888, 40, or 45%, were termi-
nated disastrously. These last contracts were liquidated between
1889 and 1893 — the years when Populism was born and flourished
in its greatest vigor.
In all, 67 individuals and one corporation contributed to the total
of 79 mortgage contracts which ended in failure. They sacrificed
22 tracts which had been acquired under the provisions of the
homestead acts. Reduced to percentages, 33% of the homesteaders
who gained title in the township, and 58% of the homesteaders who
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 103
attempted to raise funds by mortgaging, failed to retain their home-
steads because they could not repay their loans. Four out of the
eight pre-empted tracts which were mortgaged were surrendered,
representing 25% of all pre-emptions and 50% of the pre-empted
tracts placed under mortgage by their first owners. The three
timber claims lost by mortgagors formed 25% of all timber claims,
and 60% of the timber claims which were mortgaged in Kinsley
township. Of two commuted homesteads which were encumbered
by their first owner, one was lost. Among the 61 individuals who
obtained railroad land deeds, ten lost all or part of their land by
foreclosure. This figure represented 16% of the successful pur-
chasers of railroad land and 53% of those who mortgaged their land
after obtaining title from the Santa Fe. Four of the ten were non-
residents. In total, 41 out of 79 securities were lost by the individu-
als who had obtained title to them from the federal government or
from the Santa Fe.
Thirty-eight securities, or 49% of those lost by foreclosure, be-
longed to secondary buyers who had obtained title from the grantees
of railroad and government. Since most of the mortgaging which
ended disastrously was done by 1890, this last percentage illustrates
the speed with which land in the township was transferred out
of the hands of its original owners.
Of the 67 unsuccessful mortgagors, a significant percentage of
individuals were not primarily farmers. Three mortgagors were
women, of whom two were not residents of the county. At least
five men were nonresidents at the time of mortgaging and so re-
mained during the life of their mortgages. Three of this group
were obviously speculators in railroad land. Two of the local
mortgagors were bankers connected with the banks which failed
in Kinsley. One local farmer died and the mortgage was foreclosed
after his death. Another mortgagor was a tavern keeper attempting
to make a living in a state bent on becoming dry. One had at-
tempted to run an ice business in Kinsley. The corporation which
negotiated an unsuccessful mortgage was the county fair associa-
tion. Thus 14, or 21%, of the unsuccessful mortgagors were not
full-time farmers in the community. At least five others had sold
out to a third party before suit was begun, but the assignees failed
to meet the payments on the mortgages which they had assumed.
Among the 67 noncorporate individuals who surrendered land
by foreclosure or deeding, 36 appear on the agricultural rolls of one
or more of the censuses taken in 1875, 1880, 1885 and 1895. The
acres reported in crop by these mortgagors were compared with
104 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
those of the other farmers in the administrative township of Kinsley.
The crop acres of all the operators at each census date were totaled
and the farmers divided into upper, middle and lower thirds. Hay
acreage was not counted, since it represented prairie hay for the
most part, while acreages in corn, wheat, sorghum, millet, flax,
barley and oats indicated that the settler had broken the prairie.
In some cases such a technique would deal unfairly with stock
farmers, but for the most part the farmers reporting large numbers
of stock from Kinsley township also reported large crop acreages.
TABLE 8
CROP ACREAGES IN KINSLEY TOWNSHIP
Crop Acres Lower Middle Upper
Year Reported by Third Third Third
1875 33 operators 4-8 8-19 19-60
1880 134 operators 5-25 26-53 56-645
1885 60 operators 15-60 65-109 110-315
1895 81 operators 4-74 75-153 160-672
Of the 36 unfortunate mortgagors who are listed in the returns
of the agricultural censuses, 14 reported crop acreages in the upper
third at the time of the census, immediately prior to their failures.
Twelve fell in the middle third and ten in the lower third. It is
probably safe to assume that the crop acreages of most of the un-
successful operators, who were not caught by a census, would fall
in the middle or lower brackets, since their residence in the town-
ship was either of interrupted or short duration. But the 14 who
reported a crop acreage in the upper third represented 21% of all
the mortgagors who failed. It was evidently not enough to have
land broken and in crop. Misfortune could strike the large oper-
ator as well as the small one in an area where drought might bring
crop failure in two or three successive years.
That a settler lost land by foreclosure or deeding did not neces-
sarily mean that he failed as a farm operator in the community.
Of the 67 who lost land, eight, or 12%, survived the loss of their
security and remained as farm operators in the township. One
settler sacrificed 80 acres of railroad land but retained control of
240 acres which he obtained under the homestead and timber cul-
ture acts. In 1905 he reported a farm unit of 1,120 acres, of which
320 were in field crops.
M. E. Hetzel reported a farm of 160 acres in 1875, but not until
1878 did he enter 80 acres as a homestead and buy the other 80
acres under the terms of the pre-emption act. He mortgaged his
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 105
pre-empted land immediately for $500 and raised $300 locally
against his homestead, although he did not receive his final certifi-
cate until 1884. By 1885 he had acquired title to four quarter
sections near his original holding. One of these he mortgaged for
$360 in 1880. In 1884 the Kinsley Graphic reported that Hetzel
had lost $3,000 worth of stock from the plague — presumably Texas
fever.33 In the same year, his $500 mortgage went to judgment but
he succeeded in purchasing it. During 1885 and 1886, Hetzel raised
$4,500 on the security of first mortgages in the East and negotiated
another $4,000 worth of second mortgages with local parties, in-
cluding two of the banks. In 1886 and 1887, Hetzel deeded 640
acres of land to the Edwards County Bank. In 1892 Hetzel began
to buy back this acreage, using a $4,800 mortgage as partial pay-
ment for the first 320 acres. By 1905 Hetzel could report a farm
unit of 1,000 acres of which 440 were in field crops, as well as a
herd of 150 cattle.
Despite a significant number of exceptions, most of the mort-
gagors who lost their security disappeared from the records of the
county thereafter. Many of them had left long before suit was
brought against them. At least 80% of the foreclosure cases in the
township were extremely simple; the defendants neither demurred,
answered, nor appeared. One settler, however, enlivened the
court record with a show of patent bad faith when he mortgaged
a quarter section adjacent to his own and later asserted that the
indenture, was a forgery.34
It is possible to exaggerate both the amount of land which was
under mortgage at any one time and the amount of land which
was foreclosed or deeded. On January 1, 1890, there was probably
more land under mortgage in the township than at any other time
during the 30 years of this study. Most of the mortgage debt of
1886 and 1887 which was to be liquidated in the early 1890's still
stood untouched. Yet at this date only some 12,000 acres, or be-
tween 40 and 45% of the agricultural land in Kinsley township, was
mortgaged. A veteran real estate agent of Kinsley estimated in
his biography that in ". . . 1893 and 1894, at least two thirds
of the land in the county . . . had been taken over and was
owned by the loan companies and private investors all over the
east." 35 The actual figures for Kinsley township are hardly so
33. Kinsley Graphic, November 21, 1884.
34. D. W. McConaugh vs. Frank C. Badger, filed in the district court of Edwards county,
September, 1890, "Journal D," p. 286.
35. G. E. Wilson, Autobiography (Kinsley, 1947), p. 27.
8—2826
106 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
generous. In all, the security surrendered by the 67 individuals
and one corporation over 30 years, totaled some 11,200 acres, or
40%, of the agricultural land in the township.
Some attempt to correlate foreclosures and deeding with soil
fertility in Kinsley township may be made. North and west of the
Arkansas river, variations in soil and topography are not extreme
enough to check against the statistics of foreclosure and deeding.
The sand hills southeast of the Arkansas are infertile and the fact
was recognized locally at an early date. The editor of the Kinsley
Graphic wrote in 1887,
Occasionally some eastern sucker gets salted upon a slice off the juicy
side of the sand hills lying along the course of the Arkansas river. There are
two things those hills are especially adapted to; one is to raise goats upon and
the other is to be exchanged for eastern property belonging to parties who
have never saw them.36
But mortgagees, or their local agents, paid too little attention to
such local wisdom. Four sheriff's deeds were issued on some 600
acres of land in the sand hills. In addition, one mortgagor deeded
a quarter section to his mortgagee, while the Interstate Galloway
Cattle Company deeded 960 acres of land in the area to one of its
creditors. Some 1,700 acres, therefore, out of 2,350, or 72% of the
sand hills area, changed hands by foreclosure or deeding in the
30-year period.
By no means all of the foreclosed and deeded land was in the
hands of the mortgagees at any one time, although the largest part
of it was in their custody during the early 1890's. Until the market
for real estate collapsed utterly in the early 1890's, the mortgage
agencies and Eastern investors sought to sell their foreclosed land
as rapidly as possible. The mortgage companies at least were
under considerable incentive to reconvert their operating capital
to liquid form. When the land market disappeared, the investors
and the receivers, or liquidating agencies of the mortgage com-
panies, held until there was a market and then resold. By 1897 the
local farmers were again interested in adding to their holdings.
Their purchases before 1905 significantly altered the size of farm
units in Kinsley township. Where 52% of the farmers reported a
farm unit of 160 acres or less in 1895, ten years later only 23% of the
farmers reported such a unit, while 64% listed farms of 241 acres or
more, as compared with 39% at the previous census date.
It is obvious that the liquidation of the 1890's was a painful one
in Kinsley township, although proportionately a smaller group of
36. Kinsley Graphic, April 22, 1887.
FARMER DEBTORS IN PIONEER KINSLEY 107
mortgagors failed than was the case in the early 1880's. The statis-
tics of deeding and foreclosure cannot show the instances where
proceedings were begun and dropped before a journal entry was
made. Nor do they show the number of mortgagors whom one
more poor crop would have placed in like case with their less
fortunate fellows. On the other hand, the bald totals of mortgages
and encumbered acres do not differentiate between the genuine
settler who mortgaged to equip his farm or to tide himself over
a poor year and the petty speculator who mortgaged merely to
support himself until he could sell his holdings. When the schemes
of the latter type went astray, he was quite willing to pull out and
leave his creditor to realize upon the security.
Although willing enough to accept the services of the money
lender, the farmers of Edwards county were also willing to criticize
him. By 1884 the leading capitalist of Kinsley had been dubbed
"old three percent a month." 37 When L. G. Boies ran as Republi-
can candidate for the state legislature in 1888 he was opposed be-
cause he was a banker.38 In 1892 a local paper reprinted the ac-
cusation of the Mankato Advocate that the mortgage companies
were foreclosing in an effort to obtain the land of the farmers of
Kansas, although actually the foreclosures were to ruin the com-
panies no less than the farmers.39 Popular feeling against the
money lender contributed no little to the unrest which saw the
local Farmers' Alliance men take over the county offices and news-
paper during the early 1890's, and help to send Jerry Simpson to
congress from the seventh electoral district.40
37. Ibid., December 5, 1884.
38. Kinsley Banner-Graphic, October 12, 1888; Kinsley Mercury, November 15, 1888.
39. Kinsley Graphic, April 29, 1892.
40. See James C. Malin, "The Kinsley Boom of the Late Eighties," loc. cit., pp. 173-178.
Vincent B. Osborne's Civil War Experiences
Edited by JOYCE FARLOW and LOUISE BARRY
INTRODUCTION
A LTHOUGH nearly a third of Kansas' counties bear the names
•**• of men who were Civil War officers, only two privates have
been thus honored. One of them was Vincent B. Osborne, who
served as a Kansas volunteer soldier for three and a half years, was
twice wounded, and had a leg amputated in 1865.1
Nothing is known of Osborne's early life, except that he was born
March 4, 1839, in Hampden county, Massachusetts. He was 22
years old when he enlisted in July, 1861, in the Second Kansas in-
fantry, at Clinton, Mo. He must then have lived in Missouri, for
he suggests (see p. 122) that his life would have been in jeopardy
had he been captured by Missouri rebels.
One month after joining the army, Private Osborne was wounded
in the thigh during the battle of Wilson's Creek (August 10, 1861),
and was hospitalized for almost six months in St. Louis. Before he
recovered, the Second Kansas infantry had been mustered out of
service. Osborne re-enlisted, along with other veterans of this
short-lived regiment, in the Second Kansas cavalry which was be-
ing organized in the early part of 1862. He was mustered in at
Leavenworth on February 19, and assigned to Company A, com-
manded by his former captain, Samuel J. Crawford.
Between March and September, 1862, Osborne's, company rode
more than 1,500 miles on escort duty, traveling from Fort Riley,
over the military and Santa Fe roads, to Fort Union, N. M., and
back.
Returning to the regiment in the fall, Company A fought in a
number of skirmishes and several important engagements, as the
Second Kansas took part in a campaign against the rebel forces of
Generals Marmaduke and Hindman, in Missouri and Arkansas.
Osborne describes, at some length, the battles of Old Fort Wayne
(October 22), Cane Hill (November 28) and Prairie Grove (De-
cember 7).
In the early part of 1863 Osborne was a hospital attendant at
Fayetteville, Ark., and at Fort Scott. During the rest of the year,
JOYCE FARLOW, a graduate of Alabama College, Montevallo, Ala., was a senior student
•when this editorial work was done. LOUISE BARRY, now on leave, is in charge of the manu-
scripts division of the Kansas State Historical Society.
1. The other county named for a private is Rooks — for Pvt. John C. Rooks. Two
counties have been named for noncommissioned officers: Ness, for Cpl. Noah V. Ness, and
Harper, for Sgt. Marion Harper.
(108)
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 109
and in 1864, he was on detached duty much of the time, serving
as messenger at district headquarters, Fort Smith, Ark., in the lat-
ter year.
On January 16, 1865, he left Fort Smith, on board the Annie
Jacobs, to rejoin his regiment. Next day, at Joy's Ford, rebels
shelled the steamboat and forced it aground. During the firing
Osborne was severely wounded in the leg while helping to tie up
the boat. Two days later, at Clarksville, Ark., his leg was ampu-
tated. When he left the hospital six months later, the war was over.
In 1866 he came to Kansas, having been appointed sutler at Fort
Marker by Secretary of War Stanton, upon the recommendation of
Gov. Samuel J. Crawford, who had been Osborne's company com-
mander. In 1867 he settled in the near-by frontier town of Ells-
worth. On June 22 of that year Governor Crawford appointed him
a special commissioner (along wth Ira S. Clark and John H. Ed-
wards ) to organize Ellsworth county.
Four years later, when another county to the north and west was
being organized, it was named for Vincent B. Osborne. It was also
in 1871 that Osborne was elected to the state legislature from Ells-
worth county, serving during the session of 1872.
He married Nellie V. (Henry) Whitney, widow of Sheriff C. B.
Whitney who was killed in 1873. Their daughter Katie, born in
1877, died the same year.
Osborne was highly regarded by the people of his county. When
he was admitted to the bar (by the district court) in October, 1875,
the Ellsworth Reporter recalled his fine war record, noted that a
county and city had been named for him, and stated that he
". . . is today probably one of the most popular men in the
county."
During the 1870's he held several local offices, being a justice of
the peace in 1872-1873, probate judge from 1873-1879, and town-
ship trustee for several years. At the time of his death he was city
clerk, probate judge, and president of the newly-organized Ells-
worth County Agricultural and Mechanical Association.
He died, after a short illness, on December 1, 1879, at the age of
40. One of his Civil War comrades later said of him: "Osborne
was one of the bravest soldiers that I ever knew, and a gentle-
man/' 2
nf l;ncS°%CI«7f°^inferma^0n,°o1?,09sborne: Report °f the Adjutant General of the State
42S 2$^' ^861-65,/T°P£ka, 1896) pp. 72, 81; Kansas Historical Collections, v. 10, pp.
Fllfv ?£;P ComJPend^ous H^ory of Ellsworth County, Kansas (Ellsworth, 1879), p. 52-
Ellsworth Reporter, July 1 October 28, 1875, December 4, 1879; Osborne County Farmer'
9^°™ December 13, 1934; Cemetery Records of Ellsworth County, Kansas, compiled I by
Smoky Hill chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1938-1939 v 1
110 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Osborne wrote his Civil War experiences in four manuscripts.
They are now owned by Mrs. Murray C. Flynn, granddaughter of
Mrs. Osborne by a third marriage. The variations in paper, ink,
size of handwriting, etc., make it evident that the narratives were
written at different times, but all of them appear to have been
written in the 1860's. Osborne's journal style in parts of the nar-
ratives indicates that he probably kept a diary, or notes, while in
the army.
The first narrative (for 1861), and the second (for 1862-1865),
have no titles. The third, headed "Southwest Expedition No. 1,"
is an expanded account of the campaign into Missouri and Arkansas
in the fall of 1862. The fourth, entitled "History of My Last
Wound," deals with the action on January 16, 1865, and his hos-
pitalization. All the manuscripts have been brought together into
one narrative (which will be published in two parts) by substi-
tuting the more extensive accounts of the third and fourth manu-
scripts for the briefer (and less interesting) ones within the second
narrative. This has seemed necessary in order to utilize the best
of Osborne's writing, and also practicable because of missing sec-
tions in the second narrative.
OSBORNE'S NARRATIVE — PART ONE: JULY, 1861-AucusT, 1862
[In Missouri, with the Second Kansas Infantry]
On Thursday the llth day of July 1861 I first enlisted in the
army I enlisted in the 2nd regiment Kansas Vol. a part of Sturgis
brigade on the Osage river a few miles from Oseola in the western
part of the state of Missouri This division of the army was under
the command of Gen. [Nathaniel] Lyon a brave and gallant officer 8
The whole command consisted of a few companies of regulars the
Iowa 1st Vol. the First and 2nd Kansas and the First Mo. the
whole army did not consist of more than 4000 men This army was
marching to join Col Seigel who was at Springfield with 1500
men We were also in pursuit of the rebel Gen Price McCulloch
3. Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, U. S. volunteers, assumed command of the Army of the
West on May 31, 1861. His forces, in four brigades, totaled about 5,800 men. The first
brigade (under Maj. Samuel D. Sturgis) included four companies of cavalry, four First
U. S. infantry companies, two Second Missouri companies and Capt. James Totten's Second
U. S. artillery company. The second brigade (under Col. Franz Sigel) consisted largely
of the Third and Fifth Missouri regiments. The third brigade (under Lt. Col. George L.
Andrews) contained the First Missouri regiment, four companies of U. S. infantry and an
artillery battery. The fourth brigade (under Col. George W. Deitzler) was made up of
the First and Second Kansas, and the First Iowa regiments.
The Confederate forces which opposed General Lyon were rebel Missourians under
Maj. Gen. Sterling Price and Brig. Gen. James S. Rains. They were estimated to number
at least 15,000 men. An additional rebel force of some 5,000 troops under Brig. Gen.
Ben. McCulloch, of Texas, was also in Missouri. — War of the Rebellion . . , (Wash-
ington, 1881), Series I, v. 3, p. 48.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 111
and Rains who were about overrunning the western part of the
state We marched on through Stockton and Melville to Camp
Seigel which was about twelve miles north of Springfield ariving
there on Sunday [July 14] about 2 [?] o'clock P. M. I was on
guard detail there the first night for the first time in my life but as
we did not have very strict instructions I got along very well
At this place I saw a man shot for murder he was shot on dress
parade he was brought up in front the coffin was brought also
and he knelt down on it his legs were tied and his eyes blind-
folded There was twelve men of the guard to shoot him Thier
muskets were loaded by other persons one half with blank cart-
riges no man knowing whether thier gun had a ball in it or not
when the order was given to fire the muskets roared simultaneously
and the prisoner was no more We stayed at camp Seigel from
Sunday till the next Saturday morning Each day while we were
there we had a company and battallion drill here was where I
learnt most of drilling the first summer While there we lived on
half rations of bread but we had plenty of meat.
On Saturday [July 20] we loaded our baggage and started for
Springfield We arrived in town about noon went in to town
stopped and stacked arms for a half hour We were not allowed
to leave our arms but to get water which we procured at a well
near by At the expiration of a half an hour we marched on We
soon after ascertained that we were going to a small town fifty
miles a little east of south of Springfield named Forsyth where there
was a body of [manuscript faded] We were under the command
of Gen. [Thomas W.] Sweeny an officer that had his arm shot off
in the Mexican war The command consisted of Five companies of
the Iowa 1st the 2nd Kansas and a company of regular cavalry and
1 Section of Tottens battery We camped on James river the first
night, a stream of considerable size and had a good bridge across
it. I was on guard here it rained nearly all night and till about
six the next day We commenced drawing full rations here again.
We left camp early the next morning the rain falling in torrent
about noon we arived at Osark a small town near the moun-
tains we stacked arms and stayed there an hour We captured
some boots which were distributed among the soldiers As we left
this place the officers gave each of us a dram of whiskey which
made us feel better after our morning drenching Then we
marched out five miles from town and camped in an old field near
there was a good spring the ground was very wet and muddy
112 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
After supper about forty of us went about a quarter of a mile back
into the woods and slept in a meeting house The next morning
went back to camp got breakfast and marched on In an hour we
were in the Osark mountains These mountains were not masses
of rock like those in Mass, but were composed of gravel and cov-
ered with timber, but the timber is not very valueable There is
some yellow pine but not of large growth and the hills are so steep
that but little of it can be got away The land is not fit for culti-
vation the streams are very clear water and springs are abundant
The inhabitants apear to be nearly all Unionists a considerable
number joining us in our expedition to Forsyth This part of the
country is thinly inhabited and has some game We halted about
nine miles from Forsyth at three oclock P. M. eat some crackers
and [meat?] then marched on
We had gone about 4& miles when orders came to Col. Michel4
to bring up his regt on double quick time and double quick we did
in earnest We were now sure that we were going to have a fight
with the enemy and there was a very good prospect of it The
battery come up with us and was with us the rest of the way Be-
fore reaching Forsyth we crossed White river then going about 20
rods threw down a high rail fence and went into a field The
battery took a position near or in a Timothy field but we rushed
on and formed on coming to the river again then crossed the river
again and pushed forward into the town On ariving in town no
enemy was to be seen even the inhabitants had left. The battery
first threw shells into the court house and some on a hill just east
of it. Co. E was sent to the court house to guard it and we were
pleased to get to rest ourselves of the days march of thirty miles.
It was now sundown About dark we marched to quarters in a
house which had been deserted by it[s] occupants a library was
in the house mostly filled with law books excepting a few bed
steads there was no furniture in the house We stacked arms in the
house and some of us commenced getting supper and some lay
down on the floor to sleep prefering rest to supper After I rested
a little while I went up town to see what was going on The reg-
ulars were passing around Port Wine in buckets I found out
where they got it went around there found some men there
some rolling off barrels of liquer others drinking very freely out of
a barrel of Port Wine which had the head knocked in and it was
about two thirds full But an officer coming round put a stop to
4. Col. Robert B. Mitchell, commanding officer of the Second Kansas infantry.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 113
all this I soon went back to quarters lay down on the floor and
slept till morning The next morning eat breakfast and went up
town The secession flag pole had been cut down and a consid-
erable quantity of Groceries Provitions, Clothing, Bullets, lead and
Tobacco and old guns were confisticated
About ten o'clock A. M. On Tuesday morning [July 23] we
started back towards Springfield We went about 12 miles and
camped on a stream of very clear water Here I done my first
cooking staying up till twelve oclock at night then lay down and
slept till morning Twenty of the company were on picket this
night The next morning we left camp early and went to our for-
mer camping place five miles from Osark. The next day we went
to Springfield We camped one mile from town at night and
marched the next day to camp Seigel near a small town called
Little York which is about ten miles from Springfield We arived
here on Friday the [26th] day of July a little after seven and rested
Saturday. Sunday we had a regimental inspection of arms At
four oclock P. M. we had a dress parade and after that preach-
ing the only time that I heard preaching while I was fit for duty
We drilled here considerably We were camped on the top of a
high ridge The other regiments and batteries moved on to the top
of the ridge three days after we arived there excepting the 1st Iowa
which was still camped on the oposite side of the creek from
us We slept on our arms every night after the brigade was camped
in line and had them inspected twice a day One night we had an
alarm caused by some rebel firing on one of our videttes We
turned out in about two minutes and formed in line but soon after
went to our tents and lay down
On Wednesday afternoon [July 31] we recieved orders to be
ready to march at fifteen minutes warning Tents were struck
wagons loaded and every thing put in readiness About sundown
we took up our line of march starting in a southeast direction We
marched till about twelve oclock had our muskets loaded and
capped at twelve oclock we stopped got some water and then
lay down and slept till morning In the morning we got breakfast
and then marched forward soon intersecting the road leading to
the south west Here was Col. Seigel and his brigade waiting for
us We passed on and CoJ. Seigel fell in with his brigade to the
rear of [us] The day was intensely hot and the road very dusty.
Many men were obliged to stop by the side of the road on account
of the intense heat About ten oclock our advance fired into the
114 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
enemies picket causing the latter to fall back About noon we got
water out of a well near the road and by marching slower after that
suffered less
We arrived at Dug Springs about two oclock halted here, hear-
ing that the enemy were ahead in strong force and a good posi-
tion At four oclock we took up a position for the night Second
Kan. took a position on the left of the road the batteries on the
road and the Iowa 1st on the right We stacked arms but were not
allowed to leave them. Soon after we were brought into line again
the enemy advancing on the front Maj. [W. F.] Cloud was sent
out on the flank with four companies but no enemy were seen in
that direction The enemy still advanced in front till within range
of Tottens battery. When Totten opened his [fire] the rebels fled,
in the utmost confusion, and advanced on us no more that
day Several of the enemy were killed and wounded. Our cavalry
had skirmished with them nearly all the afternoon It was here
that Capt. [David S.] Stanley made his brilliant charge routing the
enemy and killing some of them for which he was promoted to
Brig. Gen.
We stood in line till about sundown then got our supper. No
tents or baggage was allowed to be unloaded as the train was
brought up into line just to the rear of the color line We stacked
arms but were obliged to keep a guard over them Co. E was de-
tailed for picket guard Just after dark we marched out about a
quarter of a mile on the left flank halted and divided into three
reliefs and stationed one relief immediately, the others lay down
and slept I was on first relief The sentinels were posted in a
circle each one having a short beat I was very tired but had no
difficulty in keeping a wake The reserve of the picket was sta-
tioned under some trees just at the edge of the circle After coming
off post I lay down and slept as soundly as if I was on a feather bed
[Engagement at Dug Springs, Mo., August 2, 1861]
Just as it became light we were marched back to camp and get-
ting a hasty breakfast were marched out to the road there we
halted a few moments for the command to get formed prop-
erly The 2nd Kansas was near the centre. We marched down a
hollow about two miles then over a ridge for two miles far-
ther While yet on the ridge orders were sent back to us to pass
to the front Just before going down into the hollow we could
discover the dust rising up the opposite hill in the road where the
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 115
rebels were retreating Supposing that they would advance again,
Gen Lyon dispatched the 1st Iowa on the right of the road and the
2nd Kansas on the left and crossing the hollow we marched up the
hill. We formed an ambuscade but the rebels did not tackle
us The men at the battery got sight of them and sending a few
shells over caused the rebels to retreat
We marched up the hill in the timber paralell to the road and
about one hundred and fifty yards from it By this time the day
had become intensely hot and we not having had any water since
early in the morning many of the men fell down exhausted and
choking from thirst On our arival at the summit of the hill we
by bearing to the right intersected the road but the enemy had
made good his escape We nftw hoisted our flag on the telegraph
pole to prevent our being fired into by our battery from the op-
posite hill About one third of our men had been left on the hill
side exhausted At a house near the top of the hill we found a
barrel of water but were not allowed to swallow any for fear it
might have been poisoned We wet our heads and put some into
our mouths and washed them out then spit it out. Some of the
men went into a field and got some Sugar Cane and by chewing
that quenched thier thirst Dr. Patee5 came up and gave medacine
to such as needed it I ate an ear of green corn raw that tasted de-
licious
After resting about an hour during which time most of our men
came up, we marched forward having heard that there was a spring
about a mile in advance Orders having been sent to Col. Mitchel
to advance if he thought best if not to fall back The advance
seemed to please Col. Mitchel the best and away we went Capt
Woods6 cavalry in advance We advanced about one mile to one
of the cool clear springs of delicious water which are so plenty in
that section of country Col. Mitchel would not allow us to drink
till we had washed and then cautioned us not to drink to much 1
never tasted water that tasted so delitiously. After drinking what
we wanted we were permited to go into an orchard and get what
apples we wanted This place was called McCollocks Ranche [Mc-
Culla's Farm] after the man that lived on it We now had the
advance the command had stopped at a spring two miles back,
the country was covered with thick short oak trees which would
conceal an enemy perfectly occasionly some of the enemy would
5. Asst. Surgeon Eliphalet L. Patee of Manhattan.
6. Capt. Samuel N. Wood, commanding Company I, Second Kansas infantry.
116 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
show them selves but we were prepared to recieve them at any
time Three of the rebels were taken prisoners The rebels might
have come into the rear of us and cut us entirely from the com-
mand An alarm was given after we had got sufficiently rested to
feel well and we were brought into line and the cavalry sent out
to recoinoitre The cavalry captured a carridge and a small mule
and an old wagon.
Gen. Lyon came up to us in the course of the afternoon with
a company of dragoons but did not stay long About five oclock
we fell in to march back The prisoners were placed in ranks on
foot and marched back to McCullocks [McCulla's] Spring We
arived at camp a little before sundown and camped on the op-
posite side of the road from the spring on a steep ridge which was
covered with gravel We got us some supper and lay down and
slept till the next morning
Early the next morning we were roused up got breakfast and
prepared to march All surplus baggage was taken out of the
wagons and burned so as to take every man along that might be
sun struck or fatigued that they could not travel This day we
took it very leisurely getting to camp at Double Springs a little
after dark making fourteen miles. At this place we just pitched
into rebel property for the first time a field on the oposite side
of the road from where we were camped suffered terribly the
fence was burned the corn taken and much of it boiled or roasted
by us and the stalks fed to the animals Our camp was on a ridge
the east side of the road very rocky There our arms were stacked
and only half of the company allowed to leave at a time
The next morning [August 3] we left camp early for Springfield
marched leisurely and arived there about one oclock P. M. Waited
there some time for orders where to camp and then marched out
about half a mile west of the court house and camped in a meadow
near where Fort No. 2 stands now. After stacking our arms we
went back into a pasture and rested ourselves under some trees
Here under some trees we done our cooking and stayed most of the
time in day light. At night we had orders to sleep in line on our
arms with our accoutrements on The next day we rested washed
our clothes &c. but we had to hold ourselves in readiness to march
at short notice we now drew plenty of rations and ate plenty of
apples from an orchard near which we baked or boiled to eat We
had a roll call now every two hours to prevent any men leaving
camp
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 117
The rebels had followed us on our return from Dug Springs they
had already come as far as Wilsons Creek ten miles from here We
slept the second night in line the same as the first the ranks lying
with thier feet together and thier heads opposite to each other One
night about dark we were marched out to supprise the enemy at
daylight but after marching till midnight saw a rocket sent up
away to the left supposed to be a signal of our movement On see-
ing this Gen. Lyon ordered a halt and soon we were ordered back
to camp ariving there about sunrise The next day in the afternoon
we marched out of town on the Little York road for four miles and
waited about two hours for the rebels to attact us but they did not
come Then we marched back into town and volunteers were
called for to march out and supprise the enemy but soldiers were
not very prompt volunteering, but soon orders came to march back
to camp this object having been abandoned. The weather was now
most intensely hot, so that we could not sleep in the heat of the day
[The Battle of Wilsons Creek, August 10, 186P]
On Friday the 9th of Aug about four oclock in the afternoon the
whole command fired off thier guns and cleaned them and were
ordered to get ready to march by six oclock P. M. with one days
rations in our haversack At the hour appointed we fell in line
and were ready to march We had forty rounds of cartriges in our
cartrige boxes and our guns loaded Our train was loaded and
driven up into the town as usual when we left camp The sick
were all sent into town Four hundred Home Guards were left to
guard the town The rest of the command all went out Col.
Seigel with his brigade went out on the Telegraph road a few
miles then turned to the left and went round and attacted the
enemy at Sharpe's house on the south side of Wilsons Creek, the
enemy were north west of him camped along the creek. Gen. Lyon
7. In his report of the battle of Wilson's creek (also known as the battle of Oak Hills),
Union Major General Fremont stated: "General Lyon, in three columns, under himself,
Sigel, and Sturgis, attacked the enemy at 6:30 o'clock on the morning of the 10th, 9
miles southeast of Springfield. Engagement severe. Our loss about 800 killed and wounded.
General Lyon killed in charge at head of his column. Our force 8,000, including 2,000
Home Guards. Muster roll reported taken from the enemy 23,000, including regiments
from Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, with Texan Rangers and Cherokee half-breeds.
This statement corroborated by prisoners." — War of the Rebellion, Series I, v. 3, p. 54.
Brigadier General McCulloch, who commanded the Confederate forces, stated in his
official report that his ". . . effective force was 5,300 infantry, 15 pieces of artillery,
and 6,000 horsemen, armed with flint-lock muskets, rifles, and shot-guns. . . ." He
also stated: "The force of the enemy, between nine and ten thousand, was composed of
well-disciplined troops, well armed, and a large part of them belonging to the old Army
of the United States. With every advantage on their side they have met with a signal
repulse. The loss of the enemy is 800 killed, 1,000 wounded, and 300 prisoners. We
captured six pieces of artillery, several hundred stand of small arms, and several of their
standards. . . . Our loss was also severe, and we mourn the death of many a gallant
officer and soldier. Our killed amounts to 265, 800 wounded, and 30 missing. . , ." —
Ibid., pp. 104, 106.
118 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
commanded the other brigade in person which consisted of the 1st
Mo, 1st Iowa, 1st & 2nd Kansas Totten's and Dubois batteries
Four companies of regular Inft. and two companies of rifle re-
cruits from St. Louis, also some cavalry in all numbering about
three thousand men Col Seigel command numbered about twelve
hundred men with six peices of artilery We left camp about sun-
down and went out west on the Little York road four and one half
miles then turned to the left and went across the prairie in nearly
a southerly direction but not on any road
About 12 oclock we halted and lay down and slept as soundly
as though we were at home in our beds till just as light was coming
in the eastern horizon We then got up fell in and marched on
When first getting sight of thier camp thier tents were still stand-
ing We had succeeded in completely supprising them We
marched also in the rear of them south west of thier camp We
succeeded in getting an exelent position Cheers would occasion-
ally resound from our lines commencing in the front and being
caught up along the lines would go to the rear The artilery suc-
ceded in getting an exelent position and opened on the enemy.
This was a signal for Col. Seigel to attact with his brigade and
soon we had the satisfaction of hearing his artilery The 1st Mo,
1st Iowa, and some rifle recruit were formed on the right and left
of the batteries Four companies of regulars and the 1st Kansas
followed the creek down. The Kansas 2nd was the reserve
The battle was now fairly commenced. The artilery fire was as
fast as any one could count and the roar of musketry was inces-
sant We were stationed in a ravine in sight of one of the enemies
guns which kept firing at us but the balls passed far over our
heads A rebel lay dead near where we were the first man I had
ever seen that was killed in battle This firing continued for some
time say half an hour when it gradually abated and silence reigned
once more the wounded were now being brought off the field,
and preperations made for another fight. The rebels sent flankers
out which once came in sight of our hospital Soon firing com-
menced on the hill once more One of our men was wounded in
the shin while here
At about eight oclock Lieut. Col. Blair8 came back from the hill
bringing orders from Gen. Lyon to have the 2nd Kansas brought
forward and we marched up the hill just in the rear of the line of
the Iowa 1st As we marched on amid the dead and wounded of
8. Lt. Col. Charles W. Blair, second in command of the Second Kansas infantry.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 119
that brave regiment I heard one exclaim as he stood leaning against
the body of a tree apparently wounded in the leg. We have had
an awful hard fight a great many of our boys killed We passed
on by Tottens battery when a six pound ball struct the ground
just to the rear of me striking just by a mans feet making him lame
but not seriously injuring him Soon firing was heard in our ad-
vance the regiment had just time to fire when the enemy rose up
in front of [us] and poured a volley into our ranks which was very
well sent as that single volley killing and wounding more men than
all the rest of the battle The second man from me fell mortally
wounded This volley threw us into some confusion but Gen. Lyon
riding along just then on a bay horse his gray having been killed
under him before with his hat in his hand flourishing it over his
head and ordering us to stand up to them and drive them back we
again formed our line and soon repulsed the enemy Gen. Lyon
was killed just after he passed us Col. Mitchel was also wounded
severly in the groin For a few moments we fought without a field
officer just as the action was over Lieut. [Colonel] Blair came up
and took command of the regiment.
The enemy now amused themselves by creeping up near some
tree in front of us about a hundred yards and rising up and firing
into our ranks and then falling down but whenever one showed
himself he was fired at by our men so much that they soon stoped
it Maj. Cloud came up about this time he had been out re-
coinoitering in the south and west of us We were now left in
possession of the field. The wounded were taken to the rear and
we had time to rest ourselves In this action a ball passed between
my legs without hurting them only making my right leg smart con-
siderably The rebels soon exhibited signs of another attack they
planted a flag about two hundred yards in front of and brought a
battery up on a point to the left front of us with the United States
flag on it but soon as they got a position opened on us with grape
and canister by this time we had our line formed almost directly
north and south and we sat down in ranks Two shots from the
rebel battery passed through the branches of a tree I was standing
under & One grape shot struct just in front of me and bounded
through the ranks but did not hit any one During this rest a rebel
rode up to the rear of [us] supposing us to be rebels and inquired
where to take his train he was ordered to halt by Capt. Russell9
and at that discovered his mistake and wheeling his horse attempted
9. Capt. Avra P. Russell, commanding Company G, Second Kansas infantry.
120 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
to escape but Capt. Russell drew his revolver and fired killing the
rebel instantly
While resting in line an officer came riding up in front and said
that the rebels were advancing in large force up a ravine in front
of us At this we moved a little to the right and two peices of ar-
tilery were placed on the right of the company and the rest of the
regiment sent still fa[r]ther to the right so as to give them room I
was on the extreme right of the company and near the battery by
a tree top that lay on the ground The battery fired as soon as they
got thier position The enemy commenced firing when about three
hundred yards distant keeping steadily advancing. Our fire was
reserved till within two hundred yards then we opened still in the
jesture [?] of Scott tactics of charge bayonets against cavalry The
balls flew around us like hail but fortunately mostly over us
I had fired three times and was loading again when a ball struct
my thigh on the outside midway between the knee and hip, the ball
passed in obliquely going towards the femer striking it about three
inches below the acetabulum enough to the rear to glance off
without breaking the bone and after turning a revolution endwise
lodged in the thick part of the thigh The feeling when it struct
my leg was like striking it with something blunt without any sharp
pain in the vicinity of the wound It caused a slight dizziness at
first and I thought I was shot both in the foot and leg. This sup-
position was increased by a round hole in my boot which I had cut
a few days previous on account of it hurting my ancle and to my
dizzy brain it looked just like a bullet hole The feeling in my foot
was about the same [as if] one had hit it with a hammer I looked
first at my foot and then felt my leg and looked to see iff it was
bleeding much, run two of my fingers in the hole, but acertaining
that it was not bleeding much commenced to think about the con-
dition I left my gun in for I could not regolect how far I had gone
towards loading it. As near as I could acertain I had torn the
cartrige and was in the act of pouring the powder in the muzzle.
A ball had struct my gun bruiseing the barrel and stock but not
injureing it for present use
Soon after recieving my wound I got up and started for the rear
but had proceeded but a few paces when I laid down The bullets
now flew thicker than ever two passed within a few inches of my
head as I was lying down Once I thought I would go and sit by
a tree near by but thinking I would wait till a cessation of the strife
lay still When the firing had nearly ceased I got up and went to
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 121
the tree and sat down for a moment and examined my thigh once
more and thinking it to be a slight wound determined not to be a
coward and go back into ranks picked up my gun and started but
at this moment the firing nearly ceased and Col. Blair gave the
order About Face foward Slow time March. I now commenced
going off the field using my gun for a cruch the line of the regi-
ment passed me as I could not get over the rough ground but
slowly As I was going up the opposite hill I heard firing in the
rear and turning to look saw that the enemy had already taken
possession of the ground we had fought on A few bullets whistled
near me but I had got so that they did not frighten me any by this
time after going over the ridge and down into a ravine I got some
water out of a branch but it -was muddy Just then I thought I
ought to find the regiment and on looking back I saw them coming
down the ravine under the command of Maj. Cloud I was nearly
exhausted by this time.
When the Co. came up I gave Capt. Crawford my gun and Lieut.
Lindsay went away in search of a horse for me to ride and soon
returned with Col. Clouds pony it having recieved a rifle ball in
the neck with the assistance of Sergt. Johnston and Nugent I
mounted him and started towards Springfield.10 As I passed along
wounded men could be seen on all side[s] of the road shot in every
place imaginable Wagons were loaded with them besides many
that were on horses I kept on till I got to a house about four miles
from the field there I stopped and dismounted rested a short time
had some water Dr. Patee here looked at my wound said it was
shot with a spent ball, but ordered nothing to be put on it. Soon
I mounted with the assistance of A. Saulsbury11 and rode on feeling
much better. The regiment on ariving on the prairie about a mile
from the battlefield halted formed a line of battle and was the rear
guard coming in I went on till I got to Springfield about sun-
down went to the brick hotel which was being used for a hospital
and dismounted was helped up stairs and lay down on the floor.
When I was about three miles from town I met some wagons going
out after the wounded they were loaded with bread which they
were distributing out to the soldier [s] and this was all I recieved
till the next day The regt came in and camped at the usual camp-
ing place. J. F. Walker12 was wounded and came into the same
10. Capt. Samuel J. Crawford, 1st Lt. John G. Lindsay, 1st Set. John Johnston and
Ens. Henry Nugent, all of Osborne's company (E), Second Kansas infantry.
11. Pvt. Albert Saulsbery, Company E, Second Kansas infantry.
12. Cpl. James F. Walker, Company E, Second Kansas infantry.
9—2826
122 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
room with me I succeeded in pulling off my boots and with my
hat and them I made me a pillow and soon went to sleep and slept
till about three oclock the next morning
I had been awake but a few moments when some men among
who was Lieut. Lindsay came into the room to bid us good bye
They stated that they were going to retreat and leave all the sick
and wounded behind We wanted to go with them but they said
that they could not take us They said that we would be well taken
care of by the rebels &c. but this did not satisfy me I knew that
there were rebels that would hunt me out and I feared that it
would be the worse for me. It proved that they hunted all over
Springfield for me but could not find me.
When I left I went down stairs and on the piazza and sat down
on the steps After sitting there a few moments Seargt. Nugent
came along and I asked him to help me to the wagon and on
getting to it climbed up and made me a bed in the blankets and
the train soon started for Rolla I got along on the journey to
Rolla as well as could be expected considering that I had as dan-
gerous a wound as mine was The men in the Co. were very kind
to me One man was sent along with us to see that we were sup-
plied with water and any other necessary J. Norris13 was in the
wagon with me
The 2nd day from Springfield my leg got so bad that I could not
walk on it and when I got to Rolla I could walk very little by
placing both hands on the left knee and throwing my weight on
my arms and going stooped over any other way I could not walk
a step The march from Springfield to Rolla was the hardest and
fatigueing of any march previous many of the men were taken
sick afterwards from the effects of it. The soldiers had worn out
nearly all thier clothes many were barefooted No Clothing had
been issued to the Kansas regts but blouse and socks The Iowa
1st had had clothing issued to them by the state but it was worn
out by the time we got to Rolla so that they were no better off than
the rest of us They went on to St. Louis and were mustered out
of service. Several regiments were at Rolla Rolla is the terminus
of the south western branch of the Pacific railroad We were seven
days on the march from Springfield to Rolla I lay one day at Rolla.
13. Pvt. John Norris, Company E, Second Kansas infantry.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 123
[Hospitalized in St. Louis, August 19, 1861-February 13, 1862]
The 19th day of August I was placed on the cars and sent to St.
Louis ariving at the depot about seven P. M. Then placed in
wagons and taken to the General Hospital or Ware House of Ref-
uge The flags along the route and in St. Louis were at half mast
on account of the death of Gen. Lyon We arived at the hospital
just before dark and recieved some crackers to eat The worthy
Superintendent Dr. Bailey14 of the regular army came around to
see us he apeared good natured kind and done every thing in his
power to make us comfortable As soon as beds could be made
down on the floor we went in and laid down My wound had by
this time healed on the outside but was very stiff and the muscles
contracting on the posterior of the bone had drawn it crooked I
could walk only by placing my hands on my knee and throwing
my weight on my hands The first night I slept very well Before
going to sleep a German M. D. came round and dressed all the
wounds he was very severe on wounds in which balls were lodged
trying to get as many balls as he could. He would make a much
better butcher than Dr. The next morning my leg pained me con-
siderable and was swelled considerably Cots were brought in to
day and our beds laid on them Dr. Patee of the 2nd Kansas was
detailed for duty in the hospital he was placed in charge of ward
B the one that I was in The ward accomodated about seventy pa-
tients and was filled with wounded
My wound continued to get worse untill Wednesday the 24th
when it broke and discharged a large quantity of matter I had
by this time procured a pair of crutches and walked about without
using it at all My wound continued discharging at least a pint a
day for two weeks The Dr. felt the ball repeatedly but it was so
deep that he could not extract it By the 10th of Sep. my wound
commenced getting better. It discharged less and my health im-
proved so that I -was able to take considerable exercise on cruches
My leg was still contracted so that I could not walk on it any
From this time till Oc. 20th my wound kept improving I had so
that I could walk a little without crutches but I never went out of
doors without them
Oc. 20th the process of getting the ball out was commenced
The Drs acertaining that it would never get well without First
poultices were put on it to draw the ball to the surface As soon
14. Surgeon Elisha I. Baily.
124 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
as this operation comenced my leg kept getting worse and my
health failed also At the end of two more weeks was having
slight chills nearly every day and was hardly able to get up out of
bed My leg was swelled very much some days discharging very
freely others none at all the wound had increased very much in
size turned black and the matter had a very offensive smell I had
some apprehensions of losing my leg altogether and cared but little
whether I lived or died.
The seventh of Nov. the ball was extracted by Drs. Patee and
Hoffersette[?] It had been lanced the day before by Dr. Patee
and discharged about a pint of bloody matter The morning of
the seventh before daylight I awoke and I could feel the ball lying
in the hole. When it was dressed the Dr touched it with the probe
it was in the flesh about an inch from the surface. He bandaged
it and I went back to bed About ten oclock the Dr. came in with
the instruments ready The ball was taken out of the back side of
my leg about an inch below the body. The first opperation was
to cut the hole larger This caused so much pain that it was de-
cided to give me some chloroform which was brought and sprinkled
on a hankerchief and placed on my nose It caused very severe
pain in my eyes for a moment then I thought that all the black-
smiths in creation were hammering on anvils close to my ears
Then I thought that I was screaming as loud as I could. Then
suddenly became exhausted and fell into a spasm After some time
I felt as if I had just awoke from a sound sleep I had a faint recolec-
tion of the ball being out and I asked the Dr. to show it to me
which he did and recolected the shape of it but this was all like a
dream
When I awoke the dresser was sitting by the side of the bed the
windows raised the wind blowing in very freely two blankets over
me and lying on my back feeling very weak I did not know
whether the ball was out or not and not willing to express ignor-
ance on the point ventured to ask the dresser what kind of a ball
it was he answered a Miss, rifle ball This gave me a great deal,
of satisfaction confirming the hope that I entertained that it was
out He could hardly believe that I had been ignorant of what had
happened all the time On inquiry I acertained that when the Dr.
was drawing the ball I yelled most awfully so as to bring the
women out of the washhouse and friten the pe[r]sons in the vicinity
terribly the sentinel at the gate heard me, and then passed into a
very severe spasm, and remained for a few minutes as if dead Dur-
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 125
ing this time Dr. Bailey was sent for. The window opened and a
blanket taken off another bed and put on me. Chloroform was still
administered whenever any pain was felt in my leg Before noon
I was so far recovered that the constant attention of an attendant
was no longer necessary
When the Dr came in he showed me the ball It was the size of
a Minie musket The point had been mashed very much and one
side of the point had in striking the bone been mashed much more
Then the apearance of the ball indicates that the butt turned end
for end and went to the rear of the bone still making two marks,
by mashing the lead into the cavity of the butt of the ball About
four oclock in the afternoon I was able by the use of crutches to
go to the dressing room and have it dressed The pain had nearly
subsided and did not pain me much for several days but a fever
set in which kept me confined to my bed most of the time I could
smell chloroform occasionally for a few days. I had a diarrhea also
that kept me sick
In two weeks after the ball was taken out I commenced getting
better both in health and my wound By the 1st of Dec my health
was as good as could be expected and my leg had got so that I
could bear my weight on it By the 7th of Dec. I could walk on it
a few feet The eighteenth of Dec. was the first day that I went
entirely without any cruches but did not go any fa[r]ther than I
was obliged to, and that was very little. Chrismas day I went out-
side of the enclosure without crutches for the first time and went
about a qua[r]ter of a mile and back I now comenced thinking of
getting a discharge and leaving the army At that time I had no
hopes that my leg would ever get strait or so that I would ever be
able to do the duties of a soldier again. My wound continued
getting better slowly but surely from this time although but little
change could be discerned in a day as the weeks passed away I
could discover that I was getting better
By New Years the wound had got so much better than I expected
that I had commenced thinking of reinlisting in the army again By
this time no persons remained of the 2nd Kansas at the hospital
but Dr. Patee and myself Lieut. Lindsay came to the hospital to
see us one day and said that the regiment was mustered out of
service the last day of Oc.
Feb. 10th I applied for a discharge from the hospital and a re-
turn to duty. I had never recieved a discharge and could not be
considered as out of service I had determined on going to Leaven-
126 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
worth where the regiment was getting a discharge and reinlisting
in the 2nd Kansas Cav'ry which was in process of organization at
that place The hospital in which I was situated was in the south-
ern part of St. Louis in a very pleasant location for a hospital and
very well conducted the dicipline was strict but not to much so
for the good of sick and wounded soldier [s] The food was very
good most of the time The building was large enough to com-
fortably accomodate five hundred patients and most of the time
there were many more than that there I had the mumps pretty
severe just before I left the hospital Cases of small pox were not
uncommon. Two cases of the disease was in the same ward I was
in till they were broke out and then removed to a hospital in an-
other part of the city Diarrhea and colds the latter occasioned by
the subjects having had the measles first and taken cold before
they fully recovered were the most prevalent diseases at the hos-
pital.
On the 13th I left St. Louis for Leavenworth having obtained a
pass for that purpose. I went by the North Missouri railroad to
Macon city then to St. Jo. by the Hanibal and St. Jo. railroad
North Missouri is much better adapted for agriculture than I had
supposed being plenty of timber and prairie. At nearly every sta-
tion soldiers . . . [The rest of this manuscript is lacking. But
the second narrative picks up Osborne's story six days later, so little
of his account is lost.]
[Enlistment in the Second Kansas Cavalry, 1862]
On the 19th of February 1862 I enlisted in the 2nd Kansas Cav-
alry at Leavenworth City Kansas This regiment was partially or-
ganized out of men that had been in the 2nd Kan Inf which had
been mustered out of service in Oc. 1861 For the purpose of or-
ganizing the new regiment the field officers and Capt Crawford of
the old regiment had been retained in service At the date of my
enlistment four companies had been partially organized and mus-
tered into service and were doing Provost Guard duty at Leaven-
worth City Maj. Cloud had command and was also Provost Mar-
shal of the city I was enlisted by Lieut Pratt and mustered in but
the muster was illegal as no volunteer officer had any right to mus-
ter in men at that time About the first of March the 2nd and Ninth
Kansas regiments were consolidated and was at first called the
9th but soon after the name was changed to the 2nd
On the 8th of March we turned in all our infantry arms and
equipments and drew cavalry equipments, on the 9th drew our
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 127
horses and the 10th left Leavenworth leading the horses that were
to be used by the battalion of the ninth On the llth arrived at
Quindaro a town situated about thirty miles below Leavenworth
on the Missouri river where the 9th had been quartered during the
winter The field officers of the regiment were R. B. Mitchel[l]
Colonel O. A. Bassett Lieut. Col. C. W. Blair J. G. Fisk and
[J. M.] Pomeroy Majors John Pratt Adjutant I belonged to Capt.
Crawfords Co. which was designated as Co. H, S. J. Crawford,
Capt. J. Johnston, 1st Lieut.
We left Quindaro on the 12th passed through Wyandotte crossed
the Kansas river and went through Shawnee town and camped on
the prairie one mile from town naming the camp Camp Blair where
we remained about six weeks We drilled three hours and had a
dress parade every day when tlie weather permited and were under
strict disipline not being allowed to leave camp with out passes,
and they were given to but two men in a Co. daily
[A Raid on Quantrill's Guerrillas15]
On the 22nd of March we drew our carbines they were short
light and inferior arms called the Austrian Carbine At five oclock
in the afternoon of the same day Col. Mitchel ordered three hun-
dred men to be ready to march at six with one days rations with
six rounds of cartriges each that being all the cartriges that could
be procured at that time By the time appointed we were ready
and devided into thre[e] divisions Capt Russell commanding the
detachments of Cos. H, K, and F, Col. Mitchel accompaning this
detachment. We arived at Santa Fee, a town near the Missouri
line about eleven oclock, and the other detachments arived soon
after. Thirty men were sent forward under the command of Maj
Pomeroy to see if he could find the enemy; the rest of the com-
mand stopped fed our horses but did not try to sleep any
Four miles from Santa Fee Maj Pomeroy dismounted his men
and advanced cautiously to a house where the enemy were sup-
posed to be Twenty one horses were tied to the fence in front of
the house bridled and saddled and the enemy were in the house
The enemy were immediately attacked by our men firing into the
windows and doors they returned the fire with spirit severely
wounding Maj Pomeroy in the thigh16 and slightly wounding an-
15. Quantrill and his men had just burned the bridge between Kansas City and Inde-
pendence, Mo. Colonel Mitchell hoped to surround and capture the guerrillas. — War of
the Rebellion, Series I, v. 8, pp. 346, 347.
16. The Union casualties were Major Pomeroy (severely wounded), Pvt. William Wills,
Company D (died of wounds), and two horses killed. Of Quantrill's men, seven were
known to have been killed, and six were taken prisoner. — Ibid., p. 347.
128 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
other man the house being made of logs afforded the enemy shel-
ter but some of our men succeeded in getting to the chimney corner
and setting it on fire The rebels seeing no hope of extinguishing
the flames led by their leader Quantrell threw open the door
rushed out and run for the woods a volley was fired into them as
they came out killing one and mortally wounding three more
Quantrill escaped but it was at first supposed he was severely
wounded but it was subsequently acertained that he was not As
soon as the house was attacked a messenger was sent back to Col.
Mitchel and he brought the command up on double quick but
was too late to take part in the skirmish We scoured the woods in
every direction but could not find Quantrill.
Just before daylight we went back to the house helped ourselves
to what apples we wanted a wagon load of which had been loaded
the night before to take to our camp and sell The dead man was
recognized as an apple peddler who had been in our camp often
Six bodies were said to have been burned in the house At day-
light we mounted and scoured the country around at one house
we found breakfast prepared for several men but they seeing us
took to the woods and escaped Two sabres were found here be-
sides powder flasks, canteens, etc About noon we started for camp
arriving there about four oclock in the afternoon
On the 14th of April Capt Crawford took command of the Co.
he having been sick in Leavenworth since we left there in march
and the Co. was organized H. Nugent was appointed 1st sergeant,
the other noncommissioned officers were Quin, Archer, Romine,
Wilson, and J. P. Hiner, Sergeants; Shannon, Hewitt, Stowell, Nye,
Williams, Myers, Sample, and Simons, corporals They were ap-
pointed by Capt Crawford which created considerable dissatisfac-
tion in the Co. at the time as he had promised many of the Co.
when they enlisted that the non commissioned officers should be
elected by vote On the 15th the Cos. were lettered according to
the rank of the Capts Capt. Crawfords Co. was designated as A
Hopkins17 B Whitten[h]alls C Moores D Gardners E Cam-
eron F Matthews G, Guenthers [Gunthers] H Ayer [Ayres] I
and Russells K.
[En Route to Fort Riley, April, 1862]
On Sunday morning the 20th of April the regiment left Camp
Blair [Mo.] and started for Fort Riley The first day passed
through the towns of Chilicothe and Montecello camped the sec-
17. Company B was later captained by Elias S. Stover.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 129
ond night near Eudora and arived at Lawrence in the afternoon of
the 23rd We drew our revolvers on the 20th They were the
French defacheur pistols and shot metalic cartriges18 but no cart-
riges had at that time been procured We remained at Lawrence
until the 26th While there one hundred and fifty men were de-
tailed out of the regiment for a Co. of artilery and sent to Leaven-
worth Lawrence is situated on the south bank of the Kansas river
and next to Leavenworth in size of the cities of Kansas Steamers
go up there in some seasons of the year
We left Lawrence on the twenty sixth and passed through Big
Springs Tecumseh and Topeka and camped two miles from the
latter place the 28th. Topeka is the capital of Kansas [It] is
situated on the southern bank of the Kansas river The houses are
mostly built of stone and the inhabitants eastern people Timber is
not as abuntant between Lawrence as in the eastern part of the
state We mustered and had a regimental review on the 30th of
April the latter was witnessed by a large number of citezens
The third of May we left Topeka and arived at Fort Riley on the
sixth Our route lay along south of the river at times miles from
it But few houses were to be seen on our route but the land was
fertile and timber scarce Fort Riley is situated at the junction of
the Republican and Smoky Hill Forks which form the Kansas
river A brigade was there preparing to march to New Mexico
which consisted of the 1st 2nd & 7th Kansas and the 12th & 10th
[13th?] Wisconsin regiments which was to be commanded by Brig
Gen'l R. B. Mitchel who had been promoted from Col. of the 2nd
Kansas On the 7th of May the 2nd Kansas was inspected by an
officer of the regular army who condemed our guns and revolvers
and we turned them in and drew sabres
[From Fort Riley to Fort Union, N. M., May 20-July 4, 1862]
About the twentyeth of May orders were recieved from Leaven-
worth detaching the 2nd Kan from the brigade and ordering Genl.
Mitchel to take the brigade to Tennesee Cos A, and D of the 2nd
were detailed for an escort for the paymaster to go to Fort Union
New Mexico On leaving we drew the same revolvers that we had
before but not the same carbines We drew what are called carbine
pistols and old fashioned U. S. Arms Maj Fisk was assigned to the
command of the detachment When we left the regiment there was
considerable contention among the officers about who should be
18. French Le Faucheux revolvers and cartridges were used during the Civil War. —
C. E. Fuller, The Breech-Loader in the Service (Topeka, c!933), p. 226.
130 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Col. But it was settled by Gov [Charles] Robinson who commis-
sioned W. F. Cloud Colonel
On the twenty first of May we started across the plains We
crossed Republican Fork at Fort Riley passed through Junction
City crossed Solomon Fork forty miles from Fort Riley where we
found Col Howe [of the Third U. S. cavalry] and the paymaster
waiting for us Our route lay along the Smoky Hill Fork the land
was fertile and well watered but timber scarce On the west bank
of Solomon Fork we saw the first antelope and prairie dogs On
the twenty fourth we crossed Saline river and camped near Salina
the last town on our route Leaving Salina on the twenty fifth we
passed into the buffalo range seeing several small herds that day
Crossing Smoky Hill on the twenty sixth we saw many large herds
and several were killed their meat is delicious We saw but few
after crossing Cow Creek
At Walnut Creek we saw the first wild Indians they belonged
to the Arapohoe Cheyennes and Pawnees They appeared friendly
came into our camp and were desirous to trade their lariats or
mocazins for hats caps or any other article of clothing or food On
the twenty ninth we arived at Fort Larned where we remained one
day Fort Larned is situated on Pawnee Fork five miles from the
Arkansas river and is built of sods principally From Solomon
Fork to Fort Larned the land is poor water scarce with but little
timber but the roads are good excepting at the fords of the creeks
We left Fort Larned on the first of June taking the cut off route
to the Arkansas river where we arived on the second. The Arkan-
sas river at this point was about one half mile wide very shallow
with a sandy botton and no timber on its banks. We proceeded
up the river on its northern bank to Fort Lyon where we arrived
on the 10th of June. Grass was plenty along the river but until we
arrived within forty miles of Fort Lyon wood could not be procured
and we used buffalo chips for fuel in cooking. At Fort Lyon there
is timber mostly cottonwood. Most of the buildings there are built
of stone.
On the 12th we left Fort Lyon and went up the river to Bents
Fort, and there crossed the river The river was very high and
we were obliged to double teams to get our train over taking nearly
all of the 13th to cross. From a hill near our camp we could see
Spanish Peak, Pikes Peak and the mountain range between them.
The 14th we left the river and traveled twenty one miles and
camped at a place called Hole in the Ground where there was but
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 131
a small supply of wood water or grass On the 15th we traveled
about thirty miles and camped at Hole in the Rock where there
was plenty of wood, but water and grass were not abundant The
16th we arived at Picket Wire near the foot of the Rattoon moun-
tains where we found plenty of wood water and grass Here was
a small settlement The next day we commenced traveling over the
mountains which took two days The 19th Co. D's horses nearly
all stampeded and we left them on the 20th and passing Maxwells
ranche and Rio camped on a smal creek one mile from Rio Co D
overtook us on the twenty first and the twenty second we arived
at Fort Union.
From Fort Lamed but little game is to be seen except wolves
and antelope till you reach Bents Fort but from Bents Fort to Fort
Union there is bear elk deer antelope and wolves in considerable
numbers but shy and not easily killed Fort Union is situated in a
valley about five miles in width hemmed in by rocky bluff on each
side A spring near the Fort supplies the garrison with water
grass is not abundant but what there is is very nutritious and ani-
mals thrive on it. We were placed on duty at the fort and Col.
Howe procured another escort and went on to Fort Craig On the
28th of June thirty men were detailed out of the Co. to go out after
some Comanche Indians who had been commiting some depreda-
tions on Johnsons ranche we took ten days rations packed on Jacks
but not finding their trail returned at the end of three days
[From Fort Union, N. M., to Fort Riley, July 5-
August 25, 1862]
The 5th of July we left Fort Union and started back to Fort
Lyon. The prospect from the summit of the Rattoon mountains
is grand far away to the west the peaks of the snowy range are
in view which are covered with snow at this season at the north
west Spanish Peak rises and has some snow on its summit clouds
are sailing through the air between the mountain tops increasing
the sublimity of the scene When I was in the mountains it rained
nearly every day the clouds follow the watercourses so that nearly
all of the rains fall in the valleys but notwithstanding this all culti-
vated lands require irrigation. The 14th the wind blew very hard
while we were crossing a sandy plain filling the air fill of sand so
thick that we could see but a short distance and making it very
uncomfortable We camped about noon but could not put [up]
any tents as the pins would not hold in the sand and we were
obliged to go down under the banks of the creek for shelter.
132 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
On the 15 we arrived at the Arkansas river but it having swollen
so that we could not cross and we remained there one day when
a large ox train arrived on the north bank and commenced crossing
by doubling teams one wagon had thirty three yoke on it and the
least number that was put on to cross the river was twenty six pair.
As they returned our wagons were drawn over The 18th we ar-
rived near Fort Lyon where we camped several days The 25th
we left Fort Lyon and were joined by a detachment of Co. C, and
proceeded towards Fort Larned taking nearly the same route as
we came arriving there on the 5th of Aug. Cos C, & B, were at
Fort Larned having been ordered there in June
A large number of Indians estimated at thirty thousand were
camped in the vicinity of Fort Larned They had assembled to
recieve their anuities from the government and represented the
Arapahoes Apaches Kioways Cheyennes & Comanches The
Apaches and Cheyennes were at war with the Pawnees and had
some skirmishes while we were at Fort Larned but not near the
Fort. No Indians were allowed to come into our camp but we
went into theirs at will. We exchanged hats clothing coffee &c. for
moccazins and lariats with them They were dressed in Indian
custume but some having procured coats of soldiers wore them
many had their legs naked with a blanket thrown over their shoul-
ders but always wearing the breechclout most of the children are
entirely naked except what is covered with the breechclout. Their
lodges are made of buffalo hides and shaped like Sibley tents and
supported in the cenere by poles which are tied together at the top
by throngs and spread out at the bottom nearly to the covering of
the lodge. They live on game and wild fruit. A few are armed
with guns but most of them armed with bows and arrows. When
away from their camp they are almost always mounted They are
exellent riders and are very skilful with their bows and arrows.
Their horses are inferior animals but they have large numbers of
them While we were there the authorities informed the Indians
that they were to go to Fort Lyon, there to recieve their anuities
from government. That caused some dissatisfaction among them
but they confirmed it to threats. Their manner of moving is novel
The lodges are struck and rolled up in bundles the poles are one
end fastened to the saddle and the other drags on the ground and
the bundles rolled up on these and fastened to the saddle then an
Indian child is placed on top of that to guide the animal. Their
blankets are fastened to pack saddles in such a manner as to form
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 133
a hollow in the centre into which the papooses are placed Their
saddles are very poor and bridles crude Bridles, Sugar, Coffee,
&c. are in good demand with them. A pint of sugar or coffee will
get a pair of moccazins. Twenty four hours after the first Indians
started they were all gone While these Indians remained there was
some fear among citizens and travelers of them. Letters were writ-
ten to the states of their depredations and found their way into the
papers but were all or nearly all false.
The 12th of Aug. Cos A & C were ordered to the Big Bend of the
Ark. river forty miles east of Fort Larned where we arrived on the
14th and remained there several days We were now in the bufalo
range and many of these animals came in sight of our camp and
several were killed. On the oposite side of the river were large
quantities of wild plums; they grow on low bushes on sand hills,
where nothing else grows, but grape vines, are of a bright red
color, and equal in flavor any plums ever I saw The 19th several
men went out on a buffalo hunt but were not very successful. Buf-
falo can be hunted successfully in two ways. One is to be well
mounted, and armed with a pair of good revolvers and run into a
herd and shoot them in the lungs or heart; the other is to be on
foot, and armed with a long range target rifle, and approach them
on the leeward and shoot them while grazing. The 21st we left
the Big Bend and went to Little Arkansas river on our route to
Fort Riley where we arrived on the 25th of Aug. and remained
until the 2nd of September While here several men were taken
sick with fever probably caused by too frequent bathing.
[Part Two, the Concluding Installment, Covering the Period from
September, 1862-July, 1865, Will Appear in the August,
1952, Issue]
Recent Additions to the Library
Compiled by HELEN M. MCFARLAND, Librarian
TN ORDER that members of the Kansas State Historical Society
•*• and others interested in historical study may know the class of
books we are receiving, a list is printed annually of the books ac-
cessioned in our specialized fields.
These books come to us from three sources, purchase, gift and
exchange, and fall into the following classes: Books by Kansans
and about Kansas; books on the West, including explorations, over-
land journeys and personal narratives; genealogy and local history;
and books on the Indians of North America, United States history,
biography and allied subjects which are classified as general. The
out-of-state city directories received by the Historical Society are
not included in this compilation.
We also receive regularly the publications of many historical so-
cieties by exchange, and subscribe to other historical and genea-
logical publications which are needed in reference work.
The following is a partial list of books which were added to the
library from October 1, 1950, to September 30, 1951. Federal and
state official publications and some books of a general nature are
not included. The total number of books accessioned appears in
the report of the secretary in the February issue of the Quarterly.
KANSAS
ANDERSON, ANNA M., Back to Kansas and Other Poems. New York, The Expo-
sition Press [c!951]. 79p.
APPEL, DAVID, Comanche. Cleveland, The World Publishing Company
[c!951]. 224p.
BARKLEY, JOHN LEWIS, No Hard Feelings! New York, Cosmopolitan Book
Corporation, 1930. 327p.
BILL, EDWARD ELIJAH, Prairie Pastels. New York, The Exposition Press
[c!950]. 160p.
BROWN, LENNA WILLIAMSON, Analysis of Realitij; Outline of a Philosophy of
Intelligence. Lawrence, The Allen Press [c!951]. 51p.
BUMGARDNER, EDWARD, Trees of a Prairie State. Lawrence, 1925. 2 Vols.
Typed. Vol. 2, photographs.
BURCH, C. S., PUBLISHING COMPANY, Hand-Book of Greenwood County, Kansas.
Chicago, C. S. Burch Publishing Company, n. d. 30p.
BURMEISTER, MAGDALENE, At the Sign of the Zodiac, and Other Poems. New
York, Liveright Publishing Corporation [c!950]. 200p.
CAIN, GERTRUDE, The American Way of Designing. New York, Fairchild Pub-
lications, Inc. [c!950]. 115p.
(134)
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 135
CALVERT, CECIL, The Price of the Prairie Grass. N. p. [c!951]. 18p.
CAMERON, RODERICK, Pioneer Days in Kansas; a Homesteaders Narrative of
Early Settlement and Farm Development on the High Plains Country of
Northwest Kansas. Belleville, Cameron Book Company [c!951], 145p.
CASEMENT, DAN, "The Real Danger," an Address at the Graduating Exercises
for Army Officer Candidates Class, Fort Riley, Kansas, June 15, 1951. No
impr. [8]p.
CAUGHRON, EDITH SUSANNA (DfiMoss), Maternal Ancestral Lines of Edith
Susanna DeMoss Caughron. N. p., 1950. Mimeographed. 269p.
CLARK, HOWARD C., A History of the Sedgwick County Medical Society. N. p.
[1950]. 69p.
CLUGSTON, WILLIAM GEORGE, Eisenhower for President? or, Who Will Get Us
Out of the Messes We Are In? New York, The Exposition Press [c!951].
118p.
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, KANSAS SOCIETY, Directory of the
Kansas Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1950. No impr.
272p.
, Proceedings of the Fifty-Third Annual State Conference, March 8, 9,
and 10, 1951, Pittsburg, Kansas. No impr. 187p.
DAVIS, EARLE ROSCOE, An American in Sicily. New York, Margent Press, 1944.
127p.
, Masquerade; Poems. Manhattan, Kansas State College Press, 1950.
53p.
DULIN, CHARLES DUNLOP, Sage and High Iron. N. p. [Munsell Press, c!951].
70p.
DUSTIN, FRED, The Custer Tragedy; Events Leading Up To and Following
the Little Big Horn Campaign of 1876. Ann Arbor, Mich., Edwards
Brothers, Inc., 1939. 251p.
ECKDALL, ELLA (FUNSTON), The Funston Homestead. Emporia, Raymond
Lees, 1949. 30p.
EDWARDS, P. L., Sketch of the Oregon Territory or, Emigrants' Guide. Liberty,
Mo., Printed at the Herald Office, 1842. 20p. [Reprint, 1951.]
EDWARDS, RALPH W., The First Woman Dentist: Lucy Hobbs Taylor, D. D. S.
( 1833-1910 ) . ( Reprinted from Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Vol. 25,
No. 3, May-June, 1951.) [7]p.
FIELDS, G. W., Song Eureka (Revised) for Musical Conventions, Singing Schools,
Day Schools, Musical Societies, etc. Omaha, G. W. Fields [c!911]. 96p.
FINNEY COUNTY, KANSAS, HISTORICAL SOCIETY, History of Finney County,
Kansas, Vol. 1. N. p., Finney County, Kansas, Historical Society, c!950.
262p.
FLETCHER, SYDNEY E., The Big Book of Cowboys. New York, Grosset and
Dunlap, c!950. [26]p.
GORDON, MILDRED, and GORDON GORDON, FBI Story. Garden City, N. Y.,
Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1950. 218p.
GRANT, BRUCE, The Cowboy Encyclopedia: the Old and the New West From
the Open Range to the Dude Ranch. New York, Rand McNally and
Company [c!951]. 160p.
[GRANT, FLORENCE B.], comp., Seventy-Five Year History of the Grand Chap-
ter of Kansas, Order of Eastern Star. N. p. [1951]. 70p.
136 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Guide to the New Gold Region of Western Kansas and Nebraska, With Table
of Distances and an Accurate Map. New York, John W. Oliver, 1859. 32p.
(Mumey Reprint, 1951.)
HICKS, JOHN EDWARD, Adventures of a Tramp Printer, 1880-1890. Kansas
City, Mo., Midamericana Press [c!950]. 285p.
HONNELL, WILLIAM ROSECRANS, Willie Whitewater, the Story of W. R. Hon-
nell's Life and Adventures Among the Indians As He Grew Up With the
State of Kansas. As Told by Him to Caroline Cain Durkee. Kansas City,
Mo., Burton Publishing Company [c!950]. 309p.
JOHNSON, LUTHER R., Cabins and Castles. Emory University, Ga., Banner
Press [c!950]. 103p.
KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, Transactions, Vol. 53. N. p., Kansas Academy
of Science, 1950. 599p.
KANSAS AUTHORS CLUB, 1949 Yearbook. [Topeka, Service Print Shop] 1949.
126p.
, 1951 Yearbook. N. p., 1951. 134p.
KANSAS GRAIN, FEED AND SEED DEALERS ASSOCIATION, Kansas Official Direc-
tory, 1951 . . . Hutchinson, Association, 1951. 270p.
Kansas Magazine, 1951. Manhattan, The Kansas Magazine Publishing Associ-
ation, c!951. 104p.
KANSAS STATE BRAND COMMISSIONER, 1950 Brand Book of the State of Kansas
Showing All State Recorded Brands of Cattle, Horses, Mules and Sheep
. . . Topeka, State Printer, 1950. [422]p.
Knights of Columbus: Their First Fifty Years in Kansas. N. p., 1950. 456p.
LINDQUIST, GUSTAVUS ELMER EMANUEL, Indians in Transition; a Study of
Protestant Missions to Indians in the United States. New York, Division
of Home Missions, National Council of Churches of Christ in the U. S. A.,
1951. 120p.
, The Jesus Road and the Red Man. New York, Fleming H. Revell
Company [c!929]. 155p.
LOMAX, JOHN AVERY, Songs of the Cattle Trail and Cow Camp. New York,
Duell, Sloan and Pearce [c!951]. 189p.
LOTT, JULIA, Morning Canticle. New York, Vantage Press, Inc. [c!950], 87p.
McKAY, JACK F., Property Assessment in Kansas. Lawrence, University of
Kansas Press, 1950. 124p. (University of Kansas Governmental Research
Series, No. 7.)
, Recent Trends in City Finance. Lawrence, University of Kansas,
Bureau of Governmental Research [1950], 39p. (Citizens Pamphlet,
No. 4.)
MAJORS, ALEXANDER, Seventy Years on the Frontier: Alexander Major's Mem-
oirs of a Lifetime on the Border. Chicago, Rand McNally and Company,
Publishers, 1893. [Reprinted by Long's College Book Company, Columbus,
Ohio, 1950.] 325p.
MANHATTAN Tribune-News, A Picture Record of the Great Flood of 1951,
Manhattan, Kansas. [Manhattan] The Tribune-News Press [1951]. [48]p.
MARKHAM, WILLIAM COLFAX, Teddy, Moody and Me. N. p. [1951]. [4]p.
MARTEN, WILLIAM IVAN, and BERNARD HERMAN MARTIN, Wild Horse Roundup.
Kansas City, Mo., Tell-Well Press, c!950. 33p.
MENNINGER, FLORA VESTA ( KNISELEY ) , Four Years Through the Bible. Topeka,
Author, C1928-1937. 8 Vols.
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 137
MENNINGER, KARL AUGUSTUS, Amor Contra Odio. Buenos Aires, Editorial
Nova [c!951]. 335p.
MENNINGER, WILLIAM CLAIRE, Understanding Yourself. Chicago, Science
Research Associates, 1948. 52p.
MOLK, SOPHIA, On the Wings of the Wind. Avon, 111., The Hamlet Press
[c!949j. 105p.
NELSON, FRANCIS W., Valet to the Absolute; a Study of the Philosophy of
J. E. Hulme. Wichita, Municipal University, 1950. 30p. (University
Studies Bulletin, No. 22.)
NEWCOMB, REXFORD, Architecture of the Old Northwest Territory; a Study of
Early Architecture in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and
Part of Minnesota. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press [c!950].
175p.
OLMSTEAD, S. R., The Gold Mines of Kansas and Nebraska. New York, n. p.,
1859. 16p. (Mumey Reprint, 1950.)
O'NEIL, KATHRYN FINGADO, Retreat of a Frontier. Los Angeles, Westernlore
Press, 1950. 276p.
PARSONS, WILLIAM B., The New Gold Mines of Western Kansas: Being a
Complete Description of the Newly Discovered Gold Mines. The Different
Routes, Camping Places, Tools and Outfit, and Containing Everything Im-
portant for the Emigrant and Miner to Know. Cincinnati, George S.
Blanchard, 1859. 63p. (Mumey Reprint, 1951.)
RANDOLPH, VANCE, We Always Lie to Strangers; Tall Tales From the Ozarks.
New York, Columbia University Press, 1951. 309p.
REES, GILBERT, I Seek a City. New York, E. P. Button and Company, Inc.,
1950. 316p.
RYAN, TERESA MARIE, A History of the First SO Years of the Kansas Division
of the American Association of University Women. N. p., [1950]. 75p.
SADDLER, HARRY DEAN, John Brown, the Magnificent Failure. Philadelphia,
Dorrance and Company [c!951]. 374p.
SANDERS, MARGARET WEBB, A Cheese for Lafayette. New York, G. P. Put-
nam's Sons [c!950]. 31p.
SHANNON, FRED ALBERT, America's Economic Growth. 3d ed. New York,
The Macmillan Company [c!951], 967p.
SIEGELE, HERMAN HUGO, Carpenters' Tools, Their Care and Maintenance
. . . Wilmette, 111., Frederick J. Drake and Company [c!950]. 156p.
, The Wailing Place. Boston, Chapman and Grimes, Inc. [c!951].
124p.
SMITH, GEORGIA TUCKER, Crybaby Kangaroo, and Other Wee Wisdom Stories.
Lee's Summit, Mo., Unity School of Christianity, 1950. 29p.
SMITH, HOBART MUIR, Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansas.
[Topeka, State Printer, 1950.] 336p.
SONNICHSEN, CHARLES LELAND, Cowboys and Cattle Kings; Life on the Range
Today. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press [c!950]. 316p.
TAFT, ROBERT, Asa Gray's Ascent of Grays Peak. (Reprinted from Transac-
tions of the Kansas Academy of Science, Vol. 54, No. 1, March, 1951.)
[4]p.
10—2826
138 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
, "The Diamond of the Plain." (Reprinted from Transactions of the
Kansas Academy of Science, Vol. 53, No. 3, September, 1950.) [4]p.
TEAR, GRACE, As I Remember Father by Grace Tear, Daughter of Daniel
Gawne Tear, 1831-1900. Typed. 42p.
VALDOIS, INEZ, Around the Calendar in Verse, Art and Story. N. p. [c!950].
47p.
WAUGH, FRANK ALBERT, The Landscape Beautiful; a Study of the Utility of
the Natural Landscape . . . New York, Orange Judd Company,
1910. 336p.
, Landscape Gardening by Edward Kemp. New York, John Wiley and
Sons, 1912. 292p.
The Natural Style in Landscape Gardening. Boston, Richard G.
Badger [c!917]. 151p.
WELLMAN, PAUL ISELIN, The Iron Mistress. Garden City, N. Y., Doubleday
and Company, Inc., 1951. 404p.
WHITE, WILLIAM LINDSAY, Bernard Baruch; Portrait of a Citizen. New York,
Harcourt, Brace and Company [c!950]. 158p.
WILLIAMS, DAISY, Heart-Floss and Gold. Dexter, Mo., Candor Press, c!950.
76p.
WILSON, ROBERT R., and ETHEL M. SEARS, History of Grant County, Kansas.
[Wichita, Wichita Eagle Press, 1950]. 278 p.
THE WEST
ADAMS, SAMUEL HOPKINS, The Pony Express. New York, Random House
[c!950]. 185p.
ALDRICH, LORENZO D., A Journal of the Overland Route to California and the
Gold Mines. Los Angeles, Dawson's Book Shop, 1950. 93p.
BEEBE, Lucius MORRIS, and CHARLES CLEGG, Cable Car Carnival Oakland,
Cal., Grahame Hardy, 1951. 130p.
BELL, JOHN C., The Pilgrim and the Pioneer, the Social and Material Develop-
ments in the Rocky Mountains.. Lincoln, Neb., The International Publishing
Association [c!906]. 531p.
CHAMBERS, HENRY E., Mississippi Valley Beginnings; an Outline of the Early
History of the Earlier West. New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1922. 389p.
DEAN, LILLIAN, This Is Our Land. New York, Vantage Press, Inc. [c!950].
221p.
FREEMAN, LEWIS R., The Colorado River Yesterday, To-Day and Tomorrow.
London, William Heinemann, 1923. 451p.
HAMILTON, JAMES GILLESPIE, Series of Letters Written to His Wife, Cornelia
Bernard Hamilton, During an Overland Trip From Westport, Missouri, To
California; and Return by Steamer Via New York, August 26, 1857 -April 15,
1858. No impr. Mimeographed. 18p.
HARMON, APPLETON MILO, The Journals of Appleton Milo Harmon, a Partici-
pant in the Mormon Exodus From Illinois and the Early Settlement of Utah,
1846-1877. Glendale, Cal., The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1946. 208p.
HUNT, AURORA, The Army of the -Pacific; Its Operations in California, Texas,
Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Plains Region,
Mexico, Etc., 1860-1866. Glendale, Cal., The Arthur H. Clark Company,'
1951. 455p.
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 139
MARSH, JAMES B., Four Years in the Rockies: or, the Adventures of Isaac P.
Rose . . . Giving His Experiences as a Hunter and Trapper in that Re-
mote Region . . . New Castle, Pa., Printed by W. B. Thomas, 1884.
[Reprinted by Long's College Book Company, Columbus, Ohio.] 262p.
MILLER, ALFRED JACOB, The West of Alfred Jacob Miller (1837) From the Notes
and Water Colors in the Walters Art Gallery, With an Account of the Artist
by Marvin C. Ross. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press [c!951].
[254]p.
PAINE, BAYARD H., Pioneers, Indians and Buffaloes. Curtis, Neb., The Curtis
Enterprise, 1935. 192p.
PORTER, CLYDE, and MAE REED PORTER, Ruxton of the Rockies. Norman, Uni-
versity of Oklahoma Press [c!950]. 325p.
Some Southwestern Trails. San Angelo, Tex., San Angelo Standard-Times,
1948. [27]p.
THOMPSON, ALBERT W., They Were Open Range Days; Annals of a Western
Frontier. Denver, The World Pr^ss, Inc., c!946. 194p.
WESTERNERS, DENVER, Brand Book, 1949. Denver, The Westerners, 1950.
309p.
, Los ANGELES, Brand Book, 1949. [Los Angeles, The Los Angeles
Westerners, c!950.] 263p.
WINTHER, OSCAR OSBURN, The Old Oregon Country; a History of Frontier
Trade, Transportation, and Travel. Stanford, Cal., Stanford University Press
[cl950]. 348p.
GENEALOGY AND LOCAL HISTORY
ALBEMARLE COUNTY [VIRGINIA] HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Papers, Vol. 11, 1950-
1951. Charlottesville, Albemarle County Historical Society, 1951. 63p.
ALLEN, WILLIAM G., A History of Story County, Iowa . . . Des Moines,
Iowa Printing Company, 1887. [492]p.
AMERICAN CLAN GREGOR SOCIETY, Year Book Containing the Proceedings of the
1950 Annual Gathering. Washington, D. C., The American Clan Gregor
Society [c!951]. 78p.
American Genealogical Index, Vols. 39-44. Middletown, Conn., Published by a
Committee Representing the Co-operating Subscribing Libraries . . .
1950-1951. 6 Vols.'
A MES, CONSTANCE LE NEVE ( GILMAN ) , The Story of the Gilmans and a Gil-
man Genealogy of the Descendants of Edward Gilman of Hingham, England,
1550-1950. Yakima, Wash. [Shields Rainier Printing Company, c!950].
190p.
BAKER, ELIZABETH (HOPKINS), Mullikins of Maryland; an Account of the De-
scendants of James Mullikin of the Western Shore of Maryland. State Col-
lege, Pa., Author, 1932. 204p.
BASKERVILL, P. HAMILTON, Andrew Meade of Ireland and Virginia; His An-
cestors, and Some of His Descendants and Their Connections, Including
Sketches of the Following Families: Meade, Everard, Hardaway, Segar,
Pettus, and Overton. Richmond, Old Dominion Press, Inc., 1921. 170p.
BAYLES, RICHARD MATHER, ed., History of Newport County, Rhode Island.
. . . New York, L. E. Preston and Company, 1888. 1060p.
140 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
BENTON, ELBERT JAY, Cultural Story of an American City, Cleveland. Part 3.
Under the Shadow of a Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850-1877. Cleve-
land, Western Reserve Historical Society, 1946. 91p.
Biographical History of Preble County, Ohio. Chicago, The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1900. 573p.
Biographical Review . . . Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of
Franklin and Oxford Counties, Maine. Boston, Biographical Review Pub-
lishing Company, 1897. 639p.
Biographical Review Containing Life Sketches of Leading Citizens of Camden
and Burlington Counties, New Jersey. Boston, Biographical Review Pub-
lishing Company, 1897. 531p.
Biographical Review Containing Life Sketches of Leading Citizens of Worcester
County, Massachusetts. Boston, Biographical Review Publishing Company,
1899. 1229p.
BLAISDELL, JAMES ARNOLD, Elijah Blaisdell [1740-1769] and His Descendants
to 1949. No impr. Mimeographed. [99] p.
BODDIE, JOHN BENNETT, Colonial Surry. Richmond, The Dietz Press, 1948.
249p.
BOGUE, VIRGIL T., Bogue and Allied Families. Holly, Mich., Herald Printers,
c!944. [498]p.
BOSTONIAN SOCIETY, Proceedings, Annual Meeting, January 16, 1951. Boston,
Society, 1951. 67p.
BRENNER, ALLEN LEWIS, and BERTHA ANN (BRENNER) FLEMING, Brenner-
James Genealogy. N. p. [1949]. 304p.
[BROUGHTON, CARRIE L.], comp., Marriage and Death Notices in Raleigh Reg-
ister and North Carolina State Gazette, 1846-1855. Raleigh, North Carolina
State Library, 1949. [124]p.
BUNGE, WALTER W., comp., Genealogical Chart or Family Tree of John Gott-
fried Bunge, Hanover, Germany, as of June 1st, 1950. Chart.
CALICO, FORREST, History of Garrard County, Kentucky, and Its Churches.
New York, The Hobson Book Press, 1947. 518p.
CANDLER, JOHN, A Friendly Mission: John Candler's Letters From America,
1858-1854. Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society, 1951. 134p. (Indiana
Historical Society Publications, Vol. 16, No. 1. )
CAUTHEN, CHARLES EDWARD, South Carolina Goes to War, 1860-1865. Chapel
Hill, The University of North Carolina Press, 1950. 256p. (The James
Sprunt Studies in History and Political Science, Vol. 32. )
CHAPMAN, BLANCHE (ADAMS), and CATHERINE LINDSAY KNORR, Marriage
Bonds of Southampton County, Virginia, 1750-1800. N. p., Chapman and
Knorr, 1948. lOOp.
Charlestown Directory for 1782 and the Charleston Directory for 1785. [Rich-
mond, Va., Whittet and Shepperson, 1951.] [24]p.
COMLY, GEORGE NORWOOD, comp., Comly Family in America, Descendants of
Henry and Joan Comly, Who Came to America in 1682 From Bedminster,
Somersetshire, England . . . Philadelphia, Privately Printed, 1939.
1148p.
County of Williams, Ohio. Historical and Biographical . . . Chicago,
F. A. Battey and Company, 1882. 820p.
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 141
Cumulative Index of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vols. 1-40, July,
1897- April, 1937. Austin, The Texas State Historical Association, 1950.
367p.
CUTTER, WILLIAM RICHARD, Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and
Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachu-
setts. New York, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1908. 4 Vols.
DARNELL, CHARLES A., Benjamin Darnell, Fort Darnell and Early Settlements
of Marshall County [Illinois]. A Family History. No impr. 47p.
DAUGHTERS OF COLONIAL WARS, KENTUCKY SOCIETY, Kentucky Pioneers and
Their Descendants. [Frankfort, Ky., Roberts Printing Company] n. d. 460p.
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, MARY LITTLE DEERE CHAPTER,
Genealogical Records, Vol. 2. Port Byron, Illinois, Records of Methodist
Episcopal Church, 1833 to 1900, Congregational Church, 1849 to 1900, and
Extracts From Diary of August Henry Wendt, 1881 to 1900. N. p., 1951.
119p.
, NORTH CAROLINA, Genealogical Register Members and Revolutionary
Ancestors . . . 1890 Through 1947. New Bern, N. C., Owen G. Dunn
Company, 1948. 185p.
DODGE, CHRISTINE HUSTON, ed., Vital Records of Old Bristol and Nobleboro in
the County of Lincoln, Maine . . . Vol. 1, Births and Deaths. [Bruns-
wick, Me., The Record Press] 1951. 780p.
DORSEY, MAXWELL JAY, and others, The Dorsey Family: Descendants of
Edward Darcy-Dorsey of Virginia and Maryland for Five Generations, and
Allied Families. N. p., 1947. 270p.
DRAGOO, DON W., Archaeological Survey of Shelby County, Indiana. Indian-
apolis, Indiana Historical Bureau, 1951. 37p.
DUTCH SETTLERS SOCIETY OF ALBANY, Yearbook, Vols. 25-26, 1949-1951. Al-
bany, n. p., 1951. 49p.
EAST TENNESSEE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Publications, No. 22, 1950. Knoxville,
The East Tennessee Historical Society [c!950]. 206p.
EASTWOOD, ERIC KINGMAN, The Worden Family; an Account of Some of the
Descendants of Peter Worden of Yarmouth, Massachusetts. Pittsburgh,
Pa., Privately Printed, 1951. 20p.
ELY, REUBEN POWNALL, and others, An Historical Narrative of the Ely, Revell
and Stacye Families Who Were Among the Founders of Trenton and Bur-
lington in the Province of West Jersey, 1678-1683, With the Genealogy of
the Ely Descendants in America. New York, Fleming H. Revell [c!910].
445p.
EMORY, FREDERIC, Queen Anne's County, Maryland. Its Early History and
Development . . . Baltimore, The Maryland Historical Society, 1950.
629p.
Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography, Vol. 27. New York, Lewis His-
torical Publishing Company, Inc., 1950. 471p.
ESSEX INSTITUTE, The Essex Institute Historical Collections, Name, Place and
Subject Index of Volumes 68 to 85, 1931-1949. [Salem, Newcomb and
Gauss Company] 1951. 343p.
FRANCIS, CHARLES EDWARD, Francis; Descendants of Robert Francis of Weth-
ersfield, Conn. . . . New Haven, The Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor
Company, 1906. 217p.
142 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
GETZ, NADINE M., We Would Remember; a Near Complete Genealogical Com-
pilation of the Mollat Immigrants of 1833 and 1851. Dayton, Ohio, The
Otterbein Press [c!950]. 264p.
HAMILTON, PHEBE ELLEN (UPTON), Gleanings From Upton Family Records,
June 1,1916. No impr. [32]p.
HE ACOCK, ROGER LEE, The Ancestors of Charles Clement Heacock, 1851-1914,
With an Account of the Descendants of Joel and Huldah Gaskill Heacock.
Baldwin Park, Cal., Baldwin Park Bulletin, 1950. 172p.
HEAGLER, ETHEL CONGER, comp., Conger History, 1664-1941. Cooksville, 111.,
1941. 64p.
, History of Nathaniel White, Hannah Finch White and Their De-
scendants. Cedar Rapids, The Torch Press, 1938. 62p.
HEALD, EDWARD THORNTON, The Stark County Story, Vol. 1, Being the First
76 Scripts Covering the Years 1805-1874 on the Cities, Towns and Villages
of Stark County, Ohio. Canton, Ohio, Stark County Historical Society,
1949. 688p.
, The Stark County Story, Vol. 2, The McKinley Era, 1875-1901.
Canton, Ohio, Stark County Historical Society, 1950. 706p.
HEFFELFINGER, JOHN BYERS, The Heffelfinger Genealogy (Through Philip
Heffelfinger, the Revolutionary Soldier, From Martin Heffelfinger, the Swiss
Immigrant, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1740) N. p.,
1951. Mimeographed. 61p.
HIESTAND, JOSEPH E., An Archaeological Report on Newton County, Indiana.
Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Bureau, 1951. 49p.
HINSHAW, WILLIAM WADE, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy,
Vol. 6, Virginia. Ann Arbor, Mich., Edwards Brothers, Inc., 1950. 1049p.
Historical and Biographical Encyclopaedia of Delaware. Wilmington, Aldine
Publishing and Engraving Company, 1882. 572p.
History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania . . . Chicago, Warner, Beers
and Company, 1885. 1186p.
History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, With Illustrations and Bio-
graphical Sketches of Its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men. Philadelphia,
Williams Brothers, 1878. 259p.
History of Hocking Valley, Ohio . . . Chicago, Inter-State Publishing
Company, 1883. 1392p.
History of Kossuth, Hancock and Winnebago Counties, Iowa . . . Spring-
field, 111., Union Publishing Company, 1884. 933p.
History of the Elkhorn Valley, Nebraska, an Album of History and Biography
. . . Chicago, The National Publishing Company, 1892. 779p.
HODGES, MARGARET ROBERTS, comp., General Index of Wills of St. Mary's
County, Maryland, 1633-1900 ... No impr. Mimeographed. 135p.
HONIG, Louis O., Westport; Gateway to the Early West. [North Kansas City,
Mo., Industrial Press] c!950. 149p.
HUGUENOT SOCIETY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, Transactions, No. 55. Baltimore,
Waverly Press, Inc., 1950. 72p.
ILLINOIS (TER.), The Laws of Illinois Territory, 1809-1818. Springfield,
Illinois State Historical Library, 1950. 386p. (Collections of the Illinois
State Historical Library, Vol. 25. Law Series, Vol. 5.)
Index to the Colorado Magazine, Volumes 1 to 25 (1923-1948). Denver, The
State Historical Society of Colorado, 1950. 296p.
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 143
INDIANA (TER.), GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Journals, 1805-1815. Indianapolis,
Indiana Historical Bureau, 1950. 1106p. (Indiana Historical Collections,
Vol. 32.)
[IOWA STATE MEDICAL SOCIETY], One Hundred Years of Iowa Medicine, Com-
memorating the Centenary of the Iowa State Medical Society, 1850-1950.
Iowa City, The Athens Press, 1950. 483p.
KINSEY, WILLIAM, A History of Jacob Kinsey (Jacob Kintzy) and His De-
scendants. Union Bridge, Md., The Pilot Publishing Company, 1934. 202p.
KLEES, FREDRIC, The Pennsylvania Dutch. New York, The Macmillan Com-
pany, 1951. 451p.
KNOLLENBERG, BERNHARD, Pioneer Sketches of the Upper Whitewater Valley,
Quaker Stronghold of the West. Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society,
1945. 171p. (Indiana Historical Society Publications, Vol. 15, No. 1.)
KNORR, CATHERINE LINDSAY, comp., Marriage Bonds and Ministers' Returns
of Prince Edward County, Virginia, 1754-1810. N. p., Author [c!950].
109p.
LACKEY, WALTER FOWLER, History of Newton County, Arkansas. Independ-
ence, Mo., Zion's Printing and Publishing Company [c!950]. 432p.
LEONARD, LEVI WASHBURN, and JOSIAH LAFAYETTE SEWARD, The History of
Dublin, N. H. . . . Published by the Town of Dublin, 1920. 1018p.
[LEVERETT, CHARLES EDWARD], A Memoir, Biographical and Genealogical, of
Sir John Leverett, KNT., Governor of Massachusetts, 1673-9; of Hon. John
Leverett, F. R. S., Judge of the Supreme Court and President of Harvard
College; and of the Family Generally. Boston, Crosby, Nichols and Com-
pany, 1856. 203p.
Lux, LEONARD, FATHER, The Vincennes Donation Lands. Indianapolis, Indi-
ana Historical Society, 1949. [74]p. (Indiana Historical Society Pub-
lications, Vol. 15, No. 4.)
MACDONALD, HOWARD DAVID, Genealogy: Major Robert Baker and His Pos-
terity; Baker, Askey, Bennett, MacDonald and Other Lineages . . .
N. p., 1922. Mimeographed. 46p.
McGHEE, LUCY KATE, comp., Historical Records of Old Crab Orchard, Lincoln
County, Stanford, Kentucky. No impr. Mimeographed. 2 Vols.
MACLURE, WILLIAM, and MARIE DUCLOS FRETAGEOT, Correspondence of 1820-
1833; Education and Reform at New Harmony. Indianapolis, Indiana His-
torical Society, 1948. [132]p. (Indiana Historical Society Publications,
Vol. 15, No. 3.)
McPHERsoN, HANNAH ELIZABETH (WEIR), The Holcombes, Nation Builders
. . . Their Biographies, Genealogies and Pedigrees. N. p., 1947. 1352p.
MARYLAND, GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Proceedings and Acts, October 1773 to
April 1774. Baltimore, Maryland Historical Society, 1947. 462p. (Archives
of Maryland, Vol. 64.)
Master Tales Diary, a Narrative of Events in the Town of Somersworth (now
Rollinsford) New Hampshire, From 1747 to 1778. No impr. Typed. 155p.
MEADOWS, CLARENCE WATSON, State Papers and Public Addresses, Clarence
W. Meadows, Twenty-Second Governor of West Virginia, 1945-1949.
Charleston, W. Va., [Jarrett Printing Company, 1950]. 432p.
MILLER, ELBERT H. T., Genealogies of Miller and Tillotson; Fraser, Christie,
Smith, Wheeler, by Laura Miller. Scottsville, N. Y., n. p., 1951. 39p.
144 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
MOODY, DALLAS DONALD, Aerial Gunner From Virginia; the Letters of Don
Moody to His Family During 1944. Richmond, Virginia State Library,
1950. 366p.
MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION OF THE UNION, Annual Report, 1950.
[Mount Vernon, The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union,
cl951.] 47p.
MUMFORD, JAMES GREGORY, Mumford Memoirs, Being the Story of the New
England Mumfords From the Year 1655 to the Present Time. Boston, The
Merrymount Press, 1900. 248p.
NATIONAL SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF COLONIAL WARS, Membership List and
Index of Ancestors With Brief Histories and Reports of National and State
Organizations. [Somerville, Mass., Somerville Printing Company, Inc.,
1950.] 486p.
NAY, ERNEST OMAR, Genealogy of the Nay Family, a Record of the Descend-
ants of Jacob Nay of Virginia From 1723 to 1949, With Supplement. N. p.
[c!949]. 512p.
NEW CANAAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Annual, June 1951. New Canaan, Conn.,
The New Canaan Historical Society, 1951. Tip.
NEWCOMB, BETHUEL MERRITT, comp. and reviser, Andrew Newcomb, 1618-
1686, and His Descendants, a Revised Edition of "Genealogical Memoir"
of the Newcomb Family . . . By John Bearse Newcomb . . .
New Haven, The Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor Company, 1923. 1021p.
NEWLAND, ROBERT ELIJAH, and LEON L. NEWLAND, The Newland (Newlon)
Family . . . N. p. [c!946]. 72p.
OAKES, RENSSELAER ALLSTON, comp., Genealogical and Family History of the
County of Jefferson, New York . . . New York, The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1905. 2 Vols.
O'NEIL, CHARLES I., DeWitt C. O'Neil, a Biography and Israel O'Neil, a
Genealogy. Kalispell, Mont., The O'Neil Printers, 1945. 29p.
PALMER, CLARISSA ELIZABETH (SKEELE), ed., Annals of Chicopee Street;
Records and Reminiscences of an Old New England Parish for a Period of
Two Hundred Years. Chicopee, Mass., n. p., 1898. 91p.
Panhandle-Plains Historical Review, Vol. 22. Canyon, Tex., Panhandle-Plains
Historical Society, c!949. 97p.
PARKER, WILLIAM THORNTON, Gleanings From Colonial and American Records
of Parker and Morse Families, A. D. 1585-1915. Northampton, Mass., 1915.
[68]p.
, Great Grandfather's Clock at the Old Parker Homestead, Bradford,
Massachusetts, A. D. 1760. Northampton, Mass., 1913. lOp.
, Lieut. Colonel Moses Parker 27th Regiment of Foot of the Continental
Army . . . Northampton, Mass., 1914. 20p.
Portrait and Biographical Record of Effingham, Jasper and Richland Counties,
Illinois. Chicago, Lake City Publishing Company, 1893. 607p.
Portrait and Biographical Record of Johnson, Poweshiek and Iowa Counties,
Iowa . . . Chicago, Chapman Brothers, 1893. 737p.
Portrait and Biographical Record of Marion and Hardin Counties, Ohio . . .
Chicago, Chapman Publishing Company, 1895. 560p.
ROBBINS, DANA W., History of the Robbins Family of Walpole Massachusetts.
Descendants of William and Priscilla Robbins. Salt Lake City, Robbins
Genealogical Society, 1949. 22 Ip.
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 145
Ross, EARLE D., Iowa Agriculture, an Historical Survey. Iowa City, The State
Historical Society of Iowa, 1951. 226p.
SCALES, JOHN, History of Stratford County, New Hampshire, and Representative
Citizens. Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, 1914. 953p.
SCOTT, GEORGE TRESSLER, The Family of John Tressler and Elizabeth Loy
Tressler. Loysville, Pa., The Tressler Orphans' Home [1949]. 73p.
SELLARDS, ELIAS HOWARD, The Sellards Through Two Centuries. Austin, Tex.,
n. p., 1949. 132p.
SHERMAN, ANDREW MAGOUN, Historic Morristown, New Jersey: the Story of Its
First Century. Morristown, The Howard Publishing Company, 1905. 444p.
Shipleys of Maryland; a Genealogical Study, Prepared by Committees Appointed
At the Shipley Reunion . . . August 29, 1937. [Baltimore, Reese Press,
1938.] 281p.
SIMMONDS, FRANK WILLIAM, John and Susan Simmonds and Some of Their De-
scendants With Related Ancestral Lines. Rutland, Vt, The Tuttle Publish-
ing Company, Inc. [1940]. 222p. "
SIMONS, WILFORD COLLINS, From the Landing of the Pilgrims in 1620, a Brief
But Accurate Genealogy Concerning the Families of Jennie Bessie Gowdy
and Her Husband, Adolphus Ezra Simons ... No impr. 132p.
SOCIETY OF INDIANA PIONEERS, Year Book, 1950. Published by Order of the
Board of Governors, 1950. 127p.
STOUGH, DALE P., comp., History of Hamilton and Clay Counties, Nebraska.
Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1921. 2 Vols.
VAN HOOSEAR, DAVID HERMON, comp., The Pillow, Philo, and Philleo Gene-
alogy; a Record of the Descendants of John Pillow, a Huguenot Refugee
From France. Albany, Joel MunselTs Sons, 1888. 274p.
WAYLAND, JOHN WALTER, Historic Harrisonburg. Staunton, Va., The McClure
Printing Company, 1949. 419p.
, The Lincolns in Virginia. Staunton, Va., The McClure Printing Com-
pany, 1946. 299p.
WILSON, GEORGE ROBERT, and GAYLE THORNBROUGH, The Buffalo Trace. Indi-
anapolis, Indiana Historical Society, 1946. [102]p. (Indiana Historical So-
ciety Publications, Vol. 15, No. 2. )
WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Proceedings One Hundred and Third Annual
Business Meeting Held at Appleton, September 9, 1949. Madison, The So-
ciety, 1950. 79p.
WYATT, WILBUR CARL, Families of Joseph and Isaac Wyatt, Brothers, Who
Were Sons of Zachariah ("Sacker") and Elizabeth (Ripley) Wyatt, of Durant's
Neck, Perquimans County, North Carolina. N. p., 1950. 206p.
YOUNG, WILLIE PAULINE, comp., Abstracts of Old Ninety-Six and Abbeville Dis-
trict Wills and Bonds As on File in the Abbeville, South Carolina, Court-
house. [Greenville, Greenville Printing Company, 1950.] 638p.
GENERAL
ADAMS, LEE M., The Table Rock Basin in Barry County, Missouri. [Columbia,
Mo., 1950.] 61p. (Memoir of the Missouri Archaeological Society, No. 1.)
ALEXANDER, EDWIN P., American Locomotives. New York, W. W. Norton and
Company, Inc. [c!950]. 254p.
AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, Proceedings at the Semi-Annual Meeting
Held in Boston, April 19, 1950. Worcester, Mass., Society, 1950. 160p.
146 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
American Book-Prices Current. Index 1945-1950. New York, R. R. Bowker
Company [c!951]. 1405p.
Americana Annual, an Encyclopedia of the Events of 1949, 1950. New York,
Americana Corporation, 1950, 1951. 2 Vols.
APPLETON, LE ROY H., Indian Art of the Americas. New York, Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, Ltd. [c!950]. 279p.
ARMY ALMANAC, A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States.
[Washington, D. C.] United States Government Printing Office, 1950. 1009p.
AYER, N. W., and SON'S, Directory of Newspapers and Periodicals, 1951. Phila-
delphia, N. W. Ayer and Son, Inc. [c!951]. 1480p.
BAKELESS, JOHN EDWIN, The Eyes of Discovery; the Pageant of North America
As Seen by the First Explorers. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Company
[c!950]. 439p.
BARNOUW, VICTOR, Acculturation and Personality Among the Wisconsin Chip-
pewa. [Menasha, Wis.] American Anthropological Association, 1950. 152p.
(Memoir No. 72.)
BARTLETT, RUHL JACOB, John C. Fremont and the Republican Party. Columbus,
The Ohio State University [c!930]. 146p. (The Ohio State University
Studies, Contributions in History and Political Science, No. 13. )
BOLIVAR, SIMON, Selected Writings of Bolivar. New York, The Colonial Press,
Inc., 1951. 2 Vols.
BROGAN, DENIS WILLIAM, The Era of Franklin D. Roosevelt; a Chronicle of the
New Deal and Global War. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1950. 382p.
( Chronicles of America Series, Vol. 52. )
BROWN, ESTHER E., The French Revolution and the American Man of Letters.
Columbia, The Curators of the University of Missouri, 1951. 171p. (The
University of Missouri Studies, Vol. 24, No. 1.)
BRUCKER, GENE A., Jean-Sylvain Bailly, Revolutionary Mayor of Paris. Urbana,
The University of Illinois Press, 1950. 134p. (Illinois Studies in the Social
Sciences, Vol. 31, No. 3.)
BULEY, ROSCOE CARLYLE, The Old Northwest, Pioneer Period, 1815-1840.
Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society, 1950. 2 Vols.
CARLSON, THEODORE LEONARD, The Illinois Military Tract; a Study of Land
Occupation, Utilization, and Tenure. Urbana, The University of Illinois
Press, 1951. 218p. (Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences, Vol. 32, No. 2.)
CHRISTENSEN, ERWIN OTTOMAR, The Index of American Design. New York,
The Macmillan Company, 1950. 229p.
CLARK, ANN (NOLAN), Little Boy With Three Names; Stones of Taos Pueblo.
[Chilocco, Okla., Chilocco Indian Agriculture School, 1950.] 76p.
, Little Herder in Autumn, in Winter. [Phoenix, Phoenix Indian School,
1950.] 199p.
CLYMER, JOSEPH FLOYD, Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925.
New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. [c!950]. 213p.
COMMAGER, HENRY STEELE, ed., The Blue and the Gray; the Story of the Civil
War As Told by Participants. Indianapolis, The Bobbs-Merrill Company,
Inc. [c!950]. 2 Vols.
COOK, SHERBURNE FRIEND, The Historical Demography and Ecology of the
Teotlalpan. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1949. 59p. (Ibero-
Americana: 33.)
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 147
, and LESLEY BYRD SIMPSON, The Population of Central Mexico in the
Sixteenth Century. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1948. 241p.
(Ibero- Americana: 31.)
, Soil Erosion and Population in Central Mexico. Berkeley, University
of California Press, 1949. 86p. (Ibero- Americana: 34.)
DEBO, ANGIE, The Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma. [Philadelphia] Indian
Rights Association, 1951. 35p.
DELLQUEST, AUGUSTUS WILFRID, United States Coins, a Guide to Values. New
York, M. Barrows and Company, Inc. [c!951]. 187p.
DIPESO, CHARLES C., The Babocomari Village Site on the Babocomari River,
Southeastern Arizona. Dragoon, Ariz., The Amerind Foundation, Inc.,
1951. 248p.
DOLAN, PAUL, The Organization of State Administration in Delaware. Balti-
more, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1951. 154p. (The Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity Studies in Historical and Political Sciences, Series 68, No. 1.)
DRAKE, THOMAS E., Quakers and Slavery in America. New Haven, Yale Uni-
versity Press, 1950. 245p.
Encyclopedia of American Biography. New Series, Vol. 22. New York, The
American Historical Company, Inc., 1950. 306p.
FAULKNER, HAROLD UNDERWOOD, The Decline of Laissez Faire, 1897-1917.
New York, Rinehart and Company, Inc. [c!951]. 433p. (The Economic
History of the United States, Vol. 7.)
, From Versailles to the New Deal; a Chronicle of the Harding-Coolidge-
Hoover Era. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1950. 388p. ( Chronicles
of America Series, Vol. 51.)
FISH, SIDNEY M., Aaron Levy, Founder of Aaronsburg. New York, American
Jewish Historical Society, 1951. 81p. (Studies in American Jewish His-
tory, No. 1.)
FLETCHER, SYDNEY E., The Big Book of Indians. New York, Grosset and
Dunlap, c!950. [26]p.
GALBRAITH, JOHN S., The Establishment of Canadian Diplomatic Status at
Washington. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1951. 119p. (Uni-
versity of California Publications in History, Vol. 4l.)
GOULD, FRANK W., Grasses of Southwestern United States. Tucson, University
of Arizona, c!951. 352p. (Biological Science Bulletin, No. 7.)
HAMILTON, CHARLES EVERETT, ed., Cry of the Thunderbird; The American
Indians Own Story. New York, The Macmillan Company, 1950. 283p.
HARLOW, RALPH VOLNEY, The Growth of the United States. Vol. 2, The
Expansion of the Nation, 1865-1950. Rev. Ed. New York, Henry Holt and
Company [c!951]. 716p.
HIGGINS, RUTH LOVINGS, Expansion in New 'York, With Especial Reference to
the Eighteenth Century. Columbus, The Ohio State University, 1931.
209p. (Contributions in History and Political Science, No. 14.)
Information Please Almanac, 1951. New York, The Macmillan Company
[c!950]. 876p.
INLOW, EDGAR BURKE, The Patent Grant. Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins
Press, 1950. 166p. (The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical
and Political Science, Series 67, No. 2.)
148 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
JABLOW, JOSEPH, The Cheyenne in Plains Indian Trade Relations, 1795-1840.
New York, J. J. Augustin [1951]. lOOp. (Monographs of the American
Ethnological Society, No. 19.)
JACOBS, WILBUR R., Diplomacy and Indian Gifts; Anglo-French Rivalry Along
the Ohio and Northwest Frontiers, 1748-1763. Stanford, Stanford Uni-
versity Press, 1950. 208p. (Stanford University Publications, University
Series, History, Economics and Political Science, Vol. 6, No. 2.)
JEFFERSON, THOMAS, Papers. Vols. 2-4, 1777-1781. Princeton, Princeton
University Press, 1951. 3 Vols.
MACGOWAN, KENNETH, Early Man in the New World. New York, The Mac-
millan Company, 1950. 260p.
MIERS, EARL SCHENCK, The General Who Marched to Hell: William Tecumseh
Sherman and His March to Fame and Infamy. New York, Alfred A. Knopf,
1951. [366]p.
MURDOCH, RICHARD K., The Georgia-Florida Frontier, 1793-1796; Spanish Re-
action to French Intrigue and American Designs. Berkeley, University of
California Press, 1951. 208p. ( University of California Publications in His-
tory, Vol. 40. )
National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. 36. New York, James T.
White and Company, 1950. 573p.
NEVINS, ALLAN, The Emergence of Lincoln. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons,
1950. 2 Vols.
, The New Deal and World Affairs, a Chronicle of International Affairs,
1933-1945. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1950. 332p. (Chronicles
of America Series, Vol. 56. )
, The United States in a Chaotic World; a Chronicle of International
Affairs, 1918-1933. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1950. 252p.
( Chronicles of America Series, Vol. 55. )
Niles' National Register, Vols. 66, 68, 69, 70, 72, March 1844-September 1847.
Baltimore, Jeremiah Hughes, 1844-1847. 5 Vols.
NYE, RUSSEL B., Midwestern Progressive Politics: a Historical Study of Its Ori-
gins and Development, 1870-1950. [East Lansing] Michigan State College
Press, 1951. 422p.
OLSON, OSCAR NILS, The Augustana Lutheran Church in America, Pioneer
Period, 1846 to 1860. Rock Island, 111., Augustana Book Concern [c!950].
397p.
PARSONS, JAMES JEROME, Antioqueno Colonization in Western Colombia. Berke-
ley, University of California Press, 1949. 225p. (Ibero- Americana: 32.)
Philadelphia Bibliographical Center and Union Library Catalogue, Union List of
Microfilms, Revised, Enlarged and Cumulated Edition. Ann Arbor, Mich.,
J. W. Edwards, 1951. 1961p.
PRATT, FLETCHER, War for the World; a Chronicle of Our Fighting Forces in
World War II. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1950. 364p. (Chron-
icles of America Series, Vol. 54. )
PRATT, WALLACE E., and DOROTHY GOOD, World Geography of Petroleum.
[Princeton] Princeton University Press, 1950. 464p.
RAPPAPORT, ARMIN, The British Press and Wilsonian Neutrality. Stanford,
Stanford University Press, 1951. 162p. (Stanford University Publications,
History, Economics and Political Science, Vol. 7, No. 1.)
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 149
RITZENTHALER, ROBERT E., The Building of a Chippewa Indian Birch-Bark
Canoe. Milwaukee, 1950. 46p. (Bulletin of the Public Museum of the
City of Milwaukee, Vol. 19, No. 2. )
, The Oneida Indians of Wisconsin. Milwaukee, 1950. 52p. (Bulletin
of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee, Vol. 19, No. 1. )
SALOUTOS, THEODORE, and JOHN D. HICKS, Agricultural Discontent in the Mid-
dle West, 1900-1939. Madison, University of Wisconsin Press [c!951].
581p.
SCHLESINGER, ARTHUR MEIER, The American as Reformer. Cambridge, Harvard
University Press, 1950. 127p.
STEINER, GILBERT YALE, The Congressional Conference Committee: Seventieth
to Eightieth Congresses. Urbana, The University of Illinois Press, 1951.
185p. (Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences, Vol. 32, Nos. 3, 4. )
STOKES, ANSON PHELPS, Church and State in the United States. New York,
Harper and Brothers [c!950]. 3 Vols.
THINK, Diary of U. S. Participation in World War II. New York, International
Business Machines Corporation, c!950. 374p.
VON HAGEN, V. WOLFGANG, The Jicaque (Torrupan) Indians of Honduras. New
York, Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 1943. 112p.
( Indian Notes and Monographs, No. 53. )
WEISENBURGER, FRANCIS PHELPS, The Life of John McLean, a Politician on the
United States Supreme Court. Columbus, The Ohio State University Press,
1937. 244p. ( The Ohio State University Studies, Contributions in History
and Political Science, No. 15. )
Who Was Who in America; a Companion Biographical Reference Work to
Who's Who in America, Vol. 2. Chicago, The A. N. Marquis Company,
1950. 654p.
WIESEND ANGER, MARTIN W., Grant and Carolyn Foreman, a Bibliography.
[Tulsa] University of Tulsa, 1948. 25p.
WISH, HARVEY, Society and Thought in Early America, a Social and Intellectual
History of the American People Through 1865. New York, Longmans, Green
and Company, 1950. 612p.
World Almanac and Book of Facts for 1951. New York, New York World-
Telegram, c!951. 912p.
YEAR, Mid-Century Edition; 1900-1950. The Dramatic Story of 50 Turbulent
Years in 2,000 Pictures, 100,000 Words ... a Permanent Record of All
the Important National and World Events. [Los Angeles, Year Incorporated,
c!950.] 256p.
Bypaths of Kansas History
THE INDIAN AND His SQUAW
From the White Cloud Kansas Chief, October 15, 1857.
We must not neglect to say something about our dusky neighbors occa-
sionally. We notice that many of them are beginning to dress more after the
style of civilized life than heretofore. One came to town last week, doffed
his blanket and leggings, and purchased a suit of store clothes and a fur cap.
He could not get the hang of them rightly, but straddled about like a three
year old sonny with his first pair of breeches on!
We also learn that some of the warriors are becoming more polite towards
the squaws. They used to ride and make the women walk. But now, when
a man wants to sell a pony, he will put his wife on its back, and mount a
horse himself, and come to town. When he starts home again, he will place
his squaw on the remaining horse, tie the extra saddle behind her, and walk
by her side. But as soon as he gets out of sight of town, he kindly makes
her dismount, and lug the saddle home on her back, while he rides!
THE GOOD OLD DAYS?
Schedule 3 of the U. S. census of 1860 is a report on persons who
died during the year ending June 1, 1860. At the bottom of the
page for Verdigris township, Woodson county, Kansas, the assistant
U. S. marshal wrote:
John Coleman was taken from his house & Shot by a company of Robbers
Common in Southern Kansas Ann Extraordinary Drouth Nothing Growing
and many Many People Leaveing the Country
WHEN WICHITA WAS LESS CROWDED
From the Kansas Weekly Tribune, Lawrence, October 22, 1868.
FROM THE VOLUNTEERS.
CAMP CRAWFORD, WICHITA CITY
October 1st, 1868.
ED. TRIBUNE: We have reached this point, our destination, at last, all right,
with the exception of a few sorefooted animals. Our winter quarters are built
on the banks of the Little Arkansas, about a half-mile from Wichita City.
This town was laid out but recently, and without counting the soldiers, has
about two hundred inhabitants. Of these fifty are single young ladies, and
seventy-five children under ten years of age. The rest are hunters, scouts,
&c. It has one hotel and two saloons, and one trading house and the post
sutler's establishment. Our sutler, Durfee, is from Leavenworth. The build-
ings generally are constructed of hewn logs.
(150)
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 151
We have a dance about once a week, and are now organizing a minstrel
company, for the good of the country.
In addition to our command, one company of the 5th U. S. Infantry is sta-
tioned here, commanded by Captain Barr, who is also commandant of the post.
We have had but one scare since arriving here, which was caused by a
squad of horse thieves attempting to steal our horses, before daylight on last
Thursday morning. The guard discovered them at work and fired on them,
which aroused the camp, and in less than no time the boys were out. As
they were retreating about forty shots were fired at them, but with what effect
is not known. All that could be found the next morning on their trail was a
large jack, wounded in four places.
We are well provided with everything necessary at present, except corn for
our horses, having had none since leaving Council Grove.
We are all enjoying excellent health, and are anxious for active service.
Our company numbers sixty men, all told, having lost five by desertion at Bur-
lingame, and replaced them with five others, who enlisted since we came here.
The deserters, I am sorry to say, are from Douglas county.
Groceries and provisions are plentiful at reasonable prices. Flour is worth
$6 per sack, bacon 27/2# per pound, and fresh beef 9tf.
As the mail is closing, so will I, but will write you again soon, and in the
meantime,
I remain, yours,
WlLL-O'-THE-WlSP.
P. S. All letters to members of our company should be directed to "Co. A,
19th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, care of Capt. S. J. Jennings, Salina, Kas."
CHEWING IN THE SCHOOLROOMS
From the Caldwell Commercial, September 21, 1882.
There is a rule, we mean in school, that has been in vogue as far back as
we can remember. And it is prohibiting the chewing of gum during school
hours. Now we can find no fault with that, or the enforcement of the same,
but it is not very likely that scholars will quit the foolish habit of chewing
gum so long as the teacher tells them it is against the rule, and at the same
time has a wad of tobacco in his mouth that makes it necessary for him to
run to the window every minute to spit. Teachers should set examples for
children that will enoble and elevate them, but this will not. . . .
A PREDICTION THAT CAME TRUE
From the El Dorado Daily Republican, August 15, 1887.
Will A. White, who has been attached to this paper as local scribe for the
past two months leaves for Lawrence Saturday next to resume his collegiate
course. He is a good writer and will some day be a bright and shining light
in the editorial fraternity. The Republican will miss him, and his place will be
very difficult to fill.
Kansas History as Published in the Press
Stories of the Comanche cattle pool, with headquarters in present
Comanche county, were published in The Western Star, Coldwater,
September 28, 1951. The pool, founded by Jess Evans, existed in
the early and middle 1880's. A Comanche pool reunion was held
in Coldwater September 29, 1951.
Installments of Mrs. Oello Ingraham Martin's article, "Father
Came West," have continued to appear regularly in recent issues of
the Girard Press.
The German-Russian settlements in Ellis county were the sub-
ject of an article by Father Matthew Pekari which appeared in the
Hays Daily News, October 5 and 7, 1951, and in the Ellis County
News, October 11 and 18. These settlements recently observed
their 75th anniversary.
"Report From Whistle-Stop, Kan.," by Hal Borland, in the New
York Times Magazine, October 7, 1951, was the title of an article
on Goodland. Chosen as representative of America's political
whistle-stops, the town's history, citizens and businesses were dis-
cussed.
Lillian K. Farrar's historical column has continued to appear in
the Axtell Standard. The Axtell Catholic church was her subject
October 11, 1951. Biographical sketches of pioneer residents of
Axtell and vicinity have appeared as follows: B. P. Redmond, Oc-
tober 25; William C. Ford, January 3, 1952, and James E. and Lewis
L. Kirk, January 10.
A 40-page special edition of the Russell Daily News was published
October 18, 1951, in recognition of Kansas oil progress week. Fea-
tured in the edition were articles on the history and activities of the
011 industry in Russell county.
Biographical information on Pierre Bete, the man for whom La-
bette county is said to have been named, compiled by Wayne A.
O'Connell, was published in the Oswego Independent, October 19,
1951; the Oswego Democrat, October 19, 26, and the Chetopa Ad-
vance, October 18 and 25. Bete, a Frenchman, was a famous guide,
interpreter and hunter who lived in present Labette county for about
12 years. In 1832 Washington Irving was a member of a hunting
(152)
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 153
party which employed Bete as a guide. Irving's comments on the
guide in his Tour of the Prairies, are quoted at length in the article.
The Beloit Daily Call published a golden anniversary edition Oc-
tober 20, 1951. The Call's first issue was published October 1, 1901,
and the first issue of the Beloit Weekly Democrat, the Call's prede-
cessor, appeared September 27, 1878. Histories of the Call and the
Democrat with reproductions of the front pages of the first issues,
and histories of Asherville, Tipton, Hunter, Glen Elder, Cawker
City, Scottsville and Beloit are included in the edition.
A two-column historical sketch by the Rev. John Bauer of St.
Francis Xavier parish at Burlington, was published in The Daily
Republican, Burlington, October 24, 1951. As early as 1859 Catholic
missionaries visited the area and in 1871 Father Heller organized
the parish.
Some of the history of the old Clark county courthouse, built in
1887-1889, was published in the Clark County Clipper, Ashland,
October 25, 1951. The county recently dedicated a new courthouse.
A two-column history of the Cumberland church, near Douglass,
by Rolla F. Murdick, was printed in the Douglass Tribune, October
25, 1951. Another history of the church, written by J. M. Sater-
thwaite in 1941, appeared in the Tribune, November 1. The first
church meeting was in the log-cabin home of John Rodgers in 1876.
The church was organized by the Rev. T. C. Sanberry.
A brief discussion of the part played by Linn countians in the
campaign for "Women's Rights" during the 1850's and 1860's, ap-
peared in the Mound City Republic, October 25, 1951.
"The Eisenhower I Know . . .," by Charles M. Harger, was
printed in The American Magazine, New York, November, 1951.
Harger included in the article General Eisenhower's personal char-
acteristics, incidents of his life in Abilene and, briefly, his political
background.
Brief reminiscences by J. C. Alkire about his boyhood in Kiowa
county, written by Carrie Allphin, appeared in The Kiowa County
Signal, Greensburg, November 1, 1951. Alkire came with his parents
to the county in 1885. A short history of the Greensburg Baptist
church was printed in the Signal, January 17, 1952. The church
was organized in 1894 under the leadership of the Rev. Mr. Shanklin.
11—2826
154 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Articles of historical interest to Kansans published in recent issues
of the Kansas City (Mo.) Star included: "Damon Runyon's Philoso-
phy and Life Reflected in His 'Guys and Dolls/ " by Webster Schott,
November 1, 1951; "Manuscript of Wandering Artist Describes This
Area in 1845-1846," a review of Travels in Search of the Elephant:
The Wanderings of Alfred S. Waugh, Artist, in Louisiana, Missouri
and Santa Fe, in 1845-46, edited by John Francis McDermott, by
John Edward Hicks, December 4; "Doctor [Charles H. Crooks]
From Kansas City, Kansas, Made Many Friends for West in Thai-
land," by John De Mott, December 8; "Unparalleled Journey
Through Alaska Told in Letters of Frederick Funston," by Mrs.
Ella Funston Eckdall, December 27; "Civil War Washington Was a
Boyhood Memory of Kansan [Linton J. Usher] Who Died [Re-
cently] . . .," by Don Huls, January 14, 1952; "Jim Bridger's
Heroic Story Is Brought Home to Kansas Citians by a New Book,"
a review of Louis O. Honig's James Bridger: The Pathfinder of the
West, by John Edward Hicks, January 19; "Through Many Diffi-
culties Kansas Attained 'To the Stars' of Statehood," by Jonathan
M. Dow, January 29; "October Hues of Rural Kansas Colored Polit-
ical Self-Interview by W. A. White," an article by White wherein
he interviews himself for the Star in 1924 while a candidate for
governor, February 29; "Ft. Leavenworth's 125 Years Yield Rich
History for a Pageant," by John T. Alexander, and "The Horseback
Ride That Broke Records and Made History," the story of F. X.
Aubry's six-day ride from Santa Fe, N. M., to Independence, Mo.,
by Henry A. Bundsche, March 9, and "She [Mrs. Lottie Law of
Hill City] Was a Horse-and-Buggy Doctor in Kansas 50 Years Ago,"
by Jessie-Lea M. Williams and John T. Alexander, March 23.
Among articles in recent issues of the Kansas City (Mo.) Times
were: "Neighbors and Crowds From Kansas City Found Good
Times [in 1890's] on Old Kenna Farm [Near Tonganoxie]," by
Albert H. Hindman, September 29, 1951; "Lawyer's [Dean Earl
Wood] Research Establishes Course of Old Santa Fe Trail in
This County [Jackson County, Missouri]," by Henry Van Brunt, Oc-
tober 26; "Memorial to Merton Rice Will Serve Baker Univer-
sity, Where He Studied," by Walter W. Reed, October 29; "Buf-
• falo Chase Was Tops in Excitement in Plentiful Hunting on
Western Plains," by Geraldine Wyatt, November 9; "Famous Men
and Heroic Deeds Recalled by the Names of Counties in Kansas,"
by E. B. Dykes Beachy, December 6; " 1 Swam a Little River and
They Gave Me a Medal,' Was Hero's [William B. Trembly of Kan-
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS
sas] Story of Feat," by Harry Hannon, Jr., January 18, 1952;
"Tragedy of Donner Party Is Recalled by Locale of Snowbound
Streamliner," by Alvin Shayt, January 19; "Pioneer Postal Service
to West Coast a Matter of Fast Horses, High Rates," by Geraldine
Wyatt, February 7; "Abraham Lincoln Voiced in Kansas Ideas That
Would Make Him President," by Albert H. Hindman, February 12;
"Bayard Taylor Entranced by Kansas Scenes During a Rainy Visit
in 1866," by Charles Arthur Hawley, March 7; "Dick Parr, Famous
as Plains Scout, Spent Later Years in Kansas City," by Albert H.
Hindman, March 20, and "Ralph Waldo Emerson's Kansas Visit
Has Been Overlooked by Biographers," by Charles Arthur Hawley,
March 26.
St. Patrick's Catholic church at Chanute was the subject of a brief
historical article in the Chanute Tribune, November 16, 1951. The
first priest, the Rev. Patrick J. Nagle, took up residence at Chanute
50 years ago. The present building was dedicated in 1911.
John S. Swenson recalled many historical events concerning the
Rosedale school, Jewell county, during the 1880's and 1890's, in
"Memories From Rosedale," published in The Jewell County Re-
publican, Jewell, November 22, December 6, 13, 1951.
The history of the First Methodist church of Coffeyville was
sketched in the Coffeyville Daily Journal, November 25, 1951, by
Bette Jan Metzler. The church had its beginning in Old Parker
during the 1860's. The building was moved to Coffeyville in 1875.
The present building was erected in 1908.
Articles in the December, 1951, number of the Bulletin of the
Shawnee County Historical Society, Topeka, included: "Local His-
tory in the Making," a review of Shawnee county events of 1951,
by Earl Ives; "Why Shawnee's Boundaries Changed"; "Underground
Railroad in Topeka," from the reminiscences of Harvey D. Rice; a
biographical sketch of Gasper C. Clemens, by Charles A. Magaw;
part 6 of "The First Congregational Church of Topeka," by Russell
K. Hickman; "What It [Flood] Was Like in 1903," by Paul A. Love-
well; "Friday the Thirteenth," a review of the 1951 flood in Topeka
and Shawnee county, by A. J. Carruth, Jr.; "A Vanished Local In-
dustry [Growing of Seedling Apple Trees]," and a continuation of
George A. Root's "Chronology of Shawnee County."
A brief history of the Caldwell cemetery, by E. A. Detrick, was
printed in the Caldwell Messenger, December 20, 1951. In 1879
156 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
J. U. Huff deeded the original tract to the Caldwell Cemetery Asso-
ciation, and the first burial was made that same year.
Fred W. Warren's account of Barton county's first public Christ-
mas celebration appeared in the Ellinwood Leader, December 20,
1951. The celebration took place the evening of December 24,
1874, in the Ellinwood schoolhouse.
The memoirs of R. W. Akin, concerning early-day life in the vi-
cinity of Hewins, were published in the Cedar Vale Messenger,
December 20, 27, 1951, January 3, 10, 1952. A brief history of
Hewins park by Newton Myers appeared in the Messenger, Janu-
ary 24.
A page-length article on Christmas in Baldwin in 1858 and some
of the history of that period was published in the Baldwin Ledger,
December 20, 1951. At that time the Methodists had established a
college at Baldwin but no buildings had yet been erected.
The Kansas-day issue of To the Stars, January, 1952, published by
the Kansas Industrial Development Commission, featured articles
on the geography, history, agriculture, minerals, transportation and
power, industry, government, people, military installations, recrea-
tion and tourist points of interest in Kansas.
Among articles appearing in the 1952 number of the Kansas Maga-
zine, Manhattan, were: "The Unwilling Bishop," the story of a
Catholic bishop in early-day Kansas, by J. Neale Carman; a bio-
graphical sketch of Henry Thomas Stith, first inventor of caterpillar
traction tread, by Edith Kibbe Bestard; "Wichita at the Turn of the
Century," by Henry Ware Allen; "Kansas Commune," by Henry M.
Christman, and "Drama in the Dustbowl," by Charles G. Pearson.
An account by Col. Harrie S. Mueller of a project to name the
Wichita elementary and intermediate schools for prominent West-
ern and Kansas personalities, appeared in The Westerners Brand
Book, Chicago, January, 1952.
A history of Jefferson county from the Kansas New Era of Valley
Falls, July 1, 1876, has been reprinted in installments in the Valley
Falls Vindicator, beginning January 16, 1952.
The legend of the first American flag with 34 stars to be flown
in Kansas is the subject of an article by Wayne A. O'Connell in the
Chetopa Advance and the Baxter Springs Citizen, January 24, 1952.
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 157
According to the story, the flag was made by Sister Bridget Hayden
of the Osage Mission in 1855 when Kansas was expected to become
the 32d state. Twice the flag was altered when states were ad-
mitted to the Union. During the Civil War the flag was used by
Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt's command. Also by O'Connell is an
article on the first permanent house on the site of present Oswego,
which appeared in the Chetopa Advance, February 21, and the
Oswego Democrat and Independent, February 29. The house was
built by John Mathews in the early 1840's.
A letter by G. W. McClung, Westminster, Md., recalling the
pioneer Catholic families of Jewell and their church, was published
in the Jewell Republican, February 7, 1952. The church was built
in 1879.
An article by James A. Clay on early business ventures in Doug-
lass was printed in the Douglass Tribune, February 7, 1952. Other
reminiscences by Clay of early Douglass appeared in the Tribune,
March 20.
Some of the history of early Wellsville was published in the
Wellsville Globe, February 14, 1952. The Globe, February 28,
printed a brief sketch of LeLoup.
A brief account of the fraudulent organization of Harper county
in the 1870's was published in the February 21, 1952, issue of the
Harper A dvocate.
The Coffeyville Journal, February 24, 1952, published a 126-page
progress edition, featuring the industry, education, agriculture,
building advancement and churches of the community.
A 144-page, 1952 achievement edition was published February
25, 1952, by the Winfield Daily Courier. Included were sections on
history, schools, colleges, clubs, industries and sports of Winfield.
Published in the Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science,
Lawrence, March, 1952, were "A Geographic Study of Population
and Settlement Changes in Sherman County, Kansas," parts 2 and 3,
by Walter M. Kollmorgen and George F. Jenks, and Robert Taft's
editorial on the wildlife of Kansas in the 1870's. The editorial has
been republished in pamphlet form with the addition of accounts
of wildlife from the newspapers of that period.
158 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
A sketch by Otto J. Wullschleger of the Indian Mission school in
present Marshall county was published in the Marshall County
News, Marysville, March 6, 1952. Buildings for the school were
erected in 1855 and 1856 by the Presbyterian board of foreign mis-
sions, and in 1857 the Rev. Daniel A. Murdock arrived to take
charge. In 1858 the mission was abandoned and a year later the
buildings were destroyed by a tornado.
The history of Sharon school, district No. 55, Johnson county, by
M. D. Bartlett, was published in the Johnson County Democrat,
Olathe, March 6, 1952. The original building, believed to have
been erected in 1871, served until 1892 when a larger schoolhouse
took its place. The second building was recently sold to make room
for a new consolidated school.
J. P. Moran's story of the robbery of the Coffeyville banks by the
Dalton gang in 1892, written by Arnold McClure, was published in
the Coffeyville Journal, March 9, 1952. Moran was a tank wagon
driver who assisted in stopping the robbery.
A biographical sketch of the Col. Hooper G. Toler family of the
Wichita area appeared in the Caldwell Messenger, March 17, 1952.
The Toler farm in the early days was famous for its purebred trot-
ters and pacers, and a community called Tolerville grew up around
the farm.
A brief history of the Church of the Brethren, Quinter, was
printed in The Gove County Advocate, Quinter, March 27, 1952.
The church was organized in 1886.
"Hays, Kansas, at the Nation's Heart," by Margaret M. Detwiler,
is the title of an illustrated article appearing in the April, 1952,
number of The National Geographic Magazine, Washington, D. C.
Some of the history and a description of present-day Hays and
vicinity are included in the article.
Kansas Historical Notes
Newly elected officers of the Ness County Historical Society are:
Edna Robison, president; Mrs. Mabel C. Raffington, vice-president;
Mrs. Audra Hayes, secretary, and Mrs. Ada Young, treasurer.
Mrs. C. C. Webb was elected president of the Northeast Kansas
Historical Society at the annual meeting January 9, 1952. Other
officers chosen were: Fenn Ward, vice-president; Mrs. Fenn Ward,
recording secretary, and C. C. Webb, chairman of the finance com-
mittee. The society is the sponsor of the Highland museum.
The Woman's Kansas Day Club held its 45th annual meeting in
Topeka January 29, 1952, with the president, Mrs. Ira Burkholder
of Topeka, presiding. Mrs. W. M. Ehrsam, Wichita, was elected
president. Other officers elected were: Mrs. Douglas McCrum,
Fort Scott, first vice-president; Mrs. E. R. Moses, Sr., Great Bend,
second vice-president; Mrs. Dwight Numbers, Paola, registrar; Mrs.
James L. Jenson, Colby, historian; Mrs. C. W. Spencer, Sedan, re-
cording secretary, and Beatrice Kassebaum, Topeka, treasurer. The
following directors were elected: Mrs. Percy Haag, Holton, first
district; Mrs. C. D. Waddell, Ed wards ville, second district; Mrs.
J. U. Massey, Pittsburg, third district; Mrs. Jessie Clyde Fisher,
Wichita, fourth district; Mrs. Herb Barr, Leoti, fifth district, and
Mrs. L. E. Womer, Agra, sixth district. "Old Opera Houses and
Early Places of Amusement" was the theme of the meeting. District
directors and historians made interesting reports on this subject,
supplemented with programs and pictures. Mrs. James E. Smith,
daughter of the late Sen. Clyde M. Reed, through the historian,
gave an interesting album of pictures of Senator Reed and other
items of interest. These reports, pictures and museum articles were
presented to the Kansas State Historical Society.
John G. Deines was elected president of the Russell County
Historical Society at the annual meeting in Russell January 31,
1952. Other officers chosen were: J. C. Ruppenthal, first vice-presi-
dent; Luther Landon, second vice-president; Merlin Morphy, sec-
retary, and A. J. Olson, treasurer. Mrs. Dora H. Morrison was re-
elected to the board of directors. Landon was the retiring president.
The Scott County Historical Society was reorganized at a meet-
ing in Scott City February 11, 1952, under the sponsorship of the
(159)
160 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Senior Study and Social Club. Officers elected were: Elmer Ep-
person, president; S. W. Filson, vice-president; Mrs. Clarence Dick-
hut, secretary, and Matilda Freed, treasurer. Among the plans of
the society is a history of Scott county.
H. D. Lester was named president of the Wichita Historical
Museum board at a meeting of the board in Wichita March 13,
1952. Other officers elected were: Eugene Coombs, first vice-presi-
dent; Grace Helfrich, second vice-president; Carl E. Bitting, secre-
tary, and Charles K. Foote, treasurer.
Elected to the board of directors of the Finney County Historical
Society at a meeting in Garden City, March 12, 1952, were: Harry
G. Carl, Clay Weldon, John Wampler, Ralph Kersey, Eva Sharer,
Cliff Hope, Jr., Mrs. P. A. Burtis, A. J. Keffer, Dr. L. A. Baugh,
Helen Stowell, Mrs. Josephine Cowgill and C. L. Reeve. Abe
Hubert, principal of the Garden City junior high school, was the
principal speaker at the meeting. Gus S. Norton is president of
the society.
The annual meeting of the Ford Historical Society was held
March 14, 1952. Officers elected or re-elected include: Mrs. Mamie
Wooten, president; Mrs. F. M. Coffman, vice-president; Mrs. L.
Emrie, historian, and Mrs. Marguerite Patterson, custodian.
The work of Mother Bickerdyke in caring for Union soldiers dur-
ing the Civil War and her later activities are related in Cyclone in
Calico— The Story of Mary Ann Bickerdyke (Boston, 1952), a 278-
page book by Nina Brown Baker.
n
THE
KANSAS HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
August 1952
Published by
Kansas State Historical Society
Topeka
KIRKE MECHEM JAMES C. MALIN NYLE H. MILLER
Editor Associate Editor Managing Editor
CONTENTS
PAGE
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886 161
BACKGROUND NOTES ON THE BOURNE LISTER CULTIVATOR,
Patricia M. Bourne and A. Bower Sageser, 183
With a sketch of the Bourne Lister Cultivator, p. 185.
VINCENT B. OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES — Part Two:
September, 1862-July, 1865 . . Edited by Joyce Farlow and Louise Barry, 187
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 224
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 227
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 231
The Kansas Historical Quarterly is published in February, May, August and
November by the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kan., and is dis-
tributed free to members. Correspondence concerning contributions may be
sent to the secretary of the Historical Society. The Society assumes no respon-
sibility for statements made by contributors.
Entered as second-class matter October 22, 1931, at the post office at To-
peka, Kan., under the act of August 24, 1912.
THE COVER
A portion of J. Rowland's sketch, "Council at Medicine Creek
Lodge With the Kiowa and Comanche Indians," from Harpers
Weekly, New York, November 16, 1867. The picture depicts
one of the peace treaty councils held by the United States gov-
ernment with the Plains Indians near what is now Medicine
Lodge in October, 1867. An estimated 15,000 Indians were
present.
Beginning in 1927, and every five years thereafter, a pageant
commemorating the 1867 peace meetings has been given at the
Medicine Lodge peace treaty amphitheater. This year the pag-
eant will be presented on the afternoons of October 10, 11 and 12.
THE KANSAS
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Volume XX August, 1952 Number 3
The Annals of Kansas: 1886
INTRODUCTION BY KIRKE MECHEM
THE first Annals of Kansas was published in 1875 by Daniel W.
Wilder. It was a volume of almost 700 pages of fine print,
which began with the expedition of Coronado and ended with the
year 1874. In 1886, Wilder issued a second edition; a reprint of
the first with eleven years added.
These books were so popular and useful that in later years half
a dozen attempts were made to continue them. A good deal of
time and money went into several of these projects. But the day
of the one-man compilation had long since passed; a fact that was
recognized by the Legislature in 1945 when the first appropriation
was made to the Kansas State Historical Society for the present
work, to begin where Wilder left off.
The Annals committee was composed of Fred Brinkerhoff of
Pittsburg, the late Cecil Howes of Topeka, Dr. James C. Malin of
the University of Kansas, and Justice William A. Smith of the Kan-
sas Supreme Court. Work began July 1, 1945, under the direction
of the editor. Fortunately, it was possible to employ Miss Jennie
Owen to take charge of the compilation. She has done a splendid
job on a manuscript that in the first draft totaled about 1,500,000
words. Now, with her assistant, James Sallee, she is helping edit
it for publication.
The principal sources were Kansas newspapers. It would be im-
possible to make such a thorough compilation in any other state
because in no other state is there such a newspaper collection. Vir-
tually every Kansas paper is on file at the Historical Society. Since
the Annals is a day-by-day record of events, and necessarily brief,
these papers will enhance its value by enabling users to refer di-
rectly to the original and detailed stories.
Not all these papers, of course, were read, but at one time or
another they were nearly all consulted. Three papers were scanned
KIRKE MECHEM, for 21 years secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, is now
the society's editor. He lives in Lindsborg.
"The Annals of Kansas: 1887" will appear in the November issue of the Quarterly.
(161)
162 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
regularly for every day of the forty years of the Annals: 1886 to
1925, inclusive. In this way, state-wide coverage was secured, as
well as freedom from one-paper or one-party news slanting. Among
these papers were the Topeka Daily Capital, the Wichita Eagle, the
Kansas City (Mo.) Times, and the official state paper, whatever it
was. The Kansas Farmer, official organ for farm organizations and
a source of agricultural news, was also read. Items from over the
state were verified in the local papers; a story from Hutchinson,
for example, was checked in the Hutchinson papers.
There were many other sources. Hundreds of volumes in the
Historical Society's library were consulted, among them the official
reports of all state departments, from which the summaries that ap-
pear at the end of each year were compiled. Newspaper stories
dealing with the state's business were checked against these reports.
Other official reports included those of state-wide associations, such
as the Kansas Bar Association, etc.
The most difficult problem was to determine what to include.
At the beginning, three prominent Kansans, two lawyers and one
professor of history, were asked to compile an annals for the same
brief period, each from a different newspaper. There was agree-
ment only on the outstanding (and obvious) events. History is made
up of many occurrences that are not important themselves but in
the aggregate are vital. For example, there are the meetings of
organizations. People organize for countless reasons and nothing
is more illustrative of times and conditions. Obviously, the most
important should be mentioned. But which are important? The
solution was to make brief listings in six-point type of the annual
meetings of most of the state-wide associations. For researchers
who need to know more, the listings will be a guide to the papers
containing the complete stories. The six-point type will save space
and enable the casual reader to skip these hundreds of items.
The goal of the editors was to make the Annals accurate, readable,
comprehensive, concise and unprejudiced — an impossible achieve-
ment, no doubt. It might reasonably be asked, what is compre-
hensive? Manifestly, a forty-year record of Kansas, which will be
a standard reference for perhaps a hundred more, if it is to be worth
anything, cannot be written in a few thousand words. On the other
hand, it must cost as little as possible. The year 1886, printed in
this issue, runs to about 10,000 words. It has been cut from about
20,000 words; that is, in half. It could be reduced to 5,000 words
by sacrificing a great deal that is valuable and most of the life and
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886 163
color. The text, however, represents several editings, based on the
experience of a good many years. Nothing essential has been left
out. This sample is submitted in the belief that the completed work
will give Kansans an accurate, thorough and long-needed history
of the state.
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886
JANUARY 1. — A severe storm, one of a series known as the "Blizzard of '86,"
swept Kansas with rain, turning to ice and snow. It was accompanied by high
winds and below-zero temperatures. Many settlers living in temporary houses,
and cowboys and travelers, bewildered when landmarks and trails were ob-
literated, were frozen to death. Some estimates placed the number at nearly
100. Rabbits, prairie chickens, quail and antelope died. Railroad traffic and
business were paralyzed. Hundreds of men worked with picks and shovels to
clear tracks; it cost several hundred dollars a day to feed snowbound passen-
gers. Food and fuel shortages were serious. Farmers burned corn to keep
warm. Many of the great cattle companies were ruined. It was estimated
that 80 per cent of the cattle in the storm's path were killed; those that sur-
vived were "walking skeletons."
— Twelve carloads of buffalo bones had been shipped from Cimarron since
May, 1885. They sold for $10 a ton and were made into harness ornaments
and cutlery handles.
— George W. Click, Atchison, former Governor, took charge of the Topeka
pension office which served Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Indian territory and
New Mexico territory.
— Fort Scott now had electricity and a street railway.
— Robert L. Downing played in Tally-Ho and A Tin Soldier at the Grand
Opera House, Topeka.
— Food prices in Topeka newspapers included: butter, 20 cents a pound;
eggs, 20 cents a dozen; New York full cream cheese, 15 cents a pound; prunes,
18 pounds for $1; sugar, 14 pounds for $1, and coffee, 8 pounds for $1.
— More than 500 pounds of rabbits were being shipped daily from Osborne.
— The Anti-Monopolist, Enterprise, published a history of Dickinson county.
— The Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Kansas, had 372 posts.
— The State Board of Education met at Topeka.
JAN. 2. — Two wagonloads of slaughtered antelope were shipped from Wal-
lace county to Eastern markets.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Wallace County Register, Wallace; S. L. Wilson, editor and owner;
the first paper in Wallace county.
JAN. 3. — A gang at Wichita attacked Charley Sing and ordered him and
other proprietors of a Chinese laundry to leave town. The Chinese were
promised police protection.
—Judge David J. Brewer in the U. S. Circuit Court held that Henry Brad-
ley, enjoined by the district court at Atchison from selling liquor, was not de-
prived of his rights as a citizen.
JAN. 4. — Adelaide Moore played in A School for Scandal and As You Like It
at the Grand Opera House, Topeka.
JAN. 5. — In Meade county's first election, Meade Center was chosen county
seat. The following officers were elected: county commissioners, Hugh L.
Mullen, John D. Wick and Christian Schmocker; county clerk, M. B. Reed;
164 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
treasurer, W. F. Foster; probate judge, N. K. McCall; register of deeds, C. W.
Adams; sheriff, T. J. McKibben; coroner, Ed E. Buechecker; surveyor, Price
Moody; superintendent of public instruction, Nelson B. Clarke.
— A cougar was shot near Sun City, Barber county.
— The Newton Milling and Elevator Co. was organized with a capital stock
of $50,000. Bernard Warkentin was one of the directors.
— The State Board of Pharmacy met at Topeka.
JAN. 6. — A Chautauqua county farmer received a $50 premium for the best
bale of upland cotton at the New Orleans Exposition. It was grown, ginned
and shipped by Exodusters, Negroes who migrated to Kansas.
Vol. I, No. 1, Frisco Pioneer, Euphrates Boucher, editor and publisher; the first news-
paper in Morton county.
JAN. 7. — The Lindsborg News quoted broomcorn at $280 a ton.
— Kansas had a school population of 461,044.
— The Westmoreland Recorder published a 14-column history of Potta-
watomie county.
JAN. 8. — Charles F. Scott bought the interest of E. E. Rohrer and became
the sole owner of the lola Register.
— The Kansas Democratic Editors and Publishers Assn. met at Topeka.
JAN. 10. — The Sedan Graphic published a political history of Chautauqua
county.
JAN. 11. — The Kansas State Bar Assn. met at Topeka.
— The Kansas Equal Suffrage Assn. met at Topeka.
JAN. 13. — The Cheney Journal and the German-American Advocate, Hays,
were printed on Manila paper because of the snow blockade.
— The Kansas State Board of Agriculture met at Topeka.
— The Kansas Real Estate Agents Assn. met at Topeka. Members voted to ask the
Legislature for $25,000 to advertise Kansas.
JAN. 14. — Indians suffering from the cold annoyed Wichita citizens by beg-
ging admission to their homes.
— Governor Martin was appealed to in the Pratt county-seat war. Residents
of Pratt and Saratoga were armed. Pratt charged that Saratoga had stuffed the
ballot box in the election of October 1, 1885. Although Saratoga received
more votes, county commissioners had decided in favor of Pratt, declaring a
fraud. The county seat had been moved at night and by force from luka to
Pratt. Suit was pending in the Supreme Court.
JAN. 15. — Vol. I, No. 1, Wellington Monitor, J. G. Campbell and Charles Hood, pub-
lishers.
JAN. 17. — Eugene F. Ware stated he became a poet through writing rhymes
advertising the harness business.
JAN. 18. — The Attorney General moved to oust the Leavenworth county
attorney for failure to enforce the prohibitory law. He listed over 130 names
of county saloonkeepers.
— The Western Baseball League was organized at St. Joseph, Mo., with
seven teams including Topeka and Leavenworth.
JAN. 19. — A special session of the Legislature was convened to make a new
apportionment for senators and representatives. Governor Martin asked for
a law providing for arbitration of disputes between employers and employees.
He also called attention to the hog-cholera epidemic which had resulted in
losses estimated at $2,000,000.
— The Kansas State Historical Society met at Topeka.
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886 165
JAN. 21. — Bishop Thomas Vail protested when the rector of St. John's Epis-
copal Church at Leavenworth held "requiem" mass for a suicide.
JAN. 22. — Judge Brewer of the U. S. Circuit Court, in the case of John and
E. Walruff, Lawrence, held that the state could prohibit brewers from manu-
facturing but must pay for property destroyed.
— The U. S. House of Representatives voted to give Mary A. Bickerdyke a
pension for services to the Union army during the Civil War. "Mother" Bick-
erdyke, who lived in Kansas at intervals until her death, served as nurse and
cook, and established army laundries and supervised hospitals. Later she
settled several hundred veterans and their families in Kansas and secured aid
for them when Indians, grasshoppers and drouth depleted their resources.
JAN. 23. — Travelers halted by storms published Vol. I, No. 1, of the
B-B-Blizzard at Kinsley: "Published once in a lifetime by a stock company
composed of the passengers on snowbound trains at this point."
JAN. 25. — The Kansas Assn. of Architects was organized at Topeka. J. G. Haskell, To-
peka, was elected president; H. M. Hadley, Topeka, secretary.
JAN. 26. — David R. Atchison, U. S. Senator from Missouri and "president
for a day," died in Clinton county, Missouri. The city and county of Atchison
were named for him.
JAN. 28. — Two members of a Saratoga raiding party were wounded when
Pratt was attacked during the county-seat fight. The courthouse at luka was
burned.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Plainville Times, S. G. Hopkins, editor and proprietor.
JAN. 29. — The quarter-centennial of Kansas was celebrated at Topeka.
Speakers included Gov. John A. Martin, former Governors Charles Robinson and
Thomas Osborn, Judge Albert H. Horton, Judge James Humphrey, Cyrus K.
Holliday, B. F. Simpson, Dr. Richard Cordley, D. R. Anthony, I., A. P. Riddle,
J. B. Johnson, Samuel N. Wood, John Speer, Daniel W. Wilder, Williams Sims,
Alexander Caldwell and Noble L. Prentis.
— Hamilton county was organized with Kendall as temporary county seat.
J. H. Leeman, Dennis Foley and Lawrence W. Hardy were named county com-
missioners; Thomas Ford, county clerk.
JAN. 30. — Corn was being burned in hundreds of stoves.
— Governor Martin directed the Adjutant General to investigate the Pratt
county-seat conflict.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Our Messenger, official organ of the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union, was published at Topeka; Olive P. Bray, editor.
FEBRUARY 4. — The Supreme Court held that the law attaching Clark and
Meade counties to Comanche county was unconstitutional, affirming the opin-
ion of the Attorney General.
— The Kansas State Eclectic Medical Assn. in extra session at Topeka re-
solved "that the State Board of Health shall not have power to enforce com-
pulsory vaccination, nor to make any rule or regulation governing the practice
of medicine."
FEB. 6. — Timothy hay sold for $5.50 a ton; prairie hay at $5. All farm
products were correspondingly low.
— Eight antelope were captured near Leoti.
FEB. 7. — Pratt county offices and records were returned to luka from Pratt
in accordance with a writ of mandamus issued by the Supreme Court.
166 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
— The Knights of Labor asked Lawrence dealers to stop sales of the Kansas
City Journal. The boycott, a result of the discharge of union printers several
years before, reduced the Journal's circulation at Lawrence nearly 25 per cent.
FEB. 8. — W. F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody presented his "sensational" play, The
Prairie Waif, at the Grand Opera House, Topeka. He was assisted by Buck
Taylor, Western scout, and a band of Indians.
FEB. 11. — The State Board of Charities met at Topeka.
FEB. 13. — Vol. I, No. 1, Hugo Herald, G. W. McClintock, publisher; the first newspaper
in Stevens county.
FEB. 16. — The Royal Arch Masons and the Royal and Select Masters of Kansas met at
Topeka.
FEB. 17. — The Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of Kansas met at Topeka.
FEB. 19. — A joint committee on state affairs, reporting on expenditures on
the east wing of the Capitol, charged favoritism, incompetence, extravagance,
inferior materials and workmanship, and recommended the discharge of the
State Architect and members of the Statehouse commission.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Hope Dispatch, A. M. Crary, editor.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Kiowa County Signal, Greensburg; Will E. Bolton, editor; Milo M. Lee,
publisher.
FEB. 20. — The Legislature adjourned. Acts passed included: Authorization
for district courts to set up boards of arbitration in disputes between manage-
ment and labor; permission to counties and cities to encourage development of
natural resources by subscribing to stock of companies organized for such pur-
poses; provision for the disposition of surplus taxes in the hands of county
treasurers; suppression of obscene literature; prevention of hunting on Sunday;
protection of birds; declaration of May 30 as a legal holiday; provision for the
consolidation of cities; creation of the 22nd, 23rd and 24th judicial districts;
provision for the organization of militia; authorization for county high schools;
regulation of certain joint stock and mutual insurance companies; provision for
a department of pharmacy at the University of Kansas, and the re-creation of
Morton and Seward counties.
FEB. 21. — G. J. Coleman, Mound Valley, arrested on a charge of cruelty for
dehorning cattle, was discharged by the court.
FEB. 23. — The State Reformatory Commission met at Topeka.
— G. A. R., Department of Kansas, met at Wichita.
— The Women's Relief Corps and the Sons of Veterans met at Wichita.
— The Ancient Order of United Workmen met at Topeka.
FEB. 25. — Governor Martin appointed R. C. Bassett, Seneca, judge of the
22nd judicial district, created by the 1886 Legislature. It included Doniphan,
Brown and Nemaha counties. C. W. Ellis, Medicine Lodge, was named judge
of the 24th district, comprising Barber, Comanche, Clark, Meade, and unorgan-
ized Kiowa, counties. Stephen J. Osborn, Wa Keeney, was named judge of the
23rd district, which included Rush, Ness, Ellis and Trego counties and the
unorganized counties of Gove, St. John, Wallace, Lane, Scott, Wichita and
Greeley.
FEB. 27. — Osage City voted $22,000 in bonds to aid the Council Grove,
Osage City and Ottawa railroad, a branch of the Missouri Pacific.
MARCH 2. — The first steel rails of the Kansas, Nebraska and Dakota railroad,
a branch of the Missouri Pacific, were laid near Fort Scott.
— Delegates of the Knights of Labor organized a state assembly at Topeka.
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886 167
MAR. 3. — At Garden City the land office was "packed with new settlers."
— Nathaniel Stickney Goss, ornithologist, returned from Central America
with 43 new species of birds. His collection was valued at $100,000.
— Fourteen women held county offices in Kansas. They were Emily S. Rice
of Harper, county clerk; Jennie Patterson of Davis, Ada E. Clift of Trego, and
Mrs. A. M. Junken of Dickinson, registers of deeds; Gertie Skeen of Barber,
Maggie Kilmer of Chautauqua, Sallie Hulsell of Cherokee, Mary Williams of
Coffey, Mattie Worcester of Graham, Georgianna Daniels of Greenwood, Mrs.
A. C. Baker of Labette, Annie E. Dixon of Lyon, Gertrude E. Stevens of Sher-
idan, and Lizzie J. Stephenson of Woodson, superintendents of public instruc-
tion.
— Barber county organized an immigration bureau.
MAR. 4. — The South Kansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met at
Parsons.
MAR. 5. — The Supreme Court returned the Pratt county seat to luka from
Pratt, pending settlement in the district court.
— Immigrants were pouring into Anderson county, among them a group of
Dunkards bound for Westphalia.
— The Garden City Sentinel advocated dividing Kansas at the 200-mile line
and forming a new state of the western half, with Garden City as the capital.
— Governor Martin issued a proclamation consolidating Wyandotte, Armour-
dale and Kansas City into a city of the first class, called Kansas City. Officials
elected were: T. F. Hannan, mayor; John J. Moffitt, clerk; Frank S. Merstetter,
treasurer; W. S. Carroll, attorney; J. H. Lasley, engineer; John Wren, street
commissioner; J. K. Paul, fire marshal; John Sheehan, marshal; M. J. Manning,
police judge; Charles Bohl, W. T. Brown, William Clow, Edward Daniels,
Thomas Fleming, Charles Haines, Samuel McConnell, James Phillips, Cornelius
Butler and J. C. Martin, councilmen.
— Kenneth and Hoxie, Sheridan county, were consolidated.
MAR. 8. — About 250 Missouri Pacific shop employees at Atchison struck in
protest against the Gould system.
MAR. 9. — The Independent Order of Odd Fellows grand encampment met at Leaven-
worth.
— The Order of the Eastern Star met at Newton.
MAR. 10. — A colony of 40 families from Berlin, Ontario, arrived at Garden
City.
— Leverett W. Spring, author of Kansas, The Prelude to the War for the
Union, resigned from the University of Kansas. The Topeka Daily Capital com-
mented, "The loss of the professor would be more generally mourned if he had
not attempted to write a history of Kansas."
MAR. 11. — A graveyard ghost in McPherson county turned out to be a man
copying names from tombstones. It was said that the names were going to be
used on a petition for an election to move the county seat to Galva.
— Ferdinand Fuller, member of the first party sent to Kansas by the Emigrant
Aid Co. of Massachusetts, died at his home in Lawrence. He designed the first
University of Kansas building.
— Fort Scott protested when the Kansas, Nebraska and Dakota railroad im-
ported cheap Italian labor.
— The Southwest Kansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met at Mc-
Pherson.
168 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
MAR. 12. — John Maloy wrote a history of Morris county for the Council
Grove Cosmos.
MAR. 13. — Dodge City saloons were closed on complaint of William B.
"Bat" Masterson, peace officer.
— The Attorney General interpreted the act of the Legislature pertaining to
school lands as prohibiting their sale until three years after the organization of
the county in which the land lay.
MAR. 14. — Italians brought to Yates Center to work on the Verdigris and
Independence railroad were withdrawn when citizens protested.
MAR. 16. — A Leavenworth census fraud was exposed. To boom real estate
and secure larger legislative representation, 7,268 names had been added to the
correct return of 22,000.
— The Christian Church convention met at Wichita.
MAR. 18. — The Kansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met at Holton.
— The Kansas Evangelical Assn. met at Willow Springs.
MAR. 19. — Governor Martin and Frank H. Betton, Labor Commissioner,
conferred in Kansas City, Mo., with the governor and labor commissioner of
Missouri, regarding the Missouri Pacific strike. Their proposal for settlement
was accepted by the workers.
— The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad contracted to build 28 miles
of road from Elvira, Chase county, via Bazaar and Matfield Green, to El Dorado.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Veteran Sentinel, Will C. Higgins, editor; the first newspaper in Stanton
county.
MAR. 20. — Paola was lighted by gas from a 310-foot well.
— The U. S. District Court at Atchison granted an injunction to the Missouri
Pacific, restraining strikers from obstructing traffic.
MAR. 22. — Electric lights were turned on at Abilene. "Time will tell," re-
marked the Reflector, "whether it will be to the interest of the city to use the
same to any extent."
MAR. 23. — Kiowa county was organized with Greensburg as temporary
county seat. H. H. Patten, Jacob Dawson and C. P. Fullington were appointed
county commissioners; M. A. Nelson, county clerk.
— Vice President Hoxie of the Missouri Pacific modified the proposals of
Governors Marmaduke and Martin for settlement of the strike. The Knights of
Labor considered the conditions unacceptable, and the strike continued with
several displays of violence.
MAR. 25. — The Northwest Kansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met
at Kirwin.
MAR. 26. — Wano, Cheyenne county, ten months old, had 30 business houses
and 55 residences.
MAR. 30. — Thirty Missouri Pacific engines were disabled by strikers at
Atchison.
APRIL 1. — Cheyenne county was organized with Bird City as temporary
county seat. J. M. Ketcham, W. W. McKay and J. F. Murray were appointed
county commissioners; B. W. Knott, county clerk.
— Strikers at Parsons captured deputies, wrecked engines and disabled ma-
chines in the Missouri Pacific shops. The Adjutant General was authorized to
call out the National Guard.
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886 169
— Hamilton county held its first election; Syracuse was chosen county seat.
Officers elected were: L. C. Swink, W. D. H. Shockey and L. W. Hardy, com-
missioners; Thomas Ford, clerk; Alvin Campbell, treasurer; C. H. Frybarger,
probate judge; John Stanfield, register of deeds; Shade J. Denson, sheriff; John
N. Sloan, coroner; William O. MacKinley, attorney; George W. Earp, clerk of
the district court; John Robertson, surveyor; G. F. Rinehart, superintendent of
public instruction. Kendall, a rival town, charged fraud and appealed to the
Supreme Court. The court threw out the vote of Syracuse township and or-
dered county officers to return to Kendall until the general election in November.
— Hunting antelope with greyhounds was a popular sport in Cheyenne
county.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Hector Echo, C. C. Thompson, editor; the first newspaper in Greeley
county.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Western Odd Fellow, Osborne, a monthly; Topliff and Richey, pub-
lishers.
APR. 2.— The Rev. Philip Krohn, jpastor of the Abilene Methodist Episcopal
Church, confessed to scandal charges which led to his suspension. He was a
member of the State Board of Charities and a former member of the Kansas
State Agricultural College Board of Regents.
APR. 3. — A regiment of the Kansas National Guard was sent to Parsons dur-
ing the railroad strike. At Atchison, trains were running on schedule and 58
men were at work in the shops. Only those who assisted in destruction were
refused employment. Mayor S. H. Kelsey of Atchison said the city would pay
for all damage to Missouri Pacific property within city limits.
— Fifty west-bound prairie schooners were passing through Oberlin daily.
— Greenwood county had over a thousand persons of foreign birth, includ-
ing 219 English and Welsh, 192 Danes, 150 Germans, 125 Irish and 62 Scotch.
APR. 5. — The State Board of Agriculture crop report showed that the wheat
acreage was 16 per cent less than in 1885 because of light yield and low price.
Forty per cent of the wheat sown had been killed by cold and the Hessian fly.
APR. 6. — An anti-dude club was formed at Newton. Fines to be levied in-
cluded $5 for carrying a cane during business hours, $10 for wearing kid
gloves or a plug hat, and $20 for parting the hair in the middle.
APR. 9. — Paola voted $20,000 for building the Kansas City and Southwest-
ern railroad.
— Wichita employed 527 persons in factories. Products included stairs,
sashes, blinds, doors, flour, brick, cigars, crackers, clothing, saddles, harnesses,
shoes, fence, carriages, millinery, pumps, plows, bedsprings, iron, marble and
stone.
— Thousands of trees were being planted on timber claims in Kearney county.
— The Santa Fe reduced railroad rates to California to $12 first class, $7
second class.
— George C. Ropes, Topeka, was appointed Statehouse architect and J. P.
Parnham, Lawrence, superintendent of construction.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Gove County Gazette, Gove City; Ralph L. Crisswell, editor and pro-
prietor.
APR. 12. — The Supreme Court ordered a public canvass of the Hamilton
county-seat election of April 1 at Kendall.
170 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
APR. 14. — A tornado struck Nemaha, Pottawatomie and Wilson counties,
causing much property damage.
— The Rock Island took over all stock and franchises of the Omaha, Abilene
and Wichita railroad.
APR. 15. — The Wichita Academy was renamed Lewis Academy in honor of
Hiram W. Lewis, who gave $25,000 for a permanent endowment fund.
APR. 16. — Two steel barges were completed at Arkansas City for navigation
on the Arkansas river. They were towed by the steamboat, Kansas Miller.
— The Hamilton county-seat election was declared illegal. The court or-
dered offices kept at Kendall.
APR. 18. — El Dorado celebrated installation of its waterworks. Special
trains brought visitors from Newton, Fort Scott and Wichita.
APR. 20. — Mrs. Mary Ellen Lease lectured at Wichita on "Equal Suffrage
and Its Influence on Temperance."
— The U. S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Edmund G. Ross, former
U. S. Senator from Kansas, as governor of New Mexico.
APR. 21.— The Santa Fe bought the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe of Texas,
a system with about 800 miles of track.
APR. 23. — Two hundred zinc workers at Pittsburg struck for higher wages.
The top salary for furnace men was $2.25 a day.
APR. 24. — A freight train was wrecked by strikers at Wyandotte. The en-
gineer and fireman were killed.
— William Scully of London, England, now owned more than 70,000 acres
of land in Kansas, largely in Marion, Dickinson, Butler and Marshall counties.
APR. 27. — Clay county voted a $100,000 bond issue to build a Rock Island
extension through the county, the first proposition submitted by the road in
Kansas.
— Ford county voted a $144,000 bond issue for construction of a railroad
from Dodge City to Red Cloud, Neb., by the Chicago, Nebraska, Kansas and
Southwestern.
APR. 30. — Frank Wilkeson, Salina journalist, was the author of "Cattle-
Raising on the Plains," published in Harper's Magazine.
— Governor Martin wrote on "The Progress of Kansas" and Sen. John J.
Ingalls on "National Aid to Common Schools" in the North American Review.
MAY 1. — Work began on a $40,000 building for Bethany College, Lindsborg.
MAY 4. — The Missouri Pacific strike ended in accordance with an agree-
ment reached at St. Louis by the congressional investigating committee and the
Knights of Labor executive board.
— The Kansas State Sunday School Assn. met at Junction City.
— The Kansas State Dental Assn. met at Topeka.
MAY 6. — Fredonia held a calico ball that netted $45 toward the purchase
of a town clock.
— Thousands of plover were slaughtered in Butler county. One hunter
killed 2,000 in one day. Plover sold for 60 cents a dozen in Towanda and $2.50
a dozen in New York.
— The Kansas State Homeopathic Medical Assn. met at Topeka.
— The Social Science Club of Kansas and Western Missouri met at Ottawa.
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886 171
MAY 11. — Greensburg was chosen permanent county seat at Kiowa county's
first election. Officers elected were: J. L. Hadley, J. W. Gibson and B. F.
Gumm, commissioners; J. N. Crawford, clerk; H. H. Patten, treasurer; W. N.
Hankins, probate judge; Frank L. Cruickshank, register of deeds; O. J. Green-
leaf, sheriff; A. L. Bennett, coroner; J. W. Davis, attorney; J. K. Stephenson,
clerk of the district court; O. L. Stockwell, surveyor; W. W. Payne, superin-
tendent of public instruction.
— The Kansas State Eclectic Medical Assn. met at Wichita.
— The Knights Templar grand commandery met at Kansas City.
MAY 13. — Vol. I, No. 1, Eudora News, M. R. Cain, editor and proprietor.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Western Cyclone, Nicodemus; a Negro newspaper; Arthur G. Tallman,
editor. Nicodemus was named for an ex-slave and located by Exodusters 12 miles northeast
of Hill City, Graham county. Population was 333, of which 261 were Negroes.
MAY 14. — The Attorney General ruled that the Police Gazette could not be
sold in Kansas.
— Hamilton county, population 4,000, had ten newspapers.
MAY 15. — The Rock Island purchased the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska
railroad.
— An anti-claim-jumping society was organized in Trego and Graham coun-
ties.
— Montezuma was founded in Gray county.
— Cheyenne county held its first election; Bird City was chosen county seat.
Officers elected were: John F. Murray, John Elliott and John G. Long, com-
missioners; B. W. Knott, clerk; Charles I. Kerndt, treasurer; D. W. Cave, pro-
bate judge; H. E. Kingsley, register of deeds; George W. Reynolds, sheriff;
James A. Scott, coroner; Joseph Crow, Jr., attorney; Edwin M. Phillips, clerk of
the district court; J. A. Hoffman, surveyor; Etta Linn, superintendent of public
instruction.
— The directors of the Kansas State Reading Circle met at Topeka.
MAY 17. — Water was turned into the Eureka irrigating canal for the first
time. It was intended to provide a controlled water supply to farmers in Ford
county. The project was conceived in 1882 by George and J. W. Gilbert, and
work began in 1884. The president of the company was A. T. Soule, the "Hop
Bitters" millionaire of Rochester, N. Y.
MAY 18. — The Kansas State Medical Society met at Atchison.
— The Knights of Pythias grand lodge met at Salina.
MAY 19. — The Seventh Day Adventists met at Topeka.
MAY 22. — Great Bend had 300 buildings under construction.
— The Kansas State Music Assn. met at Topeka.
MAY 26. — N. S. Goss published a revised catalog of his Birds of Kansas.
MAY 28. — Strawberries sold at four cents a quart in Parsons.
— The military cemeteries at Forts Dodge and Lamed were abandoned.
MAY 29. — A directors meeting at Chanute voted to consolidate the follow-
ing railroads with the Chicago, Kansas and Western: Walnut Valley and Col-
orado; Pawnee Valley and Denver; Independence and Southwestern; Emporia
and El Dorado Short Line; Colony, Neosho Falls and Western.
MAY 30. — Over 6,000 attended the dedication of the National cemetery at
Leavenworth.
172 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
MAY 31. — The Fort Dodge military reservation of more than 12,000 acres
was settled by near-by residents. Every quarter section was taken within 24
hours. The government had abandoned the fort several years before.
JUNE 1. — The Grand Opera House, Topeka, was sold to L. M. Crawford,
Topeka, who owned opera houses in Topeka, Atchison, Wichita, and the Kansas-
New Mexico circuit.
JUNE 3. — Lane county was organized with Dighton as temporary county
seat. Joshua Wheatcroft, J. J. Schaffer and G. H. Steeley were appointed com-
missioners.
JUNE 5. — Vol. I, No. 1, Caldwell Weekly Times, D. D. Leahy, editor and publisher.
JUNE 6. — Patrick Fleming, one-time county attorney of Rawlins county,
was hanged by a mob for the murder of five homesteaders.
— The Ancient Order of Hibernians met at Leavenworth.
JUNE 8. — The State Sheriffs' Assn. met at Topeka.
JUNE 9. — The Kansas State Pharmaceutical Assn. met at Emporia.
JUNE 10. — Completion of the Missouri Pacific to Salina was celebrated by
1,500 persons.
— Electric lights were in general use at Clay Center, which claimed to be
the first city in the Republican valley to use electricity.
— The Smoky Hill Editorial Assn. met at Wa Keeney.
— The State Board of Health met at Topeka.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Sherman County Dark Horse, Eustis; J. H. Tait, editor; Tait and Frank
T. Pearce, proprietors.
JUNE 11. — The report of the commission appraising the Salt Springs lands
in Saline, Lincoln, Mitchell, Cloud and Republic counties fixed valuations at
from 50 cents to $50 an acre, totaling about $75,000. When sold, the money
was to go to the State Normal School, Emporia.
JUNE 13. — Street car service was begun at Garden City. The first ride was
free. Cars were designed for 15 persons but could hold 50 when all "hanging
on" room was used.
JUNE 15. — C. C. Olney fenced 3,000 acres in Ottawa county with barbed
wire.
— The first state Negro militia, the Garfield Rifles, was organized at Leaven-
worth.
— The United Presbyterian Church convention met at Topeka.
JUNE 17. — Seward county was organized with Springfield as temporary
county seat. Walter I. Harwood, E. M. Campbell and Edward A. Watson
were named commissioners; J. M. Wilson, clerk.
— The Kansas State Veterinary Assn. met at Topeka.
JUNE 18. — Paola had a free city library of 3,000 books.
— Cimarron drug stores were taxed $700 each annually for selling whisky.
— Seven thousand acres of land adjoining Paola were leased for oil and gas
prospecting.
— Reminiscences of Early Days, a pamphlet by Scott Cummins, was pub-
lished at Canema, Barber county.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Cherry vale Republican, S. L. Smith, editor; L. A. Sheward, publisher.
JUNE 19. — Directors of the fair association met at Topeka and adopted the name, Kansas
Fair Assn.
JUNE 23. — N. S. Goss, ornithologist, discovered that the snowy plover is a
Kansas bird. He secured three specimens in Comanche county.
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886 173
— A branch office of the Louisiana state lottery was located at Topeka.
JUNE 24. — Vol. I, No. 1, Logan Republican, B. F. Coffman, editor and publisher.
JULY 1. — Fifteen thousand persons attended the interstate Sunday School
assembly at Ottawa. Dr. Lyman Abbott of New York spoke.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Little River Monitor, T. J. Robison, editor.
JULY 4. — A colony of Swedes settled in Clay county.
JULY 5. — Gen. John A. Logan spoke at the Methodist Episcopal Assembly
at Lawrence to an estimated crowd of 40,000.
— A Moonlight Boy, a novel by Edgar Watson Howe, Atchison, was pub-
lished.
JULY 7. — The Republican state convention at Topeka nominated the follow-
ing state ticket: John A. Martin, Atchison, Governor; A. P. Riddle, Girard,
Lieutenant Governor; E. B. Allen, Wichita, Secretary of State; Timothy J. Mc-
Carthy, Larned, Auditor; J. W. Hamilton, Wellington, Treasurer; S. B. Brad-
ford, Carbondale, Attorney General; J. H. Lawhead, Fort Scott, Superintendent
of Public Instruction.
— The Kansas and Missouri Press Assn. met at Topeka.
JULY 9. — The American Coursing Club was organized at Topeka.
JULY 14. — The Prohibition party state convention at Emporia nominated the
following state ticket: C. H. Branscombe, Douglas county, Governor; D. W.
Houston, Anderson county, Lieutenant Governor; W. B. Klaine, Ford county,
Secretary of State; C. H. Langston, Douglas county, Auditor; William Crosby,
Jefferson county, Treasurer; W. S. Waite, Lincoln county, Attorney General;
Mrs. C. N. Cuthbert, Sumner county, Superintendent of Public Instruction.
— The State Board of Pharmacy met at Topeka.
JULY 15. — Lane county held its first election; Watson was chosen county
seat. Officers elected were: G. H. Steeley, John L. Schaffer and C. E. Hous-
ton, commissioners; T. J. Smith, clerk; W. H. Lee, treasurer; V. H. Grinstead,
probate judge; Maurice Roche, register of deeds; D. G. McClellan, sheriff; P. B.
Dick, coroner; T. J. Womack, attorney; E. G. French, clerk of the district
court; P. W. Hey, surveyor; Grace Hoover, superintendent of public instruction.
JULY 16. — Hundreds of women and children were engaged in the silk-cocoon
industry. The majority of them were Russian Mennonites in Marion, Harvey,
Sedgwick and Reno counties. Miss Mary M. Davidson, Junction City, wrote a
manual for beginners in silk culture.
JULY 20. — A suit was filed in the Supreme Court to compel the return of
Rush county offices and records to Walnut City from La Crosse.
— Rep. Edmund N. Morrill, Hiawatha, demanded that the Secretary of the
Interior detain Chaco, the Apache murderer of the McComas family in 1883,
until evidence could be furnished to warrant his conviction. Mrs. McComas
was a sister of Eugene Ware, Kansas poet.
JULY 22. — Jacob Stotler sold his interest in the Wellington Press to A. L.
Runyon, veteran newspaperman and father of Damon Runyon.
JULY 25. — The Denver, Memphis and Atlantic railroad reached Norwich.
JULY 26. — Mr. Desmond, U. S. A., a novel with scenes and incidents laid at
Fort Leavenworth, by John Coulter, formerly of the Leavenworth Times, was
published by McClurg's, Chicago.
174 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
JULY 27. — Kansas departments of the G. A. R. and the W. R. C., accom-
panied by the Modoc and Flambeau clubs, left Topeka in 14 railroad coaches
to attend the national G. A. R. encampment at San Francisco.
— Willie Sell, 16, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his fam-
ily at Osage Mission (St. Paul), in March.
— Clay Center was building $15,000 and $75,000 hotels, a $25,000 opera
house, and eight $8,000 brick houses.
JULY 28. — The Wichita Piscatorial Society left in a special car, decorated
with tall corn, to spend a month in the Minnesota lake region.
JULY 29. — The Sheridan county seat was moved from Kenneth to Hoxie,
ending all residence at Kenneth.
— Work began on the Rock Island bridge across the Kansas river at Topeka.
JULY 30. — The steamer Kansas Miller, made a trip from Arkansas City to
Fort Smith, Ark., with a cargo of 100,000 pounds of Kansas flour.
AUGUST 3. — Stevens county was organized with Hugoton as temporary
county seat. John Robertson, H. O. Wheeler and J. B. Chamberlain were
named commissioners; J. W. Calvert, clerk.
— A thousand men were working on the Rock Island between Topeka and
St. Joseph, Mo. Graders were at work on the Santa Fe extension from Arkansas
City to Galveston. The Missouri Pacific was laying track from El Dorado to
McPherson.
AUG. 4. — The Democratic state convention at Leavenworth nominated the
following state ticket: Thomas Moonlight, Leavenworth, Governor; S. G. Isett,
Chanute, Lieutenant Governor; W. F. Petillon, Dodge City, Secretary of State;
W. D. Kelly, Leavenworth, Auditor; L. P. Birchfield, Jewell county, Treasurer;
A. S. Devenney, Johnson county, Attorney General; W. J. A. Montgomery, Clay
Center, Superintendent of Public Instruction.
— The Negro Knights Templar met at Topeka.
AUG. 5. — Seward county held its first election; Fargo Springs was chosen
county seat. Officers elected were: E. M. Campbell, P. W. Kimball and Charles
Mayo, commissioners; Oliver Leisure, clerk; A. T. Ragland, treasurer; L. A.
Etzold, probate judge; George W. Ferner, register of deeds; G. W. Nelley,
sheriff; Dr. C. M. Carpenter, coroner; C. J. Traxler, attorney; W. E. McClure,
clerk of the district court; A. L. Stickel, surveyor; Charles Edwards, superin-
tendent of public instruction.
AUG. 7. — The Topeka Daily Capital listed 44 fairs to be held in the state
during the year.
AUG. 10. — Scott county held its first election; Scott City was chosen county
seat. Officers elected were: H. M. Cranor, C. Garrett and Eugene McDaniel,
commissioners; Charles S. Reed, clerk; W. R. Hadley, treasurer; Thomas Poul-
son, probate judge; C. C. Hadley, attorney; B. F. Griffith, register of deeds;
B. F. Daniels, sheriff; Dr. J. F. Bond, coroner; S. T. Burgess, clerk of the dis-
trict court; William E. Daugherty, surveyor; Miss Lulu Boling, superintendent
of public instruction.
AUG. 14. — Vol. I, No. 1, Little Sand-Pounder, Abilene. It was "devoted to the science
of pounding sand in a rat hole."
AUG. 16. — Vol. I, No. 1, Clay Center Evening Times, D. A. Valentine, editor.
AUG. 18. — The Attorney General ruled that "any woman over 21 years of
age is a qualified voter at a school meeting."
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886 175
— Shawnee county led all others with a school population of 14,505 and an
apportionment of $7,397.55. Leavenworth was second and Sedgwick third.
AUG. 19. — The State Board of Railroad Commissioners reduced freight rates
on wheat and corn five to ten percent.
AUG. 20. — The Supreme Court ordered a canvass of the Seward county
election returns. All votes cast in the "Owl building" at Fargo Springs were
ordered thrown out. The ballots cast at the "wagon box" were to be accepted.
AUG. 22. — Amos A. Lawrence died at Nahant, Mass. He was treasurer of
the New England Emigrant Aid Co. and gave nearly $12,000 toward founding
a Free-State college in Kansas. The sum eventually went to the University of
Kansas. The city of Lawrence was named for him.
AUG. 25. — Samuel N. Wood was kidnaped at Woodsdale, Stevens county.
Hugoton had been declared temporary county seat. Citizens of Woodsdale
wanted to postpone the election, holding that the county did not have sufficient
population to qualify for organization. Wood, the leader of the Woodsdale
faction, was seized by Hugoton partisans and taken on a "hunting trip" to the
Texas Panhandle.
— Street cars began running at Council Grove.
— The Anti-Monopoly state convention opened at Topeka.
AUG. 31. — The Supreme Court issued a writ of habeas corpus ordering the
abductors of Sam Wood to produce his body in court.
— Reno county voted to issue $200,000 in bonds to the Rock Island and
$125,000 to the Fort Smith, Kansas and Nebraska railroad.
— The Geuda Springs, Caldwell and Western railroad was completed to
Caldwell.
SEPTEMBER 1. — Vol. I, No. 1, Broom Corn Reporter, Fort Scott; Solomon Schulein,
manager.
SEPT. 2. — Cove county was organized with Gove City as temporary county
seat. Jerome B. McClanahan, William Stokes and Lyman Raymond were ap-
pointed commissioners; D. A. Borah, clerk.
— The Missouri-Kansas bridge across the Missouri river at Leavenworth
burned.
— The African Methodist Episcopal Church conference met at Topeka.
SEPT. 3. — The Parsons and Pacific railroad grade was completed to Mound
Valley.
— The Denver, Memphis and Atlantic railroad was completed to Coffeyville.
— Sam Wood, who was kidnaped at Woodsdale, August 25, was rescued by
friends.
SEPT. 4. — Vol. I, No. 1, Geuda Springs Crank. It was established for "the elevation of
public morals and horsethieves."
SEPT. 6. — The Western National Interstate Fair Assn. met at Lawrence.
SEPT. 8. — A sugar-cane factory began operation at Fort Scott.
SEPT. 9. — The Kansas, Nebraska and Dakota railroad began work on its
depot at Topeka, laid the first rail in Shawnee county, and had 25 miles graded
and ready for track.
— Stevens county held its first election; Hugoton was chosen county seat.
Officers elected were: J. E. Hunt, J. B. Chamberlain and W. L. Clark, com-
missioners; J. W. Calvert, clerk; C. W. Kirby, treasurer; William Guinn, pro-
bate judge; H. F. Nichols, register of deeds; A. P. Ridenour, sheriff; W. J. D.
176 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Holderman, coroner; J. L. Pancoast, attorney; W. E. Allen, clerk of the district
court; G. B. Teams, surveyor; J. P. Cummings, superintendent of public instruc-
tion.
— The Emporia Normal school board of regents reported that all but 20
acres of the Salt Springs land had been sold for $78,882, which was $3,362
more than the appraised value.
— Nineteen Osage county druggists made 2,812 liquor sales in June. "Rea-
sons for purchase" totaled 215. Indigestion came first, biliousness second.
— The Universalist Church conference met at Seneca.
SEPT. 13. — The enlarged edition of Daniel Webster Wilder's Annals of Kan-
sas was issued. It contained 1,196 pages, the largest book ever printed in the
state. The price was $5 a copy.
SEPT. 14. — The Southern Kansas Academy at Eureka was dedicated and
opened for classes.
— Electric lights were turned on at Junction City for the first time.
— Judge Brewer in the U. S. Circuit Court ruled that the Santa Fe had au-
thority to build through other states and to acquire the Gulf, Colorado and
Santa Fe railroad of Texas.
SEPT. 15. — The first passenger train over the Missouri Pacific extension
traveled from Wichita to Hutchinson.
— Kansas Wesleyan University, Salina, opened.
SEPT. 18. — A Fort Scott oil well yielded six barrels a day with an estimated
value of $8 to $10 daily.
SEPT. 20. — Fifteen members of the Topeka Bicycle Club left on a two-day
cycling trip to Junction City for the state meeting of the League of American
Wheelmen.
— Sherman county was organized with Eustis as temporary county seat.
L. J. Gandy, O. D. Dickey and Rufus Edwards were named commissioners;
J. H. Tait, clerk.
— E. C. Walker, Jr., editor of Lucifer, the Light Bearer, and Lillian Harman,
daughter of his partner, were arrested at Valley Falls on a charge of unlawful
cohabitation. On the preceding day they had contracted a free-love marriage,
the ceremony being performed by Moses Harman.
SEPT. 21. — The Kansas National Guard went into camp at Fort Riley.
SEPT. 23. — A new town on the Rock Island in Brown county was named
Horton in honor of Albert H. Horton, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
— The Coolidge Border Ruffian reported high winds in Hamilton county:
"Two quarter sections of land were blown into this office. Anyone having lost
their claims during this blow can have same by removing the property and
paying for this advertisement."
SEPT. 27. — An estimated 20,000 persons attended P. T. Barnum's circus at
Topeka. "The Greatest Show on Earth" was also scheduled for Junction City
and Emporia.
SEPT. 28. — Thirty Years in Topeka, by F. W. Giles, was published.
— The V/omen's Christian Temperance Union met at Cherryvale.
SEPT. 29. — Central Kansas College opened at Great Bend.
SEPT. 30. — Track-laying began on the El Dorado and Walnut Valley railroad.
— The state assembly of the North American Knights of Labor was organized at Topeka.
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886 177
— Governor Martin issued a proclamation against importation of cattle from
Illinois, Ohio and Canada because of pleuro-pneumonia.
OCTOBER 1. — Larned street cars began running.
OCT. 4. — A woman's suffrage convention at Leavenworth was the first of
11 to be held in the state. Others were at Abilene, Lincoln, Florence, Hutch-
inson, Wichita, Anthony, Winfield, Independence, Fort Scott and Lawrence.
OCT. 5. — The Independent Order of Good Templars met at Topeka.
— The Improved Order of Red Men met at Emporia.
OCT. 6. — The G. A. R. state reunion began at Emporia.
OCT. 7. — The Presbyterian Synod of Kansas met at Emporia.
OCT. 9. — The Chicago, Kansas and Western railroad filed an amended
charter to build and operate 52 lines in Kansas with an estimated 7,274 miles
of track. Capital stock was $154,000,000, said to be the largest of any railroad
company in the country.
OCT. 10. — A colony of 50 persons settled near Coolidge in Hamilton county.
— Wild turkeys were plentiful in Ford and Clark counties.
OCT. 12. — The Southwestern Kansas Exposition was formally opened at
Garden City by Governor Martin.
— Nearly 5,000 men and 3,000 teams were working on the Chicago, Kansas
and Nebraska Rock Island railroad.
— The I. O. O. F. grand lodge met at Topeka.
— The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod met at Waterville.
OCT. 14. — Independence was lighted with electricity.
— E. C. Walker and Lillian Harman, defendants in the "free love case,"
were found guilty and sentenced to 75 and 45 days in jail. They appealed to
the Supreme Court.
— The Kansas Society of Friends met at Lawrence.
OCT. 17. — Topeka's steam brickyard, with a capacity of 50,000 bricks daily,
was in operation.
OCT. 18. — The Topeka pension agency was said to be the fourth largest in
the nation, with 26,000 names on the rolls.
OCT. 19. — Gove county held its first election; Gove City was chosen county
seat. Officers elected were: Lyman Raymond, John W. Campbell and James
Hamilton, commissioners; D. A. Borah, clerk; F. F. Wright, treasurer; J. H.
Jones, probate judge; L. F. Jones, register of deeds; J. W. Hopkins, sheriff;
W. H. Crater, coroner; P. J. Cavanaugh, attorney; William Murphy, clerk of
the district court; F. B. Cope, surveyor; G. G. Lehmer, superintendent of public
instruction.
OCT. 21. — Republicans praised Charles Curtis as the most successful county
attorney in the state. The Topeka Daily Capital said "the people of Shawnee
county are proud of their faithful son. He did his duty despite the jeers and
threats of the whisky element."
— Partisans of Kendall swore out warrants for the arrest of members of the
Hamilton county election board. They were arraigned at Kendall and denied
bail. A writ of habeas corpus was secured and the men were escorted home
by the sheriff and citizens.
— The General Association of Congregational Ministers and Churches of Kansas met at
Topeka.
13—3879
178 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
OCT. 23.— Holbrook Hall, gift of Miss Mary Holbrook of Holbrook, Mass.,
and Boswell Hall, gift of Charles Boswell of West Hartford, Conn., were dedi-
cated at Washburn College.
OCT. 24. — The Sixth Kansas cavalry held a reunion at Pleasanton.
OCT. 26. — The American Woman's Suffrage Assn. met at Topeka. Delegates included
Julia Ward Howe, Lucy Stone and Susan B. Anthony.
OCT. 27. — The Kansas Anti-Horse Thief Assn. met at Parsons.
NOVEMBER 1. — The Adjutant General authorized a Negro National Guard
company at Topeka.
— St. Aloysius' Catholic Church was dedicated at Wichita. It cost $75,000.
— The Kansas Central Elevator Co. purchased the "largest cornsheller in the
world," invented by Kansas men.
Nov. 2. — Garden City organized a Law and Order League to aid in enforc-
ing the prohibitory law.
— A settlement of broomcorn growers from Illinois was established near
Garden City.
— The peanut crop in Kearney county averaged 30 bushels per acre.
— The general election was held. For governor, John A. Martin, Repub-
lican, defeated Thomas Moonlight by about 34,000 votes. Other state officers
elected were: A. P. Riddle, Girard, Lieutenant Governor; E. B. Allen, Wichita,
Secretary of State; Timothy J. McCarthy, Lamed, Auditor; J. W. Hamilton,
Wellington, Treasurer; S. B. Bradford, Carbondale, Attorney General; J. H.
Lawhead, Fort Scott, Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Nov. 3. — Vol. I, No. 1, Ford County Republican, Dodge City; Rush E. Deardoff and
M. W. Sutton, editors and publishers.
Nov. 4. — The Young Men's Christian Assn. of Kansas met at Ottawa.
Nov. 5. — Fifty-six prisoners in the state penitentiary were under death
sentence.
— Marley K. Kittleman, Harper, defeated Charles K. Gibson in a foot race
at Wichita that attracted sportsmen from New York, San Francisco and other
cities. Betting was said to involve more than $100,000. Kittleman's time for
the 125 yards was 14.25 seconds.
— The Young Women's Christian Assn. of Kansas held its first meeting at Ottawa in
connection with the Y. M. C. A. meeting. Miss Anna S. Campbell, Fort Scott, was elected
president; Miss May L. Parker, Topeka, secretary.
Nov. 6. — The Sterling syrup works closed for the season after making over
40,000 gallons.
— Hamilton county commissioners threw out the votes of an entire precinct
because of fraud and ordered the records moved to Syracuse. An armed mob
at Kendall threatened to shoot anyone attempting to remove them.
Nov. 8. — Sam Purple was hanged by a mob near Jetmore for the murder
of his wife and two children.
— Sherman county held its first election; Eustis was chosen county seat.
Officers elected were: C. E. Bennett, John Bray and E. L. Lyons, commis-
sioners; G. W. Benson, clerk; J. E. Rule, treasurer; Lewis E. Tobias, probate
judge; E. W. Penny, register of deeds; R. G. Albright, sheriff; A. E. Tice, cor-
oner; W. K. Brown, attorney; A. E. Keller, clerk of the district court; F. S.
Palmer, superintendent of public instruction.
Nov. 9. — The Supreme Court ordered Hamilton county commissioners to
canvass the vote in Coombs precinct, thrown out three days before.
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886 179
Nov. 16. — Snow Hall, K. U.'s new natural history building, was dedicated.
— Dodge City voted a $140,000 bond issue for the Denver, Memphis and
Atlantic railroad extension to Kingman.
— Chase county voted an $80,000 bond issue for the Chicago, Kansas and
Western railroad.
Nov. 17. — Governor Martin designated Richfield as temporary county seat
of Morton county and named Frank Robinson, D. D. Sayer and James McClain
as county commissioners; E. F. Henderson, clerk.
— The Missouri Valley Unitarian Church conference met at Topeka.
— The Kansas Academy of Science met at Emporia.
Nov. 19. — Gas was found at Beloit at a depth of 145 feet.
Nov. 25. — A 22-inch coal vein was struck near Admire City, a new town
on the Missouri Pacific.
Nov. 26. — The Rock Island had 1,000 men and 300 teams working near
Hutchinson.
Nov. 27. — Nearly nine-tenths of "the counties voted railroad bonds during
the year. One state officer commented: "The tendency of some of the new
counties to rush headlong into debt is alarming. It will bankrupt them. Some-
thing must be done by the Legislature to prevent this reckless voting of bonds."
Nov. 29. — The first engine and caboose on the Kansas, Pacific and Western
railroad reached Pratt.
— There were 1,667 post offices in Kansas. Seventy-five had been discon-
tinued during the year and 180 established. Names changed included: Bangor,
Coffey county, to Gridley; Barnard, Linn, to Boicourt; Bismarck, Wabaunsee,
to Halifax; Blue Mound, Linn, to Bluemound; Brandley, Seward, to Richfield,
Morton; Bridge, Saline, to Chico; Churchill, Ottawa, to Tescott; Colorado, Lin-
coln, to Beverly; Cuwland, Hodgeman, to Ravanna; Dallas, Norton, to Oro-
noque; Debolt, Labette, to Stover; Deerton, Labette, to Valeda; Fawn Creek,
Montgomery, to Fawn; Fort Harker, Ellsworth, to Kanopolis; Grand View,
Morris, to Delavan; Guilford, Wilson, to Benedict; Gypsum Creek, Saline, to
Digby; Harwoodville, Seward, to Fargo Springs; Hatfield, Sedgwick, to Mays;
Holden, Butler, to Brainerd; Howe, Rush, to Lippard; Kenneth, Sheridan, to
Hoxie; Lucas, Pawnee, to Marshall; Maud, Kingman, to Calista; Memphis,
Bourbon, to Garland; Mid-Lothian, Harper, to Freeport; Naomi, Mitchell, to
Excelsior; Newcastle, Cherokee, to Stippville; Ozark, Anderson, to Kincaid;
Pliny, Saline, to Gypsum; Reno Centre, Reno, to Partridge; Rooks Centre,
Rooks, to Woodston; Salt Creek, Reno, to Abbyville; Satanta, Comanche, to
Comanche; Shilo, Ness, to Harold; Ship, Comanche, to Shep; State Line, Chey-
enne, to Rogers; Tiblow, Wyandotte, to Bonner Springs; Tolle, Butler, to Win-
gate; Ulysses, Clark, to Lexington; Waseca, Johnson, to Holliday; Zamora,
Hamilton, to Kendall.
— The Attorney General ruled that Wallace county was still organized under
the law of 1868 although in the "grasshopper year" of 1874 the entire popu-
lation left the county and the records were lost. Wallace was attached to Ellis
county for judicial purposes in 1875. Resettlement was rapid in 1886, and a
full set of officers was elected.
Nov. 30. — Dickinson county voted a $276,000 bond issue to the Chicago,
Kansas and Western, the Santa Fe, and the Chicago, St. Joseph and Fort Worth
railroads.
180 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
DECEMBER 1. — Dr. A. A. Holcombe, State Veterinarian, reported widespread
fatality among cattle from cornstalk disease.
— The Protestant Episcopal Church, Diocese of Kansas, met at Topeka.
DEC. 2. — A 45-inch coal vein was discovered at Cato, Bourbon county.
— Wellington now had street cars, a waterworks, gas and electricity.
DEC. 3. — Chautauqua county grew 100 bales of cotton in 1886.
— The Great Bend Tribune remarked that the number of railroads under
construction to every little town in western Kansas "is only equalled by the
number of street railways, waterworks, electric lights, colleges and children to
fill them. A town of 150 inhabitants that hasn't at least four trunk lines and
all these other advantages is considered too unimportant to put on the maps."
DEC. 6. — The first train over the Kansas, Nebraska and Dakota railroad ar-
rived at Topeka.
DEC. 7. — A 40-inch vein of coal was discovered at Clyde.
— The Kansas State Horticultural Society met at Emporia.
DEC. 8. — The first state sanitary convention met at Wichita under the auspices of the
State Board of Health.
— The State Board of Trustees of Charitable Institutions met at Topeka. The biennial
report recommended a ward for insane convicts in prison. Under existing laws the insane
were sent from prison to asylums.
DEC. 9. — The Leavenworth city council refused to install electric lights.
DEC. 10.— Beloit had completed a 100-bedroom hotel at a cost of $25,000.
— Samuel J. Crawford, state claim agent at Washington, D. C., reported
that over 275,000 acres, valued at $1,381,000, had been patented to the state
in lieu of lands in Indian reservations. Crawford recommended that railroad
land grants be adjusted by federal agencies. He pointed out that railroads fre-
quently violated terms of the grants by failing to build over the specified routes.
DEC. 14. — The Kansas State Grange met at Olathe.
— The Kansas Shorthorn Breeders Assn. met at Topeka.
DEC. 16. — A 42-inch vein of coal was located in Clay county.
— The Kansas State Veterinary Assn. met at Topeka and reorganized as the Kansas State
Veterinary Medical Assn.
DEC. 20. — The Cedar Vale Star was taking stovewood, coal, vegetables, ap-
ples and chickens on subscriptions.
— Kansas still had 2,000,000 acres of government land, enough for 12,000
families, according to the State Board of Agriculture.
DEC. 22. — The Supreme Court ordered Governor Martin to organize Wich-
ita county and locate the county seat at Leoti.
DEC. 23. — The Topeka, Salina and Western and the Kansas and Colorado
railroads consolidated as part of the Missouri Pacific.
DEC. 24. — Governor Martin proclaimed Leoti the temporary county seat of
Wichita county. R. F. Jenness, S. W. McCall and J. F. Brainard were named
commissioners; Lilburn Moore, clerk.
— The 20th district court declared the Pratt county seat election of October,
1885, illegal, allowing the county seat to remain at luka.
DEC. 26. — Gen. John A. Logan, for whom Logan county was named, died
at Washington, D. C.
DEC. 28. — The Kansas State Teachers Assn. met at Topeka.
— The Kansas Academy of Language and Literature met at Topeka.
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1886
181
STASTISTICAL SUMMARIES FOR 1886
AGRICULTURE: The late summer drouth caused the worst crop year since 1874. Total
acreage as computed by the State Board of Agriculture was 52,572,160, including 2,693,760
acres of unorganized land. Farm acreage totaled 25,607,413 acres, and farm values were
$431,405,347. A summary of crop statistics for 1886:
Crop Acres Bushels Value
Winter wheat 982,029 13,580,592 $7,961,946.00
Spring wheat 83,503 990,441 520,557.00
Corn 5,802,018 139,569,132 37,966,031.80
Rye . 164,819 2,525,385 1,004,480.00
Barley 34,100 728,368 214,497.00
Oats 1,178,642 35,777,365 8,860,603.55
Buckwheat 2,110 33,213 23,665.10
Irish potatoes 99,394 7,274,765 4,402,305.50
Sweet potatoes . 3,585 358,500 358,500.00
Castor beans 30,641 306,410 459,615.00
Cotton 682 204,600* 16,368.00
Flax 87,904 879,040 791,136.00
Hemp 158 110,600* 5,530.00
Tobacco 409 245,400* 24,540.00
Broom corn 68,399 38,633,500* 1,352,172.50
Millet and Hungarians #70,600 l,141,200f 4,873,751.00
Tame grasses 690,325 l,100,580f 6,387,751.00
* Pounds,
t Tons.
LIVESTOCK
Animals Number Value
Horses 572,059 $51,485,310
Mules and asses 83,642 8,364,200
Milk cows 627,481 15,687,025
Other cattle 1,460,652 40,898,256
Sheep 664,761 1,329,522
Swine 1,965,869 11,795,214
ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY: The following valuations were given: city lots, $46,-
967,259.80; farm lands, $142,657,158.35; personal property, $55,491,972.18.
BANKS: Seventy-five banks were included in the tabulation published by the Secretary
of State, as compared with 54 in 1885. Resources totaled $7,715,134.
CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS: The State Insane Asylum, Topeka, had 508 patients
and 107 employees; the State Insane Asylum, Osawatomie, had 400 patients and 87 em-
ployees; the State Asylum for Idiotic and Imbecile Youth, Lawrence, had 30 pupils; the
Institution for the Education of the Blind, Wyandotte, had an average attendance of 67;
the Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, Olathe, had 202 students; the
State Reform School, Topeka, had 95 boys, and buildings to provide for 200 were under
construction.
CHARTERS: Banks, building and loan, trust companies, 241; boards of trade, fairs,
merchant and civic assns., 49; cemetery and funeral assns., 57; churches and affiliated organ-
izations, 255; coal and mining industries, 38; creameries and dairy organizations, 5; gas,
light, water and power companies, 47; grain, milling and elevator companies, 16; hotels, 17;
insurance companies, 15; livestock and poultry, produce companies, 15; lodges, clubs, guilds
and benevolent societies, 66; printing and publishing companies, 15; railroads, 124; real
estate, town and immigration companies, 255; schools and colleges, 8; stage lines and
freighting companies, 6; street railways, 37; telegraph and telephone companies, 20; mis-
cellaneous, 122. Total number of charters for the year, 1,408.
EDUCATION: There were 7,520 organized school districts in 91 counties with 6,791
schoolhouses and 9,387 teachers. Of 497,785 children of school age, 365,239 were actually
enrolled. School terms averaged six months.
The University of Kansas for the year 1886-1887 had a faculty of 27 and a student body
of 489, including 14 graduate students. Kansas State Agricultural College had an enroll-
ment of 428 and a faculty of 18. The State Normal School, Emporia, had an enrollment
of 724 and 13 instructors. All three schools reported an urgent need for books.
FINANCES: The State Treasurer's fifth biennial report showed total receipts of $4,-
792,655.26 since July 1, 1884, as against disbursements of $4,962,894.17. The balance in
the treasury at the end of the fiscal year was $584,273.16.
182 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
INDUSTRY: Assessors' rolls for March 1, 1886, listed 795 mechanical and manufac-
turing firms in the state, employing 11,320 persons at total wages of $5,158,612. Capital
invested amounted to $16,369,724. Cost of raw materials purchased was $31,651,913, and
the value of finished products was $48,471,406.
INSURANCE: Fire insurance written by 88 companies authorized to do business in the
state totaled $120,046,025. Life insurance sold by 21 authorized companies amounted to
$8,259,449.
POPULATION: The biennial report of the State Board of Agriculture gave the popu-
lation as 1,406,738, an increase of 138,208 over the preceding year. The largest city in
the state was Leavenworth with 29,150; Topeka, 25,005; Kansas City, 21,229, and Wichita,
20,129.
RAILROADS: Sixty-four railroads operated 4,517 miles of main track in Kansas. Total
earnings were $62,766,858.90 for the year ending June 30, 1886. Freight totaled 16,-
260,673 tons, an increase of 705,278.07 tons over 1885. During the first ten months of
1886, 950 miles of new track were laid, more than in any other state. The aggregate value
of all railroad equipment as fixed by the State Board of Railroad Assessors was $32,434,-
936.68.
WEATHER: The mean temperature for 1886 was 52.96 degrees. The highest tem-
perature recorded was 105 on August 16, and the lowest was — 18 on January 9. Rainfall
over the state averaged 24.24 inches, 11.02 inches below the annual average. The drouth
during July, August and September was the first serious one since 1874.
Background Notes on the Bourne
Lister Cultivator
PATRICIA M. BOURNE and A. BOWER SAGESER
TN the drier regions west of the Missouri river, corn was frequently
-*• planted by the lister planter. The lister planter, in reality a
double-moldboard plow with a drilling device for the seed, was used
extensively in the lighter soil areas of Kansas. It presented the ad-
vantages of increased yield, resistance to drought and wind erosion,
and reduced operating costs. It was adopted by many farmers
before a tool suitable for cultivating the ridges and furrows had
been developed. The farmer depended on the existing tools which
were inadequate. Consequently, there was a real need for a new
lister cultivator. Midwestern tanners experimented with adapta-
tions for the existing corn-cultivator and eventually invented several
new machines more adaptable to this particular type of cultivation.
Interest in the development of a lister cultivator ran high during
the period 1883-1900.
The history of the lister planter and the general evolution of the
lister cultivator has been described thoroughly by James C. Malin
in his study, Winter Wheat in the Golden Belt of Kansas.1 The
purpose of this brief report is to relate the personal factors and the
motivating influences around one particular invention by Daniel M.
Bourne of Cool, Kan.
Among the early settlers who made their homes in and near the
Solomon valley were Mr. and Mrs. Daniel M. Bourne, who came to
Kansas in 1876. The story of this family is typical of many frontier
families. Daniel Montague Bourne was born near New Bedford,
Mass., December 27, 1848. When he was four years old, he moved
with his parents, the Franklin Bournes, to Oshkosh, Wis. He was
married to Amelia Jane Spencer of Stockbridge, Wis., on September
26, 1875.2 According to Amelia Bourne:
There was a lot of advertising being done and it sounded like the Solomon
Valley flowed with milk and honey. So Daddy decided he would come out
and see for himself, and he was so taken with the country that he bought the
farm which we still own.3
PATRICIA M. BOURNE, of Delphos, a granddaughter of Daniel M. Bourne, is a senior
in arts and science at Kansas State College, Manhattan. DR. A. BOWER SAGESER is profes-
sor of history at Kansas State College.
1. James C. Malin, Winter Wheat in the Golden Belt of Kansas (Lawrence, 1944),
pp. 210-231.
2. Children born to this family were: Leona, 1876; Harry, 1877; Bessie, 1879; Richard,
1881; Gordon, 1883; Bert, 1892; Essie, 1898.— From family records.
3. "Recollections," MS. written by Amelia Bourne, January 1, 1932. Manuscript is in
the possession of Mrs. L. M. Ballou of Delphos, Kan. Mrs. Ballou's maiden name was
lassie Bourne. — See Footnote 2.
(183)
184 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
In late September, 1876, Mr. and Mrs. Bourne and their baby
daughter arrived by train in Solomon. Their new homesite was
40 miles northwest of Solomon. Bourne had purchased in the spring
of that year the rights of an original homesteader for the sum of
$600, having paid $100 down with the balance due the first of
October. This quarter section was located three miles east and
three miles north of Delphos, in south-central Cloud county. Family
records show that the Bournes experienced the usual problems
typical of such a frontier community. In time, Bourne enlarged the
farm holdings.
However, Bourne did not limit himself entirely to farm work. He
became interested in a general store and post office in the Cool
community. Near the store was a stone house and a blacksmith
shop. This small village was located eight miles north of Delphos
and four miles east and two miles north of Glasco. In the fall of
1883, Bourne mortgaged his farm for $1,500 to buy the business at
the country store, and the family moved to the new community.4
The local press frequently spoke of Bourne as "the Cool merchant." 5
Bourne found that he enjoyed the work of a blacksmith. He be-
gan his blacksmithing career at a time when there was a great deal
of demand for a lister cultivator. From his own experience and
from that of his farmer neighbors, he knew that no implements, up
to this time, would adequately control the weeds in the rows and
the ridges. He set himself to the task of making a shovel that could
be attached to the shank of a regular cultivator. He soon named
this shovel Bourne's Wing Bull Tongue for cultivating listed corn.6
After making several sets of shovels for the local farmers, Bourne
decided to patent his invention. He secured the services of Munn
& Company of New York, publishers of the Scientific American.
The patent was issued December 14, 1886.7 Two weeks later the
Scientific American published a lengthy description of the new in-
vention.8 At the time, patent attorneys advertised extensively in the
local newspapers, and the following week, the description was re-
printed in the Glasco Sun.g
According to the Scientific American, the chief objects of the in-
vention were "to provide a shovel that will cultivate the bottom of
4. From an interview with Mrs. L. H. Cool. The buildings were owned by Frank
Wilson of the Cool community. Mrs. Cool's maiden name was Bessie Bourne. — See Foot-
note 2. She married L. H. Cool of that community and lived near the site of the Cool
store and post office.
5. Glasco Sun, January 1, 1887.
6. Ibid., May 28, 1887.
7. The patent is now in the possession of Bert A. Bourne, Delphos, Kan.
8. Scientific American, New York, January 1, 1887, p. 6.
9. Glasco Sun, January 8, 1887.
NOTES ON THE BOURNE LISTER CULTIVATOR
185
(No Model.)
No. 354,381
D. M. BOURNE.
CULTIVATOR.
Patented Deo. 14, 1886,
WITNESSES :
'<*£>
INVENTOR ;
7). Jit. (2,-t^L
BY
ATTOBNEYS.
186 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the furrow, and at the same time trim the edges." 10 The description
likewise stressed that the shovel could be used on the riding or
walking cultivator. The accompanying diagram of the Bourne
model shows the chief problems of design. Figure 1 shows how the
shovels would operate in the lister row.11 Figures 2 and 3 show how
the shovel was curved and pointed to work more effectively in the
row and on the sides of the ridges.
After securing the patent, Bourne advertised the invention in the
local press. Usually a modified drawing of Figure 1 was used by the
printer. The shovels sold for three dollars per pair. The advertise-
ments, like many others, carried indorsements by local users of the
new shovel.12
The Wing Bull Tongue had to compete with several other lister
cultivators. The Clyde Carriage Company sold the Kirlin listed corn
cultivator and many farmers endorsed the success of this machine.13
The rate of invention was high. The January 27, 1887, issue of The
Republican-Empire, Concordia, published a list of Kansas inventors.
On this list were a cultivator, a planter and a harrow patented by
F. M. Dougan of Seneca, and a garden cultivator and a seed drill
patented by C. C. Hunter of Concordia.
Family records offer no evidence as to the number of shovels
made by Bourne, but there was sufficient blacksmithing business to
enable him to hire a clerk to help run the store. Bourne did not
find a manufacturer to produce his machine. Soon his invention
was replaced by a better one. In fact, most of the inventions were
replaced by the disc sled-type cultivator.
The years following the Bournes' entrance into the store and
blacksmithing business were years of general hard times. Few
people could pay their bills, and Bourne carried too many accounts
on his books. He eventually closed the store and the family
returned to the farm. They were not free from debt until 1898.14
While Bourne's invention was not a great success, his experience
brings out more clearly the role of the local farmer in the inventive
process. Then, as now, many of the machine problems were solved
on the scene. Daniel M. Bourne was one of many who tried to meet
the need for more adaptable farming machinery in a pioneer country.
10. Scientific American, loc. cit.
11. Photograph of the original patent.
12. Glasco Sun, May 28, 1887. This particular advertisement carried an endorsement
by Frank Wilson of the Cool community.
13. Clyde Herald, April 20, 1887. This machine had been in use for three years.
14. Interview with Mrs. L. H. Cool.
w
Vincent B. Osborne's Civil War Experiences
Edited by JOYCE FARLOW and LOUISE BARRY
PART Two: SEPTEMBER, 1862- JULY, 1865
[Stationed Near Fort Scott, September, 1862]
E left Fort Riley19 the [2nd] of Sep. to go to Leavenworth
where we were ordered The first day we marched as far
as Manhattan I had the pleasure of visiting one of my friends Dr.
[E. L.] Pat[t]ee who lived at Manhattan that day This was a small
but thriving town at the junction of the Blue river and Kansas and
it is situated in a very pleasant section of country The soil is good
The inhabitants are trying to have an institution of learning erected
here with good prospect of success Dr. Patee still belonged to the
army and got Maj Fisk to issue an order for him to accompany us
and the next morning he started with us and was with us till we
arived at Fort Scott.
The 2nd day after leaving Fort Riley we recieved orders to go to
Lawrence instead of Leavenworth and we turned our course to-
wards that place The third day I was taken sick with a fever and
headache and was compeled to get into the ambulance and I rode in
the ambulance till I got to Lawrence We crossed the Kansas river
at Topeka the capital of Kansas The teams were ferried acrossed
but the Cav'y forded it We remained at Lawrence a few days
during that time I was confined to the hospital with Beaveas[?]
Fever while we were at Lawrence a Co. of infantry passed there
on their road to Leavenworth where they were to be organized into
the Eleventh Kansas. I saw two persons that were in the 2nd
Kansas under its first organizeation Lieut Lindsay, and George
Bacon, in that Co. We were ordered from Lawrence to Fort Scott
but were to escort three large siege guns to the latter place. These
guns were hauled on very heavy artilery wagons by oxen The
oxen were poor and very slow not going but about twelve miles a
day The day I left Lawrence I was able to ride my horse and kept
getting better till I was well
Our force now consisted of four companies of 2nd Kansas These
were A, B, C, and D and we were under the command of Maj Fisk
Capt Crawford of Co A had got permission of Gen Blunt to take
his Co. by way of Garnett Anderson Co. where most of them lived
19. Copy Missing.
(187)
188 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
before enlisting in the army The third morning of our march we
left the rest of the companies and by turning more to the right went
by way of Ohio City to Garnett arriving there about noon Sunday
passing through town and camped near it on the south side Then
the Co were dismissed by Capt [Samuel J.] Crawford but were
to be back Tuesday night without any exception And then those
that lived in the vicinity each took the road home
The rest of us put up what tents we needed and then we done
what pleased us most Some saddling their horses and going to
Camp Meeting one of which was being held in the vicinity I re-
mained at camp not having entirely recovered from being sick
Monday night the young folks had a dance in town and we were
all invited The tickets were one dollar a couple the dance was kept
up till morning and they had a good supper Tuesday in the
afternoon it rained very hard and continued till the next morning
Tuesday night nearly all of the Co came in and the next morning
about nine oclock we left Garnett. Garnett is pleasantly situated
on the prairie about a mile from the south Fork and four from the
north fork of the Pottawatamie. The country around this town is
high rolling prairies of good quality but subject to drowth and
timber is not abundant Unimproved prairie land is worth from
two and a half to three dollars per acre timber from ten to twenty
We traveled in a southeast direction after leaving Garnett till
we got on the road that the rest of our detachment had passed over
and we overtook the guns about nine oclock Wednesday night at
a small town called Mapleton where we camped that night The
next morning Maj Fisk came back and put us on duty as rear guard
marching in the rear of the guns Our train went on with the rest
of the command arriving at Fort Scott about two oclock and Co A
got there about five oclock P. M. We camped about a half a mile
from the Fort and south east of it Fort Scott is situated on
Marmiton creek but does not look as though it was in a prosperous
condition And is in a weak position to defend should an attack
be made upon it The country around it is mostly high rolling
prairie with good soil
The morning after we arived at Fort Scott we marched out to
Dry Wood Creek where the rest of the regiment were camped and
joined them again having been seperated about three months
Corn had become very scarce about Fort Scott but there was plenty
of grass on the prairies The day after we got to Dry Wood we
moved camp and all of the regiment camping together Co. A on
the right and D on the left the whole regiment camping in line We
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 189
had anticipated before we got back to the regiment that when we
got back we would have some rest but in this we were dissapointed
Forage had to be procured and we had to go long distances for it
The Second day after we got to Dry Wood a detail was made out to
go after it At first the detail was from Co E, C, and B and con-
sisted of fifty men and were under Command of Capt [John]
Gardner but Capt. Gardner did not think it safe to go out with
this number and twenty five more were detailed from Cos A and D,
and put under command of Lieut [H. L.] Moore and were sent to
overtake Capt Gardner When we were detailed nothing was said
about taking any rations or blankets along with us and we sup-
posing we would be back at night did not take any along with us
We went east from Dry Wood^ getting our forage the third day
near the east line of Vernon County Missouri.
The third night we kept our horses saddled all night and our
arms ready to pick up and put on at any moment We were alarmed
about twelve oclock by one of the pickets firing. We roused up
got in line and stood about a half an hour The sentinel reported
that a man came riding towards him and on being halted turned
his horse and run away and he fired after him Then the seargent
of the guard went out to see what the firing meant and not hearing
the sentinel halt him was fired on by the sentinel and he returned
the fire and they exchanged several shots before finding out their
mistake After we acertained what the cause of the firing was we
laid down and slept as well as we could till morning for the night
was very cold The next day about three oclock in the afternoon
we arived at camp
After getting back to camp we learned that Capt Crawford had
left the day before with about one hundred men twenty of which
were of Co. A to escort a train to Col Richie20 who was in command
of two regiments of Indians and camped about forty miles south of
our camp. About this time Col Richie had a skirmish with the
enemy after which he fell back to a creek twelve miles south of
our camp and there the train was delivered to him. Then Capt
Crawford came back to camp ariving here the day after we did
The next morning I was detailed to go for forage We went up
Dry Wood and got corn loading sixteen wagons and got back to
camp about eight oclock P. M. the same day
When we arived at camp I learned that all of the available force
of the regiment were just starting for Humbolt, a town on the
20. Col. John Ritchie, Second Indian home guards, formerly lieutenant colonel of the
Fifth Kansas cavalry.
190 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Neosho forty miles west of Fort Scott A report having come in
that the enemy had made a raid upon that place Each Co took
one team to haul thier rations and cooking utensils and nothing
more was taken Orders were also issued to have the camp moved
to Fort Scott the next day by those whose horses were not fit to go
with the rest of the regiment After I learned this I eat supper
and then went on overtaking the Co. about two miles from camp
Col. [W. F.j Cloud had command of this expedition and took his
whole brigade His brigade consisted of the 2nd Kansas Cav'y
Rabbs battery and two Indians regiments We went south to the
Indian camp and the Indians joined us we turned west and kept
marching till about nine oclock A. M. occasionally halting for the
battery and team to overtake us At that time we halted and got
breakfast stopping an hour and a half for that purpose Then we
mounted and kept on till five oclock P. M. At that time we met
a Co. of the Ninth who had come through Humbolt and they re-
ported that no enemy had been there We halted now and
camped staying till morning
Col Cloud now called a council of war with the result of which
was for Col Cloud to take all the best mounted men in 2nd Kan
they taking three days rations on thier horses, and proceed down
the Neosho and acertain where the enemy were and whether they
had been up the Neosho in any considerable force Capt. Craw-
ford was sent back to camp with the train and those whose horses
were not fit to go on and was to take charge of camp when he got
back Capt Rabbs battery and the Indians regiments went back
also About sunrise the next morning we went on Seargent [Ezra]
Romine and four men of Co. A were detailed as an escort for Col
Cloud I was on the detail We marched south till about noon
when we arived at the Osage Indian Mission There we halted
fed our horses killed a fat steer roasted meat and eat dinner This
is a Catholic mission [and] was in a thriving condition before the
war broke out but it is now on the decline the Indians having taken
part with the rebels21 The whites at the Mission treated us very
civilly and gave us all the information of the enemy that they could
About two we saddled mounted and went on down the river
crossing about a mile below the mission and then taking a trail
which kept about a mile from the timber We halted about an
hour after dark on the prairie where there was neither wood or
water and unsaddled picketed our horses and lay down and slept
21. This mission, founded in 1847, was not molested by soldiers or guerrillas of either
side during the Civil War; and the school was not suspended during the war years.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 191
till daylight the next morning Then we got up saddled mounted
and went on About ten oclock A. M. we came to a creek and
finding cattle halted killed some and got us some dinner. We also
unsaddled and picketed our horses About twelve oclock M. we
saddled mounted and crossing the creek went on down the river
After traveling about two hours we came to a small settlement
where we stoped fed our horses and rested ourselves for an hour
Here we acertained that the enemy had heard of our advance and
had gone south so far as to make it hopeless to pursue them.
We crossed the river at this place and started back The valley
of the Neosho whenever the land comes into market will present
many inducements to settlers The soil is good timber plenty
The prairies are beautifully rolling and covered with luxuriant
grass After crossing the river we went about twelve miles and
stoped on a creek where there was plenty of wood water and grass
and unsaddled picketed our horses and lay down In about an
hour an alarm was given and the men were roused up got in line
and after waiting some time were dismissed The cause of the
alarm was a vidette who was stationed some distance from camp
said he saw two men coming towards him and he thought he heard
a large body of men coming still behind them he came into camp
and told the officer of the guard what he had seen and then the
officer of the guard alarmed the camp Col Cloud after hearing the
cause of the alarm had the vidette brought to him and asked him
whether he fired his piece or was fired on and on being answered
in the negative told him to go right back to his post and never
again leave his post till he fired his piece or was fired on A
recoinoitreing party was sent out but could find nothing The
cause of the alarm was probably nothing but imagination
The next morning we got up by daylight we were up saddled
and mounted and went on still following the creek up that we
camped on Col Cloud and his escort went in advance and after
going about twelve [miles] we saw some men who we took to be
Indians driving cattle down the creek on the oposite side We
crossed and gallopped our horses on after them and on over taking
found out that we were mistaken about thier being Indians They
proving to be some whites who had been living down the Neosho
but were now leaving thier homes thier houses having been robbed
by the rebel Indians and thier property taken or destroyed They
were going up into the settlements north of the Indian lands They
were very glad to see us and would have given us our breakfast if
we would have waited for them to cook it. While we were talking
192 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the regiment crossed the creek and went on in advance of us We
had no road after leaving this creek taking a northeast direction
across the prairie We stoped once about an hour and let our horses
eat grass and then went on We got to Cow Creek about one
oclock P. M. but did not stop only just long enough to let our
horses drink Col Cloud and his escort went on in advance and
turning to the right went down by where Col Richie had been
camped Col Cloud examined things about camp and came to the
conclusion that no one had been there since Col Richie had left
Col Bassett22 did not follow us taking a nearer route with the regi-
ment After we passed the camp we saw several Indian ponies and
were delayed at least two hours trying to catch some of them
Then we got into the military road and kept following it till after
dark
The regiment was a few miles in advance of us And Col Cloud
did not wish to ride very late so turning off the road went about a
quarter of a mile from it and we unsaddled piketed our horses and
remained here till daylight We kept a guard on all night each man
standing an hour and a half At daylight we got up saddled and
mounted and went on It rained all the latter part of the night
wetting our blankets and clothing so as to make very heavy About
nine oclock A. M. we got to the Indian camp and they got us some
breakfast we were very hungry not having eaten anything for
nearly two days We heard that all the troops had been ordered
to go south and that our camp equipage was now on the road
About ten oclock we went on to Fort Scott ariving there about two
P. M. and Col Cloud getting us an order for forage we went and
drew it and fed our horses
[Expedition Into Missouri, October, 1862]'
The regiment got within five miles of Fort Scott before they knew
any thing about being ordered south and were very much dissa-
pointed supposing they would rest a few days But when meeting
the train turned back and went as far as Dry Wood when they
halted and got something to eat and stayed at that place till about
dark Then every thing was packed up and they went on marching
till about eleven oclock at night when they stoped and unsaddled
picketed thier horses and lay down till morning. Col Cloud re-
mained at Fort Scott till a little after dark and then we left that
place and went on after the regiment overtaking them about twelve
oclock at night after they had stopped And we lay down till morn-
22. Lt. Col. Owen A. Bassett, second in command of the Second Kansas cavalry.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 193
ing The next morning we went to the company and got breakfast
but returned to headquarters again About sunrise we saddled
mounted and went on After going a few miles we saw some one
riding across the prairie in gallop and Col Cloud sent Ed Wilson
and me after him on overtaking him we saw he was a boy about
fifteen years of age but we took him to the Col who after question-
ing him considerably let him go Then we went on to Lamarr the
county seat of Barton County and stoped to feed and get dinner
Rabbs battery and the two Indian regiments were in advance of us
Before we got dinner a messenger came in reporting that the
Indians had been attacked by the enemy and we went on as quick
as possible on double quick but when we overtook the Indians the
skirmish was all over the enemy having gone away so far as to
make it useless to pursue them This skirmish occured about seven
miles south east of Lamarr The enemy numbering about seventy
and they were watching the road probably to supprise Gen Blunt23
and his escort as they passed south But Gen Blunt had already
passed and the Indians coming up were close upon them before
they saw them Volleys were exchanged and then the enemy re-
treated on double quick They were on foot but we believed they
had horses some where in the timber nearby Two of our men
were wounded one white man and one Indian but not mortally
It was not certainly known that any of the enemy were hurt
After deliberating about this some time we went on about five
miles and camped at Golden Grove where we got plenty of corn
to feed but water was scarce
The next morning by sunrise we were again on the march The
inhabitants around Golden Grove apeared to be very much afraid
of us Even the women and children hiding in the brush I saw
one woman in the morning when I went to water my horse She
looked to be about eighteen years of age was bearheaded and had
a child in her arms under a year old She apeared to be turibly
fritened and run into some thick brush as soon as she saw me After
watering our horses we went back to camp and the regiment having
gone we went on after them overtaking Col Cloud in a short time
Eight miles from Golden Grove the regiment found water enough
for thier horses, it was in pools to the right of the road It was
eighteen miles before we got to timber after leaving Golden Grove
23. Brig. Gen. James G. Blunt was commander of the District of Kansas, at this time,
with headquarters at Fort Scott. He became Kansas' first, and only, Civil War major
general on November 29, 1862.
14__3879
194 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The first timber was on a medium sized creek in which was plenty
of water After crossing we went up on a narrow prairie and
halted for the train to close up then went on to a small town
called Oregon
At Oregon we crossed another stream of considerable size on
which was a large flour and saw mill There was a company of Mo.
S. Militia stationed at this place; the first we had seen The regi-
ment halted here to feed but Col Cloud went on to Sarcoxie a town
eight miles from Oregon and which was our place of destination
with his escort We arived there about four oclock P. M. [October
3rd] We went immediately to Gen Solomons [?] headquarters
where we found Gen Blunt We got forage here and fed our horses
and the Gen. ordered the cooks to get us some supper and a good
supper we got too About dark we were dismissed by Col Cloud
and sent to our company The regiment having just came in and
were sent out on the prairie south of town where we found them
Sarcoxie is a medium sized town situated in the timber on a
medium sized creek and is nearly deserted by the citizens It was
the residence of the rebel Gen. [James S.] Rains before the war
broke out and has been a general rendezvous for the rebels before
it was occupied by our troops Here was where the rebel army
was first organized and was the place where the rebel portion of
the legislature met after Gen [Nathaniel] Lyon took possession of
Jefferson City and Boonville At this time the rebels were camped
at Newtonia about twelve miles south of Sarcoxie A detachment
of Solomons brigade had an engagement with them a few days
before we got to Sarcoxie and were obliged to retreat having several
killed and wounded and a large number taken prisoners
We got orders before dismounting to get supper and prepare our-
selves with one days rations and forty rounds of ammunition and
to be ready to march again at nine oclock P. M. We got supper
eat and were ready by the time, but we did not move till about
twelve then we started out taking a road which went nearly due
south we marched about six miles and stoped the head of the
column resting at the timber we dismounted and stood to horse
till morning the night had become very dark accompanied with
some rain I was sent for by Capt Crawford for an orderly and
I was his orderly till the next night
At daylight we moved on until our advance guard drove in the
enemies pickets, then halted, formed our line, and waited a short
time when we heard the artilery commence firing, it having taken
another road, had come up and attacked the enemies right; this
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 195
was our signal to move forward which we did immediately, but be-
fore we arrived at Newtonia the enemy had fled. We had expected
to have a severe battle with the enemy here. All the troops had
come out from Springfield which with Gen. Blunts division
amounted to twenty thousand men, and the enemy fled at the first
fire. Not over a dozen men were hurt on either side. We pursued
them to the timber, then came back to Newtonia. The Springfield
troops went back towards Springfield, and we camped near the
town. We killed all the hogs we wanted and procured plenty of
forage for our horses.
We remained here overnight and the next morning by nine oclock
our train come up, by noon four Go's of the regiment were ordered
to go out and meet a supply train, which was coming from Fort
Scott. The Go's were A, D, I and K, and were under the command
of Col. Cloud; Capt Moore24 was second in command. We passed
through Granby the principal town of the lead mines, and Sarcoxie,
then went on towards Carthage stopping on the prairie about one
oclock in the morning and remained untill daylight, then went over
a creek to another road where we found the train, then stopped
got us some breakfast of roast beef, and apples, which was abun-
dant. Then we were divided, Go's K, and I, in advance and A, &
D, were in the rear of the train, went through Granby, and arived
at Newtonia at dark. We had no rations and the baggage train
had left; So Capts Moore, and Russell,25 demanded some hard bread
of the Commissary, which was refused, when Capt Moore jumped
up on a wagon and rolled off a box for each company, ordered the
men to carry it away then gave the Commissary an account of it,
which ended the matter. Early in the morning we marched on to
Indian Creek, where the rest of the regiment was camped in a field
near the creek, in the form of a hollow square, where we remained
three days. It rained nearly all the time. The ground became
very muddy, and we were glad to get away from there.
One night the camp was alarmed and we got up and saddled,
mounted, and stood in line, untill we were wet through, it proved
to be a false alarm, and we went back to bed.
About the 10th of Oc we left Camp Mud, went nearly east going
through Gad Fly, and arrived at Hazel Bottom five miles from
Keitsville on the 13th [of October], where we remained until
the 16th. We did not recieve orders to march until two oclock in
the morning, and the available force moved at four, leaving the sick,
24. Amaziah Moore, captain of Company D.
25. Avra P. Russell, captain of Company K.
196 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
and dismounted men, and cooks, to come up with the baggage
train. I was on guard and did not come off post until just as the
regiment left. I was relieved at seven and went on finding the
regiment at Kiettsville About twenty men of the company had
gone out with what prisoners we had under a flag of truce to turn
them over to the rebels and the regiment was waiting for them to
get some distance ahead before starting About noon we left
Kietsville taking the telegraph road arrived at Elkhorn Tavern by
five oclock in the afternoon The train which had came with us
from Kietsville was sent back after we had taken out three days
rations and forty rounds of ammunition and we stopped there for
the night We were on the battle field of Pea Ridge now where
Gen. Curtiss had beaten the rebels in the spring The country
round was rough rocky and covered with timber which made it a
hiding place for hundreds of gurillas who improved it Before we
had gone to sleep the pickets commenced firing and the remnant
of Co. A were sent out to reinforce them remaining with them until
sunrise the next morning then went back to camp. The men who
had been out with the flag of truce had returned, having found
the rebel pickets five miles northeast of Bentonville, where they
exchanged their prisoners. At ten oclock we moved on to MdCol-
lochs gap, on [?] creek which had been fortified by McColloch,
about the time the battle of Pea Ridge was fought remained here
one night
About ten oclock the next day (the 18th) we left McColloch's gap
taking the Fayetteville road went on about six miles when our
advance guard was fired on by the rebels. Co. A, which led the
column were sent to the right of the road mounted Co. D to the
left dismounted and advancing through the timber soon came to a
field in sight of the enemy who were standing their ground but
when we fired on[e] volley into them they left as fast as their horses
could carry them Our howitzers were brought up and a few shells
fired after them One of our men was wounded and one horse dis-
abled None of the enemy were killed or disabled so that they
could not get away We formed our line and waited one hour then
went on to Cross Hollows seeing nothing more of the enemy We
found hats, coats, guns, &c. scattered allong the road among which
was a rebel sabre made out of an old mill saw the blade was about
three feet in length ground sharp on both edges wooden gripe
with a single piece of steel for a guard
After watering our horses, went back about half [a] mile and
camped I was sent out on picket with six others, on post on a
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 197
road east of Cross Hollow, where we remained until three oclock
in the afternoon the next day, when the officer of the guard sent
for us, to come in as the regiment had moved without his knowl-
edge and we went to find them, but on arriving at Cross Hollow we
met them, and went back [to our?] posts. The regiment had been
joined by the Seventh M. S. M. and had been out to Mud Town
but had not had any skirmish with the enemy. The rebels were
camped at Elm Springs thirteen miles north of Fayetteville, where
they intended to fight us, but the officers did not think it best to
attack them there. The pickets were relieved about dark and we
fell in to the rear of the regiment, marched about five miles back
towards Pea Ridge, and camped. The next morning we were out
of rations and made out our breakfast of roasted apples, and coffee,
left camp early passed McCollochs gap and found the regiment
three miles west of Elkhorn. Gen. [John M.] Schofields division
had advanced as far as Elkhorn. The llth Kan. Inft. had arrived
from Fort Scott, and were attached to Col. Clouds brigade.
[Battle of Old Fort Wayne, October 22, 18622Q]
At three oclock P. M. [October 20] we recieved orders to march
at six, taking everything. At dark we started out taking the Ben-
tonville road, and marched until three the next morning, when we
arrived at Bentonville. Gen. Blunt accompanied this expedition
with the 2nd, (Col. Weir27) and the 3rd, (Col. Clouds) brigades.
We remained at Bentonville until four oclock P. M. of the twenty
first of Oc. then marched on towards Maysville. Co. A & H of the
2nd Kan. were the rear guard kept moving until three the next
morning, when we stopped built fires and slept till morning. The
night was very cold and we suffered considerable.
By daylight Gen. Blunt sent back for us to come up on the double
quick as he with only four companies of the 2nd had met the enemy.
We went on through Maysville and found the Gen. four miles
southwest of there, and eleven from where we were in the morn-
ing. The rebel pickets were captured, and small parties were out
26. General Blunt reported this engagement as follows: "After a severe night march
of 30 miles I attacked the rebel forces of Cooper and Stand Watie this morning at 7
o'clock. Their force estimated at from 4,000 to 7,000. The attack was made by my
advance, consisting of the Second Kansas Volunteers and two mountain howitzers, and
after a spirited engagement of less than an hour resulted in the complete and total rout
of the enemy, with the loss of all their artillery, one battery of 6-pounder brass pieces,
a large number of horses, and a portion of their transportation and camp and garrison
equipage. They are now fleeing in disorder in the direction of Fort Smith. All my
available cavalry and four mountain howitzers are now [October 22 — 2 P. M.] in hot
pursuit. My loss, as far as known, is 4 killed and about 15 wounded. The Enemy's
loss in killed and wounded is much greater. I have 30 prisoners. . . ." — War of
the Rebellion, Series I, v. 13, p. 325.
27. Col. William Weer, Tenth Kansas infantry.
198 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
to accertain the position of the enemy. Co A was sent to the right
and advanced a half mile when we were joined by Co. H, and con-
tinuing our advance another half mile, when we discovered the
enemy about four hundred yards in front of us, then we run our
horses over the fence, and attacked them. Lieut. [E. S.] Stover
brought up the howitzers in front of us, and unlimbered and com-
menced firing on the enemy, with shell. All of the regiment but
Co A., and the howitzers were sent to the left, and dismounted,
Lieut. Stover called for more men to work the howitzers and Lieut.
[John] Johnston sent him several. We were posted on a high piece
of ground and in full view of the enemy. The enemy had four
pieces of artilery which they directed towards our howitzers but
nearly all their shots were fired to high. The enemy were posted
in our front and both to the right and left of us, in all numbering
three thousand men, commanded by Gen. [Douglas H.] Cooper,
but he was intoxicated and managed the battle unskilfully. Just
as the howitzers fired their last shell, Capt Crawford with five com-
panies of dismounted men charged on the rebel battery, and cap-
tured it, the enemy retreating to the timber. This battle lasted
twenty one minutes. On our side no troops were engaged but the
2nd Kan Cav'y- until the rebel battery was captured, then Rabbs
battery came up and fired after the enemy. We had three men
killed and mortally wounded. The rebels lost thirty killed, and
wounded, but no prisoner [s] were taken on either side. As soon as
the Inft came up we were sent three miles to the right, where we
captured a herd of beef cattle, then returned and camped on the
battle field. The train came up at sundown, and we pitched our
tents for the first night since leaving Hazel Botton.
The next morning we moved our camp half a mile, but before
we dismounted an allarm was given, and the Inft and artilerry
we [re] formed in line on the same ground that we occupied the
day before, and cavalry was sent out to reconnoitre, it proved to be
a party of rebels who not knowing of the battle the day before
were coming to the camp, but discovered their mistake in time to
get away again. In the afternoon a scout of two hundred men
were sent out under command of Maj Fisk, and after dark one
hundred and fifty men were sent out on picket. I was one of the
last detail. We went out through Maysville and were posted in
small squads on several different roads, but saw nothing except one
bushwhacker and he got away.
At four oclock in the afternoon of the 24th we were relieved by
the 6th Kansas. In the afternoon the weather turned cold very
OSBORNE'S CIVEL WAR EXPERIENCES 199
suddenly, and the wind rose, and it commenced snowing and the
next morning the ground was covered three inches with snow, but it
all went off in a few days, Maj Fisk returned on the twenty fifth,
not having any action with the enemy. He had heard some women
telling about the battle of Maysville, who said that we had just
thirty one thousand men there, and that they were obliged to re-
treat on account of our numbers. The scout went as far as Cin-
cinnatti. The battery that was captured was issued to Co. B, it
consisted of three six pound field pieces, and one twelve pound
[howitzer]. I was detailed on the twenty fourth as messenger for
a court martial. The 28th [Henry S.] Shannon, and [John Y.]
Hewitt, were promoted to sergeants and [James A.] Gooch and
[George W.] Spencer, to corporals.
We left Old Fort Wayne the thirtieth of Oc. marched twenty
miles and camped naming it Camp Solomon. The 13th Kan Inft
arrived on the twenty eighth, and were attached to the 2nd, (Col.
Weirs), brigade, the 3rd of Nov. we left Camp Solomon went
twenty miles, and named the Camp Bowen. While here Maj
Fisk took the available force of Co A, I, K and went down to
Browns mill, eight miles from camp took posession while two com-
panies of the llth run it.
The 6th Capt. Crawford took the available force of the rest of the
regiment, and went out on a scout went through Cane Hill where
he met some rebels who fled and he pursuing them captured six
wagons, and an ambulance, on Cove Creek but not having any
teams to haul them away burned them. All the mills in the neigh-
borhood of camp were taken posession of by the army, and in this
manner large quantities of flour was produced. The 14th as the
Co. were going to take their baggage to Browns mills, I requested
Lieut. [Gideon M.] Waugh, the judge advocate, to relieve me
which he did. We arrived at the mill about noon and had the
tents pitched when a detail came round calling for three men of
each company, we went out were gone all night and when we
arrived at camp the next morning the company was gone, but we
took their trail went back to Camp Bowen, then southwest twenty
miles where we found the division all camped, this camp was named
Babcock. The 16th I was on another scouting party we passed
between Camp Bowen, and Browns mills, and arrived at Elm
Springs about sundown went on three miles when night set in,
dark and rainy when we turned back went about five miles, and
the night became so dark that we could not find the road, stopped
at a bushwhackers house lay down by the side of the road, and slept
200 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
till morning. The next morning we got up cold and wet and rode
twenty miles to camp where we got breakfast. . . .
[At this point there are three pages lacking from the manuscript,
pages which described events between November 17 and November
22. In an official history of the Second Kansas cavalry it is stated
that "On the 17th of November [1862] Captain Crawford tvas sent
with one hundred (100) men to Carthage, Missouri, to reinforce the
escort to a supply train en route from Fort Scott, and returned on
the 26th." Osbornes narrative, which resumes on November 23,
indicates that he was a member of this detail.]
. . . command was called up, and formed in line but were
sent to quarters in a half an hour. The pickets were reinforced
and changed their position. A party of rebels had charged on the
picket post, took the sentinel prisoner, and drove the rest into the
town. The next morning Lieut Moore took twelve men and went
out to the line road to see if the train had passed on that. Capt
Gardner took a detail and went down Spring river to a mill where
he procured some flour which was issued to the men, cattle were
killed and we did not suffer with hunger. Lieut Moore did not
return until after dark he accertained that the train was on the
road, and would camp near Sherwood that night.
The next morning we left Carthage taking a southwest direction
intending to intersect the line road in the rear of the train, but the
train not having passed we went to far, then turned to the north
and camped at a cornfield at night sent some messengers to
Sherwood where the train was found, and we were camped near
their route. The next morning we took the advance marched
until night when we stopped the next day we went in the rear.
We arrived at camp about sundown the 26th While on our return
several bushwhackers were captured among which was the no-
torious Fay Price The division was still camped at Camp Babcock,
but was short of rations. Early in the morning of the 27th we re-
cieved marching orders, left camp by sunrise. This time the whole
division moved taking three days rations, but the train was left.
We went south on the Cane Hill road halted at Cincinnatti for
supper but went on after dark several miles, then stopped for the
night.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 201
[Engagement at Cane Hill, Ark., "November 28, 18622S]
At five oclock the next morning we resumed our march the third
brigade in advance. The 1st battalion, Maj. Fisk commanding,
of the 2nd Kan. was the advance guard, then Rabbs battery and
the llth Kan. next the 2nd battalion of the 2nd Kan. next the
Indians. We followed the road as far as Rheas mills then turned
to the right, went up a steep hill, and taking the ridge road kept
on towards Cane Hill, kept on until nine oclock when the brigade
halted, excepting Rabbs batterry, and the advance guard, which
went on and attacked the enemy. The enemy were in line readdy
for them but expecting them on the main road had stationed their
battery so as to command it.
When the enemy commenced firing on Capt. Rabb his batterry
was in the woods and he could get but two peices into position
when he replied and sent the other pieces forward on open ground
where they unlimbered and they with Stovers howitzers soon
silenced the rebel battery which was taken away by the enemy
Before Rabb fired a shot he had two men killed and some horses
disabled Maj Fisk was wounded by a piece of a shell in the top of
the head.
As soon as we heard the firing we mounted passed the llth on
double quick turned to the right came out on a high hill several
hundred yards to the right of Capt Rabbs batterry which was shell-
ing some timber in front of us. Gen. Blunt now sent a messenger
to the batterry to have them cease firing and we charged into the
timber and took a position and sent back for a batterry Capt
[Henry] Hopkins brought his up and the llth came up to support
it, the enemy were firing on us with shell but Hopkins soon silenced
them and they fell back
We now took a circuitous route and comming into the town found
the second brigade there but we soon passed them left the road
on our right went through fields and by roads and came in sight
of the enemy near the foot of the mountain their battery was
placed in position about half way up and the cavalry at its foot.
Co. C was sent forward to the left of the road dismounted Cos.
A & D, took posession of the road mounted Co. C, soon discovered
the enemy and opened a brisk fire on them and Co. A were dis-
28. Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis' report of this engagement stated: "General Blunt,
with his division, made a forced march and attacked the enemy yesterday morning at
Cane Hill, Ark. The battle lasted for several hours. The enemy, under General Marma-
duke, began to fall back about 1 o'clock, but retreated, fighting till sundown. The
victory was complete. Our loss is not great. The enemy much more. Our forces camp
on the battle-field. The enemy has retreated to Van Buren." — War of the Rebellion,
Series I, v. 22, Ft. 1, p. 41.
202 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
mounted and went forward to assist them After firing several
rounds the enemy opened on us with shell and we retreated about
a hundred yards and waited for the battery. E. Wilson was
wounded in this action.
Rabb soon came up and fired some shell at the enemies batterry
when it was taken up the mountain, and the 1st Indian, and 2nd
Kan. charged up the mountain continually skirmishing with the
enemy, who kept firing, and falling back, we followed them about
two miles on the mountain when the llth, and 6th, were sent up
and relieved us, they followed the enemy until dark. Once the
enemy charged back on the 6th, killed several, and mortally wound-
ing Lieut. Col. [Lewis R.] Jewell, who fell into their hands, but the
6th soon retook the ground, and the enemy still retreated.
About dark the enemy sent in a flag of truce, offering to give up
Col. Jewell and wished to know what would be done with their
dead and wounded, when Gen. Blunt told them that their dead
would be burried, and their wounded delivered to them outside of
our lines. The battle had lasted from ten in the morning until six
at night and the enemy retreated fourteen miles with us after them,
and continued their retreat during the night. Their loss was ninety
killed, and wounded, ours was not so severe only one man in the
2nd was killed. Lieut Col. Jewell died in a few days. Maj Fisk
was sent to Kansas where he remained six months, and recovered.
The 2nd Kan. camped at night on the head of Cove Creek, and the
rest of the command went back to Cane Hill. This battle was
named Cane Hill, and was fought on the 28th of November 1862.
The next morning we went back to Cane Hill, and details were
sent out to bury the dead and bring in the wounded. The 30th
our train came up and we camped in a field just east of Cane Hill.
The 31st two hundred men were detailed out of the regiment
for a scout with Capt. [Hugh] Cameron in command, the other
officers were Capt. [Arthur] Gunther, Lieuts [John A.] Lee, [W.
M.] Hook, [P. B.] Mitchel[l], and [A. T.] Lavella [Lovelette].
About two oclock P. M. we started out went out to the grand
guard where Capt. Guenther took half the men and went over the
mountain on the ridge road while Capt. [Hugh] Cameron took the
rest, and went over on Cove Creek followed it down meeting
Capt. Guenther fifteen miles from where we separated, then kept
on down Cove Creek to Olivers store, there halted. The enemy
were camped two miles below we remained here half an hour,
then faced about went back eight miles, then turned went up a
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 203
mountain, and went back towards the rebel camp went up near
enough to the camp to see their fires, formed plattoons and dress
paraded around for an hour, then started back towards Cane Hill.
It was now nearly daylight, we went about two miles, and
stopped fifteen minutes to feed, then went on up a creek Sergt.
[C. A.] Archer had command of the rear guard and remaining a
few moments after the scout left a rebel Capt. and soldier, rode up
spoke to Archer not having any idea that there were any Feds
about But Archer supprised them by inviting them to dismount
and fork over what arms they had, which they did and were taken
back to Cane Hill prisoners. The rebels had this road picketed
and we being between their pickets and camp took them prisoners
as we came up to them and took them to Cane Hill. About eleven
oclock we arrived at Evansville where we halted fed our horses
and killed hogs roasted meat and eat dinner then mounted and
went to Cane Hill arriving there at four oclock P. M. having marched
about seventy miles in twenty six hours.
In the afternoon of the 4th of Dec. Cos A, D, I and K were sent
out on another scout under command of Capt Russell seperating
at the grand guard as before Cos A, and D, taking the ridge road
under command of Lieut Moore but arriving at the descent of the
mountain discovered the enemies camp in the valley Then they
formed a line and watched them some time then went back to camp.
But Capt Russel had not returned Gen. Blunt could not believe
that the enemy were advancing and sent the same Cos. back the
next morning under command of Capt Moore. When we arrived
at the mountain the enemy had stationed their pickets and we
driving them in formed our line in sight of their camp and they
sent up a regiment of cavalry and we fell back our rear guard
skirmishing with their advance for five miles when they gave up
the pursuit. We arrived at camp about dark.
Early the morning of the 6th fifty men were detailed to go out
to the pickets with the howitzers we were to arrive at the picket
post by daylight. Capt. Cameron was in command and having
one of his parades delayed starting until nearly daylight. We met
the pickets near the foot of the mountain As Gen. Blunt had
anticipated the enemy had attacked them at daylight and driven
them in On meeting them we halted and retreated half a mile
formed a line but no enemy approached The 2nd & 3rd brigades
were called out and formed a line two miles to the rear of us The
llth brigade was sent back to guard the train which was at Rheas
204 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Mills. About nine oclock we advanced to the foot of the mountain
and the enemy were seen on its top. Here we remained until
two in the afternoon occassionally exchanging shots with the enemy
Col. Bassett came up with the regiment at noon.
At two oclock Capt Crawford took Co. A, and went up to see
what force the enemy had there We dismounted and went up as
skirmishers sheltering ourselves as much as possible behind trees
and arrived at the top with out discovering any enemy then kept
on about thirty rods when we saw about a dozen fired on them
and they retreated one of them had a flag he got behind a
tree and waved it at us and then put spurs to his horse and was
out of sight in a moment We now halted and in a few minutes
fell back to the top of the mountain and formed an ambush ex-
pecting the enemy to soon return Capt Crawford sent back for
a Co of infantry to come up and relieve us Co H of the Eleventh
came up and took our place and we went back and mounted and
went back to the rest of the regiment which was nearly a half mile
from the foot of the mountain Soon after Co. I was sent up dis-
mounted and the Infantry Co. came back
We remained here in this position about an hour when we knew
by the firing on the mountain that the enemy were advancing and
the infantry Co was sent back and Co A and D of the 2nd were
sent up soon after We dismounted leaving our horses about half
way up the mountain Co D went to the right a report having
came in that the enemy were flanking us there Co A went up and
went in among those that were there every man sheltering him-
self as much as possible behind rocks and trees I fired one shot
to the flagbearer and the flag dropped just then but was caught
by another man and I think I must have hit him or his horse
by the time I got my gun loaded again orders were given to reserve
our fire by Capt Crawford who saw that they were about to charge
and soon they did charge on us we poured a deadly fire into thier
ranks and then retreated down the mountain and very fast at that
Albert L. Payne a private in Co A was severely wounded but suc-
ceeded in getting down the mountain and was sent to the hospital
immediately One of the Eleventh was severely wounded also.
The enemy charged to the top of the mountain and halted and
poured a shower of buckshot after us but with little effect and
occasionally a rifle ball would pass After this we went down the
mountain and did not go up any more that night as it was sundown
now we fell back about a half a mile and remained till after dark
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 205
and then fell back across a field staying there some time A few
companies of the Eleventh coming here we fell still father back
and halted a short time after which we were allowed to go back
to camp and get some supper
We fed our horses at camp but did not unsaddle expecting
orders to go back in a short time but we did not go till about
three oclock the next morning At that time we mounted and
went out to where the Cove Creek road and the ridge road sepe-
rate halted there built fires and got warm and then Co A was sent
down the ridge road to guard it We went about a mile and
halted and remained there till daylight While there we heard
the heavy rumbling of artilery and tread of cavalry on the other
road and we supposed that they would attack us early in the
morning
[Battle of Prairie Grove, December 7, 186229]
At daylight we went back to the other road but we were sent
back to the same place again Soon after Co C was on another
road still father to our right The rest of the regiment and Cos
D, F and H of the Eleventh were guarding the Cove Creek road.
About nine oclock we heard cannonading several miles northeast
of us and it continued some time About ten oclock we recieved
orders to fall back and we went back This regiment was the rear
guard leaving Cane Hill and we marched on at a common gait
till we got within a mile of Rheas mill when we again heard can-
nonading to our right and each regiment turned to the right and
marched on double quick in that direction This was about one
oclock and by two were close upon the enemy The road we
traveled over was bad enough at any time but it was at this time
29. Of this major engagement, near Fayetteville, General Blunt, on December 8,
reported: "This place [Prairie Grove], on yesterday, was the scene of a hard-fought
and bloody field, resulting in a complete victory to the Army of the Frontier. The rebel
forces, under Generals Hindman, Marmaduke, Parsons, and Frost, numbered 25,000. My
whole force in the field did not exceed 8,000. I had been holding the enemy on the
Boston Mountains for two days . . . holding them in check until General Herron
could come up with re-enforcements.
"On the 7th, they . . . commenced a flank movement on my left during the
night . . . Their object was to cut off communication between myself and General
Herron . . . They attacked General Herron at about 10 a. m., who, by gallant and
desperate fighting, held them in check for three hours, until I came up and attacked
them in the rear. The fighting was desperate on both sides, and continued until it was
terminated by the darkness of the night. . . . the enemy . . . availed them-
selves of the night to retreat across the Boston Mountains. The loss on both sides has
been heavy. . . . The enemy's loss, compared with ours, is at least four to one.
My artillery made terrible destruction in their ranks. They had greatly the advantage in
numbers and position, yet Generals Marmaduke and Hindman acknowledged to me, in
an interview under a flag of truce, that they had been well whipped. ." — Ibid.,
pp. 69, 70.
The rebel casualties were placed at 1,000 killed and nearly 2,000 wounded The
union losses were: 175 killed, 800 wounded and over 260 missing. — Ibid., pp. 76, 83, 86.
206 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
so crowded that in some places it was nearly impossible to get
along
When at the scene of action we came very near rushing up to
the rebel army thinking it was our own The rebels were in a
thick grove of small timber the trees being from four inches to a
foot in diameter The rebel Gens intention was to get in our rear
and capture our train. And willie Col. [Charles A.] Carroll with
his cavalry regiment was making fients on Cane Hill while he and
his army took another road which lead to Fayetteville This road
has been guarded by the Sixth Kansas but by some mistake they
had been drawn off for a few hours and the rebel army allowed to
pass The meeting of Gen Herron30 and the enemy was unexpected
by Gen Herron. His advance guard had stoped to feed and on the
enemy charging up to them threw them into confusion immedi-
ately About two hundred were taken prisoners and the regiment
they belonged to the Arkansas First lost thier train Gen. Herron
succeeded in getting the rest of his men into line and the battle
comenced And they fought till after Gen Blunt got there with his
division In this battle Gen Herron showed himself to be a brave
and efficient officer and the men under his command done thier
part nobly
When we found out the position of the rebels we turned to the
left and went down into a large cornfield leaving the infantry
just at the edge of the timber where they formed a line to be ready
to recieve the enemy Hopkins and Rabbs batteries were placed
on the left where they could see the rebel battery and they opened
fire upon it and soon silenced it Aliens battery was placed on on
the right I[t] was but a short time before the infantry were en-
gaged and the 2nd Kansas were dismounted and went forward in
line passed the tenth and went up and some of us formed on the
right of the Eleventh Two Cos E and H formed on the left of the
Eleventh and were under command of Capt Crawford three
companies of the 2nd A C and G were on the right of the Eleventh
but did not have any field officer over them each Co acting inde-
pen[den]tly Where Col. Bassett was I do not know At least
he was not there
Soon the enemy advanced on us again and after we had com-
menced firing the Tenth came up and formed on our right The
timber where we were was clear of underbrush but in advance
of us where the enemy [was] the underbrush was thick and it
30. Brig. Gen. Francis J. Herron, at this time, commanded the third division of the
Army of the Frontier which was headed by Brig. Gen. John M. Schofield.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 207
made it difficult for us to see them We did not fire by volleys
but each man fired when he saw some enemy to shoot at and
the enemy fired in the same manner After we had been engaged
some time Col Weir came along on foot swearing it was our own
men that we were firing on so we reserved our fire for a few
moments but they kept firing on us whenever they had a good
opportunity We soon found out that it was the enemy that were
firing on us and then our men rushed forward sheltering them-
selves as much as possible behind trees and opened a brisk fire
on them and kept it up some time Joseph Ballance of Co A
was severely wounded in the breast about this time and was
carried of [f] the field
We kept up this fire till about sundown when the enemy being
largely reinforced charged forward in line and we were compeled
to fall back the infantry into the field but we went back to our
horses and mounted but remained in line The enemy advanced
to the edge of the field and then our batteries opened thier fire
with shell and kept it up till dark The enemy got one battery into
position on our right and commenced firing at us with shell One
came just over the right of Co. A and passing over us struck a
horse in Co. C not more than sixty paces behind us killing him
instantly but did not hurt the rider We then moved back some
distance. Aliens battery opened on the rebel battery and soon
silenced it and they moved it away
At dark the firing ceased as if by mutual consent We fell
back about a mile from the position of the enemy and lay down for
the night The infantry stacked arms and lay down near them
the cavalry went and got corn fed thier horses but did not un-
saddle and the horses were kept in line as near as possible till
morning We lay down near our horses but did not sleep very
sound The night was cold and not one of us were allowed to
build a fire
About eleven oclock Lieut Johnson came and waked four of us
up to go out with him to discover the position of the enemy and
gave us instructions that if we ran into the enemy and got scat-
tered to make the best of our way back to camp We went at
first directly towards the enemy but when we got about half way
acrossed the field we turned to the right and went about a mile
still getting closer to the enemy and then turned around and came
back about a quarter of a mile from the timber and paralell to it
We came back to near where Rabb had his battery at dark and
then turned towards our army Just as we turned back we heard
208 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
sounds like artilery moving but in what direction we could not
tell The enemy were probably still on the field at least it had that
apearance On our road back we saw two men horseback and an
ambulance but not knowing whether they were ours or not we
struck the gallop towards them and they supposing we were the
enemy turned to the right and run thier horses and mules as fast
as possible towards our army and by that we concluded they
were our own men and so they proved We went strait along in-
stead of turning towards our army as they did but bringing our
horses to a walk soon went to camp On ariving at our army Lieut.
Johnston went to headquarters to report and the ambulance having
arived before him. The driver reported that he had been driven
in by the enemy who came near overtaking him We went back
to our places and lay down About two oclock Nugent came and
waked me up to have me go with the ambulances under a flag
of truce to gather up the wounded but after I told him I had
been out once before and he then excused me
The next morning we got up at daylight mounted and moved
back into the timber and built fires An armistice had been asked
for by Gen Hindman till 6 oclock P. M. but which was not granted
till that time but a short armistice was allowed During this time
Gen's Blunt and Herron met the rebel Gen. [Thomas C.] Hindman
under a flag of truce and at first Hindman claimed the victory but
Gen Blunt told him that he would have to fight it over again and
Gen Blunt said his force would be ready in fifteen minutes and
Gen. Hindman rather than fight it over acknowledged himself
whiped but said the day would come when his army would be
victorious Giving as a reason why his army was whiped that his
army was less in number to the army of Gen Blunt and Herron
and then Gen Herron told him he would fight him man for man
he would take five hundred one thousand or he would take his body
guard against the same number of rebels and fight him and if that
would not do he would fight him by himself but Gen Hindman
declined this offer
About nine oclock one days rations were brought to us of bacon
and hard bread We not having any thing to eat since the night
before the battle About noon it was acertained that the enemy
were on the full retreat leaving thier dead on the field and many
of the wounded were left in our possesion nearly every house
having more or less of them We amedately took possession of the
field after learning that the enemy were on the retreat The 2nd
Kansas were sent about one mile from the field and camped for
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 209
the night A detail was made out for a scout of fifty men and we
were ready a little before sundown and went at first back to
Rheas mill and then took the ridge road for Cane Hill and went to
that place but saw nothing of the enemy We stayed at Cane Hill
about half an hour and then went back the same way we came
getting back to camp about four oclock in the morning we lay
down by the fire and slept till daylight
The loss of the enemy at the battle of Prairie Grove was four
hundred and fifty killed and about fifteen hundred wounded Thier
own report was sixteen hundred and fifty in killed and wounded
Some of our reporters place the enemies loss at twenty five hundred
Our loss was about five hundred killed and wounded most of which
were in Herrons division Two companies of this regiment E
K lost eighteen killed and wounded Capt [Avra P.] Russell of
Co. K was mortally wounded and has since died The loss of the
other Co that were engaged was but slight One in Co. A was
severely wounded but not mortally
The ninth of Dec we went into camp at Rheas mill pitched
tents and got us some thing to eat once more The first night in
camp I was so nearly worn out that I could not sleep well not
having slept any of any consequence for the three nights previous
The next day we stayed in camp all day The Tenth [llth?] we
went to Carie Hill once more and camped the same place we were
when we were there before While on our road to that [place]
we met several secesh ambulances which were going to the battle
field after the wounded they were under a flag of truce
Nearly every house in Cane Hill has wounded in and flags of
truce come in nearly every day At first we were obliged to issue
rations to thier wounded but after a few days they sent in rations
for them Our sick and wounded were sent to Fayetteville A. L.
Payne and J. Balance were sent there and five that were sick of
Co A were sent there also M. Stern was sent to take care of them
The Second and Third brigades occupied Cane Hill after the battle
but did not have near as much duty to do as when we were here
before The details for forage and picket are by companies so
that it is not near as hard on the privates as when details are made
from every company for these purposes
Dec twentieth Go's A and D were detailed for a scout and were
under command of Capt. Crawford We started with one days ra-
tions at daylight and taking the Cove Creek road went down as far
as Oliver's store met two flags of truce one which was bringing
15_3879
210 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
in provisions for the wounded and the other had despaches for Gen
Blunt The first one was inside the picket before we met it the
other was near Oliver The last one we met was just as we were
turning a bend in the road and we were as near as fifty paces be-
fore seeing one another We then kept on till as near as twenty
paces when both parties halted and the flag bearer first saluted
first with his hand and then lowered the flag Lieut [John M.]
Mencer who was in command of the advance guard returned the
salute with his hand and then rode up to the flag bearer and asked
for what purpose the flag was sent in and on being answered sent
it back to Capt. Crawford who was at the head of the column
and Capt. Crawford allowed them to go on towards camp We
saw nothing of the enemy at Oliver but some of the inhabitants
said there was a rebel picket one mile father on but as no confidence
could be placed in what they said Capt Crawford did not think
it best to go any father so we started back towards camp
The Valley of Cove creek had the apearance of having been
occupied by large bodies of troops very recently Signs of camp
could be seen nearly all of the way from our picket to Oliver a
distance of eighteen miles There was no forage on the road and
rebel horses suffered in consequences Every tree that had horses
tied to them had the bark knawed of [f] even walnut trees had the
bark knawed of[f] by them grape vines two and three inches
in diameter were knawed clear off We came back by the ridge
road but had a very steep mountain to ascend and on getting to the
top found ourselves at the same place where we were on the fifth
of this month when the enemy were camped in the valley below
This mountain is so steep as to make it nearly impossible for two
good horses to pull an empty wagon up Nothing more of im-
portance occured before we got to camp except that the advanced
pickets got frightened at our advance and fell back on the main
body of the picket but no shots were fired We arrived at camp
about nine oclock P. M. having rode almost incessantly since day-
light and our horses and ourselves were fatigued very much.
[March to Van Buren, Ark., December 27-28, 1862]
Dec 26 we recieved orders to be ready at seven oclock A M the
morning of the 27th with three days rations of bread, meat and so
forth and a peck of shelled corn on our horses and three days rations
in the wagon to march from Cane Hill Cane Hill is the name of
a coledge situated about a mile from Boonsboro but most of the
Federal soldiers nearly all call both the town and college Cane
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 211
Hill it was formerly a thriving place but the war has left its
mark The inhabitants were almost to a unit secesh but have
nearly all left now There are about four hundred and fifty
wounded secesh in the different hospitals at Cane Hill
We left Cane Hill the morning of the twen[ty] seventh equiped
according to orders and marched towards Van Buren This was
a general movement of the whole army and our object proved to
be to take Van Buren and Fort Smith from the rebels The first
division went in advance, in the following order the Kansas 2nd
was the advance guard for the main army then the rest of the third
brigade under Col Cloud the 2nd brigade under Col Weer. We
had no skirmishing on the first days march the advance halted
about a mile north of Olivers store and rested till morning At
daylight the next morning we started on passed Olivers store
and took the Van Buren road which led down [?] creek about
half a mile and then went up the mountain Gen Herron arrived at
Olivers store a few minutes after we arived but halted till our di-
vision had passed and then fell in behind us They came down
on the telegraph road from the battleground . . .
[There is a brief gap in the manuscript here, the account lacking
only a part of the events of December 28, 1862. According to the
official military history, the Second Kansas cavalry "moved rapidly
forward" on the 28th, "met the enemy's pickets sixteen miles from
Van Buren, drove them back, and met a regiment of Texas cavalry
at Dripping Springs. At this place Lieutenant Colonel Bassett was
ordered, with six squadrons, by Brigadier General Herron to make
a detour to the right, and gain a road two or three miles further west,
which caused him to enter Van Buren half an hour behind the ad-
vance. Captain Moore, in command of the other three squadrons,
maintained the advance into Van Buren, and supported by a regi-
ment of Missouri cavalry, drove the Texas regiment, before re-
ferred to, into and through Van Buren, and captured their baggage
train, consisting of twenty-five wagons; the entire advance under
Colonel Cloud:'
Osbornes narrative picks up the story again as the Texans are
being driven out of Van Buren.]
. . . two men but were soon compelled to retreat again This
stand was made to save their train which was just ahead of them
They retreated through Log Town to Van Buren We charged
after them until we arrived at the top of the hill over looking Van
Buren where we halted and waited for the rest of the regiment
We had expected to have a battle here. The streets apeared very
212 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
quiet and the cavalry we had been pursuing was galloping down
the river below town and entering the woods were out of sight
in a few moments. Three steamers could be seen on the river one
was ferrying troops across the river the others were going down
the river
Col. Cloud soon ordered a charge and we charged through the
town and down to the steamer which was being used as a ferry
boat and dismounted and commenced firing into her and she soon
hoisted the white flag the rebel soldiers who were on board
jumped of [f] and swam to the shore and escaped The rebel Gen.
Sharpe [?] was on board and got a ducking with the rest. Leav-
ing a guard with this steamer Col. Cloud took the rest of his men
and went down the river after the rebel train.
About four miles below Van Buren we came in sight of the
steamer Key West she was on a sand bar and was easily captured
and a guard left with her and Col. Cloud kept on after the train
which he captured two miles father down A few moments after
he left, the steamer Rose Douglass came in sight we having passed
her coming down She was hailed and ordered to land which she
did These steamers were loaded with corn and hard bread
negros were throwing corn off the Rose Douglass and would not
stop until fired on The captured train was nearly useless to us
the wagons were old and worn out and the mules looked as if
they were strangers to corn or any other kind of feed the wagons
were loaded with rebel soldiers baggage When Col Cloud came
back he went on board of the steamers examined their cargos and
ordered them to return to Van Buren he going up on the Rose
Douglass The train was turned over to Capt Cameron who took
it to Van Buren
Cos A & D started back towards Van Buren but before arriving
there heard cannonading in that direction when Co. A went down
to the river bank hailed the steamer and told Col. Cloud of it and
he ordered the boat to land. The firing proved to be the rebels
They had posted a batterry on the river bank opposite Van Buren
and were shelling the town. Our artilerry and infantry had not
yet arrived so the rebels having no resistance shelled the town
for an hour. Aliens batterry was brought up on double quick and
fired a few shots at the rebel batterry and it was taken away One
man belonging to Co H was killed and some ladies living in town
were wounded Several rebel hospitals were in town filled with
sick and wounded rebel soldiers whose lives were in as much danger
as ours.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 213
When the rebel batterry was silenced Gen. Blunt came down
got on board the Rose Douglass and ordered it to go up to town.
We now went back into town arriving there about sundown Gen.
Blunts division had arrived and were formed along the levee We
found the regiment camped back away from the river on low
ground near McGees house Col. Cloud took two sections of
Aliens batterry after dark and went down and complimented
the rebel camp which he had discovered while coming up the river
killing several of the enemy The loss of men was small on both
sides although we had skirmished nearly all day we had not got
into any close action The rebel army was all on the south side of
the river excepting the 1st Reg. Texan Partisan Rangers whicft
was camped at Dripping Springs and was the one that we had
skirmished with during the day.
The next morning the reg't saddled and left camp at ten oclock
and went down the river after the rebels and to get all the ser-
vicable horses and mules we could find. We went about fifteen
miles saw some rebels across the river in several places when we
found some negros ferrying some stock across and sent for them
animals which they had taken over but night coming on were
obliged to go back with out them. When we came in sight of
Van Buren we saw the steamers we had captured burning and no
camp fires were to be seen and the place seemed to be evacuated
During the day General Blunt had recieved orders from St. Louis
to fall back across the Boston mountains immediately and the army
had moved out of the town We went back to the same place
where we stayed the previous night but before lying down re-
cieved orders to shell two days rations of corn for our horses and
be ready to march by five oclock the next morning At daylight we
were ready to move but were delayed by negro reffugees who
were going north with us The train we had captured was un-
loaded and mostly given to them A few hogsheads of sugar and
some hard bread was all we retained of our captures the rest was
destroyed As soon as the negros were ready and started we
followed them forming the rear guard going back The night of
the 30th we camped at Olivers store where we drew some rebel
hard bread as our ration had been consumed it was not hardly
fit to eat It tasted as though it was made of beans boiled mashed
and mixed with flour and then baked. The next day went up Cove
Creek and camped at its head near the picket post
New Year day we left Cove Creek and went past Cane Hill to
Rheas Mill where we found our regimental train and camped pitch-
214 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
ing our tents once more. The man who had been detached in
April for a batterry had returned during our absence they had
been in Tennessee nearly all the time while absent. The 2nd the
division moved again with the 2nd Kan. as rear guard as usual in
a retrograde movement at night camped at Willow Springs went
on the next day to Elm Springs where we remained several days.
Gen. Blunt was removed from the command and ordered to
Kansas. Gen. Schofield assumed command of the division and
brigaded it again The 1st brigade consisted of the 6th 9th & llth
Kansas & the 3rd & 9th Wis. and Aliens batterry. Col. Weer in
command the 2nd brigade consisted of the 2nd 10th & 13th Kansas
and Rabbs batterry Col. Cloud in command the 3rd brigade had
all the Indian regiments and Hopkins batterry. The 3rd of Jan
we escorted some officers to Bentonville and returned the 4th The
army was reviewed by Gen. Schofield on the 7th The transporta-
tion was reduced to one wagon to a Co. Cos A & D had drawn
A tents when at Fort Riley, these were returned to the Q. M. and
we drew Sibley tents
[Hospital Duty, January 10-March 25, 1868]
The 10th I was detailed as an attendant in hospital at Fayette-
ville I was p[l]aced on duty in the ward where [Albert L.] Payne
& [Joseph] Ballance were The room was small and had only five
pat[i]ents in it one of whom died the 12th another, Culverson of
the 20th Iowa, died the 20th he was severely wounded in the
thigh had been neglected when first wounded if his leg had
been amputated at first his life could have been saved J[ames]
Hill and Silas Snook of Co. A of the 2nd Kan died of disease the
10th of Jan.
The 8th of Feb. orders were recieved to remove all the sick and
wounded of the 1st division to Fort Scott. The 10th we started
taking eight patients who could not sit up two ambulances only
were furnished in which beds were placed and two men placed in
each The other patients were obliged to ride in transportation
wagons the wagon beds were filled with straw then mattresses
laid on it and four who could not sit up placed in one but patients
who could sit up were placed eight in each wagon Surgeons
[E. L.] Pat[t]ee and [A. J.] Ri[t]chie had charge of the hospital.
We passed Jones mill and Maysville crossed Cow Skin river and
arrived at Neosho on the 15th We drew eight days rations at Col.
[W. A.] Philipps camp on Cow Skin The 16th left Neosho The
18th the rear guard had a skirmish with Livingstons gurillas one
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 215
Lieut and one private was killed and three privates mortally
wounded Two scouts were captured Denton & McKinney but
pretending to be sutlers were paroled one of them had Dr. Patees
horse and saddle and all the Drs. papers these fell into the hands
of the enemy.
The night of the 19th it rained all night and until four in the
afternoon the 20th when it turned to snow and snowed for several
hours. The patients nearly all got wet making them uncomfort-
able we arrived at Dry Wood at night had some trouble with
the teamsters who would not take the train where the patients
could be taken care of but the master of transportation made them
remove the train to a house where the patients were taken out and
the blankets dried The 22[ncJ] of Feb. we arrived at Fort Scott
and the patients were placed in the Gen. Hospital there While on
the road the patients suffered very much but one died he from
sickness. I was placed on duty in Ward A.
The 19th of March all the patients were removed from the hos-
pital and started for Leavenworth Payne and Ballance had per-
mission to go home and remain until the last of April. March 25th
I was relieved from duty in the hospital, and the 28th left Fort
Scott for Springfield where the regiment was stationed I met the
6th 10th & llth at Dry Wood they were going home on furlough
passed Rouse Point Greenfield and arrived at Springfield on the
31st. The regiment had arrived there about the 15th of January
and were on duty at the post as escorts, pickets, &c.
[Regimental Activities, April-October, 1863]
The 21st of April an escort was detailed out of the regiment to
escort Maj Weed to Fayetteville we were absent six days and
marched 220 miles. [Manuscript torn. About three lines are miss-
ing] . . . and drew Sharpes Carbines the 18th [of May] drew
Colts Army revolvers The 19th [of May] the regiment left Spring-
field for a scout went through Cassville and Kiettsville had a
skirmish near Bentonville the 22nd captured eleven prisoners
then sent a flag of truce to Fayetteville but Lieut Ballard then
turned went back through Neosho Pineville and Carthage had a
skirmish near the latter place the 26th Here the dismounted men
were sent to Fort Scott for horses and the others went back through
Mt. Vernon to Springfield arriving there on the 29th At Mount
Vernon Col. Cloud hearing that Vicksburg had fallen had a
salute fired but on arriving at Springfield news was recieved that
it had not.
216 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The 18th of June I was detailed to go to Greenfield on duty with
five others we arrived at Greenfield at sun down and returned
the next day. The 28th of June six men were detailed out of the
Co. to go after forage we went through Bolivar and found corn
about twelve miles northwest of the town, loaded our wagons and
came back through Humansville to attend a dance then through
Bolivar and arrived at Springfield the 3rd of July. The next day
had a grand review. The 15th of July Brig Gen. John McNeil
relieved Col. Cloud of the command of the district All of the regi-
ment left . . . [Manuscript torn. Two or three lines are lack-
ing.} for Cassville. The 21st Co. A left for the same place as an
escort for the pay master and on arriving at Cassville were ordered
back by Gen. McNeil, and on the 30th were detailed as an escort
for Gen. McNeil and placed on duty the same day.
The 3rd day of August I was detailed for duty as messenger and
was on duty every other day until the 13th of Oc. Col. Cloud
took the regt and the 1st Arkansas Inft. and two sections of Rabbs
batterry and went into the Indian Nation joined Gen. Blunt pur-
sued the rebels as far as Perryville Choctaw Nation then came
back towards Fort Smith and fought a battle at the Devils Back
Bone routed the enemy and then took possession of Fort Smith
& Van Buren the 1st of Sep 1863.
About the last of Sep Gen. McNeil went to St Louis on business
leaving Col. John Edwards of the 18th Iowa Inft in command of
the district. A few days after a force of rebel cavalry came into
the state from Ark Commanded by Shelby & Coffee31 They passed
through Neosho, Greenfield, Stockton, Warsaw and Cole Camp
burning all the court houses as they went. They were defeated
near Syracuse and came back. [Manuscript torn. Two or three
lines are missing.]
. . . stationed at Springfield and went out after them, but
was too late to overtake them before they crossed the Osage river
going north so he retired to Buffalo where he remained until the
13th of Oc. when Gen. McNeil arrived from St Louis and assumed
command.
The 14th orders were recieved for all of the Co. that could be
spared from Springfield to go to Buffalo. We started at ten oclock
at night and arrived there a distance of thirty five miles before
daylight. At eleven oclock in the forenoon the command left
Buffalo and marched to Bolivar. Early in the morning of the 16th
we left Bolivar and went through Humansville and camped on
31. Confederate colonels Joseph O. Shelby and John T. Coffee.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 217
Sac river at night Maj [E. B.] Eno of the 8th M. S. M. came
up at dark and reported that the enemy had passed through
Humansville in the afternoon on their way south Gen. McNeil
ordered his command to saddle and we moved out to intercept the
enemy at Stockton we marched all night and arrived near Stock-
ton at day light but the rebels had taken another route we did
not meet them. We remained here long enough to get breakfast
and then went on to Greenfield remained there over night and
in the morning went on to Sarcoxie We heard of the enemy
several times and found their trail. They had avoided passing
through any towns after leaving Humansville As they were going
towards Cassville two messengers were sent to that place to
alarm the troops at that place. /The 19th we left Sarcoxie and went
to Cassville. Col. [E. C.] Catherwood of the 6th M. S. M. took
all the troops except the escort and leaving Cassville to the left
went on to Keittsville. We had followed the trail of the enemy
nearly all day they having passed during the night.
We left Cassville early the morning of the 20th [of October]
joined Col Catherwood near Keittsville then went on to Sugar
Creek The next morning we left Sugar Creek on the Fayetteville
road but turned off of it near Cross Hollows went east to the ford
of White river where we camped for the night. The next day we
went on to Huntsville. We met a flag of truce before entering the
town and while the Gen. was talking to the bearer of the flag the
escort charged into the town drove out a Co. of rebels who were
stationed there and captured about a dozen rebels. The 23rd we
left Huntsville and went about twenty miles and camped At night
a messenger arrived from Cassville with orders for Gen. McNeil
to go to Fort Smith and assume command of the district of the
frontier. Capt. [C. G.] Laurant and Lieut French were sent back
to Springfield to finish all business which was left unfinished.
The 24th we marched through Kinston and over a range of the
Buffalo mountains On the decent we discovered the enemy in
the valley below. They were busy preparing their supper evi-
dently thinking that we could not get our artilerry over the moun-
tains and they were not afraid of our cavalry as they had twice as
many men as we had but they were mistaken about the artilerry
it had been brought up and was soon posted on a high point and
commenced shelling their camp and they saddled and went on up
another mountain. We went down into the valley where we found
plenty of fresh beef and pork all ready to cook and plenty of forage.
We remained there till morning and then went on after the rebels
218 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The mountain was so steep that it took all day for the artilerry
and train to get over the first one and the infantry was left to
guard them the cavalry went on to the head of Big Piney where
we camped for the night. The enemy being all mounted and not
having a wheeled vehecle of any kind got so much the start of us
that we could not overtake them before they crossed the Ark river
but Maj [Thomas J.] Hunt of the 1st Ark. Cav'y skirmished with
their rear guard every day.
The 26th the cavalry moved only four miles and waited for the
artilerry and infantry to come up. The train did not get in until
about dark. The morning of the 27th the mountain Feds as they
were called executed a man who as they said had deserted from
them twice he appeared very indifferent to his fate and was not
pittied any by the soldiers. The same day we arrived at Clarks-
ville and camped there one night Oc. 28th we left Clarksville
on the telegraph road for Fort Smith. Col. Catherwood left us
when near Osark for Springfield taking the detachments of the
1st Ark Cav'y and the 6th & 8th M. S. M. Capt [Henry] Hopkins
and his Co. had a skirmish with the enemy the 29th on Mulberry
creek.
[Regimental Activities, November, 1863-D ecember, 1864]
Oc. 30, Gen. McNeil arrived at Fort Smith with his escort. Col.
Cloud was in command of the District. The posts in the district
were Fort Smith Van Buren Fayetteville and Fort Gibson. The
company arrived from Springfield the 1st of Nov. and the next day
Gen. McNeil assumed command of the District of the Frontier.
Co. A, the escort was given quarters in the garrison and we had
a stable for our horses We remained in quarters until April [1864]
but most of the Co. was absent at times going to Springfield once
and to Fort Scott once Gen McNeil went to St Louis in Jan. leav-
ing Col [William R.] Judson of the 6th Kan in temporary command
of the district and before he could return the state of Ark was set
off into a seperate department and Gen. J. M. Thayer ordered
by Gen Steelle32 the department commander to assume command
of the district of the Frontier.
Gen. Thayer assumed command in Feb. The Indian Territory
belonged to the Department of Kansas and Gen Blunt was assigned
to the command of it. The town of Fort Smith belonged to one
department and the garrison to the other, and the Generals were
each jealous of the other. Gen. Thayer had nearly all of the troops
32. Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 219
and Gen Blunt most of the transportation. The 24th of March
Gen. Thayer moved out with his army, and joined Gen. Steelle
about a hundred miles southwest of Little Rock In the latter part
of March 1864, the troops of the department of Ark. moved out
to assist Gen. [Nathaniel P.] Banks in his expedition on Red River.
Gen Thayer took all the troops that could be spared from Fort
Smith and marched out and joined Gen. Steelle about one hundred
miles southwest of Little Rock. They went as far as Camden and
fought several battles, but Gen. Banks having retreated the whole
rebel army marched on them and they fell back to Little Rock.
The 17th of April Gen. Blunt recieved orders from the war de-
partment at Washington for him to report to Maj Gen. Curtis at
Fort Leavenworth Kansas, and his district was attached to the
Department of Ark. He took about forty of the Co. and went to
Kansas, Col. [William R.] Judson of the 6th Kan. assumed com-
mand of the district. The whole available force at Fort Smith did
not then amount to six hundred men, and many aprehended an
attack from the rebels, but the enemy were too much engaged else-
where to molest us. The 16th of May Gen. Thayer arrived with
his army and assumed command of the district. He had the forts
which had been commenced finished, and had a line of rifle pits
dug from Peteau river to the Ark. Thereby completely encircling
the town.
As warm weather advanced the gurillas spread over the country
attacking any small party of our troops that they could find The
telegraph was cut so often that it was impossible to keep it in re-
pair and it was given up in Aug. Mail parties were fired on and it
became neccessary to abandon the regular mail and send parties
through with it at long intervals without letting any one know when
it would go or when it was expected to return. The 26th of July a
battalion of the 6th Kan which was camped on Mazzard prairie,
eight miles from Fort Smith was attacked by a brigade of rebels
commanded by [Gen. R. M.] Gano and lost 16 men killed and one
hundred men were taken prisoners. The mounted men nearly all
escaped
Several other attacks were made on detachments of the command,
but only one more was successful. That was made on a supply
train on Cabin Creek fifty miles north of Fort Gibson in the Chero-
kee Nation. A train of two hundred and fifty wagons was lost
there all loaded with Commissary and Q. M. stores This was a
severe loss to the army as it was short of rations before, and were
now obliged to subsist on half rations. Forage was even less abun-
220 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
dant than rations and many horses died for want of it. In the
three cavalry regiments not fifty servicable horses were left by the
1st of Dec.
In Dec Maj Gen [E. R. S.] Canby who commanded the Military
Division of West Miss, ordered the posts of Fort Smith and the
ajacent posts to be evacuated. He removed Gen. Steelle from
the command of the department of Ark. and assigned Maj Gen
[Joseph J.] Reynolds to the command of it. Four steamers came
up to Fort Smith loaded with forage and returned loaded with
Q. M. stores About the first of Jan. orders were recieved from
Lieut Gen. Ulysses S. Grant not to evacuate the posts of Fort Smith,
Van Buren and Fayetteville and ordering Gen. Reynolds to for-
ward supplies as soon as possible to those posts. Four steamers
arrived on the 15th with supplies.
[Rebel Attack on the Steamboat Annie Jacobs, January 17, 1865]
On the 16th of January 1865 I was releived from duty as Messen-
ger at District Headquarters Fort Smith, Arkansas, by order of
Brig. General J. M. Thayer commanding officer District of the
Frontier and ordered to report to my Company Commander for
duty The Co. were at Clarksville Ark a post sixty five miles by
land below Fort Smith and four miles from the Arkansas river on
the north side The river was in boating condition and boats were
at Fort Smith ready to start for Little Rock Transportation was
furnished my companions and myself on board the steamer Annie
Jacobs and daylight the morning of the 17th found us on board
of her ready for starting to Clarksville
Before the sun was up we were on our way We passed the Ad.
Hine near Van Buren she was on a sand bar but working hard to
get off Afterwards passed the steamer Chippewa where she was
wooding with dry rails and over took the steamer Lotus wooding
and stopped to wood ourselves near her While wooding the
steamer Chippewa passed us but we were ready to start before
the Lotus We passed two small towns Osark and Roseville with-
out seeing any rebels but just below the latter town a woman
hailed us and told us that the enemy were waiting for us about
three miles below her story was hardly credited but we made
some preperations for an action with them
On ariving in sight of Joy's ford four miles from Roseville we
discovered the Chippewa lying still on the south bank of the
river. Col. [Thomas M.] Bowen of the 13th Kansas now procured
a field glass and looking at her said that he thought that she was
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 221
wooding at first but soon said that she was on fire soon after
that we could see the flames distinctly with the naked eye The
officers now held a consultation about what was best to do Col.
Bowen said to run through that we had more of an escort than the
Chippewa and were able to run through Lieut Col. B assert did
not like this plan but allowed it to be carried out.
When about a mile from Chippewa we discovered the enemy
on the south bank of [the] river but did not see their artilery until
they fired a shell at us which struck in the water about thirty paces
to the right in the water; now for the first time we found out that
we were in a sad predicament to go ahead we would have to go
within sixty paces of their artilery and we had gone to far to turn
back everything was in confusion no particular officer had com-
mand and all were giving orders Lt. Col. Bassett finally ordered
the boat to run itself aground on the northern bank and the pilot
succeeded in turning her and she soon struck the ground about
ten feet from the waters edge during this time the enemy kept up
an incessant fire both with their artilery and small arms two shells
struck the boat one passed through the pilot house doing but little
injury and one through the cabin neither of them burst untill after
they had passed through the boat
As soon as the boat struck the reffugees with which she was
loaded commenced getting off double quick time By this time our
men had ceased their firing and prepared to leave the boat After
most of the reffugees were of [f] I jumped off and started for the
river bank just before arriving there I was requested to help tie
up [the] boat having done this I started up the steep bank nar-
rowly escaping being hit by a musket ball which passed just over
my shoulder and very close to my neck After getting to the top
of the bank I stepped a few paces back and seeing one of my com-
panions Charles Wells lying down in a hollow to keep clear of the
balls which were flying pretty thick around us asked him how he
liked that he did not make an audible answer but got up and
went father back into the woods
I turned and started back towards the river and had not gone
more than three paces when a shot from their artilery and a
volley of musketry poured into the timber a musket ball struck me
about three inches above the knee.33 My companions done every-
33. Col. Thomas M. Bowen, reporting the attack on the steamboats, stated: "Private
Vincent B. Osborn, of the Second Kansas Cavalry, had his thigh bone shattered whilst
making the cable of the Jacobs fast on shore. His leg was subsequently amputated and
his life is lost." — War of the Rebellion, Series I, v. 48, Pt. 1, p. 16.
The colonel was mistaken in predicting Osborne's death from the amputation. It is
noteworthy that Osborne, in his own account of the affair does not mention his bravery
under fire in tying up the boat. Modesty seems to have been characteristic of the man.
222 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
thing in their power to make me comfortable and when the men
arived from the 2nd Kansas I was happy to find several of my Co.
with them they and the officers, Dr. Hunt34 especially, were very
kind to me offering their assistance to me I slept but little during
the night being compelled to lie on my back all the time and not
being used to that could not go to sleep I partook very freely of
wine and whiskey during the night drinking three bottles of the
former and one of the latter at last daylight came, and then I was
removed to the train
Just before starting I wishing to know what Dr. Hunts opinion
of the severity of my wound and not wishing to put the question
directly to him said Dr this is a pretty severe wound Yes said he
its a terrible wound this answer settled the question in the af-
firmitive in my mind about my leg being amputated I was carried
by six men to the wagon and laid in carefully The wagon was a
common six mule government wagon and not very easy to ride in
but ambulances had been sent for and were to meet us on the road
about sunrise we started for Clarksville I suffered considerably
of the jar of the wagon but not more than I had expected The
rebels had all left during the night and the next day preperations
were made to remove the boats The Annie Jacobs was found to
be disabled so that she had to be towed of [f] but the Lotus was able
to be taken down the river.
About half way to Clarksville the ambulances met us and I was
moved into one and we pushed on to Clarksville ariving there a
little after dark There I met some more of my friends who took
me up into a room where I remained that night Capt [N. Z. ?]
Strong AAA Gen'l of the 2nd brigade came to see me and had
some supper brought to me which was very acceptable as I had
eaten nothing since I had been wounded except a few canned
peaches Soon after eating supper Drs [Joseph P.] Root and [John
S.] Redfield came in and examined my wound and prescribed
water dressing to be put on it but did not tell me what they
thought of the severity of my wound Two of my Co volunteered
to keep it wet during the night It did not pain me much now and
being very tired I soon fell asleep and slept till morning the next
morning I looked at my leg and saw that it had already turned a
deadly color and all hope of saving it was blasted
34. Maj. S. B. Hunt, surgeon-in-chief of the District of the Frontier.
OSBORNE'S CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCES 223
I passed the fore noon quietly but about noon the Drs all came
in half a dozen or so and said they had come for a final examination
but their looks belied what they said as I could read in their faces
that they thought the case hopeless but they looked at my leg and
soon gave their decision that they should have to take my leg off
I made no pa[r]ticular objection and a table was brought in and I
was laid upon it my pants cut off and Dr. [Albert W.] Cheneworth
applied the chloroform to my nostrils In a moment I was asleep
and on waking up saw Dr. Root bandaging my stump Dr. Red-
field holding it for him I had not the slightest recolection of it
being taken off
I was placed on a stretcher and carried about a quarter of a mile
to where the hospital had been established This was in a house
situated on a hill just north of the town a healthy pleasant place
I was put in a room about sixteen feet square by one of the southern
windows five or six more patients were placed in the same room
but they all left but one in a couple of days that one was shot
through the shoulder and was confined to his bed William Paul of
my Co. was detailed as nurse for me and he done it faithfully My
leg was dressed with water and every night two men came up from
the company to sit up with me and keep my stump wet with cold
water To the men of my Co and to Co F of the 6th Kansas I shall
always owe a debt of gratitude which I can never repay they
done everything in their power to alleviate my suffering and they
shall long hold a place in my memory
Wm Paul remained with me until the 10th of March and then
went to the Co. which was stationed at Louisburg Ark. The 12th
I started for Little Rock As Clarksville is situated four miles from
the river I was obliged to ride that distance in an ambulance. A
boat was expected down the river the same day but for some
reason was delayed five days and I remained at Spadras Bluffs dur-
ing the time. At night the 17th the Lotus came down and I was
taken on board and the next morning started for Little Rock
stopped three hours at Louisburg and arrived at Little Rock at
eight oclock P. M. The next day I was removed to the Gen. Hos-
pital at that place. I had been gaining slowly all the time from the
1st of March and continued gaining I was discharged the 8th day
of May 1865 but remained in the hospital until the 7th of July,
when I left Little Rock for home. I did not get able to walk until
the 19th of June.
Bypaths of Kansas History
AN INDIAN BURIAL CUSTOM
From the Council Grove Press, May 18, 1861.
A strange custom prevails amongst the uncivilized Indians of the West.
When a chief, brave, or notable squaw dies or is killed, besides the usual
funeral ceremonies of burial, a horse belonging to the deceased or his friends
is led to the grave and shot. This is done so that the disembodied spirit
may ride away into the happy hunting ground. While on a visit to the
Kaw villages below town, a few days ago, we saw no less than four dead
horses lying near as many fresh made graves.
Crvic IMPROVEMENT AT IOLA
From the Neosho Valley Register, lola, March 17, 1869.
The citizens of lola who deal in swine will, undoubtedly, be interested
in the fact that the Board of Trustees of the incorporation have passed an
ordinance which prohibits the running at large upon our streets of the porkino
fraternity. And in order that any of these troublesome quadrupeds, that may
unfortunately set the law at defiance, a "calaboose" or pound is in process
of erection wherein they may be taken and properly cared for by the Marshal.
This we conceive to be a move in the right direction. It is a notorious fact
that, of all the animal creation, the swine is the biggest hog, and that they
take as little thought of the inconvenience to which they put men and women
when they deliberately root the gate off the hinges, and destroy the "garden
sass," as if we were all delighted to see their cunning pranks, and had no
angry passions that occasionally take a rise. But there is hope now that they
may see the error of their way, and, in fear of the wanderings up and down
through the town of our Marshal who will prove to them to be an evil one,
they may be induced to go and root no more.
WHEN BUFFALO WERE A HAZARD OF RAILROADING
From the Newton Kansan, November 28, 1872.
Engine No. 37 — "Buffalo" — was drawn in Monday night from the front,
it having been ditched the other day beyond Larned by its namesakes.
THE LAW IN DODGE CITY
From the Dodge City Times, October 6, 1877.
Frank Edwards spent a short respite in the lime kiln this week, until some
of his "friends" obtained a key from the marshal and let him out. This
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BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 225
surprised our hero, and struck him as not being good law. When his trial
came up he appeared before the terrible Judge, and brushing the lime from
his afterdeck as he spoke, said: "There's something wrong, Jedge, if I was
legally drunk, what was I unlegally let out for?" With this the case went to
the court who said no complaint had been made and it was therefore not a
legal drunk.
From the Times, October 13, 1877.
HE AND SHE. — She is of the "speckled and sorrel persuasion," and he is
the man who bends pleasantly over the aggravated violin at the Saratoga. She
arrayed herself in a costume "too sweet" and met him on the boulevards.
He, overcome at the sight, fell to emulating the dreamy notes of the distant
fog-horn. She gathered the back of a chair and made a loving and af-
fectionate endeavor to caress him. The attempt was abortive, and he put
out the fire in one of her eyes. The eye went into the sables of grief and
she appealed to the majesty of the law. The counsel for defendant said she
was one who flaunted her frailties to the world and could not recover. But
the City attorney said it was a Magdalena that waited at the tomb to waken
the crucified savior, and that the city had been insulted and must be pacified.
— Why lengthen the story? He paid one dollar and so did she. Selah.
A SQUAW ON THE WARPATH
From the Caldwell Commercial October 19, 1882.
Even Lo [the common name for an Indian in the frontier days] is not
free from domestic difficulties. However much he may lord it over his
poor squaw, it often happens that she refuses to submit to abuse or even
neglect. Our hired man had the satisfaction of witnessing an instance of
that kind on Tuesday afternoon, while coming up from Fall creek. Half
way up the hill he met a buck on horseback who hailed him with "How
John! Swap?" "Swap what?" the h. m. asked. "Moccasin," Lo replied.
Our hired man shook his head and passed on. He had gone but a few
steps when Lo turned his horse and came after. A short distance on, where
the road bends down from Main street, a squaw was seen stooping over as
if in the act of tying up something. Lo reached her first and addressed her
with a few guttural grunts, to which she apparently paid no attention. As
our h. m. neared the party, he discovered that Mrs. Lo was in tears, and
appeared otherwise greatly distressed. Suddenly she started up and grabbed
hold of the saddle upon which her lord and master was seated, and attempted
to pull him off. Failing in this she seized the lariat rope and began thrashing
her hubby and his horse with an energy betokening deep and dire passion.
Mr. Lo chuckled a little and endeavored to get away, but his faithful spouse
hung to him.
The reporter watched the scene for ten or fifteen minutes, and when he
left the squaw was tugging at the rope and occasionally giving her Indian
lord and his horse a lick with it. How the ruction ended, he could not
say, but is satisfied that Mr. Lo had to come to terms with his incensed
spouse. The h. m. gave it as his opinion that the buck had rode off and
16—3879
226 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
left the squaw to get to camp the best way she could, but finally concluded
to return and let her ride behind him. When he reached her she was too
mad to get on the horse or to do anything else, except to give him a
lesson in conjugal duty, and she did it in the best way possible.
THE FORERUNNER OF THE "SINGING" COMMERCIAL?
From the Thomas County Cat, Colby, August 19, 1886.
Buckeye barber shop, W. M. Northrup, proprietor.
If you want as good a shave
As any barber ever gave,
Call on me at my shaving saloon,
At morn or eve, or sunny noon.
I'll cut your hair or shave your face,
Or dye your hair with equal grace.
Rooms, chairs, and towels clean,
Scissors sharp and razors keen,
And as light a hand
As any barber in the land.
Next!
PLAIN TALK FROM BAXTER SPRINGS
From the Baxter Springs News, May 26, 1894.
TAKE A BATH. — Some arrangements should be made whereby the bath
house could be used once a week at least. There are people in this town who
need a bath. If a sufficient amount of patronage was assured the house would
be opened. Make a resolution to bathe occasionally and we will have a
chance to use the bath house.
AN UNWELCOME BEDFELLOW
From the Minneapolis Messenger, October 3, 1895.
A. R. Goodwyn tells of rather an amusing incident but what might have
proven a serious accident which occurred near the Lincoln county line.
Aaron Woody with his family lives in a small dug-out near Barnard and
one night last week Sam White's cattle broke out and one of the steers
weighing about sixteen hundred pounds wandered onto the roof of the dug-
out and when directly over the bed occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Woody he
went like McGinty to the bottom, striking the bed but fortunately he fell
across the head board and not directly on the sleeping occupants. Mr.
Woody finally got the steer off and looked after the injuries of his wife and
child. The latter he at first thought had been killed and a doctor was sent
for and it speedily recovered and no serious injury except a terrific scare re-
sulted from the accident. This is a great country where cattle wander on
top of the houses and fall in on people while they are asleep.
Kansas History as Published in the Press
Heinle Schmidt's column of southwest Kansas history, "It's Worth
Repeating," has continued to appear regularly in The High Plains
Journal, Dodge City. Included among subjects in recent months
were: the part wells played in early settlement, January 24, 31,
1952; a review of Stanley Vestal's Queen of Cowtowns, Dodge City,
February 21; a description of and quotes from a recently discovered
promotion pamphlet issued in the middle 1880's, March 6, 13, 20, 27;
the battle of Fort Coon, by Robert M. Wright, April 10, 17; the
story of the Hinkle ranch, Clark county, by Fred Hinkle, April 24,
May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; and Purdyville, Hodgeman county, by E. W.
Harlan, June 5. A pamphlet containing 27 stories from "It's Worth
Repeating," entitled Ashes of My Campfire, was recently published.
Ernest Dewey's series of historical stories and legends has con-
tinued to be published regularly in the Hutchinson News-Herald.
Some of the recent articles were: "Old Border Town [Trail City]
Now Hardly a Memory," February 3, 1952; "Warmth of Her Life
[Mrs. W. M. Smith] Lingers After Death," February 17; "Mother
Bickerdyke Was Saint to Her Soldiers," March 16; "Bemis Bilked
Barber County Until Persuaded to Hurry Away," March 23; "His
Nickname ['Pistol Pete' Eaton] Was Not Just a Boast," April 13;
"They All Laughed When Ned [Buntline] Got off the Train," April
27; "His [David L. Payne] Hunger for Land Made Him Relentless,"
May 11, and "Hatred for Railroads Finally Brought Death [to Saul
Riley]," June 8. An article by Ruby Basye relating an experience
of her family with Al Jennings, train robber, was printed in the
News-Herald, June 15.
Articles in the Bulletin of the Shawnee County Historical Society
of Topeka, March, 1952, included: "Washburn's Campus: John
Ritchie's Gift," by Paul Adams; part 7, "First Congregational Church
of Topeka," by Russell K. Hickman; "Recollections of Baseball in
Topeka," by Louis E. Frazer; "Earthquakes in Topeka"; "My Experi-
ences During the Flood [1903]," by Iva Maze; "Joseph Groff
Waters," biographical sketch; "The History of Topeka," from Radge's
Topeka Directory, 1883-1884, by Joseph G. Waters, and a con-
tinuation of George A. Root's "Chronology of Shawnee County."
The Whitley Opera House, Emporia, was the subject of a column-
length article entitled "When Emporia Was Young," which appeared
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228 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
in the Emporia Gazette, April 15, 1952. Built in the early 1880's, the
opera house was the scene of many theatrical performances by
famous stage personalities until it burned in 1913.
A one-column history of Antioch school, district No. 7, Marshall
county, by F. W. Tebbut, was printed in the Frankfort Index, April
17, 1952. The first school in the area was a subscription one taught
by a Mrs. Stoner. The district erected the first schoolhouse in 1866.
The struggle of Philip A. Emery in founding the State School for
the Deaf at Olathe, was reviewed briefly in the Johnson County
Democrat, Olathe, April 24, 1952. Emery opened the school late
in 1861 with one pupil. A new building at the school has been
named Emery Hall in his honor.
Historical articles of interest to Kansans in recent issues of the
Kansas City (Mo.) Star included: "Josiah Gregg, Misfit on the
Frontier, Left Classic Account of Life in West," a biographical
sketch of Gregg and a discussion of his Commerce of the Prairies,
by J. Frank Dobie, April 25, 1952; "Grandeur of Kansas Plains Im-
pressed Walt Whitman on Trip to West in 1879," by Charles Arthur
Hawley, June 6, and "Wife Was a Constant Helper in the Career of
William Allen White," by Ruby Holland Rosenberg, June 21. In
the Kansas City ( Mo. ) Times were: "With Varied Interests, William
Allen White Was Primarily a Man of Books," by Everett Rich, April
16; "Heroic Nurse [Mother Bickerdyke] Fought Grim Nature and
Austere Military Men to Save Wounded," a review of Nina Brown
Baker's Cyclone in Calico, by Paul V. Miner, April 25; "Life on
Prairies Failed to Make Men of Spoiled Sons of English Gentry," by
Louis O. Honig, May 10, and "Wooden Bridge Dating From 1858
Still Carries Kansans Across Stranger Creek," by Albert H. Hindman,
June 14.
Articles of a historical nature appearing recently in the Arkansas
City Daily Traveler included: "Arkansas City Once Served as Door-
Step to 'No Man's Land/ " by Arthur J. Emahizer, April 26, 1952;
"Arkansas City Once Was Known as Honest-to-Gosh Ferryland," by
Walter Hutchison, May 3, and "Oak Grove School's History Re-
flects Growth of Arkansas City Area," May 24.
Many of the historic and scenic points in Kansas are listed and
pictured in the 48-page, May-June, 1952, issue of To the Stars, pub-
lished by the Kansas Industrial Development Commission, Topeka.
Designed as a tourist guide, the issue includes brief historical notes
on many areas of Kansas.
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 229
The Topeka Daily Capital has published a historical feature by
Margaret Whittemore each Sunday in recent months. A few of the
articles were: "Last Covered Bridge [near Leavenworth] Dates
Back to 1859," May 4; "Grass Lodges First Residences in Kansas/*
May 18; "Old Mission at Council Grove Honors Kaws," May 25;
"First College in Kansas — Baker University/' June 8, and "Fort
Hays State College Is 50 Years Old," June 22. On June 4, Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower's homecoming day, Miss Whittemore's article
entitled "Ike's Home Attracts Tourists," was printed.
Articles about historic sites in the Winfield vicinity printed in the
Winfield Daily Courier, May 12, 1952, were: "Colorful Procession
Haunts Scenic Tunnel Mill Vicinity," by Charles O. Booth; "Win-
field's Main Street Follows Old Indian Trail," and the Indian legend
of Kickapoo Corral quoted from writings of Margaret Hill McCarter.
"Sketches of Pioneer Lore," by Walter S. Keith, have appeared
in recent issues of the Coffeyville Daily Journal. Included were
notes on the Osage and other Indians May 12, 19, 1952.
A "See Kansas" series of illustrated articles on historic sites and
historical collections of Kansas, by John Watson, have appeared in
the Wichita Evening Eagle in recent months. Places discussed in-
cluded: the museum of the Kansas State Historical Society, May
15, 1952; Council Grove, May 21, and Dyche Museum, University
of Kansas, Lawrence, June 19.
Some of the history of Baileyville and the near-by area by Mrs.
Bert Hay, Holton, has been published in recent issues of The Cour-
ier-Tribune, Seneca, including May 22, 29, June 5, 12, 1952.
A historical account of five cemeteries near Oswego by Wayne
A. O'Connell, was published in the Chetopa Advance, May 22,
the Oswego Democrat, May 23, and the Oswego Independent, May
30, 1952. Included in the article were biographical information on
Walt Mason, Kansas poet, and his comments on Oswego.
The Clay Center Dispatch, May 24, and the Clay Center Times,
May 29, 1952, printed a list of over 40 "lost" towns and settlements
of Clay county. A brief historical note with location was included
for each community.
A 12-page 80th anniversary edition of the Baxter Springs Citizen
was published May 29, 1952. Included in the issue were articles
on the history of the Citizen and of Baxter Springs.
230 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Some of the history of the Kansas regiments during the Spanish-
American War and the Philippine rebellion was recalled in a Memo-
rial day article in the Pittsburg Sun, May 31, 1952.
Included in the June, 1952, number of the Transactions of the
Kansas Academy of Science, Lawrence, were "Kansas Weather —
1951," by R. A. Garrett, and "The Editor's Page," wherein several
persons describe their favorite views in Kansas.
A brief history of the Short Creek Baptist church, near Atchison,
was printed in the Atchison Daily Globe, June 1, 1952. The church
was organized in a school room, December 2, 1869, with G. M.
Huntley as moderator.
A letter from Percy G. Maxwell, descendant of a Marysville fam-
ily, recalling early residents and incidents of the Marysville area,
was published in the Marshall County News, Marysville, June 5,
1952.
Kansas Historical Notes
The 77th annual meeting of the Kansas State Historical Society
will be held in the rooms of the Society in the Memorial building
at Topeka on October 21, 1952.
The annual meeting of the Kansas Association of Teachers of
History and Related Fields was held at the Memorial building,
Topeka, May 2 and 3, 1952. Speakers and their subjects were:
"Was Moscovite Russia Imperialist? The Catholic Orthodox Strug-
gle and Its Effect Upon Historical Interpretation/' O. P. Backus,
University of Kansas, Lawrence; "James A. Farley, Master Politi-
cian," Russell Windes, Jr., Kansas State Teachers College, Pittsburg;
"Apportionment in the Kansas House of Representatives," C. S.
Boertman, Kansas State Teachers College, Emporia; "The Influence
of the German Element in the United States," Leonard Baak,
College of Emporia; "The Convoy Controversy— 1917," V. R. East-
erling, Kansas State College, Manhattan; "The Objectives of the
Course in the History of Civilization," John W. Heaton, Baker
University, Baldwin, and "The Objectives of the General Social
Science Course," Verne S. Sweedlun, Kansas State College. George
L. Anderson, University of Kansas, addressed the group at the
luncheon session on "History Versus the Social Sciences." Officers
elected were: Elizabeth Cochrane, Kansas State Teachers College,
Pittsburg, president; Charles Onion, Fort Hays Kansas State College,
Hays, vice-president, and Ernest B. Bader, Washburn University,
Topeka, secretary-treasurer. F. R. Flournoy, College of Emporia,
was the retiring president.
Tribute was paid to W. W. Graves, St. Paul editor and historian,
by a gathering of state and church officials, Indian chiefs, editors
and friends in St. Paul, May 31, 1952. The Most Rev. Mark K.
Carroll, bishop of the Wichita diocese of the Catholic Church, was
the principal speaker, and Fred Brinkerhoff, Pittsburg, served as
toastmaster. Graves published the St. Paul Journal for over 50
years and is the author of more than a dozen books and pamphlets.
His latest book, the second volume of his History of Neosho County,
recently published, marks the end of his writing career.
Directors elected by the Scott County Historical Society at a
meeting in Scott City, June 3, 1952, were: John A. Boyer, Gene
Henderson, Earl Van Antwerp, Harold Kirk, Tom Sherry, S. W.
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232 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Filson, Mrs. C. W. Dickhut, Matilda Freed and Elmer Epperson.
Nyle Miller, secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, was
the principal speaker at the meeting.
Mrs. E. G. Peterson was re-elected president of the Edwards
County Historical Society at the annual meeting in Kinsley, June
3, 1952. Other officers elected were: Lavina Trotter, first vice-
president; Harry Offerle, second vice-president; Mrs. Leonard
Miller, third vice-president; Mrs. Myrtle Richardson, historian;
H. J. Draut, secretary; John Newlin, treasurer; Beulah Moletor,
custodian, and Mrs. Hazel Buxton, publicity.
The First Military Escort on the Santa Fe Trail— 1829 is the
title of a recently published 222-page book by Otis E. Young, based
on the reports of Maj. Bennet Riley and Lt. Philip St. George
Cooke. "This work attempts to show not only the actual day-by-day
occurrences on the Santa Fe trail in the year 1829, but also to
relate those events which led to the demand for such an escort,
and an outline of the national developments which had their in-
ception in this event."
A 105-page illustrated booklet entitled Kansas-Missouri Floods
of June- July 1951 was recently published by the Weather Bureau,
U. S. Department of Commerce. Compiled under the direction
of F. W. Reichelderfer, chief, U. S. Weather Bureau, the booklet
is a record of the basic hydrometeorological data of the flood.
THE
KANSAS HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
November 1952
Published by
Kansas State Historical Society
Topeka
KIRKE MECHEM JAMES C. MALIN NYLE H. MILLER
Editor Associate Editor Managing Editor
CONTENTS
PAGE
THE ADMINISTRATION OF FEDERAL LAND LAWS IN WESTERN KANSAS,
1880-1890: A FACTOR IN ADJUSTMENT TO A NEW ENVIRONMENT
George L. Anderson, 233
THE REV. Louis DUMORTIER, S. J., ITINERANT MISSIONARY TO
CENTRAL KANSAS, 1859-1867 Sister M. Evangeline Thomas, 252
With Father Dumortier's map of Catholic mission stations in the St. Mary's
area (1866), facing p. 264.
THE ANNALS OF KANSAS: 1887 271
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 298
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 302
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 304
The Kansas Historical Quarterly is published in February, May, August and
November by the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kan., and is dis-
tributed free to members. Correspondence concerning contributions may be
sent to the managing editor at the Historical Society. The Society assumes no
responsibility for statements made by contributors.
Entered as second-class matter October 22, 1931, at the post office at To-
peka, Kan., under the act of August 24, 1912.
THE COVER
The picture, showing the loading of cattle in the Kansas
Pacific (now the Union Pacific) yards at Abilene, was sketched
by the Kansas artist, Henry Worrall, for Frank Leslie's Illustrated
Newspaper, New York, August 19, 1871. The original Leslie's
caption was: "Kansas. — Transport of Texas Beef on the Kansas-
Pacific Railway — Scene at a Cattle Shoot in Abilene, Kansas."
Photo courtesy of Dr. Robert Taft.
THE KANSAS
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Volume XX November, 1952 Number 4
The Administration of Federal Land Laws in
Western Kansas, 1880-1890: A Factor in
Adjustment to a New Environment1
GEORGE J^. ANDERSON
THE careful interpretive studies of James C. Malin,2 some of
which have appeared in earlier issues of this Quarterly* have
demonstrated that adaptation to the physical characteristics of the
grassland region was the greatest single problem confronting the
settlers in the western half of Kansas. Malin has shown that the
successful types of adaptation were the results of folk-processes; and
that the most fruitful technique for the historian is to study a
community in its entirety, with the emphasis upon the role of indi-
viduals as portrayed in local newspaper and manuscript sources.
This study involves only certain selected phases of the question.
It is based upon the assumption that the administration of the fed-
eral land laws was an important component of the problem of adjust-
ment. It is intended to illustrate the use that can be made of certain
types of archival materials and to provide a background for further
studies. It does not represent a commitment to the point of view
that fraud and speculative activities constitute the most important
aspects of the problem.
It should be clear that the history of the administration of the
land laws cannot be reduced to some capsule-like generalization
DR. GEORGE LA VERNE ANDERSON is chairman of the history department at the Uni-
versity of Kansas, Lawrence.
1. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1944 meeting of the Mississippi
Valley Historical Association.
2. "The Adaptation of the Agricultural System to Sub-humid Environment," Agricul-
tural History, Baltimore, v. 10 (1936), July, pp. 118-141; Winter Wheat in the Golden Belt
of Kansas: A Study in Adaptation to Subhumid Geographical Environment (Lawrence,
1944); The Grassland of North America: Prolegomena to Its History (Lawrence, 1947);
"Grassland, 'Treeless,' and 'Subhumid': A Discussion of Some Problems of the Terminology
of Geography," The Geographical Review, New York, v. 37 (1947), April, pp. 241-250.
3. "The Turnover of Farm Population in Kansas," v. 4 (1935), November, pp. 339-
372; "The Kinsley Boom in the Late Eighties," v. 4 (1935), February, May, pp. 23-49 and
164-187; "J. A. Walker's Early History of Edwards County," v. 9 (1940), August, "Intro-
duction," pp. 259-270; "An Introduction to the History of the Bluestem-Pasture Region
of Kansas: A Study in Adaptation to Geographical Environment," v. 11 (1942), February,
pp. 3-28.
(233)
234 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
that will faithfully portray developments in even a part of one state,
much less accurately reflect developments in all the states and terri-
tories west of the Missouri river. For too long a time a summary
of the laws padded with quotable portions of congressional debates,
and seasoned with the more dramatic generalizations of officials in
Washington, has passed for a history of the subject. Even this
formula is so diluted or distorted in some instances as to leave the
impression that the operation of the federal land laws was relatively
unimportant. In pursuing the study of a subject in an entirely
different field Joseph Schafer remarked:
The author's chief reason for calling sharp attention to the futility of the
speculative method hitherto commonly used by historians in dealing with
subjects of this kind is to protest against an outworn methodology. The "guess-
ing game" is no longer permissible to those who claim the right to be called
historians, in the American field at least. Like Hamlet, we demand "proofs
more relative" than those supplied by ghosts.4
Much of the historical literature in the field of public land studies
is vulnerable to this criticism. Also, it cannot escape the judgment
Malin makes concerning population studies that are based exclusively
upon printed federal materials: "As in outline surveys or general
histories, it is writing from the top down and partakes too much of
the fitting of generalizations to particular cases rather than arriving
at the generalization from the study of the underlying detail." 5
Another characteristic of many of the historical accounts of the
public lands which this study seeks to avoid is the almost universal
preoccupation of the writer with the large speculator, the "bonanza
farmer/' the cattleman or the corporation. Thus Paul W. Gates
excludes from a study of the homestead law the "many farmers who
speculated in a small way/' 6 The histories of the range cattle indus-
try tend to limit land frauds to fencing the public domain and the
use of hired or dummy entrymen.7 The authors of a widely used
general history accept this point of view so completely that they
are able to say, "Land frauds in the cattle kingdom were so universal
4. "Who Elected Lincoln?" The American Historical Review, New York, v. 47
(1941), October, p. 63.
5. "Local Historical Studies and Population Problems," in Caroline F. Ware (ed.),
The Cultural Approach to History (New York, 1940), p. 300.
6. "The Homestead Law in an Incongruous Land System," The American Historical
Review, New York, v. 41 (1936), July, p. 652.
7. Ernest S. Osgood, The Day of the Cattleman (Minneapolis, 1929), pp. 190-215;
Ora B. Peake, The Colorado Range Cattle Industry (Glendale, Cal., 1937), pp. 69-84.
Louis Pelzer, The Cattlemen's Frontier (Glendale, Cal., 1936), pp. 173-191. The reports
of the registers and receivers of the local land offices and those of special agents that were
sent to the General Land Office during October and November, 1884, are devoted almost
exclusively to these forms of fraudulent practice. "Report of the Commissioner of the
General Land Office," 1885, in Report of the Secretary of the Interior, House Ex. Doc. No. 1
(serial no. 2,378), 49 Cong., 1 Sess. (1885-1886), v. 1, pp. 202-216.
FEDERAL LAND LAWS IN WESTERN KANSAS 235
as to make impertinent the suggestion of mere individual wrong-
doing." 8 This relegation to the realm of the "impertinent" leaves
the individual settler a shadowy figure, always present, but rarely
made the specific object of attention. How he came to be in a
particular community; how he obtained his land; whether he was a
permanent settler, transient drifter or would-be speculator; how the
operation of the land laws affected his adjustment to his environ-
ment if he stayed; these and many other questions have been
answered only in a fragmentary way if at all.
The nature of the problem of research in this field, if printed
federal materials are used exclusively, can best be emphasized by
quoting conflicting statements of two commissioners of the General
Land Office. Each had access to the same type of material and
each had come to the office from the Middle West after long periods
of public service and political experience. William Andrew Jack-
son Sparks was a member of the Democratic party and an anti-
monopoly crusader; 9 his successor, William M. Stone, was one of
the organizers of the Republican party.10 Said Commissioner
Sparks in 1885, after six months in office:
I found that the magnificent estate of the nation in its public lands had been
to a wide extent wasted under defective and improvident laws and through
a laxity of public administration astonishing in a business sense if not culpable
in recklessness of official responsibility. ... I am satisfied that thousands
of claims without foundation in law or equity, involving millions of acres of
public land, have been annually passed to patent upon the single proposition
that nobody but the government had any adverse interest.
The vast machinery of the land department appears to have been devoted
to the chief result of conveying the title of the United States to public lands
upon fraudulent entries under strained constructions of imperfect public land
laws and upon illegal claims under public and private grants.11
Following these introductory remarks there are estimates of fraud
under the several land laws ranging from 40% in the case of the home-
stead law to 100% under the commutation clause of that law.12
Thus Commissioner Sparks, using materials accumulated by the
preceding administrations, drew a blanket indictment that was
8. Samuel Eliot Morison and Henry Steele Commager, The Growth of the American
Republic (New York, 1942), v. 2, p. 94.
9. There is a brief biography by Harold H. Dunham, in the Dictionary of American
Biography (New York, 1946), v. 17, pp. 434, 435.
10. Benjamin F. Cue, History of Iowa (New York, 1903), v. 4, p. 253.
11. "Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office," 1885, loc. cit., pp.
155, 156.
12. Ibid., p. 223. In this report reference is made, pp. 201, 202, by Commissioner
Sparks to his order of April 3, 1885, suspending the further entry of land in a group of
Western states and territories including western Kansas. This order remained in effect
until April 6, 1886, when it was revoked upon direct orders of Secretary of the Interior
L. Q. C. Lamar.
236 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
tantamount to saying that the settlement and development of the
Western plains prior to 1885 was largely based upon fraud.
The quotation given above is reasonably characteristic of those
that have gained entrance into the general histories, but in fairness,
Commissioner W. M. Stone should be heard in rebuttal. Making
direct reference to the Sparks report of 1885 and quoting several
paragraphs from it, he said:
This wholesale arraignment of claimants on the public domain should not
have been made without the most conclusive evidence to sustain it. It con-
tains in express terms, without discrimination and without exception, a charge
of the gravest character against these hardy and courageous pioneers of our
advancing civilization well calculated to challenge the credulity of the lowest
order of American intellect.
This astounding condition of things . . . may or may not have existed
during his administration, but it affords me infinite pleasure to inform you that
during my more than four months of intimate connection with the duties of
this office I have found no evidence of general misconduct on the part of our
western settlers, and have failed to discover any general system of fraud pre-
vailing upon the government in reference to the public domain. Instances of
attempted fraud are to be expected, but justice requires me to say that they
are exceedingly rare and notably exceptional. I speak now of the individual
settler.is
It is elementary to point out that both of the honorable commis-
sioners could not be right and that the truth must lie somewhere be-
tween the two extremes. It is more important to note certain
factors, other than political, that may serve to explain their dis-
agreement. The General Land Office, although charged with the
responsibility of administering a landed heritage of imperial propor-
tions, was handicapped by an undermanned staff, an antiquated
building, a pint-sized budget and an overwhelming flood of busi-
ness.14 The information that came to Washington from the cutting
edge of settlement was from special agents with too little time to
13. "Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office," 1889, in Report of the
Secretary of the Interior, House Ex. Doc. No. 1 (serial no. 2,724), 51 Cong., 1 Sess. (1889-
1890), v. 1, p. 9. Commissioner Stone was much too optimistic. Statements that he
thought would challenge "the credulity of the lowest order of American intellect" have
come to be accepted almost without question as accurate descriptions of the administration
of the federal land laws. There is no question concerning the existence of practices that
the commissioners described as fraudulent. The question is whether they were well nigh
universal and characteristic. N. C. McFarland, the predecessor of Sparks, wrote on August
5, 1881, to J. R. Hallowell, United States district attorney for Kansas, "This fraudulent
entry business has become too common as I have reason already to know." — Correspond-
ence of the United States District Attorney's Office, Kansas State Historical Society manu-
script collections. Unless otherwise indicated all correspondence used in this paper is con-
tained in this collection.
14. Harold Hathway Dunham, Government Handout: A Study in the Administration
of the Public Lands, 1875-1891 (New York, 1941), pp. 124-144. The chapter cited is
entitled "The Inadequate Land Office." This study, which is a product of the seminar of
Allan Nevins at Columbia University, illustrates a statement made earlier in this paper. The
opening sentence of the paragraph in the preface, p. v., which describes the bibliography
that was used is as follows, "Emphasis on the administration of the public lands did not
call for an exhaustive analysis of the literature of the West."
FEDERAL LAND LAWS IN WESTERN KANSAS 237
do an enormous piece of work; from partisans in the local land
offices; from cranks and malcontents; as well as from honest settlers
with legitimate complaints and views. The alternate advance and
recession of settlement produced by alternate periods of drought
and rainfall brought a complex mixture of humanity to an unfamiliar
environment and piled entry upon entry, relinquishment upon re-
linquishment and contest upon contest until even the plat books
were hopelessly out-of-date and the basement and corridors of the
land office were piled high with unclaimed patents, unsettled con-
tests and unstudied correspondence.15 "Going back to the wife's
folks" may be just a convenient euphemism to the historian, but it
more than doubled the work of the General Land Office. The
sequence of entry, abandonment without record, relinquishment
or sale may have added up to fraud in the humid regions farther
to the east and south; but in western Kansas it may have meant
that optimistic settlers, becoming discouraged by death, drought,
dust and grasshoppers, were giving up the fight and were only
trying to salvage enough from their battles with and on Uncle
Sam's land to get out of the country.16 For this reason, among
others, the emphasis in this study is shifted from Washington to the
local scene, from federal officials to individual entrymen, from the
public domain of several millions of acres to the individual quarter
section of 160 acres. Obviously broader questions must be consid-
ered, but the center of attention is the individual entryman on a
particular quarter section of land.17 This paper is, in a sense, a pre-
liminary move in the direction of studying the history of the opera-
tion of the federal land laws in the western half of Kansas from the
ground up.18
15. Any researcher with a specific project in hand who has used even a small portion
of the mass of material in the General Land Office section of the National Archives, Wash-
ington, D. C., with the assistance and guidance of skilled personnel and modern technical
aids, will appreciate the difficulties that confronted the staff of the General Land Office when
the public lands were being entered at the rate of several millions of acres annually.
16. See article entitled "Governmental Evictions in Kansas" in the Kirwin Independent,
July 7, 1887, for a suggestion that the homesteader was really just betting his $14 against
Uncle Sam's 160 acres that he could live on the land for five years.
17. A study somewhat comparable in objective was made in 1887 at the request of
Commissioner Sparks. He directed that a thorough study be made of representative town-
ships by special agents and inspectors to discover how the several land laws operated in
particular instances. After giving specific directions for carrying out the study, Sparks
stated its purpose as follows: "The purpose of these examinations is to ascertain what
becomes of public land taken up under the public land laws, and the general character
of the different classes of entries on different classes of land, and to what extent they are
made to sell or mortgage, or for the benefit of land and loan agents, speculators, syndicates,
and corporations." — "Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office," 1887, in
Report of the Secretary of the Interior, House Ex. Doc., No. 1 (serial no. 2,541), 50 Cong.,
1 Sess. (1887-1888), v. 1, p. 144.
18. Almost without exception the examples selected involve entries west of the 98°
meridian. The principal local land offices for the area were located at Wichita, Salina,
Concordia, Cawker City, Kirwin, Larned, Garden City, Hays, Wakeeney, Colby and
Oberlin.
238 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Reduced to its simplest term, the process of alienating land from
the public domain to private ownership under the pre-emption and
homestead laws consisted of three steps: settlement, residence and
improvement. The timber culture act required a sequence of
breaking, planting and cultivating. The performance of these
various activities had to be verified before the local land officers by
the entryman through the filing of sworn affidavits and the sworn
testimony of two witnesses. Indeed, there was so much swearing
in the process that it is reminiscent of the medieval practice of corn-
purgation or oath helping.19 It was this same abundance of swear-
ing that made perjury the most frequent offense under the land
laws. Forgery was quite prevalent, but it was the swearing to the
truth of the forged statement that made it actionable. If, in the
judgment of the officers of the local land office, the final proof was
satisfactory a final certificate was issued, and if no contest had been
filed the entry would be reported to the General Land Office for the
issuance of the patent. If the entry was contested the case was
heard in the first instance at the local land office with the right of
appeal to the commissioner of the General Land Office and ulti-
mately to the Secretary of the Interior.20 Under some circumstances
entries that had been suspended because of the failure of the entry-
man to comply with the law could be referred to the Board of
Equitable Adjudication for final determination.21 The almost
limitless variation of this process of entry, proof, contest, appeal
and patent; the numerous technical features of the laws; the fre-
quent contradictions in the interpretations of the laws and the
administrative procedures used in enforcing them imposed heavy
burdens upon the individual entryman. In nearly two-thirds of
the suspended entries referred from the area under consideration
19. The following contemporary comments suggest that the act of swearing to the
truth of statements contained in land entry papers had become so commonplace that it had
lost its value as an inhibitant to fraud: "The fact is land law is almost disregarded. The
people make affidavits much as they eat pie without any regard for their moral digestion." —
Frank Thanhouser, Garden City, to W. C. Perry, May 1, 1886. "It is a positive fact that
a class of land lawyers in this country tell their clients that there is no danger of getting
into any trouble by swearing what they please and a certain class are acting accordingly
to the annoyance of honest settlers. . . ." — Charles Morrison, Hillside, to W. C. Perry,
June 25, 1887. "There has been to much looseness in these land claims and many persons
think they are perfectly safe to swear to anything in a land claim or entry that in those
cases false swearing is no crime this idea which is quite prevalent should be corrected and
those persons who are disposed to swear falsely should be taught that it is perjury. . . ."
— L. V. Hollyfield of Cherryvale, to J. R. Hallowell, March 23, 1880. "Our atty's here
claim there is no law against perjury and that there never was a party sentenced to the
Pen. for this kind of false swearing in the state of Kansas. They argue this way: that a
man is compelled to swear falsely in order to start a contest and whenever a party is com-
pelled to swear in order to start a suit it is not considered a crime. . . . This presi-
dent of affairs has existed in this county until perjury is considered witty and cute." — C H
Barlow, Goodland, to W. C. Perry, April 12, 1888.
20. The contest division was established in 1887 upon the recommendation of Com-
missioner W. A. J. Sparks. It was designated Division H. — "Report of the General Land
Office," 1887, loc. cit., pp. 435-438.
21. There is no readily available source of information concerning this agency.
FEDERAL LAND LAWS IN WESTERN KANSAS 239
to the Board of Equitable Adjudication, "ignorance of the law" was
the reason given for failure to make proof within the required
period of time.22
The position of the individual entryman was further weakened
by the fact that the federal land laws did not make adequate pro-
vision for the punishment of criminal fraud. So weak was the
position of the government that W. C. Perry, United States district
attorney, wrote warningly to a United States court commissioner:
"I write this letter not for public use, as it is better not to let every
one know the weakness of the federal statutes with reference to the
punishment of frauds against the public domain." 23 Even the
avenue of prosecution for perjury was so restricted as to permit all
but the most glaring cases to go unpunished. In discussing a land
case Perry defined perjury as'"wilful and corrupt swearing to some
material matter, which was known at the time by the party so
swearing to be untrue." 24 It had to be "positive, unequivocal, ma-
licious and knowingly false." 25 There had to be proof that the
alleged acts were intended to and did actually defraud the United
States and not merely a private individual.26 Moreover it should
be noted that the statute of limitations barred prosecution after
three years had elapsed 27 and that in all cases where the land in-
volved had been passed to patent the district attorney was helpless
and could prosecute only upon orders from the Attorney General,
who in turn could act only if requested to do so by the Secretary
22. H. Booth, former receiver of the Lamed land office, expressed the opinion that not
one settler in a thousand could fill out the entry and proof papers correctly without assis-
tance from an attorney. — Larned Chronoscope, July 10, 1885. The editor of the paper
agreed with Booth. The comments were inspired by the order issued on June 24, 1885,
by Commissioner Sparks which curtailed the activities of land attorneys. Every suspended
entry referred to the Board of Equitable Adjudication was of course open to contest. The
fact that such a large number of vulnerable entries escaped contests has caused this writer
to study the operations of the board in some detail.
23. W. C. Perry to J. M. Tinney, U. S. commissioner at Kirwin, April 28, 1886. The
letter was written from Topeka and concerned the D. N. Whipple case. On October 10,
1885, Perry had written to A. H. Garland, Attorney General of the United States, request-
ing more assistance because "... a large portion of the State is, or, rather, formerly
was public domain and many cases have, and are arising out of frauds and perjuries
perpetrated in the entries of public lands under the homestead, pre-emption and timber
culture statutes and more will and should arise under these laws, as the violating thereof
are notoriously and shamefully frequent."
24. W. C. Perry to R. A. Grossman, Vilas, Colo., November 29, 1887. In another
case Perry emphasized wilful and false testimony to "material matter." — Letter to
Charles Fickeissen, Buffalo Park, May 6, 1886. In an undated letter to J. M. Tinney,
Kirwin, Perry included "a dishonest or corrupt motive" as part of his definition of perjury.
In letters to R. G. Cook, U. S. commissioner at Dodge City, April 23, 1886, and to
Thomas J. Richardson, special agent of the General Land Office at Wichita, November 9,
1888, Perry commented upon the difficulty of securing convictions in perjury cases.
25. W. C. Perry to C. W. Reynolds, Chalk Mound, July 9, 1886. Perry to A. D.
Duncan, special agent of the General Land Office at Kirwin, October 20, 1886.
26. W. C. Perry to C. H. Carswell, Coronado, December 7, 1887. Same to J. G.
Allard, special agent of the General Land Office, Oberlin, June 12, 1888.
27. The evidence in a case involving Charles Miller and Gust Mauer of Hays, seemed
Van* • lu e 522 *"d had r6?1 used by the former in iSSl, but it was not discovered until
1885 thus talcing it out of the Statutes."— A. D. Gilkerson to Perry, November 10, 1885;
Perry referred to the statute of limitations in letters to Louden and Freeman of Ness City,
February 4, 1887; and to Doctor H. Tant, Medicine Lodge, June 29, 1888.
240 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
of the Interior.28 Thus a fraud could be committed under the pre-
emption act, the land be patented and sold to an innocent third
party and the whole process go unnoticed and unpunished.29
The same legal and technical complications that laid heavy handi-
caps upon the entrymen provided the foundation for the profitable
activities of land attorneys, land agents, professional locators and
chronic claim jumpers. It seems clear that these men contributed
in considerable measure to the confusion and instability that were
characteristic of communities during their early years. They made
a practice of buying and selling relinquishments;30 of hiring men
to make entries in order to prevent legal entrymen from initiating
claims to choice tracts;31 of loaning money to prove up,32 and in
some cases of preventing by violence the entering of bona fide
settlers.33 Instances are on record of one of these agents secur-
ing 12 quarter-sections on two separate occasions;34 of another pay-
ing individuals $5 for the use of their names in making homestead
entries and retaining the claims until they could be sold to bona fide
entrymen for $25 to $50,35 and of a third getting control of a local
28. W. C. Perry, to J. E. Anderson, Salina, February 25, 1889. Note in Perry's hand-
writing on letter of June 13, 1887, received by him at Fort Scott from Lovitt and Sturman
of Salina.
29. In a letter to Thomas J. Richardson, special agent of the General Land Office at
Wichita, May 26, 1888, W. C. Perry emphasized the difficulty of canceling an entry that
had reached the final receipt stage and the land in question had passed in good faith to
an innocent third party. Other references to the "innocent purchaser" doctrine are con-
tained in letters from Perry to Clark S. Rowe, special agent of the General Land Office at
Larned, March 20, 1888; to W. F. Galvin, Stockton, December 4, 1888, and to Rowe,
March 16, 1888.
30. A rapid examination of almost any newspaper published during the period under
consideration in the western part of Kansas will confirm this statement.
31. Randolph Burt, Gettysburg, to W. C. Perry, May 3, May 12, and June 2, 1886.
Henry Kern, Palco, to Perry, April 2, 1889. The material relating to the activities of such
large scale operators as J. L. Gandy, J. G. Hiatt and A. M. Brenaman is relevant, but is
much too voluminous to be cited here.
32. Land agents on frequent occasions mentioned "loans to make final proof" as a
specialty. The Lane County Herald, Dighton, April 22, 1886, contained two examples.
33. Allegations to this effect are so numerous in the incoming correspondence of the
United States district attorney as to make listing impracticable. There is some reason to
believe that "Homesteaders' Unions" and "Old Settlers' Protective Associations" were
devices to protect illegal entrymen. W. C. Perry to E. E. Thomas, special agent of the
General Land Office at Salina, July 31, 1886, relative to organized intimidation in Scott
county; Perry to G. M. McElroy of Oberlin, August 27, 1886, concerning a similar organiza-
tion in Cheyenne county; E. R. Cutler, Meade Center, to W. C. Perry, December 20, 1886,
asking for help against mob violence in Meade county; J. Word Carson, Wakeeney, to
Perry, November 22, 1887, calling attention to the situation in Greeley county; Charles P.
Dunaway, Stockton^ January 2, 1888, to Perry asking him to investigate the activities
of the Homesteader's Union in Rooks county. The Hoover case in western Ness county
and the Widow Edsall case in Sherman county produced a voluminous correspondence
with the district attorney's office during the spring and early summer of 1888.
34. The Eye, Oberlin, September 18, and November 20, 1884, referring to the activi-
ties of A. J. Cortell. The Cortell-Zimmermann contest case attracted a great deal of atten-
tion m Ioo7-188o.
35. The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal quoted in the Oberlin Eye, January 28, 1886, describ-
ing the activities of the firm of Wilson, Tacha and Parker. S. F. McKinney wrote to
W. C. Perry from Salina on April 7, 1887, "I . . . am a poor man & have a family
to support & look after and I have got very poor health also & I have been swindled out of
my land & home just by such law pettifoggers & western swindle schemers as this Robert
W. Carter & J. W. Brooks & many others in Ellsworth that stand ready to gobble up a
poor mans hard earned property & lie him out of it." W. Jones to Perry from Conway
Springs, April 30, 1888.
FEDERAL LAND LAWS IN WESTERN KANSAS 241
landoffice by placing beds and cots in front of the door for his
"rustlers" to sleep on so that they could anticipate even the early
rising settlers in making and shifting relinquishments, entries and
contests.36 In many cases they were the publishers or editors of the
local newspapers and in some they were intimately familiar with
local land office procedures either through previous experience or
current connections.37 The notion that a settler reached the frontier
and "gazing upon almost endless stretches of rich agricultural land"
made his selection does not fit the facts. More often than not he lo-
cated his claim under the watchful eye of a land locator who may
have located some other person on the same tract at an earlier
date.38
The activities of land agents and attorneys received special at-
tention from Commissioner W. A. J. Sparks in several of his annual
reports 39 and in the day-to-day correspondence of his office. His
determination to eliminate those who were engaging in dishonest
practices is indicated in a number of letters written to law firms in
Kansas towns. In November, 1885, W. A. Frush, of Garden City,
was debarred from practice before any bureau of the Department
of the Interior for failing to give a satisfactory explanation of a
charge that he had forged the signature of an entryman in con-
nection with the relinquishment of a timber culture entry.40 During
the same month Sparks was extremely critical of a circular issued
by Milton Brown, also of Garden City, advising union veterans of
36. "Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office," 1886, in Report of the
Secretary of the Interior, House Ex. Doc. No. 1 (serial no. 2,468), 49 Cong., 2 Sess.
(1886-1887), v. 2, p. 86.
37. C. J. Lamb, editor of the Kirwin Independent, advertised real estate for sale in
the issue for February 3, 1887; R. H. Ballinger, editor of the Larned Chronoscope and
Henry Booth, receiver of the land office in Larned were partners in a real estate firm;
Ed Martin, a loan agent in Oberlin had served as a clerk in the land office at Kirwin ac-
cording to the Kirwin Independent, March 31, 1887. William Don Carlos of Kirwin began
his career as chief clerk in the Kickapoo land office; his son, the junior partner in the
firm, had been a clerk in the General Land Office in Washington, D. C. — Ibid., March 10,
1887. H. A. Yonge who became register of the land office at Kirwin in March, 1887, had
been editor of the Beloit Democrat and a member of the firm of Yonge and Scott; Tully
Scott had been appointed register of the Oberlin office at an earlier date. — Ibid., March 31,
1887. W. J. A. Montgomery, editor of the Stockton Democrat on March 26, 1886, ran
the following advertisement: "Say — If you want a good claim that you can put a pre-
emption, homestead or timber entry on, call at this office. If you want to make your home
here, buy a claim and lay your homestead or timber entry on it and save from 7 to 13
years' taxes." The following land office officials were accused of having had illegal if not
corrupt dealings with land firms: Tully Scott, Oberlin, Oberlin Eye, March 8, 1888; C. A.
Morris, Larned, Larned Weekly Chronoscope, November 25, 1887; B. J. F. Hanna, and
W. C. L. Beard, Wakeeney, Lane County Herald, August 25, and September 1, 1887.
38. The firm of Borton and Spidle of Ness City advertised in the Lane County Herald,
July 17, 1885, "Will locate you. Win a contest for you. Make out your final proof.
Make out filing papers for you. Sell you horses and cattle. Furnish you money to pay
out on your claims. Make a soldier's filing for you, if you cannot come in person, and
win law-suits for you." One partner was a lawyer, the other a locator.
39. The "Report for 1887" is typical. It is contained in Report of the Secretary of the
Interior, House Ex. Doc., No. 1 (serial no. 2,541) 50 Cong., 1 Sess. (1887-1888), v. 1,
pp. 134-136.
40. Sparks to Frush, August 18, September 3, and November 21, 1885— "General
Land Office Correspondence," A, Miscellaneous, pp. 233, 234, 272 and 449, in the National
Archives.
242 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the Civil War that they were entitled to 160 acres of government
land which they could obtain "without residence on the land" and
informing them that the filing and locating could be accomplished
"without their leaving their eastern homes." In his first letter to
Brown, Commissioner Sparks asserted that "these statements are
false and misleading and . . . can be regarded only as at-
tempts to defraud either the soldier or the government or both/*
In his second letter Sparks declared that the "statements in said
circulars are unwarranted by any provision of the laws and are
calculated to encourage and induce frauds upon the government in
the procurement and promotion of illegal entries and claims.41 In
a letter to a third Garden City firm Sparks commented that their
circular was a palpable invitation to fraud and that its apparent
purpose was "to deceive soldiers, impose upon their widows and
orphaned children and promote frauds on the government." Critical
reference was made to their requirement of the soldier's discharge
papers, a power of attorney and a fee of ten dollars.42 In other
letters Sparks asked one firm to explain charges that it had accepted
a fee for filing a contest and then had dismissed the case without
notice to its client;43 and another one to explain why it had filed a
contest, dismissed it without notice to its client, and then filed a
fictitious contest against the client's entry.44
It should be apparent that the entryman's problem of adjustment
to his new environment began with his first encounter with the local
land officers and with those residents of the community who sought
to exploit his ignorance for their own profit. It should be added
that some entrymen had the benefit of honest and capable legal
advisers when they became entangled in administrative regulations.
The firm of William Don Carlos and Son, of Kirwin, was held in
high esteem. The editor of The Independent, Kirwin, a critic of
almost every other aspect of land office administration, stated that
this firm was composed of "competent, energetic men, always wide
awake and attentive to the interests of their clients. ... In the
twelve or thirteen years that this firm has been doing business here
41. Sparks to Brown, November 4, and December 12, 1885. — Ibid., pp. 411, 412
and 486.
42. Sparks to Bennett and Smith of Garden City, December 23, 1885. — Ibid., pp.
12, 13.
43. Sparks to Kimball and Reeves, Garden City, August 10, 1886. — Ibid., 499, 500.
44. Sparks to Morris and Morris, Larned, November 17, 1885. — Ibid., p. 435. A sum-
mary of the practices of the Garden City firms is contained in the "Report of the Commis-
sioner of the General Land Office," 1886, loc. cit., pp. 85, 86. Larned Weekly Chrono-
scope, November 25, 1887. An earlier instance is described in a letter of Secretary of the
Interior Henry Teller to Commissioner N. C. McFarland, September 26, 1883, in Decisions
of the Department of the Interior Relating to the Public Lands, v. 2, pp. 58-62.
FEDERAL LAND LAWS IN WESTERN KANSAS 243
we have never heard them charged with unfair practice, or wrongful
action toward their clients. " 45
One phase of the operation of the land laws that was particularly
productive of friction, insecurity and uncertainty was the invitation
extended to all comers to contest the entry of any settler upon the
public domain.46 Entries were subject to contest at any time; and,
if they escaped contest prior to the time that the entryman was
required to make his final proof, the published notices, six of which
were required in pre-emption and commuted homestead entries,
were almost sure to produce a contest. There is some reason to
believe that timber culture entries were particularly vulnerable to
contest.47 The possibility of encountering a contest must have
operated as frequently to discourage improvement and cultivation
as it did to encourage complete compliance.48 In effect every tran-
sient in a community and every person who had not exhausted his
rights under the land laws was asked to keep his eye on the entry-
man and advertise alleged noncompliance by filing a contest. In a
sense the right to contest placed a premium upon snooping and
exalted the role of the talebearer. When witnesses in the proof-
taking process were asked questions concerning smoke from the
chimney, chickens around the shack, lights in the windows and the
exact diameter of trees, it seems clear that the land officials expected
that neighbors in a community would see each other as actual or
at least potential defrauders and therefore scrutinize even routine
activities with the vigilance and zeal of a secret police agent. As
commissioner of the General Land Office, W., A. J. Sparks intro-
duced elaborate and detailed forms for the presentation of proof.
The new procedures received some support in the newspapers of
western Kansas,49 but the preponderance of comment was in opposi-
45. March 10, 1887.
46. The Ness City Times reported a statement of the county attorney that three-fourths
of the contestable claims in the county were already under contest and that in a few more
weeks timber claims would be obtainable only by purchase. Reprinted in the Lane County
Herald, May 1, 1885, together with an invitation to entrymen to come to Lane county for
homesteads and timber claims. About six months later, October 29, 1885, the Herald reported
that timber claims were becoming scarce in Lane county. The Rooks County Record,
Stockton, April 29, 1887, in condemning the frequency of contests said, "There are few
of the farmers in Rooks county whose titles are not open to attack on some petty techni-
cality."
47. O. F. Searl, receiver of the land office in Salina, in discussing the contest case of
Russell C. Harris vs. Anderson Stoops with W. C. Perry on June 21, 1887, stated the usual
grounds for contesting timber claims as failure to plant and cultivate trees and the entering
of land not naturally devoid of timber. Nearly three out of the eight pages of the Lane
County Herald, October 15, 1885, were devoted to land notices which were for the most
part announcements of contests against timber culture entries.
48. The uncertainty involved in obtaining a final patent under the homestead, pre-
emption and timber culture acts was emphasized in a letter written by George Cotton of
La Crosse to W. C. Perry, July 29, 1887.
49. Rooks County Democrat, Stockton, January 13, 1887.
244 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
tion to them. The following critical comment appeared in the col-
umns of the Rooks County Record:
A government is in a big business when it tries to find out what kind of a
crib the baby sleeps in, whether the farmer and his wife recline on wire-woven
springs or ante-diluvian bed cords, or whether the woman of the house bakes
her beans in a stone jar or brass kettle. Sparks is a thousand times more par-
ticular about a homesteader's exact compliance with each infinitessimal iota of
the law than he is with a railroad grant or the stock ranch of an English syndi-
cate. Yet that is the general style of this great business administration, which
constantly strains at gnats and swallows dromedaries by the caravan. After
1888 there will be a new deal and a more just equation of the peoples' rights.50
The editor of the Kirwin Independent expressed his views in an edi-
torial entitled "Tom Foolery." It was a mixture of general criticism
of the Sparks policies and specific objection to the high costs of mak-
ing proof that resulted:
Commissioner Sparks of the General Land office is a beautiful beast, a red
tape dude, a go-off-half-cocked sort of a man. When he assumed the duties
of his office he also assumed that the people of the west were perjurers,
swindlers and fugitives from justice at large in a Garden of Eden. . . .
It wouldn't be quite so bad if all of this tomfoolery didn't have to be paid
for out of the homesteaders pocket, but this arrant nonsense costs men who,
as a class are poor, several extra dollars, in counties where, as a rule, dollars
are scarce. Take this in connection with the swindle requiring claimants to
advertise their lands, an act passed to benefit newspaper men, and the home-
steader who has to shell out here and there to obstructionists along the road
to a final proof, is not apt to entertain a very high opinion of the simplicity of
a democratic form of government.
As to Sparks we believe that he is honest, but he is the biggest old nuisance
that ever a pioneer community had to depend upon for titles to well earned
land. 51
Just as contemporary reaction to Commissioner Sparks ranged
from one extreme to the other so the contemporary evaluations of
the contest process varied a great deal. Commissioner Sparks and
those who supported his policies seemed to assume that a contested
entry involved deliberate fraud either on the part of the contestee
or the contestant, whereas his critics tended to look upon the right
of contest as an almost automatic inhibitant to fraud. At no point
does the doctrine of simple causation or broad generalization with
50. November 26, 1886.
51. January 6, 1887. The editor elaborated one aspect of his views in the issue for
January 20, when he remarked: "Since Sparks became commissioner of the general land
office he has so ruled and managed the business of the office as to make all the land
fraudulently proved up on, cost honest settlers not less than $25 per acre. He suspicions
dishonesty and so plans that those who are honest shall pay fifteen to twenty-five dollars
costs in making a proof that ought to cost not over five or six dollars." It should be
noted in passing that^the editor has suggested the answer to those who insist that home-
stead land was "free" land, a subsidy from the federal government to the agricultural
interests of the nation.
FEDERAL LAND LAWS IN WESTERN KANSAS 245
respect to the administration of the land laws break down so com-
pletely. Contests were initiated for almost every conceivable rea-
son. Some were the results of poor advice given by land agents
and professional locators; 52 others were encouraged by local land
office men because the fees in such cases constituted a large por-
tion of their remuneration; 53 and still others were deliberate at-
tempts to secure desirable tracts of land.54 There were friendly
contests to conceal a fraudulent entry until the relinquishment
could be sold to an innocent third party.55 There were collusive
contests initiated by friends or relatives to bar a legitimate contest
or to "smuggle" a tract of land, that is, keep it from being legally
entered until a son reached his majority or a friend could enter it.56
The most vicious contests were outright cases of blackmail and were
accompanied by violence or threats of violence.57 They were com-
menced by professional claim jumpers to force a legal entryman to
fight a contest or pay the contestant to withdraw his suit.58 Fre-
52. W. J. Calvin to the editor of the Larned Chronoscope, February 19, 1886; Thomas
J. Richardson, special agent of the General Land Office, Wichita, to W. C. Perry, January
4, 1887; E. Sample, Medicine Lodge, to Perry, October 16, 1887; B. W. Dysart, Ansonia,
Ohio, to Perry, October 15, 1888.
53. "Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office," 1885, loc. cit., p. 42.
54. Mrs. M. E. Warner, Oxford, wrote several letters to J. R. Hallowell urging him
to continue the legal sifting of claims in Pratt county and the canceling of fraudulent
entries so that she might be able to secure one of the canceled entries. Her letter of July 8,
1885, is particularly relevant. C. O. Erwin, Harper, wrote to W. C. Perry on April 11,
1886, accusing several men of making fraudulent proof, asking to be informed of the best
method of procedure in securing one of the claims, and offering Perry a $100 fee for
securing one of the claims for him; M. B. Bailey, Wichita, to Perry, January 12, 1889;
Larned Weekly Chronoscope, September 30, 1887.
55. "Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office," 1886, loc, cit., pp. 85,
86; ibid., for 1887, pp. 149, 150; D. H. Henkel, U. S. circuit court commissioner at Wa-
keeney, to W. C. Perry, January 25, 1888.
56. There are several cases described in the Decisions of the Department of the Interior
Relating to the Public Lands. Some examples are: R. W. Satterlee vs. C. F. Dibble, v.
2, pp. 307, 308, in which the original Dibble entry was contested by three different rela-
tives; A. Moses vs. J. B. Brown, v. 2, pp. 259, 260, wherein the right to contest was
denied to S. H. Brown, a relative of the plaintiff; and Caroline E. Critchfield vs. W. M.
Pierson, v. 1, pp. 421, 422, which involved a divorce on the grounds of adultery in order
to qualify Mrs. Critchfield as a contestee. Charles Fickheisen, Buffalo Park, to W. C.
Perry, April 29, and May 16, 1886; M. B. Bailey, Wichita, to Perry, January 12, 1889.
57. E. C. Cole, U. S. commissioner at Larned, to W. C. Perry, April 15, 1887; Rooks
County Record, May 20, 1887. The Eye, Oberlin, January 19, 1888, reprinted the fol-
lowing comment from the Atchison Champion: "For a number of years past persons in
the western third of Kansas who have in good faith, entered land as timber claims, have
been annoyed and harassed by a class of irresponsible and mischievous vagabonds who
have made it a business to go prowling around to find a few bushes and saplings on timber
claim entries as a basis of contest, making these few scattering trees an excuse for annoying
and expensive litigation, instituted solely for the purpose of blackmail." On April 9 1889
W. C. Perry wrote to J. M. Barrett, register of deeds at Canton, concerning an unsigned
letter accusing B. A. Dupree and Joe Smalley of instituting contests and then offering to
drop them for $250. An unsigned letter to Perry dated April 11, 1889, quoted the follow-
ing from a telegram from F. G. White of McPherson, "R. A. Deupree and Jack Smalley
are m the business of Swearing out contest papers for the purpose of Black Male fsicl and
then compel parties to By [sic] them off. . . ."
58. W. J. Crumpton in a letter to the Larned Chronoscope, February 19, 1886 em-
phasized the blackmail aspect of many contest cases, but more importantly called atten-
tion to the fact that the effect of the contest procedure was to compel the entryman to pay
far more than the market value for a tract which the law intended him to have in return
for cultivation and improvement. Crumpton stated explicitly what most later historians
have not understood, namely that land was not free for the taking; administrative pro-
cedures among other factors nullified the law and defeated the avowed intent of those
246 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
quently the process was repeated by a whole series of contestants
until either the settler had to pay out more money in fighting con-
tests than the land was worth or give up his entry.59 The quest
for personal revenge was a fruitful source of contests.60 A com-
munity quarrel, a jilting by a boy friend,61 a real or imagined loss in
a business deal, a political controversy, all of these and many more
excuses of similar character were involved in the initiation of con-
test cases.62 The persistent habits of some pioneers of telling tales,
informing on neighbors, writing letters, venting prejudices and going
who drafted it. J. A. Nelson of Buffalo Park, on May 20, 1886, wrote Perry a detailed
description of his experiences with the professional claim jumper. In his case the original
price for being left alone was $250; this was reduced to $200 and later to $87. He
refused all offers to compromise and made a successful defense. Wm. Don Carlos, of
Kirwin, in writing to Perry on May 28, 1887, concerning a perjury case that had developed
out of a contest affidavit, asserted that it was founded upon spite and was brought for the
purpose of scaring some money out of the defendants. He continued, "This class of cases,
is becoming frequent, and in my mind are generally brought, or instigated, for the purpose
of making money out of a compromise, by certain Attys, and witness fees, and mileage
by other impecunious parties." James P. Bums of Oberlin, wrote to Perry on February 3,
1888, "Now there is lots of this contesting going on for the mere purpose of extracting
money out of parties holding claims, or for the mere purpose of annoyance." Frequent
reference is made to the professional claim jumpers in the contemporary discussion of
homesteaders' protective associations. In this connection The Eye, Oberlin, on December
29, 1887, reprinted the following from the Atchison Champion: "Next to prairie dogs,
jack rabbits and coyotes, one of the worst pests of a new country ... is the 'claim
jumper,' the party who prowls around like a wolf to hunt up opportunities to dispossess
some honest and well meaning settler. . . ."
59. In a letter to J. R. Hallowell on October 6, 1884, M. B. Jones of Corwin, esti-
mated the cost of prosecuting a contest against an entry at $200. In a letter on December
26, 1885, to W. C. Perry, Y. R. Archer estimated the cost of defending against a contest
at $100 to $1,000. The Rooks County Record, May 20, 1887, placed the cost of defend-
ing at $50 to $200. M. F. Dean, Sappaton, told Perry on January 16, 1888, that one of
his neighbors had been forced to defend his claim against four contests.
60. L. D. Seward, St. Louis, to J. R. Hallowell, September 5, 1881; J. P. Campbell,
Harper, to Hallowell, March 20, 1882. The Zickefoose-Shuler contest case in the Wa-
keeney land office seems to have originated in a desire by Zickefoose for revenge. W. H.
Pilkenton, receiver of the Wakeeney office to W. C. Perry, April 7, 1885. Wm. Lescher,
Lawrence, wrote Perry on February 12, 1886, alleging "malicious meanness" as the cause
of the sequence of contests against his entry in the Oberlin land district. W. T. S. May,
Kirwin, to Perry, June 5, 1886. Ira T. Hodson, Burr Oak, to Perry, June 9, 1886. W. C.
Perry, to John McDonald, Dun Station, November 11, 1886. George Cotton, La Crosse,
to Perry, July 29, 1887. W. C. Perry to Clark S. Rowe, special agent of the General Land
Office at Larned, December 14, 1887. J. P. Burns, Oberlin, to Perry, February 3, 1888.
Frank Thanhouser, Garden City, to Perry, August 10, 1888. R. M. Wright, Dodge City,
to Perry, September 22, 1888. W. C. Perry to E. E. Thomas, special agent of the General
Land Office, Salina, November 28, 1888.
61. Such an instance is described in a letter by W. C. Perry to J. G. Allard, special agent
of the General Land Office at Oberlin, September 20, 1888. Perry's remarks, based on an
affidavit made by Dolly Hayes, contained the following: "In the first place Dolly having
kept with the young man for three years and that beautiful and heavenly relation now
having ceased, is undoubtedly angry with Alvin, and if he is keeping company with some
other young lady, is also undoubtedly suffering from a severe attack of the green-eyed
monster."
62. W. M. Skinner, Gaylord, in letters to J. R. Hallowell, July 14 and 15, 1882,
recited a particularly long tale of woe concerning contests growing out of personal quarrels
and political differences. Hallowell had received letters from H. C. Sunderland, Gaylord,
on February 13, 1880, and from G. W. Hodson, Gaylord, of March 22, 1880, relative
to the Skinner case and had written to the commissioner of the General Land Office on
February 24, 1880, describing the case as a neighborhood quarrel. Tully Scott, receiver,
Oberlin land office, to W. C. Perry, October 27, 1885, describing the Wheelock-Cass con-
test as a "neighborhood fight." C. H. Barlow, Kansas Banking Company, Goodland, in a
letter to Perry on April 12, 1888, said that the man who had contested his claim "is owing
this Bank of which I am a member and he came around and hinted as though he would
release the contest if I would cancel his note and informed me that we did not treat him
right last fall in some of our deal is why he contested it." J. G. Lowe, Washington to
Perry, October 10, 1886.
FEDERAL LAND LAWS IN WESTERN KANSAS 247
to law probably confused the federal land officials as completely as
they do the historians of today.63
Probably there was as much informality with respect to the resi-
dence requirements as toward any other feature of the operation of
the federal land laws. Again, as far as the evolving community
was concerned, the immediate effect of such informality was to con-
tribute to instability and impermanence. It was regular practice
for the business and professional men in the towns to enter a tract
of land, go through the motions of compliance by eating a meal —
sometimes cooked in a hotel and carried to the claim — or by sleeping
on the land at infrequent intervals, and then make final proof before
the local land office.64 Sen. Preston B. Plumb stated in the senate
that these practices were considered normal and legal in the parts
of Kansas with which he was familiar. While defending the settlers
in Kansas against charges of fraud he described the contemporary
attitudes and practices in the following words:
A man goes out from the East; he is a tinner, a shoemaker, a blacksmith,
a wagon-maker, or a tradesman of some kind. He goes West for the purpose
of getting a home, and in the mean time he must live. He goes into the near-
est town, follows his calling, and takes a quarter-section of land outside, lives
upon it between times, so to speak, having his domicile part of the time perhaps
in the town and part of the time on his claim, and at the end of six months he
proves up on it. Perhaps the intent and the act do not fully combine, and yet
the intent is as good as that of any man ever was to make that place his home,
and to all intents and purposes it is his home. ... It may be called in
law a fraudulent entry, and yet so far as the essential elements of fraud are
concerned they are entirely lacking." 65
At almost exactly the time that Senator Plumb was placing a
63. The letters of J. B. Tillinghast, Myrtle, to W. C. Perry, illustrate this point. See
the one written on April 16, 1888; A. C. Mende, another resident of the same community,
wrote an extraordinarily gossipy letter to Perry on July 15, 1888. Letters written by
Mrs. M. E. Warner, Oxford, to J. R. Hallowell on January 19, February 13, and March 26,
1885, are in the same category. In many respects the brochure-length letter written by
I. V. Knotts of Schoharie on July 5, 1886, to W. C. Perry, is the most fantastic of them all.
64. Decisions of the Department of the Interior Relating to the Public Lands, v. 1, pp.
77, 78. The document referred to is a letter of Secretary of the Interior Henry Teller to
the commissioner of the General Land Office, N. C. McFarland, dated October 2, 1882, and
concerned with the contest case of W. P. Peters vs. George Spaulding. Report of William
Y. Drew, special agent of the land office at Wichita, dated November 26, 1884, and con-
tained in the "Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office," 1885, loc. cit., pp.
206, 207. Report of Walter W. Cleary, special agent of the land office at Garden City
included in "Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office," 1887, loc. cit,, pp.
149, 150. Lamed Chronoscope, March 11, 1887.
65. Congressional Record, 49 Cong., 1 Sess. (1885-1886), pt. 6, p. 6,073. In the
course of the debate Plumb implied that the zeal with which Commissioner W. A. J. Sparks
was enforcing the land laws in the West and Northwest was rooted in partisan considera-
tions. "Is it not a little singular that the individual whose duty it is to scan the horizon
should be afflicted with such a political, geographical, isothermal strabismus that he has
never allowed his eagle eye to cover anything south of Mason and Dixon's line, but has
kept it as steady as the needle to the pole on the West and Northwest?" — Ibid., p. 6,075.
A week earlier Plumb had described his own experience at pre-empting a quarter section
of land, remarking in one place, "I have no doubt that I committed a fraud upon the law;
. . . the claim was my home though I was printing a newspaper in a hamlet a mile
away." — Ibid., Appendix, p. 426.
248 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
"loose" construction upon the residence requirement in pre-emption
entries, Commissioner Sparks was defining his views in response to
a series of questions directed to him by a resident of Kansas. In
answer to the question, "Can a married man pre-empt or homestead
a claim and prove up without his family?", Sparks replied, "The
home contemplated is the home of the family. It is inconceivable
that a homestead entry is made in good faith when the permanent
home of the family is elsewhere. The pre-emptor is also expected to
make his home on the land." In reply to the question, 'What con-
stitutes six months residence?", the commissioner replied briefly
but specifically, "The actual living on the land for the period of six
months." GG The local newspapers took the practices described by
Senator Plumb for granted and reported individual instances as
news: railroad employees were visiting their claims; school teach-
ers, merchants, and artisans were spending short visits on their
homestead or pre-emption entries; entrymen were returning to their
claims after a prolonged absence during the winter months.67 One
entryman who was a member of a banking firm that operated bank-
ing houses in Goodland, and Burlington, Colo., complained bitterly
to the federal district attorney when his claim was contested.68 An-
other banker in Sherman county in discussing compliance with
residence requirements and in response to a question concerning
what he raised on his claim remarked, "Last year I raised riell and
watermelons/ This year it is too dry to raise anything; I shall try to
raise the mortgage next year and skip." 69 Another entryman wrote
to Sen. John J. Ingalls protesting against the cancellation of his entry
simply because he left his claim to work in a near-by town from
Monday morning to Saturday night of each week in order to provide
food for his family.70 Still another tried to retain his claim in the
face of a contest, even though he spent the winter months near Boul-
66. W. A. J. Sparks to C. T. Connelly, Terry, June 10, 1886, "General Land Office
Correspondence," A, Miscellaneous, pp. 363, 364.
67. Kansas Herald, Hiawatha, March 12, 1880; Larned Chronoscope, January 28, 1881;
Lane County Herald, June 3, July 24, September 11, and September 25, 1885; June 3,
September 9, September 16, November 11, and December 16, 1886; February 24, and
December 8, 1887; and June 7, 1888. The Eye, Oberlin, December 11, 1884; September
10, and November 26, 1885; March 25, and April 1, 1886. Scott County News, Scott
City, March 19, April 12, May 12, and May 14, 1886. The Oberlin Eye, January 27,
1887, in commenting on the shooting of a claim jumper said, "a number of persons whose
claims were contested are working on the railroad for a livelihood and were vexed with
having contests put on their claims."
68. Charles H. Barlow, Goodland, to W. C. Perry, March 19, April 12, and August
7, 1888.
69. E. E. Blackman, "Sherman county and the H. U. A.," Kansas Historical Collec-
tions, v. 8 (1903-1904), p. 53.
70. Bishop W. Perkins, representative in congress from Kansas, quoted from the speech
by Senator Ingalls during the course of a debate in the house of representatives. —
Congressional Record, 49 Cong., 1 Sess. (1885-1886), pt. 6, p. 6,289.
FEDERAL LAND LAWS IN WESTERN KANSAS 249
der, Colo., working in a mine.71 Even a United States court com-
missioner on one occasion closed his office while he undertook to
fulfill the residence requirement by living on his claim.72 A dili-
gent shoemaker left his family on his claim while he maintained his
shop and residence in Dighton during the entire period that he was
supposed to be in residence on his claim.73 After the Fort Dodge
military reservation was opened to settlement 75 filings were made
on land within its limits. Of these, 18 were made by gamblers,
saloon-keepers, bartenders and sporting women engaged in business
or plying their trade in Dodge City; four were made by widows
living in town; six were made by railroad employees and five were
unknown. Only eight or ten were made by actual settlers.74 One
entryman on trial for perjury in connection with his attempt to prove
up replied to the question concerning continuous residence in the
language of a college freshmen, "Yes, except when temporarily
absent."75 Another one of Teutonic ancestry, extremely anxious
to secure some choice land adjacent to his own claims and unable
to comply with the residence requirement, left the following note
on the back of a township plat:
Dere Misses : Know your name as you hat Bad Lugg in your man and
lost him I tell you I am for sale I am a widderwor and after Land and
woman and home I have som land Now how would this sude you, you gitt
a devores and a home state & timber clame and I have some land now and
I gitt a home state and timber clame and we can have lots of land Com and
see me in Rume No 1 or rite.76
Beyond the physical facts of unimproved land and undeveloped
claims the effects upon community spirit of such activities as have
been described, together with the accompanying absentee owner-
ship and control, must have been important. Certainly it was dis-
couraging to newcomers to discover that the land near town, al-
though apparently unoccupied was in the hands of nonresident
71. James Baird writing from Longford, Colo., to W. C. Perry, January 15, 1888.
72. W. T. S. May, Kirwin, to W. C. Perry, November 25, 1886.
73. Lane County Herald, December 8, 1887. Actually the news item revealed the
fact that the entryman was proving up on his second claim. The Herald for June 3, 1886,
reported that a carpenter who was working in Dighton was surprised while paying a visit
to his claim to discover that he had become the father of twins, the first set to be born
in Lane county.
74. "Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office," 1886, loc. cit., p. 96.
75. Letter from the commissioner of the General Land Office to J. R. Hallowell, March
3, 1880.
76. Oberlin Eye, August 12, 1886. It should be suggested that the plan would have
been perfectly legal. On August 11, 1879, the commissioner of the General Land Office
wrote to Hughes and Corse of Larned that if a man and woman having adjacent home-
stead entries should marry they could fulfill the residence requirement by living in a house
on the dividing line between the two claims. "Report of the Commissioner of the General
Land Office," 1880, in Report of the Secretary of the Interior, House Ex. Doc. No. 1
(serial no. 1,959), 46 Cong., 3 Sess. (1880-1881), p. 484.
18—4168
250 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
entrymen.77 One homesteader who had to walk a good many
miles to a small town remarked in a letter that the only thing wrong
with the town was that everyone in it had land for sale.78
The problems arising out of contests and the evasion of residence
requirements led to the formation of various types of protective
associations. In many respects they were the direct descendants
of the claim associations of an earlier period. There were all kinds
of protective associations. Some were organized by entrymen who
were residing on their claims for the purpose of protecting them-
selves against chronic contestants and professional claim jumpers.79
Others, although masquerading under such names as "Old Settlers'
Association" or "Homesteaders' Union," were composed of residents
of towns and villages who had never settled on their claims and did
not propose to do so.80 Their objective was to maintain their entries
by intimidation if need be until final proof could be made or a
relinquishment sold.81 Whatever might have been their purpose
or form of organization, these protective associations introduced a
disruptive influence into the early development of some communi-
ties.82 The incoming correspondence of the federal district attor-
ney's office was burdened with letters describing incidents of intimi-
dation and violence to which entrymen had been subjected.83 It
77. The complaint of T. B. Hatcher, Grenola, addressed to W. C. Perry on September
25, 1886, with reference to the activities of J. G. Hiatt is reasonably typical: "The masses
here want to see the land grabbers punished for we know to what extent it is practiced
and detrimental to the settling of the country. West and north of us the people have no
direct roads to town but have to go 5 & 10 miles around and have no schools on account
of the large tracts that are fenced."
78. John Ise, editor, Sod-House Days: Letters From a Kansas Homesteader, 1877-1878
(New York, 1937), p. 153. These letters written by Howard Ruede of Osborne county
contain a great deal of information on matters pertaining to entering claims, proving up,
residence requirements and the like.
79. The Larned Chronoscope alleged that this was the motive behind the formation
of an Old Settlers' League near Larned. See the issues for March 12, March 19, May 14,
and May 21, 1886. W. J. Calvin in a letter to the Chronoscope which appeared in the
issue for February 19, 1886, suggested a protective league as the answer to the epidemic
of contests that had broken out. He attributed the frequency of contesting to the Sparks'
policies. The Chronoscope echoed this point of view in the issue for May 14, 1886.
80. The character of the Rooks County Homesteader's Union was argued in the columns
of the Rooks County Record and the Rooks County Democrat during the spring and summer
of 1887. The issues of the Record for April 29, May 6, 20, and 27, September 2, 9, 16,
and 23, and of the Democrat for May 17 and August 23, contain particularly relevant
information. The varied activities of one organization are described in Blackman, loc. cit.,
pp. 50-62.
81. E. R. Cutler, Meade Center, in a letter written to the United States district attorney
for the Garden City land office on December 20, 1886, and forwarded to W. C. Perry, de-
scribed a typical instance. In a letter to Walter W. Cleary, special agent for the General
Land Office at Garden City, on February 23, 1887, Perry described the type of evidence
that would be necessary for the successful prosecution of the individuals accused by Cutler.
82. The Stockton Democrat on May 21, 1886, used the phrase "guerilla warfare" to
describe the friction between rival settlers in northwest Kansas. It was stated that five
persons had been killed, that the sheriff had refused to act, and that an appeal for
assistance had been sent to the governor.
83. Charles L. Chittenden, Nickerson, to W. C. Perry, January 28, 1886- John W
McDonald, Dun Station, to Perry, November 7, 1886; J. W. Carson, Wakeeney, to Perry ^
November 22, 1887; Charles P. Dunaway, Stockton, to Perry, January 2 1888- Blanche
FS61"^6^™116' t0 Perry' November 21- 1887; C. B. Dakin Colb£, to Perry' May 2
INKS >IAWMAV>J«« *^e Edsall case and *-'-- - •* • - - •"
FEDERAL LAND LAWS IN WESTERN KANSAS 251
should be noted in this connection that the federal laws did not af-
ford any protection against the threats or acts of an individual. It
was only when two or more persons conspired to deprive an entry-
man of his rights under the federal land law that a prosecution by
federal officials could be undertaken.84 It should be clear that it
was in precisely such instances that the entryman was outnumbered
by the parties whom he was accusing. As a result the federal dis-
trict attorneys were never optimistic concerning the likelihood of
securing convictions. Vigilante activities, with all of the disturbing
features that usually accompany them, seem to have been a char-
acteristic feature of the instances of overt or threatened violence
that plagued entrymen in some new communities.85
It has been pointed out by many writers that the federal land laws
were not well adapted to the Great Plains environment. It has also
been pointed out in connection with the homestead act that it "would
have worked badly on any frontier" because of the incompatibility
of the five-year residence requirement with the frontier tendency
toward mobility.86 It may be suggested that it was not only the
land laws that were unadapted to the Great Plains, but the rules
and regulations with which they were surrounded — the administra-
tive procedures as well as the laws. It may be remarked further
that the tendency toward rapid turnover among early settlers was
stimulated rather than checked or restrained by the operation of the
federal land laws. The technical and involved rules of procedure,
the invitation to contest, and the absence of any effective method
of dealing with violations of the laws contributed to the atmosphere
of uncertainty and insecurity that surrounded western Kansas com-
munities during their early and formative years.
84. W. C. Perry to G. E. Rees, Scott City, January 14, 1888; Perry to C. B. Dakin,
Colby, May 7, 1888; Perry to Thomas J. Richardson, Wichita, May 26, 1888. In the last
letter Perry quoted section 5508 of the federal statutes, "if two or more persons conspire
to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate any citizen in the free exercise or enjoyment of
any right or privilege secured to him by the constitution or laws of the United States,
or because of his having exercised the same, he shall be punished. . . ."
85. G. E. Rees, Scott City, to W. C. Perry, January 6, 1888, alleging that a vigilante
committee was trying to intimidate legal entrymen in Scott county is a case in point.
»v ??'-*Jim:eS C' .M££in,' "Mobilitv ^d History: Reflections on the Agricultural Policies of
October 181* " On tO a Mechanized World," Agricultural History, v. 17 (1943),
The Rev. Louis Dumortier, S. J., Itinerant
Missionary to Central Kansas, 1859-1867
SISTER M. EVANGELINE THOMAS
THE Rev. Louis Dumortier, a colorful frontier personality was
to be the first to work among the Catholic white settlers to
the north, south and west of St. Mary's Indian Mission between
1859 and 1867. His French name proved to be a stumbling block to
his German and Irish parishioners, to the extent that in the prepara-
tion of this piece of research it has been found in 16 incorrect ver-
sions.1 Therefore, he was usually referred to as "Father Louis." 2
He was a Frenchman by birth, born near Lille in 1810 at the
height of the Napoleonic era. In 1839 he entered the Jesuit Order
in Belgium and began his theological studies there. Soon, however,
he was sent to the United States where he continued his studies at
St. Stanislaus Seminary, Florissant, Mo. According to contemporary
records, he completed his studies with distinction, specializing in
mathematics, chemistry and theology.3
After his ordination to the priesthood, Father Dumortier engaged
in teaching in various Jesuit colleges at Cincinnati, Bardstown, Ky.,
and St. Louis. His work was successful and he was portrayed as
"a man of cheerful temper, alert, and witty in conversation and one
whose companionship was sought by all."4 However, his health
was not robust, and for a year he was permitted to return to his
native France. Upon returning to America he was assigned to St.
Mary's Indian Mission in Kansas. In the words of his friend and
contemporary, Father DeSmet, "Providence formed him for the life,
a wandering but pious one, of the prairies." 5
SISTER M. EVANGELINE THOMAS, C. S. J., Ph. D., is a member of the department of
history at Marymount College, Salina. This paper is a revision of the one which was read
before the Kansas Association of Teachers of History and Related Fields meeting in
Topeka, April 28, 1951.
1. The correct spelling is Dumortier as found in his own signature. Incorrect spellings
are Damortier, Demonte, Dumortur, DeMorte, Demortier, Dumortie, DeMonett, Demontee,
DeMauritier, Lemarte, Dumortierez, Demotrius, Dumotrius, Lemort and Martyn. To add to
the confusion the given name was listed as "August" instead of "Louis" in the Catholic direc-
tories, 1859-1867.
2. Pierre J. DeSmet, "Biography of the Venerable F. Louis Dumortier, S. J.," MS. in
the handwriting of DeSmet found in the "Linton Album" at the Jesuit Provincial Archives,
St. Louis. Photostat in the files of the author.
3. Gilbert J. Garraghan, The Jesuits of the Middle United States (New York, 1938),
v. 3, p. 39. In connection with his arrival at Florissant, the novitiate diary commented:
" "There arrived from Belgium eight novices [four Belgians — Florian Sautois, Peter Kindekens,
John Roes and John DeBlieck] ; two Hollanders, Adrian Hoecken and Adrian Van
Hulst; a Frenchman, Louis Dumortier; and a German, Francis Horstman. They met with
a hearty welcome, bringing as they did, a new lease of life to our most deserted novitiate.
So it was with full hearts that we sang the Te Deum.' The travelling expenses of the
party . . . were borne by the seminaries of Bois-le-Duc and Breda, the former con-
tributing twenty-four hundred and the latter six thousand francs." — Ibid., v. 1, p. 360.
4. DeSmet, op. cit., p. 111.
5. Ibid. pp. Ill, 112.
(252)
ITINERANT MISSIONARY TO CENTRAL KANSAS 253
The Jesuits began their work in Kansas in the early 1840's,
primarily for the conversion of the Indians. To that purpose
stations had been established among the Osages and the Potta-
watomies. When calls were sent to them to minister to the influx
of white settlers, they lacked personnel to meet the challenge. As
late as 1864, the Jesuit Mission Board stated in reply to such re-
quests: "We have no mission on behalf of the whites in Kansas/' 6
The missionary efforts to the Indians of Kansas, however, had been
so successful that in 1851 a Vicariate Apostolic was established
there under John Baptist Miege, S. J.
Along the California and Pike's Peak trail, St. Mary's was station
five, and the hospitality of the Jesuits became well-known among the
immigrants.7 An excerpt from a contemporary source stated:
Many a heart in the far West beats warm today for the Fathers at St. Mary's
. They know what it is to meet a kind and liberal friend in a wild and
desert place, far from friends and home, without shelter and protection against
the elements. The settlers in the neighboring counties were liberally assisted
by St. Mary's. Seeds were furnished, cattle of a superior stock given on
credit. ... All this exercised a powerful influence on the Northwest and
prepared a heartfelt welcome for later missionaries. Both Catholics and
Protestants . . . would watch the coming of the priest on his gray mus-
tang to invite him to their cheerful hearth and to repay him the kindness
received in former days at St. Mary's.8
A year before the death of Dumortier, Father DeSmet encour-
aged him to commit to writing experiences and other data which
would be interesting for posterity. DeSmet had a sense of the his-
torical value of keeping records seldom found among pioneers.
Father Dumortier, humble in his accomplishments, was loathe to
record them on paper. However, he consented and sent the follow-
ing account to DeSmet:
You ask me to send you some details of our apostolic labors. I think I can-
not better satisfy your request than by sending you a little geographical
sketch which will put you au courant with our Kansas missions. You will see
from it our successes and our difficulties. The banks of the Kansas and its
tributaries offer scarcely anything else but forests and virgin soil. A number
of small missions have now been established. The faithful gather around
them; here they come with their families to make their permanent residence
so that even now these missions form so many Catholic centers. The great
difficulty that even now presents itself is the lack of missionaries. Our labors
here are beyond the strength of a single individual. The great distance sepa-
6. Garraghan, op. cit., v. 3, p. 37.
7. George A. Root and Russell K. Hickman, "Pike's Peak Express Companies," The
Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 13 (1944), November, pp. 221-226; William E. Smith,
"The Oregon Trail Through Pottawatomie County," Kansas Historical Collections, v. 17
(1926-1928), pp. 435-464; Floyd B. Streeter, Prairie Trails and Cow Towns (Boston,
1936), pp. 15-20.
8. Garraghan, op. cit., v. 3, p. 38.
254 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
rating the different stations, the heavy snows of winter, the thaws of sprjng-
time, the river floods, bad roads and the absence of bridges are so many
handicaps of my journeys. I cannot visit my good Catholics except once every
five or six weeks. In the course of my ordinary rounds I have succeeded in
building four little churches of stone . . . each of them costing pretty
near two thousand dollars. The liberality of our good Catholics who have
contributed is our only resource, so that, my Reverend Father, I think I may
recommend myself to the generosity of your acquaintances and benefactors,
hoping that they who have so often by their liberality shown you the interest
they take in the Indians of the North will once more stretch out a charitable
hand to the poor Kansas missions.9
The sketch map to which Father Dumortier referred, as well as
the letter cited above, were sent by DeSmet to Father Terwecoren,
S. J., in Belgium for publication with the following request:
Please communicate the contents of this letter to the Superior of the poor
churches in Brussels. I hope that these ladies who are so zealous in the service
of the Lord will faithfully fulfill what Rev. Father Dumortier has asked me to
do. He is a worthy priest who continues to give great service in the mission
of St. Mary's. I am waiting for a list of the things he needs the most and I
shall send it to you. Father Dumortier was your co-novice at Trouchiennes.
P. J. DeSmet, S. J.™
The map is drawn to scale showing the mission stations which
radiated to the north, south and west of St. Mary's. Just as the field
notes of Joseph C. Brown of the United States surveying expedition
of 1825-1827 charted the Santa Fe trail n as so many miles from
Fort Osage to Taos, so the Dumortier map indicated his circuit as so
many miles from St. Mary's. And, as the Brown map measured
distances from one creek to another, so also did that of Dumortier.
That was the only possible method of calculation and direction in
those days on the prairie. In addition to the information mentioned,
the number of Catholics at each mission station was written into the
map.
The region covered by Father Dumortier in his missionary jour-
neys included at least 17 present-day counties: Jackson, Pottawa-
tomie, Marshall, Washington, Nemaha, Riley, Clay, Ottawa, Saline,
Lincoln, Ellsworth, Dickinson, Davis (now Geary), Lyon, Morris,
Chase and Wabaunsee. This section lay roughly between St.
Mary's and Fort Harker, the Verdigris and the Otoe mission. Some
9. Letter from Dumortier to DeSmet, July 1, 1866.
10. DeSmet to Terwecoren, an addendum to the above-mentioned letter. The originals
of letters and maps are still in the Belgian Archives. Photographs are in the Jesuit Provincial
Archives, St. Louis; photostat of same in files of the writer.
11. Although the trail had been used for pack animals before 1821, and for wagons
after 1822, it was only after the survey made by the corps of engineers of the United States
government under Joseph C. Brown that it became the best recommended trail to Santa Fe. —
William R. Bernard, "Westport and the Santa Fe Trade," Kansas Historical Collections, v. 9
(1905-1906), pp. 552-578; William E. Connelley, "The Santa Fe Trail," Kansas and
Kansans (Chicago, 1918), v. 1, pp. 93-110.
ITINERANT MISSIONARY TO CENTRAL KANSAS 255
25 or more small congregations were organized in these counties.
During the last two years of his ministry he built five stone churches
and projected plans for a sixth.12
The year 1859 was a memorable one in the development of
Kansas. Gold had been discovered in Colorado the year previously
and the demand for safe transportation there by the gold-rushing
throng led to the organization of the Leavenworth and Pike's Peak
Express, which though short-lived became a forerunner of the But-
terfield Overland Dispatch through the valleys of the Kaw and
Smoky Hill during the 1860's.13
Several outstanding personages made the overland trip to Denver
and commented on the stations along the line. Albert Richardson
had this to say of St. Mary's:
Passed St. Mary's Catholic Mission — a pleasant, homelike group of log-houses,
and a little frame church, bearing aloft the cross — among shade and fruit trees,
in a picturesque valley. The mission has been in operation twelve years. In
the school-room we saw sixty Indian boys at their lessons.14
This same writer stated that Manhattan was a flourishing Yankee
city of some two or three hundred people.15
Henry Villard in an article printed in the Cincinnati (Ohio)
Commercial considered Fort Riley the best military post he had
seen in his travels through the West.16
Junction City, station seven on the trail, was regarded as the
"jumping-off place" on the frontier where travelers for the West
bade good-bye to most of the remaining amenities of civilization.17
As the caravan approached Chapman's Creek, sparcity of settlement
was noticed. Horace Greeley stated that it was without houses and
with "two small tents and a brush arbor [to] furnish accommoda-
tions for six to fifteen persons." He remarked that the station
keeper's wife had given them an excellent dinner of "bacon and
12. These stone churches were built at Elbow, Chapman's Creek, Ogden City, Rock
Creek (present Flush) and Junction City. The latter was finished and ready for occupancy
at the time of Father Dumortier's death in July, 1867. The church at Solomon City was
projected and built after that time.
13. Root and Hickman, loc. cit., pp. 221-226; Bernard, loc. cit.
14. Albert Richardson, Beyond the Mississippi (Hartford, 1867), p. 160.
15. Ibid., p. 161.
16. Richardson also praised this location in Beyond the Mississippi, p. 161. Horace
Greeley, however, lamented the fact that "two millions of Uncle Sam's money" had been
used in its improvement.
17. Junction City was also the frontier post office of Kansas. Richardson, op. cit.,
p. 161. The Junction City Sentinel was the most westernly newspaper establishment in
Kansas at the time. The first stage coach left there for the West, August 4, 1862. This
was quite an event in the history of the county as it was the formal opening of the Smoky
Hill route to Santa Fe. — A. T. Andreas and W. G. Cutler, History of the State of Kansa*
(Chicago, 1883), p. 1002. The first through mail service to Santa Fe over the Smoky Hill
route left Junction City, July 2, 1866. It was triweekly.
256 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
greens, good bread, applesauce and pie." 18 Thus, as they pro-
ceeded toward the West, conditions became more challenging even
to the organized stage coaches. These challenges must have been
accentuated when a lone man on horseback pushed on in search of
scattered families.
Many of the settlers who had entered Kansas during the territorial
days of upheaval wanted to move on west. Among them were many
Catholics who were therefore deprived of religious ministrations.
Father Louis began to search them out, and, wherever he found
two or more families, gathering them together, he would improvise
an altar to celebrate Holy Mass. Then from them he would hear
of others who had gone on farther and immediately he would under-
take to locate them and do the same in their regard. This meant that
the circuit widened with each succeeding trip.
Father Dumortier's sense of duty made him a typical frontiersman.
Close to the appointed day he was at his post, having traveled an
average of 20 or 30 miles daily. Upon reaching a station, instead
of sending someone else to announce his arrival to the outlying dis-
trict, he would remount his pony and make the trip himself.19
To the north of St. Mary's, Jesuits before the time of Dumortier
had worked among the Indians and French half-breeds. Along Sol-
dier creek and on the north bank of the Kaw, the Pottawatomies and
French-speaking Kansa half-breeds benefited by the erection of a
chapel at Soldier Creek in 1850.20 It was a modest structure, 18 by
20 feet, costing only $106, where Mass was said every Sunday with
preaching in English, French and Pottawatomie.21
Among the prominent Catholics of that region were the Papin
brothers, Louis and Auguste, enterprising Frenchmen who operated
a ferry across the Kansas river near present-day Topeka. It was a
favorite stopping place for the emigrants. While working as ferry-
man for Papin, a certain Curtis married Helen Papin, the daughter
of his employer. To that union was born the future vice-president
of the United States, Charles Curtis.22 His mother, Helen Papin
Curtis, member of the Kansa tribe, had received a rudimentary edu-
18. Horace Greeley, An Overland Journey From New York to San Francisco in the
Summer of 1859 (New York, 1860), p. 75; Martha B. Caldwell, "When Horace Greeley
Visited Kansas in 1859," The Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 9 (1940), May, pp. 132-
133; "Life on the Plains, 1860-1868," Kansas Historical Collections, v. 16 (1923-1925),
passim; Streeter, op. cit., pp. 32-34.
19. DeSmet, op. cit., p. 112.
20. This chapel was erected by Moise Belmaire.
21. Garraghan, op. cit., v. 2, pp. 617, 618.
22. Don C. Seitz, From Kaw Teepee to Capitol: The Life Story of Charles Curtis
. . . (New York, 1928), pp. 32-34; Connelley, op. cit., p. 160.
ITINERANT MISSIONARY TO CENTRAL KANSAS 257
cation at St. Mary's where the Ladies of the Sacred Heart conducted
a school for girls.23
The account of the baptism of Charles Curtis is as follows:
This fifteenth day of April, 1860, I have solemnly baptized Charles Curtis,
the legitimate son of William [sic] and Ellen Papin Curtis, born on the twenty-
fifth [sic] of January, 1860. Sponsors Henry Papin and Suzanne Papin.
SIGNED: L. Dumortier, S. J.24
Another record of 1860 stated that Father Dumortier married Louis
Papin and Laury McFurson on January I.25 According to the
Dumortier map of 1866 there were only 30 communicants at Soldier
Creek at that time.26
Also to the north of St. Mary's in south central Nemaha county,
was an Irish settlement at Coal Creek. Although there were a few
white settlers during the territorial days, the greater influx was after
the admission of Kansas to the Union. In 1863 the first Mass was
offered in that area, supposedly by Father Dumortier. It was cele-
brated in the log cabin of Francis Flaherty located on the county
line east of Coal Creek. Later, Mass was celebrated at the Huey
O'Donnell home until a more organized congregation was estab-
lished.27 There were also two stations on the Black Vermillion, one,
30 miles from St. Mary's with about 120 in attendance, and the
other 40 miles away with 39 parishioners.28
To the southeast of St. Mary's, Father Dumortier ministered to
groups in present-day Lyons, Morris, Chase and Wabaunsee coun-
ties. Patrick Doyle was a pioneer settler of Chase county and his
name is perpetuated on the map in Doyle creek and Doyle town-
ship.29 At Cedar Point there was a French settlement where un-
doubtedly the French priest felt doubly at home. This was the only
group of his compatriots among whom he worked, although the
half-breeds at Soldier Creek had a semblance of French culture also.
The first Frenchmen who settled along the Cottonwood river
arrived in 1857 and gradually confined themselves to Cottonwood,
Grant and Doyle townships and the town of Florence. At Cotton-
23. Garraghan, op. cit., v. 2, pp. 202-208.
24. "Account Book of St. Mary's Mission," April 15, 1860. There was no place listed
so it is supposed to be somewhere in St. Mary's parish. The name "William" is an error
as William was the grandfather not the father of Charles Curtis.
25. Ibid., January 1, 1860. The place was listed as Indianola.
26. Dumortier's map, 1866. — Photostat in files of the writer.
27. Henry Drostigier, "Coal Creek, St. Patrick's Parish," "Diocese of Leavenworth
Records," Book A, pp. 85-87, October 24, 1935, Kansas State Historical Library, Topeka.
Dumortier's map, 1866, indicates that this mission was 30 miles from St. Mary's with a
congregation of 30.
28. Garraghan, op. cit., v. 3, p. 41. These were congregations without churches.
There are records of baptism on the Black Vermillion in 1859 and 1860.
29. DeSmet, op. cit., p. 112.
258 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
wood Falls there were other French settlers. Belgians were in-
cluded as an integral part of this so-called French Colony. The
name of Francis Bernard, first permanent French settler, as well
as those of Portry, Godard, Ravenet, Bichet and Louis became well
known to the Jesuit itinerant priest.30
The homes of John Lawless in Diamond Creek and of William
Norton in Bazaar, Irish settlements, became centers for Catholi-
cism.31 These stations were taken over after the death of Father
Dumortier by the other famous Jesuit missionary to the Osages of
southeastern Kansas, the Rev. Paul Ponziglione. He stated that the
congregation at Cottonwood Falls was the most fervent he had seen
in the West.32
However, the most important missions in the 1850's and 1860's
were those to the west of St. Mary's. The building of Fort Riley in
1853 had been an attraction to numerous Irish and German immi-
grants who accepted employment in its construction. They worked
in the capacity of stone masons and carpenters, and upon the com-
pletion of the fort many of them pre-empted land along the Kaw
and its tributaries. They formed a nucleus of the settlers in Rock
Creek, Elbow, McDowell's Creek, Clark's Creek, Ogden, Junction
City and Chapman's Creek — all congregations of Father Dumortier.
These pre-emptors often supplemented their earnings in farming
by working as teamsters on the government trails.
Soon after the territory was open for settlement, four Dixon
brothers took land at Pawnee. They were summarily evicted by
the authorities at Fort Riley but were allowed land on the edge
of the reservation.33 The Dixons assisted greatly in the early days
in establishing the Catholic church in Ogden and Junction City.
At the invitation of Maj. E. A. Ogden, commandant at Fort Riley,
a priest from St. Mary's began to hold monthly services there.34
Bishop John B. Miege purchased several lots for a church which
became, according to some records, the first stone church erected in
30. Alberta Pantle, "History of the French-Speaking Settlement in the Cottonwood
Valley," The Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 19 (1951), pp. 12-49, 174-206.
31. Garraghan, op. cit., v. 2, p. 572; George P. Morehouse, "Diamond Springs, "The
Diamond of the Plains'," Kansas Historical Collections, v. 14 (1915-1918), pp. 794-804;
Sister Mary Paul Fitzgerald, Beacon on the Plains ( Leavenworth, 1939), p. 256; Peter
Beckman, The Catholic Church on the Kansas Frontier (Washington, D. C., 1943), pp.
87, 88; John M. Moeder, Early Catholicity in Kansas and History of the Diocese of Wichita
(Wichita, 1937), pp. 23, 56.
32. Ponziglione to Coosemans, December 17, 1867; Beckman, op. cit., pp. 87, 88:
DeSmet, op. cit., p. 112; William Connelley, op. cit., v. 3, pp. 1218, 1219, contains a good
evaluation of Ponziglione; Fitzgerald, op. cit., passim.
33. Duerinck to Maj. George W. Clarke, October 20, 1856; Garraghan, op. cit , v. 3
pp. 4, 5; interview with Msgr. James Bradley, Junction City, April 7, 1951; interview with
Hubert Bader, Junction City, April 7, 1951; W. F. Pride, The History of Fort Riley (Junction
City, 1926), p. 104.
34. Garraghan, op. cit., v. 3, p. 14.
ITINERANT MISSIONARY TO CENTRAL KANSAS 259
Kansas.35 When the cholera broke out there in 1855, a priest was
sent to nurse and console the dying. When the danger had passed
the men in gratitude presented a purse to the priest.36
Two entries in the journal of St. Mary's Mission in the handwrit-
ing of the Rev. John Duerinck, superior, refer to Father Louis Du-
mortier. One mentioned that he was hurt by his pony while on a
sick call to Fort Riley and the other that he returned and had de-
posited $105 in treasury notes given him by the soldiers.37 In 1866
there were 160 Catholic soldiers at the fort.38
Twenty-four miles to the northwest of St. Mary's, a German set-
tlement was made in the middle 1850's at Rock Creek, today known
as Flush. Jesuits on horseback made the trip there where Mass
was said in the homes of Vincent Repp, Anton and Theodore Dekat
and Michael Floersch.39 These pioneers, driving government
wagons between Fort Leavenworth and Fort Riley, observed the
fertile valley of Rock creek and decided to settle there. The prox-
imity to Fort Riley served as a ready market for produce.40 There
are records extant of Father Dumortier's visits to Rock Creek where
he baptized and married people of the congregation 41 as well as
several references to the stone church which he erected.42 In 1866
the congregation numbered about 130.43
To the west of Rock Creek, north of the Kansas river, was an Irish
settlement at Elbow, which was derisively referred to as "The
Devil's Elbow" by the Germans of Rock Creek.44 This fertile valley
became the home of people who later were wealthy farmers. Be-
fore the building of the church, Mass was said in the homes of the
Glenns, Cunninghams, Peaks, Conroys, Dempseys and Dowlings.
Toby and Elizabeth Neckelman donated the land upon which the
35. Miege to Boudreaux a Beckx, July 4, 1885.
36. Garraghan, op. cit., v. 3, pp. 14, 15.
37. "January 25, 1862: Revd. F. Dumortier returned from his trip; got hurted [sic]
by his pony above Fort Riley whilst on a sick call. . . . May 28, 1862: Revd. F.
Dumortier deposited $105." — "Diary of St. Mary's Mission, 1854-63."
38. Dumortier's map, 1866.
39. Michael Floersch, for whom the town was named, gave four acres of land upon
which the church was erected.
40. J. E. Biehler, "Flush, St. Joseph's Church," — "Diocese of Leavenworth Records,"
Book A, pp. 142-144, October 29, 1936, in Kansas State Historical Library, Topeka.
41. Maurice Gailland. "History of St. Mary's Mission," MS. at St. Mary's College, St.
Mary's; "A Prairie Parish," Topeka State Journal, March 17, 1914.
42. March 25, 1865: deed for land; April 16, 1865: 22 loads of stone quarried;
February 6, 1866: $30 in safe and 104 loads of stone; May 14, 1866: $1,455 subscribed;
$194 expended; $1,351 remain; December 2, 1866: paid out $422; in treasury $69; no
debts. — "Dumortier Account Book." This is an interesting book containing information
sealed at the time of his death and opened recently. It itemizes contributions to the
churches in the various parishes.
43. Dumortier's map, 1866.
44. Interview with Sebastian Dekat, Flush, April 6, 1951; interview with Hubert
Bader, Junction City, April 7, 1951.
260 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
first church was built.45 The old cemetery is a landmark of early
Catholicism in central Kansas. The tombstones date much earlier
than those in the Manhattan cemetery. The first baptism was in
1861 and there were 70 who attended services at Elbow in 1866.46
It is interesting to note that several years ago when the Elbow
church was demolished the stone was sold to the Flush parish to be
used in the building of a parish hall. The stone from the original
Flush church was used in the parish school building standing next
to the hall. Thus, stone quarried and erected into two churches in
different places by Father Dumortier survive today in two adjacent
buildings in Flush.47
New Englanders settled Manhattan in 1855. Although there were
large numbers of Catholics in Elbow and McDowell's Creek, Man-
hattan had so few that the first Mass was not said there until 1865.
At that time Father Dumortier celebrated it at the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Mathew Peak and he baptized their daughter, Rose, on the
same day. Glass candlesticks used at this original service are still
in the possession of the Peak family.48 The fact that the map of
1866 does not state numbers for Manhattan is an indication that the
few families there joined the Catholics of near-by congregations for
services or conducted them in the Peak home.49
McDowell's Creek is in the country a few miles southeast of Man-
hattan. There were never many communicants there and those few
were Irish. Among them were the Brannick, Ryan and Tully fami-
lies and later converts from the Lutheran Schippert family. These
people were mostly stone masons as is evidenced from the number
of stone walls, stone houses and stone barns still extant in that
vicinity.50 Besides farming, this vicinity became known for sheep
raising. Today the little stone church and cemetery at the foot of
the hill brings a person back to the days when Father Dumortier
would arrive to serve his flock. Although some baptisms are re-
corded for McDowell's Creek as early as 1859, they must have been
those of adult converts. The first two white children born in the
valley were John Brannick and Mary Ann Tully. The former lost
45. Interview with Msgr. A. J. Luckey, Manhattan, April 6, 1951.
46. Dumortier's map, 1866.
47. Interview with Msgr. A. J. Luckey, Manhattan, April 6, 1951; interview with
Sebastian Dekat, Flush, April 6, 1951.
48. Arthur J. Luckey, Seven Dolors Parish, Manhattan, Kansas (Manhattan, 1920),
PP. [7, 8]; interview with John Peak, Manhattan, April 6, 1951.
49. Dumortier's map, 1866.
50. The Kansas City Catholic Register in 1937 carried several articles on the history
of the Catholic church in the Diocese of Concordia (now Salina). Among these was one on
McDowell's creek, July 15, 1937; interview with Mrs. Mary Brannick and Marie Brannick,
McDowell's Creek, April 6, 1951.
ITINERANT MISSIONARY TO CENTRAL KANSAS 261
his mother a few days after his birth and was reared by the James
Ryan family whose daughter he later married. The Ryan family
donated land for the church and cemetery. Mary Ann Tully died
in April, 1951, in Junction City.51
To the west of McDowell's Creek is Clark's Creek. There were
three distinct settlements — all Irish — in this region. The familiar
names still found in the locality are Maloney, Gogin, Murphy, O'Day
and McGrath. Patrick Maloney and James Gogin, both bound for
Clark's Creek, met in Leavenworth, bought a span of oxen, put a
top on a wagon and struck out together for their destination. Ma-
loney settled at Skiddy and Gogin three miles down the creek. Two
living members of the latter family, who were baptized by Father
Dumortier, furnished this information.52 Members of families from
Chapman's Creek and Glare's Creek intermarried in several in-
stances.53 This mission, some 55 miles from St. Mary's, had a con-
gregation of 94 in 1866.54
Lyon's Creek, also to the south of the Kaw, had a few Catholics,
about 30 in number. In an account entitled, "Kansas Sixty Years
Ago," there is a reference to neighborly visits back and forth among
the settlements. Thomas F. Doran of Lyon's Creek wrote:
There were two Irishmen who came regularly to visit us. They were Pat
Maloney and Tom O'Day. They always came in the winter, and usually in a
snow storm. Every time a blizzard came from the north we looked for them,
though they had to travel from Clark's creek, a distance of twenty miles. We
were seldom disappointed. O'Day came on foot, leading a saddled horse. I
never saw him ride. Maloney was a strong character and afterwards became
quite wealthy.55
It appears that Father Dumortier would cross the Kaw and visit
the missions in the Cottonwood valley, first working west along the
creeks mentioned south of the river, and would recross the river at
Junction City. Then he would go west, visiting the other missions
east of Junction City on his way back to St. Mary's. At Ogden there
was a sizable group of Dykes, Mallons, Hanaghans, Woods, Dixons
and a Jewish family, Weichselbaums, who were friendly to the
51. Interview with Msgr. James Bradley, Junction City, April 7, 1951. He stated
that the Tully family later helped in the erection of the Junction City church. The fact
that Father Dumortier knew of the capabilities of the people in the various settlements made
this co-operation possible. Pride, op. cit., p. 90, states that some of the original buildings
at Fort Riley had been erected from stone quarried by Tully, contractor for buildings there.
52. Interview with Richard and Martin Gogin, Junction City, April 7, 1951. Both
men have died since that time.
53. Three Gogin daughters married three Scanlon sons of Chapman's Creek. The first
marriage performed of a native of Chapman's Creek and one of Clark's Creek was that of
John Erwin of the former and Ellen McGrath of the latter place, November 7, 1862.
54. Dumortier's map, 1866.
55. Thomas F. Doran, "Kansas Sixty Years Ago," Kansas Historical Collections, v. 15
(1919-1920), pp. 482-501; Clara M. Shields, "The Lyon Creek Settlement," ibid., v. 14
(1915-1918), pp. 143-170.
262 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
priest.56 Here he built one of his stone churches. In the modern
church in Ogden today the main altar is erected to the memory of
this courageous missionary.57
As mentioned previously, Junction City became the entrepot for
trade and travel to the West and a large group of Catholics settled
there at an early date. This became one of the largest and most
important missions of the area. The first mention in the Junction
City Weekly Union read: "Father DeMortier organized the Catholic
Church on June 4, 1861." 58 Important early settlers were the
Dixons — Patrick, Thomas and James, A. B. White, John Caspar,
R. E. Lawrenson, R. O. Rizer, Anton Bader, V. Phester, A. Single-
man, James Maloney of Dry Creek, Mrs. J. Petter and Pat Breen.
Perhaps one of the most interesting women in the entire missionary
circuit was Mrs. Mary Clarke, whose husband, a captain in the
army, died in 1862. The following year she purchased a home in
Junction City.59 While at Fort Riley she had been of great assist-
ance to Father Dumortier in helping him locate the Catholic soldiers
stationed there. Upon her removal to Junction City, she became
the religious leader of the community, forwarding every charitable
and religious cause. The government granted Mrs. Clarke the
privilege of operating the ferry across the Republican river at
Junction City and of collecting die tolls. She hired Tom O'Day to
operate the ferry for her until its discontinuance after the bridge
was built in 1867.60
The local newspaper made many references to the church which
was to be built in Junction City, but, as with construction in general,
its actual building was postponed until after the Civil War.61
56. Theodore Weichselbaum settled in Ogden in 1857 at the time the county seat and
the land office were located there. He became financially interested in sutlers' stores at
Forts Larned, Dodge, Harker, Wallace and Camp Supply. Early in the 1870's he built a
brewery at Ogden and ran it until the Kansas prohibition law was passed in 1881. The beer
was hauled around the country and sold to sutlers' stores and saloons. — Pride, op. cit., pp.
109, 110. It was this same Weichselbaum who carried the news of the breaking out of the
Civil War from Fort Riley to Fort Wise (Bent's old fort) with an ox team. — Ibid., p. 144.
57. Interview with Msgr. C. J. Roache, Abilene, April 8, 1951. The "Dumortier Ac-
count Book" listed expenditures for the church he erected as $1,300, with debts amounting
to $267 and with $56 in the treasury as of December 2, 1866.
58. Another item in the Junction City Weekly Union of May 29, 1862; Andreas-Cutler,
op. cit., pp. 1006, 1008.
59. Smoky Hill and Republican Union, August 22, 1863, stated: "The stone dwelling
house . . . was sold one day last week ... to Mrs. Capt. Clarke, of Fort Riley,
for $1450"; interview with Margie Clarke, Junction City, April 7, 1951; "St. Xavier's
Catholic Church Founded in 1861 by Father DeMortier, A Martyr to the Plague," Junction
City Union, March 3, 1934. This was the anniversary issue of the paper.
60. Interview with Mr. Hubert Bader, Junction City, April 7, 1951; interview with
Margie Clarke, Junction City, April 7, 1951. The ferry was swept away by high water and
repaired at once in 1865. — Pride, op. cit., p. 150.
61. "Dumortier Account Book," December 2, 1866: "Deposit $205 minus $20 equals
$185. Mrs. Clarke had subscribed $50; gave $20; returned $10 at her request and the
$10 remaining to the Elbow Church. Therefore, deposit $185 for Junction City; Mr. John
Aipe gave $20 for the church of which $15 were returned to him at his request and $5
given to the Elbow Church. The money deposited for Junction City Church is not $185
but $165. The Church has in its treasury $470 cash. Common church property $500
cash." Smoky Hill and Republican Union, October 24, 1861; May 29, 1862; Junction City
Union, May 19, 1866.
ITINERANT MISSIONARY TO CENTRAL KANSAS 263
Finally the Smoky Hill and Republican Union stated:
The citizens of Junction City and vicinity have gone to work in earnest
to have a Catholic Church erected . . .of brick or stone . . .
40 x 80 feet. . . . About three hours work on Thanksgiving Day pro-
duced a subscription of over $1100 for the purpose. In addition . . . a
large amount has been subscribed by persons living in the surrounding vicinity.
Success to it we say.62
This was the most expensive structure of those erected by Father
Dumortier, costing over $4,000. It was finished with the aid of
stone masons from McDowell's Creek and ready for dedication at
the time of the death of the priest in July, 1867.63 The congrega-
tion was about one hundred.64
Construction of the Kansas Pacific railroad accelerated the influx
of immigrants to central Kansas. As the track was laid, settlements
sprung up in its wake. With the march of civilization went the
missionary as far west as present-day Ellsworth, and reaching out
into the untracked area to the north and south as well.65
As early as 1851, the Rev. Ignatius Maes, S. J., had found his way
to Chapman's creek to labor among the Indians. Several tribes
habitually roamed over this part of the territory along the Smoky
Hill river and Chapman's creek, which was favorable for hunting.
An added reason for the choice of this region for Indian maneuvers
was the presence of numerous springs. Indian hill, on the high
knoll overlooking the valley, became a communal burial ground for
a number of Indian tribes. There is a tradition among white settlers
that the squaws would gather there periodically to chant their
death songs on three consecutive nights to the consternation of the
frightened pioneers.66
While ministering to the Indians, Father Maes encountered
whites scattered throughout a wide area and ministered to them
until the coming of Dumortier. By that time other Irish families
had settled there. John Erwin and Michael Hogan arrived in 1858
and shortly afterwards John Powers and William Delaney arrived.
The latter had scouted there earlier and now came to settle per-
manently. The first corn crop was credited to Thomas Howe and
62. Ibid., December 8, 1866; February 23, 1867.
63. Ibid., August 10, 1867, stated: "Mass will be celebrated in the new Catholic
church on next Sunday [the llth] morning at 10 o'clock."
64. Dumortier's map, 1866; DeSmet, op. cit., p. 112. In the present church in Junc-
tion City is a plaque in honor of Father Dumortier. The name is spelled DeMorte.
65. These settlements included Chapman's Creek, Mud Creek (Abilene), Solomon,
balina, Lincoln, Ellsworth and Fort Harker (present-day Kanopolis). Up the Republican
river and Parson's creek there was a mission for 59. — Dumortier's map, 1866.
66. J. B. Carpenter, "Early Days of Chapman," Abilene Chronicle, August 29, 1930.
This was a reprint of an article written and published in 1884.
264 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the first wheat to Michael Hogan.67 Since the nearest mills were at
Leavenworth and Council Grove, these men were obliged to haul
their grain by ox wagon to those distant places. Oftentimes they
took their families with them the entire journey or left them with
their friends in the more eastern settlements.68 Other Catholic
families were those of L. L. Warnock, John Nash, John Lundrigan,
Mrs. M. Kelley, Mrs. Catherine Ryan and Mrs. M. Devan, all of
whom became prosperous farmers.69
Father Dumortier began to plan at once the building of a church
in Chapman and the settlers donated time and the sum of $700, a
veritable fortune in those days. Rock was quarried near by, but
lumber had to be brought from Leavenworth. In the account book
he listed the outlay of money to the amount of $1,750, with $50 in
the treasury.70 The Junction City Union commented that stone
work on the little church was finished and the carpenters were
enclosing it.71
The old church, although not used since 1883, is still a pioneer
landmark, standing in the old Chapman cemetery. Each year on
Memorial Day it is used again by the descendants of the pioneers
for services.72 The first couple married in that church was Patrick
Riordan of Solomon and Maggie Devan of Chapman. Prior to
that time, John Erwin of Chapman had married Ellen McGrath of
Clark's Creek at the home of her parents in the latter place as there
was no church in either place.73 There was a large congregation of
140 in Chapman in 1866.74
Mud Creek had changed its name to the more dignified Biblical
one of Abilene about the time that Father. Dumortier met a group
of Catholic settlers there. In 1859 the James Mason, Margaret
Callahan and Pat Hall families settled in Abilene and invited the
priest to their homes. With the coming of the Kansas Pacific, a
considerable colony of Catholics moved there from Kankakee, 111.
This included the Ryans, Rings, Hogans and Sherrins. Most of the
67. Ibid. John Erwin also operated a stage station for some time in the early days.
—Pride, op. cit., p. 127.
68. Notes by and interview with Mrs. Ann Erwin Thisler, Chapman, April 1 and 8,
69. These names predominate in the cemetery at Chapman, where not only the first
settlers of that place but also those of Abilene and Clark's creek were buried.
70. This account was itemized as follows: "(eve of my retreat) Chapman's Creek has
E$930 to masons; $54 to Devan for lumber; $15 to Hardeher Hall; $30 to John Essen
rin?] for lumber; $750 to Loder Corporation. Total $1750." — "Dumortier Account
c," December 2, 1886.
71. Junction City Union, May 19, 1866.
72. This is considered the oldest church in the Diocese of Salina. — Interview with
the Rev. Romanus Mattingly, Chapman, March 14, 1951; interview with Mrs. Ann Erwin
Thisler, Chapman, April 8, 1951.
73. November 7, 1862, with Father Louis Dumortier as officiating priest.
74. Dumortier's map, 1866.
ITINERANT MISSIONARY TO CENTRAL KANSAS 265
men freighted over the two routes hauling foodstuffs from Fort
Leavenworth to Salina and from Fort Riley to Fort Larned. These
trips with ox team were made infrequently, only when necessary.75
According to the memoirs of Mrs. Margaret Callahan Flynn,
daughter of the pioneer mother who with her large family staked
a claim west of the present St. Joseph's orphanage, the first Mass
was said in the log cabin of her grandmother in 1860. She received
Communion at the hands of Father Dumortier. She stated that he
was revered by Protestants and Catholics alike. The first baptism
in Abilene proper was that of Jimmy Hall in I860.76 There were 82
Catholics there in 1866, although a church was not built until 1874.
Many joined the Chapman Creek congregation or heard Mass in,
private residences.77
Mrs. Flynn related that the people of Abilene felt sorry to see
Father Louis riding bareback on his pony; therefore, they sponsored
a dance, the proceeds of which would buy him a buggy. The sum
of $180 was realized. However, en route back to St. Mary's, he
found one of his churches in debt and with a generous gesture
turned the money over to it. This was a disappointment to his
Abilene benefactors but they admired the charity of the missionary.
Beyond Abilene was another Irish settlement, Solomon City,
which became the largest mission in point of numbers, 200 in 1866.78
This large number was due no doubt to the railroad camps built
there. Previous mention has been made of the work of two fron-
tierswomen, Mrs. Mary Clarke of Junction City and Mrs. Margaret
Callahan of Abilene, in assisting Father Dumortier to bring about
parish life in those places.
The third woman in this account was Mrs. Margaret Riordan, a
widow, who with her seven children and her nephew, traveled in
1860 from LaSalle county, Illinois, by boat to Leavenworth and
thence to the Solomon valley. On the long trek across the country
they stopped at St. Mary's where they enjoyed the hospitality of
the Jesuit Fathers. While there, Father Dumortier described to
75. Margaret Callahan Flynn, "Memoirs." This account was written December 20,
1936, in an interview with the Rev. Edmund Arpin to be used by the Rev. Joseph Conway
in an article similar to the one under consideration. The interviewer commented that
Mrs. Flynn, although old at the time, had a clear mind and in checking the information
she supplied the writer also feels that it may be considered reliable.
76. Ibid. Mrs. Flynn was nine years old at the time. Hence the events she chronicled
happened within her lifetime. Her marriage record is found in the old baptismal, death
and marriage record book in the Solomon parish house. It reads: "Abilene — on this
nineteenth day of November, 1870, I the undersigned joined in the bonds of holy matrimony
John Flynn, age 23 and Margaret Callahan, age 19 years. Witnesses were Richard Callahan
and Kate Dawe. Felix Swembergh."
77. Dumortier's map, 1866; interview with Agnes Callahan, Abilene, April 8, 1951.
78. Dumortier's map, 1866.
19—4168
266 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
them the country through which they would travel, some of his
parishioners whom they would meet en route, and the beauties
and possibilities of the valley where they hoped to settle.79
Continuing westward for a few days, they reached Chapman's
Creek where they made the acquaintance of the Erwin, Devan and
other Catholic families who encouraged them to stay in this more
settled location. However, "Mother Riordan," as she came to be
known, continued to the spot where they had been advised to settle.
To their surprise, they found the log cabin of John Begley, an Irish-
man, who had taken a claim on Buckeye creek, four miles northwest
of present Solomon. He advised the Riordans to take land immedi-
.ately to the south, which they did. There they built a sturdy cabin
which became the center of Catholicism for a large area. "Mother
Riordan/' a powerful personality, is spoken of with reverence even
to the present time.
It was some time before the familiar white pony wandered rider-
less into the Riordan property. It was the custom of Father Louis,
when he saw the cabin to which he was directed, to dismount and
allow the pony to go ahead and announce his coming. Mrs. Riordan,
accustomed as she was to caution in dealing with frontier peddlers
or refugees from organized society, always advised her children to
ask from whence the stranger came. When one day the answer
was "St. Mary's" it was evident that the long-expected guest had
arrived.
Hurriedly she summoned the Berrigans, the Sullivans, the Stan-
tons and other pioneers. In the possession of the Riordan family
today is found the rosewood chest from Ireland upon which Mass
was said and in which were kept linens used solely for that pur-
pose.80 In 1865 Father Dumortier proposed that a church be
started. An item in the Junction City Weekly Union the following
year stated: "A Catholic Church and school house are to be built
at Solomon City during this Summer." 81 After the death of Father
Louis, Solomon became a resident pastorate from whence the priest
cared for Catholics west to the Colorado line.82
79. Interview with Mrs. Mary O'Keefe, Solomon, April 3, 1951. The children of
Mrs. Riordan were John, Bridget, Timothy, Patrick, Dennis, Mary and Thomas. All mar-
ried and took put claims in the Solomon valley. Patrick as mentioned in another connection
married Maggie Devan of Chapman's Creek. — "Into Old History," Salina Journal, July 18,
1933. This was a reprint of an article on the beginnings of Solomon which had appeared in
a paper, The Rustler, 1895, edited and published by W. R. Geis of Salina.
80. Interview with Mrs. Mary O'Keefe, Solomon, April 3, 1951.
81. Junction City Weekly Union, July 6, 1867.
82. The "Solomon Parish Book" contains an account of the general history of the
beginnings of the church there in the handwriting of the Rev. Felix Swembergh, pastor in
1869. In this same book are accounts of baptisms, confirmations, deaths and marriages for
the early years. Since the priest from Solomon tended to the spiritual needs of Catholics
as far as the Colorado line records for those dates are to be found there. Sixteen were
confirmed by Bishop John B. Miege on June 20, 1869, at Solomon; Andreas-Cutler, op. cit.,
pp. 691, 692.
ITINERANT MISSIONARY TO CENTRAL KANSAS 267
There were so few Catholics in Salina during Dumortier's time
that services were conducted either with the Solomon congregation
or in log cabins of the settlers. The priest stayed at the A. M.
Campbell home when in Salina. This was one of the pioneer non-
Catholic families of Salina and they treated him as a member of the
family. Living members of the Campbell family relate that their
mother always referred to him as a very pious man, a true saint
if ever one walked the prairies of Kansas.83
The German Schippel brothers, Gotthard and John, who pio-
neered in the Saline valley, erected a log cabin on the banks of that
river. Gotthard Schipple married Clara Wary, daughter of a Bel-
gian Catholic, and the descendants of that branch became one of
the prosperous families of Saline county. Carpenters by trade,
the Schippels realized the need for transportation over the Saline
for on-coming immigrants. Therefore, they built a ferry, charging
a dollar a wagon or team. It is recorded that some days they
ferried as many as 300 across the river.84
The early settlers of Salina were of mixed nationality — German,
Belgian, French and Irish. Names still prominent in the parish are
Giersch, Wary, McAuliffe, Commerford, Carlin, O'Reilly, Cunning-
ham, Sherrin, Geis and Schwartz. In 1866 there were 75 Catholics
in the Saline valley.85
Father Dumortier rode on past Salina up the Saline river in
1867 to present-day Lincoln. There, according to printed sources,
he was called Father LeMarte. A description of the early days is
extant:
The structure was a log cabin; the priest had come from Ellsworth, and
was not seen again for months . . . instructions was given to the little
ones and confessions were heard on the banks of the Saline beneath a friendly
cottonwood tree. . . ,86
Lincoln was also an Irish settlement, where the Owen Healeys,
the Whalens and the Flahertys settled in 1865. The Dumortier map
indicates a congregation of 45.87
83. Interview with Mrs. A. M. Campbell, Salina, April 11, 1951.
84. Interview with Mrs. Rose Wessling Schippel, Salina, April 18, 1951. The Fort
Riley-Fort Lamed road crossed the Smoky Hill river at Salina. — James R. Mead, "The
Saline River Country in 1859," Kansas Historical Collections, v. 9 (1905-1906), pp. 8-19;
Andreas-Cutler, op. cit., p. 698: George A. Root, "Ferries in Kansas," The Kansas Historical
Quarterly, v. 4 (1935), May, pp. 151-153.
85. Dumortier's map, 1866; Anna M. Geis, "The Coming of the Catholic Church to
Salina," Salina Journal, October 6, 1931. This was a reprint of a talk given to the Saline
County Native Daughters, September, 1931.
86. Connelley, op. cit., v. 3, p. 1607, contains an article on early beginnings in Lin-
coln county; and on p. 1605, an article on Michael Joseph Healey, son of Owen Healey, in
which considerable mention is made of Catholicity there; Adolph Roenigk, Pioneer History
of Kansas (Lincoln, Kan., 1933), pp. 63-68; interview with Miss Nellie Healey, Salina,
April 3, 1951; interview with Mr. and Miss Dillon, Lincoln, April 3, 1951.
87. Dumortier's map, 1866; George Jelinek, Ellsworth, 1867-1947 (Salina, 1947),
passim.
268 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Even before the town of Ellsworth was platted, the United
States government in 1864 had established a fort near by to afford
protection to the whites engaged in railroad building and to those
crossing the prairies against depredations by the Indians. This
fort, at first called Fort Ellsworth and later Fort Harker, became a
distributing point for supplies to forts of New Mexico, Texas,
Arizona and California.88
There is no record of the first visit of Father Louis to Fort Harker
but it is quite certain that as soon as he knew of its location he felt
obligated to go there and offer his services to the soldiers. It was
there that he met his death while ministering to the victims of the
Asiatic cholera which attacked the fort with great loss of life.
According to the report of Dr. George Miller Steinberg 89 to the
surgeon general's office, Company H of the 38th infantry en route
from Jefferson Barracks, Mo., to New Mexico in late June, 1867,
stopped at Fort Harker and camped about a mile from the post.
Cholera broke out first in this regiment and rapidly spread to the
fort and to the entire central Kansas area. Lumber was scarce and
the dead were buried in army blankets almost as soon as it was evi-
dent that life had ceased. Panic struck the entire region. There
were about 300 soldiers and about 1,700 civilians at Fort Harker at
that time.90
In the numerous accounts of the tragedy the heroism of Father
Dumortier is mentioned. On hearing of the epidemic he could not
be persuaded to stay in Salina, saying that his duty was with his
88. The Ellsworth Reporter carried a series of articles on Ellsworth and Fort Harker
which gave important information, January 27, February 3, 10, 17 and 24, 1938. There
was a special edition of this paper to commemorate the 80th anniversary, July 10, 1947.
The Ellsworth Messenger also carried a series December 29, 1938, and January 5 and 12,
1939. History of Fort Harker, Kanopolis, Kansas (pamphlet); "Kansas Historical Markers,"
The Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 10 (1941), November, p. 359; Marvin H. Garfield,
"Defense of the Kansas Frontier, 1866-1867," The Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 1 (1932),
August, pp. 326-344.
89. Sternberg is considered one of the outstanding figures in control of cholera, yellow
fever and malaria. The experience which he had in combating it under frontier conditions
enhanced his prestige in medical circles. His wife, Louisa Russell Sternberg, died of the
cholera at Fort Harker. His name is identified with the establishment of the Army Medical
School in 1893, the creation of an army nurses corps and a dental corps and of the tubercu-
losis hospital at Fort Bayard, N. M. In 1900 he established the Yellow Fever Commission
headed by Walter Reed. His tombstone in Arlington cemetery bears the inscription:
"Pioneer American Bacteriologist, distinguished by his studies of the causation and pre-
vention of infectious diseases, by his discovery of the micro-organism causing pneumonia,
and scientific investigation of yellow fever, which paved the way for the experimental
demonstration of the mode of transmission of the disease." — Dictionary of American Biog-
raphy, v. 17, pp. 590-592.
90. Jerome M. Schneck, "Sternberg and the Fort Harker Cholera Epidemic of 1867,"
The Journal of the Kansas Medical Society, v. 45 (1944), May, pp. 161-163; Report on
Epidemic Cholera and Yellow Fever in the Army of the United States During the Year
1867 (Circular No. 1, War Department, Surgeon General's Office, Washington, 1868). The
epidemic was severe at Fort Riley at this same time. General Custer who was at Fort
Wallace, fearing for the safety of his wife, left his command in the hands of a subordinate
to return to the former place. For this neglect he was court-martialed and sentenced "to
loss of rank and pay for one year." Part of the sentence was remitted upon the recom-
mendation of General Sheridan. — Pride, op. cit., p. 156; Ellsworth Messenger files, New
York Tablet, August 10, 1867; Junction City Union, July 27, 1867.
ITINERANT MISSIONARY TO CENTRAL KANSAS 269
boys. He gave them the consolations which they craved in that
dread hour. These tributes were found not only in official reports
but also in memoirs of such persons as Elizabeth Custer, wife of the
famous frontier general, and of Maj. Gen. Frank D. Baldwin.91
By a strange coincidence, the first battalion of the newly-organ-
ized 18th Kansas volunteer regiment was mustered into the service
of the United States at Fort Marker on July 15, 1867, the day the
cholera broke out. The command became practically demoralized,
since each company lost heavily by death and desertion.92
A pathetic reminder of the scourge was found among the cor-
respondence relative to the death of Alphonse Eugene Colbrant,
whose mother lived in Fontainebleau, France. He had served in
the Civil War as a major of the Second United States colored cavalry
and had joined the Kansas group on July 18th, dying on the 24th.93
To this soldier, and to many others, Father Dumortier proved a
friend. His calm influence persuaded would-be deserters to remain
at their posts of duty regardless of the dangers involved.
Father Louis contracted the disease and died alone after he had
helped so many face death. There are conflicting accounts as to the
place of his death. One was that he died in a construction car
along the Kansas Pacific tracks.94 Another maintains that he died in
a tent 95 while a third states that he was stricken and died along the
roadside as he was returning from the town to the camp.96 At any
rate, his courageous death followed the pattern of his courageous
life. His memory is still cherished by the descendants of those to
whom he ministered. Among these is Mrs. R. L. Pafford, wife of
the retired postmaster of Salina, whose uncle, Capt. John Mullen,
91. Elizabeth B. Custer, Tenting on the Plains (New York, 1889), pp. 667-669; Alice
Blackwell Baldwin, Memoirs of the Late Frank D. Baldwin, Major General 17. S. A. (Los
Angeles, 1929), pp. 133, 134; DeSmet, op. cit., pp. 112, 113; Junction City Weekly Union,
August 3 and 24, 1867; Lillian Johnson, "A Worse Enemy Than Rattlesnakes, Asiatic
Cholera Plagued the Plains," Salina Journal, September 24, 1950; Baltimore Catholic Mir-
ror, August 3, 1867; St. Louis Guardian, August 1, 1867; New York Freeman's Journal,
August 24, 1867; New York Tablet, August 24, 1867; Menology Missouri Province, Supple-
ment (St. Louis, 1893), p. 13.
92. George B. Jenness, "The Battle of Beaver Creek," Kansas Historical Collections, v. 9
(1905-1906), pp. 443-452; Henderson L. Burgess, "The Eighteenth Kansas Volunteer
Cavalry and Some Incidents Connected With Its Service on the Plains," ibid., v. 18
(1913-1914), pp. 534, 535, 537.
93. This packet of letters was turned over to the War Department archives by
Adjutant General Hughes. A search for them for this paper has been fruitless.
94. This is the opinion of Msgr. A. J. Luckey, Manhattan, who bases his theory on in-
formation given him by the late Bishop John Cunningham of Concordia who was a con-
temporary of Dumortier and who ministered to the Catholics of Ellsworth shortly after his
death. — Baltimore Catholic Mirror, August 31, 1867; Junction City Weekly Union, August
3, 1867.
95. This theory is possible for in the reports of Sternberg to the surgeon general he
mentioned that cases were isolated in tents a distance from the camp.
96. Baldwin, op. cit., p. 134.
270 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
received the last sacraments from Father Dumortier and who, in
spite of predictions to the contrary, recovered.97
Father DeSmet penned in his own hand the biographical sketch of
Father Dumortier which was sent to France and Belgium for publi-
cation.98 One of the accounts of his death appeared in the Kansas
Magazine in 1872 and is worthy of quotation in full:
Rev. Louis Dumortier, S. J., St. Mary's Mission, Pottawatomie County,
Kansas, who fell a victim to his heroic zeal and charity on the 26th of July,
1867, at Fort Marker, had been for many years on the mission in Kansas, and
had endeared himself to the Catholics of that part of the State allotted to his
zeal by the untiring energy with which he labored for their spiritual welfare.
When the cholera appeared at Ellsworth, the shepherd was promptly there,
ready to lay down his life for his sheep. He made the offering of his life to
his Lord, and then threw himself into the breach. Day and night he labored
on, encouraging the healthy, attending to their spiritual wants, but above all,
waiting upon the sick, proving himself the Good Samaritan, the physician both
of soul and body. There was no rest, no respite; he was alone, the only priest
within eighty miles, almost the only nurse for the sick. At length his strength
was exhausted; he fell, overcome by fatigue rather than by disease, and after a
few hours of suffering he breathed his last in a common construction car, at
one o'clock A. M. July 25, 1867, a martyr to charity."
The people of Ellsworth purchased a coffin and sent the remains
of Father Dumortier back to St. Mary's. The faithful white pony
was taken there as his last request. Even today, while in the prepa-
ration of this article, when the writer visited the mission stations
enumerated above, the name of Father Louis Dumortier was spoken
of with love and veneration by the descendants of the families whom
he served almost a century ago.
97. Interview with Mrs. R. L. Pafford, Salina, April 11, 1951. Mrs. Pafford, descendant
of the Mullens of Mullen Siding (known also as Terra Cotta), an Irish settlement between
Brookville and Carneiro, stated that one of the first and one of the largest construction
camps was located at that place. Apparently this large group supplemented the Ellsworth
Catholic congregation.
98. DeSmet, op. cti.
99. J. H. Defouri, "Western Indian Missions," Kansas Magazine, Topeka, v. 2 (1872).
p. 171.
The Annals of Kansas: 1887
JANUARY 1. — Charles Robinson, former Governor, became superintendent of
Haskell Indian Institute at Lawrence.
— The Manhattan and Blue Valley and the Marysville and Blue Valley con-
solidated under the name, Blue Valley Railroad Co. Both roads were built
and operated by the Union Pacific.
— Some prices were: prairie chicken, $4.50 a dozen; quail, $1.75 a dozen;
venison saddles, 13 cents a pound; rabbits, 60 cents a dozen; turkeys, 4 and 5
cents a pound; dried apples, 2% cents a pound; sugar-cured ham, 10 cents a
pound; bacon, 9 cents a pound; potatoes, 40 cents a bushel; butter, 20 cents a
pound; eggs, 22 cents a dozen; full cream cheese, 22 cents a pound.
— During 1886 Stafford county paid $666 in bounties for wolf scalps; $9 for
wildcat scalps.
— The sorghum syrup works at Sterling had averaged 45,000 gallons a
year since 1881. In 1886, 8,000 bushels of seed were saved. Seed was sold
to France, Germany, Russia and Australia.
— During the last six months of 1886, 85 railroads were chartered, more
than any other state.
— Wolves in Norton county barked at travelers. In the Wakarusa valley
near Blue Docket they killed pigs in the daytime.
JAN. 4. — The Dodge City Cowboy Band was invited to attend the inaugural
ceremonies of the Colorado governor.
— Buffalo meat cost 15 cents a pound at Dodge City; ten years earlier it cost
three cents.
JAN. 5. — John L. Sullivan appeared at Topeka, Leavenworth, Atchison,
Wichita and Kansas City "in an interesting exhibition of manly art."
— The McPherson Daily Freeman, published by Sen. H. B. Kelly, charged
that Topeka was dominated by railroad interests, notably the Santa Fe, which
attempted to control the state through the majority party.
— The U. S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Thomas Moonlight, Leav-
enworth, as governor of Wyoming territory.
— Twenty wolves were captured in a hunt at Baldwin.
— The Catholic Knights of America met at Hiawatha.
JAN. 6. — Early Reminiscences of Pioneer Life, by the Rev. James Shaw, was
published at Atchison.
— Negro voters of Shawnee county petitioned the Legislature to strike out
the word "white" from an amendment to be submitted to the voters.
— Oleomargarine was becoming an important industry. N. F. Acers,
internal revenue collector, collected $10,000 in November, 1886, on the
manufacture of "bogus butter."
JAN. 10. — John Alexander Martin, Atchison, took the oath of office as Gov-
ernor for his second term. All former Governors but three were present.
Speeches were made by Robinson, Carney, Osborn, Anthony, St. John and Click.
JAN. 11. — The Legislature convened. Governor Martin recommended re-
strictions on counties voting railroad bonds; modification of legislation covering
(271)
272 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
state institutions; abolishment of the mileage system; more equable division
of judicial districts, and a stiffer prohibitory law.
— The Kansas Equal Suffrage Assn. met at Topeka.
— The Kansas State Bar Assn. met at Topeka.
JAN. 12. — Boston Corbett, who shot John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln's assassin,
was elected third assistant doorkeeper of the House of Representatives. Corbett
had lived on a homestead in Cloud county since 1878.
— The Kansas State Bar Assn. admitted its first woman member, Mrs. Maria
E. DeGeer, Sharon Springs.
— The Kansas Real Estate Assn. met at Topeka.
— The Kansas State Board of Agriculture met at Topeka.
JAN. 13. — Bill Nye, humorist, commented on the Kansas drugstore liquor
traffic: "If you would like to go to a flourishing country and put out a big
basswood mortar in front of your shop in order to sell the tincture of damnation
throughout bleeding Kansas, now is the accepted time. If it is the great burning
desire of your heart to go into a town of 2,000 people and open the 13th drug
store in order that you may stand behind a tall black walnut prescription case
day in and day out, with a graduate in one hand and a Babcock fire extinguisher
in the other, filling orders for whisky made of stump water and the juice of
future punishment, you will do well in Kansas. It is a temperate state, and
no saloons are allowed there. All is quiet and orderly and the drugstore busi-
ness is a big success."
JAN. 14. — Allen Ditson, builder of the street cars used in Garden City, sued
for $3,800, owed him by the city. The cars had remained idle after running
only a few days.
JAN. 15. — The Missouri Pacific completed its branch to Sterling.
JAN. 18. — The Kansas State Historical Society met at Topeka.
— The Kansas and Missouri Associated Press met at Topeka.
— The Kansas Assn. of Architects met at Topeka.
JAN. 19. — The County Clerks Assn. met at Topeka.
— The Kansas State Temperance Union met at Topeka.
JAN. 21. — The Spearville Blade reported 93 miles of the Eureka irrigation
canal completed, with 50 miles of lateral canals. It was designed to irrigate
400,000 acres. The company had contracts totaling over $150,000 for water
rent at $2 per acre for 1888.
— Vol. I, No. 1, St. John County Capital, Lewis and Rader, publishers.
JAN. 22. — A committee appointed to investigate the status of Wallace county
reported that it had functioned from its organization in 1868 until 1874, the
grasshopper year, when its population "depleted." In 1875, the Supreme Court
had declared the organization void. Until that decision was changed the county
could claim no legal organization.
JAN. 24. — Lamed voted $125,000 in bonds to the Denver, Memphis and
Atlantic railroad.
— The Parsons and Pacific railroad was completed from Parsons to Coffey-
ville.
JAN. 25. — The Kansas Sheriffs' Cooperative Assn. met at Topeka.
JAN. 26. — The Trans-Mississippi Associated Press met at Topeka.
JAN. 27. — Kansas millers reorganized the Kansas Mill Assn. at Newton.
JAN. 28. — The Wichita German Immigration Society was organized.
JAN. 29. — Susan B. Anthony, Kansas suffragist, was quoted l>y the Kansas
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887 273
City Times as saying "Ingalls has to go." Senator Ingalls had made some anti-
suffrage and anti-British remarks.
JAN. 30. — Masked farmers lynched Richard Wood, Negro, for raping a white
girl at Leavenworth. Wood was taken from the county jail and dragged to
death behind a horse.
— The Topeka Daily Capital praised Sen. Preston B. Plumb for voting for
woman suffrage. "Senator Ingalls, in voting against the bill, placed himself in
the unfortunate position . . . that he did when he voted to keep the
whisky saloon in the basement of the Capitol."
JAN. 31. — The Kansas City (Mo.) Times quoted London newspaper com-
ments on Senator Ingalls* agitation over the fisheries question. The Pall Mall
Gazette said: "Kansas is about the last place in creation to which one should
look for wise or well-informed diplomacy or statesmanship." The London
Chronicle remarked that "Ingalls is not a person whose utterances are awaited
with anxiety by a deferential world, or is it likely that his clap-trap eloquence
will be approved in his own country."
FEBRUARY 1. — Governor Martin appointed W. J. Lea, Topeka, State Insur-
ance Commissioner.
— A "weigh social" was held at Sabetha. A man paid a third of a cent per
pound of a woman's weight for the privilege of eating supper with her.
— I. Horner, Emporia, addressed a joint session of the Legislature on the silk
culture industry. He exhibited Kansas silk and urged encouragement.
— The Kansas State Eclectic Medical Assn. met at Topeka.
FEB. 2. — Real estate was booming throughout the state. Daily transfers in
Wichita averaged $400,000. The Sedgwick Pantagraph said Wichita was six
miles wide and nine miles long and contained 24,000 real estate agents.
— The House committee on county seats and county lines listened to argu-
ments for and against moving the Osage county seat from Lyndon to Osage City.
— The state assembly of the Knights of Labor met at Topeka.
FEB. 3. — Morton county voted for Richfield as permanent county seat.
— The Kansas Commandery of the Military Order of the American Legion met at Topeka.
FEB. 4. — The Leavenworth Times reported 200 saloons in the city, one for
every 30 families.
FEB. 5. — Vol. I, No. 1, McPherson Daily Republican, S. G. Mead, publisher.
FEB. 7. — Senator Plumb presented to the U. S. Senate a memorial from the
Kansas Legislature requesting the organization of Oklahoma territory.
FEB. 8. — Fred and Eddie Stone gave a program at Lukens' Opera House,
North Topeka, consisting of songs, dances, Irish and Negro sketches, acrobatic
and contortion acts. Total receipts were $12. (Fred Stone, a Kansan, became
famous in the theatrical world.)
— On advice of the Attorney General, Wichita county held its election.
Leoti won when voters of rival towns relied on a Legislative postponement and
did not vote. Another election was called for March 10.
— Burlington voted $40,000 in bonds to the Chicago, Kansas City and Texas
railroad.
— The Kansas Mill Assn. met at Newton.
FEB. 9. — At Lawrence 29 churches held services every Sunday with sermons
in five languages.
— Track laying was completed to Great Bend on the Hoisington extension
of the Missouri Pacific.
274 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
FEB. 10. — The House of Representatives voted for the woman suffrage bill,
91 to 22. Kansas thus became the first state to grant municipal suffrage to
women. They now could vote in elections for city and school officers and on
school bonds, and might hold municipal offices.
FEB. 11. — The largest saloon in Leavenworth, the Saratoga, was closed upon
complaint of Carl Mueller and F. M. Anthony. Later the two were attacked
by a gang but were rescued by police and put in jail for protection.
— Directors of the Western National Fair Assn. met at Lawrence.
— The Kansas State Oratorical Assn. held its annual contest at Ottawa. Baker
was first, Washburn second.
FEB. 13. — An unofficial mining report for 1886 showed $656,419 in sales of
ores and gravels, all shipped from Galena.
FEB. 14. — Eureka voted $100,000 in bonds to the St. Louis, Fredonia and
Denver railroad and $46,000 to the St. Louis, Newton and Denver.
FEB. 15. — Boston Corbett, doorkeeper of the House of Representatives, was
discharged after he threatened to shoot several persons. Later he was declared
insane and taken to the state hospital.
— The Royal Arch Masons and the Royal and Select Masters of Kansas met at Atchison.
FEB. 16. — The Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of Kansas met at Atchison.
FEB. 17. — Thomas W. Stevens, Kansan, was a guest of the New York
Citizens' Bicycling Club. He had recently made a world bicycling tour, leaving
San Francisco in April, 1884, returning there in January, 1887.
— In the Wichita county-seat election, Leoti partisans organized the regis-
tration boards before Coronado voters arrived and refused to register them.
Coronado citizens then organized their own boards in a covered wagon out-
side the precinct house.
—Vol. I, No. 1, Florence Weekly Bulletin, J. B. Crouch, editor.
FEB. 22. — The Kansas Bankers Assn. was organized at Topeka. John R. Mulvane, To-
peka, was elected president; C. N. Beal, Topeka, secretary.
FEB. 23. — The U. S. marshal arrested Moses Harman and his son, George,
publishers of Lucifer, the Light Bearer, the "free love" paper at Valley Falls, on
charges of circulating obscene literature through the mails.
— Leavenworth saloonkeepers and bartenders resolved to boycott the Leav-
enworth Times and all advertisers because it favored closing saloons.
FEB. 24. — The Kansas, Nebraska and Dakota railroad was sold to the Mis-
souri Pacific.
— The House passed a bill changing the name of St. John county to Logan,
in honor of the late Gen. John A. Logan. John P. St. John, former Governor,
was in disfavor with the Republicans because he had bolted the party to be-
come leader of the Prohibitionists.
FEB. 25. — Garden City levied a $250 annual tax on druggists.
FEB. 26. — Senator Ingalls took the oath of office as president pro tern of the
U. S. Senate.
FEB. 27. — Two persons were killed and seven wounded in a flare-up of
the Wichita county-seat dispute at Coronado.
MARCH 1. — One thousand persons took part in a wolf hunt on the Indian
reservation near Holton.
— A contract was let for the construction of shops at Horton by the Chicago,
Kansas and Nebraska ( Rock Island ) railroad. Cost was estimated at $250,000.
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887 275
— Vol. I, No. 1, Daily Walnut Valley Times, El Dorado; Alva Sheldon, editor; John
McGuin, publisher.
MAR. 2. — The Senate rejected the nomination of Dr. A. A. Holcombe for
another term as State Veterinarian and reduced the appropriation for the office
from $10,000 a year to $3,000.
MAR. 3. — The city clerk of Weir City refused to register women as voters.
He believed the new law was unconstitutional.
— Coronado and Leoti, rivals for the Wichita county seat, were surrounded
by armed guards and strangers were not allowed to enter. Merchants carried
guns while waiting on customers. Streets were patrolled day and night.
— The South Kansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met at Chanute.
MAR. 4. — The Supreme Court held that the "wagon-box" vote in the
Seward county election of August 5, 1886, was legal and that Springfield was
the rightful county seat.
MAR. 5. — The Adjutant General left for Wichita county to investigate the
county-seat fight and expected to alert National Guard units at Sterling and
Lamed.
— The Supreme Court held that although Leavenworth city officials had not
issued licenses authorizing the sale of liquor, they had achieved the same end
"by shifts and subterfuge, even more culpable and indefensible."
— The state executive council appointed a board of police commissioners
at Leavenworth to enforce the prohibitory law. They were to discharge the
city marshal, police judge and the entire police force, and make new appoint-
ments.
— The law fixing terms of court in Wallace and other counties became
effective. Although no law specifically legalized the county's organization, the
Supreme Court in a similar case had ruled that establishment of terms of court
was recognition.
— The Legislature adjourned. Acts passed included: The creation of
Garfield, Gray, Haskell, Grant, Stanton and Kearney counties and definition
of the boundaries of Hamilton, Finney, Hodgeman and Ford; provision for
appointment of police commissioners by the executive council upon petition
from a city of the first class; clarification of laws relating to organization of new
counties and regulations regarding county-seat elections; consent to the pur-
chase of land by the federal government for the location of Haskell Institute;
requirement that laborers be paid at regular intervals in lawful money and not
in any form of scrip or token money; creation of a State Board of Pharmacy;
prohibition of pools or price-fixing agreements in grain and livestock; granting
of woman suffrage in municipal elections; an appropriation of $13,000 to
establish and conduct a silk station; a liquor law to suppress the "drugstore
saloon."
MAR. 7. — The Atchison Land and Improvement Co. was organized. The
company "had $1,000,000 in capital stock and owned $1,500,000 worth of real
estate" in and near Atchison.
MAR. 8. — Henry Ward Beecher died. As a leader of antislavery forces he
had urged immigration to Kansas to make it a free state. In 1856 he published
an eight-page pamphlet, Defence of Kansas, asking for money and arms to fight
slavery. He sent Bibles and rifles to a group of emigrating pioneers which
became known as the Beecher Bible and Rifle Co. Sharps rifles soon were
known as "Beecher's Bibles."
276 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
— The Supreme Court held that Wallace county was legally recognized by
the Legislature's act fixing time for holding court.
— A Santa Fe special train ran from Topeka to Kansas City, 65 miles, in
one hour and 45 minutes.
— The G. A. R., the W. R. C., and the Sons of Veterans met at Abilene.
— The I. O. O. F. grand encampment met at Wichita.
— The Order of the Eastern Star met at Topeka.
MAR. 9. — Work began on the $165,000 Rock Island station and general
offices at Topeka.
— The Adjutant General arrested 14 men in connection with the Wichita
county shooting affair of February 27.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Larned Daily Chronoscope, E. E. Stevens, editor.
MAR. 10. — Wichita county held an election for permanent county seat.
Leoti received 420 votes and Coronado 353. However, Coronado's votes were
not cast at the places designated by the commissioners.
— The Protestant Episcopal Church accepted Salina's proposal to donate
$50,000 and 15 acres of land for its military academy. (St. John's Military
Academy. )
— The Southwest Kansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met at Winfield.
MAR. 11. — The State Architect's plans for the main building of the Capitol
were adopted.
MAR. 13. — Nine denominational colleges were operating in Kansas.
— Lack of funds caused cancellation of the April term of the U. S. District
Court at Topeka.
— Leavenworth had five flour mills, four elevators, a brass foundry, a flax-
seed oil mill, a glucose works, a bridge and iron works, and factories making
stoves, brooms, boots and shoes, clothing, cigars and tobacco, paper boxes,
candy, barrels, crackers, cement, fruit evaporators, fire brick, furniture and
patent medicine.
MAR. 14. — The machine shops of the St. Louis, Fort Scott and Wichita
railroad were located at Fort Scott.
MAR. 15. — Clarence H. Venner, Boston broker, lost his suit in the U. S.
Circuit Court to restrain the Santa Fe from building a line from Kansas City
to Chicago and another known as the Indian Territory and Texas extension.
— Thirty carloads of freight and emigrants arrived in Garden City from the
East.
— The Topeka City Railway and the Rapid Transit Co. began laying track
on Jefferson street, both claiming the right of way.
MAR. 16. — A $25,000 contract for building Cooper Memorial College
at Sterling was let. Ground was broken for a new $34,000 waterworks.
MAR. 17. — The Kansas Evangelical Assn. met at Jewell City.
— The Kansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met at Junction City.
MAR. 18. — The Anthony Republican reported that real estate sales from
March 2 to 16 totaled $1,140,162.
— Wichita donated $25,000 and 223 acres southwest of the city for the loca-
tion of a Quaker college to be called John Bright University. An additional
630 acres was purchased by the Friends Society. More than $100,000 was to
be spent in erecting buildings.
MAR. 19. — The Western Baseball League met at Leavenworth and admitted
Kansas City. A schedule was arranged for the coming season.
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887 277
— Governor Martin made the following appointments for the five new judi-
cial districts: Frank Doster, Marion, 25th district; A. L. Redden, El Dorado,
26th district; A. J. Abbott, Garden City, 27th district; S. W. Leslie, Kingman,
28th district; O. L. Miller, Kansas City, 29th district.
MAR. 20. — Fort Scott had a sugar factory, planing mill, tobacco factory, four
cigar factories, two flour mills, a railroad chair car factory, two furniture fac-
tories, two hominy mills, three carriage and wagon factories, a woolen mill,
three marble factories, a castor oil plant, three bedspring and mattress factories,
three railroad machine shops, two potteries and a baking powder factory.
MAR. 22. — Crawford county druggists decided not to take out applications
for liquor permits, which required them to present petitions signed by 25 quali-
fied voters and 25 reputable women, to advertise the time and the place of
hearing for at least 30 days, and upon receiving the license to post a bond of
$1,000 as surety for abiding by the prohibitory law.
MAR. 24. — The Hamilton county-seat fight was believed ended when the
new county-boundaries act went into effect. Kendall went into Kearney
county and left Syracuse with no rival.
— The Northwest Kansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met at
Ellsworth.
MAR. 26. — An artesian well and a vein of coal were discovered near Fort
Scott.
— The first engine on the Fort Scott and Wichita railroad arrived at Kiowa.
— Anthony was building an opera house and several business blocks.
MAR. 27. — The Attorney General ruled that women could not vote for
justices of the peace and constables who were township officers.
MAR. 28. — The State Board of Silk Commissioners met at Topeka. Lamed, Peabody,
Hutchinson, Newton and McPherson all wanted the silk station.
MAR. 29. — The Knights of Pythias held a state jubilee at Ottawa.
MAR. 31. — The Kansas League of Professional Baseball Players was organized at Emporia.
APRIL 3. — The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska (Rock Island) railroad
opened the first passenger and Pullman service that eliminated changing cars
en route from Topeka to Chicago.
— Travel on the Santa Fe was nearly 50 percent heavier than a year ago.
Trains ran in sections, sometimes three, west-bound.
APR. 4. — Leavenworth Negroes honored C. H. J. Taylor, assistant city at-
torney of Kansas City and recently appointed minister and consul general to
Liberia. He had practiced law in Leavenworth and Kansas City and had
been admitted to practice before the U. S. Supreme Court.
— Lillian Harman and E. C. Walker, the "free lovers" who had been in the
Oskaloosa jail since September, 1886, were released when Moses Harman paid
the costs.
— The State Silk Commission decided to locate the silk station at Lamed
and voted to pay a bounty of 50 cents for the best cocoons raised by an indi-
vidual or family.
APR. 5. — Municipal elections were held. A considerable number of women
voted in most cities. Mrs. Dora Salter was elected mayor of Argonia, Sumner
county. Two women were elected to the school board at Parsons. At Abilene,
the women's vote defeated all councilmen opposed to woman suffrage. Five
women were elected to the city council in Syracuse.
278 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
APR. 6. — St. John's real estate transfers totaled over $100,000 in a week.
Business houses and a $20,000 courthouse were under construction.
— Alfalfa was reported to be a profitable crop in western Kansas. It was
excellent for cattle, horses and sheep. Three to four crops could be cut each
season, and each crop yielded three to four tons per acre.
APR. 7. — The Ladies of the G. A. R. met at Topeka.
APR. 10. — Topeka's baseball club, Goldsby's Golden Giants, defeated the
St. Louis Browns, 12 to 9, before 3,000 persons.
— A prairie fire near Nicodemus, Graham county, caused nine deaths and
large property damage. The fire was driven through Rooks and Phillips
counties by a 40-mile wind.
APR. 11. — The Rock Island general offices were moved from Atchison to
Topeka.
APR. 12. — Dickinson county voted a $100,000 bond issue to the Chicago,
Kansas and Western and the Chicago, Omaha and Southwestern railroads.
— A large flow of natural gas was struck at Fort Scott at a depth of 221
feet. Pressure was 125 pounds to the inch.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Hutchinson Daily Herald, Fletcher Meridith, proprietor.
APR. 13. — A streetcar line and a $50,000 hotel were under construction at
Great Bend.
— The Kansas State Music Teachers Assn. met at Topeka.
— The Kansas Knights of Honor met at Ottawa.
APR. 14. — The location of the state silk station was changed from Larned
to Peabody.
APR. 15. — Hays City voted bonds for a Santa Fe extension to Little River.
APR. 18. — Ground was broken for the Santa Fe depot southwest of Kansas
City on 2,500 acres of ground purchased by the Santa Fe and Pullman com-
panies. They planned to found a summer resort town there called Quivira.
APR. 19. — The Kansas State Sportsman's Assn. began a three-day tournament at
Atchison.
APR. 23. — The Supreme Court held that Wallace county was not legally
organized.
APR. 26. — Remains of a wind wagon, "a combination flying machine and
go-cart," were reported by the Kansas City [Mo.] Times in an old house on
State Line Road. Wind wagons were designed to replace "bull" trains on the
prairies and had wheels, a deck and sails. John B. Wornall, Westport, steers-
man on the trial run, described it as lively traveling. The project collapsed
when a group of passengers, en route to a camp meeting, was "becalmed in a
hollow." Several wind wagons were reported to have crossed Kansas.
— The Kansas State Dental Assn. met at Topeka.
APR. 28. — Natural gas was struck at Ottawa.
APR. 29. — Beloit offered 20 acres adjoining the city and $40,000 in cash
to any church organization that would locate and build a college there.
APR. 30. — The Allen County Democrat, lola, claimed that of the 38,000,000
pounds of broomcorn raised in Kansas in 1886, nearly 6,000,000 were grown
in Allen county.
MAY 1. — John Walruff, Lawrence brewer, was sentenced to 30 days in jail
and fined $100 in costs for violating the liquor law.
MAY 2. — Vol. I, No. 1, Abilene Evening Reflector, Henry Litts, editor.
— The Kansas Fair Assn. met at Topeka.
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887 279
MAY 3. — Boston and Topeka capitalists bought 1,500 acres west of Topeka
for $500,000. Plans were to build a summer resort with a hotel, a botanical
garden, an observatory, and an artificial lake, connected with the city by a
boulevard. The syndicate also purchased the franchise of the Circle Street
Railway Co.
— The Kansas State Medical Society met at Winfield.
MAY 4. — The Kansas State Sunday School Assn. met at Wichita.
MAY 5. — Chapman claimed the only county high school in the state, as only
Dickinson county took advantage of the law passed by the 1886 legislature.
— The Kansas State Homeopathic Medical Assn. met at Kansas City.
MAY 6. — The editor of the Great Bend Tribune, looking over his exchanges,
discovered that every town in Kansas would have "two or three railroads
this year"; there were 150 "Queen Cities"; 600 towns would double in popu-
lation; in 450 towns it was impossible to keep up with construction; 285 would
become great distributing centers; 585 papers announced that their towns
would soon be in the midst of the' greatest boom ever known, and all towns
reported heavy investments by Eastern capitalists.
— A second state forestry station was located near Dodge City on 160
acres donated by citizens.
MAY 10.— Sen. J. W. White, Lyons, was awarded $20,000 in a libel suit
against W. E. Carr, editor of the Ellinwood Express. Carr sold his paper and
left the state before the trial.
— Vol. I, No. 1, Sterling Evening Bulletin, W. M. Lamb, Tom L. Powers and Clarence
Prescott, publishers.
— The Knights Templar grand commandery met at Salina.
MAY 11. — The Agricultural Fair and Trotting Assn. was organized at
Wichita.
— The Kansas and Missouri Press Assn. met at Wichita.
MAY 12. — The Social Science Club of Kansas and Western Missouri met at Kansas City.
MAY 13. — Coal was discovered at Marysville at a depth of 231 feet.
A. T. Soule, Rochester, N. Y., millionaire, bought an interest in the First
National Bank of Dodge City. He offered $50,000 and a site to the Presby-
terian church to locate a college near Dodge City. Soule also purchased the
Dodge City waterworks.
MAY 15. — Chief Wasiki, former leader of the Ponca Indians in Cowley
county, was buried at Arkansas City with great ceremony.
MAY 17. — The Knights of Pythias grand lodge met at Atchison.
MAY 18. — The Boston-Topeka syndicate bought the Topeka City Railway
for $250,000. Its investments in Topeka totaled nearly $1,000,000.
— The Seventh Day Adventists' encampment began at Topeka.
MAY 19. — The president of the Walnut City Business Men's Assn. claimed
that an election call to vote for the Rush county seat was based on petitions
containing names obtained by whisky and misrepresentation. He claimed that
all papers in the case were stolen from the county clerk's office.
MAY 20. — In a speech at Abilene, Senator Ingalls, explaining his vote against
the woman suffrage amendment, said that "women are women and their place
is in the home."
MAY 21. — The Travelers' Protective Assn. met at Topeka.
MAY 23. — The St. Louis, Fort Scott and Wichita railroad, sold by order of
the U. S. Circuit Court, was purchased by the Missouri Pacific.
280 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
MAY 24. — Natural gas, struck at Girard at a depth of 60 feet, was strong
enough to furnish the city with light and fuel.
MAY 27. — The River Brethren Church conference met at Ottawa.
MAY 28. — The Swedish Baptist Church conference met at Lawrence.
MAY 30. — A catfish weighing 79 pounds was caught in the Arkansas river
near Sterling.
JUNE 1. — Real estate transfers in Topeka during the first five months of
1887 totaled $7,641,867. For the same period in 1886 the total was $1,560,109.
— The Attorney General was in Wichita to enforce the closing of saloons.
— A contract for the completion of the Statehouse went to George H. Evans
and Co., Topeka, for $422,055.
— A Wichita employment agency was reported to have hired 500 men for
30 days at $1.65 a day to vote for the county seat of an unspecified county.
JUNE 3. — Railway Age reported that Kansas laid the third largest amount of
track in the country during the first five months of 1887: 262 miles.
JUNE 6. — The Kearney county census, required before the first election, was
being taken. Lakin was reported to have employed 200 men at $1.65 a day
to vote. Citizens of Chantilly threatened homesteaders with signs, "Vote for
Chantilly for county seat or leave the county."
JUNE 8. — The Kansas State Pharmaceutical Assn. met at Wichita.
JUNE 9.— Judge Brewer in the U. S. Circuit Court held that the U. S. Dis-
trict Court for Kansas had jurisdiction over the Cherokee Strip, reversing
the decision of the Arkansas court.
JUNE 10. — St. John remained county seat of Stafford county. Stafford lacked
56 names on its petition and withdrew.
— The State Board of Charities announced that the Soldiers' Orphans' Home
at Atchison was completed.
— Contracts were let for the $25,000 addition to the State Normal School,
Emporia, and the erection of the $40,000 Sisters of St. Joseph College at
Abilene.
JUNE 11. — The Missouri Valley Turner Society met at Topeka.
JUNE 14. — Salina complained that it had given $40,000 to the Missouri Pacific
for a depot and that the company was spending only $7,000.
— Oliver Edwards, Doniphan county, had 50,000 carp in his ponds. He
started two years before with four male and eight female fish.
— The first through train on the Santa Fe to Galveston passed through
Wichita.
JUNE 15. — Fifteen thousand attended the laying of the cornerstone of the
new courthouse at Columbus.
— Chautauqua opened at Ottawa. Sam Jones and Gen. William H. Gibson
were speakers. A chorus of 300 voices sang. Five hundred tents were provided
for guests.
JUNE 16. — The Winfield Chautauqua attendance was estimated at 20,000.
— The State Board of Health met at Topeka.
JUNE 17. — The Governor ordered Statehouse flags displayed, apropos of an
announcement that captured Confederate flags were to remain in Washington.
— Stanton county was organized with Johnson City as temporary county
seat. Frank Woodruff, Charles A. Soper and A. H. Fisher were appointed
commissioners; Will H. Quick, clerk.
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887 281
JUNE 18. — The Rock Island finished laying track to Peabody.
— The Kiowa extension of the Santa Fe was 105 miles southwest of Kiowa.
The Santa Fe was also pushing a line west from Great Bend to Denver. It
had reached Dighton.
JUNE 21. — Leavenworth county claimed the country's largest apple orchard:
437 acres with 50,000 trees.
— A pleasure steamer, Belle of the Walnut, was launched at Arkansas City.
— Business buildings at Leavenworth burned; loss was estimated at $200,-
000. The seven-man fire department proved inadequate, and the Times criti-
cized the mayor for devoting "too much time to protecting whisky sellers and
organizing bogus booms, and too little to building a fire department."
— A warrant was issued for the arrest of two judges and the clerk of the
election in Kendall township, Hamilton county, charged with forging poll books
in November, 1886. An armed mob released the prisoners.
—Vol. I, No. 1, Kinsley Daily Mercury, W. S. Hebron, editor.
JUNE 22. — Missouri Pacific track *was laid into Fort Scott.
— Ford county voted $181,000 in bonds to the Arkansas, Kansas and Colo-
rado and the Dodge City, Montezuma and Trinidad railroads.
— A creamery at Hiattville, Bourbon county, was sending a carload of butter
and cheese to New York every week.
JUNE 24. — On Sunday in Olathe "it was impossible to buy a cigar or news-
paper or hire a buggy/'
— The Loyal Legion met at Fort Leavenworth.
JUNE 26. — Mathias Splitlog, "the wealthiest Indian in the United States," was
swindled out of $140,000 in land and money, according to the Wichita Eagle.
"Mr. Splitlog isn't worried, he still had $864,000."
JUNE 27. — Fifteen thousand attended a natural gas celebration at Paola.
JUNE 28. — Two horse thieves and 21 stolen horses were captured by the
Barber county sheriff.
JUNE 29. — Cimarron was elected temporary county seat of Gray county.
JULY 1. — The State Auditor issued certificates payable in 1890 for Quantrill
raid claims approved by the commission of 1875.
— Daniel Webster Wilder, Hiawatha, replaced R. B. Morris, Atchison, as
Superintendent of Insurance.
— Haskell county was organized with Santa Fe as temporary county seat.
James E. Marlow, Joseph Comes and C. H. Huntington were appointed com-
missioners; Lowry G. Gilmore, clerk.
— Lakin was chosen temporary county seat of Kearney county, winning from
Chantilly by 140 votes.
JULY 5. — Vol. I, No. 1, Pittsburg Daily Headlight, M. F. Sears, editor.
JULY 6. — The State Veterinarian reported Texas fever among cattle in Wash-
ington county. He charged that the owner had paid the Missouri Pacific a
$5,000 bonus to transport them after rejection by an inspector.
— William Dill, Leavenworth, was appointed Assistant Attorney General to
help prosecute over a hundred liquor cases there.
JULY 7.— Mitchell county voted $180,000 in bonds for the Strong City ex-
tension of the Santa Fe.
— The Oberlin and Garden City land offices reported great emigration into
western Kansas, many coming from Nebraska.
20—4168
282 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
JULY 8. — The Pittsburg gasworks was completed; the city was "brilliantly
illuminated."
JULY 9. — John N. Reynolds, an ex-minister, editor of the Atchison Times, was
indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of using the mails to defraud.
JULY 11. — Teachers' institutes began in 27 counties.
JULY 12. — The Rock Island reached Hutchinson.
— J. N. Allen, Phillips county, had 16 acres of timber claims averaging 7,000
trees to the acre, including walnut, ash, boxelder, mulberry, hackberry, syca-
more and catalpa.
— The Newton Daily Republican, commenting on the streetcars, said: "New-
ton has the best-trained streetcar mules in the country. When they are near a
siding where the cars are to pass they let out a long strain of melodious sound,
and when they reach the end of the line they add a cadenza that ends in a
dimenuendo. Thus it is that our people know when the streetcars are coming."
— The Kansas Millers Assn. met at Newton.
JULY 13. — Men employed by the Barber Asphalt Co. at Topeka struck for
wages of $1.75 a day, an increase of 25 cents.
JULY 16. — Garfield county was organized with Ravanna as temporary
county seat. George Goff, John Bull and J. E. Dixon were appointed commis-
sioners; Clarence Van Patten, clerk.
JULY 18. — The Kansas League of American Wheelmen met at Paola.
JULY 19. — The Silk Culture Committee, meeting at Topeka, was told that
the silk station at Peabody was receiving cocoons from every section of the
state. Companies from Dallas, New York, Kansas City, Boston and St. Louis
had requested displays.
— The Kansas Chautauqua began at Topeka.
JULY 20. — Gray county was organized with Cimarron as temporary county
seat. J. Q. Shoup, E. S. McClellan and Frank V. Hull were appointed com-
missioners; G. C. Pratt, clerk.
— The Topeka Rapid Transit Street Railway Co. used its first steam motor.
The company had 12 miles of track in use. The Topeka City Railway Co.
had ten miles of track. The West Side Circle Railway Co. was building in the
western suburbs.
JULY 21. — The Missouri and Kansas Telephone Co. enlarged its Topeka
facilities to care for 600 subscribers.
JULY 23. — An election was held in Rush county to vote on removal of the
county seat from Walnut City to La Crosse. A temporary injunction was issued
preventing a canvass on grounds of fraudulent petition.
JULY 27. — The Livestock Sanitary Commission brought suit against the
Missouri Pacific for illegally shipping cattle with Texas fever to Washington
county. Circulars were sent to all railroads calling attention to state laws.
JULY 28. — Kansas Negroes held an industrial convention at Hutchinson. It
was stated that Negroes in southwest Kansas owned 767,000 acres of land
valued at $1,225,000 and town property valued at $965,000.
JULY 31. — Around the World on a Bicycle, by Thomas J. Stevens, Kansan,
was published by Scribner's.
AUGUST 1. — Nicodemus celebrated Emancipation day. Several fights, re-
sulting in two deaths, took place.
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887 283
AUG. 2. — An "album" was sent to President Cleveland asking him to stop in
Topeka on his Western tour.
— Two-thirds of the voters in Harper county petitioned for an election
to move the county seat from Anthony to Harper. The courthouse at Anthony
was under guard.
— The Rock Island laid track at Wellington. It had contracted to deliver
30,000 head of cattle to Chicago from Caldwell by September 1.
AUG. 3. — Shalor W. Eldridge, owner of the Eldridge House at Lawrence,
which was destroyed by Quantrill, presented a claim of $60,000 to the State
Auditor.
AUG. 4. — Millbrook, Hill City and Plainville were damaged by a "straight
wind."
— Vol. I, No. 1, Hugoton Hermes, Charles M. Davis, publisher.
AUG. 5. — Pittsburg druggists were sued by the Law and Order Society for
selling soda water on Sunday.
AUG. 7. — Leavenworth citizens, by a "nickel subscription," paid the $100
fine of Bill Bond, who horsewhipped D. R. Anthony, editor of the Leavenworth
Times.
AUG. 8. — Normal institutes opened four-week terms in 37 counties.
AUG. 9. — An anti-saloon Republican campaign opened at Topeka with many
prominent sponsors.
— The Union Labor party state convention met at Topeka.
AUG. 11. — The Church of the Brethren College was located at McPherson.
AUG. 16. — The Syracuse town council was composed of women.
— Texas fever was reported under control. One man, who had illegally
shipped in infected cattle, was fined $200.
— The Knights of Labor state assembly met at Topeka.
AUG. 17. — The Santa Fe issued new freight rates of five cents per hundred
pounds, a reduction of four cents, on wheat and other grains.
AUG. 18. — Wamego and Topeka were connected by telephone.
— Citizens of Kendall who went to Syracuse for a Republican meeting were
beaten and run out of town.
— Highest wages paid to laborers in Topeka was $1.75 a day.
AUG. 20. — Hailstones ten inches around caused $5,000 damage at Atchison.
— Osborne raised $250 for Millbrook storm sufferers.
AUG. 23. — The quarantine of September, 1886, against cattle from Illinois,
was lifted.
— The Great Western Stove Foundry and Machine Works at Leavenworth
employed 400 men.
AUG. 29. — The Central Protective Assn. of Kansas and Missouri was organ-
ized at Kansas City, Mo., for protection against horse thieves.
— Russell Springs received 542 votes for temporary county seat of Logan
county, Logansport 273.
— Dr. A. G. Abdelal, a state pension examiner, was suspended, charged with
extorting money from applicants.
AUG. 31. — John Ritchie, member of the Leavenworth and Wyandotte con-
stitutional conventions, died at Topeka. He helped found Washburn College
and donated the land for the school.
— The West German Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met at Enterprise.
284 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
SEPTEMBER 1, — "In politics the virtues of women would do more harm than
their vices/' wrote Senator Ingalls in an anti-suffrage article, "The Sixteenth
Amendment," which appeared in Forum.
SEPT. 2. — The Free Methodist Church conference met at Topeka.
SEPT. 3. — The Western National Fair Assn. met at Lawrence.
SEPT. 6. — Clarence H. Venner, Boston, filed suit to restrain the Santa Fe
from issuing $10,000,000 in new stock. He claimed the issue was illegal.
Judge Brewer failed to grant an injunction.
— First classes were held at Garfield University, Wichita.
SEPT. 7. — A salt vein struck at Ellsworth at a depth of 730 feet was 155
feet thick.
SEPT. 8. — An injunction against the organization of Grant county charged
the census taker with fraud, drunkenness, conspiracy and favoritism.
SEPT. 9. — Labette was the leading castor bean county with 8,946 acres.
— The Universalist Church conference met at Hutchinson.
SEPT. 10. — Fifty-six cars of cattle were shipped from Caldwell to Chicago
over the Rock Island, the first shipment on the line. Cars were elaborately
decorated. The train ran in three sections; the last carried a Pullman car
for cattlemen and a brass band.
SEPT. 13. — The Methodist Episcopal Church camp meeting opened at Topeka.
SEPT. 16. — At Fort Scott and Leavenworth Negro children were refused
admittance to schools reserved for whites.
SEPT. 17. — Logan county was organized with Russell Springs as temporary
county seat. J. W. Kerns, N. C. Phinney and R. P. McKnight were appointed
commissioners; Joseph W. Jones, clerk.
— Buildings under construction at Salina included the four-story brick Na-
tional Hotel; the $50,000 Episcopal military school; a $25,000 lodge building;
three ward schools, $10,000 each; a Knights of Pythias building, $30,000; the
Tribune building, $25,000; the Huntington Opera House, $30,000.
SEPT. 18. — The Carey Hotel, Wichita, was completed at a cost of $120,000.
SEPT. 20.— A day's run at the Parkinson Sugar Works, Fort Scott, yielded
23,000 pounds of sugar from 200 tons of cane.
— A window-glass factory at Fort Scott, said to be the first west of the Mis-
sissippi river, was ready to begin operation.
SEPT. 22. — Leavenworth celebrated the 17th anniversary of the Riverside
coal discovery with a trades parade; 350 decorated floats took part.
— J. A. Stewart, Wichita drugstore clerk, pleaded guilty to 208 counts of
violating the liquor law and was sentenced to 17 years in jail and fined $20,000
plus costs.
SEPT. 26. — Grading began on the Garden City Nickel Plate railroad, which
would connect Finney county with the Denver, Memphis and Atlantic railroad
in Lane and Ness county.
SEPT. 27. — A 300-foot vein of salt was discovered in South Hutchinson by
Ben Blanchard, who was disappointed in his efforts to find gas, oil or coal.
— Johnson City was voted permanent county seat of Stanton county.
— The Women's Christian Temperance Union met at Salina.
— The Christian Church convention met at Hutchinson.
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887 285
SEPT. 30. — A sunflower badge worn by Kansas delegates at the G. A. R.
convention at St. Louis attracted attention. The Newton Daily Republican be-
lieved they would attach the name of "Sunflower State" to Kansas.
OCTOBER 4. — A suit began in the Supreme Court to test the constitutionality
of the metropolitan police law. It was claimed the law was unconstitutional
because it suspended general laws.
— The Independent Order of Good Templars met at Topeka.
— The Improved Order of Red Men met at Girard.
OCT. 5. — The glassworks at Paola turned out "the first bottles made west
of the Mississippi river."
— The Adjutant General disbanded National Guard companies at Columbus,
Fort Scott, Robinson, Seneca, Jewell City and Smith Center.
— The Western Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South met at
Council Grove.
— The Union Veterans Union met at Topeka.
OCT. 6. — The Arkansas Valley Editorial Assn. met at Hutchinson.
-^-The Presbyterian Synod of Kansas met at Wichita.
OCT. 10. — Boom times at Wichita were indicated by a list of factories, capital
and employees:
Factory Capital Employees
Burton Car Works $1,000,000 2,000
Watch factory 250,000 400
Packing house 50,000 400
Ten brickyards 750,000 350
Two iron works 75,000 100
Two sash and door factories 70,000 80
Spice mills 10,000 20
Soap factory 25,000 15
Vinegar works 10,000 15
Two carriage factories 20,000 50
Terra cotta works 20,000 50
Ice factory 60,000 35
Illinois Washer Co 15,000 25
Two artificial stone works 25,000 50
Archer Electrical Manufacturing Co 60,000 15
Stair factory 3,000 10
Boot and shoe factory 100,000 150
Goldback Leather Co 135,000 200
Picket factory 20,000 100
Miscellaneous 29,000 57
Totals $2,727,000 4,122
— The Kansas Society of Friends met at Lawrence.
OCT. 11. — A contract was let for construction of 30 miles of irrigation ditches
in Finney and Kearney counties.
— The I. O. O. F. grand lodge met at Wichita.
— The Kansas Ministers Union met at Salina.
— The Kansas Baptist convention met at Salina.
OCT. 12. — The Washington county courthouse was completed and paid for.
— The case of H. H. Cook, editor of the Ottawa Journal, who had sued A. T.
Sharpe of the Ottawa Republican for $10,000, was dismissed. Sharpe had called
Cook a watermelon thief.
— Santa Fe was chosen permanent county seat of Haskell county.
— The African Methodist Episcopal Church conference met at Omaha, Neb.
286 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
OCT. 14. John N. Reynolds, editor of the Atchison Times, was sentenced to
18 months in the penitentiary and fined $200 for using the mails to defraud.
— The Kansas Equal Suffrage Assn. met at Newton.
OCT. 16. — It was estimated that more than 25,000 women voted in the
municipal elections in April under the new law.
OCT. 17.— The American Coursing Club races began at Great Bend.
OCT. 18. — Wichita University was opened under the direction of the Synod
of the Interior of the Reformed Church. (This is not the Wichita University
which was established in 1926 when the people of Wichita voted to take over
Fairmount College.)
The Kansas Turner Society met at Topeka. Member towns had withdrawn from
the Missouri Valley Turners.
OCT. 19. — Governor Martin commuted the sentence of J. A. Stewart, Wichita
drugstore clerk, from 17 years to six months and cut the fine from $20,000 to
$600.
OCT. 20. — The General Assn. of Congregational Ministers and Churches of Kansas met
at Wichita.
OCT. 23. — The Santa Fe reached Salina.
— Dodge City made plans for a $100,000 sugar factory.
OCT. 24. — More than 30 carloads of cotton had been raised near lola.
— The Y. M. C. A. building at Marion, the first in Kansas, was completed at
a cost of $15,000.
OCT. 25. — The Missouri Pacific purchased 100 acres near Winfield for a
shops location.
— The Kansas Evangelical Lutheran Synod met at Abilene.
OCT. 26. — Five Englishmen were arrested in Paris for forging securities of
the Southwestern Kansas Railroad Co.
— The Kansas Anti-Horse Thief Assn. met at Anthony.
— The Kansas Academy of Science met at Topeka.
OCT. 27. — The Young Men's Christian Assn. of Kansas met at Wichita.
OCT. 29. — Vol. I, No. 1, Horton Daily Headlight, Brundidge and Bear, publishers.
OCT. 31. — The Atchison Library Assn. received a $10,000 donation from
J. P. Pomeroy.
— An artesian well near Meade Center spouted water nearly 40 feet high.
—"Buffalo Bill" Cody offered $1,000 a head for buffalo owned by C. J.
Jones, Garden City. He wanted the animals for his wild west show.
— In the Gray county-seat election Cimarron defeated Ingalls, 754 to 711.
NOVEMBER 1. — Cooper Memorial College, Sterling, was opened under the
direction of the United Presbyterian Synod.
— The first train passed over the "dummy" railroad line between Kansas
City and Leavenworth. Fare was 74 cents one way, $1 a round trip.
Nov. 2. — A trial of a new electric switch signal by the Santa Fe proved
successful. It was invented by McClure and Wright of Junction City and
was expected to lessen the danger of open switches.
— The Topeka Sorghum Sugar Manufacturing Co. was organized with a
capital stock of $150,000.
Nov. 3. — Edward C. Weilup, Galena, was appointed U. S. consul at Sonne-
berg, Germany, succeeding Oscar Bischoff, Topeka, who resigned.
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887 287
Nov. 4. — The Wichita Eagle issued the first number on its web-perfecting
press, the first in Kansas. It had a capacity of 1,600 pages per minute.
— Governor Martin lifted the quarantine on cattle from Cook county, 111.
— The Young Women's Christian Assn. of Kansas met at Lawrence.
Nov. 5. — A grand jury at Marion investigated charges of corruption made
against members of the silk commission by the dismissed superintendent, I.
Homer.
— The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court which
perpetually enjoined the canvass of the 1885 Pratt county-seat election, won by
luka. Saratoga, the rival town, wanted another election.
Nov. 7. — The Supreme Court ordered Gray county commissioners to canvass
returns of the election of October 31.
Nov. 8. — Dr. A. G. Abdelal, recently suspended from the State Board of
Pension Examiners, was reinstated when charges against him were dismissed by
a federal grand jury at Leavenworth.
— County elections resulted generally in victory for the Republican tickets.
J. W. Robison was elected to fill the vacancy in the 23rd senatorial district. In
Seward county the Fargo Springs ticket won over Springfield in a test of
county-seat sentiment. In Harper county a similar contest resulted in victory
for Harper over Anthony. Both Eminence and Ravanna claimed a majority
in Garfield county.
Nov. 12. — Cimarron received a majority of votes in the Gray county-seat
vote on October 31.
Nov. 13. — Haysville, 12 miles south of Wichita, was destroyed by fire.
— N. S. Goss, state ornithologist, left for Lower California and Mexico in
search of additional specimens for the state collection.
Nov. 15. — Lee Mosier, convicted of the murder of Hugh B. Lawler, was
executed at Wichita. It was the first legal hanging in Kansas since 1870.
— The Supreme Court issued a writ of mandamus in behalf of Robert Craw-
ford, Negro resident of Fort Scott, to compel admittance of his son in school.
— The Attorney General ordered the clerk of the district court in Garfield
county to move his office from Ravanna to Eminence.
Nov. 16. — Members of the election board of Union township, Rush county,
were arrested for falsifying returns.
— J. E. Rule, Sherman county, claimed he had been elected county treasurer
but was refused recognition by the commissioners. He filed a petition in the
Supreme Court asking that the rival treasurer, J. H. Tait, be compelled to turn
over the office. He also asked $5,000 damages.
Nov. 18. — Wano and Bird City both claimed victory in the Cheyenne
county-seat election. Bird City took possession of the courthouse; Wano men
gathered arms and threatened to drive them out.
Nov. 19.— The Rock Island reached Clay Center.
— The unusual number of jurymen used in the Wyandotte county district
court in the train-wrecking case, during the railroad strike, had exhausted the
list of 900 jurors, with two terms remaining before another list could be
prepared.
Nov. 21. — A reception was held at Topeka for Arthur O'Connor and Sir
Henry Gratten Esmonde, Irish members of Parliament.
288 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Nov. 22. — The Kansas State Historical Society received from John Brown,
Jr., a medal presented to his mother by France in 1874 in commemoration of
the services of John Brown, the Abolitionist. The medal is solid gold, 2£
inches in diameter, with a portrait of Brown in relief on one side and a suitable
inscription on the other. Victor Hugo was among those who signed the presen-
tation letter.
— Kansas had 23 colleges in operation.
— Mary E. Merrill became the first woman to practice law in Sedgwick
county.
— The Sherman county-seat election was won by Goodland. "Money carried
the day," declared the Sherman County Democrat, of Eustis.
Nov. 24. — Thomas Nast, "king of caricaturists," lectured at Crawford's
Opera House, Topeka.
— The Kansas State Volunteer Firemen's Assn. was organized at Abilene.
Nov. 25. — Quo warranto proceedings were brought in the Supreme Court
in Garfield county offices disputes.
Nov. 28. — The number of post offices established in Kansas since December
1, 1886, was 217. Name changes included: Altory, Decatur county, to Kanona;
Arnold, Labette, to Angola; Baldwin City, Douglas, to Baldwin; Bates, Pratt,
to Isabel, Barber; Big Timber, Riley, to Cleburne; Bittertown, Lyon, to Olpe;
Bonasa, Wichita, to Leoti; Boone, Sumner, to Hukle, Sedgwick; Bluestem,
Russell, to Lucas; Bluff Creek, Harper, to Bluff; Bluffville, Ellsworth, to
Geneseo; Braman Hill, Wyandotte, to Summunduwot; Brown's Grove, Pawnee,
to Burdette; Buena Vista, Barton, to Hoisington; Bureau, Logan, to McAllister;
Candish, Ness, to Nonchalanta; Christian, McPherson, to Moundridge; Corbitt,
Ford, to Bucklin; Cuyler, Garfield, to Eminence; Damorris, Morris, to Dwight;
Dowell, Kiowa, to Wellsford; Dresden, Kingman, to Olcutt, Reno; Durham Park,
Marion, to Durham; Easdale, Ellis, to Pfiefer; Eli, Cowley, to Hooser; Elgin,
Chautauqua, to New Elgin; Everett, Woodson, to Vernon; Far West, Morris, to
Latimer; Front, Allen, to Bayard; Gopher, Logan, to Winona; Greystone,
Wilson, to Sidell; Hart's Mill, Chautauqua, to Hewins; Irene, Pratt, to Cairo;
Jurett, Wilson, to Buxton; Kalamazoo, Sedgwick, to Anness; Kansas Center,
Rice, to Frederic; Keimfield, Rush, to McCracken; King City, McPherson, to
Elyria; LaMont's Hill, Osage, to Vassar; Larimore, Franklin, to Imes; Leland,
Kingman, to Spivey; Leslie, Reno, to Medora; Matanzas, Chautauqua, to New-
port; Mule Creek, Ellsworth, to Crawford, Rice; Nasby, Saline, to Trenton;
New Kiowa, Barber, to Kiowa; Nilesville, Ottawa, to Niles; Nyack, Crawford,
to Midway; Pike, Wabaunsee, to Willard, Shawnee; Purcell, Sumner, to Anson;
Radical City, Montgomery, to Ritchie; Rattlesnake, Stafford, to Hudson;
Sherwin City, Cherokee, to Sherwin Junction, Pratt; Silverton, Pratt, to Preston;
Sorghum, Rice, to Bushton; Surprise, Grant, to Tilden; Veteran, Stanton, to
Johnson; Weaver, Osage, to Rosemont; Worth, Butler, to Elbing; Zenith, Reno,
to Sylvia.
Nov. 30. — The Livestock Sanitary Commission met to adjust claims arising
under the Texas fever quarantines. Nearly 1,200 cattle were under restriction
in Washington, Sumner and Crawford counties. In Washington, 964 had been
in possession of the sheriff since April 4. Shippers had violated the new cattle-
inspection law.
— The Protestant Episcopal Church, Diocese of Kansas, met at Topeka. The diocese
was divided into four convocations: northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest.
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887 289
DECEMBER 1. — Quarantined cattle in Washington county were ordered sold
unless owners paid costs.
— Poems of the Plains, by Thomas Brewer Peacock, Topeka, was published
by G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. The Philadelphia Times said Peacock was
regarded by the Saturday Review, London, as the great American poet.
DEC. 2. — One divorce for every 15 marriages was the average in Kansas,
according to a survey made by the Department of Interior.
— Western Kansas was suffering from a fuel famine. It was claimed that
the Santa Fe had refused to move coal from the mines. Six cars of coal, en
route to Garden City, were switched off at Syracuse by citizens. Crowds
threatened to burn railroad property and rob the engines of coal.
— Comanche county young folks resorted to peanut picking as a recreation
in place of cornhusking bees.
DEC. 5. — The U. S. Supreme Court, in the liquor cases involving Ziebold
and Hagelin, Atchison brewers, upheld the state's right to take over private
property without due process of law.
DEC. 7. — The State Sanitary Board met at Topeka. Discussed were com-
municable diseases, water and ice supply, food adulteration, and sanitary con-
ditions of schoolhouses and grounds.
DEC. 8. — I. Homer, former superintendent of the State Silk Station at
Peabody, died in poverty at Kansas City, Mo. Horner had advocated silk as
a suitable industry for Kansas and devoted his time and money to the project.
— In the Grant county dispute, Cincinnati alleged fraud in the census and
brought suit in the Supreme Court to prevent organization of the county with
Ulysses as county seat.
DEC. 10. — Judge Brewer in the U. S. Circuit Court held that the Walruff
brewery at Lawrence was a common nuisance and directed the U. S. marshal
to close it. John and August Walruff were enjoined from using the brewery
to manufacture intoxicating liquor.
— After nine years of fighting, the Rush county seat, by Supreme Court
decision, was moved from La Crosse, where it had been for eight years, to
Walnut City.
DEC. 13. — The Kansas State Horticultural Society met at Marion.
DEC. 14. — Gold badges were presented to members of the Topeka baseball
club, champions of the Western League.
DEC. 15. — The Kansas State Veterinary Medical Assn. met at Topeka.
— The Kansas Shorthorn Breeders Assn. met at Topeka.
DEC. 17. — The Walruff brewery at Lawrence was razed and the machinery
shipped to Kansas City. Walruff's fight against prohibition had cost him an
estimated $25,000.
DEC. 21. — The Paola branch of the Missouri Pacific was completed, con-
necting Kansas City and Pueblo, Colo.
DEC. 22. — Russell Springs won the Logan county-seat election.
— George E. Harris, president of the Wichita city council, was arrested for
selling liquor and indicted on 40 counts.
— The Leoti Transcript said there were 852 newspaper editors in Kansas,
and commented: "This is an appalling statement coming as it does upon the
verge of what promises to be a severe winter."
290
KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
DEC. 23. — Much of the Holton business district was destroyed by fire.
Loss was estimated at more than $90,000.
— Kansas City used the installment plan in paying for public works. Im-
provements were encouraged by issuing tax bills through a term of years.
DEC. 24. — The State Silk Station at Peabody suspended operation until
spring. The supply of cocoons was exhausted.
DEC. 25. — Clark county asked for aid for new settlers made destitute by the
drouth. A committee was appointed to handle contributions.
DEC. 26. — -The Kansas Academy of Language and Literature met at Topeka.
DEC. 27. — The Topeka Daily Capital employed a resident correspondent
in Washington, claimed to be the first from a Kansas daily.
— The Kansas State Teachers Assn. met at Topeka.
DEC. 28. — The Kansas Prohibition party held a convention at Topeka.
DEC. 29. — The Kansas Midland railroad was completed to Wichita from
Ellsworth.
— The first passenger train on the Rock Island passed through Dodge City.
DEC. 31. — Jonathan G. Long, the "mayor of Sumner," Atchison county, died.
He was the only remaining resident of the town, which was destroyed by a
tornado and never rebuilt. Senator Ingalls' essay, "Catfish Aristocracy," pub-
lished in the Kansas Magazine in 1872, was about Long, who stood six feet,
seven inches and weighed 115 pounds. Long served in the Mexican and Civil
Wars.
—The W. C. T. U. established a girls' industrial school at Beloit. The town
gave 40 acres and $10,000.
— Seven Lane county farmers, indicted by a federal grand jury, were brought
to Topeka. They were accused of intimidating and injuring another farmer
while trying to scare him off his homestead so they could jump his claim.
THE YEAR IN BRIEF
AGRICULTURE: Crops as a whole suffered severely from the drouth and farmers in-
curred serious losses. The value of sorghum was greatly increased, however.
Crop statistics for 1887:
Crop
Winter wheat
Spring wheat
Corn
Rye
Barley
Oats
Buckwheat
Irish potatoes . . .
Acres
1,298,619
75,296
6,530,392
153,472
20,727
1,577,076
4,229
114,728
Bushels
8,616,244
662,257
75,791,454
1,926,335
414,540
46,727,418
63,435
9,178,240
Value
$5,352,562.75
406,886.85
26,836,422.70
820,108.20
165,816.00
12,232,243.62
47,576.25
6,883,680.00
Sweet potatoes
Sorghum: syrup
Sorghum: forage
5,016
27,311
69,121
501,600
2,731,100'
419,745.00
1,103,345.00
691,210.00
Castor beans
Cotton
43,342
1 639
405,488
409 750 f
364,939.20
32 780 00
Flax
142 577
1 400 741
1 190 629 85
Hemp
327
228 900f
1 1 445 00
Tobacco
740
440 000 f
44 400 00
Broomcorn
70 111
42 066 600 f
1 472 331 00
Millet and Hungarian
508 441
1 016 882J
4 764 901 00
Tame grasses . .
747 061
410 894 f
2 460 774 00
0 gallons
t pounds
t tons
Livestock statistics:
Animals
Horses
Number
648 037
Mules and Asses
89 957
Milk cows
692 858
Other cattle
1 568 628
Sheep
538 767
Swine
1 847 394
Other farm products:
Product
Butter
Amount
27 610 010 Ibs
Cheese
496 604 Ibs
Milk
Poultry and eggs sold
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887 291
Value
$58,323,330
8,995,700
13,857,160
31,372,560
1,077,534
12,931,758
Value
$4,323,403.84
59,592.48
447,381.00
1,757,508.00
CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS: The biennial report of the board of trustees of State
Charitable Institutions gave the following statistics for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1887:
Institution Enrollment
State Insane Asylum, Topeka . * 569
State Insane Asylum, Osawatomie 478
State Reform School for Boys, Topeka 145
Deaf and Dumb Institution, Olathe 209
Institution for the Blind, Wyandotte 84
Asylum for Idiotic and Imbecile Youth, Winfield 66
Soldiers' Orphans' Home, Atchison 91*
* December 30
CHARTERS: Banks, building and loan, trust companies, 309; boards of trade, fairs, mer-
chant and civic associations, 76; cemetery and funeral associations, 78; churches and
affiliated organizations, 259; coal, oil and mining companies, 130; creameries and dairy
organizations, 19; gas, light, water and power companies, 82; grain, milling and elevator
companies, 22; hotels, 20; insurance companies, 13; livestock and poultry, produce com-
panies, 34; lodges, clubs, guilds and benevolent societies, 123; printing and publishing com-
panies, 34; railroads, 123; real estate, town and immigration companies, 557; schools and
colleges, 34; stage lines and freighting companies, 3; street railways, 60; telegraph and
telephone companies, 11; miscellaneous, 203. Total number of charters for the year, 2,190.
EDUCATION: The number of organized school districts had increased to 8,330 with
7,841 school buildings and 10,450 teachers. Of 526,734 persons between the ages of 5 and
21, 391,554 were enrolled as students. The total amount expended during the year for
school purposes was $4,064,945.49. The average salary of men teachers was $39.28 per
month; women teachers, $32.50 per month. Average length of the school term was 22.8
weeks.
Fifty-one students were graduated from the University of Kansas in June, 1887. The
enrollment for the fall term was 483, including 53 out-of-state students. Kansas State
Agricultural College had a fall enrollment of 472, with 35 students from other states. The
State Normal School, Emporia, reported an enrollment of 875 for the fall semester. Private
schools and enrollments included Highland University, 91; Ottawa University, 215; Baker
University, 386, and Bethany College, 340.
FINANCES: At the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 1887, the state treasurer reported
a balance of $431,377.90. The state auditor's report showed receipts of $3,210,238.20 from
all sources, and disbursements of $2,778,860.30. The aggregate value of all taxable lands
was $152,200,666, and the aggregate value of city lots, $56,646.873. The valuation of per-
sonal property as returned by the county clerks was $60,796,746.
292
KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
GOVERNMENT: A list of state and federal officers, judges and members of the legisla-
ture as taken from the biennial report of the Secretary of State:
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS, 1887
OFFICE
Name
Residence
John A. Martin
Atchison
Lieutenant Governor . . . .
A. P. Riddle
Girard
Secretary of State
E. B. Allen. ..
Wichita
Auditor of State
T. McCarthy
Lamed
Treasurer of State
J. W. Hamilton ...
Wellington
Superintendent of Public Instruction
J. H. Lawhead
Fort Scott
Attorney General .... ....
S. B. Bradford. .
Carbondale
State Printer
C. C. Baker. . .
Topeka
Secretary State Board of Agriculture
Secretary State Historical Society .
William Sims
F. G. Adams
Topeka
Topeka
D. W. Wilder
Hiawatha
State Librarian. . .
H. J. Dennis ....
Topeka
Railroad Commissioners
f Almerin Gillett
< James Humphrey
Emporia
Junction City
IA. R. Greene
Cedarvale
Secretary Board of Railroad Commissioners. . .
Adjutant General . .
H. C. Rizer
A. B. Campbell
Eureka
Topeka
Governor's Private Secretary
James Smith . .
Marys ville
Assistant Secretary of State
W. T. Cavanaugh. . . .
Topeka
Commissioner of Labor Statistics . .
F. H. Betton
Wyandotte
Assistant Auditor of State
S. S. McFadden
Topeka
Assistant Treasurer of State . .
R. R. Moore.. .
Topeka
JUDICIARY DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS
JUDGES AND OFFICERS OF UNITED STATES COURT FOR DISTRICT OF KANSAS
POSITION
Name
Residence
Judge of Circuit Court.
David J Brewer
Judge of District Court
C. G. Foster
Topeka
District Attorney
Assistant District Attorney.
United States Marshal
Clerk of District Court
W. C. Perry
Eugene Hagan
W. C.Jones.
Fort Scott
Topeka
lola
Topeka
Clerk of Circuit Court. . . .
A. S. Thomas
Topeka
JUDGES AND OFFICERS or THE SUPREME COURT OF KANSAS
OFFICE
Name
Residence
Chief Justice
Albert H. Horton
Associate Justice. .
D M Valentine
Topeka
Associate Justice
W.'A. Johnston
(B F Simpson
Minneapolis
Topeka
Commissioners of the Supreme Court
•JJ. B. Clogston
Eureka
[Joel Holt
Beloit
Clerk. ..
C J Brown
Topeka
Reporter
A. M. F. Randolph
Burlington
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887
JUDGES OF THE DISTRICT COURTS OF KANSAS
293
DISTRICT
Name
Residence
First
Robert Crozier
Second . .
H. M. Jackson . .
Atchison
Third
John Guthrie .
Topeka
Fourth.. .
A. W. Benson. . . .
Ottawa
Fifth
Charles B. Graves
Sixth
C. O. French
Fort Scott
Seventh
L. Stilwell
Eighth. .
M. B. Nicholson...
Council Grove
Ninth ..
L. Houk....
Tenth ;
Eleventh
J. P. Hindman
George Chandler. .
Olathe
Oswego
Twelfth
Edward Hutchinson. . . .
Marys ville
Thirteenth
E. S. Torrance. . .
Winfield
Fourteenth
S. O Hinds
Fifteenth . .
Clark A. Smith
Cawker City
Sixteenth
J. C Strang
Seventeenth . . . . .
Louis K. Pratt.
Norton
Eighteenth
T. B Wall
Wichita
Nineteenth. ...
J. T. Herrick
Wellington
Twentieth *•
Ansel R. Clark
Twenty-first
B. B. Spillman. . .
Manhattan
Twenty-second
R. A. Bassett
Twenty-third . . .
S. J. Osborn. .
Wakeeney
Twenty-fourth
C. W. Ellis
Twenty-fifth . . . . . . ...
Frank Doster. .
Marion
Twenty-sixth
A. L. Redden
El Dorado
Twenty-seventh ...
A. J. Abbott. . .
Garden City
Twenty-eighth
S. W. Leslie
Twenty-ninth ...
O. L. Miller
Wyandotte
SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS
SENATORS
NAME
Post Office
NAME
Post Office
John J. Ingalls . .
Atchison
Preston B. Plumb
REPRESENTATIVES
DISTRICT
Name
Post Office
First...
E. N. Morrill. .
Hiawatha
Second..
E H Funston
Carlyle
Third
R. W. Perkins .
Oswego
Fourth..
Thomas Ryan
Topeka
Fifth
John A. Anderson . .
Manhattan
Sixth
E J Turner
Hoxie
Seventh
S. R. Peters
Newton
294
KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS, 1887
MEMBERS OF THE SENATE
Dist.
NAME
Post Office
County
1
Sol Miller
Troy
2
A J. Harwi
Atchison
Atchison
3
Matt Edmonds
McLouth
3
P. G. Lowe. . .
Leaven worth
Leaven worth
4
5
W. J. Buchan
R. W. Blue. .
Wyandotte
Pleasanton
Wyandotte
Linn
5
6
W. M. Shean
W J Bawden
Gardner
Fort Scott.
Johnson
7
M. C. Kelley
Mulberry Grove ....
Crawford
g
John N. Ritter
Columbus . . .
Cherokee
g
C H Kimball
Parsons
Labette
10
11
L. U. Humphrey
R N Allen
Independence
Chanute ....
Montgomery
12
13
L. K. Kirk
L C Wasson
Garnett
Ottawa ....
Anderson
Franklin
14
T. L. Marshall
Osage City
Osage
15
16
G. J. Barker
Silas E Sheldon
Lawrence
Topeka
Douglas
17
18
J. S. Codding
W W. Smith...
Louisville
Waterville
Pottawatomie
Marshall
19
George S. Green . . .
Manhattan
Riley
20
L. B. Kellogg. . .
Flnipnrij^. . , .
Lyon
21
E. M. Hewins
Cedarvale. .
Elk
22
23
Frank S. Jennings
A L. Redden
Winfield
El Dorado .
Cowley
Butler
24
25
R. M. Crane
Conrad Kohler .
Marion
Enterprise .
Marion
Dickinson
26
F P Harkness
Clay Center
Clay
27
George H. Case. ... . .
Mankato
Jewell
28
R M Pickler
Smith Center
Smith
29
30
I. D. Young
Ira E. Lloyd
Beloit
Ellsworth .
Mitchell
Ellsworth
31
32
H. B. Kelly
W. M. Congdon.
McPherson
Sedgwick .
McPherson
Harvey
33
John Kelly
Goddard
34
W. J. Lingenf elter . .
Wellington. .
Sumner
35
J. W. Rush
Larned
36
J. W. White
Lyons
Rice
37
E. J. Donnell
Stockton
Rooks
38
H. S. Granger
Phillipsburg
Phillips
OFFICERS OF THE SENATE
NAME
Office
Post Office
County
A. P. Riddle .
President
Ottawa
L. U. Humphrey
President pro tern . .
I ndependence
C. C. Baker..
Secretary .
Topeka
Joel Moody
C. O. McDowell
F. M. Higgason
Sergeant-at-Arms
Asst. Sergeant-at-Arms
Columbus
Belleville
Cherokee
Republic
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE
295
Dist.
NAME
Post Office
County
1
B A Seaver
Highland.
2
C W Benning
Atchison
Atchison
3
Farmington . . .
4
S S Cooper
Oskaloosa . . .
Jefferson
5
G W McCammon
Valley Falls....
Jefferson
6
Ed. Carroll
Lea venworth
Lea venworth
7
T A Kurd
Lea ven worth
Lea venworth
8
g
M. H. Berry
Frank Gable . . .
Reno
Lansing . .
Leavenworth
Lea venworth
10
Porter Sherman
Wyandotte
Wyandotte
11
James F. Timmons ....
Edwardsville
Wyandotte
12
Nick Reitz
Monticello
13
J J Cox
Lawrence
Douglas
14
J D Bowersock
Lawrence. .
15
J V Pollinger... .
Ottawa
Franklin
16
L W Hostetter
Wellsville
Franklin
17
18
W. H. Wilhoite
C. Lewis
Paola
Fontana
Miami
Miami
19
20
Alfred Blaker
J F Sawhill »
Pleasanton
Welda
Linn
21
E. D. Lacey
Morantown
Allen
22
A E Currier
Hammond .
23
Wiley Bollinger . . .
Mill Creek
Bourbon
24
A N Chadsey
Cherokee
Crawford
25
26
E. H. Brown
R. P. McGregor
Girard
Baxter Springs
Crawford
Cherokee
27
H. B. Hubbard.
Boston Mills ....
Cherokee
28
F R Morton
Parsons
Labette
29
J. H. Morrison ...
Oswego
Labette
30
R S Lybarger
Valeda
Labette
31
32
J. B. Ziegler
D McTaggart
Independence
Liberty
Montgomery
33
J. W. Martin...
Parsons
Labette
34
Win Miller
Chanute
35
C. J. Butin
Fredonia
Wilson
36
W H Slavens
Yates Center
Woodson
37
Frank Fockele. . .
LeRoy. .
Coffey
38
G W Doty .
Burlingame
39
J. V. Admire..
Osage City
Osage
40
C P Bolmar
North Topeka
41
George W. Veale....
Topeka
Shawnee
42
J B McAfee
Topeka
Shawnee
43
S. E. Ream
Holton..
Jackson
44
T J Elliot
Morrill
45
G.W.Conrad..
Capioma . .
Nemaha
46
A L Coleman
Centralia
47
W. S. Glass
Marysville . . .
Marshall
48
T F Rhodes
Frankfort
Marshall
49
J.W.Arnold..
Louisville ....
Pottawatomie
50
Thomas Beattie
Wamego
Pottawatomi e
51
Wm. Fryhofer..
Randolph ....
Riley
52
P. V. Trovinger
Junction City
Davis
53
Charles Taylor . .
Eskridge . . .
Wabaunsee
54
George Johnston
55
D. A. Hunter .... ....
Emporia .
Lyon
56
J B Clo°'ston
Eureka
57
58
Asa Thompson
C. M. Turner
Howard
Sedan
Elk
Chautauqua
59
John A. Eaton ....
Winfield...
Cowley
60
Louis P. King
Arkansas City. . . .
Cowley
61
John D. Maurer
Dexter
Cowley
62
D. W. Poe
Leon
Butler
63
E. D. Stratford..
El Dorado..
Butler
64
M. A. Campbell
Cottonwood Falls
Chase
65
J. N. Rogers
Marion. . . .
Marion
66
J. Hudson Morse
Peabody
67
J. S. Early wine
Wilsey. .
Morris
68
Harrison Flora
Poplar Hill
69
M. L. Potter
Plympton ....
Dickinson
70
A. J. Banner.
Clifton
Clay
71
Chas. Williamson
Washington ....
Washington
72
Albert Hazen
Barnes
Washington
73
Corner T. Davies
Republic City. . . .
Republic
74
John A. Jacobs. . .
Seapo.. .
Republic
296
KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
MEMBERS or THK HOUSE — Concluded
Dist.
NAME
Post Office
County
7*»
Clyde
Cloud
7ft
Jamestown
Cloud
77
E B Crew
Delphos
Ottawa
Saline
70
Spring Valley
McPherson
80
A W Smith
McPherson
McPherson
81
T J Matlock
Burrton
Harvey
"Rnrlnlnh Hatfipld
Wichita
Sedgwick
00
Wichita
Sedgwick
04
A H Carpenter
Valley Center
Sedgwick
or.
C N Bottorff • •
Wellington
Sumner
86
87
88
John A. Murray
Levi Thrailkill
B C Cook
Wellington
Caldwell
Attica
Sumner
Sumner
Harper
89
F E Gillett
Kingman
Kingman
90
T A McNeal
Medicine Lodge
Barber
91
Saratoga
Pratt
92
Thomas T Taylor
Hutchinson
Reno
93
E J Arnold
Nickerson
Reno
94
Frank Cox
Stafford City
Stafford
ge
H J Roetzel
Ellinwood
Barton
96
R F Bond
Sterling
Rice
97
S W Bard
Ellsworth
Ellsworth
98
J B Corbett
Bunker Hill
Russell
99
J D Miller . . .
Lincoln
Lincoln
100
ifll
S. H. Calderhead
Z T Walrond
Beloit
Osborne .
Mitchell
Osborne
102
D C Wilson
Superior, Neb
ino
B F Wallace
Jewell
Jewell
104
W M Skinner
Gaylord
Smith
105
H N Boyd
Logan
Phillips
106
L H Leach . . .
Stockton
Rooks
107
L D Kirkman
Walker
Ellis
108
La Crosse
Rush
109
Wm. C. Edwards
Lamed
Pawnee
110
L G Boies
Kinsley
Edwards
111
E S West
Avila
Comanche
112
Francis C. Price. .
Ashland
Clark
113
M J O'Meara
Meade Center
Meade
114
W H Young
Spearville
Ford
115
T S Haun
Jetmore
Hodgeman
116
Challacombe
Ness
117
118
W. S. Tilton
Wakeeney
Millbrook
Trego
Graham
119
D B Kuney
Norton ...
Norton
120
F L Henshaw
Oberlin
Decatur
121
122
M. A. Chambers
H P Myton.
Hoxie
Garden City
Sheridan
Finney
123
G W Goodsoe
Colby
Thomas
124
E D York
Atwood
Rawlins
125
J T Kirtland
Hartland
Hamilton
C H Townsley
Sloey P. O. . .
Gove
S. J Gillis
Fargo Springs
Seward
Hugo ton
Stevens
Wm. McK. Milligan . .
Greensburg
Kiowa
John F Murray
Bird City
Cheyenne
S W Case
Scott City.
Scott
John W. Davis
Eustis
Sherman
John Shetterly
Wallace
Wallace
NOTE. — Those in excess of 125 were admitted from counties organized subsequent to the
apportionment.
OFFICERS OF THE HOUSE
NAME
Office
Post Office
County
A. W. Smith
J B Clogston . . ....
Speaker
Speaker pro tern
McPherson
Eureka
McPherson
Greenwood
H L Millard
Chief Clerk.
Sterling ...
Rice
WillT. Walker
C. A. Norton
John L. Waller
Assistant Clerk
Sergeant-at-Arms
Ass. Sergeant-at-Arms
Wellington
Beloit
Leaven worth
Sumner
Mitchell
Leavenworth
ANNALS OF KANSAS, 1887 297
INDUSTRY: Kansas had 801 industrial establishments with an invested capital of
$29,016,760. Wages totaling $7,818,295 were paid to 15,856 employees. The cost of
raw materials was $34,019,357, and the value of finished products was $51,061,791. Kansas
coal mines in 1887, employing 4,728 miners and 870 day laborers, produced 39,251,985
bushels of coal. Osage and Cherokee counties were the largest producers with nearly
10,000,000 bushels each.
INSURANCE: The Superintendent of Insurance for the first time since the creation of
the department tabulated life insurance business in the state. During the year policies
totaling $12,801,843 were issued by 28 authorized companies, by far the greatest amount
ever written in Kansas. The total for 17 years of business was $58,406,493. Fire insurance
written in 1887 by 83 authorized companies amounted to $137,228,880.
POPULATION: The total population of the state was 1,514,578, an increase of 107,840
over 1886. Leavenworth reported the largest population, 35,227; Topeka had 34,199, a
gain of over 9,000; Wichita, 33,999, an increase of 13,000, and Kansas City, 33,110.
RAILROADS: The State Board of Railroad Assessors listed 87 companies, including
main lines and branches, operating in the state. As of June 30, 1887, there were 6,549
miles of main track, an increase of 1,845 miles during the year. The railroads hauled
21,293,832.6 tons of freight. Total earnings from all sources was $75,717,049.44.
WEATHER: The mean temperature for 1887 was 55.21 degrees. The highest tempera-
ture recorded was 111 in August, and the lowest was -32 in January. Rainfall was slightly
less than normal, but the western half of the state had very little during the summer.
Average precipitation was 24.67 inches. A drouth in July caused one of the most disastrous
crop years in history.
21—4168
Bypaths of Kansas History
A KANSAS NEWSPAPER OFFICE IN 1857
From the White Cloud Kansas Chief, August 6, 1857.
How THEY Do IN KANSAS. — The office of the Weekly Herald, published in
Leavenworth, Kansas, was recently visited by a correspondent of an Eastern
paper, and is thus described by him:
"A visit to the printing office afforded a rich treat. On entering the first
room on the right hand, three law 'shingles' were on the door; on one side was
a rich bed — French blankets, sheets, table cloths, shirts, cloaks and rugs, all
together; on the wall hung hams, maps, venison and rich engravings, onions,
portraits and boots; on the floor were a side of bacon, carved to the bone, corn
and potatoes, stationery and books; on a nice dressing case stood a wooden tray
half full of dough, while crockery occupied the professional desk. In the room
on the left — the sanctum — the housewife, cook and editor lived in glorious unity
•—one person. He was seated on a stool, with a paper before him on a plank,
writing a vigorous knock down to an article in the Kickapoo Pioneer, a paper
of a rival city. The cooking stove was at his left, and tin kettles all round; the
corn cake was a doin', and instead of scratching his head for an idea, as editors
often do, he turned the cake and went ahead."
MAN WRITING ON "WOMAN'S RIGHTS"
From the Fort Scott Democrat, September 22, 1859.
Mrs. Nichols the celebrated Lecturer on "womans rights," delivered a lecture
in the Hospital, last Friday evening. Of course the room was crowded, and
although the weather was very warm, there was a large number of ladies in
attendance.
The Lecturer declared that woman had many responsibilities. We agree
with her, for we once knew one who had a dozen. She said if the men didn't
give them their rights, they would revolt — wouldn't marry. What a row that
would make. They wanted to vote but didn't care about holding office if the
men only behaved themselves.
Upon the whole, the lecture was not a remarkable one either for originality
of thought or power of delivery. Haven't heard of any converts in this region.
A PLEA FOR MORE BUSINESS
From the Council Grove Press, May 25, 1861.
LOOK HERE! — When tuition is but one dollar per month, and fifteen or twenty
children are running about idly upon the streets, and only twenty at school, we
are allowed to make this assertion, that, some people care not if their children
grow up in ignorance. The tuition for schooling at Council Grove, was put as
low as possible, so that all might send; those who are not willing to pay one
dollar a month, would be willing to hire a man for nothing, and pay him
according to agreement. TEACHER.
(298)
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 299
ALONG THE SANTA FE RAILROAD IN WESTERN KANSAS IN 1873
From The Kansas Daily Commonwealth, Topeka, May 30, 1873.
ON THE TRAIN, MAY 24, 1873.
Sargent [near the state line in present western Hamilton county] puts on the
appearance of a town in the dark. The train arrived at 11 P. M., and the
numerous glass fronts, all brilliant with light, would remind us of some other
towns who had once no better display than this, but are now large cities.
Sargent has about thirty business houses, including saloons and hotels; about
fifty buildings in all, with a population of about two or three hundred. It has a
two-story depot, engine house, turn-table, and numerous side tracks. It has two
hotels, the Winram house and Sargent City hotel. The latter is the largest
and best finished. Both have accommodating and obliging proprietors. It is
about two and a half miles from the state line, and about half a mile from the
Arkansas river, which is here lined with a young growth of cottonwood, and
the scenery is very beautiful. The soil, no doubt, is productive, but it is doubt-
ful whether farming will be a success without irrigation, which can be easily
done along the valley of the Arkansas. This is designed to be a grazing country,
and large herds of Texas cattle are now grazing here. These cattle are said to
have wintered here.
The train moved eastward a few minutes before six. It was a beautiful morn-
ing, with a fine, gentle breeze.
Coming into the vicinity of the Syracuse colony, we see already the marks of
an industrious farming community. Syracuse is the first station east of Sar-
gent. We counted eighteen buildings in town and vicinity, all of a fair size
and substantially built. The amount of sod already turned over and the fine
rows of trees planted along the streets, display a degree of energy, taste and
enterprise that will insure success. First Lieut. Robt. McDonald of the Fifth
Infantry, of Fort Dodge and Capt. H. B. Bristol of the same company got on
the train here. Capt. Bristol went along the line inspecting the soldiers sta-
tioned at all the points on the road between Dodge and Sargent. There are
generally 7 soldiers at each station. Two with each squad of section hands.
These are on guard while the men are at work. Sometimes we see one of them
on picket duty on an eminence commanding a view of the country. Three sol-
diers are always left at the station to guard it. The railroad company has put
up a building at each of these stations for the accommodation of these soldiers.
There are, as yet, no depot buildings at any of the stations between Dodge and
Sargent, but there is a telegraph office at each point, and these are in com-
munication with Fort Dodge, where the government troops are six hundred
strong, and ready for action at short notice. Scouts are constantly on duty on
the south side of the river. The object of this is to keep the Indians on their
own hunting grounds and the territory assigned them. Lieut. McDonald as-
sures us that through these precautionary steps there is no danger of an at-
tack from the Indians.
There is no settlement between Dodge and Sargent except that at Syracuse;
and the guards stationed along the line are not so much for military protection
as for the protection of railroad property. We can easily perceive what an
amount of damage a marauding band of Indians might do to railroad tracks and
telegraph wires if allowed to leave their hunting grounds.
300 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
There appears to be a feeling of security and safety among the section
hands. If there were any danger from Indians we would certainly have heard
ere this of attacks made upon the trains of teams moving toward Colorado. But
if eastern people are afraid of Indians, let them settle further east. There are
fine openings for settlement at Petersburg [now Kinsley], Criley, Larned, Great
Bend, Ellinwood, Raymond, and Peace [now Sterling], where they can feel
perfectly secure from any attack from Indians.
Lakin, Sherlock and Cimmaron are pleasantly located, and will make good
points for towns; would be fine centers for stock raising communities.
At Sherlock [present Finney county], we peeped into several "Dug-outs,"
one of them fitted up for lodging and the other for dining; size about 15x20,
and apparently more comfortable than city basements. Miss Mudge, late from
the Vermont House of the same place, is cook. She is a noble young woman,
a splendid cook, and of undaunted courage; for she is the only one of her sex
in all that region of country. J. B. SCHLICHTER.
FURNITURE ADVERTISING IN EARLY DAY NEWTON
From the Newton Kansan, February 3, 1876.
What is the use of sitting around on nail kegs when you can go to Rhoades
and buy a good set of chairs for $4.
ON THE SPOT
From The Daily Commonwealth, Topeka, October 10, 1882.
A witness in a liquor trial down at El Dorado, said he had to tell where he
bought his whisky, for two or three of the jury were with him when he got it,
and he dare not lie about it.
THEY GROW THEM BIG IN WESTERN KANSAS
From the Thomas County Cat, Colby, January 7, 1886.
EDEN RESTORED. — It has been discovered that Western Kansas is the Eden
from which Grandfather Adam and Grandmother Eve were driven for fooling
with the commandments and the Good Man's winter wine saps. The stump
of the identical tree under which Mrs. Adam was beguiled by the serpent, is
just south of the river in Hamilton county. The flaming sword that guarded
the Tree of Life has been stolen, perhaps by the Indians or cowboys, but the
fig tree is here from which Mrs. Adam manufactured her fashionable but some-
what scanty wearing apparel. It is dead now — probably winter killed — but,
like our flag, it is still here, and furnishes evidence which the oldest inhabi-
tants dare not dispute.
The soil is just as fruitful as in ye olden time and produces prodigiously.
Sunflowers can be seen that will make a dozen rails and a whole lot of hard
work. Potatoes grow so big that they can only be roasted by building a fire on
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 301
the windward side and when one section is done, waiting for the wind to
change. Cabbage leaves are used for circus tents, and hoop poles are made
out of timothy stalks. Jack rabbits grow as large as a horse, and the tail
feathers of a wild goose make excellent fence posts. Wheat is larger than
corn in most states, and it is dangerous to plant rye, as the roots have to be
grubbed out before the ground can be plowed again. A man planted a turnip
one mile from the railroad last summer and the railroad company sued him for
obstructing their right of way before the middle of July.
Pie plant makes excellent bridge timbers, and pumpkins are in good demand
this winter for barns and houses. Pea pods are used as ferry boats on the
Arkansas river, and onion seed are much sought after for walling wells and
terrace work. Rye straw, properly connected, makes superior pipe for drainage,
and the husk of the berry when provided with rockers, make unique baby cradles.
North of Coolidge are several lakes of strained honey and we often have
showers of rose water and cologne in the early part of the year. The settle-
ment of western Kansas is restoring Eden to its primitive glory and man to
his first estate. — Border Ruffian.
WHEN CALDWELL TRIED OUT ITS WATERWORKS
From the Caldwell Journal, July 8, 1886.
THE WATER WORKS. — A public test of the new city water works was had at
three o'clock, from the hydrant in front of this office. The test was a suc-
cess, and a pile of fun was had out of it by the fire companies. No. 2 was
attached to the hydrant first, and proceeded to wet things down in good shape.
One or two of No. 1 and some citizens got a few drops of water on them.
No. 1 was then called and hose attached. No. 2 tried to make themselves
scarce, but not before three or four of them were drenched to the skin. But
few citizens were wet much at this bout, but when No. 2 was again called on
the mud and water flew in all directions, and some of the too curious people
got pretty badly saturated with soft mud and hard water. Part of it was acci-
dental, especially to those who were on the side walks; but those of the crowd
who persisted in swarming into the street and up to the very nozzle of the hose
were entitled to what they got, and got what was intended for them.
Chief Colson had a nice suit of clothes about ruined, and assistant chief Nyce
looked like he had taken a mud bath before the hurrah was over.
It all amused the crowd and counted for fun.
A STORY ON THE UNION PACIFIC
From the Minneapolis Messenger, November 28, 1895.
Rev. S. B. Lucas tells us a good story which reflects some on the appearance
and rapid movement of the Union Pacific train running from here to Solomon.
On Monday the train was mistaken by a colt for an emigrant train, to which
it belonged. The colt left its own train of wagons, and followed the cars for
about three miles, keeping up with the train with much ease. The owner of
the colt finally captured it, and had hard work to get it from the train. . . .
Kansas History as Published in the Press
Lillian K. Farrar's articles in the Axtell Standard during recent
months included: "Nemaha County Freighting in the Early Days/'
April 3, 1952; "Axtell Presbyterian Church," April 10; "A History of
the Axtell Methodist Church," April 17; "Names in Yesterday's
Schools in the History of Nemaha County," May 15, and a biographi-
cal sketch of Albert C. Eichenmann, July 3.
A column by Elizabeth Barnes, entitled "Historic Johnson
County," has appeared regularly in the Johnson County Herald,
Overland Park, in recent months. Subjects discussed included:
Early trappers and traders, May 15; Santa Fe trail, May 22; Oregon
trail, May 29; first Indian mission, June 5; Shawnee Indian Manual
Labor School, June 12; Shawnee Baptist Mission, June 19; Shawnee
Quaker Mission, June 26; beginning of statehood, July 10; wagons
and stage coaches used on the Plains, July 17, and distinguished
visitors to Kansas in the early days, July 31.
Recent articles in Heinie Schmidt's column, "It's Worth Repeat-
ing," in The High Plains Journal, Dodge City, were: "[The Rev.
Homer Gleckler] Tells of Murder of Sam Wood, Pioneer Stevens
Co. Lawyer," June 12, 1952; "Question Authorship of Words to
'Sod Shanty on the Claim/ " June 19, and "Pioneer Tells Story of
Wagon Train Trip Through Southwest," June 26, July 3, 10, 17, 24,
31, by Charles A. Blanchard.
Brief historical notes on the "Maine Colony" of Arkansas City,
appeared in Walter Hutchison's column, "Folks Hereabouts," in the
Arkansas City Daily Traveler, June 28, 1952. The colony was a
group of families from Maine who settled in Arkansas City over 80
years ago.
An article, explaining the dispute over who was the first mayor of
Coffeyville, by Dr. T. C. Frazier, was published in the Coffeyville
Daily Journal, June 29, 1952. In 1872 a portion of the town was in-
corporated and elected A. B. Clark mayor. A short time later the
charter was revoked, and in 1873 the entire village was incorporated
and Dr. G. J. Tallman elected mayor.
A four-page article on Yates Center by Neil L. Toedman, was
published in the July, 1952, number of The Mid-West Truckman,
Yates Center. The town is just now completing its 77th year.
(302)
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 303
The Seventh Day Baptist settlement in the Nortonville area was
the subject of a historical sketch by Myra Maris, printed in the
Atchison Daily Globe, July 2, 1952. The Baptists arrived late in
1857, and the first church was organized in 1862.
A brief historical sketch of Irving was published in the Frankfort
Index, July 3, 1952. Irving was founded late in 1859 by a group
from Lyon City, Iowa, on a site selected by W. W. Jerome.
A summary of K. D. Hamer's article, "Story of Ellsworth," ap-
peared in the Ellsworth Messenger, July 3, 1952. The original town-
site of Ellsworth, about two miles southeast of the present town,
was surveyed in 1867, but that same year the town was moved to
the present location because of a flood. J. H. Edwards was the first
mayor.
In the July 4, 1952, issue of the Hutchinson News-Herald, Ernest
Dewey described some of the scenery and historic points of south-
west Kansas. The gold strike of 1893 on the Smoky Hill river was
the subject of his article on July 13.
An article on the fight over building a railroad through McCune
in 1904 was published in the McCune Herald, July 11, 1952. An
election was held, resulting in a very close vote in favor of a bond
issue for buying the right of way. Some work was done on the right
of way but the railroad was never built.
In connection with its 75th anniversary, a brief history of St.
Ann's Catholic church, Effingham, was printed in the Atchison Daily
Globe, July 17, 1952. The church was established as a mission
parish in 1867 and became a full-fledged parish in 1877.
The hobby of Charles B. Driscoll, native Kansan, of collecting
pirate lore, was discussed in an article by John Edward Hicks,
"Captain Kidd Was No Pirate According to Data in C. B. Driscoll
Collection," in the Kansas City (Mo.) Star, August 4, 1952. The
collection, believed to be the world's largest on that subject, has
been purchased by the Wichita City Library. The story of the cap-
ture of the wild horse, Black Kettle, by Frank M. Lockard, is told
in "The Most Famous of Kansas Wild Horses Outmaneuvered by
Man in a Buckboard," by E. B. Dykes Beachy, in the Kansas City
(Mo.) Times, July 28.
The Modern Light, Columbus, has continued in recent months to
publish the column of historical notes entitled "Do You Remember
When?"
Kansas Historical Notes
Nyle H. Miller, secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society,
was the principal speaker at a luncheon meeting of the Lyon County
Historical Society in Emporia, July 4, 1952.
Thaddeus A. Culbertson's Journal of an Expedition to the Mau-
vaises Terres and the Upper Missouri in 1850 has been edited by
John Francis McDermott and recently published as Bulletin 47,
Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution. The book-
let, 164 pages in length, is Culbertson's day by day account of his
scientific expedition to the Bad Lands in 1850.
A 312-page history of the Missouri, Kansas, Texas Railroad, en-
titled The Katy Railroad and the Last Frontier, by V. V. Masterson,
was recently published by the University of Oklahoma Press. The
Katy, originally incorporated as the Union Pacific Railway, Southern
Branch, came into legal being in September, 1865.
A collection of letters written home by emigrants to California
in 1849 and 1850, has been edited by Dr. Walker D. Wyman and
published by Bookman Associates in a 177-page book entitled Cali-
fornia Emigrant Letters.
The material on Kansas history collected by the late Cecil Howes
during his nearly 50 years as Kansas statehouse reporter for the
Kansas City Star, has been assembled and edited by his son, Charles
C. Howes, and recently published by the University of Oklahoma
Press under the title This Place Called Kansas. The 236-page book
is a collection of entertaining and revealing anecdotes "representa-
tive of the social and cultural pattern of the state."
(304)
THE
KANSAS HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
February 1953
Published by
Kansas State Historical Society
Topeka
KIRKE MECHEM JAMES C. MALIN NYLE H. MILLER
Editor Associate Editor Managing Editor
CONTENTS
PAGE
DR. SAMUEL GRANT RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS,
Minnie Dubbs Millbrook, 305
LIGHT ON THE BRINKLEY ISSUE IN KANSAS: Letters of William A. White to
Dan D, Casement James C. Carey and Verlin R. Easterling, 350
THE ANNUAL MEETING: Containing Reports of the Secretary, Treasurer,
Executive and Nominating Committees; Annual Address of the Presi-
dent, DANIEL WEBSTER WILDER, by William T. Beck; Election of Offi-
cers; List of Directors of the Society Nyle H. Miller, Secretary, 354
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 378
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 379
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 382
The Kansas Historical Quarterly is published in February, May, August and
November by the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kan., and is dis-
tributed free to members. Correspondence concerning contributions may be
sent to the managing editor at the Historical Society. The Society assumes no
responsibility for statements made by contributors.
Entered as second-class matter October 22, 1931, at the post office at To-
peka, Kan., under the act of August 24, 1912.
THE COVER
A sod house near Coldwater in the early 1880's. The man is not identified,
but it is said that he was a bachelor! Which is remindful of the jingle going
the rounds of western Kansas newspapers in the 1880's, "The Little Old Sod
Shanty on the Claim," two stanzas of which are as follows:
I am looking rather seedy now, while holding down my claim,
And my victuals are not always served the best;
And the mice play shyly 'round me as I nestle down to sleep,
In my little old sod shanty on the claim. . . .
But when I left my Eastern home, a bachelor so gay,
To try to win my way to wealth and fame,
I little thought that I'd come down to burning twisted hay,
In my little old sod shanty on the claim. . . .
[The photograph, lent by Mrs. J. W. Bosley of Coldwater, was brought in
by Mrs. Benj. O. Weaver of Mullinville.]
THE KANSAS
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Volume XX February, 1953 Number 5
Dr. Samuel Grant Rodgers, Gentleman From Ness
MINNIE DUBBS MILLBROOK
IN 1872 western Kansas was virtually empty. The Indians, how-
ever restless and discontented^ were mostly on reservation in
what is now Oklahoma. The remaining buffalo were being rapidly
hunted down, skinned and the bones left for later pickers. The
Kansas Pacific railroad (now Union Pacific) was like a thin bridge,
stretched across an enormous empty sea, and although little settle-
ment had followed its building, still another railroad, the Santa
Fe, was pushing out across that same great vacant land. Here was
an unprecedented opportunity — free land and convenient transpor-
tation to it — open to that restless, always westward-pushing, always
land-hungry American. And yet the settler was reluctant. The
reputation of the land was not good; it was dry and the crops might
not grow.
But other men, who had learned that profit and power attend
the settlement of new territory, were ready and anxious. They had
dreams far beyond a home and a farm for themselves; they would
build towns and counties. In the best sense, these men were plan-
ners and creators, building unselfishly for a good community. In
many cases they were exploiters of their fellows, hoping to control
the settlement to their own personal gain. In their worst form
they were outright thieves, faking the establishment of counties and
towns, secure in the knowledge that no one would come west to
investigate the phantom populations for which they projected phan-
tom courthouses and bridges, only to sell the bonds to Eastern
financiers for real hard cash.
In the 1870's nearly every town and county organized in western
Kansas had such a sponsor and it was not always easy to determine
MRS. RAYMOND H. (MINNIE DUBBS) MILLBROOK, of Detroit, Mich., native of Kansas
who was educated at Kansas State College, Manhattan, is a housewife and editor of The
Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine.
(305)
306 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
in which category each might belong. Ness county had Dr. Samuel
Grant Rodgers, who was unsuccessful with his organization and has
ever since been regarded as a rascal and a cheat. As a consequence,
for many years Ness countians have chosen to ignore historically,
what seemed to them, the dishonorable beginnings of the county.
But when at last the skeleton of these beginnings has been taken
from the closet,1 dressed in some long-neglected facts and set in a
proper contemporary background, the whole affair proves to have
been not only most interesting but of comparative respectability.
What has not been generally understood, is that Ness county was
not the first of Dr. Rodgers' promotions. He served an apprentice-
ship in Pawnee county where his plans for a model community were
defeated. Adopting the more successful, more unscrupulous tech-
niques of his adversaries, he tried again in Ness county and again
failed. For all his efforts he got neither an established colony nor
any monetary reward. A failure rather than a thief would be the
truer word for Dr. Rodgers.
In order to understand Dr. Rodgers' first promotion, some of the
early conditions in Pawnee county must be explained. Pawnee was
not an organized county in 1872, although its boundaries had been
drawn in 1867, when the Kansas legislature had laid out three tiers
of western counties 2 — all the unoccupied land in Kansas up to
Range 26 West — with the provision that when these counties had
attained sufficient population (600 inhabitants) they could be or-
ganized into political units. These 21 counties were uniformly laid
out, 30 miles by 30 miles, five townships square. Pawnee consisted
of townships 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 in ranges 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20
West.
In the northeast corner of Pawnee county was Fort Larned, an
important army post during the Indian wars and still occupied by
troops in 1872. Among the innumerable tales of earlier events about
the fort, was one involving Capt. Henry Booth, who in 1864 was
inspecting officer of the military district in which the fort lay.
Driving from Fort Zarah with another officer in an ambulance, he
was attacked by Indians and barely escaped with his life.3 Earlier
that same year Captain Booth had commanded an expedition from
1. Judge Lorin T. Peters of the 33d judicial district of Kansas, intensely interested in
western Kansas history, has made a thorough search into the organization of Ness and other
western counties. This article is based on his research, as communicated to the writer by
Mrs. G. N. Raffington, Ness City.
2. The Laws of the State of Kansas, 1867, pp. 51-57.
nM3c Ef»<*«S£%*B*5? Series *' v' 41> Pt' X» P- 934« Ako> Col. Henry Inman. The
Old Santa Fe Trail (New York, 1897), pp. 435-451.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 307
Fort Riley to the relief of Ft. Larned reportedly infested by In-
dians.4 Before the war, Booth had been a resident of Riley county
and after the close of his service in the army, he returned to his
home there. In 1867 he served as legislator from Riley county in
the Kansas house. In 1869 he received an appointment as post-
master at Fort Larned and moved there with his family, establishing
a sutler's store at the fort.
When the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad ran its survey
through Pawnee county in 1871, Booth and several associates began
planning a new town over on the railroad, six miles east from the
fort, to be named Larned. In January, 1872, the directors of the
Larned Town Co., including ex-Governor Samuel Crawford, presi-
dent, and E. Wilder, secretary,-met at the home of Booth and selected
the exact site of the town.5 There is no doubt that Booth, with
his wide experience in the war and in Kansas affairs, was well-fitted
to be the leader in the bright future that the railroad would bring
to Pawnee county. Neither was there any doubt that he had excel-
lent political connections and many friends in Topeka.
The first house was "brought bodily from Fort Larned on wheels"
to the new town by Booth in April.6 Several other houses were built
that summer and a number of settlers came in. The railroad was
completed into Larned on July 20, 1872. With it came the railroad
construction gang under John D. Criley, who had previously built
part of the Kansas Pacific across western Kansas, and who now
located his laborer's camp near Larned at a place called Camp
Criley. F. C. Hawkins is said to have come with this crew only to
remain in Larned indefinitely when he found a fine growing town
that offered possibilities to a man of his talents.7 Everything was
going well when Dr. Samuel Grant Rodgers arrived in Pawnee
county as one of a committee to locate a site for the Chicago work-
ingman's colony.
The railroad was completed to the, then, barren plain, where Kinsley now
stands, in the summer of 1872. In August of that year C. N. Pratt and Dr.
Samuel G. Rodgers (the gentleman from Ness), representing the "Chicago work-
ingmen's colony," (the work was to be done by the men who were to follow,
like all colonies you know,) visited the upper valley and selected the present
4. War of the Rebellion, Series 1, v. 41, Ft. 1, p. 189.
5. Capt. Henry Booth, "Centennial History of Pawnee County," read by Captain
Booth at a centennial celebration, July 4, 1876, and printed beginning November 3, 1899,
in the Larned Eagle Optic. The history was contributed to the newspaper by Mrs. Isabel
Worral Ball, historian of the old settlers' association. Clippings are now in the State His-
torical Library, Topeka.
6. Ibid.
7. A. T. Andreas and W. G. Cutler, History of the State of Kansas (Chicago, 1883),
p. 1350.
308 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
site of Kinsley as their objective point, and named it Petersburg, in honor of
T. J. Peters of the Santa Fe railroad.8
In his history of early Pawnee county, Henry Booth gave August
10 as the day of the location of Petersburg, 24 miles southwest from
Lamed on the railroad. He named in addition to Rodgers and Pratt
as the committee of the Chicago Workingmen's Co-operation colony,
F. W. Neye, J. Trumbull, and Robert McCanse. He stated further
that the place was selected on account of the fertility of the soil,
the healthfulness of the climate, and the abundance of pure water.
This colony, it would seem, would offer only the best of advantages
to its colonists.
This, then, was the entrance of Dr. Rodgers upon the Pawnee
county scene — one of a committee to locate and promote a co-oper-
ative colony of workingmen from Chicago. To establish such a
colony was his ambition and his dream and there is no evidence
throughout his experience in western Kansas that he ever wavered
from this primary objective. Organized colonies of this type were
actively advocated by the social idealists of that day in the hope
of relieving the pressure of poverty on the working class of the cities.
Many such colonies were planned and begun in Kansas, several in
the vicinity of what is now Kinsley. Needless to say, they were
regarded with ridicule and hostility by the hard-bitten realists 9 of
the Western country, and particularly those whose personal plans
might be endangered by such altruistic ideas.
It is to be regretted that all our judgment of Dr. Rodgers must be
based on the few newspaper clippings and official records that now
remain to tell of his work, since nothing has been found concerning
his life prior to August, 1872, or after the spring of 1874. One of
his colonists said that he was an Englishman, a dark, slender, genteel
looking, fellow.10 He was 40 years old in 1874 n and he was from
Chicago. A check of the directories of that city, show him listed
as a resident only in 1872 and 1873, the same years in which he was
8. Kinsley Republican, January 4, 1879. This is a rewrite with interpolations, from
J. A. Walker's "Early History of Edwards County," which was edited by James C. Malin
and published in The Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 9, pp. 259-284. This particular quota-
tion is used here since it shows the local contemptuous attitude toward Rodgers and his
colony. It also reflects the fact that even in Kinsley, Rodgers was better remembered as
of Ness county.
9. In the Kinsley Republican, January 4, 1879, there is a characterization of a co-
operative colony "as an institution founded upon the principle that to secure a quarter of
land was to transform a poor mechanic into a wealthy prince." An editorial in the Kinsley
Graphic, May 4, 1878, stated of such colonies, "As a rule they are successful failures.
That is, as failures they are a success."
10. Fern Cook interviewed William Lenihan, one of Rodgers' Ness county colonists in
1935. The article to be written from this interview was never completed, but her notes
were lent to the writer.
11. D. W. WUder, The Annals of Kansas (Topeka, 1886), p. 631.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 309
promoting his Kansas colony, and it is therefore assumed that he
was resident there only for the purpose of recruiting settlers.12
The advent of Rodgers and his town of Petersburg probably
brought some misgivings to Capt. Henry Booth in Lamed. Rodgers
must have talked busily as was his wont, with anyone who would
listen, about the model community,13 he and his associates would
build, where workingmen of great cities like Chicago, might attain
independence and a great future. While to the more experienced
Booth, the Chicago doctor must have seemed naive and an all round
tender-foot, still the doctor's appeal to prospective settlers in Chi-
cago and points east, would conceivably be compelling. At least his
arrival was a warning that the railroad would bring others with
similar dreams of building towns and if Larned's lead was to be
preserved, time was of the essence.
So in October, Henry Booth, D. A. Bright and A. H. Boyd secured
signatures to a petition or memorial, asking for the organization of
Pawnee county. The law passed in 1872 by the legislature, specify-
ing the procedure for organizing new counties (ch. 106) required
that such a petition be signed by 40 householders who were legal
electors of the county. Evidently, there were not 40 legal electors
in Pawnee county at that time. According to one report,14 "An imi-
grant train came toiling by and the men in Lamed rode out, held it
up and forced the men in the party to sign the petition .
Notwithstanding the way the signatures were obtained, Henry
Booth, D. A. Bright and A. H. Boyd, on October 7, 1872, swore
under oath before George B. Cox, a justice of the peace, that "the
above signatures are the genuine signatures of householders and
legal electors of the County of Pawnee." 15 Henry Booth also on
October 7 wrote Gov. James M. Harvey a letter and the first sen-
tence of the letter contains the following: "I send you herewith a
petition of 40 householders and legal electors of this county." The
letter also bears a postscript in which Henry Booth recommended
"F. C. Hawkins as a good man to take the census and would be
pleased to see him appointed." 16
If there were not 40 householders or legal electors in the county,
there scarcely could have been 600 inhabitants as were by law re-
12. Dr. Rodgers was listed as a physician at 277 Clark St., and 318 Clark St. One of
his colonists said he had an office on State St.
13. In practically every existing letter or direct quotation of Dr. Rodgers, his model
colony is mentioned.
14. Great Bend Tribune, December 24, 1934. From an article written by Dwight B.
Christy, who was the third sheriff of Pawnee county.
15. Records of the secretary of state, Topeka.
16. Ibid.
310 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
quired for the organization of a county. But if the first step in the
conspiracy succeeded, how much more confidently might the second
misrepresentation be compounded! According to the law of 1872,
upon receipt of the petition for organization, the governor should
appoint some "competent person who was a bona fide resident of the
county to take the census/' At this point the governor, however
uninformed he may have been of the true facts in the case, could
have stopped this fraudulent organization and set up a precedent
that would have prevented many subsequent ones. He could have
diligently investigated the qualifications of his appointee — his
census taker — and made sure that the census was correctly taken.
In this manner, as was the plain intent of the law, the whole process
of organizing the new counties would have been safe-guarded.
But Governor Harvey did not bother, he appointed F. C. Hawkins,
the man recommended by Booth. In the Norton county organiza-
tion of the same year he also appointed without investigation the
locally recommended census-taker. Governor Osborn followed this
same loose practice with Harper, Ness, Barbour, and Comanche
counties in 1873. Thus the door was opened to the fraudulent
organizers.
Since the census of F. C. Hawkins is typical of what occurred in
all these fraudulent organizations, let us therefore consider it some-
what in detail. On October 19, 1872, F. C. Hawkins took an oath
before George B. Cox, a justice of the peace in Pawnee county, to
"take the census of Pawnee county to the best of my knowledge and
ability. So help me, God." On October 28, 1872, F. C. Hawkins
finished the census and sent it to the governor with this certification:
"I certify that the foregoing schedule of bona fide inhabitants of
Pawnee county is correct. Signed: Francis C. Hawkins, Census
taker for Pawnee county."17 The census report showed 674 in-
habitants in Pawnee county — 18 women, 48 children and 618 men —
a rather strangely assorted population.
All this had been done in the absence of Dr. Rodgers, who ap-
parently was in Chicago drumming up settlers. When he returned
to Pawnee county on October 28, he was shocked and surprised at
what he saw and heard had been going on in his absence. He
wrote indignantly to W. H. Smallwood, secretary of state, at Topeka:
Oct. 28, 1872
To THE HONORABLE SECRETARY OF STATE W. H. SMALLWOOD —
Dear Sir
On my arrival here I found that the most dishonest means are being taken
17. Ibid.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 311
to organize this county. Inhabitants of Hodgeman and other counties are
upon the list. Even persons who are merely travelling by rail have been taken.
And the names of; the workmen from the pay list the A.T. & S.F.R.R. have
been taken while many of them are discharged months since.
Also all the Soldiers names are taken contrary to law. Will you please
stay all proceeding in the matter till I return to Topeka on Wednesday or Thurs-
day first. I am now with two men taking the census.
It will be much to the interest of the state to do so as I am afraid our
Colony will not come if this proceeds as we want to have a Model Colony in
regard to Education, taxation and all else which will benefit them.
We will contest this matter if they persevere in their fraudulent attempts
to organize the county.
Most Respectfully
Your Obedient Servant
SAMUEL GRANT RODGERS M. D.
N. B. Hawkins says here in public that he takes the census by Governor Har-
vey's request in order to get two men to the legislature to vote for a certain
purpose this winter. SGR 18
Since the date of this letter is the same as that on the census re-
port, the letter must have reached the secretary of state at the
same time as the census report, furnishing to the governor, evi-
dence that his appointed officer, F. C. Hawkins, was guilty of fraud
and perjury in the census report that he had submitted. But fear-
ful perhaps that his letter would not arrive in time, Dr. Rodgers
sent a telegram to the secretary of state, which was received in To-
peka, October 29, at 11 A. M.:
Dated GREAT BEND Ks 28 1872
Received at Oct. 29 11 am
To HON W. H. SMALLWOOD
SEC. OF STATE
Great fraud in taking census please stop all proceedings till I reach Topeka
S. G. RODGERS M D 19
From this telegram it is certain that the governor in Topeka knew
that the census of Pawnee county was not above suspicion. Not-
withstanding this, Governor Harvey, on November 4, appointed the
commissioners for Pawnee county and proclaimed the county or-
ganized. Was there fraud in the census of F. C. Hawkins — an offi-
cer of the governor? Of this there is no doubt. On May 8, 1873,
A. L. Williams, attorney general of the state of Kansas, filed a quo
warranto proceedings in the supreme court, to set aside the organi-
zation of Pawnee county and in .his petition alleged in detail that
18. Correspondence of the secretary of state, Archives division, Kansas State Historical
Society. As there is no address given in this letter to show from where it was written,
it has been carelessly attributed to Rodgers' Ness county adventure. The date and the
reference to Hawkins, place it without question as referring to the Pawnee county organi-
zation.
19. Ibid.
312 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the organization "was procured by fraud and perjury and the census
taken of said county was false and fraudulent." The board of county
commissioners and the county clerk in their answer to the petition
admitted all the allegations of fraud. (State vs Commissioners,
Pawnee County, 12 Kan. 426.)
Why did the governor ignore this evidence of fraud? Here again
an honest courageous stand by the governor might have preserved
the intention of the organization law, rendered helpless the self-
seeking organizers and protected the future citizens of western Kan-
sas from the monstrous debts that were loaded onto them without
their consent and knowledge as a consequence. Timid, intimi-
dated, complaisant, or corrupt— the governor ignored the evidence
and proceeded with the organization of Pawnee county.
The record is silent, but considering his telegram, Dr. Rodgers
must have gone to Topeka. It would be interesting to know what
Governor Harvey and the secretary of state told him. Did they
tell him that it was important for counties to be organized now that
the railroad had come through? Did they tell him that settlers
would come more readily if organized law had already been estab-
lished for their protection? These were the arguments later used
by Rodgers when he was under attack for his organization of Ness
county.20 Did they also tell him that as long as the legal formalities
were fulfilled, they had no power to refuse the organization? In
1875, Governor Osborn, in his message to the legislature asked for
a new county organization law claiming that the 1872 law was
defective in that the governor's "functions are ministerial only,"
and he had no power to deny an organization if the preliminaries
were observed in the counties and the proper papers presented to
him. This was the political alibi of gross neglect of duty on the
part of the governors, in the face of the scandal that broke late in
1874, which concerned the fraudulent organizations of Comanche,
Harper, and Barber counties with their $200,000 bonded indebted-
ness. However, the claim was a misstatement of the law. From
State vs Sillon, et al, 21 Kan. 207, we quote the following, with
respect to the fraudulent organization of Pratt county: "Fraud
and falsehood poison the proceedings throughout, and notwith-
standing the regularity of the records, ... all of these pro-
ceedings, being in violation of law, are void, and the pretended or-
ganization is consequently void."
True it was that Governor Harvey was merely a ministerial offi-
SO. House Journal 1874, pp. 445, 446.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 313
cer of the legislature in the organization of Pawnee county, yet
when he obtained information that one of his appointees, F. C.
Hawkins, had committed fraud and perjury in the census, no law
required the governor to perform a void act. It was the duty of the
governor to investigate the matter and, if the evidence warranted it,
lay the matter before the attorney general for investigation and
prosecution of his guilty appointee. The intention of the legislature
of 1872 was plainly manifest by the act itself. It determined that
there should be 600 bona fide inhabitants before a county could be
organized and, in order to safeguard this requirement, it provided
that the governor should appoint a "bona fide, competent census
taker/' thus guarding at every step the 600 requirement, and
hedging it with a precaution that would have insured such a result
if the governor had diligently performed his duty.21
While in the light of history, there seems to have been no excuse
for the governor's ready compliance with fraudulent procedures,
still at the time, Dr. Rodgers was apparently convinced of the
validity of the governor's action. He later stated before the legis-
lature of 1874, that he had found it impossible to do anything about
the Pawnee county organization.22 It follows also that he was
persuaded that nothing could stop any other county organization
along similar lines.
Besides appointing temporary county commissioners and de-
claring the county of Pawnee organized on November 4, 1872, the
governor also designated Larned as the temporary county seat.
In this regard the law stated that the governor should "designate
such place as he may select, centrally located, as a temporary
county seat." Larned was located in the extreme northeast corner
of the county. Although the organization papers and official ap-
pointments could not possibly have arrived, the temporary county
commissioners acted immediately and on the very next day held
an election,23 first dividing the county into two townships, a voting
precinct in each, in strict observation of the organization law. These
two precincts were located, one at Fort Larned and one at Larned,
within six miles of each other, in the northeast part of a county
30 miles long and 30 miles wide. This action practically excluded
21. The citations of the supreme court and their applications were furnished to the
writer by Judge Lorin T. Peters who, in 1948, was appointed by the supreme court to
try the Morton county-seat case — probably the last county seat fight in the state. Dunn
vs Morton County, 165 Kan. 314.
22. The Commonwealth, Topeka, February 4, 1874.
23. November 5 was the regular general election day of 1872. In defending the
Pawnee county organization before the supreme court, 12 Kan. 426, the defendants claimed
mat a .30 day notice of the election was not necessary as everyone was bound to know the
general election date.
314 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the bulk of the county from participation in the election. In the
first place there was no notice of the election and second, no polling
place, at which residents in the more remote parts of the county,
could vote.
However, Captain Criley and his railroad workers, together with
members of the Chicago Workingmen's colony, did not accept this
action passively. Hawkins had listed the railroad workers and the
members of the colony as inhabitants of the county so they decided
they had a right to vote and they proceeded to do so. Unfortunately
we have no unbiased account of this action. Captain Booth recites
it in detail in his history and his supporters in the legislature pre-
sented virtually the same story when the election was later being
considered in the house:
That on the day of said general election, a large number of men were in the
employ of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Co., upon the line of its
road through said county of Pawnee; that the said persons were not legal resi-
dents of said county at the date of the general election, being there temporarily,
and with the intention of moving westward with said road; that no families
were with them, and they have since moved westward; that the said persons
had their headquarters at a place called Camp Criley, which place was situated
in Lamed City,24 the township voting place being at Lamed City; that on the
day of said general election, about eleven o'clock A. M., certain of aforesaid per-
sons in the employ of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Co., pretended
to organize themselves into an election board . . . and received the votes
of others of said employes or railroad hands until about 4 o'clock P. M. of said
day, when the persons who were acting as judges and clerks of said pretended
election, got aboard of a railroad train without ballot boxes and poll books,
and proceeded west twelve miles to a locality called "Siding No. 2," at which
place they opened the ballot box and received votes of other railroad hands,
and did not return to Camp Criley until 9 P. M. . . . 25
The county commissioners proceedings concerning this election,
written up later, shows only that the county was divided into two
precincts for convenient townships with the Larned township poll-
ing place at Cox & Boyd Hotel in Larned and the Pawnee township
polling place at Booth's sutler store. While the votes were tabulated
by townships for state officers, only the total votes were recorded
for the county offices, indeed the votes for county officers seems
to have been an afterthought. F. C. Hawkins was elected sheriff,
24. There is some confusion as to the location of Camp Criley at this time. Booth
himself states that the camp was moved when the railroad reached a point about 12 miles
west of Larned, which would have been around the latter part of July or first of August.
But other sources seem to indicate that the camp was not moved until after the election
when Criley quarreled with Booth over his refusal to allow the county commissioners to
canvass the votes of the Criley faction.
While it is impossible to know how long these railroad men had been in the county,
it is reasonable to believe that some of them had been there since the railroad came into
the county. Hawkins himself came with this railroad gang. The Booth faction claimed that
only four of the electors who voted in this "outlaw" fashion were legal electors.
25. House Journal, 1873, pp. 417, 418.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 315
but the election tally omitted any mention of Henry Booth's elec-
tion as representative. Thirty-eight votes were cast and no mention
was made of the voting of the other faction. Although Booth said,
"There was no clamoring for office — there were more than enough
to go around . . . ," he does in the end become more factual
and names the parties voted for at Camp Criley and points west.
Among the county commissioners was Captain Criley.26 Other can-
didates for office were A. D. Clute, F. V. Neye and Robert Mc-
Canse, all known to have been members of the Chicago working-
men's colony. Dr. Rodgers was entered as candidate for represen-
tative to the state legislature. It is easy to conjecture that the
Petersburg faction with help from the railroad camp, being excluded
or lacking a polling place out in the county, took matters into their
own hands, provided their own polls and did their own voting. It
was a blundering, straight forward action that would naturally
arouse the scorn of Booth who, ostensibly at least, appreciated the
legal niceties. He saw to it that the county commissioners refused
to canvass these spontaneous votes.
Later others were not so scornful of the effort of Criley, Rodgers,
and followers to cast their votes. The state board of canvassers
confronted by the two sets of election returns for representative
from Pawnee county, solicited the advice of the attorney general
of the state and was advised to canvass neither of them.27 Hence
when the legislature of 1873 convened, the matter was turned over
to the house itself for a decision.
But when the house gathered in January, 1873, the contest for
representative of Pawnee county was overshadowed by a much
greater problem. The constitution of the state of Kansas provided
that the house should be composed of not more than one hundred
members and that each county should be represented by at least
one member.28 As the representation had been apportioned earlier
and a number of the eastern counties had several representatives,
each according to population, 99 of the seats were already taken,
leaving only one seat open to the new counties that had been or-
ganized since the legislature met in 1872.29 This seat was to go to
Norton county30 as it had been the first of the four new counties
26. Captain Criley, construction boss of the Santa Fe, was a man of great resource
and no emergency daunted him. This election episode was undoubtedly of his planning al-
though there is now no evidence to prove it.
27. House Journal, 1873, p. 416.
28. Kansas Constitution, Article 2, Section 2. Also, Article 10, Section 1. Also, The
Laws of the State of Kansas, 1871, p. 32.
29. At that time, an election was held every year and the legislature met every year.
30. Norton county, organized on August 22, 1872, with presumably 600 inhabitants,
cast 32 votes for representative on November 5, 1872. Another fraudulent organization?
316 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
now coming and asking seats. If the others were to be admitted,
then some of the larger counties would have to give up some of their
representatives, as they were not disposed to do. This dilemma
was gotten around by refusing seats to either of the contestants
from Pawnee county, the Rooks county representative and the
Ford county representative, this last having been adjudged illegally
elected anyhow. Therefore, Henry Booth was correct when he
stated in his history, "The constitutional limit having been reached
as to number of representatives, the member from Pawnee, after
eleven days, was voted out together with members from two other
counties."
The committee on elections did, however, make some investiga-
tion and a report in the matter of the Pawnee county election.81
Their report of February 13, stated:
The organization of the county of Pawnee was made and completed in the
city of Topeka on the fourth day of November, 1872, and the pretended elec-
tion held in said county . . . shows that the will of the people could not
have been fully and properly expressed at the said election, occurring the day
after the organization.
And hence your Committee reports that neither of the persons claiming
seats, under said pretended election are entitled to be admitted as members or
delegates in this Legislature. But should this House decide to respect the will
of the people 32 as so expressed in said election, then your Committee would
recommend that Mr. Rodgers be entitled to the seat for the reason that he,
( Mr. Rodgers, ) received 108 votes, and Mr. Booth but 35 votes.
The minority report of the committee was presented by Simeon
Motz of Ellis county and as previously stated, retold the Booth ver-
sion of the election.33 There was some support in the house for this
minority report but as related above both the majority and minority
reports were more or less ignored, due to the preoccupation of the
house with the problem of keeping the size of the house to its con-
stitutional limit. It is perhaps indicative of the character of that
house, that they respected the 100 member limit set by the constitu-
tion and maintained the status quo, preferring to ignore that other
provision of the constitution that no organized county should be
without representation. In this case, the will of the people desiring
31. House Journal, 1873, p. 416.
32. There was no consistency in the decisions of the house as to the admission of mem-
bers. In the report here quoted, the statement is made that the will of the people could
not possibly have been expressed in so sudden an election and yet goes on to say that if
the house decided to respect the will of the people. These reports so often started out with
expressions concerning the purity of election laws and ended up with a recommendation
of admitting or rejecting members on entirely different grounds. Reno county was organ-
ized January 6, 1871, and the election held January 8, and yet the representative was
allowed to sit.
33. This alignment of the Ellis county representative against Dr. Rodgers marks the
beginning of the Ellis county animosity that was to harrass the doctor later.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 317
expression received scant consideration. Both Rodgers and Booth
were sent home.
Meantime, down in Petersburg, progress had been made:
Undismayed, Dr. Rodgers proceeded with his improvements and on the 5th
day of December 1872 the corner stone of the Buffalo House, (the structure
now known as the Kinsley Hotel,) was laid in ample form by Dr. Rodgers and
Robt. McCanse,34 between where now is Parker's blacksmith shop and the
railroad track, and the building approached completion as rapidly as the Dr.
could get trusted for material** About this time the railroad company estab-
lished a telegraph office at the tank three miles west of Petersburg . . .,
also A. D. Clute was prospecting about Petersburg, having become a member
of the "Worldngmen's Colony." 86
There were several towns in Pawnee county by early 1873; a gov-
ernment supply point on the railroad southwest of Larned; Garfield,
established near Camp Criley by a colony from Ohio; and Fitchburg
farther down the line. Dr. Rodgers' town continued to improve. In
February the telegraph office and operator had been moved into
Petersburg, the Buffalo House had been sided, by March 10 it was
occupied as a hotel and the railroad trains stopped at the town for
meals. A colony from Illinois and one from Boston, Mass., had
come into the community.37 This Massachusetts colony was also a
co-operative and since it had much the same ideals and objectives,
seems soon to have merged itself with the workingmen's colony.
There had been bad luck too. A party of Germans, who had come
to Chicago bound for Kansas, had been persuaded to settle in
Petersburg. In the end though, they stopped in Barton county and
settled on the Walnut and Cheyenne bottoms, about six miles from
Great Bend.38 There were 16 families in this party and it would
have been a sizable addition to the Petersburg community. The
report of the settlement of this group contains the terms offered by
the Chicago colony — a town lot 50 x 140 for $50 and a quarter sec-
tion of land for $218.
Another statement of the ambitions of Dr. Rodgers and his colony
is given in the Kansas Daily Commonwealth of March 13, 1873:
34. According to his own account in the Kinsley Graphic, June 14, 1901, Robert Mc-
Canse was a member of the Chicago workingmen's colony. He paid $25 for this mem-
bership.
Robert McCanse was appointed census taker in Edwards county in 1874, as a preliminary
to that county's organization. However, he could find but 301 inhabitants and standing
firm on his census, the organization was stalled, until the governor appointed another census
taker. The second census taker was able to find one month later, 611 inhabitants in
Edwards county, which goes to show what the governors might have accomplished had
they been more discriminating in their appointments of census takers.
35. The italics are not those of the original writer but of this copyist. They emphasize
the fact that Dr. Rodgers had little money with which to back his plans.
36. Edwards County Leader, Kinsley, March 14, 1878, a history by J. A. Walker.
Walker, himself, was a member of the Massachusetts colony.
37. Ibid.
38. Kansas Daily Commonwealth, Topeka, February 25, 1873, correspondence from
Great Bend.
318 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Dr. S. G. Rodgers, of Chicago, who had returned from a trip over Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe road to the southwest for the purpose of selecting a location
for a colony of six hundred families, says that he has traveled over Europe and
America and testifies that Kansas, and especially the Arkansas valley, is the
most beautiful country he ever saw. He and Messrs. Nye and Redsell had
received from the directors of the A. T. & S. F. railroad, passes to carry them
from Chicago and back in order to select the location for six hundred families —
colonist; and he says he never dreamed of such a garden of Eden as that valley
presents to the settler. He says the vegetable mould is from four to ten feet
deep; is inexhaustible, and would, if cultivated, raise food for all Europe. He
thought the people of Kansas were selfish or they would have told the world of
the great beauty and fertility of the state, but he said it would be a secret no
longer, as he and Capt. Nye had begun and would not stop until the valley is
filled with families from Europe and all parts of America.
He said that from the governor to the railroad constructors at the end of the
road, every one had vied with each other as to who would show them the
most kindness, and he would go home to tell the people of Chicago that not
only is Kansas the most beautiful and healthy and fertile state in the union, but
her people are the kindest he ever met.
He said they would bring a steam plow and brick machine, and dig an
artesian well, and make their colony a model for America. — Atchison Guide
Board.
Despite the discouragements suffered in his contest with Booth
on the county organization and the diversion of his colonists to
Barton county, Rodgers here still seems brimming with enthusiasm.
His words, read today, seem astonishingly prophetic. The steam
plow or its gasoline counterpart did come to western Kansas, the
Arkansas valley presently did help abundantly to feed Europe and
truly the inexhaustibility of the soil became the wonder of scientists
everywhere.
But at the time Rodgers was making his glowing appraisal of
Kansas and her kind people, Booth and his associates had already
counted another coup on the doctor and his supporters. A bill re-
arranging the boundaries of a number of counties, among them
several along the Santa Fe railroad, was quietly passed by the Kansas
legislature on March 5, the day before adjournment.39 As new
settlers had come into these new counties, the town planners be-
came increasingly aware that a central location was the determining
factor when the voters came to choose the county seat. County
seats, already located, might even lose that honor, if the situation
was deemed too inconvenient. So the more politically influential
town planners had the county lines redrawn, a process much simpler
to accomplish than moving their town and much less painful than
losing the county seat.
39. The Law* of the State of Kansas, 1873, pp. 152, 153.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 319
Henry Booth intimated that he got this idea from the managers
of the Chicago colony, who instructed Rodgers to go down to
Topeka and get the lines changed so as to eliminate Larned from
Pawnee county. This is hard to believe since in the whole course
of rivalry between Booth and Rodgers, Rodgers seems to have been
continually several jumps behind the more agile Booth. But how-
ever the idea originated, Booth, according to his own admission,
was one of those who implemented it. Although eliminated from
a seat in the legislature himself, he remained to look after his in-
terests and so potent was his influence that "the county lines were
changed by cutting twelve miles off the south — leaving Petersburg
out — and adding six miles on the north, which were taken from
Rush county, and six miles on the east, which were taken from
Stafford county." This as Booth said frankly, "brought Larned
nearer the center of the county and strengthened it as the county
seat." He failed to add that Larned was the stronger, too, because
not only Petersburg but every other town, was by this same action,
cut off and cast out of Pawnee county entirely.40
More graphically than words, the accompanying map tells the
story of this rearrangement of county lines and the ensuing benefit
to county seats of that area.41
On January 25, 1874, the Topeka Commonwealth reported that
two petitions had been presented to the legislature asking that the
original county lines of Pawnee county be restored. One petition
was signed by inhabitants living in Pawnee county; the other was
signed by the inhabitants of the detached part of Pawnee county.42
The result was that the legislature again saved Booth and his county
seat by returning one township to Pawnee — the one containing Gar-
field — and creating Edwards county out of the orphan townships.
Whether by design or unwittingly, the legislature of 1873 did
Booth and Pawnee another good turn. A law was passed detaching
Pawnee from Ellis county for judicial purposes and authorizing dis-
trict courts to be held in Pawnee.43 This recognition by the legisla-
ture of Pawnee as an organized county caused the supreme court
to declare in March, 1874 (12 Kan. 426), that since the legislature
had the exclusive power to provide for the organization of new coun-
40. Booth's history, loc. cit.
41. The Laws of the State of Kansas, 1873, pp. 146-156.
42. Booth could not afford to have the original county reconstituted. Although Larned
was voted the county seat at a special election on October 7, 1873, he was worried about
the county lines and on November 14 wrote to W. H. Smallwood, secretary of state, who
seems to have been the special friend of all the county organizers, "I wish you would do
all you can consistently for me and our County. We are in a condition that renders it
absolutely necessary for us to have someone to watch our interests especially our County
lines."
43. The Laws of the State of Kansas, 1873, pp. 165-167.
320
KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
r
r-
1
NESS
RUSH
1
BARTON 1
1
1
I^LT
1 ]
~1
PAWNEE
1
HODGEMAN
~j
1
STAFFORD 1
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I
DOJXsf
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+ CITY
i
FORD
KIOWA
PRATT
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I J I
BOUNDARIES BEFORE 1873
BOUNDARIES LAID Our IN 1873
ties, the fraudulent organization of Pawnee was cured of its defect
and rendered valid by this recognition of the county organization.
All in all the legislature of 1873 could not have done more for Henry
Booth even if it had admitted him to membership.
Properly for this story, the chronicle of Henry Booth should end
with the casting out of Petersburg and Dr. Rodgers from Pawnee
county, but as a contribution to an understanding of the political
climate of that day, the manipulations of Henry Booth are important.
Henry Booth never suffered any loss of honor or prestige on account
of his actions and maneuvers in organizing and maintaining his hold
over the political affairs of Pawnee county. He became clerk of the
house in the legislature of 1875 and 1876, later speaker of the house,
and in 1878 was appointed district land agent at Larned. His-
torians have never classed him with the other fraudulent county
organizers of his time, although he used exactly the same methods
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 321
with the exception that he did not perhaps load his county with
a great burden of bonds as did some of the other organizers. In
Pawnee and Edwards counties his tactics were expressed, summed
up and possibly also judged by the phrase, he "out-generaled" his
opponents.44 And it is quite likely that his success encouraged other
opportunists to go and do likewise.
And what of Dr. Rodgers? Apparently a sincere, well-meaning
man, obsessed with the dream of founding a model colony in the
west for workingmen, he had been frustrated and beaten at every
turn. He had not attracted enough colonists to retain his leadership
after the more numerous Massachusetts colony had coalesced with
the few settlers from Chicago. Although he retained his equity in
the Buffalo House and it was on its way to become one of the most
important dining stops along the Santa Fe railroad, it had capable
managers. While we can only conjecture, Rodgers' actions suggest
that he still retained his faith in the country and his project; that
he believed that having learned the tactics of the day in organizing
counties and being given a clear field, where old animosities would
not interfere, he could apply his hard-won knowledge and still
build a successful colony. Dr. Rodgers sought a new field for his
operations.
Now other less scrupulous men, desirous of organizing counties
in 1873, also sought places well off the beaten path, where they
might, unobserved, complete their plans, vote their bonds and de-
part to cash them, leaving the payment to the future citizens of the
luckless county. Some of these conspirators scarcely bothered to
go into the county which they were prepared to victimize.45 While
Dr. Rodgers' organization in Ness county has always been classed
along with these others in 1873, there were several important dif-
ferences.46 For one thing, he insisted on having a population and
went to great trouble to recruit it from among workingmen of
44. Walker's history, Edwards County Leader, March 14, 1878.
45. Harper and Comanche counties were particularly notorious for their illegal or-
ganizations in 1873. A special session of the state legislature in September, 1874, alarmed
by the great number of bonds that had been issued in these counties, appointed an investi-
gating committee of which A. L. Williams, the attorney general, was one. His report
(House Journal, 1875, p. 72) states: "It is not pretended that Harper county ever had an
inhabitant; it is doubtful even if the bond-makers of that county were ever in the county."
Of Comanche, he said: "I visited the county myself, and declare, as the results of actual
observation, that there are no inhabitants in the county, and that there never was a bona
fide inhabitant there."
46. It is believed that much of the ill repute of Dr. Rodgers and his Ness county
organization is due to the scandals connected with the other counties that were organized
at the same time. Since practically every county that was organized in the decade of
1870-1880 was attended by fraud in some particular or degree, the study of any one
specific county is really a study in the variations and contrast among these several counties.
Ness county has always been bracketed with Harper and Comanche, but the details of the
organizations differ greatly, as can be shown.
23-5464
322 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Chicago and take it to Ness county. He was even rather particular
about who was to belong to the colony, enlisting workmen of various
crafts so the colony would have within itself the skills necessary
to actually build a model community. It is believed that he still
held to the co-operative organization,47 envisioning the group work-
ing together to build the public buildings the community would
need. If Dr. Rodgers had larceny in his heart, and that alone, he
certainly went to a lot of trouble that was totally unnecessary.
While we have no direct information that Rodgers ever visited
Ness county to locate a site for his proposed colony, it seems likely
that he did.48 For by June, 1873, the plans were laid. In that
month William Lenihan, one of the colonists, who remained in the
West afterwards and has been one of our principal sources of in-
formation concerning the colony,49 met Rodgers at Rush street
bridge in Chicago where boys were scattering literature, and be-
came interested. Later he went to Rodgers' office where he pur-
chased a town lot in the town-to-be for $30, paying $10 down and
being trusted for the rest.50 The depression of 1873 was already so
severe in Chicago, that Lenihan was able to draw only a few dollars
a week from his bank account. Acquaintances in Chicago thought
he was crazy to consider going way out west to a place no one knew
anything about.
The Maguires and John Shannon 51 became members of the colony
later. They stated:
That in the month of September 1873 and for some time thereto, they
were residents of the city of Chicago . . . that their attention was at-
tracted by divers advertisements appearing in the public prints 52 of that city
47. There is but little information on this point. The colony was so short-lived that there
remains few details of its community structure. However, there were evidences that the
colonists were to function in some respects as a group and had certain expectations as mem-
bers of the group that would imply some co-operative organization. None of the colonists
was ever questioned on this point as far as is known because Dr. Rodgers' interest in co-
operative colonies has been but recently discovered, too late to question any of the colonists
who remained in the west.
48. George Strong, a Ness county settler in July, 1873, near whose home the Rodgers
colony located its town, met the first contingent when it arrived in Hays. Hence there must
have been some communication between him and Rodgers previously.
49. William Lenihan, a young man of 21 years, was from a farm near Cooperstown,
N. Y., and had been a carpenter in Chicago only a few months. He remained in Ness
county a number of years, then moved to Lane county and died in Scott county in 1942.
Fern Cook interviewed Lenihan in 1935 and he stated at that time that he still had his
receipt for his town lot. Other garbled, inaccurate interviews with Lenihan on the subject
of the Rodgers' colony were reported in The Neics Chronicle, Scott City, September 21, 28,
and October 5, 12, 19, 1939. Also in the Hutchinson Herald, May 28, 1940. Lenihan was
reluctant to talk about the organization because he did not share the common belief in
Rodgers' rascality and that was what the interviewers asked about.
50. As far as can be ascertained this was the only charge for becoming a member of the
Rodgers colony.
51. The Maguires were a family group from Ireland composed of the mother with a
number of her children, grown, several with families. John Shannon also was a family man
from Ireland.
52. The Chicago Tribune of May, June, July and August, 1873, and the Chicago Journal
of June, July and August, 1873, were searched in the hope of finding Rodgers' advertisement
but there was none that could be definitely attributed to him.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 323
and in other ways, to a certain scheme of colonizing a portion of the State of
Kansas which was known under the name of the Rodgers' Colony.53
Rodgers enlisted some 20 or more members for his Ness county
colony54 — some were young single men and some were men with
families, about two-thirds of them of Irish extraction.55 By the
middle of August the plans neared completion and Rodgers asked
the U. S. army headquarters in Chicago to arrange for an army
escort from Hays to Ness county upon the arrival of the colonists in
Kansas.56 However, the first group of about 15 families did not
leave Chicago until September. They occupied one whole car of
the train, thus getting a cheaper ticket rate for the group. It is not
known whether Dr. Rodgers accompanied this group or not. On
September 20, 1873, he wrote the Kansas secretary of state from an
undisclosed location:
HON. W. H. SMALLWOOD
Dear Sir I tried to see you before you left here. Will you please have
James Lee appointed Justice for Ness Co. at your earliest convenience.
Will [you] also send me to (Hayes City) in care of postmaster, the exact
form necessary to the organization of our county. I mean the form of appli-
cation. Please send it on by first mail if possible, and in due time I will
thoroughly reciprocate.
Most truly
S. G. RODGERS M. D.57
Here we have the first intimation that there might have been
some understanding between Smallwood and Rodgers. While this
is the only letter remaining of the correspondence of the secretary
of state that shows Rodgers to have suggested appointments, un-
doubtedly he suggested others.58
53. This statement is from an affidavit made to the officers at Fort Hays when later
these people were destitute and asking for help. — Records of the War Dept., U. S. Army
Commands, National Archives.
54. Ellen Maguire, daughter of Charles Maguire, a colonist, compiled and read a
brief history of Ness county before a Ness County Teachers' Association at Cleveland school
house, Saturday, January 20, 1894, which gives some detnils on the Bodgers' colony. This
history remains in the collection of the Ness County Historical Society. Ellen Maguire
stated that there were 20 families in the colony. Lenihan seems to have implied that there
were more.
55. Fern Cook's interview of Lenihan.
56. According to the Fort Hays letter book, now in the National Archives, the com-
mander at Fort Hays wrote to the Chicago headquarters in August:
"Referring to your letter of the 20th relative to sending a corporal and five or six men
for a limited time to the colony of Mr. Rodgers, in order to give confidence to his immigrants,
be pleased to say that the wishes of the general will be complied with as soon as Mr.
Rodgers expresses a wish to that effect. Up to this time, we have no information that any
colony under his charge has been established on Walnut Creek."
57. Correspondence of the secretary of state, Archives division, Kansas State Historical
Society.
58. The correspondence files of Secretary of State Smallwood now remaining in the
Archives division of the Kansas State Historical Society are plainly incomplete. The letter
book containing the replies of the secretary to his correspondents has disappeared. When
the conduct of this office was investigated in 1875, the committee stated, "Your committee
desires to say they believe there had been no intentional wrong done the State on the part
of Mr. Smallwood but that the administration of this office has been permitted to become
inefficient, through usages not positively prohibited by law which have become in some
instances scandalous. The office should be completely reorganized by statute." — House
Journal, 1875, p. 917.
324 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
When the group of colonists arrived in Hays City, their departure
for Ness county was delayed because there were insufficient wagons
and teams in the colony to transport them and their belongings.
Then the commander at Ft. Hays provided them with some wagons
as well as with the promised escort of soldiers and they started over-
land for their destination, many of them walking. The weather was
warm and pleasant and they enjoyed the journey, stopping the first
night on the Smoky, the second in what is now the McCracken
vicinity, the third night at John Farnsworth's (near what is now
Bazine) and finally arriving at the forks of the Walnut on the
fourth day out.59 Here they proceeded to immediately establish
the town of Smallwood and begin the construction of their sod
houses. One street was laid out with houses alongside, the sod
for them being dug with a spade. The houses had fireplaces and
Dutch ovens beautifully laid by the Maguires, from a red stone
peculiar to the Smoky river region.60 The town was splendidly lo-
cated on Section 16, Township 19, Range 23, near the creek with
an abundant supply of wood and water. There was a large build-
ing, the store, where elections and other meetings were held. There
was also a blacksmith shop.
There remains no record evidence that the colony was to be
operated in a co-operative manner although there is direct testimony
that the townsite was to be jointly owned and that in the beginning
at least, work, tools and, provisions were to come from a common
pool. A near-by settler,61 not of the colony, wrote many years after-
wards:
We are told that during the colonization in Chicago, Rodgers and Small-
wood 62 charged each family quite a sum of money to become members of
this colony, and that they were promised to be located where land was cheap
and plentiful and would be given an equal share in the townsite, which would
become the county seat; that in two or three years it would become a city of
ten thousand or more; they would all become wealthy and they would live
a luxurious life on the income from the sale of their land and city property.
The Maguires later, when destitute and making a good case of
their necessity for relief, made the following statement:
That Rodgers at the time of their subscribing themselves as members and at
various other times did make the following assurances and promises to each
59. Ellen Maguire's history.
60. Reminiscences of Claude Miller, who as a boy played among the ruins of Smallwood.
61. James Litton lived along the Walnut not far from Smallwood. He left Ness County
in the early 1880's and moved to Oregon. Some 50 years later he wrote his Ness county
reminiscences which were printed May 31, 1930, in The Ness County News.
62. Litton names a C. A. Smallwood as Rodgers' right hand man, describes him as a
tall man and says he heard of him later in, Sprague, Wash. Lenihan also seems to remember
such a person. But since no such name appears in any of the records pertaining to the
colony, it is believed that there may have been some confusion of names in this instance.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 325
of them, viz: that during the first year of their occupancy of the lands which
he would provide he would furnish them with plow, teams and seed for getting
the same into cultivation; that money for other necessary articles would be
provided by him; (that groceries and provisions for their sustenance and that
of their families he would furnish as needed; that any of the colonists who
so desired after their arrival on the lands would be hired by him (Rodgers)
at the rate of Thirty ( $30.00 ) Dollars per month for the first month and after-
wards he would pay any such hired laborers at the rate and wages paid in the
nearest town or village in the vicinity of the colony . . . that he would
see that themselves, their household goods and baggage were safely transported
to said lands . . .^
While this statement is undoubtedly a magnification of the hopes
and plans of Rodgers, given by the Maguires in a moment of stress
and disillusionment, still it probably contains an inkling of what
Rodgers might have planned to accomplish by co-operative effort.
The doctor himself apparently had little financial resource.64 Wil-
liam Lenihan stated positively that his membership in the colony
cost but $30 with a town lot thrown in. He stated further that the
trip on the railroad was cheap because they came in a group in one
car. It seems unlikely that any colonist paid either to Rodgers or
any community fund, an amount sufficient to provide the services
that the Maguires seem to have expected. Certainly Dr. Rodgers
could not have promised all these things to Lenihan without, in the
end, disillusioning that young man too. And yet Lenihan, a quiet,
reliable man, insisted all his life that Dr. Rodgers treated him fine
and that any short cuts Dr. Rodgers took in the details of organizing
Ness county were but the necessary expediences that often con-
fronted Western pioneers.65 Perhaps Dr. Rodgers actually believed
that if the county could be organized and the bonds voted, the
colony could employ itself for a time at building the schoolhouse.
The make-work idea was not unknown even in those days. The
Maguires had taken a most active and important part in the building
of the houses for the community and, as masons, they could expect
to be employed in any public building that might be done.
Upon his arrival in Hays City, Dr. Rodgers received the organi-
zation application which he had requested from the secretary of
state. It was all written up in the form of a memorial to the gov-
ernor and read in part,
Respectfully pray your excellency to appoint a bona fide census taker to
make census of Ness County as required by law. We have reason to believe
there are 600 inhabitants. If the enumeration made by said census taker shall
be satisfactory to your excellency, then we, your petitioners would further
63. Maguire-Shannon affidavit, Records of the War Dept., National Archives.
64. His Buffalo House in Petersburg was loaded with liens.
65. The News Chronicle, Scott City, September 21, 1939.
326 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
pray for the immediate organization of the county of Ness as provided by law.
To this end we pray for the appointment of three temporary county commis-
sioners as provided by law, and we would recommend for county seat —
Smallwood.66
To this memorial 40 signatures were appended, the number re- t
quired by law. Since these names include probably all the Rodgers
colonists, which are to be found nowhere else, they are listed here.
Samuel G. Rodgers W. S. Grieve George Hayes
John M. Rodgers Jeremiah Hickel Patrick O'Donel (mark)
Henry Maguire Patrick O'Donnel Patrick McCleary
(by mark) Robert Donlop John McBride
Bernard R. Maguire O. H. Perry Alexander McBride
Henry Maguire George Morris Patrick Hays
Charles Maguire William Sultzer James Hayden
William Meyers Andrew Carrick John Kilfoil
Henry Myers (mark) Michael (or Nicholas) Carman
John Shannon John Shannon Anson Carman
Andrew Carrick (mark) S. Casselman
Andrew Carrick E. Maroney Erastus Casselman
Charles Myers James Lee Buck Carman 67
D. N. Hadden John Lee
W. H. Gage John O'Toole
Since there were a number of other families in the county, the
total of householders in the county was certainly more than 40.
But here we find Rodgers modeling closely on the pattern he had
observed in Pawnee county where the whole matter was kept within
the one tight little group. So it is possible that this list of house-
holders was stretched a bit.
The petition was taken to Hays and there before D. C. Nellis,
notary,
Samuel G. Rodgers, Henry Maguire, and Edward Maroney being duly sworn,
depose and say that they are householders of the county of Ness of the state
of Kansas and that the signatures subscribed to the above and foregoing peti-
tion are the genuine signatures of bona fide householders of the unorganized
county of Ness; and that they verily believe there are six hundred inhabitants
in said county.
In due time, John Maroney was appointed census taker, taking
oath on October 14 to "faithfully discharge the duties of census
taker for the unorganized county of Ness." On October 22, he made
66. Records of the office of the secretary of state, Topeka. The memorial seems to
have been written up in the secretary of state's office since the paper bears the same
stationer's mark as the sheet on which the governor's proclamation was later written.
67. It will be noted that Andrew Carrick's name appears three times and John Shannon
twice. In the first instance it was the last name at the bottom of the sheet and the first
at the top of the next page. Checked with the later census there seems to have been
two Andrew Carricks, a father and a son. There were also two John Shannons in the census.
The last ten names seem to have been added without much care- — the two McBride names
are in the same hand, the next four in another, and the last four in yet another hand. Still
the Hayden name also appears in Ellen Maguire's history so there must have been a colonist
bv that name.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 327
his census return showing 643 names of residents of Ness county.68
Tradition has it that most of these names were copied from a Chi-
cago directory.69 On October 23, 1873, Governor Osborn pro-
claimed Ness county temporarily organized and appointed John
Rodgers, O. H. Perry, and Thomas Myers as temporary commis-
sioners, Charles Maguire as county clerk and designated Smallwood
as temporary county seat.
Grateful and bursting with further plans for his colony, Rodgers
wrote to Smallwood: SMALLWOOD CITY
NESS Co.
28 Oct 73
HON W. H. SMALLWOOD
My Dear Friend
I did not get your Telegram till today, although I got the organization papers
on arrival.
Ten thousand thanks to you & Gov. Osborne I shall try to reciprocate the
very great kindness you have shown me & my Colony.
I will in due time render you good service in Several ways. We are going
to make this the nicest Town in Kansas and next autumn when we have got
up some good buildings, we will have in September a pleasure excursion of
Gentlemen & Ladies from Chicago We will then ask you to go along & make
the opening speech, and then you will see our progress, in the city of your
own name,70 and I will interest you in it thoroughly.
Please convey my heartfelt thanks to Gov Osborne also
Receive my Kindest & best thanks till they are substantially conveyed.
Most truly yours
S. G. RODGERS M.D.
68. Strangely enough this figure is backed up by the assessor's report of Ness county
in June, 1873. According to a law of that year, the county assessor was instructed to take
a census of any unorganized county attached to an organized county for judicial purposes.
Although this assessor's report could not be found in the original, it was quoted in the
agricultural report of that year on Ellis county. This report gave Ness county 642 people.
The listing of 643 people in this census of October seems a most unusual coincidence. It
would seem almost impossible for Rodgers to have influenced that report and he did not use
it as backing when he later insisted that there was a much larger population in Ness county
in the summer than in the fall later. In certain other respects also, there would seem to
have been some more astute intelligence pulling strings that Rodgers scarcely could have
had access to. But as is made plain in the later stages of his adventure, Rodgers had no
political backing or influence and when the chips were down in the end, whatever hand
that had seemed to help, was discreetly withdrawn.
69. In all the fraudulent organizations of 1873, hotel registers and directories were
supposed to have supplied names for padded censuses. Wherever some of the names
came from, the Ness county census was quite carefully made up. Although residents outside
the Rodgers colony were clearly not consulted directly, their names were all there, and the
proper number of children were included in families, but the ages and given names were
guessed. The John Farnsworth family appeared as Robert Farnsworth 38, Mary Farnsworth
26, and Jane Farnsworth six. The Nelson Peckham family appeared as David Peckham with
wife and nine children ranging in age from 30 to four years of age.
70. There is an interesting side light on the naming of the town Smallwood. In
Comanche county, which Andrew J. Mowry was organizing at almost exactly this same
time, the county seat was also called Smallwood. The secretary of state evidently thought
too many namesakes were inadvisable and wrote suggesting that Mowry change the name
of his town. Mowry's answer to Smallwood remains in the Archives division of the Kansas
State Historical Society:
"SuN CITY, B ARBOUR Co.
KANSAS
"Oct. 5, 73.
"FRIEND SMALLWOOD:
"I got your letter when I came here. I did not understand you fully in regard to
changing the name of my town in Comanche Co.
"I see the point now & if you are perfectly willing that the change should be made I
will readily consent to change to the name of Wilder I have the Proclamation can return
328 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The first election in Ness county was held on November 4, 1873,
the regular election day of that year. The county had been di-
vided into precincts, perhaps townships — this again in accordance
with the laws governing the organization of new counties. "They
had regular voting precincts all over the county — but only on
paper." 71 Apparently residents outside the colony took part in
the election,72 and John Farnsworth ran for sheriff. He stated that
he was at the polls at Smallwood all day and 48 votes were cast.
The same commissioners that had been initially appointed by the
governor, were elected as was Charles Maguire for county clerk.
Dr. Rodgers was elected representative and a certified abstract of
263 votes cast for representative was made on November 7, and
signed by the commissioners and the county clerk and sent to the
secretary of state in Topeka. Overlooked perhaps was the vote on
the amendment which was not reported until November II.73 This
was an amendment to the state constitution increasing the number
of representatives in the house to 125. It was an amendment very
important to Rodgers, since the limitation of the members of the
house to 100 had resulted in his being sent home in 1873. In this
amendment there was also a provision that would in effect, make
necessary a larger population in a county before it could be rep-
resented, i. e., "the House of Representatives shall admit one mem-
ber from each county in which at least 250 legal votes were cast
at the next preceding general election." 74 Another important propo-
it and have the name changed if it would not make to much trouble in your OfBce When
you spoke of your last letter to me I did not think there was one that contained your sug-
gestion that I had not got owing to Wilders disposition & the County Seat of Ness being
what it is it may be for the Best to make the change if you do Send me another Proclama-
tion of the same date & I will return the one I have My Respect to all
"A. J. MOWHY"
"P. S. Steps are being taken to organize Clarke Co. I understand it and Hope the
Parties will succeed I will look out for the Governor interest there the same as in
Comanche A. J. M."
What could the governor's interest in Comanche have been? Comanche county turned
out to be nothing but a base for the issuance of thousands of dollars in bonds. And why
if the governor's duty was only ministerial in this matter was it so necessary to take care
of his interests at all times and thank him so devotedly for his help. Here too, it sounds
as if Mowry already had on October 5 the proclamation of organization of Comanche which
was dated October 28 and presumably not issued until after the census had been received in
Topeka. If this letter means what it seems to mean, this most flagrant of rigged county
organizations was rigged in the state capitol and the governor's interest provided for.
71. Ness County News, Ness City, May 31, 1930; Jim Litton's reminiscences.
72. James Litton stated that the other residents did not take part in the election,
but John Farnsworth in a sworn affidavit said he had been at the polls and Dr. Rodgers
in a sworn statement said Farnsworth ran for sheriff and was defeated. Hence at least one
of the other residents took part in the election.
73. Records of the office of the Kansas secretary of state. This report consisted of a
hand-written note to Smallwood stating that the vote at the election for the constitutional
amendment was 263. It was signed only by Charles Maguire, county clerk.
74. It is interesting to note that in all the new counties where organizations had just
taken place, the reported vote was over 250. What guardian angel saw to that? In many
of the older western Kansas counties a lower number of votes were reported: Pawnee 80,
Hooks 110, Ford 219.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 329
sition that the Ness county voters approved was the issuance of
$5,000 in bonds for the building of a school house.75
It was chiefly in this matter of voting bonds, that Rodgers failed
to live up to the pace set in 1873 by his fellow organizers in Barbour
county, Comanche county and Harper county. In Comanche bonds
to the amount of $72,000 were voted. In Harper the amount was
$40,000. In Barbour the total was $141,300.76 The improvements
to be built in these counties ranged from courthouse, bridges and
several schools in Comanche to a courthouse and a railroad in Bar-
ber county.77 It is to wonder that historians have thought fit to
put Ness county with her $5,000 schoolhouse in such a financially
superior class.
The county organized, the election held and the bonds voted,
Rodgers soon left Ness county. By November 18, he was in Chi-
cago and applying again to his friend Smallwood:
206 Twenty Sixth Street
CHICAGO ILL.
Nov 18 -73
HON. W. H. SMALLWOOD
Dear Friend
I have sent you the vote on the amendment. I am anxious to hear whether
it is carried or not.
I came here to Negotiate Some School Bonds which we voted for the pur-
pose of erecting a School House in Smallwood. I will likely have to go to
New York as money is yet hard to get since the crash. If it necessary I will
refer the parties who purchase to you. Or if you would please drop me a few
lines stating what School Bonds sell for in Kansas generally. So that I may
use it if necessary as I am a stranger in New York.
I would like to know How the Amendment has resulted also. A reply at
your earliest convenience will oblige.
Your Friend truly
S. G. RODGERS 78
Here again Rodgers looks the awkward amateur among his
fellow county organizers. W. H. Homer, chief organizer of Har-
per county sold his $40,000 worth of bonds in St. Louis for $30,000
75. Ellen Maguire said that $15,000 was voted for the construction of a courthouse,
schoolhouse and a bridge across the Walnut, but no such bonds are mentioned anywhere
else. The Hays Sentinel, May 11, 1878, in speaking of Ness county bonds, reported the
sum as $5,000. There is every reason to believe that this newspaper was well informed
on this matter since D. C. Nellis, the editor in 1878, as a notary in 1873, notarized various
documents having to do with the Ness county organization and also in 1874, as Ellis county
attorney pressed the criminal case against Dr. Rodgers.
76. Laws of the State of Kansas, Special Session, 1874, p. 5. These were the amounts
of bonded indebtedness reported by the state auditor to the special session of the legislature
called in September, 1874. This session was called for the purpose of voting relief to the
people of the state whose crops had been destroyed by grasshoppers. But by that time the
bond scandal was so great that the special session voted for an investigation.
77. House Journal, 1875, pp. 70, 71.
78. Kansas State Historical Society, Archives division, Topeka.
330 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
without any need of help or recommendation from the secretary
of state.79 The Comanche county bonds seem to have been passed
out generously to anyone who might happen to think he could sell
a few bonds.80 However, the Comanche county group, captained
by A. J. Mowry, lured by the ease and size of their profits, began
issuing school bonds and thereby came to grief. Mowry took $2,000
worth to Topeka and sold them for $1,750 to the permanent state
school fund. W. H. Smallwood, secretary of state, and the state
superintendent of education both approved this purchase and it
was planned to load the school fund with more had the attorney
general not stopped it.81
On the other hand, Rodgers had no connections through which
he could sell his comparatively modest Ness county bonds. Per-
haps he tried in New York but even there as far as can be ascer-
tained he could not sell the bonds. While there is no record of any
statement by Rodgers that he did not sell the bonds, they were
certainly never registered at the state auditor's office nor were they
ever presented for payment to Ness county.82 In all other counties
with so-called "bogus organizations," the bonds had to be paid by
later settlers of the county and the courts upheld the purchasers in
their right to collection. It is impossible to believe that the bonds
of Ness county were sold and then not presented for payment.
But this is getting ahead of our story. While Rodgers was away
trying to sell the bonds, the colony was getting along as best it
could. As the winter deepened in Ness county and Rodgers did
not come back to provide the work and assistance expected, the
colonists began to believe that he had deserted them. They were city
people, carpenters, masons, and blacksmith and probably people
of no great resources. They had arrived too late in the fall and had
had no chance to sow and reap a crop. The loneliness and empti-
ness of western Kansas must have been frightening to these city
dwellers. Under these conditions it is remarkable that so many
were able to take care of themselves. Some went buffalo hunting,
others found employment in Hays or elsewhere. When the army,
keeping its customary eye on the frontier settlements, made a trip
to Smallwood on December 20, only the Maguire and Shannon
79. T. A. McNeil, When Kansas Was Young (New York, 1922), p. 47.
80. House Journal, 1875, p. 78. Minority report by Atty. Gen. A. L. Williams. Alex.
Mills, treasurer of Comanche county, told Williams that he did not know exactly how
many bonds were outstanding. Some men had taken bonds to sell but returned them unsold.
81. T. A. McNeU, op. cit., pp. 63, 64.
82. Hays Sentinel, May 11, 1878. Also a letter to R. J. McFarland of Ness, September
12, 1878, from Governor Anthony: "There is no evidence in the auditor's records of the
existence of any bonded indebtedness in your county." — Governor's correspondence, Archives
division, Kansas State Historical Society.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 331
families were found, "shirtless, shoeless and nearly destitute of
clothing, their appearance cadaverous and very emaciated appar-
ently from hunger." 83 When this was reported to Col. James Oakes
at Fort Hays, it was decided by a board of officers called for the
purpose, to issue rations to these people for 12 days. When the 12
days were past and Rodgers had not returned, the troops came
with wagons and removed the Maguire and Shannon families to
Hays. These families comprised six men, six women and nine
children and were not the whole colony by any means.84 A number
of the other families were still in Ness county on January 12 when
John Farnsworth took his census. William Lenihan, who spent
the winter in the county, said that the settlers lived mostly on game
which was plentiful enough but tiresome. There was never much
at the colony store but flour, coffee, and sugar and that only in the
beginning.
The Maguires, in all appearances the most whole-hearted sup-
porters of Rodgers in the beginning, were his most bitter detractors
when things went wrong. If the organization of Ness county was
a conspiracy with intent to defraud, then the Maguires were in it
up to their necks. But when their hopes were blasted, they laid
all their troubles onto Rodgers. In their statement to the army
officers at Hays they accused Rodgers not only for failing to keep
his many promises but stated that he had acted "dishonestly in that
he failed to pay over to the Railroad company, a certain sum of
money which was paid into his hands by a colonist," 85 for the pur-
pose of paying freight on certain baggage still held by the railroad
company. This seems to be a duplicate accusation as Rodgers had
already been accused of being responsible for transporting their
baggage to Ness county for the sum of money paid to him when
they joined his colony. If the colonist had already paid, why was
he paying a second time? When the army investigated the matter,
baggage was found held for non-payment of freight. This incon-
clusive accusation is the only definite charge of dishonesty made
against Rodgers. Another rather unreasonable Maguire grievance
was that lumber had not been furnished them and they had "been
compelled to dig dug-outs to protect themselves from the inclem-
ency of the winter/'86 There was at that time no single stone,
83. Records of the War Dept., U. S. Army Commands, National Archives.
84. Ellen Maguire's history. Ellen Maguire tells this story as if the whole colony had
to be taken to Hays by the troops. According to the army record it was only the Maguire
and Shannon families. The statement made by the heads of families was signed by Bernard
Maguire, Charles Maguire, Henry Maguire, Henry Maguire, Jr., and John Shannon.
85. Here again Ellen Maguire intimates that the baggage of all the colonists was held
by the railroad.
86. Maguire-Shannon affidavit, loc. cit.
332 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
brick or frame house in Ness county or in any adjoining county.
Everybody lived in sod houses or dug-outs, as did the Rodgers
colonists.
Other forces in Hays besides the army, were interested in Rodgers
and his colony for reasons not so altruistic as that of the army. The
composition and motives of these antagonistic forces are not clear.
Perhaps the "crowd" at Hays had intended some day to organize
Ness county as they had organized Ford county. If so, such intent
would explain certain previous actions in regard to Ness, that have
remained inscrutable to the historian. In 1873 when the boun-
daries of other counties were changed, why was the western line
of Ness county also pushed over one whole row of townships?87
Who could have arranged that assessor's census report of 642 in-
habitants in Ness county in June, 1873, but some one in the county
clerk's office in Hays? While there were probably more Ness resi-
dents in June than in October, all sources indicate that the popula-
tion could scarcely have been 642. What these two preparatory
moves presaged, we can only guess. But that Rodgers' organiza-
tion of Ness county was deeply offensive to someone, we now know.
On November 13, when Rodgers had scarcely left the colony, an
attorney, A. D. Gilkeson, of Hays City, wrote to W. H. Smallwood,
"Will you be kind enough to inform me what parties were appointed
by the Governor to act as County Commissioners and County Clerk
of Ness County (newly organized) and also who took the census of
said county upon which Proclamation of Organization was made." 88
The next inquirer was N. Daniels, agent for the land department of
the Kansas Pacific railway, who wrote on November 17, 1873, to
the "Hon. Sec. of State," "Please send me a certified copy of the
papers from Ness County sent by Doctor Rogers for the organization
of Ness County with your fees and I will properly remit the
amount." 89
On December 9, 1873, N. Daniels swore to a complaint against
Dr. Rodgers. The case was filed before George R. Jones, a justice
of the peace in and for Big Creek township in Ellis county and in
87. In March, 1873, when the county lines were rearranged, Ford county received not
only a row of townships on the west from unalloted territory but also a row of townships
on the north taken from unorganized Hodgeman. Since Hodgeman was deprived of town-
ships on the south, it seemed only reasonable that the county should in lieu, acquire the
townships of Range 26 on the west. But why Ness county should also have been gifted
with that same range of townships on the west, has never been understood. — Laws of the
State of Kansas, 1873, p. 148.
88. Secretary of state's correspondence, Archives division, Kansas State Historical
Society. Gilkeson was later an attorney in the case for perjury against Rodgers. He was
elected representative to the state legislature in 1876.
89. On this letter, found in the correspondence files of the secretary of state, is written
"Sent Nov. 26 See Letter Book." It is this letter book, strayed or stolen, that prevents
a complete appraisal of Smallwood's part in these various organization intrigues.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 333
the appearance docket of the justice of the peace we have the fol-
lowing:
N. Daniels personally appeared before me, who being duly sworn deposes
and says:
That on the day of A. D. 187 at the county of and state
of Kansas, Samuel G. Rodgers did then and there unlawfully and feloniously
commit the crime of perjury, the same being contrary to law made and pro-
vided against the peace and dignity of the state of Kansas and deponent prays
that process may be issued against the said S. G. Rodgers and that he be dealt
with according to law.
N. DANIELS90
A warrant was issued on that same day for the arrest of Dr.
Rodgers.
The files in the case are missing, likewise files in the district court
are missing. Since neither the complaint nor the information can
be found, the exact charge of "perjury" made by Daniels cannot be
obtained. It will be remembered that the only papers Dr. Rodgers
signed in the process of organizing Ness county, was the memorial
stating that the signatures attached were those of householders
of Ness county and that he believed there were 600 inhabitants.
This memorial was also signed by Henry Maguire and Edward
Maroney, both of whom were on December 9 residing in Ness
county and easily available to plaintiff, N. Daniels or anyone else,
who wished to establish that the county had been fraudulently
organized. The census taker, who had undoubtedly padded the
census, was also in Ness county. Too, there was Charles Maguire,
the county clerk, who had certified to 263 votes that had not been
cast in the election.
It is plain, however, that it was not so much the fraudulent or-
ganization that bothered N. Daniels and the other interested Hays
men as it was Rodgers. So they made ready for him if and when
he should return.
On January 7, John Farnsworth, who Rodgers claimed was a de-
feated candidate for sheriff, made an affidavit in Hays before the
notary, D. C. Nellis, testifying in part:
That he has been a resident of Ness county for ten months past; that on
December 22d and 23d, 1873, he took a census of all the inhabitants of Ness
county and that the number . . . did not exceed one hundred forty,
including men, women and children; that he was at Smallwood City, the
temporary county seat, on the evening of the day of the election,
and saw the record of votes cast, and the poll books showed 48 votes cast; that
he was well acquainted with all the legal voters of the county of Ness, and that
90. City clerk's records, Hays.
334 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
on the 4th day of November, 1873, there were but 14 legal voters in the
county who had resided in said county for thirty days or more.91
On January 10, 1874, J. W. Hickel of the Rodgers' colony also
made affidavit, stating,
That he is a resident of Ness county and has resided there for four months
last past; that he is well acquainted with all the inhabitants of said Ness
county and knows the number does not exceed 200; that he knows all the
legal voters who were in the county at the election of November 4, 1873,
and that the number does not exceed fifteen.92
A week later, John Farnsworth took another census in two days
finishing on January 13, listing the heads of families by name and
finding 79 inhabitants.93 This census was also furnished to the
interested men at Hays, whose representative, John McGaffigan,
was preparing to confront the legislature and Dr. Rodgers with
all these documents in case he should come back to sit in the legis-
lature when it convened in January, 1874.
Rodgers did come back to sit in the legislature. Perhaps he did
not know of the measures taken against him. And even had he
known, he probably could not imagine that they would matter.
Had not practically every county in western Kansas been organized
in the same way he had organized Ness and had not the organizers
earned thereby a reputation of shrewd maneuver? He had but fol-
lowed others' footsteps with the co-operation of the secretary of
state and the governor and just like his fellows, he could expect to
be taken into the house even if there were objections. He had not
been able to sell the bonds, but that was no offense to anyone except
his poor workingmen who had been deprived of the work they had
expected.
The legislature assembled on January 13, 1874, and
the member from Ness Co., S. G. Rodgers, was duly sworn in but had no
more than got his seat warmed nicely before he was summoned before Sheriff
Ramsay, Sheriff of Ellis County at the door who informed him that his county
had only 23 voters and upon his signing certain papers for its organization and
election returns he had laid himself liable for arrest.94
This report from the Hays newspaper continues, stating that
Rodgers secured a lawyer and "endeavored, we understand, to en-
list the sympathy of the candidates for Senator but they would not
91. House Journal, 1874, p. 442.
92. Ibid.
93. This census is particularly interesting to the historian trying to compile a list of
the first settlers of Ness county. There were 28 heads of families, only five of which are
identifiable as members of the Rodgers colony. Several were not included that are believed
to have settled in the county earlier, notably the Nelson Peckham family and James Litton.
Probably these settlers had gone east or to Hays for the winter as was customary with many
early settlers. They went to find work and to send their children to school.
94. Hays Sentinel, January 22, 1874.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 335
listen to him." The House Journal shows Rodgers present on Jan-
uary 13, 14, and 15, but absent for several days thereafter. Ap-
parently he went to Hays with Sheriff Ramsay. The warrant for
Rodgers was returned to the issuing court on January 15 with the
notation that it had been served and S. G. Rodgers was in court.
On the 16th a preliminary hearing took place. Rodgers waived a
hearing and was bound over to answer in the district court.
And now, to wit: on the 16th day of January 1874, this cause being called
for hearing, the defendant waived examination and in lieu of bail, which was
fixed at $1,000, S. G. Rodgers was committed to the county jail of Saline
County, there to remain until discharged by due course of law.
GEORGE R. JONES
Justice of the Peace 95
Serving the warrant .75
Bring prisoner to court 1.00
Mileage 666 66.00
Total $67.75
The Hays newspaper adds detail to this incident:
In default of $3,000.00 bail he was remanded to jail and brought to Saline
county. There was another good reason for his coming to Saline county. Just
before the time for his departure, his constituents in Ness county . . .
assembled about the hotel where he was lodged and proclaimed that they
had been swindled by their representative to the amount of their entire cash
and that he had left them to winter in the plains without food nor the where-
with to purchase food. Being in this condition, some of his constituents had
nearly starved to death. It was to avenge this wrong that they had assembled
and made some demonstration which indicated that they thought hanging was
his just desert.
That this account is exaggerated in the amount of the bail we
know. Other details may also be exaggerated. The Maguire and
Shannon families were in Hays and this report seems to repeat their
complaint. But there has remained no tale or tradition in Ness
county that Rodgers ever came back to Hays. Ellen Maguire says
nothing about it in her history nor did John Farnsworth apparently
leave any word-of-mouth story of such an occurrence. This seems
strange as certainly this return of Rodgers under guard, and the
threat of mob action by the colonists would have added much
drama to the story of the "bogus" organization.
Once in Salina, Rodgers attempted to arrange bond, the deputy
sheriff going around town with Rodgers for this purpose.96 After
several days, due perhaps to the persuasiveness of Dr. Rodgers, the
two embarked by train for Topeka. Sheriff Going then went to
95. Records, clerk of the court, Ellis county. The cost of bringing Rodgers back to
Ellis county is an interesting item of this record:
96. Hays Sentinel, January 22, 1874.
336 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Topeka to look into the matter and being dissatisfied with the bond
that had been put up there by Rodgers, he rearrested the doctor.
Rodgers thereupon asked for a writ of habeas corpus and was
immediately freed by the district judge. Sheriff Going of Saline
county, then took the bond back to Sheriff Ramsay of Ellis county.97
Meantime, the house of representatives was going through its
usual contortions deciding who was eligible to sit as representatives
in that eminent but strangely inconsistent body. At this distant
time, it is impossible to know or gauge the cross currents that agi-
tated and influenced this group. Particularly difficult circumstances
surrounded this meeting. Decisions in the suits asking the dis-
solution of fraudulent Pawnee and Ford county organizations were
announced by the supreme court in January. The new amendment
to the constitution had passed, thus allowing 125 members in the
house but specifying, that "from and after the adoption of the
amendment the House of Representatives shall admit one member
from each county in which at least two hundred fifty legal votes
were cast at the next preceding general election/' A number of the
counties among them Pawnee, Norton, Rooks, and Ford had re-
ported less than 250 votes in that next preceding general election.98
What should be done about them? Under the amendment, they
should be sent home. The charges of fraud against Dr. Rodgers in
his Ness county organization had been spread over the newspapers
for all to see. And there must have been some bad odors seeping
into Topeka about the recent Comanche and Harper organizations.
As early as January 15, a resolution was introduced in the house
to investigate the "settlement, organization and rights of Represen-
tatives in this House of the counties of Harper, Comanche and
Ness."99 But this was laid over under the rules until January 20
when it was taken up and referred to the judiciary committee.100
This was the committee that was also defining the intent of the
amendment which if taken literally "would practically disenfran-
chise all members of this House in excess of one hundred." The
report of the committee came in on January 27 and stated:
97. The Commonwealth, Topeka, January 25, 1874; Saline County Journal, Sclina,
January 29, 1874.
98. Amendment of Article II, Sec. 2. In order to comply with the provision of the
constitution that each organized county shall have at least one representative, this amend-
ment also provided that "each organized county in which less than two hundred legal
votes were cast at the next preceding election shall be attached to and constitute a part of
the Representative District of the county lying next adjacent to it on the east." The 200
figure was believed to be an error but so it was passed and published. This left counties
with from 200 to 250 voters with no provision for representation. At it turned out this
part of the amendment was ignored at this session.
99. House Journal, 1874, pp. 56, 57.
100. Ibid., p. 91.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 337
It is the opinion of the committee that all members now occupying seats
in this House, in excess of one hundred, and holding certificates of election
from counties in which two hundred and fifty legal votes were cast at the
general election held in November A. D. 1873, are entitled to seats as members
of this House. . . .
The committee further report that from the official records, it appears that
the counties of Comanche, Harper and Ness were regularly and properly
organized; and the committee are of the opinion that the question of the
fraudulent organization of said counties, and whether two hundred and fifty
legal votes were cast in either of these counties at the last general election,
are matters of fact, which your committee deem proper subjects of investiga-
tion upon evidence.
And we therefore recommend the questions of the fraudulent organization
of each of said counties, and as to the number of legal votes cast in each of
them at the last general election, be referred to the Committee on Elections,
together with the petition and affidavits in relation to said county organizations
and elections now in possession of your committee; and that said Committee on
Elections examine said matters, take evidence in relation thereto, and report
thereon to this House at the earliest possible day.101
Despite this report, some were not content to let the committee
on elections decide this matter. On February 3, 1874, Mr. McGaffi-
gan,102 gentleman from Ellis, offered this resolution:
Resolved, that a special committee of three be appointed to inquire into
the organization of Ness county, and that said committee be authorized to
administer oaths, send for persons and papers, and to visit Ness county if
deemed necessary for the prosecution of this inquiry.103
This resolution did not pass. On the same day, Mr. A. J. Mowry,
gentleman from Comanche, offered a resolution. At that time it
was not known that his county had no residents whatsoever, and
he did not therefore anticipate any such difficulties as had befallen
the gentleman from Ness.
Resolved, That this House will not consider any question of the rights of
members to seats in this House, unless there is a contest filed or some good
evidence of fraud produced from the county where a member was elected,
101. Ibid., pp. 266-268.
102. It would seem that Mr. McGaffigan was not exactly a fair knight battling for right
against wrong in this instance. A short time before, the supreme court of the state had
handed down a decision that the Ford county organization was void because of a fraudulent
petition and census. (State vs Ford County, 12 Kan. 441. See footnote). And yet at the
moment McGaffigan was making his proposal, the gentleman from Ford county, James
Hanrahan, was still sitting in the house and voting. The potent group at Hays that kept
a jealous finger in all western Kansas affairs, was not at all alarmed about Ford county's
fraud. Under these circumstances, the limitation of McGaffigan's concern to Ness county
was a measure of his honesty of intention.
McGaffigan came with the famous or infamous "Judge Joyce" from Leavenworth county
to Hays and was active in the organization of Ellis county in 1867. He served at one time
and another in most of the early offices of the county. It was as probate judge of Ellis
county that he found the site of Dodge City to be worth just One Dollar — that being the
price he decreed the government should be paid for the quarter section of land on which
Dodge City was located. James Hanrahan lived at Hays first but later made the first set-
tlement in Dodge City — he opened a saloon in a tent — and was a prominent citizen from
then on. Ford county was attached to Ellis county for judicial purposes at the time.
Hanrahan later kept a saloon at Adobe Walls.
103. House Journal, 1874, pp. 328, 329.
24-5464
338 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
believing it to be unwise to contract expense to the State upon mere assump-
tion alone.104
Suspension of the rules being necessary for the consideration of
this resolution, it was not considered. Later in the day, these mat-
ters again came up for discussion and the following report of the
action that ensued is taken from Topeka Commonwealth for Febru-
ary 4, since it follows closely the report of the House Journal 105 but
adds certain detail that is not given in the House Journal:
Mr. Mason 106 offered a resolution that the committee on elections be au-
thorized to take testimony by deposition in relation to the number of inhabitants
in the counties of Harper, Comanche and Ness.
Mr. Horner 107 offered an amendment that the committee also inquire into
the organization of the counties of Reno, Pawnee, Ford, Rooks, Phillips, Barber,
Billings and Labette.
Mr. A. H. Horton offered an amendment that the investigation should only
be had where a sworn statement, or affidavit, is made of some fraud in the
organization of such counties. He said his object was to save expense, and only
in cases where there was some charge made, should this door be opened, which
would entail a vast expense on the state.
Mr. Mason proceeded to say that the question before the judiciary commit-
tee in relation to this matter, was one of law, and they had decided that
question.
The question now is whether there were actually in the counties of Ness,
Harper and Comanche, 250 legal voters, and this is what the committee on
elections have to decide on the evidences that may be presented to them. He
did not believe that the committee had any right to inquire into the organization
of any county unless on some sworn statement. In regard to these three
counties there are some complaints and he protested against adding to the
burden already on the committee, and he hoped the amendment by Mr. A. H.
Horton would prevail.
Mr. Horner wanted the facts in relation to the county of Harper judged
fairly and calmly. It was not his intention to call up the question of the or-
ganization of any of the counties of the state; but if it should be gone into
he was certain that many of them would be found improperly organized. Many
false reports have been circulated about him and his county and he believed
it was done to influence in some way the vote for U. S. senator. He occupied
some time and went into the question of organization of several of the older
104. Ibid.
105. Ibid., beginning p. 334.
106. Mr. Mason was from Franklin county and was chairman of the committee on
elections.
107. Mr. Horner was the gentleman from Harper county, whose fraudulent organization
of the county was later revealed by investigation and subsequent suit in the supreme court.
At this moment his guilt was not known. He says here in effect, if the house is sincere in
this matter, it should investigate all the fraudulently organized counties and he named a
number of them. Some of these were subsequently investigated, e. g., Barber. Others not
investigated, need but a casual look at the record to demonstrate their probable fraudulence:
Reno, organized January 1, 1871; election, January 8, 1871; 61 votes cast.
Norton or Billings, organized August 22, 1872; election November 5; 32 votes cast.
Pawnee and Ford had already had their fraudulence spread before the world by cases
before the supreme court.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 339
counties, and insisted that under the usage which has heretofore prevailed no
investigation should be permitted.108
Mr. S. G. Rodgers had no objection to any committee making a full investi-
gation of the county of Ness. He had tried last year to disorganize Harper
[Pawnee] 109 but he found it impossible to do so. He was proceeding to give
a history of the whole business, but was decided to be out of order, the question
being on Mr. Horton's amendment.
Mr. A. J. Mowry rose to a question of privilege and asked that the journal be
read showing where the question had been taken from the judiciary committee
and given to the committee on elections.
The chair decided that the gentleman was too late — that the matter was
referred to the committee on elections, in the regular order of business, and
then would have been the time to object.
In reply to a question by A. J. Mowry, Mr. Mason said there was no sworn
statement relative to any county but Ness; but that by a resolution of the house
the committee on elections were directed to investigate the organization of
Ness, Comanche and Harper.
The amendment offered by Mr. Horton was adopted. The resolution [Mr.
Mason's] as amended then was adopted.
Hence the matter went into the committee, which was authorized
to take depositions in the matter of the number of inhabitants in
the counties of Comanche, Harper and Ness only in case there was a
sworn statement alleging fraud in the organization. This very neatly
isolated Dr. Rodgers and restricted investigation to Ness county,
should other statements not be presented.
C. B. Mason, chairman of the committee on elections, submitted
his report on February 12, concerning Harper and Comanche, stating
that they had awaited statements on these two counties and none
having been presented they might return their papers without com-
ment but would make certain conclusions for the information of
the house. The organization and election papers from Harper were
in perfect order and so far as anything contrary was shown, Mr.
Homer was entitled to a seat as member of the house. In regard to
Comanche the report was much the same except that the county
was declared organized October 28, 1873, and the election was held
December 3, 1873. The election being held on December 3, it did
not appear that the necessary 250 votes recorded had been cast
at the general election next preceding the present session, as required
108. Horner here undoubtedly presented the understanding that prevailed among all the
later organizers of counties. "According to the usage which has heretofore prevailed no
investigation should be permitted." The portion of the above in italics v/as selected by
the author for emphasis.
109. The newspaper reporter plainly made a mistake here. It was Pawnee not Harper.
Dr. Rodgers must have embarrassed the governors and other officials when he tried to tell
publicly how he had tried to stop the Pawnee organization. Although he was pulled up
short before he could tell his story, here we have ample evidence that he was persuaded
that under the law such organizations could not be prevented.
340 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
by the constitutional amendment. Therefore, Mr. Mowry was not
entitled to a seat in the house.110
The next day, however, this matter was regarded in a more toler-
ant light. Mr. Hodge offered a resolution that there being no evi-
dence of fraud or corruption in the election of the representative
from Comanche county but only a technical point of law in regard
to his election, and since the previous legislature had set the prece-
dent of allowing members under the same circumstances to hold
their seats according to the expressed will of the constituents,111
the member from Comanche be entitled to his seat. There was
some discussion of this resolution, Mr. Mason sticking to the letter
of the law and other members stating they thought the election
illegal but the resolution was adopted 31 to 30. Mowry, on his
part, was so confident of the outcome, that he had already intro-
duced a bill to organize two new counties, Webb and Wilder.
The election committee finally brought in its report on Ness
county on February 17. The report included not only the affidavits
by Farns worth and Hickel 112 concerning the number of inhabitants
and electors in Ness county as already given earlier in this article,
but also the statement offered in reply by Dr. Rodgers. This state-
ment was made after Dr. Rodgers had been arrested and charged
with perjury at Hays and was undoubtedly made with the advice
of legal counsel and therefore may be depended on to contain only
statements that could be proven.
I am the Representative from Ness county, Kansas, and was duly and law-
fully elected to said office on the 4th day of November, A. D. 1873. At the
time of my said election, the county of Ness contained, according to the oath
of census taker, within its boundaries the lawful number of ... voters
duly qualified. At the time of the petition for organization, the said inhabi-
tants desired to avail themselves of the benefits of county organization, and
of police regulation for the better protection of their families and as an induce-
ment for emigrants to settle upon the fertile lands of said county.
This affiant states that he has read the affidavits of Mr. Farnsworth and
Mr. Hickel, filed in this matter, and now before this committee, and waiving
the manifold objections which appear on the face of such papers, and the
110. For a few days it seemed Mowry had out-smarted himself. By waiting 30 days
after the organization to hold the election, he had ignored the proviso that the 250 votes
were to be cast on the general election date of November 4, 1873.
111. Atty. Gen. A. L. Williams commented on these constituents in his report on
Comanche county, published in the House Journal, 1875, p. 72:
". . . If Marius sat amid the ruins of Carthage and wept, I camped upon the town
site of Smallwood (the county seat), and feasted upon wild turkey, with no (white) man
to molest or make me afraid. In Smallwood there are two log cabins (both deserted, of
course), without doors, windows, sash or blinds; about a mile off is another deserted ranch;
and these compose the houses of the 'householders' of the county. In this county there is
not an acre of land or a dollar's worth of personal property subject to taxation; its sole
inhabitants are the Cheyennes and the coyote, the wolf and the Araphoes, and its organiza-
tion is, and always has been, a fraud."
112. Ibid., 1874, p. 442.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 341
inconsistencies which are therein contained, he makes answer to them on their
merits, and states: the said Farnsworth makes oath that he took the census of
Ness county in two days, to wit, on the 22d and 23d of December, 1873. This
affiant states that the county of Ness is 36 miles long by 30 miles wide, and
states as his judgment that no man can ascertain what is here claimed in that
short space of time. The census so alleged to be taken was not by authority
nor was he duly qualified to take a census, and it is entitled to no consideration
at the hands of this committee. This affiant states that at the time the census
was taken, under the seal of this State, in Ness county, here were, as shown by
census taker's returns, a requisite number present and resident householders
therein.113 Deponent states that since that time many have removed to other
localities to wit: some have removed to Denver, some to Illinois, some to
Massachusetts, and some to other parts of Kansas, so greatly decreasing the
number of bona fide residents there in October and November. This affiant
further states that the polls were open at the first precinct from 9 A. M. to 6
P. M. and that said Farnsworth was there present but two or three hours, and
was not able to, and in fact, did not, know the number of votes cast at the said
precinct. Hickel was one of my colony, and shortly after coming to said county
he received an injury which confined him to his bed, and so he was for nearly
two months, and is, in fact, ignorant of the matters whereof he wishes to speak
to the detriment of affiant and the residents of Ness county, who desire to
retain the county organization. Said Hickel swears that the total number of
inhabitants in Ness county on the 10th of January, 1874, is but 200; this affiant
states that this was long after the lawful census was taken, and after numbers
had gone away for the winter, as hereinbefore set out.
Mr. Farnsworth does not swear that the number of bona fide inhabitants in
Ness county in October, 1873, was not a requisite number for organization as
required by law, and this affiant knows that there were a requisite number.
This affiant further states that he verily believes that Farnsworth has
been induced by malice to affiant to make these false statements. Affiant knows
that said Farnsworth was a candidate for sheriff, and only received twenty-
seven votes; affiant opposed his election, and on this account, he, Farnsworth,
seeks to annoy affiant. Said Farnsworth before 4th of November worked hard
at said precinct No. 1, to get the support of the colonists; but received only
twenty-seven votes as aforesaid.
This affiant has no other or further objection to the affidavit of J. W. Hickel,
than has already been urged against that of Farnsworth, and he states that the
matters averred herein are true of his own knowledge, and those things other-
wise alleged he believes to be true; and affiant further saith not, except that
this honorable committee weigh the matter in its proper light, and by the
strict rules of evidence dismiss the papers of said Farnsworth and Hickel from
their consideration, and restore to him, this affiant, all things lost by reason
thereof.
S. G. RODGERS
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 13th day of February, 1874.
ELIAS SHULL, Notary Public.
113. Rodgers apparently did not know of the Ellis county assessor's census report of
June that might have been cited to support the census of October.
342 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The report of the committee on elections was long and did not,
except in a few instances, make much reference to the facts offered
by Farns worth and answered by Rodgers. The findings are im-
portant, however, in that they did make some inquiry into the
fraudulence of the Ness county organization as well as determine
whether 250 votes had been cast in the Ness county election of
November 4, 1873. The findings are also important in that the
committee was the only official body that ever in any way con-
sidered the organization of Ness county.
The report first took up the fact that there had not been a 30-day
notice before the election, discussed it at great length but, after
pointing out that there should have been a 30-day notice, made no
finding that Rodgers was not entitled to his seat 114 because of the
lack of a 30-day notice.115
The report next devoted one short paragraph to the clause in the
Farnsworth and Hickel affidavits relating to the falsity of the sworn
statement of Rodgers and others claiming 600 inhabitants. This
is the only part that bears in any way on the accusation that the
Ness county organization was fraudulent because the census was
false in claiming 600 inhabitants in October, 1873. The Farns-
worth statement was:
Deponent says he has seen the copy of the affidavits of S. G. Rodgers,
Maroney and others, who testified as to the number of inhabitants of said
Ness county, which were filed in the office of the Secretary of State . . .
Deponent saith that the contents of the said affidavits, as to the number of
inhabitants in said county, and the number of householders, is false, and an
over-estimate, and were given he believes, to fraudulently obtain an organi-
zation of the said county of Ness.
The only affidavit that Rodgers signed pertaining to the organi-
zation of Ness county was the affidavit attached to the memorial or
petition to the governor, which was also signed by Henry Maguire
and Edward Maroney. The exact words were, "They verily believe
there are six hundred inhabitants in the county/' The petition
requested the governor to appoint a census taker to find out if
there were 600 inhabitants.116
The election committee in its report disposes of this charge of
fraud made by Farnsworth against Rodgers in the following words:
114. As has been explained before, this was often discussed by committees on elections,
but as the house was the sole judge of the qualifications of its own members, seats were
customarily not denied for this reason.
115. Apparently the reporter for the Topeka Commonwealth stayed only long
enough to hear this part of the report as his newspaper stated the next day that Rodgers
was denied his seat on this account.
116. One wonders if the charge of perjury entered in Ellis county against Dr. Rodgers
was not on this same basis.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 343
Both of the foregoing affidavits [Farnsworth and Hickel] also set forth
that the sworn statements of S. G. Rodgers, John Maroney and others, claiming
six hundred inhabitants and asking a census taker to be appointed, are false.
These later statements concerning the application for organization being made
merely upon belief of S. G. Rodgers and others, the committee have not at-
tached any importance to the statements of Farnsworth and Hickel contro-
verting them.™
It is believed that this decision meant exactly what it said. It
certainly was good legal judgment that prompted the committee
to refuse to find fraud on the basis of nothing more than Rodgers'
sworn statement of his belief. Rodgers did not swear there were
600 inhabitants, he merely swore that he thought so, at the same
time asking that they be counted. Farnsworth practically admits
the weakness of his charge when he uses the word overestimate.
An overestimate is not necessarily a proof of fraud, it may be only
a proof of poor judgment or poor information. A charge of fraud
was a very serious thing and no responsible court, attorney, or com-
mittee would countenance such a charge without very strong evi-
dence. It is not surprising that the committee refused to consider
such a charge on such evidence alone.118
After this pronouncement, the report took time out to state that
the committee had informed Dr. Rodgers that any sworn state-
ments he might produce would be received in evidence and that Dr.
Rodgers had asked for authority to go to Ness county for the pur-
pose of taking evidence. The committee had advised that a com-
mission would be sent if desired to Hays City but declined to send
to Ness for the purpose of taking evidence because the inquiry in-
volved might be interminable in time and expense.119
Then finally the committee got down to what it evidently felt
was its real task were there cast at the general election on the 4th
day of November, 250 legal votes in Ness county? Without stating
any doubt of the 600 inhabitants that the census taker said was in
117. The italics have been inserted by this writer.
118. It is to wonder if Farnsworth might not have made a more effective charge of fraud
against Rodgers or the organization. Tradition has said that there were not 40 householders
in the Rodgers colony. Farnsworth saw all the names signed to the petition or memorial
and yet he made no contention that any of these names were fraudulent and no such persons
existed. Are we to conclude that there were these 40 householders resident in the Rodgers
colony in October, 1873? This historian would like to know?
It has perhaps not been sufficiently emphasized in this account how ingenious and safe
for the organizer was the fraudulent organization conspiracy. There was no easy way to
connect him with the conspiracy although it was known to all that he was the instigator.
Mowry of Comanche county was at one time indicted but the case was dropped on account
of insufficient evidence. Conceivably the census taker could have been held for making
a false census return but this was never done either perhaps because it was felt he was
really not to blame and perhaps because these indictments would have reflected on the
governor. The governor might have been fooled on the first appointment he made of a
census taker but not on the succeeding ones. We stress here again the moral responsibility
of the governor for these fraudulent organizations. They could not have happened had he
done as the law provided — appointed competent, bona fide census takers.
119. Apparently Rodgers felt he still had friends in Ness county.
344 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Ness county in October, the committee held that Dr. Rodgers, con-
tinuing to stand on the census report, had not offered any refuta-
tion to Farnsworth's and Hickel's claim that there were less than
250 legal voters on election day. Here Farnsworth had sworn to a
positive fact, the "poll books showed forty-eight votes cast/'120
Dr. Rodgers offered in reply only "Farnsworth was there present
but two or three hours and was not able to, and, in fact, did not
know the number of votes cast" and he did not deny Farnsworth's
statement that the poll books showed only 48 votes.
. . . the committee unanimously report, in their opinion, there were
not two hundred fifty legal voters in Ness county at the last general election, and
therefore that S. G. Rodgers is not entitled to a seat on the floor of this House.
121
It is to be regretted from an historical stand point, that this in-
quiry did not bring out some evidence on how many persons were
resident in Ness county in 1873. As is well known 1873 was a ter-
ribly dry year and settlers left all the western counties. Farns-
worth's two censuses prove that people kept leaving the county as
the winter advanced. In his December census he enumerated 140
persons, while in January he could find but 79. There certainly were
at least 200, the figure given in Hickel's affidavit and also in the
petition for disorganization. It is quite possible that earlier there
were more, but it is believed that the number could scarcely have
ever reached 600 although that has never been proven one way or
another and must always remain simple conjecture.
The report of the election committee was adopted by the house
and Dr. Rodgers' tenure in the Kansas legislature ended and with it
any further effort by him to encourage the settlement of working
men in western Kansas.122
120. It is at this point that the old tradition that Farnsworth was responsible for ex-
posing and eliminating Dr. Rodgers and his organization, comes at last to a qualified
verification. While the organization was not voided, it was Farnsworth's affidavit that
supplied the basis for Dr. Rodgers' rejection by the house.
121. We mention in this connection that at the moment the committee was rejecting
Rodgers because 250 votes had not been cast in Ness county, Booth was sitting, elected
by a county that had cast but 80 votes. Hanrahan was also sitting although the supreme
court had declared the Ford county organization void in January. The committee knew
all this. But the seats of these representatives had not been challenged in the house.
Rodgers' had, and that by a group that had real political power. This is not to say that
there were not grounds to reject Rodgers. There were, and the lawyers on the committee
made sure that he was rejected for a good valid reason. But it should be emphasized
that this rejection of Rodgers by the committee did not in any way convict Rodgers of
fraud or padding the census, regardless of what individuals might have thought of the
situation.
We might also add that Hanrahan and Ford county were saved from even going through
the committee on elections, were saved from any discussion of the organization by a simple
act passed by the legislature on March 7 of that year: "That the organization of Ford
county be and the same is hereby legalized. . . ." (Laws of the State of Kansas, ch.
12, p. 8.) We might also add that by this act Ford seems to have escaped the tarnished
reputation that historians so generously bestow on Ness.
122. Technically speaking, Rodgers was in no worse situation than when he had
been rejected by the house in 1873, except for the perjury charge in Ellis county. We
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 345
The case for perjury was still pending against Rodgers in Ellis
county. Since Ness earlier had been attached to Pawnee county
for judicial purposes,123 this case had no business in Ellis county.
But if it were kept hanging over Rodgers, it would likely discourage
any ideas he might have had of returning to Ness. This case came
up at the April, 1874, term of court. Neither Dr. Rodgers or his
sureties appearing, the bond was forfeited, bail was set and the case
continued.124 Finally on April 1, 1875, the county attorney entered
a "nolle proseque" and the charge against Rodgers was terminated,
the county paying the costs.125
It is worthy to note here that on July 31, 1875, two promoters from
Ellis county came down to Ness county and organized the Walnut
Valley Town Company 126 with- the declared purpose of building a
town by the name of Ness not more than a mile from the site of ill-
fated Smallwood. The project included the building of a flouring
mill on the Walnut and was capitalized at $50,000, this capital to be
raised by selling shares at $25 each. This scheme never came to
fruition either.
Among the papers in the hands of the election committee of the
house in 1873 was a petition to the governor asking that Ness county
be disorganized, because
The number of inhabitants is not large enough as the law requires, there
being not over two hundred inhabitants in the whole county; that fraud has
been used by one Samuel G. Rodgers and others to have said county organized;
that the present organization is onerous and burdensome upon the people
living in said county, who can illy afford to pay the taxes required to support a
county organization.
This petition was signed by 22 Ness county residents including
three of the Rodgers' colony.
conjecture, however, that lack of money was a more serious deterrent to Rodgers than
anything else. If he had sold the bonds as some may contend in spite of the fact that
they were never presented for payment — Rodgers would have had money. He could then
have prevented the loss of his Buffalo House at Petersburg (Kinsley), for on April 1, 1874,
it was sold under "the foreclosure of the numerous liens for lumber and labor existing
upon it." The price was $750 and it was paid by W. C. Edwards and A. D. Clute, their
guarantor being no other than Henry Booth. A short time afterwards this property was
insured for $5,000. There is no evidence that Rodgers was present or tried to prevent
this foreclosure.
It is to wonder under these circumstances why — although he had been unable to sell
them through regular channels — Rodgers did not now go out and sell the bonds with a
suitable discount in that market, which chroniclers of that time (T. A. McNeal) state was
always open to bonds on the streets of Topeka. Considering the ease with which other
organizers sold their greater amounts of bonds at this very same time, it is impossible to
believe that Rodgers could not have sold his bonds had he been willing to sell in this sly,
under-cover market.
123. The Laws of the State of Kansas, 1874, p. 101.
124. Clerk of the court, Ellis county, "Journal A," p. 84.
125. Ibid., "Trial Docket A," pp. 28, 50.
126. "Corporation Charters (official copybooks from office of secretary of state, now
in Archives division, Kansas State Historical Society)," v. 7, pp. 38, 39.
346 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Because in the end, Dr. Rodgers was denied his seat, the petition-
ers evidently thought their request for disorganization had been
granted. This was not true. The governor had no power to dis-
organize a county. If suit had been brought, the supreme court
could have tested the validity of the organization as was done in
the case of Pawnee and other counties.127 But no such suit was ever
brought.
The county organization after 1874, ceased to function and no
other elections were held. This inaction did not however destroy
the organization. A municipal organization once created continues
to exist in an active state or in a dormant state until dissolved by
law. Ness county after 1874 was subsequently mentioned as an
organized county in various acts of the state legislature. In 1875
the legislature considering the case of organized counties where
less than 250 votes were cast,128 listed Ness county as an organized
one, along with some 11 others, although Ness had not held an elec-
tion or reported any votes cast.
Early in 1876, the question as to whether or not Ness county was
fraudulently organized became a moot question. On this date the
legislature passed an act disorganizing Ness and other counties.
Governor Osborn refused to approve the act and it did not become
a law.129 The passage of the act by the legislature was a recogni-
tion of Ness county as an organized county. As the legislature said
specifically here that Ness was an organized county, this cured any
defect or fraud in the organization. This legal opinion follows the
state supreme court decisions in the various cases on county or-
ganizations, Harper, Pawnee, and Stevens.130 It also follows two
United States Supreme Court decisions that concerned county or-
ganizations of Harper and Comanche.131 The organization of Ness
county before March 2, 1876, might only have been a de facto
organization, but according to the above decisions on that date it
became a de jure organization.
Inquiries to state officers in 1878 and 1879, when Ness county was
again showing signs of wishing to take up county responsibilities,
were invariably answered that the county had been organized and
127. Kansas Reports, v. 12, p. 426; v. 21, p. 210.
128. House Journal, 1875, pp. 277-282. Although Dr. Rodgers was refused a seat in
1874 because 250 votes had not been cast in Ness county in November, 1873, and the
constitutional amendment is clear, express and unambiguous on this point, still of the 12
counties concerned in 1875, the house seated five and declared vacant the seats of seven
others.
129. House Journal, 1876, p. 1453.
130. State ex rel vs Pawnee Co., 12 Kan. 426; State ex rel vs Harper Co., 34 Kan. 302;
State ex rel vs Robertson, 41 Kan. 200 (Stevens Co.).
131. Board of County Commissioners of Comanche Co. vs Lewis, 133 U.S. 604; Board
of County Commissioners of Harper Co. vs Rose, 140 U. S. 71.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 347
was still organized. On September 12, 1878, Gov. Geo. T. Anthony
wrote R. J. McFarland a letter in part as follows:
That in order to set aside that organization or test its validity the readiest
way is to have officers appointed or elected; if you have none, or if you have
them, to bring an action directly in the Supreme Court ... by Quo War-
ranto denying their authority to act. In this manner it may be promptly and
inexpensively settled.132
Such an action was never filed, however, and a new governor,
John P. St. John came into office in 1879. This governor also gave
an opinion as to the organization of 1873.133 Unfortunately a care-
ful search for the letter in which this opinion was written, did not
discover it. We can only conjecture that St. John must have given
some encouragement to the action that resulted in the organization
of 1880.
On January 3, 1880, the following item was published in the Wal-
nut Valley Times at Clarinda, Ness county, N. C. Merrill, editor:
SMALLWOOD THE COUNTY SEAT— COUNTY ALREADY ORGAN-
IZED and COUNTY SEAT QUESTION— HOW CAN THE GOVERNOR OR-
GANIZE AN ALREADY ORGANIZED COUNTY? Ness County stands on
the books at Topeka an already organized county and Smallwood the county
seat although we ignore it. Has the Governor [St. John] by virtue of his posi-
tion the right to unorganize a county or is it the Supreme Court of the State of
Kansas, that does such things? These are questions we would like to have
answered.
The questions posed by the Walnut Valley Times have never been
answered. We only know that in the spring of 1880 a petition of
householders for the organization of Ness county was submitted,
accepted and acted on by the governor and the following routine of
county organization again gone through. The popular belief was
that the first organization was fraudulent and the county had been
disorganized by petition. The inhabitants of 1880 were much more
hotly interested in whether there should be a functioning organiza-
tion and who should control it and locate the county seat, than in
any legalistic arguments. No one protested the method employed
in reactivating the county and there remains to this day no actual
legal opinion as to whether the method used was legal or not and
whether the organization was a real one.134 Nevertheless, it is be-
lieved that on a legal basis the governor had no power to organize
an already organized county. In the office of the secretary of state
132. Correspondence of the governor, Archives division, Kansas State Historical Society.
133. Letter dated June 23, 1879, written by Ross Calhoun to Governor St. John:
". . . the only communication Mr. Johnson produced, or could produce, was the one
in which you gave your opinion as to the legality of the organization of Ness County in
1873, which letter we think does you great credit. . . ."
134. It is believed that the reactivation of Ness county might just as handily have
been accomplished by petitioning the governor to appoint commissioners and set the
county going again. The proclamation of 1880 did appoint commissioners who set the
machinery in motion.
348 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
in Topeka are to be found the papers on which rests the lawful or-
ganization of each and every Kansas county. Among those for Ness
county are deposited the memorial of 1873 signed by Dr. Rodgers
and others, the census report of the governor-appointed census taker,
John Maroney, and the proclamation of Governor Osborn organizing
Ness county on October 23, 1873. The memorial of 1880 and the
census of that year are placed in the archives of the State Historical
Society. The proclamation of 1880 is in the secretary of state's
office.
Ignoring the wealth of source materials concerning the invariably
irregular organizations of this period of Kansas history, historians
have most generally continued to use Ness county as at least one
of the horrible examples.135 Likewise the tradition that Rodgers
was simply a crook who issued fraudulent bonds and then stole
the money, has come down by word-of-mouth in the county
itself.136 This article has been written in the hope of correcting
some of these misconceptions. If the story of Rodgers is obscured
by the story of the organization of Ness county, that is because the
records that remain are chiefly legal and government records that
can be cited with definiteness and authority. It can be said posi-
tively that the 1873 organization was legal and valid although pro-
cured perhaps by fraudulent methods. It is not so easy to make
judgment of Dr. Samuel G. Rodgers. His time on our stage was
short and his appearances were few and inconclusive. And yet in
so many ways the man so stands out among his fellows that we can
say with pride that he was "the gentleman from Ness/'
Any estimate of Rodgers must stand against the Kansas back-
ground of the 1870's, and the nature of this background must be
stressed. Political morality was low. If it seemed desirable to get
things done, no one minded if a few corners were cut and a few
laws evaded. As has been said before, probably every county
organized in Kansas during this decade flouted in some way the
strict letter of the organization law. In most cases, no one was
sufficiently interested to even inquire into such evasion. Even when
the supreme court handed down decisions excoriating these organi-
zations, little attention was paid and the organizers went serenely
on to public offices of trust, elective, or appointive. The singling
135. Frank W. Blackmar, Kansas, a Cyclopedia of State History, v. 2, p. 352; T. A.
McNeal, Southwestern Kansas," Kansas Historical Collections, v. 7, p. 92- "Some of the
Lost Towns of Kansas," Kansas Historical Collections, v. 12, p. 469; Bliss Isely and W. M.
Richards, Four Centuries in Kansas (Wichita, 1936), p. 172.
136. Judge J. K. Barnd, editor of the Ness County News for many years, was the first
to doubt the traditional story of the 1873 organization and expressed his opinion in his
newspaper, pointing out that the Rodgers organization differed from others in that Ness
county did have a population and no bonds were sold. One such article was reprinted by
his son in the historical edition of the News on August 17, 1929, without crediting the
author. Nevertheless Judge Barnd's style is unmistakable as was his opinion at that time.
DR. S. G. RODGERS, GENTLEMAN FROM NESS 349
out of Dr. Rodgers for employing the "tactics of his day" was clearly
a political maneuver and undoubtedly his fellow organizers and his
associates in the house recognized it as such. In their view, he was
simply "outgeneraled."
Where Dr. Rodgers seems to us to have differed from other county
organizers, was in his purpose. Every evidence points to the fact
that he wanted to found a colony for workingmen in western Kansas,
and was so possessed with the idea that he scarcely spoke or wrote
a letter without stating it. He could not have merely wanted to sell
land because he charged almost nothing for membership in the col-
ony and he deliberately recruited men of little means. If he had
wanted a colony simply to vote the bonds, he need not have brought
a large group of families to the county for that purpose. A few
kindred souls would have been infinitely more manageable and the
bonds would have been just as good. Perhaps his dream was too
big for practical realization, but that does not mean that he deceived
his colonists with any intent to defraud. Undoubtedly he was just
as ignorant as they of the difficulties of settlement in western Kansas.
Who knew the difficulties of western Kansas in 1873?
The final evidence of the essential honesty of Dr. Rodgers' pur-
pose was that, faced with the impossibility of carrying out his origi-
nal plan, he did not sell the bonds. The bonds were voted and
issued. We can believe that there was no regular market for bonds
in that panic-ridden winter of 1873-1874, as Dr. Rodgers indicated.
But we cannot believe that the bonds could not have been sold in
that furtive under-counter market where all the larcenous organizers
sold theirs. And we cannot believe that the bonds might have been
sold and then not presented for payment as they were in every
other county. What we do know positively is that the bonds were
never presented for payment and that Dr. Rodgers and his colony
never cost Ness county one cent.
Essentially Dr. Rodgers seems a tragic figure. The very device
that seemed to make his colony possible — the organization of the
county and the voting of the bonds to carry it through the winter —
was the instrument of his undoing. In the end the politicians de-
stroyed him with the very weapon they taught him to use. His
dream was broken and his hopes blasted. Surely he deserves a
better memory than posterity has so far held for him. When the
whole record is read and the bits of evidence put together, we can-
not do better than to concur in the opinion of William Lenihan, his
colonist, when he said of Dr. Rodgers, "I always thought he meant
to do the right thing."
Light on the Brinkley Issue in Kansas: Letters
of William A. White to Dan D. Casement
JAMES C. CAREY and VERLIN R. EASTERLING
'T^WO examples of an older generation of men who lived their
JL lives in Kansas but knew intimately the great and near-great
and were vitally concerned with public issues are W. A. White of
Emporia and Dan D. Casement of Manhattan.1 Their range of
interests and their intense feeling for the welfare of the American
man in contemporary society often led them to resort to the power
of the pen both for publication and in letters where some inmost
thoughts were bared. Both men were extremely effective in the
use of the now near-gone art of writing personal letters on public
issues.
White's reputation for free, frank expression stands out on the
record. His close friend, and intimate correspondent, Casement,
is in his own words, "the last Viking of the Plains." Former rancher
of the open range, breeder of nationally famous Herefords and
quarter horses, vitriolic critic of the New Deal farm program, he
remains among the most rugged of the remaining exponents of
rugged individualism. By pen and voice he has entered state and na-
tional political discussion whenever he felt the dignity of the
individual was imperiled. Casement, described as an "educated
roughneck" by George Clammer, Manhattan lawyer, loathed the
public official who valued constituents' votes above honest expres-
sion of opinion. His "fearless pronouncements" against his congress-
men gained attention far beyond the limits of Kansas.2
It is our purpose here to look at one incident in Kansas history.
That is the action of these two men concerning one aspect of the
gubernatorial race in 1932. Prior to examining White's letters to
Casement on this point, it is important to note one interpretation
Casement made of his friend's character. White was characterized
by Casement in a letter to Dr. Harold Willis Dodds, president of
Princeton University, as follows:
DR. JAMES C. CAREY and DR. VERLIN ROBERT EASTERLING are associate professors in
the history, government and philosophy department at Kansas State College, Manhattan.
1. William Allen White, known as the "Sage of Emporia," died in 1944. Dan D. Case-
ment, 84 years of age at this writing (1952), is a very active citizen of Manhattan.
2. From "back home" he wrote to his congressman as follows: "If the vote represents
your sincere convictions, it gives conclusive proof of an inferior mentality ....
I ask you, how long can America hope to survive if the people's chosen representatives persist
in the shameless display of either ( 1 ) such a low order of intelligence, or ( 2 ) such a dearth
of courage and honor as your vote in this instance has evidenced." — An editorial from the
New York Sun reprinted in The Watch Dog, New York, published by the National Economy
League, July, 1939.
(350)
LIGHT ON THE BRINKLEY ISSUE IN KANSAS 351
P. S. I have sent your speech to my dear friend, Bill White in Emporia, who
believes profoundly in democracy but who is so damned patient and tolerant
and forgiving of human weaknesses that he seems able to see little threat to
liberty in the present political scene and sometimes appears to be almost
incapable of righteous anger even against demagogues, be they ever so con-
temptible.3
It would appear that at times White needed to be pushed into a
fight. The "Sage of Emporia" who had helped to whip the Klan
in Kansas could not make up his mind to pronounce against the
political neophyte from Milford, Dr. John R. Brinkley, who was
making a second serious bid for the office of governor.
"The trouble with Brinkley/' editorialized White in the Emporia
Gazette on October 7, 1932, "is his inexperience. He is not a politi-
cal crook. He just doesn't knofa any better." 4 The editor claimed
that the "weird wizard," Brinkley, who promised anything for
votes, would, if elected, not only regain his medical license but
would "wreck Kansas." On September 23, 1932, White wrote as
follows:
DEAR DAN:
You and I agree exactly on the Brinkley situation. Brinkley is going to carry
this state if Landon and the State Committee doesn't make an aggressive, two-
fisted fight.
The reason why I don't do it is that my fight would of course be linked up
inevitably with Landon in spite of my protest and if Landon was licked they
would point the finger of scorn at me. And blame me for the defeat of Hoover
in Kansas also. Until they get some guts I cannot begin to fight. But Lord
I would like to start! I am not afraid of a libel suit!
If you have any suggestions to make how I can proceed, please let me know.
Sincerely yours,
W. A. WHITE 5
The next few days, late in September of an interesting election
year, must have been a time of decision. Just five days later, on
September 28, there followed a brief but revealing letter:
SEPTEMBER 28, 1932
DEAR DAN:
I've crossed the Rubicon.
I am not going to take my Brinkley licking lying down. I enclose an edi-
torial and I am going to shoot more of them. This may not please Alf and
may not please anyone, but it satisfies my conscience. I think as you say we
have let this fellow get away with murder because we are afraid of offending
his poor half-witted dupes, and I am going to go to it.
3. Draft of a letter, Casement to Dodds, dated April 24, 1937, in "Casement Manu-
scripts."
4. The Emporia Gazette, October 7, 1932.
5. Letter from White to Casement dated September 23, 1932, in "Casement Mss."
Neither the original nor carbon copies of Casement's letters to White have been found at this
writing (1952).
352 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Take this around to Fay Seaton and tell him I dare him to print it.6
Sincerely yours,
WILL 7
On November 9, 1932, during the evident flush of victory in a
battle furiously fought and won, Casement received the following
unique letter:
DEAR DAN:
I owe a lot to you. Your letter prodded me up and I decided not to take
my licking lying down. I wrote a letter to start with, to all my friends in the
daily newspaper business, thirty of them, and asked them to join me. Then
I wrote this editorial "Save Kansas" and sent it out and they all printed it.
I didn't consult with the State Central Committee, nor with Landon, nor with
Mulvane on behalf of the National Committee. I just went to it hog wild
and plumb loco which I believe is my best technique. Then I got a list of
Republican weekly newspapers and wrote to them and soon had a hundred
editors with whom I was corresponding and to whom I was sending editorials
every week and to the dailies two or three times a week. And we shot the
old goat's guts full of holes and there he lies today belly up.
And you did it and I thank you.
Always cordially yours,
W. A. WHITE 8
Three more days passed during which the Emporian could evalu-
ate the recent political campaign. On November 12, 1932, this note
was penned:
DEAR DAN:
I had the same fun fighting Brinkley that I had fighting the Klan and it was
the same outfit, the organized moron minority, plus the despairing and the
disgruntled who knew better. Generally both outfits divide in the ballot box,
but this year they got together and two years ago they got together. But it is
a comfort to think Brinkley did not get a larger per cent of the vote this year
than he got last year.
Come down and see us some time.
Sincerely yours,
W. A. WHITE 9
The "despairing and the disgruntled" in the above letter reminds
one of White's early impressions of the social elements which com-
prised the Populist movement and provoked his "What's the Matter
With Kansas." Still there was a difference, but in the light of what
has happened at the level of state government and politics, the pub-
lic-spirited citizen had a duty to perform. The editor of the Em-
poria Gazette could turn crusader and help to save the people from
what he considered folly and poor judgment. There was an era of
6. This editorial, entitled "Save Kansas," was printed in the Manhattan Mercury, October
8, 1932.
7. Letter from White to Casement dated September 28, 1932, in "Casement Mss."
8. Letter from White to Casement dated November 9, 1932, ibid.
9. Letter from White to Casement dated November 12, 1932, ibid.
LIGHT ON THE BRINKLEY ISSUE IN KANSAS 353
"Governors' trouble": Jim and Ma Ferguson in Texas, and Walton
and Johnston in Oklahoma. There have been characters who graced
or disgraced the office of chief executive of states such as "Alfalfa
Bill" Murray of Oklahoma, "Kingfish" Long and "You Are My
Sunshine" Davis of Louisiana, and "Pass the Biscuits Pappy"
O'Daniel of Texas. On the other hand, presidential timber came
out of the West in 1936, Alf Landon of Kansas. Depression and
disillusionment brought some strange political manifestations. So
it is not surprising that Kansas narrowly missed having a unique
"medicine-man" as governor in 1932.
Everett Rich of Emporia State Teachers College has elicited a
fine collection of letters from White's friends in connection with the
opening of the new William "Allen White Memorial Library at
Emporia. The following is an excerpt from the letter by H. J.
Haskell of the Kansas City Star:
When "Old Doc Brinkley" made such an astonishing showing in the Kansas
governorship race Mr. White sent a brief comment to The Kansas City Star.
"In every age and clime," he said in effect, "there is a great seething moronic
underworld. Its denizens are literate. They can read and write, but they
can't think. They live on the level of their emotions and vote their prejudices.
Usually they are divided between the two great political parties, but occasionally
some man or issue comes along that stirs them and they boil up and hold a
Scopes trial in Tennessee, or elect a Big Bill Thompson mayor of Chicago and
almost put in Doc Brinkley as governor of Kansas."
At once Brinkley voters deluged him with letters of protest. They didn't
know what "moronic" meant, but they knew "underworld" had bad associa-
tions. They weren't wicked, they wrote. They were good Christian people.
"Dear Brinkley voters," he replied, "you got me wrong. I didn't mean that
you were wicked. I only meant that you were dumb." 10
The contemporary nature of the Kansas political campaign of
1932 no doubt accounts for the fact that no adequate attempt has
been made to diagnose the Brinkley political appeal from the stand-
point of historical analysis.11 While this has not been done here, the
above letters have shed some interesting light on "why" and "how"
one fight was made on the Milford man. W. A. White sensed not
only a shirt-sleeve fight but the need to do battle. It is quite evident
that the impetus (push) came from his good friend in Manhattan,
the "Deever," Dan D. Casement.
10. The Kansas City Star, April 6, 1952, p. 8D.
11. There is, of course, the interesting, exploratory work of W. G. Clugston, Rascals in
Democracy (New York, 1940), which gives considerable attention to the Brinkley election
efforts.
25-5464
The Annual Meeting
THE 77th annual meeting of the Kansas State Historical Society
and board of directors was held in the rooms of the Society on
October 21, 1952.
The meeting of the directors was called to order by President
William T. Beck at 10 A. M. First business was the reading of the
annual report by the secretary:
SECRETARY'S REPORT, YEAR ENDING OCTOBER 21, 1952
Acting upon the request of Kirke Mechem, the board of directors of the
Kansas State Historical Society accepted his resignation as secretary at the
annual meeting in October, 1951. Mr. Mechem continues with the Society,
however, as editor of the Quarterly and the Annals of Kansas.
At the conclusion of the 1951 meeting, the newly-elected president, Will T.
Beck, reappointed Charles M. Correll, Robert C. Rankin, and Wilford Riegle to
the executive committee. The members holding over were John S. Dawson
and T. M. Lillard.
Death claimed several members of the Society's board of directors the past
year, and it is with deep regret that we record their passing. On the memorial
roll are Sen. Arthur Capper, Topeka; W. C. Simons, Lawrence; H. K. Lindsley,
Wichita; W. B. Trembly, Kansas City; F. L. Carson, Wichita; Frank A. Hobble,
Dodge City; Mrs. Effie H. Van Tuyl, Leavenworth; and Mrs. Mamie Axline Fay,
Pratt. Mr. Simons and Mr. Lindsley were former presidents of the Society.
Miss Edith Smelser, curator of the Historical Society's museum, died un-
expectedly October 4. She was at work until two days before her death. Miss
Smelser served the Society for 37 years, and was a valued and faithful member
of the staff.
A gift of $134.57 was received from the estate of Lillian Forrest of Jewell.
Miss Forrest, a life member of the Society, died in 1950.
BUDGET REQUESTS
Appropriation requests for the next biennium have been filed with the state
budget director. In addition to the usual requests for salaries and maintenance,
several increases and special appropriations were asked. These included
$48,000 for steel stack floors, $15,000 for partial rewiring of the Memorial
building, $11,000 for new lights in the business office, newspaper sorting room,
and throughout the old newspaper and library stacks, $3,000 for painting, and
$3,200 for plumbing and for insulating steam pipes.
The largest item in the Society's budget, $48,000 for steel stack floors, was
made necessary because of the deterioration of the glass floors in the old stack
area. Over the years the glass has become dangerously brittle and weakened.
One of the staff narrowly escaped serious injury the past year when the glass
broke under him and he fell through the floor. Several of the glass sections
have been replaced with steel plates, but the entire five levels of glass need
to be removed before a serious accident occurs.
The electrical wiring is in much the same condition as the stack floors. It
is now about 40 years old and has deteriorated dangerously. We have been
(354)
THE ANNUAL MEETING 355
warned by the state architect's office, as well as by electrical contractors and
servicemen, that it should be replaced.
Two thousand dollars was requested for repairing the roof of the First Capitol
at Fort Riley, and for painting and other repairs.
A maintenance fund of $1,500 a year, in addition to the caretaker's salary,
was asked for the Old Kaw Mission at Council Grove, which was purchased by
the state last year. If this amount is granted some museum displays can be
built and the landscaping can be improved.
An increase of $500 a year in the maintenance fund of the Old Shawnee
Mission was asked, in addition to the following special requests: $3,000 for
the construction of a wing on the tool house to provide increased storage for
machinery and supplies, $800 for the purchase of a power saw and a three-gang
lawn roller, $2,450 for a sewer connection and for payment of special sewer
district assessments, $2,500 for waterproofing the porous brick exteriors of the
buildings and for tuckpointing ancL other repairs to the masonry, $500 for
painting and decorating, and $1,000 to be used for repair and maintenance of
the roofs.
LIBRARY
During the year 2,977 persons did research in the library. Of these, 1,038
worked on Kansas subjects, 1,089 on genealogy and 850 on general subjects.
Many inquiries were answered by letter, and 127 packages on Kansas subjects
were sent out from the loan file. A total of 5,131 sheets and biographical cards
of clippings were mounted, of which 634 sheets were on the floods of 1951.
Five hundred and seventy-five pages of old clippings were remounted. Twelve
pieces of sheet music have been added to the collection of Kansas music.
The Kansas society of Colonial Dames of America presented a microfilm
copy of the federal census of 1850 for Ohio, and Mrs. Pauline Keller has given
for the John Haupt chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution a
microfilm copy of the federal census of 1850 for Iowa. The Emporia chapter
of the Daughters of the American Revolution gave nine typed volumes of
"Tombstone Inscriptions of Lyon County," and other gifts were received from
the Topeka town committee of the Colonial Dames of America, the Daughters
of the American Revolution, the Woman's Kansas Day Club and the National
Society of Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America. Several gifts of
Kansas books and genealogies have been received from individuals. Fourteen
volumes and pamphlets were bought with funds from the Pecker bequest for
New Hampshire items.
Microfilm copies of the following have been added to the library:
KARPENSTEIN, KATHERINE, "Illustrations of the West in Congressional Docu-
ments, 1843-1863. . . ." Thesis.
LAIRD AND LEE, pubs., The Dalton Brothers and Their Astounding Career of
Crime. . . .
LINES, CHARLES B., [Scrapbook of Clippings from 1840-1857].
RUSSELL, CHARLES, [Scrapbook of Drawings, Prints, and Clippings].
RYAN, RAYMOND, "Mr. and Mrs. William Ryan, Hays City Pioneers."
SHAW, VAN B., "Nicodemus, Kansas. . . ." Thesis.
U. S. ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, "Eighth United States Cavalry Organiza-
tional Returns and Miscellaneous Letters, 1866-1898."
U. S. ARMY, MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSOURI, Records of Engagements
With Hostile Indians.
WELLS, FARGO & Co., vs. THE UNITED STATES ET AL., Indian Depredations.
356 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
PICTURE COLLECTION
During the year, 768 photographs were added to the picture collection, of
which 370 featured the floods of 1951. An oil painting of Edgar Watson Howe
was received from Al Bennett, editor of the Atchison Daily Globe, and an oil
painting of the late Gov. George Hartshorn Hodges was given by his brother,
Frank Hodges, of Olathe. Through the Woman's Kansas Day Club a portrait
and an album of pictures of the late U. S. Sen. Clyde M. Reed were given by
his daughter, Mrs. James E. Smith. From the Lions club of Lawrence the
Society received seven reels of motion picture film showing Lawrence build-
ings, the National Guard, and other scenes taken in 1941 and 1942.
The 1951 legislature appropriated $2,000 for repairing and restoring the
Society's oil paintings. This work has been nearly completed and the appear-
ance and physical condition of the paintings have been greatly improved.
Such renovation should be done periodically to prevent the canvas from be-
coming brittle and the paint from blistering and chipping.
ARCHIVES DIVISION
Edgar Langsdorf, state archivist, was advanced to the position of assistant
secretary on November 1, 1951. A new state archivist, Robert W. Richmond,
joined the staff October 1, 1952. Mr. Richmond is a native Kansan, a graduate
of Washburn University, with a master's degree in history from the University
of Nebraska, and for the past year has been employed by the Nebraska State
Historical Society as state archivist.
Records received by the division during the year are as follows:
Source Title Dates Quantity
Board of Agriculture .... Statistical Rolls of
Counties 1945 1,725 vols.
Statistical Rolls of Cities . . . 1951 1,557 vols.
Board of Engineering
Examiners Engineering Applicants'
Folders 1948-1951 5 reels
Budget Director Correspondence Files 1932-1946 5 transfer
Budgets (city, county, cases
etc.) 1941-1945 53 vols.
Civil Service Depart-
ment Minute Book of the Civil
Service Commission 1915-1921 1 vol.
Insurance Department . . * Admission Statements . . . 1944, 1945 2 vols.
* Annual Statements 1944,1945 106 vols.
* Record of Agents'
Licenses 1939-1944 54 vols.
* Casualty Insurance Ex-
pense Exhibits 1946-1949 4 vols.
Shawnee County, Regis-
ter of Deeds fDeed Records 1855-1858 2 vols.
f Lien Book 1860-1867 1 vol.
fRecord of Civil War
Discharges n. d. 1 vol.
flndenture: Wm. D. Cor-
nish, Special Master to
Union Pacific Railway. . 1898 1 vol.
0 Microfilmed and originals destroyed,
f Microfilmed and originals returned.
THE ANNUAL MEETING 357
The correspondence files of the office of the budget director will be screened
for important material and the remainder will be discarded. Two volumes of
the 1925 census which are becoming badly worn were filmed as a precautionary
measure, although the originals are still in regular use.
MANUSCRIPT DIVISION
During the year approximately 1,200 individual manuscripts and two reels
of microfilm were added to the manuscript collections.
In July the Society acquired a group of 800 letters and business papers of
Hiram Hill, a Massachusetts businessman who invested heavily in lands and
town lots in territorial Kansas, particularly in Quindaro. Much of the corre-
spondence is between Hill and his Kansas agents, Simpson brothers of Law-
rence. The bulk of the collection falls within the period 1855-1870.
The following records of the First Baptist church of Topeka were filmed
through the courtesy of the church, and the originals returned: history of the
church, 1857-1880; minutes of the church clerk, 1857-1948; financial record and
minutes of the board of trustees, 1884-1890; register of members, 1857-1892,
1910-1947; and minutes of the secretary of the building committee, 1923-1927.
Edward M. Beougher of Grinnell secured from the National Archives a
microfilm reel of War Department general and special orders relating to Fort
Wallace, 1866-1876, which he donated to the Society. He also sent a typed
copy of a letter of Col. H. C. Bankhead, concerning the Battle of the Arickaree,
and two reports of .the attempt to recover the bodies of soldiers who were
killed. Five photostats of a diary of Sigmund Shlesinger, written in 1868
during the same battle, were given by Robert Taft of Lawrence. Dr. Taft
secured the photostats from the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, owner
of the original diary.
Several letters of E. W. Howe, the "Sage of Potato Hill," were presented by
Mrs. Sheila Burlingame of New York.
The late Sen. Arthur Capper gave 32 letters, written by Kansas Republicans
in February, 1912, reporting political sentiment on the Taft-Roosevelt-LaFol-
lette presidential race, and on voluntary precinct primaries to nominate and
instruct delegates to the convention.
More than 200 letters to and from William Allen White were received from
Rolla A. Clymer of El Dorado. Of this group, 128 letters were written by
White to Clymer and 61 by Clymer to White.
Frank Haucke of Council Grove, on behalf of the family of Addison W.
Stubbs, presented a collection of Stubbs' papers consisting largely of unpub-
lished poems, articles, and addresses. Mr. Stubbs and his father, Mahlon
Stubbs, were for many years agents, teachers, and interpreters to the Kaw
Indians.
A collection of autographs of more than 100 writers, statesmen, artists,
actors, and educators was given by Charlotte M. Leavitt of Topeka.
Mrs. Carl F. Trace of Topeka presented more than 200 pieces of scrip issued
by the Topeka Bridge Company in 1857-1858. Her great-grandfather, F. L.
Crane, was president of the company.
A journal of Patrick Walsh, recounting his experiences in the U. S. marine
corps in 1862-1864, especially in Confederate prisons in 1863 and 1864, was
received from his daughter, Agnes Walsh of Topeka.
358 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Other donors were: Ward Atwood, Colorado Springs, Colo.; L. J. Bond,
El Dorado; Dickinson County Historical Society; Alan W. Farley, Kansas City,
Kan.; Conie Foote, Kansas City, Mo.; Mr. and Mrs. Grant Harrington, Kansas
City, Kan.; Clint W. Kanaga, Kansas City, Mo.; Mary Cornelia Lee, Manhattan;
Mrs. A. W. Lewis, Galva; Dr. Karl Menninger, Topeka; Marco Morrow, To-
peka; George and Mrs. W. D. Philip, Hays; Judge J. C. Ruppenthal, Russell;
Mrs. Dale Van Valkenburgh, Manhattan; and Otto Wullschleger, Frankfort.
MICROFILM DIVISION
The number of photographs made by the microfilm division since its estab-
lishment in 1946 now totals nearly three million. During the past year more
than 340,000 were made: 277,976 of newspapers and 64,728 of archives, books
and manuscripts.
One major project, the filming of the Fort Scott Monitor and the Tribune,
has been completed through 1950. The files included were the Weekly Monitor,
June 12, 1867-December 8, 1869; the Daily Monitor, November 9, 1869-April
12, 1904; the Daily Tribune, January 1, 1904-April 13, 1904; and the Tribune
and Monitor, April 14, 1904-December 30, 1950.
Because of their poor condition the following files of early Sherman county
newspapers were microfilmed: The Adviser, Voltaire, December 3, 1885-
December 2, 1886; Sherman Center News, July 22, 1886-October 13, 1887;
Sherman County News, Voltaire, October 1, 1886-April 27, 1888; Sherman
County Dark Horse, Goodland, June 10, 1886-December 27, 1894; Sherman
County Republican, Goodland, August 27, 1886-June 27, 1890; Goodland
Republican, July 4, 1890-December 25, 1891. Three North Topeka newspapers,
The Kansas Breeze, April 13, 1894-September 6, 1895; the Mail, October 20,
1882-September 6, 1895; and the Topeka Mail and Kansas Breeze, September
13, 1895-December 26, 1903, were also filmed because of deterioration of the
original files, as were the Kansas City (Mo.) Commercial Indicator, March 9,
1882-November 15, 1883, and the Livestock Indicator, November 22, 1883-
December 29, 1892; and the Oklahoma Capital and Oklahoma State Capital,
Guthrie, March 30, 1889-September 24, 1892.
Microfilming of the Salina Journal was completed early in the year, and the
following runs of other Salina papers were filmed: the Semi-Weekly Journal,
April 16, 1912-May 29, 1917; Kansas Farm Journal, May 31, 1917-June 27,
1918; Western Kansas Journal, July 4, 1918-March 11, 1920; Salina Daily
Journal, March 31, 1887-May 31, 1888, Salina Daily Union, April 9, 1917-
December 31, 1918.
J. L. Napier, editor of the Newton Kansan, lent the following newspapers
for microfilming: Newton Kansan, August 22, 1872- August 14, 1873, and
August 20, 1874-August 10, 1876; and the first Harvey County News of Newton,
August 18, 1875-August 16, 1876. Mr. Napier's co-operation was greatly ap-
preciated since the files, for the most part, represented a period not previously
covered in the Society's collections for Newton.
The Topeka Daily Capital was filmed for the period July 1, 1938-June 30,
1946. Files of the Arkansas City Traveler are being collated, and filming has
been completed from January 1, 1888, to May 31, 1898.
NEWSPAPER AND CENSUS DIVISIONS
Nearly 13,000 certified copies of census records were issued during the year,
an increase of more than 66 percent over the preceding year. In July, 1952,
THE ANNUAL MEETING 359
1,386 records were issued, the largest number in any month in the history
of the division. The steady increase in requests for census records is due in
part to employment relating to the defense effort, and to the increasingly large
number of persons who need proof of age for social security and other retire-
ment programs. The copies are furnished by the Society without charge.
During the year 4,237 patrons called in person at the newspaper and census
divisions. In the resulting research 7,056 single issues and 3,520 bound volumes
of newspapers, 982 microfilm reels and 16,328 census volumes were examined.
The Society's List of Kansas Newspapers and Periodicals, which was issued
more than 50 times during the past 75 years, has been discontinued. In 1951
the printing appropriation was insufficient. This year the Kansas Press Service
began publication of the Kansas Newspaper Directory and Advertising Rate
Book, making publication of the Society's list unnecessary. Practically all
Kansas newspapers continue to be received for filing, however. These include
59 dailies, one triweekly, 11 semiweeklies, and 317 regular weeklies.
The Society's files of original Kansas newspapers as of January 1, 1952,
totaled 54,787 bound volumes, in addition to more than 10,000 bound volumes
of out-of-state newspapers dated from 1767 to 1952. The Society's collection
of newspapers on microfilm now totals 3,619 reels.
The following publishers are regularly donating microfilm copies of their
current issues to the Society: Angelo Scott, lola Register; Dolph Simons, Law-
rence Daily Journal-World; Dan Anthony, III, Leavenworth Times; and Henry
Blake, Milton Tabor, and Leland Schenck, Topeka Daily Capital
Among the older newspapers collected this year were five volumes of lola
newspapers from the San Diego Historical Society, a gift of Mrs. Fred Myers,
Fallbrook, Cal. Included were issues of the Allen County Courant from January
11 to August 1, 1868, and the Neosho Valley Register from August 5, 1868, to
June 2, 1869, periods for which the Society had no coverage. The late W. W.
Graves, St. Paul, donated Vol. 1, No. 1, of the Osage Mission Daily Transcript,
dated October 2, 1873. Alan W. Farley, Kansas City, Kan., presented The
New South, Port Royal, S. C., January 3, and June 20, 1863, a Civil War sol-
dier's newspaper, and the Wyandott City Register, July 18, 1857. The Inde-
pendence Pioneer, July 2, 1870, was received from C. G. Connelly, Tribune
Printing Co., Independence.
Donors of miscellaneous newspapers included: John W. McReynolds, Man-
hattan; Willard C. Heiss, Indianapolis, Ind.; Mrs. Luella P. Britt, Fort Smith,
Ark.; and W. F. Thompson, Walter Saar, J. H. Whipple, and Mrs. Guilford
Dudley, Topeka.
ANNALS OF KANSAS
On August 26 a Kansas newspaper began an editorial as follows:
"My eye was attracted yesterday to an article in The Kansas Historical
Quarterly entitled 'The Annals of Kansas/ It told of the massive volume of
Annals published in 1875 by Daniel W. Wilder — almost 700 pages of fine print;
of the revision in 1886 with 11 years added; and of the 1& million words since
written by Jennie Owen and now being edited and compressed for publication.
"Gosh, I thought, how dull can a subject be? Who could yawn enough
times to prepare a day-by-day chronology of state history, let alone read it?
"But the Quarterly went on and printed, for an example, the newly prepared
Annals of the single year 1886. And I'll be darned if I didn't find it fascinating
reading."
360 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Many others felt as this editor did about the sampling of the new Annals
of Kansas, which appeared in the August number of the Quarterly. There is not
room, of course, to publish the entire work, covering 1886 through 1925, in the
Quarterly. This will require two or three full-sized volumes, and publication
cannot be undertaken without a special printing appropriation. The problem
will be submitted to the legislature this winter. If support is obtained, it is
hoped that the Annals can be published for release early in the centennial years
of territorial Kansas, 1954-1961, as a part of our observance.
During the year the manuscript has been revised, condensed, and copy read
to 1904. As already noted, the year 1886 was published in the August Quar-
terly, and 1887 appears in the November issue, which will be in the mail this
week. The copy for the years 1888-1895 is ready for the printer. Copy for
the years 1896 to 1904 has been read, revised, condensed, and re-checked, and
is almost ready for final typing. When completed for printing the entire manu-
script will have been cut about 50 percent.
MUSEUM
The attendance in the museum for the year was 41,289. Thirty-one relics
were accessioned, including the official state seal used by the governor from
the beginning of statehood in 1861 to 1952. A bronze bust of Ed Howe,
sculptured by Mrs. Sheila Burlingame of New York City, has been given by
Mrs. Clyde Robertson of Boulder, Colo. Mrs. H. G. Beall gave several small
medical instruments, once owned by Dr. G. M. Morrow of North Topeka, which
were found after the 1951 flood. The Woman's Kansas Day Club and the
Daughters of the American Revolution have added several items to their
collections.
The appearance of the museum has been improved by painting the floors
and replacing some of the old display cards. Many of the oil paintings have
been cleaned and restored.
SUBJECTS FOR RESEARCH
Extended research on the following persons and subjects was done during
the year: Jedediah Smith; Horace Greeley; Lewis Bodwell; Dr. John Brinkley;
William Becknell, father of the Santa Fe trail; contributions of Dr. Johnston
Lykins and Robert Simerwell to missions and evangelism; the administration of
missions in the Kansas Baptist convention; history of the American Indian As-
sociation; Indian enterprises of Isaac McCoy; Osage ceded tracts in Neosho
and Labette counties; Delaware Indians; Pottawatomie Indian claims; economic
development of southwest Kansas; population movements in southwest Kansas,
1880 to date; economic history of Ness county; southeast Kansas land history;
pioneer history along the Santa Fe trail; pioneer days in Kansas; the Boston
Syndicate and the development of street railways in Topeka; Chisholm trail;
the circuit Chautauqua; Mennonites; physical education curriculum in Kansas
colleges; state lands; and histories of Abilene, Monrovia and Atchison county,
Blue Rapids, and Enterprise.
THE ANNUAL MEETING 361
ACCESSIONS
October 1, 1951, to September 30, 1952
Library:
Books 977
Pamphlets 1,587
Magazines (bound volumes) 229
Archives:
Separate manuscripts 3,200
Manuscript volumes 3,336
Manuscript maps None
Reels of microfilm 58
Private manuscripts:
Separate manuscripts 1,200
Volumes None
Reels of microfilm 2
Printed maps, atlases and charts ....•: 386
Newspapers ( bound volumes ) 653
Reels of microfilm 427
Pictures 768
Museum objects 31
TOTAL ACCESSIONS, SEPTEMBER 30, 1952
Books, pamphlets, newspapers (bound and microfilm reels)
and magazines 451,736
Separate manuscripts (archives) 1,793,811
Manuscript volumes (archives) 61,653
Manuscript maps ( archives ) 583
Microfilm reels ( archives) 740
Printed maps, atlases and charts 12,168
Withdrawn 2,462
Total 9,706
Pictures 25,963
Museum objects 33,537
THE QUARTERLY
The Kansas Historical Quarterly is now in its 21st year. Reduction of the
Society's binding and printing appropriation for the current biennium made it
necessary to postpone some of the routine binding of books, magazines, and
newspapers; and the Quarterly is being issued with fewer pages. The current
volume 20 will consist of the eight numbers of the Quarterly appearing in 1952
and 1953.
The lack of sufficient funds will be brought to the attention of the budget
director and legislature this winter. Not only should the cut be restored, but
enough in addition should be allocated to meet increased costs, and increased
printing, if the Society is to publicize adequately Kansas history and historic
sites in the centennial years just ahead.
Meanwhile, one of the Society's Chicago members, taking notice of our
straitened circumstances, sent five dollars to aid the printing fund.
362 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Among the interesting articles published in 1952 are Dr. Robert Taft's
"Pictorial Record of the Old West/' No. 15 of the series; "The Great Flood of
1844," by S. D. Flora; "Vincent B. Osborne's Civil War Experiences," edited by
Joyce Farlow and Louise Barry; "The Administration of Federal Land Laws
in Western Kansas, 1880-1890," by Dr. George L. Anderson; and "The Rev.
Louis Dumortier, S. J., Itinerant Missionary to Central Kansas, 1859-1867," by
Sister M. Evangeline Thomas.
Special thanks continue to be due Dr. James C. Malin of the University of
Kansas who has always given generously of his time and knowledge in the
selection of articles for the Quarterly.
OLD SHAWNEE MISSION
Hundreds of school children were among the thousands who visited Shawnee
Mission the past year. Occasional letters of appreciation are received, such as
the following from a Brownie troop: "We enjoyed the trip to the Old Indian
Mission. We liked going up the creaky stairs. We liked the school room.
We liked the teacher's desk and we liked the loom. We liked the little model
house. Thank you for your time."
A miniature covered wagon, hitched to a yoke of white oxen, and two farm
wagons, one of which is hitched to ten horses, were interesting accessions.
The miniatures were made by H. C. Douglas, an early settler of Shawnee, who
carved the animals with a pocket knife. A hand carder was given by Mrs.
James Glenn Bell, retiring president of the Shawnee Mission Indian Historical
Society.
THE KAW MISSION AT COUNCIL GROVE
Though our wheels seemed to grind as slowly as those of a covered wagon
traveling down the Santa Fe trail a century ago, they also turned as surely,
and the Old Kaw Mission was finally opened September 18 as a museum.
Following the floods of July, 1951, when water three-feet deep flowed
through the building, available funds were sufficient only to give the building
and grounds a rough cleaning. Major repairs and redecorating had to await
action by the state's emergency fund board, which met March 18, 1952, and
allocated $2,230 for the work. The contractor, who was immediately engaged,
finished on September 13. On September 18 his work was inspected, an old
display case and several exhibits were moved in, and the Kaw Mission became
a state museum. It will feature the histories of the Old Santa Fe trail, Council
Grove, and the Kaw Indians for whom Kansas was named.
THE FIRST CAPITOL
There were 3,087 visitors at the First Capitol the past year, which is a slight
increase. Although the number is considerably below the totals in prewar
years, the new trend upward is encouraging.
THE STAFF OF THE SOCIETY
Having been closely associated with the members of the Society's staff for
21 years, it gives me real pleasure to state publicly that I deeply appreciate the
fine co-operation they have always given me. As in the past, many of the
accomplishments mentioned in these reports have been due to their efforts.
Recently one of our directors asked if we could help him run down an out-
dated rural school geography textbook. We could and did. And he wrote
back: "Thanks, thanks and thanks. I had not seen that picture, nor the book,
for at least 52 years. When it comes to getting things for a fellow, the Kansas
State Historical Society is unbeatable."
THE ANNUAL MEETING 363
Special mention should be made of the heads of the departments: Edgar
Langsdorf, assistant secretary and manager of the building; Mrs. Lela Barnes,
treasurer; Helen M. McFarland, librarian; the late Edith Smelser, curator of
the museum; Kirke Mechem, editor; and Jennie S. Owen, annalist.
Note should also be made of the work of the custodians of the historic sites
under the Society's management: Mr. and Mrs. Harry Hardy at Shawnee Mis-
sion, John Scott at the First Capitol, and Mr. and Mrs. Elwood Jones at the
Kaw Mission. Some of these people have been on the job for years, working
virtually seven days a week, and commendation is due them for their loyalty
and good managership.
Respectfully submitted,
NYLE H. MILLER, Secretary.
At the conclusion of the reading of the secretary's report, T. M.
Lillard moved that it be accepted. Motion was seconded by Mrs.
W. D. Philip, and the report was accepted.
President Beck then called for the report of the treasurer, Mrs.
Lela Barnes:
TREASURER'S REPORT
Based on the audit of the state accountant for the period
August 22, 1951, to July 31, 1952.
MEMBERSHIP FEE FUND
Balance, August 22, 1951:
Cash $4,963.27
U. S. savings bonds, Series G 8,700.00
$13,663.27
Receipts:
Memberships $942.00
Reimbursement for postage 842.67
Interest on bonds . . 242.50
2,027.17
$15,690.44
Disbursements $1,406.71
Balance, July 31, 1952:
Cash $5,583.73
U. S. savings bonds, Series G 8,700.00
14,283.73
$15,690.44
364
KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
JONATHAN PECKER BEQUEST
Balance, August 22, 1951:
Cash $122.88
U. S. treasury bonds 950.00
$1,072.88
Receipts:
Bond interest $27.24
Savings account interest 1.46
28.70
~ $1,101.58
Disbursements :
Books $89.22
Balance, July 31, 1952:
Cash $62.36
U. S. treasury bonds 950.00
1,012.36
~ $1,101.58
JOHN BOOTH BEQUEST
Balance, August 22, 1951:
Cash $81.04
U. S. treasury bonds 500.00
$581.04
Receipts:
Bond interest $14.42
Saving account interest .73
15.15
$596.19
Balance, July 31, 1952:
Cash $96.19
U. S. treasury bonds 500.00
$596.19
THOMAS H. BOWLUS DONATION
This donation is substantiated by a U. S. savings bond, Series G, in the
amount of $1,000. The interest is credited to the membership fee fund.
THE ANNUAL MEETING
ELIZABETH READER BEQUEST
Balance, August 22, 1951:
Cash (deposited in membership fee fund) $783.69
U. S. savings bonds (shown in total bonds,
membership fee fund) 5,200.00
365
Receipts:
Interest ( deposited in membership fee fund )
Disbursements:
Hiram Hill papers, dated mainly 1855-1873, and
relating to financial and business matters in early Kansas ....
Balance, July 31, 1952:
Cash .fc $763.69
U. S. savings bonds, Series G 5,200.00
$5,983.69
130.00
$6,113.69
$150.00
5,963.69
$6,113.69
STATE APPROPRIATIONS
This report covers only the membership fee fund and other custodial funds.
It is not a statement of the appropriations made by the legislature for the main-
tenance of the Society. These disbursements are not made through the treasurer
of the Society but through the state auditor. For the year ending June 30,
1952, these appropriations were: Kansas State Historical Society, $106,882.00;
Memorial building $28,428.00; Old Shawnee Mission, $6,724.00; Kaw Mission,
$2,500.00; First Capitol of Kansas, $2,362.00.
On motion by John S. Dawson, seconded by Joseph C. Shaw, the
report of the treasurer was accepted.
The report of the executive committee on the audit by the state
accountant of the funds of the Society was called for and read by
John S. Dawson:
REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
October 17, 1952.
To the Board of Directors, Kansas State Historical Society:
The executive committee being directed under the bylaws to check the
accounts of the treasurer, states that the state accountant has audited the funds
of the State Historical Society, the Old Shawnee Mission, the First Capitol
of Kansas and the Kaw Mission, from August 22, 1951, to July 31, 1952, and
that they are hereby approved.
JOHN S. DAWSON, Chairman,
C. M. CORRELL,
WlLFORD RlEGLE,
T. M. LlLLARD,
ROBERT C. RANKTN.
366 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
On motion by John S. Dawson, seconded by C. M. Correll, the
report was accepted.
The report of the nominating committee for officers of the Society
was read by John S. Dawson:
NOMINATING COMMITTEE'S REPORT
October 17, 1952.
To the Board of Directors, Kansas State Historical Society:
Your committee on nominations submits the following report for officers of
the Kansas State Historical Society:
For a one-year term: Robert Taft, Lawrence, president; Angelo Scott, lola,
first vice-president; F. D. Farrell, Manhattan, second vice-president.
For a two-year term: Mrs. Lela Barnes, Topeka, treasurer.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN S. DAWSON, Chairman.
The report was referred to the afternoon meeting of the board.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY
The annual meeting of the Kansas State Historical Society was
called to order at 2 P. M. The address by President William T.
Beck follows:
Address of the President
WILLIAM T. BECK
DANIEL WEBSTER WILDER
"HE IMPLANTED ERUDITION AND CULTURE ON KANSAS
TERRITORIAL SOIL"
TYEING a newspaper publisher, I have been a fairly constant
•*-* reader of The Kansas Historical Collections and Quarterly since
their publication began in 1881. But only recently, when 28 of the
36 fat volumes were added to my library, did I realize the immensity
of the task that had been accomplished in assembling and record-
ing in permanent form such a complete history of Kansas people
and events. It constitutes a saga of the state's 91 years of colorful
life, and reaches even farther into its early background. I may say
the people make the history, the writers record it, and the State
Historical Society collects and preserves it for the use of present and
future generations. Certainly the people of Kansas can be no less
than deeply appreciative of this valuable service that has been done
for their state.
In the senate last session, in pleading for an adequate appropria-
tion to finance the publication of the Quarterly, I ventured the
opinion that the Historical Society was rendering to the state one of
the choicest and most worthwhile services, and if in a spasm of
economy, commendable most of the time, the body should cripple
the publication and preservation of Kansas' history and noble tra-
ditions, the state would be poor indeed! I trust and believe future
legislatures will offer a generous hand in the support of this Society.
An important segment of the state's recorded history is supplied
by Wilder's Annals of Kansas. This rare volume (my copy was
published in 1875) is a scarce number on library shelves. In cate-
gorical form it reviews the life of the commonwealth from the year
1542 down through 1874. Then in 1886, Wilder issued a second
edition, a reprint of the first, with 11 years added. Of late years
much attention has been focused on this history, which William
Allen White pronounced a monumental work.
(367)
368 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
In the August, 1952, number of the Quarterly, former secretary
Kirke Mechem writes interestingly of the successful effort to con-
tinue the Annals from the date Wilder left off and to bring the
history more nearly to date. He tells briefly of a legislative appro-
priation in 1945 for the work, names the committee in charge of
the project, and the employment of Miss Jennie Owen, who with
assistants has collected material to extend the history through the
year 1925. Mr. Mechem's article includes a reprint of the first year
of the new section, 1886, and it is noted that the style and diction
follow closely that of Mr. Wilder.
Indeed, this resurgence of a literary and historical feat of the
long ago suggests the subject of this paper — something of the life,
character, and habits of Daniel Webster Wilder, the student, the
country editor, the politician and office holder, the historian, the
literate, who brought culture, wide knowledge, and a spirit of ad-
venture from his secure Eastern home to the wild uncharted plains
of Kansas territory.
The salient points of Web Wilder's life have been beautifully
written by the late William E. Connelley and recorded in the
archives here — his birth in Blackstone, Mass., July 15, 1832; his
marriage to Mary E. Irvin March 3, 1864; his death in Hiawatha,
July 15, 1911. He was the seventh son of Dr. Abel Wilder.
Dr. Wilder was able to give his son a thorough course in educa-
tion; four years in the Boston Latin School, four years at Harvard,
and a course in law afterwards. During his Harvard days, he
roomed with Artemus Ward, and was a member and orator of the
Hasty Pudding Club. In all his years of schooling, he invariably
was awarded prizes for superior scholarship. It was during his
days in the Boston Latin School that his scholarly traits first revealed
themselves. During his school years he kept a diary. These little
hand-written notebooks are in possession of a living daughter and
will be presented to this Society. Diaries are usually ephemeral
things, maintained for short periods, but Wilder's daily notations
were kept sedulously throughout his school courses and long after-
wards, in fact from 1848 to 1876, exceeding the period covered by
the famous Pepys' Diary in London, which was seven years. For
a boy in his 'teens, they reflected a serious attitude towards his
studies. Each day's entry recorded the weather, then his attend-
ance at classes, his pleasure in attending concerts and lectures. At
the end of each day's entry was found this unvarying duty per-
formed: "Have read four chapters in the Old Testament." In the
THE ANNUAL MEETING 369
diary are found lengthy resumes of sermons by his pastor which he
had transcribed from notes taken at the church services.
A notation reveals he had gone to church to hear Dr. Lyman
Beecher preach, and later he had heard in concert the Swedish
nightingale Jenny Lind. Interspersed through his daily entries,
increasing as his store of knowledge broadened, can be found quo-
tations from the classics and the Bible. They give first evidence of
his thirst for wide reading, a habit that persisted throughout his
life.
•
Born in Hiawatha, Mrs. Beck, my mentor and inexorable critic,
was a close friend of the Wilder children, and spent much time in
their home. She has a distinct recollection of the pater Wilder. She
recalls seeing him sit for hours reading a new dictionary, just to
enjoy the new words listed. She appealed to him for help once on
an essay in a Shakespeare-Bacon controversy in school. Wilder was
an ardent Shakespeare partisan, and wrote a book on Shakespeare,
said to be one of the best. She remembers his account of his meet-
ing with Lincoln when the Emancipator made his first incursion into
Kansas territory. Wilder said he sat on the bank of the Missouri at
St. Joseph with the Illinois rail splitter, waiting for the ferry to take
them over to Elwood. He related that Lincoln's long legs, as he
sat crouched on the ground, reminded him of a grasshopper. He
also had a distinct recollection of Lincoln's falsetto voice.
a
At this point it is well to note Web Wilder's arrival in Kansas. He
came first in 1857. His older brother Carter, also a distinguished
Kansan and a congressman, had blazed the trail. Greeley had not
yet issued his famous dictum. But Web Wilder felt the urge of the
West. It might have been the spirit of the pioneer working in him,
for he was only 24 years old; or it might have been the urging of
conscience to help make Kansas a free state. Leaving the prospect
of a law practice in Boston, he came again in 1858, this time to
remain. His first venture was as editor of the Elwood Free Press;
then in 1860 across the river in St. Joseph he ran a Republican paper,
the Free Democrat, advocating the freedom of the slaves. For this
he was indicted, but escaped back to Kansas, losing his investment
in Missouri.
Thereafter newspaper ventures in Kansas included editorship of
the Leavenworth Conservative in 1861, in conjunction with Col. D.
R. Anthony; a short fling with the Rochester, N. Y., Express, then
back to Kansas with the Fort Scott Monitor in 1871. Here he met
26-5464
370 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
and became the intimate friend of Eugene F. Ware. Five years
later he made another trial with the St. Joseph Herald, but failing
in this he landed in Hiawatha and edited the Hiawatha World,
until Ewing Herbert took over.
•
Although he was appointed surveyor general for Kansas and Ne-
braska in 1863, it was in 1872 that Mr. Wilder made his first essay
into state politics. The Republicans nominated and elected him
to the office of state auditor. He proved himself as capable in the
realm of figures and budgets as he had in the field of literature. He
held this office four years, being re-elected in 1874, and resigning
near the close of his second term. It was during these four years
that he found time for the extra-curricular work of writing his
Annals. The book came off the press in the fall of 1875. I think
he must not have realized that he was writing what was later to be-
come the authentic history of Kansas, for by his own admission his
object was to collect and write down some facts that would be
helpful to his fellow publishers of the state. His innate modesty
was further revealed in the dedication of the book, in which he
said, "To George W. Martin, a Kansan, of eighteen years' residence,
who, with his customary nerve, has assumed the financial risk of
becoming the publisher of this book, it is gratefully dedicated."
Wilder's four years' service as state auditor stand out as a shining
example of official probity and efficiency. Kansas was plagued with
an era of corruption and thievery in the state treasurer's office. As an
investigator, the new auditor made the Martin Dies committee, the
Truman committee, the King committee, and the Kefauver commit-
tee look like mere amateurs. His first report uncovered what, to use
a current term, was a sorry mess in the state treasurer's office. His
revelation of the crookedness resulted in the impeachment and re-
moval of the then treasurer Col. Josiah E. Hayes, for crimes and
misdemeanor in office, in 1874. Only a year later, another state
treasurer, Samuel Lappin of Nemaha county was forced to resign
because of the purchase and sale of forged school district bonds.
Lappin, a thorough scoundrel, made two attempts at jail breaking
before his trial.
In discussing his official career, the late W. E. Connelley said
this of the state auditor:
Mr. Wilder laid bare the foul ulcer with keen sentences and facts sharper
than the surgeon's scalpel. He turned a blaze of light into the caves of official
corruption, and the plunderers fled in consternation. They did not return.
. . . His reforms extended even to the administrative affairs of counties,
and they have been of immeasurable value to the people of Kansas.
THE ANNUAL MEETING 371
Wilder later was induced to become state superintendent of in-
surance. In this capacity his fidelity to his trust and his intelligent
methods of insurance in Kansas have resulted in great good to the
people.
To my mind Web Wilder set an example of decency and decorum
in politics that might well be followed in this day of campaign
strife. When he was elected auditor in 1874, he sent this letter
to his vanquished Democratic opponent, Col. G. P. Smith of Law-
rence:
DEAR FRIEND: I wish to express to you my sincere appreciation of your
course toward me during the recent campaign. It has not only made you
friends everywhere by proving, even to strangers, that you were a chivalrous
gentleman, but added a new element to a Kansas campaign — that of courtesy
and honor. Your speeches are spoken of by Republicans who heard them as
the ablest delivered. I remember that you began the fight against a corrupt
treasurer, and I am glad to know that we have both outlived the abuse and
calumies which such a contest always provokes. Very truly, D. W. WILDER.
Love letters are generally regarded as privileged documents, al-
though sometimes admitted as evidence in the courts. The blue
ribbon which binds them as they are stored away in the trunk, along
with baby's first shoes, impregnates them with a sentiment of true
devotion and an outpouring of the heart that, unhappily, is not fully
sustained in after years of connubial association.
D. W. Wilder had reached the age of 31 before he was pierced
by Cupid's dart. All evidence shows he had been heart whole and
fancy free. But when he fell, he fell hard. The object of his affec-
tion was a girl of 17, the daughter of his friend, Dr. J. E. Irvin, who
at the time of the courtship held the government job of provost
marshal and resided with his family at Kennekuk, in the northwest
part of Atchison county. After ten months of urging, Mary Irvin
capitulated, and the wedding occurred March 3, 1864. Their first
home was in modest rented quarters in Leavenworth where the
new husband was editor of the Leavenworth Conservative. Subse-
quently ten children were born.
Many years ago, after she was widowed, Mary Irvin Wilder
visited in our home in Holton, a tall, erect, silver-haired woman,
of beautiful face and queenly bearing, exuding in her every move-
ment the culture and good breeding that in earlier years had en-
tranced the swain Web Wilder.
The letters Wilder wrote to Mary Irvin covered a period from
May 24, 1863, up to the time of their marriage March 3, 1864.
These letters have been preserved and will soon be entered in the
372 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
manuscript collection of this Society, probably as restricted matter.
Intermingled with the protestations of a passionate love for the lass
and the yearnings to possess her as his wife, the letters embody many
current observations and his acquired philosophy of life, clothed in
the faultless rhetoric that characterizes all of the Wilder composi-
tions. For example, this comment was thrown in in an early letter:
There is a collision between Anthony of the city government on one side
and Gen. Ewing, Jennison and Hoyt on the other, in which Ewing has declared
martial law in the city. I have to take a position and must take it against
Ewing (whom I despise) and Jennison and Hoyt (whom I love.)
But you don't want to hear about these affairs. The trouble about conducting
a newspaper is this — that you have constantly to take positions and bring
yourself into conflict with friends. One cannot desert cherished principles for
the sake of an individual friend — but the seeming hostility is extremely un-
pleasant.
Perhaps, however, a newspaper life is as free from these annoyances as
many other spheres of life — for life, after all, to a sincere and earnest man,
is a constant battle. Wrong, outrage, crime, slavery, meet us in every pathway.
We must stop and give them battle or meanly desert the principles we believe
in. We are not placed on earth to be the passive recipients of an empty
happiness. God and justice have claims upon us, and the only true happiness
is found in an active championship of divine issues.
Another tenet of his philosophy:
I do not believe that heaven is REST as so many stupid and narrow minds
represent it. Will there be no chance to do good there? No field for charity,
for kindness? Nobody to whom to reach the hand of forgiveness and to help
on to a career of nobleness and virtue? If there is no suffering there to relieve,
no pains to assuage, no erring brother to help forward, Florence Nightingale
would be more happy in the hospital at Scutari than she could possibly be in
Heaven. For the truest happiness is always found in acts of unselfish kindness
to others, and I have had more sincere pleasure in quietly aiding some obscure
person who had no opportunity of returning the favor, than in all the dollars
I ever spent for my own personal comforts.
The Wilder love letters are, in my judgment, in the front echelons
of Kansas literature, and, I believe, deserve a place alongside the
letters of Robert Browning to Elizabeth Barrett.
•
Here I record some thumb-nail facts about D. W. Wilder:
He conceived the idea, wrote the resolution at an 1875 editorial
meeting, establishing the Kansas State Historical Society, and was
an incorporator and early president.
He was one of the promoters of the Kansas Magazine in 1871.
He was a secretary of the Osawatomie convention in 1859 which
gave birth and life to the Republican party in Kansas.
He was familiar with five languages, spoke three fluently.
THE ANNUAL MEETING 373
For 50 years he was one of the associate editors of Harriett's
Familiar Quotations.
His passion for the anti-slavery cause was kindled by visitors in
his father's home, including William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phil-
lips, Theodore Parker, and Horace Mann. Later at Harvard he
knew Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott and Frank Sanborn.
Although indicted in St. Joseph for his anti-slavery editorials and
forced to flee to Kansas to escape jail and mob violence, he was
not embittered. Later in Leavenworth he dissuaded a Free-State
mob from attacking an editor of Confederate leanings, urging that
their opponents had the right to a free press and free speech.
^ •
Dear friends of the Society, why, you may well ask, of all the
scores of men and women who have wrought so nobly and so well
in bringing our Kansas to its present high rank in the common-
wealths of the nation, and whose names are indelibly etched on the
scroll of fame, do I select Daniel Webster Wilder as the one I try
feebly to exalt today? The obvious answer is:
Because his life's work, and its accomplishments, glorify the
value and dignity of the intellect, and its importance to the enlight-
enment and happiness of our people.
Because he typifies that vanishing breed of country editors, who
in their day paid more heed to the editorial columns than to the
advertising pages; who scorned anonymity, and were courageous in
defending the right as they saw it; self-educated men who wrote of
world affairs as glibly as of local happenings; editors who felt the
responsibility of molding public opinion, and who faced their tasks,
with conscience, the decalogue and the Republican platform as their
guides, without fear or trembling, so come what may! Editors who
have been succeeded by two generations of fine smart young men,
who, perhaps wisely, have shown more concern for the bank ac-
count, the advertising revenues and expanding circulations. But,
while some of our present day editorial writers, in my book, rank
among the best in the field, these modern publishers will go a long
way before they excel the newspaper concept, forceful writing, and
acknowledged leadership and influence of those early Kansas edi-
tors.
He typified the ideal public official and office holder who realized
his trust, sought to improve the mechanics as well as the policies of
government; who had a contempt for dishonesty and corruption in
public office and was vocal in exposing and denouncing it.
374 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
He was typical of the true lover, who in pursuit of his quest re-
sorted to logic and persuasion rather than to the bludgeon of the
stone age.
He typified a serene home life, a beautiful family relationship,
and the while an untiring energy and a prodigious capacity for
work.
He typified those hardy voyagers who crossed "the prairies as of
old the pilgrims crossed the sea, to make the West, as they the East,
the homestead of the free."
Finally, Kansas is forever indebted to his efforts in behalf of the
pioneer state, to his diligence and integrity as a public official,
and to his foresight in preserving for future generations the history
of Kansas. No Kansan has served his state more completely than
Daniel Webster Wilder, who gave so lavishly of his talents to mold
the thought and guide the destiny of his adopted and beloved state.
At the close of his address, President Beck introduced Mrs. Burns
H. Uhrich, Independence, Kan., and Mrs. Jane Wilder Poynter,
Oklahoma City, Okla., daughter and granddaughter respectively of
Daniel Webster Wilder. Mr. Beck expressed his gratitude to Mrs.
Uhrich for the use of Wilder's papers, in her possession, in the prep-
aration of his address.
Dr. Robert Taft, first vice-president of the Kansas State Historical
Society and professor of chemistry at the University of Kansas, was
introduced and spoke briefly on the J. J. Pennell collection of photo-
graphs displayed in the lobby of the Memorial building. The photo-
graphs, property of the University, will be exhibited throughout the
state.
Following a brief introduction by President Beck, W. L. More,
general manager of the eastern lines of the Atchison, Topeka, and
Santa Fe Railway Co., presented on behalf of the railroad an oil
portrait of its founder, Cyrus Kurtz Holliday. Frank Haucke, for-
mer president of the Society, accepted the portrait for the state.
Mrs. Helen Hodge, the artist, and Mrs. Frank Haucke, who assisted
in obtaining the portrait, were also introduced.
The report of the committee on nominations was called for:
THE ANNUAL MEETING 375
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON NOMINATIONS FOR DIRECTORS
October 17, 1952.
To the Kansas State Historical Society:
Your committee on nominations submits the following report and recom-
mendations for directors of the Society for the term of three years ending
October, 1955:
Barr, Frank, Wichita. Means, Hugh, Lawrence.
Berryman, Jerome C., Ashland. Norton, Gus S., Kalvesta.
Brigham, Mrs. Lalla M., Council Owen, Arthur K., Topeka.
Grove. Owen, Mrs. E. M., Lawrence.
Brock, R. F., Goodland. Patrick, Mrs. Mae C., Satanta.
Bumgardner, Edward, Lawrence. Payne, Mrs. L. F., Manhattan.
Charlson, Sam C., Manhattan. Richards, Walter M., Emporia.
Correll, Charles M., Manhattan. Riegle, Wilford, Emporia.
Davis, W. W., Lawrence. - Rupp, Mrs. Jane C., Lincolnville.
Denious, Jess C., Dodge City. Scott, Angelo, lola.
Godsey, Mrs. Flora R., Emporia. Sloan, E. R., Topeka.
Hall, Mrs. Carrie A., Leavenworth. Smelser, Mary M., Lawrence.
Hall, Standish, Wichita. Stewart, Mrs. James G., Topeka.
Hegler, Ben F., Wichita. Van De Mark, M. V. B., Concordia.
Jones, Horace, Lyons. Wark, George H., Caney.
Lillard, T. M., Topeka. Williams, Charles A., Bentley.
Lindquist, Emory K., Lindsborg. Wooster, Lorraine E., Salina.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN S. DAWSON, Chairman.
On motion by John S. Dawson, seconded by James Malone, the
report of the committee was accepted unanimously and the mem-
bers of the board were declared elected for the term ending in
October, 1955.
Reports of local and county historical societies were called for.
Orville Watson Mosher reported for the Lyon county society; T. M.
Lillard for the Shawnee county society; Mrs. James Glenn Bell for
the Shawnee Mission Indian Historical Society; Alan W. Farley for
the Wyandotte county society; Gus Norton for the Finney county
society; O. L. Lennen for the Ness county society; and the Reverend
Angelus Lingenfelser for the Kansas Catholic Society.
There being no further business, the annual meeting of the
Society adjourned.
MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The afternoon meeting of the board of directors was called to
order by President Beck. He asked for a rereading of the report of
the nominating committee for officers of the Society. The report
was read by John S. Dawson, chairman, who moved that it be ac-
cepted. Motion was seconded by Robert C. Rankin and the follow-
ing were unanimously elected:
376
KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
For a one-year term: Robert Taft, Lawrence, president; Angelo
Scott, lola, first vice-president; F. D. Farrell, Manhattan, second
vice-president.
For a two-year term: Mrs. Lela Barnes, Topeka, treasurer.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
DIRECTORS OF THE KANSAS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
AS OF OCTOBER, 1952
DIRECTORS FOR THE YEAR ENDING OCTOBER, 1953
Aitchison, R. T., Wichita.
Anderson, George L., Lawrence.
Anthony, D. R., Leavenworth.
Baugher, Charles A., Ellis.
Beck, Will T., Holton.
Blake, Henry S., Topeka.
Chambers, Lloyd, Wichita.
Chandler, C. J., Wichita.
Clymer, Rolla, El Dorado.
Cotton, Corlett J., Lawrence.
Dawson, John S., Hill City.
Euwer, Elmer E., Coodland.
Farley, Alan W., Kansas City.
Hunt, Charles L., Concordia.
Knapp, Dallas W., Coffeyville.
Lilleston, W. F., Wichita.
Malin, James C., Lawrence.
Mayhew, Mrs. Patricia Solander,
Topeka.
Miller, Karl, Dodge City.
Montgomery, W. H., Salina.
Moore, Russell, Wichita.
Motz, Frank, Hays.
Raynesford, H. C., Ellis.
Redmond, John, Burlington.
Rodkey, Clyde K., Manhattan.
Russell, W. L, Topeka.
Shaw, Joseph C., Topeka.
Somers, John G., Newton.
Stewart, Donald, Independence.
Thomas, E. A., Topeka.
Thompson, W. F., Topeka.
von der Heiden, Mrs. W. H., Newton.
Walker, Mrs. Ida M., Norton.
DIRECTORS FOR THE YEAR ENDING OCTOBER, 1954
Bailey, Roy F., Salina.
Beezley, George F., Girard.
Bowlus, Thomas H., lola.
Brinkerhoff, Fred W., Pittsburg.
Campbell, Mrs. Spurgeon B.,
Kansas City.
Cron, F. H., El Dorado.
Ebright, Homer K., Baldwin.
Farrell, F. D., Manhattan.
Gray, John M., Kirwin.
Hamilton, R. L. Beloit.
Harger, Charles M., Abilene.
Harvey, Mrs. A. M., Topeka.
Haucke, Frank, Council Grove.
Hodges, Frank, Olathe.
Lingenfelser, Angelus, Atchison.
Long, Richard M., Wichita.
Me Arthur, Mrs. Vernon E.,
Hutchinson.
McFarland, Helen M., Topeka.
M alone, James, Topeka.
Mechem, Kirke, Lindsborg.
Mueller, Harrie S., Wichita.
Murphy, Franklin D., Lawrence.
Philip, Mrs. W. D., Hays.
Rankin, Robert C., Lawrence.
Ruppenthal, J. C., Russell.
Sayers, Wm. L., Hill City.
Simons, Dolph, Lawrence.
Skinner, Alton H., Kansas City.
Stanley, W. E., Wichita.
Stone, Robert, Topeka.
Taft, Robert, Lawrence.
Templar, George, Arkansas City.
Woodring, Harry H., Topeka.
THE ANNUAL MEETING
377
DIRECTORS FOR THE YEAR ENDING OCTOBER, 1955
Barr, Frank, Wichita.
Berryman, Jerome C., Ashland.
Brigham, Mrs. Lalla M.,
Council Grove.
Brock, R. F., Goodland.
Bumgardner, Edward, Lawrence.
Charlson, Sam C., Manhattan.
Correll, Charles M., Manhattan.
Davis, W. W., Lawrence.
Denious, Jess C., Dodge City.
Godsey, Mrs. Flora R., Emporia.
Hall, Mrs. Carrie A., Leavenworth.
Hall, Standish, Wichita.
Hegler, Ben F., Wichita.
Jones, Horace, Lyons.
Lillard, T. M., Topeka.
Lindquist, Emory K., Lindsborg.
Means, Hugh, Lawrence.
Norton, Gus S., Kalvesta.
Owen, Arthur K., Topeka.
Owen, Mrs. E. M., Lawrence.
Patrick, Mrs. Mae C., Satanta.
Payne, Mrs. L. F., Manhattan.
Richards, Walter M., Emporia.
Riegle, Wilford, Emporia.
Rupp, Mrs. Jane C., Lincolnville.
Scott, Angelo, lola.
Sloan, E. R., Topeka.
Smelser, Mary M., Lawrence.
Stewart, Mrs. James G., Topeka.
Van De Mark, M. V. B., Concordia.
Wark, George H., Caney.
Williams, Charles A., Bentley.
Wooster, Lorraine E., Salina.
Bypaths of Kansas History
TURNING THE TABLES
From The Kansas Tribune, Lawrence, January 10, 1855.
A shrewd Indian of the Shawnee Nation suggests the establishment of a
Mission amongst the white people of Kansas. He says a murder was a thing
almost unknown until the white folks came in, and now skulls can be found
bleaching along all the roads. The sarcasm is pretty well deserved.
EDITORIALS IN ADVANCE
From the Fort Scott Democrat, December 16, 1858.
Since the times are so very close, we have concluded to take a few more
subscribers to read the editorials for the Democrat over the shoulders of the
compositor. It is getting to be quite a fashionable practice in our office, and
we are unwilling to give news in advance, unless at increased rates. Yearly
patrons will be charged twenty-five dollars, with the privilege of questioning
the compositor in regard to the propriety of the article, and who was its author.
ADMINISTERING LOYALTY OATHS IN 1861
From the Olathe Mirror, June 20, 1861.
We have been informed that when one company of the U. S. troops was
passing the Union Hotel in Kansas City, one day last week, a man came out
and hurrahed for Jeff Davis. In an instant the company wheeled about and
levelled a ten-pounder at the building, giving the women and children five
minutes to leave, when it was the intention of the commanding officer to level
it to the earth. He did not molest it, however, as all the inmates came out and
took the oath to support the constitution and the Union.
DRYING UP SALOONS IN 1874
From the Dodge City Messenger, February 26, 1874.
The new method of closing saloons, recently inaugurated in Ohio, is fast
spreading all over the country. They are about to try it in Leavenworth and
we presume Grasshopper Falls [now Valley Falls] will be the next on the list.
The way it is done is as follows: The Christian ladies of the town form them-
selves into praying bands, and hold prayer meetings in the bar-rooms if allowed
to do so, and if not, on the sidewalk outside. One band relieves another and
the meeting is kept up until the saloon keeper is converted or his business
ruined. — Grasshopper Falls Kansas New Era.
(378)
Kansas History as Published in the Press
A biographical sketch of B. C. Decker and some of the early
history of the Hoxie area were printed in the Hoxie Sentinel, July
31, 1952. Decker brought his family to Kansas in 1878 and home-
steaded what is now the Mosier ranch near Hoxie.
Ernest Dewey's series of historical articles has continued to ap-
pear in the Hutchinson News-Herald. Among recent articles were:
"Rome [Kan.] Not Built in a Day, But It Didn't Last Much Longer,"
August 3, 1952; "Range War Days Only a Bitter Memory," Septem-
ber 14; "Satank One of Most Cantankerous Indians/' October 9;
"Sod Wall Fort [Protection] .to Be Restored as Western Tourist
Attraction," October 26; and "Chauncey Dewey Tells Truth About
Old Feud," November 2. The Salina Journal also printed the Rome
article August 24, and the range feud story September 14.
Very brief historical notes on St. John's Lutheran church, Lincoln-
ville, appeared in the Herington Advertiser-Times, August 14, 1952.
The church was organized August 19, 1877, by the Rev. C. H.
Lieker.
Articles of a historical nature appearing recently in the Coffey-
ville Daily Journal included: reminiscences of Mrs. Clara Thixten,
August 17, 1952; the story of the Dalton raid in Coffeyville, from
V. V. Masterson's The Katy Railroad and the Last Frontier, October
5; and reminiscences of Mrs. John Wishall, October 26.
Biographical information on the Dexter brothers, Alonzo, John,
and Aaron, founders of Clay Center, appeared in an article in the
Clay Center Dispatch, August 19, 1952.
On August 26, 1952, the Garden City Daily Telegram, printed an
article by Ruby Basye, Coats, on the Gray county county-seat fight
between Ingalls and Cimarron.
Featured in the 28-page anniversary edition of the Luray Herald,
August 28, 1952, were local historical highlights for each year
beginning with 1902. Among other articles was "A History of the
Settlement of Luray," by Capt. John Fritts.
Two articles of a historical nature appeared in the Hugoton
Hermes, September 4, 1952. One dealt with the establishment of
Hugoton in the middle 1880's and the other with the county-seat
rivalry between Hugoton and Woodsdale.
(379)
380 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The Wichita Evening Eagles "See Kansas" series of articles has
continued to appear in recent months. Subjects of a few have been:
Fort Scott, September 11, 1952; "Bloody" Benders of Parsons, Sep-
tember 25; Cheney, November 13; and WaKeeney, December 18.
A brief history of the first school in the Chanute area was printed
in the Chanute Tribune, September 19, 1952. The school was estab-
lished in 1868 in a log cabin.
Appearing in the Topeka Daily Capital, September 21, 1952, were
historical articles on the Brookville Hotel, Last Chance store in
Council Grove, and a biographical sketch of Elizabeth Simerwell
Carter and her family by Peggy Greene.
An Indian peace treaty edition, including 64 tabloid pages of
local history, was published by The Barber County Index, Medicine
Lodge, October 2, 1952, in connection with the Indian peace treaty
pageant held in Barber county October 10-12. Featured were
stories of the treaty between the government and the Indians made
in 1867 near present Medicine Lodge. The event is celebrated
every five years by an outdoor pageant.
Two recent articles on the history of the Great Bend area were: a
biographical sketch of Frank Marque by Mrs. Abbie L. Darr, in the
Great Bend Press, October 5, 1952, and a brief, illustrated history
of the Great Bend schools in the Great Bend Daily Tribune, Octo-
ber 30.
The history of the Henderson Mennonite Brethren church was
published in the Hillsboro Journal, October 9, 1952. Organization
of the church in 1877 was directed by Peter Regier, Cornelius Neu-
feldt and Gerhard Toews. Regier became the first minister, and
the first building was completed in 1880.
The Clearwater News, October 9, 1952, published a column-
length history of Clearwater. The first settlers in the area arrived
in the late 1860's and early 1870's.
An article by Mrs. May Curtis, written for presentation at the
Rush county old settlers' reunion at Rush Center, October 16, 1952,
recalling Rush county history of the 1880's and 1890's, was pub-
lished in The Rush County News, La Crosse, November 27, 1952.
The Atchison Daily Globe published an 80-page, 75th anniver-
sary edition October 19, 1952. Edgar Watson Howe founded the
Globe in 1877. The edition is dedicated to the Howe family and
the city of Atchison. Included are many historical articles on the
town's institutions and industries.
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 381
An 88-page special edition of the Hays Daily News was issued
October 30, 1952, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the
founding of Fort Hays State College. Much of the history of Fort
Hays and the city of Hays is included with numerous articles on
the college.
A brief account of the last Indian raid through Kansas, in 1878,
by Mrs. Ruby Basye, Coats, was published in the Dodge City
Daily Globe, November 3, 1952.
Mrs. Bert Hay's history of the vicinity north of Baileyville ap-
peared in the Courier-Tribune, Seneca, November 3, 1952. W. P.
Sproul, father of Mrs. Hay, brought his family to Haytown, present
Baileyville, in 1880.
Sedgwick's early history was published in the Sedgwick Panta-
graph, November 6, 1952. The town was established in June, 1870,
and Harvey county was organized in 1872. Brief historical sketches
of Sedgwick churches and lodges were printed in the Pantagraph,
November 20.
A 50-year history of the Cosmos Club of Russell, by Mrs. H. A.
Opdycke, was published in the Russell Record, November 13, 1952.
A review of the history of the Four Mile School Thanksgiving
Association, Butler county, from the time of its organization, No-
vember 28, 1889, to November 30, 1939, by H. A. J. Coppins, asso-
ciation historian, was published in the El Dorado Times, November
27, 1952.
An anthology of Kansas poetry published in 1894 was discussed
by Norma B. Cunningham in "Human Grief and Hope of Heaven
Stirred Kansas Poets of 1890's, Anthology Shows/' printed in the
Kansas City (Mo.) Star, December 6, 1952. Articles of historical
interest to Kansans appearing in recent issues of the Kansas City
(Mo.) Times included: "Texas Cattle Shattered Abilene's Peace,
Made Town Famous 85 Years Ago/' by Charles M. Harger, August
29; "Last of Big Indian Raids Was Costly to Kansas in Death and
Destruction," by Ray Morgan, September 19; "Kansas, Now to
Have Archbishop, Saw First Catholic Priest [Father Padilla] 410
Years Ago/' by John J. Doohan, December 9; "Faith in West Lured
Horace Greeley to Kansas and Fringe of Civilization," by Charles
Arthur Hawley, December 11; "Century-Old House in a State Park
Is Relic of the Pony Express in Kansas," by E. B. Dykes Beachy,
December 30.
Kansas Historical Notes
Dr. Robert Taft, Lawrence, president of the Kansas State His-
torical Society, is chairman of an advisory committee appointed by
Gov. Edward F. Arn to plan for the state's observance of the 100th
anniversary of the establishment of the territory of Kansas on May
30, 1854. Prof. Charles M. Correll of Kansas State College, Man-
hattan, is vice-chairman. Others named to the committee are:
Dr. George Anderson, and Robert Vosper, University of Kansas;
Kenneth Davis, Manhattan novelist; Jerome Cushman, Salina
librarian; Nyle H. Miller, secretary of the Kansas Historical Society;
Rolla Clymer, El Dorado editor; J. M. Feller, Leavenworth; Maurice
Fager, director of the Kansas Industrial Development Commission;
and Harry Woods, Kansas State Chamber of Commerce. Other
centennial committees have also been set up by the University of
Kansas; by the city of Lawrence, which will observe its centennial
in the summer of 1954; and by Topeka, for the purpose of preparing
a history of the city, founded on December 5, 1854.
Historic Wichita, Inc., recently announced that the restoration
of four key buildings in the "Cow Town" project was in progress.
The idea of the project is to build a typical cow town. Ruildings
now being constructed and restored are the first Wichita jail, par-
sonage, church, and the Munger house, the first in Wichita. Other
buildings are to be added later. Richard M. "Dick" Long is presi-
dent of Historic Wichita, Inc., and L. W. Roberts is chairman of
the building committee.
George Miller, Cottonwood Falls, was re-elected president of the
Chase County Historical Society at the annual meeting September
6, 1952, in Cottonwood Falls. Other officers chosen include: Henry
Rogler, Matfield Green, vice-president; C. A. Baldwin, Cottonwood
Falls, secretary; and Mrs. George Dawson, Elmdale, treasurer.
Members of the executive committee are: Mrs. Ida M. Vinson,
chairman, C. A. Baldwin, Minnie Norton, T. R. Wells, and Ida
Schneider. W. P. Austin was later designated chief historian.
The 20th anniversary of the founding of the Kiowa County His-
torical Society was celebrated October 2, 1952, by a Pioneer party
in Greensburg, attended by 245 persons. Officers chosen for the
coming year were: W. A. Sluder, president; Herbert Parkin, first
vice-president; Mrs. Emma Meyer, second vice-president; Mrs.
Benjamin Weaver, secretary; and Mrs. L. V. Keller, treasurer.
(382)
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 383
Prof. L. E. Curfman, Pittsburg, was elected president of the
Crawford County Historical Society at a meeting in Pittsburg,
October 22, 1952. Other officers named were: Oscar Anderson,
Farlington, vice-president; Mrs. Mae Stroud, secretary; and William
Walker, treasurer. L. H. Dunton, Arcadia; Ralph Shideler, Girard;
and Mrs. C. M. Cooper, Pittsburg, were elected to the board of
directors. Dr. Theodore Sperry and Dr. Gladys Galligar of Kansas
State Teachers College, Pittsburg, gave an illustrated talk on their
trip to the Belgian Congo. Dr. Ernest Mahan, Pittsburg, was the
retiring president.
Dr. C. W. McCampbell was re-elected president of the Riley
County Historical Association at the annual dinner meeting in Man-
hattan, October 24, 1952. Other officers chosen were: Lee King,
vice-president; Mrs. C. W. Emmons, secretary; Joe Haines, treas-
urer; Ed Amos, historian; and Carl Pfuetze, curator. New directors
are: Mrs. Cora Parker, Mrs. Max Wolf, and C. M. Correll. Direc-
tors holding over are: Albert Horlings, Bruce Wilson, Mrs. F. A.
Marlatt, Richard Rogers, Dr. F. A. Filinger, and Mrs. Eva Knox.
Dr. H. E. Socolofsky, featured speaker at the meeting, gave the
history of early railroads in Riley county.
The Dickinson County Historical Society held its annual meet-
ing in the New Basel church, October 28, 1952. Talks on the his-
tory of the New Basel community were features of the program.
Mrs. Ed Rohrer, Elmo, was elected second vice-president, and
Mrs. Walter Wilkins, Chapman, treasurer. Other officers remain
in office for another year. B. H. Oesterreich, Woodbine, is
president.
Pawnee county pioneers of the 1870's were the honored guests
of the Pawnee County Historical Society at the annual pioneer
reunion in Larned October 30, 1952. This year's reunion cele-
brated the 80th anniversary of the founding of the county.
The annual meeting and pioneer mixer of the Clark County
Historical Society was held in Ashland, November 1, 1952. Among
the speakers were Judge Karl Miller and Heinie Schmidt of Dodge
City. New officers elected included: Paul F. Randall, president;
Mrs. Virgil Broadie, vice-president; Mrs. Sidney Dorsey, first hon-
orary vice-president; and Mrs. Chas. McCasland, second honorary
vice-president. Other officers of the society are: Mrs. J. C. Harper,
recording secretary; Mrs. W. R. Nunemacher, assistant recording
secretary; Rhea Gross, corresponding secretary; William T. Moore,
384 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
treasurer; Mrs. H. B. Gabbert, curator; Mrs. R. V. Shrewder, his-
torian; and M. G. Stevenson, auditor.
The annual old settlers' reunion sponsored by the Stevens County
Historical Society, held November 2, 1952, in the old Stevens county
courthouse in Hugoton, was attended by nearly 200 early residents
of the county.
Bill Adams of Pratt was the principal speaker at the annual
meeting of the Comanche County Historical Society in Coldwater,
November 5, 1952. Brief talks were also made by Judge Karl
Miller and Heinie Schmidt of Dodge City. W. P. Morton was
re-elected president of the society for the coming year. Other
officers elected were: H. B. Cloud, vice-president; Stella York,
secretary; and F. H. Moberly, treasurer.
O. W. Mosher was re-elected president of the Lyon County His-
torical Society at the annual meeting in Emporia, December 4,
1952. Other officers elected included: A. H. Thomas, first vice-
president; Claude Arnett, second vice-president; Mrs. C. A. Moore,
secretary; Warren Morris, treasurer; Lucina Jones, Mrs. F. L.
Gilson, Mabel Edwards, and Charles Caldwell, historians.
L. B. Read, Jr., was elected president of the Lawrence Historical
Society at the fall meeting, December 19, 1952. Other officers
named were: M. S. Winter, Sr., vice-president; Byron Beery, secre-
tary, and Corlett Cotton, treasurer. Directors elected to serve until
December, 1953, were: Mrs. Ivan Rowe, Prof. H. H. Lane, Irma
Spangler, Dr. T. A. Kennedy, and Mayor Chris Kraft. Directors
elected to serve until December, 1954, were: Mrs. T. D. Prentice,
Keith Lawton, Mrs. L. H. Menger, M. N. Penny, and Ida Lyons.
Penny was the retiring president.
Officers of the Shawnee Mission Indian Historical Society for
1953 are: Mrs. Homer Bair, president; Mrs. David Huber, first
vice-president; Lucile Larson, second vice-president; Mrs. Martin
Ziegler, recording secretary; Mrs. Lee J. Smith, corresponding
secretary; Mrs. Edith M. Mills, treasurer; Mrs. Harry Meyer, his-
torian; Mrs. Arthur W. Wolf, curator; and Mrs. Carl Harder,
member-in-waiting. Mrs. James Glenn Bell was the retiring
president.
A 422-page work by W. Turrentine Jackson entitled Wagon
Roads West was recently published by the University of California
Press. It is a study of federal road surveys and construction in
the trans-Mississippi West, including Kansas, from 1846 to 1869.
THE
KANSAS HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
May 1953
Published by
Kansas State Historical Society
Topeka
KIRKE MECHEM JAMES C. MALIN NYLE H. MILLER
Editor Associate Editor Managing Editor
CONTENTS
ASPECTS OF THE NEBRASKA QUESTION, 1852-1854 James C. Malm, 385
CAPT. L. C. EASTON'S REPORT: Fort Laramie to Fort Leavenworth
Via Republican River in 1849 Edited by Merrill J. Mattes, 392
With the following illustrations:
Captain Easton's map of 1849, facing p. 400;
Sketches of Fort Leavenworth (1849), facing p. 416,
and Fort Laramie (1849), facing p. 417.
KANSAS NEGRO REGIMENTS IN THE CIVIL WAR .... Dudley Taylor Cornish, 417
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY,
Compiled by Helen M. McFarland, Librarian, 430
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 450
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 456
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES . .461
The Kansas Historical Quarterly is published in February, May, August and
November by the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kan., and is dis-
tributed free to members. Correspondence concerning contributions may be
sent to the managing editor at the Historical Society. The Society assumes no
responsibility for statements made by contributors.
Entered as second-class matter October 22, 1931, at the post office at To-
peka, Kan., under the act of August 24, 1912.
THE COVER
A photograph of Fort Riley, looking southwest, in
the early 1880's. The fort was started as Camp Center
in 1852, but was renamed Fort Riley on June 27, 1853.
A centennial celebration will be held at the fort on
June 27, 1953.
THE KANSAS
HISTORICAL aUARTERLY
Volume XX May, 1953 Number 6
Aspects of the Nebraska Question, 1852-1854
JAMES C. MALIN
TN a previous article on the motives of Stephen A. Douglas, em-
•*• phasis was placed upon the fact that the issue of slavery was
raised already, prior to the provision relating to the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise incorporated into the Douglas bill of January,
1854. The problem is too complex to be handled within the scope
of a magazine article, but an important aspect of it is presented
here as related to the Nebraska delegate convention held at St.
Joseph, Mo., January 9 and 10, 1854.
The interest of northwestern Missouri in the organization of the
Indian country to the westward, which Douglas called Nebraska,
was of long standing. It came to the point of crisis between 1852
and 1854.
The bill for the organization of Nebraska introduced into the
short session of congress of 1852-1853, by Willard P. Hall, of St.
Joseph, proposed to organize the territory without mention of the
question of slavery. That bill passed the house of representatives
but failed in the senate, apparently by a small majority.
But there is more to the question than met the eye. The Com-
promise of 1850 had been accepted by the majority of the congress
and of the federal union as the final settlement of the slavery ques-
tion, which would remove that "vexed question" from the floor of
congress forever. The formula applied to the Mexican session, and
to Texas, was the one that came to be called popular sovereignty,
which meant, that local institutions were to be decided by the popu-
lation occupying the territory, and congress would accept that
decision without argument. Both political parties, in their platforms
of 1852, had made acceptance of the Compromise Measures of 1850
DR. JAMES C. MALIN, associate editor of The Kansas Historical Quarterly, is professor of
history at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.
The material in this article is summarized from some parts of a book by the present
author, The Nebraska Question, 1852-1854, to be issued in 1954.
(385)
386 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
a test of party loyalty, and candidates had generally been nominated
and elected upon that pledge, or "loyalty oath/' Northwestern
Missouri, where Hall's bill originated, was so pledged, and pro-
ceeded to act upon that new proposition following the campaign.
Hall's bill itself becomes intelligible only in that background.
The principles, as just explained, were not restricted to north-
western Missouri. The New York Express published an editorial
on the subject, reprinted in the St. Joseph ( Mo. ) Gazette, March 9,
1853: "The day has gone by when Congress will look into the pro-
posed institutions of any new State, further than to see if they are
incompatible with the Federal Constitution."
This doctrine became the rallying cry for Nebraska during the
summer of 1853 — to ignore the Missouri Compromise and act upon
the new dispensation of the Compromise Measures of 1850.
Sen. David R. Atchison, of Missouri, challenged the procedure, not
the objective, and insisted that the Missouri Compromise must be
repealed outright as a condition of organizing Nebraska.
Northwestern Missouri, Whigs and Democrats, except the strictly
Atchison following, rallied largely to the support of the Hall formula.
Hall addressed a St. Joseph mass meeting, August 27, 1853, in which
he reviewed the Nebraska question in a broad perspective. Resolu-
tions were adopted. The discussion following this event crystallized
into a plan for a delegate convention to meet at St. Joseph, on the
Battle of New Orleans Day, January 8, 1854. As that date fell on
Sunday, the day following was celebrated, with Nebraska participat-
ing. Delegates had been selected at mass meetings held in south-
western Iowa counties, and in Nebraska territory, as well as in the
northwestern Missouri counties. Among the resolutions adopted
by that convention, which apply specifically to this issue, are the
following:
6. Resolved, That it is the duty of Congress as early as possible at its
present session, to organize Nebraska into a territory, and thus give to her
residents, travelers, traders and citizens, the protection of law, and the rights
and privileges of a free peoples.
7. Resolved, That, we are utterly opposed to any re-agitation of that Vexed
question/ now happily at rest — and we 'will resist all attempts at renewing
in Congress, or out of it, the agitation of the slavery question, under whatever
shape or color the attempts may be made. ['].
8. Resolved, That, we consider the agitation of the slavery question, in
connection with the organization of Nebraska territory, dangerous to the peace
of the country, fatal to the best interests of Nebraska itself, and even threatening
the harmony, if not the perpetuity of the whole Union.
9. Resolved, That in organizing Nebraska Territory, all who are now or
THE NEBRASKA QUESTION 387
who may hereafter settle there should be protected in all their rights, leaving
questions of local policy to be settled by the citizens of the Territory, when
they form a State Government.
12. Resolved, That all the settlers in Nebraska are entitled, of right, and
should receive from the general government, equal protection, and equal pre-
emption, graduation, or homestead gratuities as any have received, who have
settled or shall hereafter settle, on any other portions belonging to the United
States.1
The Nebraska Convention instructed a committee to arrange for
the immediate publication of the proceedings, the resolutions, the
letters of distinguished men addressed to the convention, an
address to the public, and a memorial to congress. This was to have
been done in pamphlet form to be broadcast to the whole Union.
For a number of reasons, particularly financial, the plan was not
carried out. Except the address to the public, all of the material was
printed in the St. Joseph Gazette during the early months of 1854,
but not soon enough to produce any effective impact upon the public
mind. How much influence the proceedings wielded behind the
scenes cannot be discussed here.
The first version of the Douglas Nebraska bill, reported January
4, 1854, was virtually the doctrine of the northwestern Missouri
agitation, regardless of the influences which may have decided
Douglas upon the particular language and theory involved. It was
also the view of the New York Express already quoted in part. The
revision made by Douglas under pressure of Dixon and Atchison,
and represented in his revised bill of January 23, was a more explicit
announcement that the Compromise Measures of 1850 had super-
seded the Missouri Compromise. The changes introduced on
February 6, 7, 15, repealed the Missouri Compromise explicitly
as of 1854 by using the words "inconsistent with" thus cutting
through all the previous quibbling about language and procedure,
but making no change in the basic assumptions that reach back to
the Hall bill of 1852-1853. That many people had not so under-
stood the purpose of the Hall bill, is quite another question.
The episode of the Jeremiah Clemens letter may help to explain
other aspects of opinion. Formerly a senator from Alabama,
Clemens was not then active politically, but answered on February
4, 1854, a letter from John Van Buren, of New York:
. . . I agree with you in most of its suggestions. The less that is said
upon the subject of slavery the better it will be for all parties, and such I am
sure is the general sentiment of the South. We want nothing but to be let
alone. . . .
1. St. Joseph (Mo.) Gazette, January 18, 1854.
388 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
All that I consider necessary in the Nebraska bill, was that it should be an
exact copy of the New Mexico bill, except, of course, the name and description
of boundaries.
Clemens then condemned the Douglas bill which announced that
the Missouri Compromise was superseded:
. . . I think I can foresee the consequences. ... A floodgate will
be opened, and a torrent turned loose upon the country which will sweep away
in its devastating course every vestige of the Compromise of 1850. I do not
speak of its immediate effects — I look beyond. For the present it may be
looked upon at the South as a boon, and by a portion of the North as a
triumph over fanaticism. The word peace will be upon the lips of its
advocates everywhere. . . . — but I greatly fear that they will soon find
they have raised a spirit which will wing its way through storm and tempest
to the funeral pyre of the Republic.2
Lucian J. Eastin, editor of the St. Joseph Gazette, endorsed the
Clemens argument. He understood clearly what was being said
because it was the standard argument of his area. Eastin had
criticized the revised Douglas bill adversely also, but finally accepted
it on the basis of the doctrine of the original proposition. In earlier
discussions, the point was made repeatedly in northwestern Missouri
that the decision of 1820 had been made on the basis of facts as of
that year. Although disagreeing with that decision in principle, the
Missouri Compromise was accepted in good faith, and no move
should be made to repeal it. Nevertheless, if called upon to decide
the question of slavery in Nebraska as an original proposition, as of
the 1850's, Eastin would vote against the Missouri Compromise.
It was on that basis that he had joined the fight against Atchison
during 1853, at the same time that he insisted upon the right of
the settlers in Nebraska to vote it a slave state and be admitted
into the Union as a slave state, regardless of the Missouri Com-
promise restriction.
The doctrine of the original proposition justified by a new situa-
tion was the means of removing the dead hand of the past from
decisions of the present, merely by ignoring that past. Now that
repeal was actually being agitated, introduced into the scene by
others, he regarded the matter of repeal itself as an original proposi-
tion to be settled on the basis of a new situation, facts existing in
1854, not facts existing in 1820.
It seems all but impossible for people captive to a century of
antislavery-abolition propaganda to distinguish the separate issues
as seen by these people of 1853 and 1854. The Missouri Compro-
2. Reprinted in the St. Joseph Gazette, March 1, 1854, and reprinted also widely in
the Eastern newspapers.
THE NEBRASKA QUESTION 389
mise of 1820 was itself one entity, decided as an original proposition,
to meet a specific situation. It had served its purpose. The incident
was closed. The generation of 1853 and 1854 had its own problems,
and claimed the right to solve them in its own way, upon the basis
of existing facts, and untrammeled by the decisions of a past genera-
tion in which it had not participated. The claim of the right of
settlers to decide their own institutions under the doctrine of the
Compromise Measures of 1850 was much more than a controversy
over slavery, or over state rights versus centralization; it involved
the basic issue of human culture — freedom of men to be let alone
and to manage their own affairs, even freedom from the past, from
decisions of the past in which they had not participated. The
theoretical aspects appear clear and unanswerable. The conflict
came in their application. Extreme abolitionists might have argued
that humanity is the basic unit of application, and thus have justified
interference with slavery in distant states and territories. How-
ever that might be, the Nebraska argument was grounded in geo-
graphical localism as the unit of decisions in applying the concept
of the "consent of the governed," inherited from the Declaration
of Independence.
An unidentified writer, "H," contributed an article to the St. Joseph
Gazette, of February 22, 1854, in which he discussed the proba-
bilities involved in the repeal of the Missouri Compromise:
Once it took half an age to settle and bring in a State. Now, a few months
or a year or two at most, is the required time. Once, the man of business
could give himself a year or two to close his business, select his 'choice site*
and his new home. But how is it now? The few months delay, the neces-
sary year or two, to wind up business, not only insures the loss of choice
locations, but it gives him no voice in the constitutional fabric which is to
regulate the future Institutions of the State. It is not necessary to show
that Northern men, with small farms, or men engaged in business, which
can be closed up in a few days have a decided advantage over a slave holding
population. . . . Northern men like the ancient Hordes which overrun
Europe, are emphatically the emigrating men of this age.
This writer argued further that the issue was not one of slave-
holding men entering Nebraska north of the compromise line of
36° 30': "North of the compromise line there is but a strip of
country that a slave holding population would have. It must and
will be settled by northern men/' What "H" was worrying about
was that the repeal of the Missouri Compromise would be the
signal for a rush of Northern men into Texas and the Southwest:
is it good policy for southern men to ... unbar the last door
and invite the eager land hunter of the north to plant his light foot there first?
390 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
South of 36 and 30 minutes is the territory through which some of our great
national highways are to pass to the Pacific. Who are to construct these great
thoroughfares? Who are to develop the vast mineral wealth of this region?
Foreigners and northern men mainly. And will they not pour in one constant
stream along these Rail-ways to find homes and fortunes. If so, it will not
be difficult to tell whether the country will be a Pro or Anti-slavery one.
What then is to be gained? Some think Kansas. But can we hope to gain
Kansas? Where are the facts? If we take those Emigrants who are now
lingering (and their name is legion) all along the Missouri River, ready, at
a moment to step across, as a basis for calculation, we shall find that more
than two out of three will vote for a free State. If we get the real sentiments
of these Emigrants who will soon crowd our Rivers to find homes in Kansas,
the same result will be seen. Or if we wait till the Pacific Railroad is located
and the ten thousand voices speak from the extended line, no question but they
will declare her a free State. What then I ask is to be gained? Absolutely
nothing. While we lose much. When Missouri came in our wise men made
the compromise, not to keep slaveholders from having equal rights with
others, but to point out a necessary terminus of Congressional interference,
on a vexed question.
One of the Whig candidates for congress from northwestern
Missouri, John E. Pitt, was even more blunt. As late as May 17,
1854, he opposed, in a public address at St. Joseph, the organization
of the Indian country. The newspaper paraphrase credited him
with saying: ". . . So soon as that country is opened for
settlement, it will be settled mostly by Yankees who will outstrip
us in enterprise, and build railroads while we are talking about
them/' Referring to the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad, he
declared "if Nebraska is now organized we would lose that road,
it would go north of us to Council Bluffs." 3
Admittedly these are only selected illustrations, but they are of
fundamental importance and must serve only as a preview of a
re-examination of the problem studied as a whole situation. If there
was any reality in the aspirations of northwestern Missouri to make
Nebraska a slave state under the Hall bill of 1852-1853, or a similar
bill in 1853-1854 under the formula that it was being organized
without mention of slavery; then certainly, the Douglas bill, in
any of its several successive forms put the free states on notice about
what was being undertaken. No clearer case can be found to
illustrate how a genuine historical document, when interpreted
literally and removed from its context, has been made to say just
the opposite of its true intent and purpose. Instead of damning
Douglas on the charge of betraying freedom, the free states should
have honored him as a hero for putting them on notice about what
3. St. Joseph Gazette, May 24, 1854.
THE NEBRASKA QUESTION 391
was to be attempted under subterfuge, after which congress was
expected to admit Nebraska, the whole of it (prior to the division
into Kansas and Nebraska) as a slave state. Of course, there is
question whether there was any real possibility of either Nebraska
prior to the division, or Kansas, being made a slave state in any case
' — railroads and "light-footed'* men must be reckoned with — me-
chanical-power versus muscle-power had already tipped the scales
in favor of freedom from chattel slavery. But there were other
forms of freedom, the shapes of which were not so clear, that were
yet to be won.
Capt. L. C. Eastern's Report:
Fort Laramie to Fort Leavenworth
Via Republican River in 1849
EDITED BY MERRILL J. MATTES
INTRODUCTION
WHO first explored the length of the Republican river? Pike,
Fremont, and quite possibly others traveled sections of the
stream earlier, but it appears that the first known complete explora-
tion of the main channel of Republican river was undertaken in
1849 by an expedition led by an officer of the Quartermaster De-
partment of the United States Army. After assisting in the estab-
lishment of a new military station at Fort Laramie, outpost on the
great Platte route to Oregon and California, Capt. L. C. Easton
was assigned the task of exploring the Republican river as an alter-
nate supply route between that post and Fort Leavenworth on the
Kansas border, then the base for all military operations on the
Plains.
The discovery of the Easton journal in the War Department
Records of the National Archives was a coincidental by-product of
two distinct historical research programs of the National Park Serv-
ice, an agency of the U. S. Department of the Interior. A national
monument since 1938, Fort Laramie has long been the subject of
intensive archival study by Service historians. In 1946 the Region
Two office of the Service, in Omaha, began a systematic survey of
historic sites in proposed Missouri river basin reservoir areas. Many
of these water control projects are in the Republican river basin.
The two lines of inquiry converged in the documentary records
relating to early frontier military posts.
The tongue of land at the junction of the North Platte and Lara-
mie rivers, in Goshen county, Wyoming, has been a concentration
point for many significant events in the history of the trans-Missis-
sippi frontier.1 There has been a "Fort Laramie" here ever since
1834. In that year the fur traders, William Sublette and Robert
Campbell, erected a log-stockaded post dubbed by them Fort Wil-
MERRILL J. MATTES is regional historian of Region Two, National Park Service,
Omaha, Neb.
1. Note the fitting subtitle of the standard reference on the subject: LeRoy R. Hafen
ami Francis Marion Young, Fort Laramie and the Pageant of the West, 1834-1890 (Glen-
dale, 1938).
(392)
E ASTON: FORT LARAMIE TO FORT LEAVENWORTH 393
liam, more commonly called by trappers, missionaries, and early
travelers "the fort on the Laramie." In 1841 this was replaced
by an adobe-walled establishment of the American Fur Company
christened Fort John, but still "Fort Laramie" to thousands of emi-
grants to Oregon and Utah, to the Donner party, to Francis Park-
man, and finally to worried government officials.
Even before the gold fever, with increasing numbers of its citi-
zens migrating westward across the hostile plains, it was perhaps
inevitable that the federal government would set up a chain of mili-
tary posts along the Great Platte route, and the idea had been
broached at various times by such respected authorities as Fremont,
Parkman, and Fitzpatrick. It was officially set in motion by Presi-
dent Polk in a message to congress in 1845, which resulted in the
enactment, on May 19, 1846, of "an act to provide for raising a
regiment of Mounted Riflemen, and for establishing military sta-
tions on the route to Oregon." 2 The Mexican War delayed action
until 1848, when Fort Kearny, the first military post on the trail,
was established on the Lower Platte. Then destiny pointed its
finger at "Fort John on the Laramie/*
By order of Gen. D. E. Twiggs, dated April 9, Maj. W. F. Sander-
son, mounted riflemen, was instructed to leave Fort Leavenworth
by May 10 with Company E "to locate a post in the vicinity of the
Laramie/' Hard on the heels of an army of covered wagon emi-
grants, the troops arrived at the scene on June 16. On the 26th of
that month Lt. Daniel P. Woodbury successfully completed nego-
tiations with "Bruce Husbands acting as agent and attorney for
Pierre Choteau Jr. & Company" for the purchase of the post for
$4,000.3 After a hasty inspection of the dilapidated adobe post
and a reconnaissance of the countryside, Major Sanderson set the
troop to erecting new quarters.
On July 26 the small garrison of 58 men and 5 officers was aug-
mented by Company C, mounted riflemen, 2 officers and 60 men,
under Capt. Benjamin S. Roberts. On August 12 Company G,
6th infantry, composed of 2 officers and 33 men, brought in a train
of wagons from Fort Leavenworth. This completed the Fort Lara-
mie garrison of 1849.4
Accompanying this last contingent was Col. Aeneas Mackay, sent
by headquarters to inspect the new post. In a report of July 31 to
2. J. D. Richardson, A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents
(1905), v. 4, p. 396.
3. "Fort Laramie Microfilm Document No. 27," War Records Office, National Archives.
4. Merrill J. Mattes, Fort Laramie and the Forty-Niners (Rocky Mountain Nature Asso-
ciation, Estes Park, Colo., 1949).
394 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Thomas Jesup, quartermaster general, he describes the deplorable
condition of the adobe works and the new building program,
praises the hitherto unappreciated "advantages of this station," and
then writes:
. . . having arrived at the Termination of our Route, to take all the ad-
vantage possible of our retrograde movement, I have ordered Captain Easton
with a portion of our party to return to Ft. Leav by the way of the Republican
Fork and Kansas River ... to make a critical examination of it. ...
For myself I prefer to return by the way of Ft. Pierre and the Missouri River
to Ft. Leavenworth.5
Analysis of the Easton journal, utilizing base maps of the U. S.
Geological survey, reveals that the amateur explorer took a rather
devious route to reach the headwaters of the Republican. Drop-
ping southward from Fort Laramie to Lodgepole creek, at a point
east of present Cheyenne, Wyo., Easton followed this directional
stream only briefly before dropping southward again, crossing the
South Platte near present Sterling, Colo., and then continuing south-
easterly until bumping into the Arickaree fork of the North Repub-
lican. During the rest of the journey the party closely followed the
main course of the Republican to its junction with the Smoky Hill.
Captain Easton's instructions were to make "an examination of
the country with a view of establishing a better route from the Mis-
souri River to Fort Laramie, or a more direct or a better one, for
the emigrants to Oregon." He had the honesty to make two un-
equivocal admissions upon his return — first, he committed errors of
judgment which unduly lengthened his journey; second, he discov-
ered that the Republican river route offered no weighty advantages
over the Platte route, while it did offer some great disadvantages.
Either point was enough to deprive the captain of a reputation as
a first-class explorer!
The Great Platte road was the inevitable route to Oregon, Cali-
fornia, and Utah for one overwhelming reason. It went in exactly
the right direction! Even after Colorado came into the emigrant
picture in the late 1850's, and Missouri and Kansas communities
were definitely interested in a more direct road westward, the
Platte-South Platte remained a heavy favorite over the Repub-
lican or the Smoky Hill. These latter streams simply dried up and
disappeared long before the traveler reached the mountains which
were his destination. The Republican river not only disappeared
too soon, requiring a long "dry run" overland to South Platte, it
5. "Fort Laramie Microfilm Document No. 11," War Department Records, National
Archives. On his journey to Fort Pierre (opposite present Pierre, S. Dak.) Colonel Mackay
WHS accompanied by an escort of ten riflemen commanded by Capt. Stewart Van Vliet.
E ASTON: FORT LARAMIE TO FORT LEAVEN WORTH 395
was bent like an oxbow, making for a circuitous route.6 Although
his destination was southeast of Fort Laramie, Captain Easton spent
many days traveling in a northeasterly direction. His route, total-
ing over 800 miles, should not have been more than 700 miles.
A better case for the Republican might have been made if, instead
of trying to negotiate its uppermost headwaters, Easton had com-
bined the best directional features of the Republican and Platte,
that is, descend the North Platte from Fort Laramie to Fort Kearny,
and then cross overland to the Republican in the vicinity of Frank-
lin county, Nebraska, a distance of merely 40 miles. Or an overland
crossing could have been made almost anywhere along the stretch
of over 100 miles that the two large rivers closely parallel each
other. The fact remains, however, that this not unreasonable route
was never used by emigrants of record. The strip between the
Platte and Republican rivers was traversed frequently by military
parties operating between Fort Riley and Fort Kearny during the
1850's, and patrolling out of Fort Kearny and Fort Cottonwood
(McPherson) during the Indian wars of the 1860's, but these were
local actions.7 The crossing between the two rivers as a factor in
transcontinental travel never materialized.
Two other exploring expeditions involving the Upper Republican,
falling within a seven year radius of 1849, will stand brief com-
parison.
On his westward journey of 1843 Captain Fremont started to
ascend the Republican but became impatient with its northerly
course. From "Big Timber," roughly at the bend near present Con-
cordia, he chose to head directly westward, following for a while
the Solomon and the North fork of the Solomon. Rather than
descend into the valley of the Republican, he kept up the parallel
valleys of Prairie Dog, Sappa, and Beaver creeks, then crossed the
Republican near present Benkelman, at the junction of the North
and South forks. From this point he veered in a west-northwest
course to reach the South Platte near present Fort Morgan, proceed-
ing then to Fort St. Vrain, not far from present Greeley, Colo.8
Fremont's slower supply train, under the veteran guide Thomas
6. See LeRoy R. Hafen, Overland Routes to the Gold Fields . . . (Glendale,
1942). The famed but short-lived Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express touched the main
course of the Republican river only briefly near the forks at Benkelman, Neb. See map
with George A. Root and Russell K. Hickman, "Pike's Peak Express Companies," Kansas
Historical Quarterly, v. 13 (November, 1944), facing p. 240.
7. War of the Rebellion, Series 1, v. 48, pt. 1, pp. 279-284, 354-355. See, also, "Out-
line Map Indicating Line of March of Scouting Parties in the Department of the Platte in
1868 and 1869," War Department Records, National Archives.
8. Bvt. Capt. J. C. Fremont, Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountain*
in the Year 1842, and to Oregon and North California in the Years 1843-44 (Washington,
1845), pp. 107-113.
396 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Fitzpatrick, appears to have approximated this same course.9 Thus,
Fremont, though first to the headwaters, in no way robbed Easton
of the hitherto unpublicized distinction of being first to explore the
length of the Republican.
In 1856 Lt. Francis T. Bryan, Corps of Topographical Engineers,
followed down the course of the Republican practically in Captain
Easton's footsteps, except for the approach to the headwaters.
Bryan headed an expedition to survey a practical route from "Fort
Riley to Bridgets Pass." The party proceeded up the Republican
to the bend just across the present Nebraska line, then went over-
land to Fort Kearay on the Platte, thence up the Platte, the South
Platte, Lodgepole creek, and across the Medicine Bow Range to
their objective. The return journey was via the Cache la Poudre
and the South Platte to a point near present Fort Morgan, thence
southwesterly to "Rock Creek, a tributary of the Arickaree fork of
the Republican," actually, it seems, the North fork, near Wray, Colo.
Bryan followed the south or right bank of the Republican to a point
near present McCook, Neb., then crossed over to the left bank,
rejoining his outgoing trail near present Superior, Neb. Like Easton,
Bryan felt that the valley of the Republican had the advantage of
virgin grass and timber, but everything considered, "the route fol-
lowed on the outward journey was the most advantageous." 10
There is no evidence, however, that Lieutenant Bryan of the Topo-
graphical Engineers was in any way acquainted with the earlier
expedition of the Quartermaster Department.
There remains a brief biographical examination of our explorer
and his associates. Langdon C. Easton, a native Missourian, ranked
22d in the West Point graduating class of 1838. He served in the
Florida War of 1838-1842, and was stationed at Fort Towson, In-
dian territory, until 1846. He was on quartermaster duty at Fort
Leavenworth from 1847 to 1849, and became chief quartermaster,
Department of New Mexico, in 1850. In 1852 he returned to duty
at Fort Leavenworth, becoming a member of the board of officers
who selected the site of Fort Riley in 1852. He returned to New
Mexico until 1858. During the rebellion of the seceding states, as
staff major, he was successively in charge of the quartermaster depot
9. Charles H. Carey, editor, The Journals of Theodore Talbot, 1843 and 1849-52
(Metropolitan Press, Portland, Ore., 1931).
10. W. Turrentine Jackson, "The Army Engineers as Road Surveyors and Builders in
Kansas and Nebraska, 1854-1858," Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 17 (February, 1949),
pp. 44-51; G. K. Warren, "Memoir to Accompany the Map of the Territory of the United
States From the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean," v. 11, Reports of Explorations and
Surveys . . . for a Railroad From the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean (Washing-
ton, 1861), p. 84.
E ASTON: FORT LARAMIE TO FORT LEAVENWORTH 397
at Fort Leavenworth, chief quartermaster of the Army of the Cum-
berland in the field, and chief quartermaster of the armies com-
manded by General Sherman. In September, 1864, he was brevetted
brigadier general "for distinguished . . . services in the . . .
campaign of Atlanta, Ga."; on March 13, 1865, he became brevet
major general "for meritorious services during the rebellion." After
many more years of service, during which he attained the rank of
full colonel and assistant quartermaster general, Easton retired in
1881. He died in New York City, April 29, 1884, aged 70.11
Lt. N. George Evans, who accompanied Captain Easton on this
journey, ranked 36th in the West Point class of 1848. After "frontier
duty at Ft. Leavenworth" and an "expedition to the Rocky Moun-
tains" in 1849, Evans campaigned extensively in the Southwest,
attaining the rank of captain with the 2d cavalry before resigning,
February 27, 1861, to join in the rebellion against the United States.12
Col. Aeneas Mackay, who launched Easton on his eastward
journey, was not a West Point graduate, but he had a real army
career. After valiant service in the War of 1812 as 1st lieutenant
of ordnance, he remained with the regular army, rising to the rank
of colonel in the quartermaster corps on May 30, 1848, "for meri-
torious service in performing his duties in prosecuting the war with
Mexico." He died May 23, 1850, just a few months after dispatching
Easton homeward and himself making a simultaneous journey to
Fort Pierre.13
CAPTAIN EASTON'S REPORT
ASSISTANT QUARTERMASTER'S OFFICE
FORT LEAVENWORTH
12-ra OCTOBER 1849.
SIR:
In obedience to your instructions received at Fort Laramie on
the 1st of August last, to proceed from that Post to Fort Leaven-
worth by way of the Republican Fork14 and the Kansas Rivers,
making an examination of the Country with a view of establishing
a better route from the Missouri River to Fort Laramie, or a more
direct or a better one, for the Emigrants to Oregon. I have the
honor to submit the following report.
11. Bvt. Mai. Gen. George W. Cullum, Biographical Register of the Officers and Gradu-
ates of the U. S. Military Academy, 1802-1890 (Boston, 1891), v. 1, pp. 710, 711.
12. Ibid., v. 2, pp. 365, 366.
13. Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army,
1789-1903 (Government Printing Office, Washington, 1903), v. 1, p. 670.
14. A satisfying review of "Republican River" etymology and geography is given by
George A. Root in "Ferries in Kansas," Part 4, Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 3 (August,
1934), pp. 246, 247.
398 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
My party for this expedition consisted of Lieut. N. G. Evans 1st
Dragoons 15 and of ten Dragoons, as an Escort, Dr. Parks of Boston
(whose curiosity to see the Country induced him to accompany
the expedition), your Son Thomas, 13 years of Age (who accom-
panied me for the benefit of his mind and body), Joseph Hunoit as
Guide, ten Teamsters and Extra hands employed in the Quarter-
master's Department, and two Servants.
The means of transportation (which was more than the party
required, being return teams to Leavenworth, which it was thought
necessary for me to conduct back ) consisted of four six-mule Teams,
and one light Waggon drawn by four Mules — The Dragoons were
mounted on indifferent Horses, being the same they had ridden
from Fort Leavenworth, and on leaving Laramie they were low in
flesh, and in a weak condition — The whole party was well armed.
We left Fort Laramie on the 2nd of August 1849, with 45 Days
rations —
I shall in making this report copy from my Journal, such portions
of it as relate to, or has any bearing on, the object in view; believing
that such a course will better enable you to judge of the nature of
the Country.
AUGUST £ND In our first day's march we crossed the Laramie
River immediately at Fort Laramie, travelling from it 9 Miles in
E. S. E. course, to a grove of Cherry Bushes, on a small spring
branch, called by our Guide "Cherry Creek.16 Our road to day
has been a very good one over a rolling Prairie — Grass poor and
no Wood until we reached Cherry Creek, where we found a few
scattering Trees — On examination I found, that the Rifle Car-
tridges I had obtained at Laramie were damaged and I sent a man
back to the Fort to procure a better supply — These Cartridges
were damaged in the manufacture, by having too much oil on the
Cloth or Patching which covers the Ball, damaging one-fourth of
the Powder of each Cartridge —
AUGUST 3RD Left Camp late this Morning, being detained await-
ing the arrival of our Messenger dispatched for Cartridges — Di-
rection to day E. S. E. 15 Miles, to a small spring branch, called by
15. The "United States Regiment of Dragoons" was organized by the act of congress
approved March 2, 1833, becoming the "First Regiment of Dragoons" when the Second
dragoons were raised in 1836. Its designation was changed to "First Regiment of Cavalry"
by the Act of August 3, 1861. — Theo. F. Rodenbough and Wm. L. Haskin, editors, The
Army of the United States, 1789-1896 (New York, 1896), p. 153.
16. This same Cherry creek is identified on a map of Goshen county, Wyoming, issued
by the Wyoming State Highway Department, 1940. Easton's given compass courses are
frequently inexplicable. In this instance an "ESE" course would have taken him down-
stream along the North Platte. Actually, he appears to have gone SSE.
E ASTON: FORT LARAMIE TO FORT LEAVEN WORTH 399
our Guide "Box Elder Creek" 17 — An abundance of this Wood on
the branch and good Grass for our Animals — Two miles from our
last Camp we passed over a high ridge, and descended again into
a dry sandy valley — This ridge runs off to the right as far as the
eye could reach, and connects on the West side of our road with a
range of Bluffs, composed of Marl and earthy Limestone — This
Bluff continued on our right the balance of our march to day, at a
distance of from 3 to 5 Miles from the road — Road good — No
Wood and very poor Grass, from Cherry Creek to this encamp-
ment—
AUGUST 4TH Course as yesterday E. S. E. marched 33 Miles and
encamped at Horse Creek; 18 which at the point we crossed it is a
fine little Stream six or seven feet wide, with excellent Grass in its
valley and an abundance of Wood — The Bluffs referred to yester-
day, continue and run nearly parrelled to our road to day for 7
Miles from Camp, when they sweep around and run off to the East,
and appear to terminate on Horse Creek — We crossed these
Bluffs by a narrow gap near where they change their direction
East — The Arc, formed by the ridge and bluffs referred to yester-
day and to day, encloses a basin which has received the name of
"Godion's Hollow," [?] as our Guide informs us — We found a cool
spring branch a few miles before entering the Gap, and another
four Miles on this side of it (which runs into Horse Creek) 19 —
On the latter we found a large Sioux Village, Whirlwind their
principal Chief, with a number of his people who came out to meet
us, were anxious that we should understand that they were our
friends 20 — Some of the Indians, to impress us more fully with the
belief, even assisted our men in getting out of the Creek, a Waggon
that had stalled in it. I regretted to learn that the Cholera was
raging in this village, and had carried off a large number of the
Tribe — Road good Except a steep hill ascending the Bluffs —
Wood and Grass, good and plentiful on the Creeks, but not found
in the intervals during the days march —
17. The name of this creek appears also on a modern county road map. It effects a
junction with Cherry creek before flowing into North Platte river opposite present Torrington,
Wyo. This camp would be below the junction, near present Veteran, Wyo.
18. Horse creek is a more sizable tributary of the North Platte. At its mouth in 1851
was held the famous Fort Laramie Treaty Council, engineered by Father DeSmet.
19. This camp and crossing of Horse creek was apparently at present LaGrange, Wyo.
The two walls of the gap referred to are identified today as Bear Mountain and 66 Mountain.
The enclosed basin and present Goshen county are named for an obscure French trapper
named "Goche," a companion of Jacques La Ramie, who was reputedly in this area in the
1820's. — Grant L. Shumway, The History of Western Nebraska (Lincoln, 1921).
20. Whirlwind figured in Francis Parkman's wanderings of 1846 in the Fort Laramie
neighborhood. See Mason Wade, editor, The Journals of Francis Parkman (New York,
1947), v. 2, pp. 397, et. seq.
400 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
AUGUST STH — Sunday. — In consequence of the fatigued condi-
tion of our Animals, from the long march of yesterday, we marched
but 3 Miles in a S. W. course, for the purpose of a change of Grass,
and encamped on a branch of the same Creek21 — Three miles
from to day's Camp, East, are several very fine Springs, of which I
noticed one particularly of very fine Water — Immediately on
these Spring branches is a narrow strip of good Grass but no Wood —
Road good — One of the Teamsters to day was thrown from his
Saddle Mule and badly hurt — Private Covey [?] of the Dragoons,
after cutting a Rattle snake in two pieces with his Sabre, very fool-
ishly picked up the head part about nine inches in length, and while
examining it was bitten on the Thumb — Having, unfortunately,
no Ammonia among our Medicines, we resorted to our Guide's
presciption — Gun powder which was applied in the following
manner — The Thumb was scarrified about the wound with a
pocket knife, and the wound then covered with as much powder
as would lie on it, which was exploded with a coal of fire — Covey
[?] was ill for 12 Hours, constantly vomitting, and his Arm had
swollen to the Shoulder, after which time, he became better and
in 10 days was again on duty.
AUGUST GTH Marched to day 23 Miles S. S. W. and encamped
on Pole Creek 22 — Three Miles from last Camp we found a similar
spring to the one we saw yesterday, with good Grass in the little
valley through which it runs. — Ascending from this valley we had
an elevated road of dry table land, uninterrupted until we reached
Pole Creek. — No good Grass to day; on the plain is a growth of
indifferent Buffalo grass — Good Grass on this Creek but no Wood
seen during the day — Road remarkably good — On this Creek
the Water made it's appearance at intervals then sinking and dis-
appearing beneath it's sandy bottom and again becoming visible
for a few hundred yards. — While marching on the elevated plain,
the Black Hills,23 white with Snow, could be seen very distinctly in
the distance, to our right —
AUGUST 7-ra From Fort Laramie to Pole Creek we had travelled
on a indistinct Waggon trail, made by some Traders24 — From
21. Bear creek?
22. Lodgepole creek. Like Horse creek, it heads in the Medicine Bow Mountains.
Lodgepole parallels U. S. Highway 30 and the Union Pacific railroad. This camp was
approximately 20 miles east of present Cheyenne.
23. Frequent reference to the "Black Hills" in Western journals, i. e., Parkman's Oregon
Trail, confuses those who know only of the Black Hills, in present South Dakota. The
term was applied in early days to Laramie Peak, west of Fort Laramie, and apparently also,
as in this instance, to the Medicine Bow Mountains.
24. For many years prior to 1849 there was commercial intercourse between Fort
Laramie, the several trading posts on the Upper South Platte, and Bent's Fort on the
Arkansas.
E ASTON: FORT LARAMIE TO FORT LEAVEN WORTH 401
this point I had determined to take the most direct and shortest
route (S. E.) for the Republican Fork, but the Guide insisted that
to follow Pole Creek, was the best and nearest route to the South
Fork of the Platte, which we, of course, had to cross, and as he also
represented that we might suffer for want of Water, by crossing from
one Stream to the other, I concluded to follow the Creek to the
Platte, provided it should take a course near that I wished to pur-
sue— . Pursuant to this determination, we continued down Pole
Creek, 22 Miles due East, again pitching our Tents on it's banks.
The Grass on the whole of our march to day has been very fine and
the road excellent — Fourteen Miles from our last Camp we came
to a high Bluff of soft earthy Limestone, where a fork of the Creek
comes in from the S. W.25 — At the foot of this Bluff is a good
Spring — A great plenty of Wood in the Bluffs but we have seen
none other on to day's march.
AUGUST STH After travelling down the Creek 10 Miles, finding
it's course continued East, I determined to leave it and strike S. E.
(pursuing which course for [?] miles we reached the South [?]
fork of Platte) 2G After leaving Pole Creek we marched 7 Miles
and encamped on a small pond of bad water, with but poor grass
for our Animals, indeed it has been but indifferent since leaving the
superior grass on the stream — Saw to day a small herd of Buffalo,
our Guide killed a young Bull, also an Antelope, this is the first
Game we have killed since leaving Larmie. Game has hitherto
been scarce.
AUGUST QTH Our direction to day was S. E. — After marching
17 Miles over a high, arid plain, we descended by a long steep hill,
into a large valley, the plain from which we had just descended,
continuing on our right into a long point which terminates with a
high Bluff of Stone — Under this Bluff we were fortunate in finding
a Spring, as our Animals were suffering for want of Water — Con-
tinuing our March over a level plain for 8 Miles through the Valley,
we encamped on a little Creek running East, the water of which
had the muddy appearance of the Platte River 27 — Looking back
from our Camp, we could see that the valley we came over to day,
was formed by the Hills on the North side of the Creek, taking a
23. This would be the bluffs which gave their name to present Pine Bluffs, Wyo.,
opposite the mouth of Muddy creek. Just east of here is the present Nebraska boundary.
26. Easton should have followed the advice of his guide, to follow "Pole Creek" to its
junction with the Platte. This would have ensured a much more direct route to his
destination.
27. Probably Rush creek, a tributary of the South Platte in the northeast corner of
Weld county, Colorado.
28—7007
402 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
large circuit from it and returning again some 8 or 10 Miles below —
Rising from the plain of this valley, were several hills of an oblong
shape, o'er which were tumbled in great confusion, as if by some
strange freak of nature, large blocks of Stone of quite regular shape,
and which gave the Hills quite a singular and striking appearance —
This Evening a party of 18 Cheyennes came to our Camp— As this
tribe had annoyed us on our March from Kearny to Laramie, by
following and hanging about our Waggons and Tents, seeking an
opportunity to steal; we determined not to let more than two of
them come into our Camp at one time — The party accordingly
was halted 50 yards from our Camp, and the Guide sent to invite
two of them in, which invitation they accepted, and remained with
us some time — This arrangement, not exactly suiting their views,
depriving them as it did of all opportunity of enriching themselves
at our expense, (for which purpose they had in all probability paid
us a visit from their village about 3 Miles distant,) two of their
party attempted to force their way by our Sentinel. — Being pre-
pared for, and anticipating, something of this kind, Lieut Evans
very promptly drew our party up in line, and intimated to the
Indians the propriety of their immediate absence; adopting the sage
suggestion, the whole party (with one exception) mounted their
horses and forthwith left us. — One of the Indians who had been
frustrated in his attempt to pass the Guard, chose to remain about
some fifty yards from our encampment, long after the others had
left, I presume as an evidence that he was not alarmed.
We have found patches of good Grass during our march through
the valley and have an excellent quality of Grass at this Camp, but
there is none fit for grazing on the high plain we passed over —
Road fine but no Wood during the whole day's march.
AUGUST 10. We continued our S. E. course to day 25 Miles, over
a high and dry plain, at the termination of which distance, we came
to the South Fork of Platte, which we crossed; and encamped on
the South side of it 28— There is no Timber growing on the Platte
where we crossed it, but we found an abundance of drift Wood,
and superior Grass— We had neither Wood or Water and but
miserable Grass from our last encampment to the South Fork. —
AUGUST HTH Taking an E. S. E course 22 Miles, we encamped
to day on a small pond, with wretched Water and bad Grass — For
five Miles after leaving our Camp this morning we had a heavy
road over hills of deep sand, after which we ascended to an elevated,
28. In the vicinity of present Sterling, Colo.
E ASTON: FORT LARAMIE TO FORT LEAVENWORTH 403
level, barren plain, which continued until we encamped — With
the exception of the 5 miles referred to, our road was most excel-
lent, but no wood, no Grass, and no water on the whole route.
AUGUST 12TH — I had intended to keep an E S. E direction,
after leaving the Platte River, until I reached the Republican Fork,
but the plain on which we were travelling was a high dry one, and
so destitute of everything save miserable Buffalo grass, that I was
fearful our Animals might suffer for the want of water and Grass. —
I therefore determined on leaving Camp this morning to change our
course to S. E. which I believed to be the most direct one to the
Republican Fork 29 — We marched in this direction 17 Miles over
the same barren plain of yesterday, when we were much gratified
to reach a very large pond, or lake, of good water, around which
our poor Animals, which had had but little to eat the night before,
found excellent grazing — To the West of our encampment were
several of these ponds, or small lakes, our guide spoke of many of
them between the mouth of Pole Creek and the Republican, and
Col Fremont mentions several ponds of this description, on his
route from the latter stream to the Platte 30 — I am induced to be-
lieve that there are a number of these lakes of good water between
the two Rivers, and that by winding the road from the one to the
other, an abundance of Water can be procured at convenient dis-
tances.— Around these Lakes is fine Grass — Our road to day was
good — No Wood
AUGUST 13-ra Course to day 27 Miles S. E. — Encampment on
a Pond, in which we found but very little muddy water, remaining
in the tracks made by Buffalo in passing through — We were
agreeably surprised in discovering fine Grass in some low ground,
near the Camp — No water on our March except in one small
hole, some 15 Miles from last encampment — Fine road today, but
no wood or Grass between our last Camp and this.
AUGUST 14TH Continued our march S. E. 20 Miles over the same
dry, barren plain as on the 12th and 13th when we came to a hill
overlooking the fine broad valley of the Republican Fork,31 with
the River meandering through it, near a cluster of Trees, which
afforded us the prospect of an abundance of Wood —
We had been four days without seeing a Stream of Water or a
29. Here Easton made another mistake. His original course would have brought him
onto the headwaters of Frenchman's fork, or, missing that, the head of the North fork of
the Republican near present Wray, Colo. Instead, by dropping south he encountered no
sizable stream until he came to the Arickaree fork, which required that he then detour
northeastward.
30. In present northern Yuma county, Colorado.
31. Actually, Arickaree fork.
404 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
stick of Timber, and suddenly coming on both, put the whole party
in good spirits, heightened by a burst of laughter at the irresistible
expression of an Irishman, who with evident earnestness and great
joy exclaimed "Be Jesus we re in sight of land again." — We en-
camped on excellent grass near the Timber on the Bank of the
Stream — From this point to the Platte, the route we travelled is
86 Miles, on which there is no Timber, no running Water, and no
Grass except at the Lakes, abefore described — From one bank to
the other the Republican at this point is about 50 feet wide, it is
very low and but a small stream of water was winding it's way along
it's sandy bed —
AUGUST 15 Route down the valley of the Republican Fork E. N.
E. 18 Miles, and we encamped on it's Banks — Twelve Miles from
our last Camp we crossed a small Creek running into the River, on
the North side and which was well timbered so far as we could see
up it — Abundance of Wood, fine Grass, and an excellent Road
during the whole route.32
AUGUST 16 Continued down the valley 12 Miles N. E. and 7
Miles East and encamped on the South side of the River — At the
point where the River changes it's direction East, on the day's
march, it forms a junction with a stream equal in size to itself, com-
ing from the N. W. and which for convenience of reference, I shall
call the North Fork of the Republican — If this route should be
travelled to the South Pass the road should follow this fork to it's
head before crossing to the Platte 33 —
A good supply of drift Wood to day, grass and road remarkably
fine — To day we entered the Buffalo range, which extends from
the Mouth of the North Fork, 160 Miles down the Republican —
The Country on either side of the River was literally covered with
these Animals — During our march of Seven days we were never
out of sight of them, except when the darkness of Night, veiled
them from our view, and even then we were constantly reminded
of their close proximity, and vast numbers, by the continued bel-
lowing of the Bulls —
AUGUST 17TH Encamped on the Banks of the stream, having
marched 19 Miles down it's valley — No Wood to day, but a fine
road, and a super abundance of nutritious grass — On a small
tributary Creek from the S. W, which joins the River a short dis-
32. Camp on Arickaree fork near the present Kansas state boundary. En route, Easton
passed the site of the future (1868) Beecher Island Battle.
33, This was the true North fork. Easton here recognizes his directional mistake. The
camp near present Haigler, Neb., was reached after crossing the extreme northeastern corner
of Kansas.
E ASTON: FORT LARAMIE TO FORT LEAVENWORTH 405
tance below our Camp, is a large quantity of Timber — Our di-
rection to day has been East —
AUGUST 18TH & 19TH Continued our March down the valley, and
encamped on the 19th on a small Island in the River, on which was
a flourishing growth of large Cotton Wood Timber — On this
Island we found a log pen, supposed to have been built by some
tribe of Indians for defence 34 — On our route 7 Miles below our
Camp of the 17th is a small stream of fine, clear water, entering
the River from the N. W. on which we found large quantities of
delicious plums — The grass during these two days march has been
indifferent generally, in consequence of this portion of the valley
being much frequented by immense herds of Buffalo, which have
eaten it out or trampelled it dtfwn, from which causes the grazing
is not good — Nevertheless there was no difficulty in finding suf-
ficient good grass for our Animals — Wood in abundance these
two days — Our direction has been East by North over a good road.
AUGUST 20m Course E by N, 24 Miles down the valley to day —
We pitched our Tents on the River Bank 35 — Twelve Miles from
our last Camp a little Creek enters the River from the North and
near this Camp another small stream joins it from the South side —
An abundant supply of Wood and good road and Grass to day
AUGUST 21sT Followed the Stream 18 Miles and encamped on a
small Spring branch — Four Miles above this evening's camp, a
large tributary flows into the river from the N. W.36 — Our Guide
informs me that this Stream leads [?] within 45 Miles of the Platte,
and that Lakes are to be found between it's source and that River —
This would make another good crossing from the Republican to
the Platte River — As I shall not probably hereafter mention Wood
or Grass, I will here state that there was an abundance of the for-
mer, both on this and the Kanzas Rivers, without an interval of more
than half-a-mile, from hence to the Missouri — And of the latter
we found the greatest abundance of an excellent quality, back in
the valley of the Republican, and the vallies of all the small tribu-
taries we crossed, during the whole of our march from this point
until we arrived at Fort Leavenworth.
The Republican here has grown to be a stream, 30 Yards wide
34. This camp would be just west of present Trenton, Neb., near new Culbertson Dam.
At approximately this same site appears "Big Timbers, Site of Military Post," on the General
Land Office survey map of 1872, Sec. 4, T 2 N, R 33 W, 6th P. M. This post was related
to the Indian wars of the late 1860's. "Big Timbers" here is not to be confused with
Fremont's "Big Timber" near present Concordia, Kan., or the "Big Timbers" of the
Santa Fe trail.
35. In the neighborhood of present McCook, Neb. Frenchman (earlier "Whiteman")
creek comes in from the northwest, Driftwood creek from the south.
36. Red Willow creek.
406 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
and four feet deep — Hence to the Mouth of the Republican Fork
there are such as large number of small branches emptying into it,
I shall mention only the principal ones, referring you to the ac-
companying Map for information relative to the position of the
others — Course to day E by N — Road good.
AUGUST 22ND Continuing our Course in the River valley, E by N,
15 Miles, we halted at a small Creek much swollen by recent heavy
rains — As the water was falling rapidly we did not attempt to
cross it but encamped on it's banks 37 — Creeks having now be-
come numerous, and our progress consequently, very slow, I was
almost induced to leave the River, and take the ridges some 8 or 10
Miles from it, in order to head many of the Creeks and cross the
others near their sources — But as little was known relative to the
Republican Fork, and as it is laid down on existing Maps, merely
by an imaginary line, I was anxious to examine it practically and
fix it's direction —
Our detention in crossing the Small Creeks was caused by the
necessity of cutting the Banks down — The bottoms generally are
hard and with little labor a fine road can be made.
AUGUST 23RD Marched down the valley of the River 14 Miles,
direction E by N — We crossed a stream to day on which there
was a number of Elm Trees 38 — Saw Three Elk to day — Passed
a Grove of Plum Trees, from which our party gathered large quan-
tities of the finest wild fruit I ever saw — The only difficulties on
the road, were the crossings of some small Streams — the Banks
of these streams generally, are not very high and are soon cut down,
many of them we crossed without labor except cutting the brush
out of the way — With but few exceptions the only difficulties on
our road from this point to Fort Leavenworth were these crossings,
the road between them being very fine — And I shall not in future
be so particular in mentioning the condition of the road each day.
AUGUST 24TH Continued down the River, which runs East 18
Miles and encamped on it — To day the valley was well timbered
with very large sized Cotton Wood suitable for Building purposes —
The Hills for a short distance contained Stone — The Soil in the
vicinity of the heavy timber was very good, and I have little doubt
would produce grain very readily — Should there ever be neces-
sity for a Post in this Neighborhood, this will be a suitable point
37. Medicine creek, at present Cambridge, Neb. Although the time and place ot
crossing is not clear, Easton was obviously now traveling on the north or left bank of the
Republican. In recent years the creek was noted for its sudden flash floods, which are
now curbed by the new Medicine creek dam.
38. Muddy creek or Elk creek, both debouching near present Arapahoe, Neb.
E ASTON: FORT LARAMDE TO FORT LEAVEN WORTH 407
for it 39 — Killed three Grouse this evening, this Bird is found in
great numbers from this point to the Missouri River.
AUGUST 25TH In consequence of rain and the detention in crossing
streams, we were unable to march over 10 Miles — Our direction
was East, down the valley of the River. — Guide killed a large fat
Buck Elk— Saw a herd of 32 Elk.
AUGUST 26-ra Course to day E. S. E. still down the valley.40 Here
we leave the Buffalo range, and meet with smaller game, Deer
Antelope, Turkies and Grouse —
Met to day a small party of Pawnees on a Stealing expedition,
against the Cheyennes, whom they expected to find near the head
waters of the Republican — Besides their Arms each Man carried
his Lariette and Whip, without which an outfit is considered in-
complete on such a campaign — Our Guide and a Dragoon, who
were a Mile behind us, having stopped to butcher a Buffalo, were
met by this party, and at their request the Guide dismounted and
gave them some meat; for their act of Kindness one of the Indians
threw his Arms around and tenderly embraced him — Shortly after,
Hunoit wishing to use his knife, found to his mortification, that the
affectionate Pawnee had stolen it from his Scabbard (which was on
his belt behind him) whilst evincing his gratitude, in the manner
above described — Carrying their duplicity yet further, whilst the
Knife was changing owners, an Indian feigned to remove the Bridle
from the Dragoon's Horse's Head, attracting the Soldier's attention
to this act, whilst another Pawnee cut off a choice piece of Buffalo
meat, which was tied behind his Saddle — I merely mention this
circumstances to give you an idea of the skill and ingenuity of the
Pawnees in such matters.
AUGUST 27TH Continued down the Republican 22 Miles, and en-
camped on it, our course being East 41 — We found great quanti-
ties of fine plums and an abundance of good summer grapes, on to
day's march — Great care was taken in selecting our Camp, and in
picketing our Animals as close as possible, as we expected a visit
from the Pawnees we met yesterday — But after a very cold night
(all complaining of having slept cold) in the morning we found all
our Animals present.
AUGUST 28-ra Our course as yesterday East 18 Miles down the
River, where we encamped on its banks — Care was again taken
39. Near present Oxford, Neb. Fort Kearny on the Oregon trail was only about 45
miles to the northwest of this point.
40. Past the mouth of Beaver creek to the vicinity of present Alma, Neb.
41. This day's journey was through the present large Harlan county reservoir area.
Prairie Dog creek, passed this day, was named in 1843 by Fremont.
408 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
in selecting our position, the Sentinels cautioned particularly against
Pawnees, and all necessary precautions taken to provide against
our Animals being stolen, as we still expected a visit from the In-
dians, presuming that they would follow us for several days —
Notwithstanding all our precautions to provide against such an
event, Lieut Evans' favorite Poney which was picketed within 20
Yards of the Sentinel's Post, was stolen during the night —
Plums and Grape particularly the latter we found in fine perfec-
tion on nearly all the Creeks we crossed — We passed to day
through the remains of a large Pawnee Village, and we were glad
to find that they had left it a few days before, for their permanent
village on the Platte, otherwise we might have lost a few more Ani-
mals. Before leaving Camp this morning Lieut Evans caught a
good horse branded "US" — It was wounded in the neck with an
Arrow, but soon recovered from it — This Animal probably had
strayed from Fort Kearny.
AUGUST 29TH Marched down the River E by N. 13 Miles, where
our Guide having killed three fat Buffalo Cows, and as we were
leaving the range of these Animals, and desirous of laying in a sup-
ply of Meat, I concluded to stop and give the Men an opportunity
of jerking the meat from these Cows — The Buffalo were killed
near the River and each within 10 Steps of the others — We pitched
our Tents within 50 Yards of them a few hours afterwards both
sides of each Waggon was covered with slices of Meat, strung on
Cords for the purpose of drying.
AUGUST 30rH Still on the Banks of the Republican, having to day
marched down the valley 16 Miles, East by N.42 — One of the
Dragoon Horses gave out to day and we were compelled to abandon
him — Grouse in great numbers —
AUGUST 31sT Marched 14 Miles in an Easterly direction and en-
camped on the river — Our march was short to day, in consequence
of our having been detained in crossing a number of Streams —
Our Mules commenced giving out, for which we could not account,
they having had fine grass, short marches and ample time and op-
portunity to graze — We reduced our teams to five mules each and
turned loose the sixth to follow the Waggon and rest — When a
Mule gave out in a Team, one of the loose ones supplied it's place,
and the tired Animal was released to follow and rest. By this means
I returned to this Post with every Animal I took from it, (except
one that was left on the road out, with the glanders ) after a journey
of over 1400 Miles —
42. Today's camp was near present Red Cloud, Neb.
E ASTON: FORT LARAMIE TO FORT LEAVEN WORTH 409
Dr. Park's servant whilst bringing wood into Camp this Evening
trod on a Rattlesnake which bit him on the side of his leg above
the Boot — The same remedies (Knife & gunpowder) resorted to
as in the case of Private Covey, and with equal success — The
patient was similarly affected and recovered in about the same
length of time —
SEPTEMBER IST Marched E. S. E. 7 Miles and encamped on the
River — A well beaten trail crossed our road to day, leading in the
direction of the Platte (N. N. E.) it crosses the Republican and is
I presume used by the Pawnees in travelling from the Platte to
Smoky Hill Fork, and the Arkansas Rivers 43 — While Oak made
it's appearance to day on the Creeks, which is the first Oak we have
seen since we left Laramie — ^
SEPTEMBER 2o SUNDAY In consequence of the fatigued condition
of our Animals and in order that the Men might have an oppor-
tunity to wash their Clothes, I did not march to day.
SEPTEMBER SRD Before starting this morning a small party of
Pawnees came into our Camp, they informed us that they were re-
turning from the Arkansas to their village on the Plattes — Marched
down the River 22 Miles and encamped on it.44 Saw a drove of
Turkies to day, on a small Creek; from this Creek to the Missouri
River we found this game in great abundance, particularly on all
the small Streams that we crossed until we reached Union Town.
SEPTEMBER 4TH We followed the River to day by travelling 9
Miles South and 10 Miles South East, when we encamped.45 —
Two well beaten trails cross the River on our route to day in a
direction N. N. E. they had recently been travelled over by large
numbers of Indians, probably Pawnees returning to the Platte.
SEPTEMBER STH By following the River to day our course has
been 7 Miles N. E. and 10 Miles E — We made preparation last
night and the night before for a visit from the Pawnees, whom we
saw on the 3rd Inst:, but they either did not follow us or had no
opportunity of stealing any of our Animals, as we lost none — Saw
a large herd of 80 or 90 Elk to day on the South side of the River.46
43. The Pawnee road between the Platte and the Arkansas rivers is mentioned also by
Fremont, p. 109, and is indicated on Lieutenant Warren's map. The crossing would be in
the vicinity of "the true location of the Republican Pawnee Indian Village where on Septem-
ber 29, 1806, Lieut. Z. M. Pike ordered down the Spanish flag and saw the Stars and Stripes
rise in its stead. ... in Nebraska, between the towns of Guide Rock and Red Cloud,
on the south side of the Republican river." — A. E. Sheldon, editor, Nebraska History Maga-
zine, Lincoln, v. 10 (July-September, 1927), pp. 159-258. Kansas has officially taken
the view that the "true site" is near Republic, Kan., about eight miles southeast of
Hardy, Neb.
44. This camp may have been just inside the state of Kansas, below present Superior,
Neb.
45. Near present Republic, Kan.
46. Here is the first clear-cut evidence in the text that the expedition followed the left
or north side of the Republican. The given directions here, however, are obviously in error.
410 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
SEPTEMBER GTH & TTH By reason of the difficulty of crossing two
Creeks, at one of which we were compelled to unload our Waggons
and draw them over by hand, we have been unable to march over
18 Miles these two days 47 — Our course has been 8 Miles E. and
10 Miles S. E. — The Streams now tributary to the Republican are
well timbered with Oak, Walnut and Elm, and they continue to be
so the balance of our march, with the addition of Hickory as we
get a little further down the River.
The difficulty of crossing the two Streams to day was owing to
the necessity of making a bridge over one of them that had a very
miry bottom, the steep banks of the other were composed of Stone
which we could not cut down with our Pick- Axe and Spades.
SEPTEMBER STH Our course to day was S. E. down the River —
Owing to the River running close to the Bluffs on the North side
we were compeled to take to Hills, which gave us a road over long
hills and deep ravines for about 6 Miles — The balance of our day's
march was in the valley over a good road. Distance travelled to
day was 17 Miles. —
SEPTEMBER QTH Owing to the fatigued condition of our Animals,
we made a late start this morning, and only marched 8 Miles in a
S. E. direction — We were again compelled to take to the Hills,
having the River in sight, when we found a good road, and en-
camped in the evening on a Creek, with good Grass 48 — Saw to
day a large number of Deer, Turkies and Antelope —
SEPTEMBER lOra We continued our march over the Hills to day
in a S. E. direction 18 Miles where we turned into the River and
encamped — We found the River at this point double the size and
differing in some other respects from the River where we encamped
on it last — This fact convinced me that the Smoky Hill Fork, had
joined the Republican, between these two points, but we did not
see the Junction, having deviated our road some two Miles from
the River — Several Mules gave out to day and would not move,
until taken out of Harness. — We found a large quantity of Sea
Vines on the River at our present encampment, and our Animals
appeared to enjoy them exceedingly. This Vine is plentiful on all
the Creeks, from this point to Fort Leavenworth— It is a fine food
for Horses & Mules —
SEPTEMBER HTH I determined to return up the River this morn-
ing, and look for the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican
Forks; in order to do this I directed the Train to proceed down the
47. Camp near present Concordia.
48. Below present Clay Center.
E ASTON: FORT LARAMDE TO FORT LEAVENWORTH 411
River, and encamp on the first Stream, that required any work on
it to enable us to cross — And accompanied by Lieut Evans and
one Dragoon, I started up the River in search of the Forks, and to
make any examination of the Country in the vicinity of them — We
rode only 3 Miles up the River, when we discovered from a high
Hill, the junction of the two Forks, these join in a beautiful valley,
from 3 to 4 Miles broad, and which is composed of a very fine rich
soil & well timbered, with almost all the varieties, of fine timber
that is found in the Western States — The hills which bound the
vallies were very high and rolling, from the summits of which is a
fine view both up and down the vallies of the rivers, and the scenery
from where we stood was beautiful 49 — After spending some time
in examining the Country, I returned to the Train, which had made
but little progress, in consequence of the Difficulty in crossing a
Creek — And we encamped at a Creek which it was necessary to
bridge, and which was only 4 Miles from our last Camp 50 — Our
direction with the Waggons was E. N. E. —
SEPTEMBER I£TH Marched to day E. N. E., 11 Miles, where we
came to a high ridge, a spur making out to the South from the main
Bluffs and terminated to all appearance, abruptly on the Kanzas
River — In ascending this spur the hill was very long and steep,
and we found it necessary to double our Teams, to enable us to
get our Waggons over. When we arrived at the top of this Spur,
we were much gratified to find, that it terminated on the Blue River
(instead of the Kanzas) which with its blue water and Sandy bed
passed immediately under us, and then winding it's way to the
Kanzas, about one and a half miles distant, which winds off to the
South side of the valley, before the Blue enters it. — We descended
the Spur on the East side and then entered the valley of the Blue. —
We continued up the River about one and a half Miles, when we
found a ford, than [sic] enabled us to cross, and encamped on the
West bank of the River
SEPTEMBER 13TH Crossed the Blue this morning, which had a
hard sandy bottom; the depth of the Water was such that it re-
quired our smallest Mules to swim about 10 Paces; not withstanding
we crossed without the slightest accident. The timber just below
the Mouth of the Blue, extends out from the Kanzas on the Hills
for some distance, to avoid this and to obtain a better road, we
took a N. E. direction, and after marching 10 Miles crossed the Big
49. This would soon become the site of Fort Riley, actually established in 1853. In
1852 Easton was one of a group of officers designated to select the site.
50. Wildcat creek, at present Manhattan.
412 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Vermillion, a stream which flows where we crossed it, rapidly over
a rocky bottom — Continued our march 4 Miles and encamped on
a branch of the Big Vermillion 51
SEPTEMBER 14TH Left Camp this morning taking E. N. E. course;
one and a half miles from Camp, we were highly gratified to find
ourselves once more in a Waggon road which was the broad road
leading from Independence Mo. to the South Pass 52 — Our Ani-
mals appeared to cheer up at such a prospect and travelled much
freer and faster than they did when they had to break a road for
themselves — We followed this road 23 Miles and encamped on
the head of a little Creek that enters into the Kanzas
SEPTEMBER 15TH Continued our March on the road until within
3 Miles of the Ferry at Uniontown,53 when I directed the Waggons
to turn off, and take an East direction, until they came into the
Waggon road leading from Uniontown to St Joseph Mo, and to
encamp at the first point where there was water and good grass —
On leaving the Waggons I proceeded to Uniontown, with a few
men to obtain provisions, as our rations were out tonight. Union-
town is situated a mile from the Kanzas on the South side, there
are a few dwellings and four or five Stores, which contain Indian
Goods and a variety of such Articles an Emigrants would probably
require at that point — I obtained without difficulty such articles
as I wanted, and at a very reasonable price, and recrossed the River
and took the St Joseph road to Camp, which I found about 5 Miles
from the Ferry, on a Slough of the Kanzas, and near the Farm of a
Pottowatomie, who furnished us with almost every variety of farm
produce Butter, Eggs, Potatoes, Corn, Milk, Chickens &c in ex-
change for Mess Pork, which he preferred to Silver or Gold — Our
Mess owing to bad management had been out of everything for
some time past, save miserable bread and meat and Coffee once a
day, and we had quite an appetite for the fine supper of vegetables
&c that was set before us this Evening — Total distance travelled
by the Train 14 Miles —
SEPTEMBER 16TH Followed the St. Joseph road to day, which
runs East 8 Miles and then crosses Soldier Creek where we obtained
some Corn for our Animals, from a Frenchman who lives on that
Creek — After crossing the Creek the road runs N. E. and we
51. At present Belvue.
52. Over this road (the Oregon trail or the California road) some 25,000 souls (includ-
ing Captain Easton and the dragoons) had passed westward the preceding season. The
best current description of the route is to be found in Irene D. Paden's The Wake of the
Prairie Schooner (New York, 1943).
53. Uniontown, Union Village, or Unionville was opposite present Rossville.
E ASTON: FORT LARAMIE TO FORT LEAVENWORTH 413
travelled on it 18 Miles more and encamped on the Grasshopper
Creek which is a fine Stream of clear water, with a rocky bottom,
an abundance of Pea Vines on it, and the valley well timbered —
Soldier Creek is also well timbered, and near its banks was fine
Grass.
SEPTEMBER 17TH Followed the Saint Joseph road 7 Miles travel-
ling N. E. where we left it and travelled an indistinct Waggon
trail, which turns off to Fort Leavenworth,54 marched 15 Miles far-
ther and pitched our Tents on the Stranger, the Mules being too
much fatigued to go into Leavenworth to day — Our direction
since we left the St Joseph Trace has been E. N. E. — After resting
my riding Mule I mounted and Started for Leavenworth, rode
E. N. E. 2 Miles and came into the road leading to Fort Kearny,
when I followed that road into this Post a distance of 9 Miles —
The distance from Fort Leavenworth to Union Town by the road
I travelled is 64 Miles over a fine road, with abundance of Grass,
Wood and Water; and from Uniontown to Council Grove is 45
Miles, which I am told is an equally good road — The distance
from this Post to Council Grove by the road that our trains now
travel is 160 Miles, making a difference in the distance of the two
routes of 51 Miles in favor of the Uniontown route — All that is
necessary to make the route from here to Uniontown a fine road
for our heavy trains is to cut timber out sufficiently wide for Wag-
gons, on the Stranger, Grasshopper and Soldier Creeks, and to dig
the Banks down on the Stranger and Grasshopper, the former re-
quires but little work — I have not travelled on the road from
Uniontown to Council Grove, but I am informed on good authority
that very little labor will make it an excellent road — I respect-
fully recommend that this route be opened and used hereafter by
our trains intended for Santa Fe! — I have drawn a rough Map
which accompanies this report, and which will give you a more
correct idea of the new route I propose, and also of the route and
country I have travelled over.
With regard to obtaining a better route from Fort Leavenworth
to Fort Laramie, by way of the Republican Fork of the Kanzas,
than the one now travelled, I have to report that I have been par-
ticular in examining and comparing the two routes, and decidedly
recommend that the Department use the one now in use for all
purposes — Independent of the great distance in favor of the Platte
54. This route is roughly indicated in "Map of Eastern Kansas in 1854 . . . ,"
p. 67, A. T. Andreas and W. G. Cutler, History of the State of Kansas (Chicago, 1883).
414 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
you will see from the foregoing journal that the nature of the Coun-
try from the Republican Fork to Fort Laramie forbids the idea of
changing the present route.
The Republican Fork differs very materially in character from
the Platte River — It is a deeper stream, in proportion to it's size
the water not spreading over so great a surface — It is much better
timbered, there being a continuous strip of timber along it's banks,
without any interval of consequence, as far West as 100° of longi-
tude, and from that degree as far West as it would be necessary to
travel on it, there is Wood at convenient distances — All the little
Streams emptying into it on the N and S sides, are well timbered —
The Platte has but a few Creeks, flowing into it, while the Repub-
lican has an almost innumerable number — The soil for purposes
of cultivation in the Valley of the Republican is far superior to that
on the Platte — The Grass along it's valley and also on its in-
numerable small tributaries, is far superior to that found on the
Platte — It has also a greater variety of Game and a greater quan-
tity of it— Buffalo on this River between the points indicated on
the Map literally cover the Country, Elk, Antelope, Turkies and
Grouse are in great numbers — Nearly all the little tributaries are
well shaded, and the water in them is cool and pleasant to drink —
A good road can be made with little labor on either side of this
River, either in the valley or farther back from it over the Hills —
As to whether or not this is a better route for Emigrants to take
from Independence to the South Pass, is a question which I cannot,
of course, fully answer, as I have never been West either of Fort
Laramie or St Vrain's Fort, and consequently cannot compare the
routes, leading from those two places to the South Pass which is a
very important consideration —
I can only then compare the route up the Platte as far as Fort
Laramie with the route up the Republican Fork as far as St Vrain's
Fort — So far as Wood Water and Grass are concerned, I give the
latter route a decided preference — With regard to the road, I
doubt if as good an one could be obtained, as the one leading up
the Platte, that road being almost unexceptionbable — Yet a fine
road can be made on the Republican route.
Should the Republican route be taken by Emigrants, from Inde-
pendence to the South Pass, I would recommend that the Santa Fe
road be followed from the former place for about 70 Miles, when
the route should turn off from that road and cross the Smoky Hill
Fork near its Mouth; from this point it should take a course NW.
EASTON: FORT LARAMIE TO FORT LEAVENWORTH 415
10° West, until it strikes the Republican, in order to avoid the
circuitous route of that River — By taking this course the tribu-
taries of the Republican or Solomons Fork, which are at short inter-
vals, will furnish Wood Water and Grass — On reaching the Re-
publican Fork, the road should follow up the River to the North
Fork, and then up that Fork to it's head — The only possible diffi-
culty than [sic] can exist will be the want of Water in crossing from
the head waters of this Fork, to the Platte, which I do not think
can be over 50 Miles — And I also feel confident that large ponds
or lakes can be found that will furnish an abundant supply of
Water — After leaving the head of the North Fork of the Repub-
lican, a W. N. W course should be taken, until reaching the Waggon
road leading up the South Fork of the Platte, and thence up that
road to the mouth of the Cache a la Poudre [?], and from this
point it would be necessary to take Col Fremont's route in 1843 up
the Cache a la Poudre, on to the Laramie Plains (if that road be
practicable for Waggons). I have traced the route I propose on
the enclosed Map which will give you a better idea of it than my
description — The route up the South Fork of the Platte, from the
point at which this proposed route will strike it, to the Mouth of
the Cache a la Poudre is represented as very good, with fine Grass
and a sufficiency of Wood.
The source of the North Fork of the Republican was not ascer-
tained definitely by me — But the size of the Stream, the direction
it takes as far as I could see from the Mouth the nature of the
Country, and the fact that I did not strike it coming down from the
Platte to the Republican, convinces me that it must bend near where
it is represented on the enclosed Map.
With a hope that this Report will give you some idea of the
Country passed over by me, and that my exertions to give you satis-
faction on my late expedition may meet with your approbation, I
have the honor to be, Sir,
Very respectfully,
Your Obedient Servant,
L. C. EASTON
Capt. A. Q. M.
To
COL. A. MACKAY
Dy. Qr Master Genl US Army
Saint Louis. Mo
416
KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM FORT LARAMDE TO FORT LEAVENWORTH, VIA
REPUBLICAN FORK OF THE KANZAS
Date
1849
Distance
travelled
each day
Distance
from
Ft. Laramie
Localities
August 2nd
3th
9
15
9
24
4th
33
57
Horse Creek
5th
3
66
6th
23
83
Pole Creek
7th
22
105
8th
17
122
9th
25
147
" 10th
25
172
S. Fork of Platte
llth
22
194
" 12th
17
211
Large Pond
13th
27
238
14th
20
258
Republican Fork
15th
18
276
16th
19
295
7 Miles below N. Fork
11 17th
19
314
18th
25
339
' 19th
10
349
' 20th
24
373
' 21th
18
391
' 22th
15
406
' 23th
14
420
" 24th
18
438
August 25th
10
448
26th
19
467
27th
22
489
28th
18
507
29th
13
520
30th
16
536
t
31st
14
550
Pawnee Trail
September 1st
17
567
3rd
22
589
Pawnee Trails
4th
19
608
5th
17
625
6th
8
633
7th
10
643
8th
17
660
9th
8
668
10th
18
686
3 Miles below mouth of
Smoky Hill Fork
llth
4
690
12th
11
701
Blue River
13th
14
715
Big Vermillion
14th
23
738
15th
14
752
Near Uniontown
16th
26
778
Grasshopper Creek
17th
33
811
Ft. Leaven worth
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O
Kansas Negro Regiments in the Civil War
DUDLEY TAYLOR CORNISH
NEGRO soldiers made a substantial contribution to the victory
of Union arms in the Civil War.1 Two Kansas Negro regi-
ments 2 played an active role in the war on the border, from Fort
Scott south along the Arkansas frontier to Fort Smith and Camden
and Pine Bluff. Although the history of these regiments is funda-
mentally military, it has important social and political overtones.
The records are not easily found, for they are scattered through
the 130 volumes of the Official Records. The story is treated sympa-
thetically but partially in Britton's Civil War on the Border. The full
history must be dug out of contemporary newspapers, adjutant
generals' reports, the correspondence and memoirs of some of the
main characters in the drama, much of it in the Kansas State
Historical Society's excellent collections in Topeka. Important and
illuminating details can be found only in the regimental and com-
pany records on file ( in part only ) in the National Archives, Wash-
ington, D. C. The story of these two Kansas Negro regiments is a
fascinating one; often thrilling, sometimes pathetic, and now and
then horrifying or heroic.
Abraham Lincoln's administration refused offers of Negro military
assistance in the first 15 months of the Civil War because of ill-
founded hopes that the Southern insurrection might be quickly put
down, that the Confederacy might become reconciled to a return
to the Union, and that in any case white volunteer armies would
be able to defeat the opposing armies of the South. President Lin-
coln feared that the use of Negroes would turn loyal men of the
Border states away from the Union cause and stir the South to more
determined efforts. Feeling against Negroes was strong among
labor groups and some foreign elements in the North, and there
was a substantial body of opinion which held that the acceptance of
DR. DUDLEY TAYLOR CORNISH is assistant professor in the social science department at
the Kansas State Teachers College, Pittsburg.
1. Although the raw material for work on the Negro soldier in the Civil War is ex-
tremely plentiful, only three book-length studies have appeared since Appomattox; the most
recent was published in 1891. For the slow development of top Union policy and procedure
in the use of Negro troops, see Dudley Taylor Cornish, "Negro Troops in the Union Army,
1861-1865," an unpublished doctoral dissertation (University of Colorado, Boulder, 1949).
2. There were four Kansas Negro military organizations during the Civil War: the
First Kansas Colored Volunteers, later officially designated by the War Department as the
79th U. S. Colored troops (new); the Second Kansas Colored volunteers, later designated
the 83rd U. S. Colored troops (new); the Leavenworth Colored militia (infantry) called
into service in October, 1864, on the occasion of the great Price raid; and the Independent
Colored Kansas battery (light artillery), unique in that it was officered entirely by Negroes.
For a good discussion of Kansas Negro soldiers, see Thomas James Boyd, "The Use of Negro
Troops by Kansas During the Civil War," an unpublished master's thesis (Kansas State
Teachers College, Pittsburg, 1950).
(417)
29—7007
418 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Negro soldiers would be an admission of white failure and therefore
an insult to white soldiers.
Favoring the use of colored soldiers were Abolitionists and Radi-
cals who maintained that slavery was the primary cause of the war
and that the war, accordingly, ought to be considered and conducted
as a crusade against the institution of slavery. Radicals in con-
gress and in the army forced the issue of Negro troops on the Union
by providing legislation permitting their enrollment 3 and by organ-
izing colored units before public opinion had expressed itself in
favor of their enrollment and organization.4 Not until the war had
dragged well into the second year without substantial Union gains
did hope for reconciliation with the South die, and not until Negro
soldiers had demonstrated in combat what they could do for the
Union did feeling against them begin to subside.5
Although the movement to use Negroes made slow progress in
the North and East during the first year and a half of war, matters
moved more rapidly in the trans-Mississippi West. More than three
months before Secretary of War Simon Cameron was dropped from
Lincoln's cabinet, for, among other reasons, urging too forcefully
the value of Negro soldiers,6 the Leavenworth Daily Conservative
discussed without adverse comment the plans of Col. Charles R.
Jennison for organizing Negroes into Home Guard units, and one of
the paper's correspondents described a colored soldier he had seen
among Sen. James H. Lane's cavalry troops.7
3. The Second Confiscation Act of July 17, 1862, authorized the President "to employ
as many persons of African descent as he may deem necessary and proper for the suppres-
sion of this rebellion," and to that end to "organize and use them in such manner as he
may judge best for the public welfare." Another act passed the same day went further
and specifically authorized the employment of Negro soldiers. In both instances, the
authority was vested in the President, and actual enrollment of Negro soldiers was left to
his discretion. — U. S. Statutes at Large, v. 12, pp. 592, 599.
4. Maj. Gen. David Hunter, commanding the Department of the South, began to re-
cruit the famous First South Carolina volunteers on May 9, 1862. — The War of the Rebel-
lion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washing-
ton, 1880-1901), Series 3, v. 2, p. 31. (Hereafter cited Official Records.) On August 22,
1862, Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, commanding the Department of the Gulf, published
his General Order No. 63, calling on the free colored militia of Louisiana to enroll in
volunteer forces serving the Union. Ibid., pp. 436-438. Neither Hunter nor Butler had
presidential permission for this activity; Hunter's experiment failed through lack of War
Department support, but Butler was permitted to continue without let or hindrance and by
November, 1862, had mustered three infantry regiments into federal service. — Official Army
Register of the Volunteer Force of the United States Army for the Years 1861, '62, '63, '64
'65, Pt. 8 (Washington, 1867), pp. 246, 248, 250. (Hereafter cited Official Army Regis-
ter.)
5. Wrote Joseph Holt, the Judge Advocate General, to Secretary of War E. M. Stanton
in August, 1863, "The tenacious and brilliant valor displayed by [Negro] troops . . .
at Port Hudson, Milliken's Bend, and Fort Wagner has sufficiently demonstrated to the
President and to the country the character of service of which they are capable." — Official
Records, Series 3, v. 3, p. 696. Holt's judgment was widely shared by the Northern press.
6. For a complete discussion of the circumstances surrounding Cameron's dismissal,
see A. Howard Meneely, "Three Manuscripts of Gideon Welles," American Historical Re-
view, Lancaster, Pa., v. 31 (April, 1925), pp. 486-494.
7. The Leavenworth Daily Conservative, September 24 and October 8, 1861. Jennison,
an old friend and associate of John Brown, was of the Radical Abolitionist school and
enjoyed a reputation for border ruffianism. James H. Lane, the Great Jayhawker and
stormy petrel of the Border and Kansas politics, had been made a brigadier by Cameron
on Lincoln's recommendation in June, 1861, with authority to raise two regiments of volun-
teers.— Official Records, Series 3, v. 1, pp. 280, 281.
NEGRO REGIMENTS IN THE CIVIL WAR 419
This Kansas activity was completely without the authority and
contrary to the policy of the Lincoln administration. It continued
even against express instructions from Washington. The reason
can be found in part in Wiley Britton's study of border warfare.8
So tenuous was the military situation and so explosive the political
situation in the region, so difficult was the task of containing the
surging Confederates and curbing the guerrilla warfare which
made life precarious in Arkansas and Missouri, not to say eastern
Kansas, that the supply of white troops was seldom if ever adequate
to the requirements of Union commanders in the field. The de-
mands were so great that practicality ruled out prejudice, slowly at
first, and then with gathering speed. The Emporia News toward
the close of 1861, argued that i£ the South insisted on using Negroes
"to shoot down our brave sons, ought we not to retaliate by using
them to subdue the enemies of the Government?" 9 And Senator
Lane maintained in early 1862 that a Negro might "just as well be-
come food for powder" as his son.10
In the senate,11 Lane was characteristically outspoken in urging
the use of Negroes. "Give them a fair chance," he argued, "put
arms in their hands and they will do the balance of the fighting in
this war." To Jim Lane it was a matter of large indifference whether
traitors were punished "on the battle-field, on the gallows or from
the brush by a negro." 12
Since color was not specifically mentioned in Lane's authority
to raise Union troops, the senator's loose-constructionist conscience
suffered no qualms. Aided by such old John Brown supporters
as Charles Jennison and James Montgomery, the Great Jayhawker
went to work.13 Lane wanted men; he asked no questions about
8. The Civil War on the Border (2 yols., New York, 1899), passim. Further light is
thrown on the nature of the border conflict and on the manpower difficulties characteristic
of it by the recently published Trego letters; see especially "The Letters of Joseph H. Trego,
1857-1864, Linn County Pioneer," Pt. 2, 1861-1862 (Edgar Langsdorf, ed.), The Kansas
Historical Quarterly, v. 19 (August, 1951), pp. 287-309.
9. The Emporia News, December 21, 1861. ,
10. The Leavenworth Daily Conservative, January 29, 1862.
11. On January 15, 1862, Lane introduced a resolution to authorize field commanders
of Kansas units to muster all persons who presented themselves for that purpose. Although
in debate on the resolution Lane maintained that it would not give commanders power
to arm Negroes, he drew gallery cheers with his assertion that he would say to Negroes, "I
have not arms for you, but if it is in your power to obtain arms from rebels, take them, and
I will use you as soldiers against traitors." — Cong. Globe, 37 Cong., 2 Sess., pp. 334, 335.
12. Leavenworth Daily Conservative, January 29, 1862. The quotations are from a
speech Lane made to the Leavenworth Mercantile Library Association on January 27.
13. Neither Jennison nor Montgomery seems to have given Lane more personal loyalty
than momentary expediency required; behind each others backs they plotted for personal
advancement. On August 3, 1862, Montgomery blasted Jennison in a letter to Governor
Robinson as "an unmitigated liar black-leg and Robber; . . ." Montgomery was
urging his own candidacy as colonel of the colored troops being raised. On August 12,
George H. Hoyt, a friend of Jennison's, wrote Robinson that while Jennison was working
with Lane (no friend to Robinson) he "takes hold of this work, not as a Lane man, but
altogether on the Jennison basis. . . ." Jennison wanted to be colonel, too. On August
22, Jennison himself wrote Governor Robinson to report that he had discovered "at all
420 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
race, color, or previous condition of servitude. For a time, Jennison
led what was called the "Tri-color Brigade/' composed of white,
Indian, and Negro units.14 In early August, Lane casually disclosed
to the War Department what kind of recruits he was rounding up:
"Recruiting opens up beautifully," he wired, "Good for four regi-
ments of whites and two of blacks. . . ." 15 He claimed the
Second Confiscation Act of July 17, 1862, as his authority for en-
rolling Negroes and on August 6 asked if the War Department had
any objection.16 The department did, as anyone who read the
newspapers carefully should have known,17 but not until the end of
August did Secretary of War Stanton tell Lane that Negro regiments
could not be accepted into service.18
Meanwhile, Negro recruiting in and around Kansas proceeded.
If Jim Lane ever received Stanton's message, his conduct betrayed
no sign of it. Early in August he opened a recruiting office in Leav-
enworth for the enlistment of both white and colored men, although
the latter were technically enrolled as laborers.19 To recruit Negroes
north of the Kansas river, Lane appointed Capt. James M. Williams,
and he named Capt. H. C. Seaman to enroll colored volunteers
south of the river.20
By the end of September, 1862, a New York Times correspondent
was able to write at length from the "Headquarters First Regiment,
Kansas Colored Volunteers, Camp 'Jim Lane* Near Wyandot." The
new organization, he reported, was "progressing finely." This
Times correspondent was one of the first of his contemporaries to
comment with obvious surprise on "the aptitude of the men for
acquiring the drill" and the neatness and order of their camp. He
points in Southern Kansas a general feeling that Lane is a great humbug." Although Jenni-
son did become a colonel, he never commanded either Kansas Negro regiment. In disgust,
Montgomery went to Washington in December, 1862, and eventually became colonel of the
Second South Carolina Colored volunteers, afterward the 34th U. S. Colored troops. —
"Robinson Papers," Ms. division, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka.
14. The Emporia News, August 9, 1862. "Col. Jennison is placed in charge of the
African department of the recruiting service here, by Gen. Lane," reported the Kansas cor-
respondent of the New York Times, August 17, 1862.
15. Official Records, Series 3, v. 2, pp. 294, 295, Lane to Stanton, August 5, 1862.
16. Ibid., p. 311, Lane to Stanton, August 6, 1862.
17. Lincoln had that morning declined the offer of an Indiana deputation to raise two
regiments of Negro troops with the explanation that "he was not prepared to go the length
of enlisting negroes as soldiers. He would employ all colored men offered as laborers, but
would not promise to make soldiers of them." — The New York Times, August 6, 1862. On
the same day the War Department informed the governor of Wisconsin: "The President
declines to receive Indians or negroes as troops." — Official Records, Series 3, v. 2, p. 314,
Buckingham to Salomon, August 6, 1862.
18. Ibid., p. 445, Stanton to Lane, August 23, 1862.
19. Daniel W. Wilder, The Annals of Kansas (Topeka, 1886), p. 350.
20. Military History of Kansas Regiments During the War for the Suppression of the
Great Rebellion (Leavenworth, 1870), p. 407. (Hereafter cited Kansas Regiments).
The Leavenworth Daily Conservative, August 6, 1862, asserted that both Williams and
Seaman were generally known as Abolitionists.
NEGRO REGIMENTS IN THE CIVIL WAR 421
found them easily managed, accustomed to discipline and well
suited to soldiering.21
These colored troops soon became more than recruits sweating at
drill and endlessly policing their company streets. Late in October,
1862, they engaged a large force of guerrillas near Butler, Bates
county, Mo., in what "is supposed to have been the first engagement
in the war in which colored troops were engaged." 22 A Leaven-
worth Conservative correspondent waxed eloquent on the military
prowess of these new additions to the Union forces: "It is useless
to talk anymore about negro courage — the men fought like tigers
. . . and the main difficulty was to hold them well in hand/' 23
Five companies later returned to Bates county and engaged a large
force of rebels near Island Mound, November 25 to 29, 1862. After
capturing a large amount of stock and routing their enemies, the
Negro soldiers continued on to Fort Scott.24
This actual employment as combat troops, if only against rebel
irregulars and bushwackers, was good publicity and seems to have
helped reduce resistance to Negro recruiting. On January 13, 1863,
six companies were mustered into federal service as the First regi-
ment, Kansas Colored Volunteers, Lt. Col. James Williams com-
manding.25 Four more companies were added to complete the
regiment during the spring of 1863.26 On the basis of dates of
muster-in, the First Kansas Colored was the fourth Negro regiment
to enter the Union army. Ben Butler had enrolled three regiments
in Louisiana in the fall of 1862, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson's
First South Carolina Volunteers was mustered in on January 31,
1863.27 On the basis of newspaper accounts and military reports,
however, Kansas appears to have been the first Union state to begin
enrolling Negro soldiers; small units and companies of Kansas col-
ored soldiers fought in the first engagements of the war in which
Negro soldiers as such were used.
21. The New York Times, October 12, 1862: "The very first idea of a soldier's life,
subordination, to learn which our white citizens have to unlearn nearly all their past experi-
ence has taught them, the negroes, by the circumstances of their lives, have certainly to a
degree as great as the most strenuous martinet would insist upon. An army is essentially a
despotism; the only point is to intelligently accept it, and, using the power thus acquired,
our army will be invincible."
22. Kansas Regiments, pp. 408, 409. The boast is an accurate one: The First South
Carolina Colored Volunteers (afterward the 33rd U. S. Colored troops) saw its first active
service in the week of November 3 to 10, 1862, and then only one company participated.
— Official Records, Series 1, v. 14, pp. 191, 192, Beard to Saxton, November 10, 1862.
23. The Chicago Tribune, November 10, 1862, dispatch by Conservative correspondent.
24. Muster rolls, Companies A, B, C, D, E, G, 79th (New) U. S. Colored infantry
[later official designation of the First Kansas Colored], "Record of Events Sections, Returns
for November, December, 1862." — Microfilm from War Records Division, National Archives,
Washington. Company G arrived at Island Mound too late to participate in the fighting.
25. Official Army Register, Ft. 8, p. 256.
26. Kansas Regiments, p. 409.
27. Official Army Register, Pt. 8, pp. 204, 246, 248, 250.
422 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
This radical step was not taken without opposition. Many people
in Kansas and Missouri opposed the movement out of prejudice
against Negroes; some had honest doubts of the military value of
colored soldiers; others, like the loyal slaveholders of parts of Mis-
souri, feared the loss of valuable property in slaves as a result of the
impetuous activities of recruiting officers; still others were frankly
in sympathy with the Confederate cause.28
Some Negroes offered themselves quickly and eagerly for service,
others were reluctant to come forward for fear they would be badly
used by the white troops around them and by the Union govern-
ment.29 Lane's recruiters found all sorts of obstacles placed in their
paths by civil authorities; some of his officers were even charged
with "unlawfully restraining persons of their liberty."30 Perhaps
these charges were not so unfounded as they may at first appear;
perhaps the word "Volunteers" in the name of the Negro regiment
was somewhat inaccurate. Jim Lane was primarily interested in
getting troops; they did not have to be volunteers. At one Leaven-
worth mass meeting Lane asserted that "the negroes are mistaken
if they think white men can fight for them while they stay at home."
To the Negroes Lane said, "we have been saying that you would
fight, and if you won't fight we will make you." 31
The men who filled the companies of the First Kansas Colored
seem to have been largely recruited from among fugitive slaves out
of Arkansas and Missouri. Some of them were fugitives in a tech-
nical sense only; the former owners of many complained bitterly to
government officials that Lane's forces had stolen them out of hand,
which was probably true.32
One whole company of the First was raised by one man, Benjamin
F. Van Horn. Learning that a large number of Negroes had taken
refuge among the Sac and Fox Indians, Van Horn carried the news
to Gen. James G. Blunt and Jim Lane. Those enthusiasts at once
commissioned Van Horn as a lieutenant and sent him out to get a
company, after thoughtfully providing him with several wagons of
supplies and even a drill master. In a few weeks, Van Horn re-
turned with a full-strength company of 80 men, and he was named
its commander.33 That Van Horn was not overcareful in selecting
28. Kansas Regiments, pp. 407, 408.
29. Ibid., p. 407; Leavenworth Daily Conservative, August 27, 1862; some Negroes
were concerned for the care of their families left at home.
30. Kansas Regiments, p. 408.
31. Leavenworth Daily Conservative, August 6, 1862.
32. Official Records, Series 1, v. 13, pp. 618, 619, Jackson and Clay counties, Missouri,
citizens to Lincoln, September 8, 1862, and Edward M. Samuel to Lincoln, same date.
33. "Van Horn Manuscript," Ms. division, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka,
p. 21. This manuscript is a 30-page autobiographical statement dictated by Benjamin F.
Van Horn in 1909. Events disclosed in it are well supported by military reports and records.
NEGRO REGIMENTS IN THE CIVIL WAR 423
his men is indicated in Special Order 33, Headquarters Army of the
Frontier, August 22, 1863:
IV. Privates Nero Hardridge and Elias Hardridge, Co. I, 1st Kansas Colored
Vols, having been illegally recruited and mustered into the Service of the U. S.,
being minors and under eighteen years of age, and the consent of their parents
not having been obtained, will be dropped from the Company rolls and allowed
to return to their parents.
Capt. Van Horn commanding Co. I ... will see this order carried into
execution at once.
By Command of Major General Blunt:34
During the months at Fort Scott, before marching south through
the rolling hill-country of southeast Kansas to duty at Baxter Springs,
Fort Gibson, and along the Arkansas river, the First Kansas Colored
was plagued by desertions.35 Some were undoubtedly the result of
recruiting tactics verging on impressment. But more important
in creating a sense of injustice and a feeling of dissatisfaction among
the colored soldiers were circumstances like the following, reported
to the post commander by Colonel Williams: "my men have never
yet received one cent of bounty or of pay although they have now
been in the Service nearly 10 months." 36 Williams wrote General
Blunt, commanding the Army of the Frontier, that his men felt
"sorely troubled and grieved about the pay" 37 as well they might,
since the white troops about them were regularly paid. In July,
1863, by which time some of the men in the regiment had been in
uniform a little short of a year, this injustice was finally rectified.
From that time on, the problem of desertions in the First Kansas
Colored seems to have become a relatively small one.
Although these Kansas Negro soldiers did finally receive their
pay, they did not get the same pay as that drawn by their white
comrades in arms; far from it. An editorial appearing in the Chi-
cago Tribune in May, 1864, tells the story:
READ AND BLUSH. — The colored volunteer is as good a soldier as any, with
as lofty motives for serving his country. He is oftener oppressed with duties
than lightened by them — he faces greater dangers than does the white — and
yet, as a prisoner of war, gets no protection from his uniform, his flag, or the
34. Regimental Letter and Order Book, 79th (New) U. S. Colored troops. — Microfilm
from War Records Division, National Archives.
35. See ibid., Colonel Williams to Capt. S. A. Thrasher, January 29, 1863, ordering
Thrasher to Neosho to return absentees reported there, and Williams to Col. William A.
Phillips, same date, asking cooperation in returning deserters in his district. — See, also,
circular published January 17, 1863, by General Blunt, on subject of Negro desertions, in
ibid.
36. Ibid., Williams to Col. C. W. Blair, undated, probably about April 21, 1863.
37. Ibid., Williams to Capt. H. G. Loring, Blunt's acting assistant adjutant general,
April 21, 1863. Williams reported "a restlessness and insubordination" among his soldiers
which he thought "the natural results of these long trials and sufferings." To counteract
what he called a "mutinous" spirit, Williams withdrew his men from their work on the
fortifications at Fort Scott in order to give his "whole time to the discipline of the Regiment."
424 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Union which these represent. He deserves equal pay with the best, and has
been promised it. What he receives is this:
White Colored
Sergeant Major $21 $7
Quartermaster Sergeant 21
First Sergeant 20 7
Sergeant 17 7
Hospital Steward 30
Corporal 13
Private 13 7
Chaplain 100 7
The white soldier is permitted to purchase his clothing himself, but from
the ten dollars of the colored, three are reserved for this purpose. The white
chaplain has besides a perquisite of eighteen dollars.38
Not until 1864, and then only after furious debate in the army, in
the press and in congress, did Negro soldiers finally get what
amounted to equal pay for equal work.39
Fear that Negro soldiers would not know how to handle money
was fairly general. Accordingly, Colonel Williams prepared an un-
usual general order on the occasion of the First Kansas Colored's first
pay day:
The Colonel commanding desires to offer a few suggestions to the enlisted
men of the command upon the importance of husbanding the proceeds of your
labor, which you are about to receive from the Government. You are just
relieved from servile bondage, and have had but few opportunities for learning
the importance of saving carefully the proceeds of your toil.
Heretofore that has all gone to an unscrupulous Master who has with it
fastened still more strongly the Irons with which he held you; every dollar
gained by your labor was but another link in the iron chain.
Now the whole condition of your existence is changed.
A wise and just government has decreed that hereafter you shall be free,
and shall yourselves enjoy the fruit of your labor.
This boon which is freely given must not be allowed to forge your ruin.
You have been brought up to habits of industry and frugality, and if you depart
in the least from either of these habits, it sooner or later will have the effect
to destroy your whole prosperity as individuals and measureably effect your
condition as a people. I therefore urgently advise you to carefully save the
money, which is about to be paid you, for the support of your families; and,
as a foundation upon which to build a home for your wives and children, your
families and friends.
To this end, I advise you, to make a deposit of such funds as you do not
need, in some safe hands for transmission to your families, or safekeeping for
yourselves.40
38. The Chicago Tribune, May 1, 1864.
39. See Cornish, "Negro Troops in the Union Army, 1861-1865" (unpublished doc-
toral dissertation, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1949), pp. 361-374, passim, for a survey
of the Negro pay problem.
40. "Regimental Letter and Order Book," 79th (New) U. S. Colored troops, General
Order No. 5, July 12, 1863, paragraph 1.
NEGRO REGIMENTS IN THE CIVIL WAR 425
That the colonel's advice was followed is indicated by this news-
paper comment of a few weeks later: "The soldiers of the First
Colored send up with the Paymaster about $12,000 of their pay for
their families at Lawrence and Leavenworth. Bully for the First
Nigger. That regiment cannot be beat/' 41
The first important field duty for the First Kansas Colored came
when the regiment moved south from Fort Scott to the Baxter
Springs outpost guarding the military road to Fort Gibson in Indian
territory. While stationed at Baxter Springs, Colonel Williams' men
began to build up their battle record — and their casualty list. On
May 18, 1863, a foraging party of 40 or 50 white and colored troops
suffered a surprise attack from guerrillas under the notorious Maj.
T. R. Livingston.42 The Negro regiment lost 20 men killed in action,
and several were taken prisoner. One of these prisoners was after-
wards murdered by Livingston's men.43 In retaliation, Williams
ordered one of his Confederate prisoners shot.44
Toward the end of June the regiment moved farther south as part
of the escort of a wagon train for Fort Blunt, Cherokee Nation.45
This expedition provided further opportunity for the Negro soldiers
to show their fighting ability. At Cabin Creek the train was attacked
by a large force of Texans and Indians, and after skirmishing, the
rebels took up strong positions on the south bank of the creek.
The next morning the Union forces attacked and in two hours'
fighting drove the enemy with substantial losses from his position.46
This engagement seems to have been the first in the Civil War in
which white and colored Union soldiers fought side by side, and it is
recorded that the white officers and men "allowed no prejudice on
account of color to interfere in the discharge of their duty in the
face of an enemy alike to both races." 47
41. Leavenworth Daily Conservative, September 1, 1863.
42. Wiley Britton, The Civil War on the Border, v. 2, p. 78. Official Records, Series 1,
v. 22, Ft. 1, p. 322. The action took place near Sherwood, Mo.
43. See "Regimental Letter and Order Book," 79th (New) U. S. Colored troops, for
correspondence between Williams and Livingston, May 20-23, 1863. Williams made his
position clear on the matter of the treatment of any of his men taken prisoner: ". . . it
rests with you [he wrote Livingston] to treat them as prisoners of war or not, but be
assured that I will keep a like number of your men as prisoners untill [sic] these colored men
are accounted for. And you can safely trust that I shall visit a retributive justice upon
them for any injury done them at the hands of confederate forces. . . ." — Williams to
Livingston, May 21, 1863.
44. Kansas Regiments, p. 410.
45. Official Records, Series 1, v. 22, Ft. 1, pp. 379, 380. Lt. Col. Theodore H.
Dodd, 2d Colorado infantry, commanded the escort which included, besides the Negro
regiment, six companies of the 2d Colorado, cavalry companies from the 9th and 14th
Kansas regiments, a section of the 2d Kansas battery, and 600 members of the 3d Indian
Home Guards sent up from Fort Gibson to meet the train.
46. Ibid., pp. 380, 381. The battle plan followed was drawn up by Colonel Williams
as senior officer in the escort. The engagement took place on July 2, 1863.
47. Kansas Regiments, pp. 411, 412.
426 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
It was at Honey Springs, slightly over two weeks later, that the
First Kansas Colored established its military reputation. After an
all-night march, Union troops under command of Maj. Gen. James
G. Blunt came upon a strong rebel force under Gen. Douglas Cooper
and after a "sharp and bloody engagement of two hours' duration"
forced Cooper's command to flee the field.48 During the fight the
Negro regiment, which held the Union center, moved up under
fire to within 50 paces of the Confederate line and there, still under
fire, halted and exchanged volley fire for some 20 minutes before
the rebels broke and ran.49 The Kansas Negroes captured the colors
of a Texas regiment, but the Second Indian regiment seems to have
taken possession of the trophy after the shooting was ended.50
This was the most important battle in the regiment's entire his-
tory: it set to rest a great deal of criticism of the use of Negroes as
soldiers. Wrote General Blunt of Honey Springs:
. . . I never saw such fighting done as was done by the negro regiment.
They fought like veterans, with a coolness and valor that is unsurpassed. They
preserved their line perfect throughout the whole engagement and, although
in the hottest of the fight, they never once faltered. Too much praise can not
be awarded them for their gallantry.
The question that negroes will fight is settled; besides they make better
soldiers in every respect than any troops I have ever had under my com-
mand.51
An officer of the Third Wisconsin cavalry at Honey Springs, an
Irish Democrat, had this to say after the fight: "I never believed
in niggers before, but by Jasus, they are hell for fighting." 52
Recruiting for the Second Kansas Colored Volunteers began under
good auspices in June, 1863, and by the middle of October ten com-
panies were full, officered by battle-hardened enlisted men from
various white regiments.53 Samuel J. Crawford, afterward governor
of Kansas, was appointed colonel of this new regiment, and he
played a vital role in making it what the Kansas historian William
48. Ibid., p. 412. For detailed reports of this action, see Official Records, Series 1,
v. 22, Pt. 1, pp. 447-462. Some light is thrown on the reasons for Confederate defeat by
Charles R. Freeman, "The Battle of Honey Springs," Chronicles of Oklahoma, Oklahoma
City, v. 13 (June, 1935), pp. 154-168.
49. Official Records, Series 1, v. 22, Pt. 1, pp. 449, 450. Williams was severely
wounded just as his regiment moved into close action, and Lt. Col. John Bowles assumed
command. For an eye-witness account of the action, see the Van Horn Ms., Kansas State
Historical Society, Topeka; Van Horn commanded Company I of the 1st Colored at Honey
Springs.
50. Ibid., p. 450. Losses were reported as follows: Confederate — 150 killed, 400
wounded, 77 prisoners; Union — 13 killed, 62 wounded. The 1st Colored suffered two men
killed in action and 30 wounded. — Ibid., pp. 448-450.
51. Cincinnati Daily Commercial, August 12, 1863, quoting letter from Blunt, dated
52. Leavenworth Daily Conservative, July 17, 1863.
53. Kansas Regiments, pp. 424-426.
NEGRO REGIMENTS IN THE CIVIL WAR 427
E. Connelley has called "a famous regiment." 54 Crawford was not
the Abolitionist Colonel Williams was; he accepted the colonelcy of
this Negro infantry regiment with great reluctance,55 but he brought
to his new command a wealth of intelligence and practical military
experience.
Under Crawford the Second Kansas Colored was molded into
an efficient fighting unit. He insisted on competent, hard-working
officers and required that they "make good in drill, discipline, and
military appearance, or hand in their resignations." 56 After assem-
bling by companies at Fort Scott, the regiment began its military
career as part of the escort for a supply train to Fort Smith, Ark.
Near Fort Smith the men completed their training under the de-
manding Crawford.57 Colonel Williams' First Colored was sta-
tioned at Fort Smith during part of October and November of
1863; 58 this regiment moved in December to Roseville, Ark., about
50 miles east of Fort Smith, and there went into winter quarters.59
In the spring of 1864, both Negro regiments moved south as part
of the Frontier division under Brig. Gen. John M. Thayer in the
Camden (or Steele) expedition designed to cooperate with the ill-
starred Banks expedition up the Red river in Louisiana.60 This
Camden expedition, under command of General Frederick Steele,
provided both Kansas Negro regiments with heavy field duty. The
First Kansas Colored suffered its greatest losses of the war in the
engagement at Poison Springs near Camden on April 18, 1864 — 117
dead and 65 wounded — when a large foraging party of white and
colored troops under Colonel Williams was cut off and cut up by
Confederates of Cabell's, Maxey's, and Marmaduke's commands.61
54. A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, 4 vols. (New York, 1918), v. 2, p. 898.
55. Samuel J. Crawford, Kansas in the Sixties (Chicago, 1911), p. 102. Crawford
had served in the 2d Kansas cavalry and was not enthusiastic at the thought of leading
infantry; further, he preferred a white organization and did not desire the "months of tedious,
hard work, drilling and preparing the regiment for field service."
56. Ibid., p. 107. "As a result . . .," Crawford recorded, "we soon had a
number of vacancies."
57. Kansas Regiments, pp. 426, 427. ". . . the regiment attained a degree of
proficiency second to none in the Army of the Frontier."
58. "Regimental Letter and Order Book," 79th (New) U. S. Colored troops; the
regiment was ordered to Fort Smith on September 14, 1863. While at Fort Smith, Wil-
liams used a period of relative freedom from field duty to rebuild his campaign-worn or-
ganization; see drill schedule instituted October 25, 1863.
59. Ibid., December 11, 12, 1863. The regiment was ordered to seize and occupy
Roseville, collect cotton and other stores in the vicinity, and wage constant war against
guerrilla bands in the neighborhood.
60. For reports covering the Camden Expedition, see Official Records, Series 1, v. 34,
Pt. 1, pp. 653-850, passim.
61. Ibid., pp. 743-757. Williams' force of 875 infantry and 285 cavalry included
some 500 members of the 1st Kansas Colored; total white Union losses were reported as
87 killed, 32 wounded, ibid., p. 746. Brig. Gen. W. L. Cabell, C. S. A., estimated the
Union forces at 1,500 Negroes and 1,000 whites and reported 450 Negroes and 30 whites
killed in action with four Negro and 58 white prisoners taken, ibid., p. 792. Cabell's
figures for Negro dead and prisoners seem utterly disproportionate to white Union losses.
428 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The engagement was referred to by contemporaries as a massacre,
and there is considerable evidence that on this occasion Confeder-
ates did murder many Negro soldiers.62 Crawford's Second Kansas
Colored reacted to the Poison Springs affair by resolving to take no
rebel prisoners in the future.63
Since General Steele's supplies were practically exhausted and his
forces inadequate for the task of holding off the combined Confeder-
ate armies of Sterling Price and Kirby Smith, Steele decided "to fall
back at once." 64 Meanwhile, Gen. Nathaniel Banks had met with
disaster on the Red river near Shreveport, and on April 26 the
Steele expedition began its withdrawal from Camden.65
On April 30, Crawford's command found occasion at Jenkins
Ferry on the Sabine river to fight their most distinguished action.
The Second Kansas Colored relieved the 50th Indiana which had
expended most of its ammunition in a hotly contested rear-guard
action. After fighting for two hours without gaining any advantage,
the Kansas Negroes found themselves under fire from a rebel bat-
tery of three guns. Crawford asked for and got permission to
charge this battery with the result that it was quickly overrun by
his troops shouting "Remember Poison Spring!" Rebel casualties
were high — about 150 killed or mortally wounded; the Second Kan-
sas Colored lost 15 men killed, and 55 were wounded.66
The Camden expedition was a costly Union failure, and the
Kansas Negro regiments suffered heavily as a result of their heroic
part in it; the First was greatly reduced by casualties, and the
Second brought back only its weapons and what the men wore on
their backs. But the war went on, and there was no rest for either
the First or Second. Early in May, 1864, Colonel Williams as-
sumed command of the Second brigade, Frontier division, a brigade
made up entirely of Negro regiments.67 Besides the Kansas regi-
62. Williams flatly stated that "Many wounded men belonging to the 1st Kansas
Colored Volunteers fell into the hands of the enemy, and I have the most positive assurances
from eye-witnesses that they were murdered on the spot." — Kansas Regiments, p. 420.
Crawford, too, was convinced that many Negro soldiers were "murdered on the field." —
Kansas in the Sixties, p. 117. Wiley Britton has left a gory picture of Confederates stalking
Negro wounded. — The Civil War on the Border, v. 2, pp. 290, 291. A clue to the attitude
or commands could restrain the men from vengeance on the negroes, and they were piled
in great heaps about the wagons, in the tangled brushwood, and upon the muddy and
trampled road." — Shelby and His Men; or, The War in the West (Cincinnati, 1867) pp.
279, 280. No Kansas Negro troops were engaged at Mark's Mill.
63. Kansas in the Sixties, p. 117.
64. Official Records, Series 1, v. 34, Pt. 1, p. 668.
65. Ibid., p. 669.
66. Ibid., pp. 697-699. See also, Crawford, Kansas in the Sixties, pp. 119-124, and
Kansas Regiments, pp. 428-430.
67. "Regimental Letter and Order Book," 79th (New) U. S. Colored troops, May 7,
1864.
NEGRO REGIMENTS IN THE CIVIL WAR 429
ments, Williams' colored brigade included the llth U. S. Colored
troops, commanded by Lt. Col. James M. Steele, formerly of the
12th Kansas infantry, and the 54th U. S. Colored troops.68 As mem-
bers of this brigade and as individual organizations, the two Kan-
sas Negro regiments saw their full share of onerous duty from the
spring of 1864 until their final muster-out in October, 1865. They
moved from Little Rock to Fort Smith and back, escorting supply
and refugee trains; they pursued guerrilla bands and occasionally
had the pleasure of hitting them hard and effectively; they went out
on foraging and other fatigue parties; they did garrison duty at Fort
Smith and Pine Bluff. They were worn down by constant work,
by occasional battle casualties, and by disease.69
The record of these Negro regiments is a commendable one.
They overcame initial prejudice and strong opposition to their mili-
tary employment. Their soldierly performance of difficult and
dangerous duty won the respect and even the admiration of their
white comrades in arms. Their losses were high: 177 men were
killed in action, 26 died of wounds, disease took over 350 more.
The First Kansas Colored lost 156 men killed in action, the highest
number of battle casualties of any Kansas regiment, white or col-
ored.70 The desertion rate for Kansas Negro soldiers was a com-
paratively good one: 62.201 per thousand. The rate for all Kansas
troops was an unusually high 117.54 per thousand, while that for all
loyal states was 62.51 per thousand.71
Col. C. K. Holliday, Kansas adjutant general, expressed an ac-
curate judgment of the performance of these Negro soldiers in De-
cember, 1864, when he wrote:
Though suffering severe losses, and fighting at great disadvantage, owing
to the merciless treatment they were sure to receive if taken as prisoners of
war, yet they faltered not, but with a steadiness and a gallantry worth [y] of
themselves and the cause, have earned an honorable reputation among the
defenders of the Union.72
68. Kansas Regiments, p. 431.
69. Ibid., pp. 422, 423, 432-435.
70. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kansas . . . 1861-1865, 2 vols.
(Leavenworth, 1867), v. 1, table facing p. XLVIII.
71. Official Records, Series 3, v. 5, pp. 668, 669.
72. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kansas, for the Year 1864 (Leaven-
worth, 1865), p. 696.
Recent Additions to the Library
Compiled by HELEN M. MCFARLAND, Librarian
IN ORDER that members of the Kansas State Historical Society
and others interested in historical study may know the class of
books we are receiving, a list is printed annually of the books ac-
cessioned in our specialized fields.
These books come to us from three sources, purchase, gift and
exchange, and fall into the following classes: Books by Kansans
and about Kansas; books on the West, including explorations, over-
land journeys and personal narratives; genealogy and local history;
and books on the Indians of North America, United States history,
biography and allied subjects which are classified as general. The
out-of-state city directories received by the Historical Society are
not included in this compilation.
We also receive regularly the publications of many historical so-
cieties by exchange, and subscribe to other historical and genea-
logical publications which are needed in reference work.
The following is a partial list of books which were added to the
library from October 1, 1951, to September 30, 1952. Federal and
state official publications and some books of a general nature are
not included. The total number of books accessioned appears
in the report of the secretary in the February issue of the Quarterly.
KANSAS
Addresses and Other Items of Interest Connected With the Seventy-Fifth Anni-
versary Services of the Swiss Mennonites Held on September 5, 1949. No
impr. 67p.
ALLEN, J. MORDECAI, The Roman Soldier. [Chicago, Harry O. Abbott, c!951.]
27p.
BAKER, NINA (BROWN), Cyclone in Calico; the Story of Mary Ann Bickerdyke.
Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1952. 278p.
BRISTOW, JOHN T., Memory's Storehouse Unlocked, True Stones: Pioneer Days
in Wetmore and Northeast Kansas. Wetmore, n. p., 1948. 411p.
BRISTOW, JOSEPH L., Fraud and Politics at the Turn of the Century; McKinley
and His Administration as Seen by His Principal Patronage Dispenser and
Investigator. New York, The Exposition Press [c!952]. 126p.
BRUMWELL, MALCOLM J., An Ecological Survey of the Fort Leavenworth Mili-
tary Reservation. (Reprinted from The American Midland Naturalist Vol
45, No. 1, January, 1951.) [44]p.
CAMP, C. ROLLIN, comp. and ed., First Annual Directory of Fort Scott, for 1875
. . . Fort Scott, Monitor Steam Publishing House, 1875. 127p.
(430)
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 431
COGGINS, CAROLYN, Successful Entertaining at Home: a Complete Guide for
Informal Entertaining. New York, Prentice-Hall [c!952]. 383p.
CONFERENCE ON MENNONITE CULTURAL PROBLEMS, Proceedings 1-8, 1942-1951.
Impr. varies. 8 Vols.
COUNTY COUNCIL OF WOMEN'S CLUBS, MEADE COUNTY, KANSAS, comps., Pio-
neer Stories of Meade County. [Marceline, Mo., Walsworth Brothers] 1950.
109p.
[CROOKS, MRS. CHARLES H.], A Tribute to a Gallant Soldier of the Cross, Doctor
Charles H. Crooks, Medical Missionary to Siam, 1904-1940. No impr. 22p.
DASHER, ALLEN, After 45, Candid Observations on Middle Age. New York,
The Exposition Press [c!952]. 141p.
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, EMPORIA CHAPTER, Tombstone
Inscriptions, Lyon County, Kansas. No impr. Typed. 10 Vols.
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, KANSAS SOCIETY, Proceedings of
the Fifty-Fourth Annual State Conference, March 6, 7, and 8, 1952, Hutch-
inson, Kansas. No impr. 187p.
DAVIS, KENNETH SYDNEY, Morning in Kansas. Garden City, N. Y., Doubleday
and Company, Inc., 1952. 382p.
DISASTER CORPS, INC., KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, Blueprint for Disaster; Kansas
City's "Black Friday" Flood, 1951, With the Story of the Fighting Men of
Disaster Corps, Inc. [Kansas City, Mo.] n. p. [c!951]. [41 ]p.
DUNCAN, KUNIGUNDE, Kentish Fire. Boston, Bruce Humphries, Inc. [c!951].
36p.
EATON, FRANK, Pistol Pete, Veteran of the Old West. Boston, Little, Brown
and Company, 1952. 278p.
EBRIGHT, HOMER KINGSLEY, The History of Baker University. Baldwin, n. p.,
1951. 356p.
ECKLEY, ROBERT S., and JACK CHERNICK, The Economy of Southwestern Kan-
sas, a Preliminary Statement. Lawrence, University of Kansas, School of
Business, 1951. 80p. (Economic Development in Southwestern Kansas,
Pt. 1.)
FIELD, RUDOLPH, Mister American (Dwight David Eisenhower) an Evaluation.
New York, Rudolph Field Company [c!952]. 132p.
FLETCHER, SYDNEY E., The Cowboy and His Horse. New York, Grosset and
Dunlap [c!951]. 159p.
FOREMAN, W. JAMES, and ROBERT S. ECKLEY, Agriculture. Lawrence, Kansas
University, School of Business, 1951. 202p. (Economic Development in
Southwestern Kansas, Pt. 5.)
GILMORE, JULIA, Come North! the Life-Story of Mother Xavier Ross, Foundress
of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. New York, McMullen Books, Inc.,
1951. 310p.
GRAVES, WILLIAM WHITES, History of Neosho County, Vol. 2. St. Paul, Jour-
nal Press, 1951. [597]p.
GREENOUGH, CHARLES PELHAM, III, The Graphic Works of Birger Sandzen
. . . [Manhattan, The Kansas Magazine, c!952.] Unpaged.
432 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
GUNN, OTIS BERTHOUDE, New Map and Hand-Book of Kansas and the Gold
Mines . . . Pittsburgh, Pa., W. S. Haven, 1859. 71p. (Mumey Re-
print, 1952.)
GUNTHER, JOHN, Eisenhower, the Man and the Symbol. New York, Harper
and Brothers [1952]. 180p.
HALEY, JAMES EVETTS, The Heraldry of the Range; Some Southwestern Brands.
Canyon, Tex., Panhandle-Plains Historical Society, 1949. 35p.
HATCH, ALDEN, General Ike, a Biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Revised
and Enlarged Edition. New York, Henry Holt and Company [c!952]. 320p.
HIBBARD, CLAUDE W., A New Mastodon, Serridentinus Meadensis, From the
Middle Pliocene of Kansas. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1951.
[8]p. (Contributions From the Museum of Paleontology, Vol. 9, No. 6, pp.
217-225.)
, Vertebrate Fossils From the Pleistocene Stump Arroyo Member, Meade
County, Kansas. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1951. [18]p.
Contributions From the Museum of Paleontology, Vol. 9, No. 7, pp. 227-245. )
HICKS, WILSON, ed., This Is Ike, the Picture Story of the Man. New York,
Henry Holt and Company [c!952]. Unpaged.
HINSHAW, DAVID, Rufus Jones, Master Quaker. New York, G. P. Putnam's
Sons [c!951]. 306p.
HOAD, WILLIAM C., Some Episodes in the Early History of the Santa Fe
Railroad, a Paper Read at a Meeting of the Dunworkin Club, 26 November
'51. No impr. Typed. 33p.
HOWES, CHARLES C., This Place Called Kansas. Norman, University of Okla-
homa Press [c!952]. 236p.
HUGHES, LANGSTON, Laughing to Keep From Crying. New York, Henry Holt
and Company [c!952]. 206p.
["Ike" Eisenhower: His Life Story in Pictures.] [New York, Mens Publications,
Inc., c!952.] 50p.
KANSAS AUTHORS CLUB, 1952 Yearbook. N. p., 1952. 128p.
KANSAS GRAIN, FEED AND SEED DEALERS ASSOCIATION, Kansas Official Directory,
1952 . . . Hutchinson, Association, 1952. 272p.
Kansas Magazine, 1952. [Manhattan, Kansas Magazine Publishing Association
c!952.] 104p.
KANSAS STATE BRAND COMMISSIONER, 195! Supplement to the 1950 Kansas
Brand Book. Topeka, State Printer, 1951. 141p.
KANSAS UNIVERSITY, BUREAU OF GOVERNMENT RESEARCH, A Comprehensive
Planning Survey of Dodge City, Kansas. N. p. [1950]. Mimeographed. 114p.
KIRK, ALBERT EMMANUEL, It Can Happen in the Church. Philadelphia,
Dorrance and Company [c!951]. 199p.
KUHLMAN, CHARLES, Legend Into History, the Custer Mystery; an Analytical
Study of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Harrisburg, Pa., The Stackpole
Company [c!951]. 250p.
LERRIGO, CHARLES HENRY, The Better Half of Your Life; How to Live in
Health and Happiness From Forty to Ninety. New York, The John Day
Company [c!951]. 270p.
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 433
LINDQUIST, GUSTAVUS ELMER EMANUEL, New Trails for Old; a Handbook for
Missionary Workers Among the American Indians. New York, National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the U. S. A., 1951. 82p.
LOVE, ELDORA J. (DUGAN), Threads of Life: Poems. Wichita, The Wichita
Publishing Company [1952]. 148p.
LOVELACE, DELOS WHEELER, "Ike" Eisenhower, Statesman and Soldier of
Peace. New York, Thomas Y. Crowell Company [c!952]. 263p.
LOWE, LORENZO W., Into the Dawn of Peace. Kansas City, Mo., Burton
Publishing Company [c!951]. 127p.
LUMMIS, CHARLES F., The Land of Poco Tiempo. [Albuquerque, The Uni-
versity of New Mexico Press, c!952]. 236p.
McCANN, KEVIN, Man From Abilene. Garden City, N. Y., Doubleday and
Company, Inc., 1952. 252p.
MCFADDEN, JOHN ROSCOE HILL, A Sketch of the Life of The Reverend John
R. McFadden From 1872 to 1951. No impr. Mimeographed. [67]p.
MCMECHEN, EDGAR C., The Tabor Story. [Denver] The State Historical
Society of Colorado [c!951]. 41p.
M ALONE, PAUL E., Government in the Economy of Southwestern Kansas.
Lawrence, University of Kansas, School of Business, 1951. 80p. (Eco-
nomic Development in Southwestern Kansas, Pt. 9. )
MARTIN, WILLIAM IVAN, and BERNARD HERMAN MARTIN, The Brave Little
Indian, Retold by Bill and Bernard Martin. [Kansas City, Mo., Tell-Well
Press, 1951]. Unpaged.
MASTERS, JOSEPH G., Shadows Fall Across the Little Horn, "Custers Last Stand"
. . . Laramie, University of Wyoming Library, 1951. 62p.
MASTERSON, V. V., The Katy Railroad and the Last Frontier. Norman,
University of Oklahoma Press [c!952]. 312p.
MENNINGER, KARL AUGUSTUS, Man Against Himself [Japanese Translation].
Printed in Japan. 336p.
MONAGHAN, JAY, The Great Rascal, the Life and Adventures of Ned Buntline.
Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1952. 353p.
NEIHARDT, JOHN G., When the Tree Flowered, an Authentic Tale of the Old
Sioux World. New York, The Macmillan Company, 1951. 248p.
NETTELS, CURTIS P., George Washington and American Independence. Boston,
Little, Brown and Company, 1951. 338p.
NEWCOMB, REXFORD, Regionalism in American Architecture. Madison, The
University of Wisconsin Press, 1951. (Reprinted from Regionalism in
America. ) [22]p.
1951 Flood in Greater Kansas City! A Picture Review. [Kansas City, Mo.,
Brown-White-Lowell Press, Inc., 1951.] [48]p.
NININGER, H. H., Out of the Sky, an Introduction to Meteoritics. Denver, The
University of Denver Press [c!952]. 336p.
NORMAN, ALBERT, Operation Overlord, Design and Reality; the Allied Invasion
of Western Europe. Harrisburg, Pa., The Military Service Publishing
Company [c!952]. 230p.
30—7007
434 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
OSWALD, A. LEWIS, 40+ 3—, Forty Years With Benefit of Clergy— Three
Without! Hutchinson, Rotherwood Press, 1952. 320p.
PAULI, HERTHA, Lincoln's Little Correspondent. Garden City, N. Y., Double-
day and Company, Inc. [c!951]. 128p.
PENNER, JOHN M., A Concise History of the Church of God. [Hillsboro, The
Publication Board of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite] 1951. 60p.
PHIFER, LINCOLN, Hamlet in Heaven, a Five Act Play Purporting to Have Been
Written by William Shakespeare by Automatic Writing Through the Hand
of Lincoln Phifer. Girard, Lincoln Phifer, 1916. 85p.
P oik's Topeka (Shawnee County, Kansas) City Directory, 1952. Kansas City,
Mo., R. L. Polk and Company, c!952. [1089]p.
PRYOR, ELINOR, The Big Play, a Novel New York, McGraw-Hill Book Com-
pany, Inc. [c!951]. 454p.
PYLE, MARJORIE MCDONALD, Help Yourself Get Well, a Guide for TB Patients
and Their Families. New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. [c!951].
235p.
SALINA, CITY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION, A City Plan for Salina,
Kansas, Report. Kansas City, Mo., Hare and Hare, City Planners, 1949-
1951. 76p.
SCHMIDT, H. F., Ashes of My Campfire, Historical Anecdotes of Old Dodge
City as Told and Retold by Heinle Schmidt . . . Vol. 1. Dodge City,
Journal, Inc. [c!952]. 72p.
SIEGELE, HERMAN HUGO, The Steel Square; a Practical Treatment of the Steel
Square and How It Is Used . . . Wilmette, 111., Frederick J. Drake
and Company [c!951]. 184p.
SNYDER, CORYDON GRANGER, Art and Human Genetics. Chicago, Author,
c!952. 30p.
STEVENSON, ANNA B., A Sunflower Sheaf, Stones and Anecdotes of the Early
and Later Days of the Sunflower State. New York, The Exposition Press
[1946]. 327p.
STRIEBY, RICHARD DUTTON, Girls Men Choose: Practise Makes Popularity.
Los Angeles, Strieby and Strieby [c!951]. 52p.
TAFT, ROBERT, Life in Kansas — 1871. (Reprinted from Transactions of the
Kansas Academy of Science, Vol. 54, No. 4, December, 1951.) [4]p.
TAYLOR, ALLAN, ed., What Eisenhower Thinks. New York, Thomas Y. Crowell
[c!952]. 186p.
TEST, ROBERT J., Rehearsal for Disaster; the Mid-West Floods of 1951. Wash-
ington, D. C., American Trucking Associations, Inc. [1952]. 34p.
TYLER, ORVILLE Z., JR., The History of Fort Leavenworth, 1987-1951, Which
Brings Up to Date History of Fort Leavenworth, 1827-1927, by Elvid Hunt
. . . and Second Edition, 1827-1937, by Walter E. Lorence . . .
Fort Leavenworth, The Command and General Staff College, 1951. 132p.
U. S. ARMY, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, KANSAS CITY DISTRICT, Interim Report on
Storms and Floods in the Kansas City District, May- July, 1951. Kansas City,
Mo., n. p., 1951. 20p.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, Kansas-Missouri Floods of July, 1951. Washington,
D. C., n. p. 1951. 69p. (Geological Survey Circular 151.)
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 435
U. S. WEATHER BUREAU, Kansas-Missouri Floods of June-July, 1951. Kansas
City, Mo., n. p., 1952. 105p.
VESTAL, STANLEY, Joe Meek, the Merry Mountain Man, a Biography. Cald-
well, Idaho, The Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1952. 336p.
, Queen of Cowtowns, Dodge City, "The Wickedest Little City in
America" 1872-1886. New York, Harper and Brothers [c!952]. 285p.
WAGONER, J. J., History of the Cattle Industry in Southern Arizona, 1540-1940.
Tucson, University of Arizona, 1952. 132p. (Social Science Bulletin,
No. 20.)
WALKER, VESTA, and LORNA SWOFFORD, Psychiatric Libraries in Topeka, Kansas.
( Reprinted from Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, Vol. 39, No. 4,
October, 1951.) [4]p.
WALLENSTEIN, MARCEL, Tuck's Girl. London, Constable and Company,
Ltd. [1951]. 308p.
WEBER, ALMA B., Stories of Great American Cities: Coonskin for a General.
New York, Aladdin Books, 1951. 313p.
Who's Who in Kansas, a Biographical Dictionary of Leading Men and Women
of the Commonwealth . . . Vol. 1. Chicago, Larkin, Roosevelt and
Larkin, Ltd., 1947. 1184p.
THE WEST
BAUMHOFF, RICHARD G., The Dammed Missouri Valley, One Sixth of Our
Nation. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1951. 291p.
BENDER, AVERAM B., The March of Empire, Frontier Defense in the Southwest,
1848-1860. Lawrence, University of Kansas Press, 1952. 323p.
BOTKIN, B. A., ed., A Treasury of Western Folklore. New York, Crown Pub-
lishers, Inc. [1951]. 806p.
BROWN, DEE, Trail Driving Days. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952.
264p.
CARLSON, RAYMOND, ed., Gallery of Western Paintings. New York, McGraw-
Hill Book Company, Inc. [c!951]. 85p.
DARRAH, WILLIAM GULP, Powell of the Colorado. Princeton, Princeton
University Press, 1951. 426p.
ECCLESTON, ROBERT, Overland to California on the Southwestern Trail, 1849;
Diary of Robert Eccleston, Edited by George P. Hammond and Edward
H. Howes. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1950. 256p.
GALVEZ, BERNARDO DE GALVEZ, Instructions for Governing the Interior Prov-
inces of New Spain, 1786. Berkeley, The Quivira Society, 1951. 150p.
(Quivira Society Publications, Vol. 12.)
GOULD, EMERSON W., Fifty Years on the Mississippi, or, Gould's History of
River Navigation . . . Saint Louis, Nixon-Jones Printing Company,
1889. [Reprinted by Long's College Book Company, Columbus, Ohio.]
749p.
HALLENBECK, CLEVE, ed. and tr., The Journey of Fray Marcos de Niza.
Dallas, University Press, 1949. 115p.
HARRIS, EDWARD, Up the Missouri With Audubon; the Journal of Edward Harris,
Edited and Annotated by John Francis McDermott. Norman, University
of Oklahoma Press [c!951]. 222p.
436 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
HICKS, JOHN EDWARD, Themes From the Old West. Kansas City, Mo., Mid-
americana Press [c!952]. 124p.
HONIG, Louis O., The Pathfinder of the West, James Bridger. Kansas City,
Mo., Brown- White-Lowell Press, 1951. 152p.
HUTCHINGS, J. M., Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California. San
Francisco, Hutchings and Rosenfeld [c!860]. 236p.
KILGORE, WILLIAM H., The Kilgore Journal of an Overland Journey to California
in the Year 1850, Edited by Joyce Rockwood Muench . . . New York,
Hastings House, 1949. 63p.
KORNS, J. RODERIC, ed., West From Fort Bridger, the Pioneering of the Im-
migrant Trails Across Utah, 1846-1850. Salt Lake City, Utah State
Historical Society, 1951. 297p. (Utah Historical Quarterly, Vol. 19.)
LEONARD, ELIZABETH JANE, The Call of the Western Prairie. New York,
Library Publishers [c!952]. 359p.
MCDERMOTT, JOHN FRANCIS, ed., Travels in Search of the Elephant: the
Wanderings of Alfred S. Waugh, Artist, in Louisiana, Missouri, and Santa
Fe, in 1845-1846. St. Louis, Missouri Historical Society, 1951. 153p.
MISSOURI UNIVERSITY, Guide to the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection.
Columbia, University of Missouri, 1952. 125p. (University of Missouri
Bulletin, Library Series, No. 22. )
PONTING, TOM CANDY, Life of Tom Candy Ponting, an Autobiography, In-
troduction and Notes by Herbert O. Brayer. Evanston, 111., The Branding
Iron Press, 1952. 132p.
PREECE, HAROLD, Living Pioneers, the Epic of the West by Those Who Lived
It. Cleveland, The World Publishing Company [c!952]. 317p.
RUXTON, GEORGE FREDERICK AUGUSTUS, Life in the Far West. Norman,
University of Oklahoma Press [c!951]. 252p.
STANLEY, F., The Grant That Maxwell Bought. [Denver, The World Press,
c!952.] 256p.
THORP, NATHAN HOWARD, Tales of the Chuck Wagon. [Santa Fe, n. p., c!926.]
123p.
TODD, JOHN, The Sunset Land, or, the Great Pacific Slope. Boston, Lee and
Shepard, 1870. 322p.
WEBB, WALTER PRESCOTT, The Texas Rangers, a Century of Frontier Defense.
Boston, Houghton-Mifflin Company [c!935]. 584p.
WESTERNERS, Los ANGELES, Brand Book, 1950. Los Angeles [The Los Angeles
Westerners, c!951]. 232p.
WOOD, DEAN EARL, The Old Santa Fe Trail From the Missouri River:
Illustrated Documentary Proof of the History and Route of the Old Santa
Fe Trail. Kansas City, Mo., E. L. Mendenhall, Inc. [c!951]. 272p.
WYMAN, WALKER D., ed., California Emigrant Letters. New York, Bookman
Associates [c!952]. 177p.
YOUNG, OTIS E., The First Military Escort on the Santa Fe Trail, 1829, From
the Journal and Reports of Major Bennet Riley and Lieutenant Philip St.
George Cooke. Glendale, Gal, The Arthur H. Clarke Company, 1952.
222p.
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 437
GENEALOGY AND LOCAL HISTORY
ALBANY COUNTY, N. Y., SURROGATES COURT, Index to Wills and to Letters of
Administration: Index to Wills From 1780 to Dec. 1, 1895; Index to Ad-
ministrations From 1794 to Dec. 1, 1895. Albany, James B. Lyon, 1895.
482p.
ALDRICH, LEWIS CASS, History of Bennington County, Vermont, With Il-
lustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and
Pioneers. Syracuse, N. Y., D. Mason and Company, 1889. 584p.
ALVORD, IDRESS ADALINE (HEAD), comp., Head: Descent of Henry Head
(1695-1770) in America. [Jefferson City, Mo., Mid-State Printing Company]
1948. 681p.
AMERICAN CLAN GREGOR SOCIETY, Year Book Containing the Proceedings of
the 1951 Annual Gathering. Washington, D. C., The American Clan Gregor
Society [c!952]. 52p.
American Genealogical Index, Vols. 45-47. Middletown, Conn., Published by
a Committee Representing the Co-operating Subscribing Libraries . . .
1951-1952. 3 Vols.
BANKS, JAMES LENOX, Genealogical Notes Concerning the Banks and Allied
Families. New York, Privately Printed, 1938. 145p.
BARTLETT, GENEVIEVE WILSON, Forefathers and Descendants of Willard and
Genevieve Wilson Bartlett and of Allied Families, Moulton-McGehee-
Endress. Saint Louis, Author, 1952. 270p.
BELL, ANNIE (WALKER) BURNS, comp., Family Records of Bedford County,
Tennessee, as Given the United States Census Taker in 1850, Vol. 1. No
impr. Mimeographed. [72]p.
, Family Records of Smith County, Carthage, Tennessee, as Given
the United States Census Taker, 1850. No impr. Mimeographed. [112]p.
BIGGS, NINA MITCHELL, and MABEL LEE MACKAY, History of Greenup County,
Kentucky. [Louisville, The Franklin Press] 1951. 345p.
BINNEY, CHARLES JAMES Fox, ed., History and Genealogy of the Prentice, or
Prentiss Family, in New England, Etc., From 1831 to 1883. 2d ed. Boston,
Editor, 1883. 446p.
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and
Franklin Counties, Indiana, Vol. 1. Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Com-
pany, 1899. 528p.
BOLICH, MARY MARGARET (SHIMER), The Bolich Family in America, With
Genealogies. Allentown, Pa., Schlechter's, 1939. 142p.
BOSTONIAN SOCIETY, Proceedings, Annual Meeting, January 15, 1952. Boston,
Society, 1952. 64p.
BOUGHTON, WILLIS ARNOLD, Bouton, Boughton and Farnam Families. N. p.,
1949. 214p.
BRINKMAN, WILLIAM A., Historical Data of the Town of Guilderland, New
Yorfc. N. p., 1945. Mimeographed. 37p.
} A Memorial: Places of Burial and Sketches of Some Guilderland
Soldiers of the War of the Revolution and Records of Farm Burial Places
in the Town of Guilderland, N. Y. N. p., 1946. Mimeographed. 43p.
438 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
, Records of Some Early Settlers of the Town of Guilderland, the
Helderburgh and Normanskill Regions. N. p., 1944. Mimeographed. 22p.
BROUGHTON, CARRIE L., comp., Marriage and Death Notices in Raleigh Register,
North Carolina State Gazette, Daily Sentinel, Raleigh Observer and News
and Observer, 1867-1887. Raleigh, North Carolina State Library, 1951.
[229]p.
, Marriage and Death Notices in Raleigh Register, North Carolina State
Gazette, Daily Sentinel, Raleigh Observer and News and Observer, 1888-
1893. Raleigh, North Carolina State Library, 1952. [70]p.
BROWNSON, ERNEST R., Genealogy of One Branch of the Richard Brownson
Family, 1631-1951. Mayville, N. Dak., n. p. [1951]. [377]p.
BULLARD, JOHN MORGAN, The Rotches. New Bedford, n.p., 1947. 583p.
BUSHONG, MILLARD KsssLER, History of Jefferson County, West Virginia.
Charles Town, W. Va., Jefferson Publishing Company, 1941. 438p.
CALLAHAN, JAMES MORTON, History of West Virginia, Old and New, in One
Volume, and West Virginia Biography in Two Additional Volumes. Chicago,
The American Historical Society, Inc., 1923. 3 Vols.
CASSEL, DANIEL K., A Genea-Bio graphical History of the Rittenhouse Family
and All Its Branches in America, With Sketches of Their Descendants.
Philadelphia, The Rittenhouse Memorial Association, 1893. 272p.
Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County, Ohio. Chicago, The
Lewis Publishing Company, 1902. 868p.
CHRISTIAN, LOUISE AYMAR, and HOWARD STELLE FITZ RANDOLPH, The De-
scendants of Edward Fitz Randolph and Elizabeth Blossom, 1630-1950.
N. p., 1950. 222p.
CLAYPOOL, EDWARD A., and others, A Genealogy of the Descendants of
William Kelsey Who Settled at Cambridge, Mass., in 1632; at Hartford,
Conn., in 1636; and at Killingworth, Conn., in 1663. Impr. varies. 1928-
1947. 3 Vols.
COCKS, GEORGE WILLIAM, History and Genealogy of the Cock-Cocks-Cox
Family Descended From James and Sarah Cock. New York, Privately
Printed, 1912. 345p.
COLBATH, HORACE N., The Barnstead Reunion, Celebrated at Barnstead, N. H.,
August 30, 1882. Concord, N. H., Ira C. Evans, 1884. 132p.
COLLINS, GEORGE KNAPP, Mortuary Records With Genealogical Notes of the
Town of Spafford, Onondaga County. N. p., Onondaga Historical Asso-
ciation, 1917. 280p.
COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA, PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY, Register. Philadel-
phia [William J. Dornan], 1951. 436p.
COMSTOCK, JOHN ADAMS, A History and Genealogy of the Comstock Family
in America. Los Angeles, The Commonwealth Press, Inc., 1949. 715p.
CONE, WILLIAM WHITNEY, and GEORGE ALLEN ROOT, comps., Record of the
Descendants of John Bishop, One of the Founders of Guilford, Connecticut,
in 1639. Nyack, N. Y., John Guy Bishop, 1951. 276p.
Cox, HENRY MILLER, The Cox Family in America . . . New York, n. p.,
1912. 325p.
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 439
DAUBIN, MEREDITH M., The Daubin Family, Genealogical History and De-
scendants of Moore M. Daubin (1824-1898). Washington, D. C., n. p., 1952.
95p.
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, FRENCH LICK CHAPTER, Marriage
Record Book 1, January 2, 1789-December 13, 1837, Davidson County,
Tennessee. Nashville, n.p., 1952. Mimeographed. 249p.
, MARY BUTLER CHAPTER, Old Meredith and Vicinity. Laconia, N. H.,
Mary Butler Chapter, Daughters of American Revolution [c!926]. 114p.
DAVIS, TARRING S., ed., A History of Blair County, Pennsylvania. Harrisburg,
National Historical Association, Inc., 1931. 2 Vols.
DAYTON, EDSON CARR, The Record of a Family Descent From Ralph Dayton
and Alice (Goldhatch) Tritton . . . a Genealogical and Biographical
Account of One Branch of the Dayton Family in America. [Hartford, Conn.,
The Case, Lockwood and Brainard Company] 1931. 96p.
DIEHL, ELIAS HENRY, Diehl Families of America; History, Genealogy, Reminis-
cences, Etc. N. p., 1915. 229p.
DOBBS, HUGH J., History of Gage County, Nebraska . . . Lincoln, Neb.,
Western Publishing and Engraving Company, 1918. llOOp.
DODD, ALLISON, and JOSEPH FULFORD FOLSOM, Genealogy and History of
the Daniel Dod Family in America, 1646-1940. Bloomfield, N. J., n. p., 1940.
425p.
DUNXLIN COUNTY [Mo.] HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Volume Number One. Kennett,
Mo., Thrower Printing Company [1951]. 513p.
EAST TENNESSEE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Cumulative Index to the First Twenty
Issues of the Annual Publications . . . 1929-1948. Knoxville, East
Tennessee Historical Society, 1952. 81p.
, Publications, No. 23, 1951. Knoxville, The East Tennessee Historical
Society, 1951. 165p.
EMERY, WILLIAM MORRELL, Newell Ancestry, the Story of the Antecedents
of William Stark Newell [Boston, Thomas Todd Company] 1944. 226p.
, The Salters of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. New Bedford, Mass.
[New Bedford Printing Company], 1936. 60p.
ERVIN, SARA SULLIVAN, comp. and ed., South Carolinians in the Revolution,
With Service Records and Miscellaneous Data, Also Abstracts of Wills,
Laurens County (Ninety-Six District) 1775-1855. [Ypsilanti, Mich., Uni-
versity Lithoprinters, 1949.] 217p.
FINNEY, CHARLES W., Finney Lineage Sketch. No. impr. Typed. 12p.
FIRESTONE, EVA OMA (MEAD), comp., Phillips Family; Ginther Ancestors,
Contributed by Miss Jennie E. Stewart. No impr. 44p.
FORKNER, JOHN L., and BYRON H. DYSON, Historical Sketches and Reminis-
cences of Madison County, Indiana . . . Anderson, Ind. [Logans-
port, Wilson, Humphreys and Company], 1897. 1038p.
FRANCIS, LOVINIA, History of the Francis Family. No impr. Typed. 17p.
Genealogical and Personal History of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania.
New York, Lewis Publishing Company, 1913. 3 Vols.
440 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Genealogical Guide, Master Index of Genealogy in the Daughters of the
American Revolution Magazine, Vols. 1-84, 1892-1950. Washington, D. C.,
Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, 1951. 137p.
GODDARD, MERRITT ELTON, and HENRY V. PARTRIDGE, A History of Norwich,
Vermont . . . Hanover, N. H., The Dartmouth Press, 1905. 276p.
GOULD, ISAIAH, History of Stoddard, Cheshire County, N. H., From the Time
of Its Incorporation in 1774-1854 . . . Marlboro, N. H., W. L. Metcalf,
1897. 139p.
HAGGMAN, P. C., The Ancestry and Lineage of Swan Anton Haggman.
Denver, n. p., 1950. 143p.
HARBAUGH, ELIZABETH DAVIDSON, The Davidson Genealogy. Ironton, Ohio,
n. p., 1948. 482p.
HARLOW, B. F., JR., Renicks of Greenbrier. N. p., 1951. [132]p.
HARRIS, JOSEPH NELSON, History of Ludlow, Vermont. Charlestown, N. H.,
Mrs. Ina Harris Harding, Archie Frank Harding, c!949. 239p.
HARRIS, WILLIAM THADDEUS, Epitaphs From the Old Burying-Ground in
Cambridge. Cambridge, John Owen, 1845. 192p.
[HARRISON, ELLA WARREN], comp., A Chapter of Hopkins Genealogy, 1735-
1905. Chicago, The Lakeside Press, 1905. 396p.
HAYWARD, ELIZABETH, Index to Names in the Baptist Encyclopaedia. Chester,
Pa., The American Baptist Historical Society, 1951. 58p.
HAYWARD, JOHN, Gazetteer of Massachusetts, Containing Descriptions of All the
Counties, Towns and Districts in the Commonwealth . . . Rev. ed.
Boston, John P. Jewett and Company, 1849. 452p.
, Gazetteer of New Hampshire, Containing Descriptions of All the
Counties, Towns, and Districts in the State . . . Boston, John P.
Jewett, 1849. 264p.
HERRICK, JEDEDIAH, Herrick Genealogy: a Genealogical Register of the Name
and Family of Herrick . . . Columbus, Ohio, Privately Printed, 1885.
516p.
Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Edgar County. Chicago,
Munsell Publishing Company, 1905. 781p.
History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, With Biographical Sketches of
Its Prominent Men. New York, J. B. Beers and Company, 1885. 2 Vols.
History of McDonough County, Illinois, Together With Sketches of the Towns
. . . and Biographies of the Representative Citizens. Springfield,
Continental Historical Company, 1885. 1158p.
History of Newton, Lawrence, Barry and McDonald Counties, Missouri.
Chicago, The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1888. 1092p.
History of Southeast Missouri, Embracing an Historical Account of the
Counties of Ste. Geneveive, St. Francois, Perry, Cape Girardeau, Bollinger,
Madison, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Dunklin, Scott, Mississippi, Stoddard,
Butler, Wayne and Iron. Chicago, The Goodspeed Publishing Company,
1888. 1215p.
History of the Upper Ohio Valley, With Family History and Biographical
Sketches . . . Madison, Wis., Brant and Fuller, 1890. 2 Vols.
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 441
History of Wayne County, Indiana . . . Chicago, Inter-State Publishing
Company, 1884. 2 Vols.
HOLCH, LILLIAN JOSEPHINE (HUBBARD), Sizer Genealogy; a History of Antonio
de Zocieur Who Changed His Name to Anthony Sizer . . . Brooklyn,
Bowles-Printer, 1941. 489p.
HOOK, JAMES WILLIAM, Capt. James Hook of Greene County, Pennsylvania.
[Ann Arbor, Edwards Brothers, Inc., 1952.] 164p.
HOPKINS, GARLAND EVANS, Colonial Cousins, Being the History, Genealogy,
Heraldry, Homes and Traditions of the Family of Holloway and Related
Families Originating in the Original Shire of Charles River, Now York
County, Virginia. N. p., Privately Issued, 1940. 89p.
, Freeman Forbears, Being the History, Genealogy, Heraldry, Homes
and Traditions of the Family of Freeman, and Related Families Originating
in the Original Shires of James City and Charles River in Virginia. N. p.,
Privately Issued, 1942. 82p.
[HUGHES, RAYMOND FINLEY], Hughes Family of Cape May County, New
Jersey, 1650-1950 . . . Cincinnati, Privately Printed [c!950]. 265p.
HUGUENOT SOCIETY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, Transactions, No. 56. Baltimore,
Waverly Press, Inc., 1951. 66p.
HULL, MARGARETT VIRGINIA, Genealogical History of the Family of William
Linn Who Came From Belfast, Ireland, in 1771. Scottdale, Pa., Men-
nonite Publishing House, 1932. 146p.
HUNTINGTON, EDNA, comp., Historical Markers and Monuments in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn, The Long Island Historical Society, 1952. 56p.
HUNTINGTON, NEW YORK, Huntington Town Records, Including Babylon, Long
Island, N. Y., 1653-1873. [Huntington, The Long Islander Print] 1887-
1889. 3 Vols.
HUNTINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Huntington-Babylon [New fork] Town
History. N. p., Society, 1937. 296p.
JAMESON, E. O., The Jamesons in America, 1647-1900: Genealogical Records
and Memoranda. Boston, n. p., 1901. 599p.
JESUP, HENRY GRISWOLD, Edward Jessup of West Farms, Westchester Co.,
New Yorfc, and His Descendants . . . Cambridge, John Wilson and
Son, 1887. 442p.
JOHNSON, WILLIAM PERRY, comp. and ed., Hiatt-Hiett, Genealogy and Family
History, 1699-1949, Being, in Particular, a Record of John Hiett, Quaker
. . . Provo, Utah, The Jesse Hiatt Family Association [c!951]. 1013p.
JORDAN, TRISTAM FROST, The Jordan Memorial; Family Records of the Rev.
Robert Jordan, and His Descendants in America. Boston, David Clapp and
Son, 1882. 488p.
KELLER, PAULINE (ATKINS), Brobst-Stambach Genealogy and Related Families.
N. p., 1950-1952. Mimeographed. 44p.
KINGS COUNTY [NEW YORK] GENEALOGICAL CLUB, Collections, Vol. 1, Nos. 1-6.
[New York, E. W. Nash, 1882-1894.] 96p.
KNORR, CATHERINE LINDSAY, comp., Marriage Bonds and Ministers' Returns
of Charlotte County, Virginia, 1764-1815. N. p., 1951. Mimeographed.
119p.
442 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
KUNKLE, G. W., History of Hanover, Columbiana County, Ohio, 1804-1913.
Alliance, Ohio, The Review Publishing Company, 1913. 191p.
LAKE, ROBERTA, comp., Descendants of George and Jane Chandler in Part;
Ancestors and Descendants of Alexander and Rebecca (Chandler) Bell in
Part; Ancestors and Descendants of Joel Cheshire and Nancy (Bell) Paxson in
Part. N. p., 1952. Typed. 59p.
LEARY, LEWIS, The Literary Career of Nathaniel Tucker, 1750-1807. Durham,
N. C., Duke University Press, 1951. 108p. (Historical Papers of the Trinity
College Historical Society, Series 29.)
LEE, DOROTHY (ELLIS), History of Arlington County, Virginia. Richmond,
The Dietz Press, Inc., 1946. 160p.
LEWIS, FRANK PARDEE, and EDWARD CHESTER LEWIS, Randall Lewis of
Hopkinton, Rhode Island and Delaware County, New York, and Some of
His Descendants . . . Seattle, The Argus Press, 1929. 200p.
[L'HOMMEDIEU, ARTHUR W.], L'Hommedieu [Genealogy]. N. p. [1951], 2
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LINDENBERGER,' RUTH WINIFRED (BASON), The Eason Record and Allied
Families of Rierson, Grain, Chandler, Toler, Zumwalt, Howard, Phillips,
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LINK, PAXSON, The Link Family; Antecedents and Descendants of John Jacob
Link, 1417-1951. N. p., 1951. 872p.
LITTLE, DONALD C., Descendants of Col. John Little, Esq., of Shrewsbury
Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey. N. p., 1951. 123p.
LOCKE, ARTHUR HORTON, Portsmouth and Newcastle, New Hampshire, Ceme-
tery Inscriptions; Abstracts From Some Two Thousand of the Oldest
Tombstones. Portsmouth, Privately Printed, 1907. 44p.
Lower Norfolk County, Virginia, Antiquary, Vols. 1-5. New York, Peter Smith,
1951. 2 Vols.
MCALLISTER, JAMES GRAY, Family Records Compiled for the Descendants of
Abraham Addams McAllister and His Wife Julia Ellen (Stratton) McAllister,
of Covington, Virginia. [Easton, Pa., The Chemical Publishing Company]
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MCDERMOTT, JOHN FRANCIS, ed., The Early Histories of St. Louis. St. Louis,
St. Louis Historical Documents Foundation, 1952. 171p.
MclNTiRE, ROBERT HARRY, Ancestry of Robert Harry Mclntire and of Helen
Annette Mclntire, His Wife. Norfolk, Va., n. p., 1950. 447p.
, The Maclntyre, Mclntyre and Mclntire Clan of Scotland, Ireland,
Canada and New England. N. p., Author, 1949. Mimeographed. 372p.
McPnERsoN, LEWIN DWINELL, Kincheloe, McPherson and Related Families
. . . N. p., c!951. Mimeographed. 505p.
MACY, ELBERT B., The Macy Family in America, 1635-1950, (Rooks County,
Kansas, Line). N. p., 1952. Mimeographed. 24p.
MACY, SILVANUS J., Genealogy of the Macy Family From 1635-1868. Albany,
Joel Munsell, 1868. 457p.
MARIS, GEORGE L., and ANNIE M. MARIS, The Maris Family in the United
States, a Record of the Descendants of George and Alice Maris , 1683-1885.
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RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 443
MARTZOLFF, CLEMENT LUTHER, History of Perry County, Ohio. Columbus,
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MARVIN, FRANCIS M., Shafer-Huston Family History. [Ann Arbor, Edwards
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MASON, GEORGE CARRINGTON, ed., The Colonial Vestry Book of Lynnhaven
Parish, Princess Anne County, Virginia, 1723-1786. Newport News, Va.,
George C. Mason, 1949. 134p.
MEACHAM, CHARLES MAYFIELD, A History of Christian County, Kentucky,
From Oxcart to Airplane. Nashville, Marshall and Bruce Company, 1930.
695p.
Memoirs of the Miami Valley. Chicago, Robert O. Law Company, 1919.
3 Vols.
Men of Progress: Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Leaders in Business
and Professional Life in and of the State of New Hampshire. Boston, New
England Magazine, 1898. 229p.
MERRILL, JOHN VAN DER SPIEGEL, and CAROLINE R. MERRILL, Sketches of
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MILLS, KATIE R., Goodlock and Allied Families. N. p. [Adrian College Press],
n. d. 250p.
MOORE, GEORGE LUNCEFORD, A History of Shildes Moore, and Blandana
Risdon, His Wife, and Their Descendants From Their Arrival in the Colonies
and Location at Baltimore, in 1732 . . . Belleville, 111., Risdon Alex-
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MOORE, JACOB BAILEY, A Topographical and Historical Sketch of the Town of
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MORRIS, JOHN EMERY, The Bontecou Genealogy; a Record of the Descendants
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NASH, FREDERICK H., comp., Ye Names ir Ages of All Ye Old Folks in Every
Hamlet, City and Town in Ye State of Connecticut, Now Living, With Ye
Sketches of Twenty Living Centenarians. New Haven, Price, Lee and
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NASON, EMMA ( HUNTINGTON ) , Old Hallowell on the Kennebec. Augusta,
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NATIONAL SOCIETY OF DAUGHTERS OF FOUNDERS AND PATRIOTS OF AMERICA,
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NEW CANAAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Annual, June 1952. New Canaan, Conn.,
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NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y., Records of the Town, 1699-1828. New Rochelle, The
Paragraph Press, 1916. 525p.
Panhandle-Plains Historical Review, Vol. 23. Canyon, Tex., Panhandle-Plains
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444 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Past and Present of Boone County, Illinois . . . Chicago, H. F. Kett and
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PERKINS, D. A. W., History of O'Brien County, Iowa, From Its Organization
to the Present Time. Sioux Falls, S. D., Brown and Saenger, 1897. [492]p.
PERRIN, WILLIAM HENRY, ed., History of Bond and Montgomery Counties,
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Portrait and Biographical Album of Rock Island County, Illinois . . .
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Portrait and Biographical Record of Macon County, Illinois . . . Chicago,
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Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery and Bond Counties, Illinois
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Portrait and Biographical Record of Oklahoma. Chicago, Chapman Publish-
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POWERS, GRANT, An Address Delivered on the Centennial Celebration, to the
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ROBERTSON, CHARLES, History of Morgan County, Ohio, With Portraits and
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SAVAGE, THOMAS, A Historical Sketch of Bedford, N. H., Being a Discourse
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RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 445
SHERWIN, HETTY, The Early History of Fluvanna, Chautauqua County, N. Y.,
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SHIRTS, AUGUSTUS FINCH, A History of the Formation, Settlement and Develop-
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SMITH, JOSIAH B., Genealogy of William Smith of Wrightstown, Bucks County,
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SOUTHAMPTON, N. Y., Book of Records With Other Ancient Documents of His-
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SQUIRES, JAMES DUANE, Mirror to America, a History of New London, New
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SUTHERLAND, DAVID, Address Delivered to the Inhabitants of Bath, on the
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SWEENY, LENORA (HIGGINBOTHAM), Amherst County, Virginia, in the Revolu-
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TEMPLE, JOSIAH HOWARD, and GEORGE SHELDON, History of the Town of North-
field, Massachusetts, for 150 Years . . . and With Family Genealogies.
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TEWKSBURY, CHARLES E., comp., Vital Statistics of Stewartstown, N. H., From
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THOESEN, EDYTHE WILSON, and others, Genealogy of the Exline and Axline
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THORPE, WALTER, History of Wallingford, Vermont. Rutland, The Turtle
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TORREY, RUFUS CAMPBELL, History of the Town of Fitchburg, Massachusetts;
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TREADWAY, WILLIAM E., Treadway and Burket Families, a Merger of the
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446 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
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UNDERBILL, DAVID HARRIS, and FRANCIS JAY UNDERBILL, The Underhill Bury-
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WAITERS, LEON LAIZER, The Pioneer Jews of Utah. New York, American
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WEEKS, JOHN M., History of Salisbury, Vermont. Middlebury, Vt, A. H.
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WEIS, FREDERICK LEWIS, Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who Came to New
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WETMORE, JAMES CARNAHAN, The Wetmore Family of America and Its Col-
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WILLEY, BENJAMIN GLAZIER, Incidents in White Mountain History . . .
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WILLIAMS, WALTER, and FLOYD CALVIN SHOEMAKER, Missouri, Mother of the
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GENERAL
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BORAH, WOODROW WILSON, New Spain's Century of Depression. Berkeley,
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BRINK, WELLINGTON, Big Hugh, the Father of Soil Conservation. New York,
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RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 447
Cycle of Adams Letters, 1861-1865. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1920.
2 Vols.
DAVIDSON, MARSHALL B., Life in America. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company,
1951. 2 Vols.
DONALD, HENDERSON H., The Negro Freedman; Life Conditions of the American
Negro in the Early Years After Emancipation. New York, Henry Schuman,
1952. 270p.
Du CREUX, FRANCOIS, The History of Canada or New France, Vols. 1-2.
Toronto, The Champlain Society, 1951. 2 Vols. (Publications of the
Champlain Society, Vols. 30-31.)
FIELD, THOMAS W., An Essay Towards an Indian Bibliography. New York,
Scribner, Armstrong and Company, 1873. [Reprinted by Long's College
Book Company, Columbus, Ohio, 1951.] 430p.
FREEMAN, DOUGLAS SOUTHALL, George Washington, a Biography, Vols. 3 and
4. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1951. 2 Vols.
GODFREY, JAMES LOGAN, Revolutionary Justice, a Study of the Organization,
Personnel, and Procedure of the Paris Tribunal, 1793-1795. Chapel Hill,
The University of North Carolina Press, 1951. 166p. (The James Sprunt
Studies in History and Political Science, Vol. 33. )
GORDON, ANNA ADAMS, The Beautiful Life of Frances E. Willard, a Memorial
Volume . . . Chicago, Woman's Temperance Publishing Association
[c!898]. 416p.
GRAHAM, PHILLIP, Showboats, the History of an American Institution. Austin,
University of Texas Press, 1951. 224p.
GREENBDZ, SYDNEY, and MARJORIE BARSTOW GREENBDZ, Anna Ella Carroll and
Abraham Lincoln, a Biography. [Tampa, Fla.] University of Tampa Press
[c!952]. 539p.
HARPER, ROBERT S., Lincoln and the Press. New York, McGraw Hill Book
Company, Inc. [c!951]. 418p.
HEDLUND, EARL CLIFFORD, The Transportation Economics of the Soybean
Processing Industry. Urbana, The University of Illinois Press, 1952. 189p.
(Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences, Vol. 33, No. 1.)
HOOVER, HERBERT CLARK, Memoirs, Vols. 1-2. New York, The Macmillan
Company, 1951. 2 Vols.
HUTNER, FRANCES CORNWALL, The Farr Alpaca Company, a Case Study in
Business History. Northampton, Mass., n. p., 1951. 107p. (Smith College
Studies in History, Vol. 37.)
HYDE, GEORGE E., Pawnee Indians. [Denver] The University of Denver Press
[c!951]. 304p.
JANEWAY, ELIOT, The Struggle for Survival, a Chronicle of Economic Mobiliza-
tion in World War II. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1951. 382p.
(Chronicles of America Series, Vol. 53.)
JEFFERSON, THOMAS, Papers. Vol. 5, 25 February 1781 to 20 May 1781.
Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1952. 705p.
JONES, PENELOPE REDD, The Story of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. N. p.,
c!950. 47p.
448 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
KERR, ROSE NETZORG, 100 Years of Costumes in America. Worcester, Mass.,
The Davis Press, Inc. [c!951]. 80p.
KULL, IRVING STODDARD, and NELL M. KULL, Short Chronology of American
History, 1492-1950. New Brunswick, N. J., Rutgers University Press, 1952.
388p.
LAIT, JACK, and LEE MORTIMER, U. S. A. Confidential. New York, Crown
Publishers, Inc. [c!952]. 404p.
LEE, RONALD F., United States: Historical and Architectural Monuments.
Mexico, D. F., n. p., 1951. 121p.
LOGAN, WILFRED D., Graham Cave, an Archaic Site in Montgomery County,
Missouri. Columbia, Mo., n. p., 1952. lOlp. (Memoir of the Missouri
Archaeological Society, No. 2.)
McCoLGAN, DANIEL T., Century of Charity . . . Milwaukee, The Bruce
Publishing Company [1951]. 2 Vols.
MIDDLETON, DREW, The Defense of Western Europe. New York, Appleton-
Century-Crofts, Inc. [c!952]. 313p.
MITCHELL, BROADUS, Depression Decade, From New Era Through New Deal,
1929-1941. New York, Rinehart and Company, Inc. [c!947]. 462p. (The
Economic History of the United States, Vol. 9. )
National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. 38. New York, James T.
White and Company, 1951. 562p.
O'BRIEN, CARL BICKFORD, Russia Under Two Tsars, 1682-1689, the Regency
of Sophia Alekseevna. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1952. 178p.
( University of California Publications in History, Vol. 42. )
PALMER, FREDERICK, Clark of the Ohio, a Life of George Rogers Clark. New
York, Dodd, Mead and Company, 1930. 482p.
PARSONS, MALCOLM B., The Use of the Licensing Power by the City of Chicago.
Urbana, The University of Illinois Press, 1952. 198p. (Illinois Studies in
the Social Sciences, Vol. 33, Nos. 2-3.)
Pattersons American Educational Directory, Vol. 49. Chicago, Educational
Directories Inc. [c!952]. 834p.
PEFFER, E. LOUISE, The Closing of the Public Domain, Disposal and Reservation
Policies, 1900-50. Stanford, Cal., Stanford University Press [c!951]. 372p.
PETERSON, CLARENCE STEWART, Last Civil War Veteran in Each State. N. p.,
1951. Mimeographed. 51p.
POSTELL, WILLIAM DOSITE, The Health of Slaves on Southern Plantations.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University Press [c!951]. 231p.
RICHARDS, LAURA ELIZABETH (HOWE), and MAUD HOWE ELLIOTT, Julia Ward
Howe, 1819-1910. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916. 2 Vols.
ROE, FRANK GILBERT, The North American Buffalo, a Critical Study of the
Species in Its Wild State. [Toronto] University of Toronto Press, 1951. 957p.
ROWLAND, ERON OPHA (MOORE), Andrew Jackson's Campaign Against the
British, or the Mississippi Territory in the War of 1812. New York, The
Macmillan Company, 1926. 424p.
SCHACHNER, NATHAN, Thomas Jefferson, a Biography. New York, Appleton-
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RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY 449
SHIPTON, CLIFFORD KENYON, Biographical Sketches of Those Who Attended
Harvard College in the Classes 1722-1725, 1726-1730 . . . Boston,
Massachusetts Historical Society, 1945, 1951. 2 Vols. (Sibley's Harvard
Graduates, Vols. 7-8.)
SILVA, RUTH CARIDAD, Presidential Succession. Ann Arbor, University of
Michigan Press, 1951. 213p. ( University of Michigan Publications, History
and Political Science, Vol. 18.)
SIMPSON, LESLEY BYRD, Exploitation of Land in Central Mexico in the Sixteenth
Century. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1952. 92p. (Ibero-
Americana: 36.)
SMILEY, TERAH L., Four Late Prehistoric Kivas at Point of Pines, Arizona.
Tucson, University of Arizona, 1952. 72p. (University of Arizona Social
Science Bulletin, No. 21.)
SMITH, ASHBEL, yellow Fever in Galveston, Republic of Texas, 1839, an Ac-
count of the Great Epidemic . . . Austin, University of Texas Press,
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TAYLOR, GEORGE ROGERS, The Transportation Revolution, 1815-1860. New
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THROM, EDWARD Louis, and JAMES S. CRENSHAW, Popular Mechanics Auto
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TURNER, KATHARINE C., Red Men Calling on the Great White Father. Norman,
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Who's Who in America, Vol. 27, 1952-1953. Chicago, The A. N. Marquis
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Who's Who in the Midwest; a Biographical Dictionary of Noteworthy Men and
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WOODWARD, COMER VANN, Origins of the New South, 1877-1913. [Baton
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World Almanac and Book of Facts for 1952. New York, New York World-
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WRIGHT, MURIEL HAZEL, A Guide to the Indian Tribes of Oklahoma. Norman,
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YOUNG, ROBERT W., and WILLIAM MORGAN, A Vocabulary of Colloquial Navaho.
[Washington, D. C.] U. S. Indian Service [1951]. 461p.
31—7007
Bypaths of Kansas History
THIS NAME "KANSAS"
The state and river of Kansas were named for the Kansa or Kaw
Indians, a southwestern Siouan tribe, whose home for centuries was
in present northeast Kansas. A map by Marquette, about 1673-1674,
is one of the earliest to show a village of Kansa Indians in what is
now Kansas. John Senex's map of Louisiana territory in 1721 shows
the "Great River of Cansez."
The word "Kansas" has been given various meanings, including:
South wind people, fire people, swift wind, smoky, swift, or "a
troublesome people . . . who continually disturb or harass
others"!
Through the years writers have spelled Kansas more than eighty
different ways. Among these are: Acansis, Akansa, Akansea,
Canceas, Cancez, Canceze, Cancezs, Canchez, Canips, Cans, Cansa,
Canses, Cansez, Canzan, Canzas, Canze, Canzes, Canzez, Canzon,
Caugh, Gauzes, Caw, Chanzes, Ercansaques, Escanjaques, Escan-
saques, Escanxaques, Esquansaques, Estanxaques, Excanjaque,
Excausaquex, Kah, Kamse, Kancas, Kances, Kanees, Kans, Kansa,
Kansas, Kansas, Kansaws, Kanse, Kansea, Kanses, Kansez, Kansies,
Kansus, Kantha, Kants, Kanzan, Kanzans, Kanzas, Kanze, Kanzeis,
Kanzes, Kanzon, Karsa, Karsea, Kasas, Kathagi, Kau, Kaus, Kausas,
Kausau, Kauzau, Kaw, Kaws, Kawsa, Kawse, Kawza, Konaz, Konsa,
Konses, Konza, Konzas, Konzo, Kunza, Okames, Okams, Okanis,
Quans, Quaus, Ukasa, and Ukasak.
One of the earliest mentions in the newspapers of this area of a
proposed Kansas territory was in the St. Joseph ( Mo. ) Gazette, Janu-
ary 18, 1854 (no Kansas newspapers were published this early),
when it was reported that congress was considering the organization
of the large Nebraska territory into three territories, to be named:
Cherokee, Kansas, and Nebraska. On February 8, the Gazette men-
tioned Sen. Stephen A. Douglas' substitute bill to divide Nebraska
into two territories, Kansas and Nebraska. And this became the
Kansas-Nebraska act under which Kansas and Nebraska were organ-
ized into separate territories upon the signing of the bill by President
Pierce on May 30, 1854.
Kansas City, Mo., when started in 1838, was named Kansas. It
officially became the "Town of Kansas" in 1850, the "City of Kansas"
(450)
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 451
in 1853, and "Kansas City" in 1889. The following reference to the
name appeared in the Kansas City ( Mo. ) Enterprise, December 13,
1856:
A MISTAKE. — We are often asked, "Why do you call your city Kansas? — it is
stealing a name which does not properly belong to you but to the Territory."
Such is not the fact. When this city was laid off and named, it was called after
the river at whose mouth it is situated, and the immense trade of whose valley
it controls. Kansas Territory was then called Nebraska, and when it was divided
by act of Congress, they stole our name. We trust the public will hereafter stand
corrected. We are the original and genuine Kansas, and intend so to continue.
The Kansas City (Kan.) Town Co. was formed in 1868. The
townsite was surveyed in 1869 and Kansas City, Kan., became a city
of the third class in 1872. It and the adjoining old town of Wyan-
dotte and Armourdale were consolidated under the name Kansas
City, Kan., in 1886.
IT WAS ALSO A Cow THAT STARTED THE CHICAGO FIRE
From the Georgetown (Ky.) Herald, August 10, 1854.
"How TO CATCH A YANKEE. — A letter from Whitehead, in [Doniphan county]
Kansas Territory dated 1st inst., to the New York Herald, says:
"The amount of immigration in the way of men and cattle is surprising.
Thousands and thousands are pouring in from all portions of the Union, but
more especially from Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It seems to be a
purpose prepence to have it a slave State. There is a story abroad, that at all
the ferries over the Missouri River they have a cow tied and a committee to
watch all immigrants. The committee ask of each immigrant what animal that
is. If he says 'A Cow' all well — he goes over. But if he answers, 'A keow,' they
turn him back."
A REAL DIGGER
From the Fort Scott Democrat, September 22, 1860.
WHAT INDUSTRY AND PERSEVERANCE CAN ACCOMPLISH. — Mr. John McDon-
ald, living about two miles South-east of town, has just finished the digging of a
well on his claim. The well is thirty-two feet deep, mostly through solid rock.
Mr. McDonald dug the well himself, and Mrs. McDonald hoisted the stone out
of the well with a common pail. It is very tastefully walled up, with a mound
of black slate-stone three feet in height around the mouth of the Well which
prevents any dirt or surface water from getting into it. Mr. McDonald is fifty-
six years of age and his lady is not far short of fifty. We wish them health to
enjoy the fruits of their toil.
452 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
FREIGHTING ON THE FRONTIER
From the Newton Kansan, February 4, 1875.
IN THE SNOWS NEAR DODGE CITY. — From Mr. J. C. Brooks, of this township,
who in company with several others returned home last week Tuesday, we
gather a history of how they passed the notorious cold Friday of some three
weeks ago. Their company consisted of Mr. Brooks, Ed C. Munger, R. Cook,
Chas. Cuthbert, John Long and F. M. Moore, of this county, two men from
Cowley county, two from Colorado, one from Fort Dodge, and the balance from
Sedgwick county — twenty three in all — who were engaged in hauling Govern-
ment freight from Dodge City to Camp Supply, about one hundred miles south:
"We left Dodge City on the 7th of January, going via Ft. Dodge, and
aiming to drive to a little stream called Hackberry, 12 miles from the Fort
Dodge. Having some trouble in crossing the river, we failed to reach Hack-
berry, and therefore we camped in Seven Mile Hollow. We got our suppers
and all prepared beds on the ground except the two Colorado men, who slept
in their wagon. About the time we were going to bed it commenced to snow
and blow; the storm increased till it was fearful. During the latter part of the
night the drifts of snow got so heavy and packed so tight on our heads that
some of us began to smother and some to freeze.
Things began to look dangerous. Three or four men from Sedgwick county
getting so cold that they could not stand it any longer in their beds, crawled
out and climbed into a wagon, with a blanket apiece, leaving their boots and
coats fast under the snow, which was so hard that a horse could walk over it
without sinking, and the drifts appearing to be from three to seven feet deep.
The men that got into the wagon before daylight began to beg for help, but
the other men all being fast under the snow could not help them, so they
begged in vain. Early in the morning of the 8th, one of the men from Colo-
rado got out of his wagon and helped one of the Cowley county men out from
under the snow, and the two went to work in the storm, digging with a spade
to get some of us out from under the snow. Finding it so cold that they could
not stand it they tried to build a fire, but failed. I told them to dig the snow
off my bed, so that I could get out and help them. They then dug me out,
finding one of my boots on the bed. I then got out, and said to them, 'a fire
we must have or we will all perish/
By this time nearly all of the men were begging for help; crying that they
were freezing to death. We rolled a bale of hay off a wagon, and got some
matches by digging a mess box out from under the snow. We then tried to
set it afire, but failed, wasting the matches by letting them get wet. I called
to the men for more matches, but they could not find any. After a few minutes
I happened to think that I had a box of matches in my wagon. I got in and
found them all dry; got some hay and an old coat; pulled some cotton baten
from it, and then tried to set it, hay, wagon, corn, and all afire. The snow
was blowing so bad that it was impossible to set anything afire. I could light
the matches, but could not set anything afire, so I gave it up.
I then took a lantern and matches to where I got out of bed, and handed
it into the bed to Mr. Corey and the mail carrier from Fort Dodge; they suc-
ceeded in lighting it, and the lantern having a piece of the globe broken out,
they wrapped a sack around it and handed it to me. I then tried to set the
bale of hay afire, and the lantern went out. I threw it down and said to the
other two men, that it was the last chance, and that I was freezing. They
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 453
stood by the side of a wagon, stamping, with apparently but little strength;
I proposed to them to go with me and get into our beds, taking some corn to
eat, and save ourselves as long as possible, but they thought they might as
well freeze standing as laying, so I went to the bed, crawled in with Long,
Mr. Corey and the mail carrier.
We took some barrel staves, set them on end to our backs to hold up the
sheet as we set in the huddle together. The wagon sheet over our bed was
froze fast under the edges of the wagon sheet, with at least five feet of snow
on the edges. I pulled my boots, and had one foot nearly frozen; they sat on
my feet and warmed them. I then suggested that if we had something to eat,
we could fight one another and live till night, so we called Mr. Corey telling
him to bring a bucket of corn for us to eat and get in with us. He brought
the corn, but would not get in with us; I asked him if he could go to town;
he said he was very cold, and left us, the other men all crying for help, but
he said he could not help them. I. then said to the mail carrier, 'what can we
do?' He said, 'if I had my overcoat I would try to go to town/ but it was
froze fast under the edge of the bed where our heads laid. He and I done
our best to get it, but failed.
After studying about half an hour we fell on another plan to build a fire —
we called the Colorado man to bring a skillet and a piece of pine wood, but
finding no skillet he said he could not hunt any longer. I called to him for a
bucket, which he brought, and some pine; we whittled some pine kindlings,
filling the bucket and then set it afire. By the time it was afire sufficient to
start out in the storm we were nearly smothered by the smoke. We crowded
it out at a hole just as big as the bucket; Corey and Colorado stuck it to the
bale of hay and set it afire. Corey, (the other man's brother) who was still in
with us, asked for my boots telling me to warm my feet while he went out and
helped them, for fear they would let the fire go out. He put on my boots, and
I waited till I got my feet thawed out, and he not coming I asked the mail
carrier for his overshoes while I could go and knock a wagon to pieces and
build a good fire, and try to save the balance of the men. I put on the shoes
and went out and mounted the nearest wagon, which was Mr. Long's, put it
on the fire; then we carried Government corn and piled on top.
After this we went to pulling and digging out the men from their beds and
taking them to the fire. It being 2 o'clock we had to hurry in order to get
through by night. Getting them all out but Charley Cuthbert, some one said
that he must be dead, for he had not been heard for two or three hours. Two
of us then started out to look for him but could not find him. We came back
and all concluded he was dead. In a little while the horses all crowded up
between two wagons. Some of the men said that the horses were standing on
him, whereupon I went out drove the horses off and took a barrel stave and
began digging around for him. Finally finding him I called for help, and
Colorado came and we after hard work got him out. Being like the most of
us he was unable to walk much.
He being the last, we built another fire, drank a little whisky, eat a little corn,
and our conversation turned upon the subject as to who would go to town for
help; Mr. Cook and Jesse Corey offered to try providing we would let them
have some overcoats. We tied some gunney sacks over their boots and bundled
them up the best we could, put them on two good horses, they saying if they
could not get help they would come back that night. Colorado, one of the
Corey boys, one man from Wichita, who was nearly played out, and I agreed
454 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
to fire till morning, the rest of the men not being able to help us. The night
thus passed away, and a dreary one it was, too.
In the morning, as the Morning Star made its appearance, we discovered a
bright light in the east. Some one said there they come, while some said that's
the wrong course, others that they were lost, but everybody said that it was
undoubtedly a headlight. I picked up a torch, got up on a drift, and with tears
running down my face for joy, waved my light and everybody tried to hollow,
but could not, being so hoarse. After watching the light appear and disappear
for a long time our hopes were terribly blasted when we discovered it was only
the Morning Star shining through the storm. Between that and daylight the
wind fell and then we had a fine fire. By this time I had about played out
and sat down with the understanding with Colorado that he would keep a
fire a while and rouse me to take his place.
The next thing I remember hearing was a sergeant, who rode up and
hollowed "How many of you are dead?" Some half a dozen or more answered
"not any!" Four or five wagons then made their appearance loaded with wood,
etc., for our benefit; a lieutenant then ordered the soldiers to throw a half a
cord or more of wood on the fire, after which a surgeon ordered coffee made;
about the same time the sergeant ordered the men to dig out our beds, but
finding it almost impossible the lieutenant countermanded the order, and in-
stead ordered us placed in the wagons as soon as possible, after which we
were wrapped up in almost innumerable blankets, given a drink of hot coffee,
and then driven to the Fort on double quick, leaving our camp at about 9
o'clock. The soldiers drove our horses in. We burned two wagons, one wagon
bed, all the meat we could get hold of, all the feed troughs, spring seats and
several loads of corn.
After getting us to the Fort the officers and soldiers treated us with great
kindness, and I can say for one that I shall never forget them for it; also Messrs.
Rath and Wright, and in fact all at the Fort. Nearly all of our men were
frozen some, but the chill and smoke hurt us more than the freezing. I don't
think any will lose limbs from freezing. All from this county are now at home
but three. Mr. Munger is still at the hospital but was able to sit up when I
last saw him, which was on the 17th of this month. Messrs. Cook and Cuth-
bert loaded again for Supply. We laid at the Fort nine days, being doctored
up so we thought we was able we started for home, arriving at Newton on the
26th ult, poorer than when we left.
So much for freighting on the frontier. My advice to farmers is to attend
their farms and let freighting alone. In conclusion we will say that we are
very thankful to be at home with our friends once more, even without wagons.
SPRING IN KANSAS, ISN'T IT WONDERFUL?
From the Hugo (Hugoton) Herald, February 20, 1886.
Spring has come, gentle Annie, and don't you forget it! The time for spring
to come on the calendar has not quite arrived, but in this Italian climate the
season of spring kind of forces itself and puts on its linen duster earlier than
it did back where the men lived who located the seasons. We know spring
has arrived for the housewives are out looking after their lettuce seed planted
before the last blizzard, old maids are out looking after their claims and pre-
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 455
paring to go barefooted as they did back east, the prairie dogs are out gossiping,
and the rattlesnakes and centipedes are bathing themselves in the warm sun-
shine, preparatory to tickling the legs of the tenderfoot. The old bachelors
who went into winter quarters last fall are seen scratching their backs against
a friendly wagon wheel or house corner, and from various other signs including
the breaking of prairie, the cackling of hens, the lasciviousness of roosters, the
energy of homesteaders who have been off their claims for six months or more,
and from various other signs, tokens and indications we know that spring is
here.
Spring is here and here to stay. Let her stay! We would much rather take
a nap in the lap of an early spring than to rustle our neighbor's coal pile to
entertain another end of such a winter as we have just passed through. Soon
you will see the granger out stabbing his corn into the sod and he will confi-
dently tell you that he expects to gather sixty bushels to the acre (This is a
low estimate). He will tell you that this [is] the finest soil he ever stuck a
plow into and the easiest cultivated; that this climate is the most delightful he
ever lived in; that his wife has her health better out here than she had back
east and he expects to send back for his father and his mother-in-law and have
them take up claims adjoining his own; that he likes the society better here
than he did back in Missouri and that people mind their own business and are
not stuck up nor selfish out here. He will tell you that the water is better, the
air purer and that sow-belly fried over a buffalo-chip fire tastes better than
brandy pudding or peach cobbler did back where he came from. A variety of
things he will tell you and if you are a stranger you may be inclined to doubt
his statements, but they are truths — gospel truths.
COSTLY HUGGING
From the Minneapolis Messenger, December 12, 1895.
The case of a Leavenworth young woman is worthy of serious consideration.
During the apple carnival in that city, it appears that hugging was a very
pleasant and frequent feature of the affair. A young man named Willie hugged
a young woman named Morley, but the report does not say whether he did it as
a carnival duty or simply for the fun of the thing. At any rate the embrace
resulted in a severe nervous attack for the girl, and she has sued Willie for five
thousand dollars damages. He explained to the girl that he hugged several
other girls during the carnival without any serious results to their nerves, and
that they were able to subdue their nervous attacks, but she was remorseless,
and placed the matter into the cold and chilly hands of the law, which is
notoriously indifferent to the squeezeful impulses of warm-hearted youth. We
have not heard whether the case has been settled or not, but if a girl can obtain
five thousand dollars for just one little squeeze, the fortune of a Vanderbilt
would not put some men on a sound financial basis. It would be dribbled out
in little five thousand dollar dabs. The writer is not personally interested in
the matter, but as sure as you live five thousand dollars is too much.
Kansas History as Published in the Press
Brief biographical sketches of Nelson Case and W. W. Graves ap-
peared in an article by Wayne O'Connell in the Oswego Democrat,
November 28, 1952. Case came to Oswego in 1869, became a com-
munity leader and practiced law for over 50 years. Graves was
editor of the St. Paul Journal for more than 50 years. Both men
made a hobby of local history.
Articles in the December, 1952, number of the Bulletin of the
Shawnee County Historical Society included: a biographical sketch
of James White Frierson Hughes, by William Macferran, Jr., a con-
tinuation of Russell K. Hickman's "First Congregational Church of
Topeka"; "Joab Mulvane House," by Lois Johnson Cone; "Wash-
burn and the Lakin Tract"; "Topeka House Numbers— Old Style";
"Col. [J. W. F.] Hughes and the Legislative War," by William
Macferran, Jr.; and another installment of George A. Root's "Chro-
nology of Shawnee County."
The Tiller and Toiler, Larned, on December 11, 1952, published
a 154-page supplement entitled Progress in Pawnee County, com-
memorating the 80th anniversary of the organization of the county.
The magazine-size, plastic-bound, enameled-paper volume contains
five sections of information on Larned and Pawnee county: histori-
cal, agricultural, business and industry, church-school-club, and the
veterans' section.
A history of the Daniel A. Bright family, by Mrs. Jessie Bright
Grove, a daughter, was published in The Tiller and Toiler, Larned,
December 19, 1952. Bright arrived in Pawnee county in April,
1872. The biography of this family and the history of Larned and
Pawnee county are presented by Mrs. Grove as one story.
The Dighton Herald published a history of the Dighton Christian
church, December 31, 1952, and notes on the history of Ravanna,
February 18, 1953.
"The Shawnee Trail," by Wayne Card, the story of a cattle trail
from Texas to Kansas usually overlooked by historians, was pub-
lished in The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Austin, Tex., Jan-
uary, 1953. From 1850 until the Chisholm trail opened in 1867, the
Shawnee trail was the chief route used by the Texas cattlemen to
bring their herds north.
(456)
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 457
Subjects of articles by James A. Clay in recent issues of the
Douglass Tribune were: Christmas in Douglass in 1879, January 1,
1953, and early baseball activities in Douglass, March 12.
Included in Lillian K. Farrar's column in the Axtell Standard
recently was "a Doniphan County version" of the pony express by
Mrs. Margaret Larzelere Rice, Troy, published January 8, 15, and
22, 1953.
The early history of Belleville, by Virginia Watson, was printed
in the Belleville Telescope, January 8, 1953. The town was in-
corporated January 10, 1878, about eight years after the first resi-
dent arrived. The Telescope, March 5, published a brief history of
Fort Lookout.
Historical articles of interest to Kansans appearing in recent issues
of the Kansas City (Mo.) Star included: "Abilene's Heroes of Cow-
town Days Give Place to Outstanding Sons of This Era," by Vivian
Aten Long, January 15, 1953; "Frances Willard Changed Ed Howe's
Mind When She Spoke for Temperance," by Charles Arthur
Hawley, February 26; "Tornado Hits With Mighty Blow but Usually
You Get a Warning," a review of Snowden D. Flora's Tornadoes of
the United States, by Paul V. Miner, March 15; "Indians of Kansas
Along With Others Hope for Riches From Old Land Claims," by
H. E. Bruce, March 17; and "'Big Charlie* Crocker Learned to Be a
Leader in His Trip Across Plains," by John Edward Hicks, March
19. Among historical articles in the Kansas City (Mo.) Times
were: "Adventurer and Pioneer, George Park Led in the Founding
of Two Colleges [Kansas State and Park]," by W. F. Sanders, Feb-
ruary 23, 1953; "Gold of Forty-Niners and Silver From Santa Fe
Buried on the Kansas Plains," by E. B. Dykes Beachy, March 9;
and "Tauy Jones, Benefactor of Indians, Recalled in Claim Filed
by Ottawas," by Charles Arthur Hawley, March 31.
Relics in the museum of A. H. Shutte, Ellis, were described in an
article in the Hays Daily News, January 18, 1953. Mr. Shutte came
to Ellis county 72 years ago and has collected many objects illus-
trative of Kansas history.
Recent historical articles in the Dodge City Daily Globe included:
"Inaugural Recalls Satin-Lined 'Twenty-Million-Dollar' Chapter in
Dodge City History," a brief story of the Dodge City Cowboy
Band, by Hoover Cott, January 19, 1953; the history of the Dodge
City Atheneum Club organized 50 years ago, January 31; and the
458 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
reminiscences of the late Mrs. Sallie DeArmond Sweet who came
to western Kansas in 1885, March 5.
Publication by installments of John Luke Gehman's autobio-
graphical sketch began in the January 22, 1953, issue of The Modern
Light, Columbus. Also the Light has continued regular publica-
tion of the historical column "Do You Remember When?"
John Watson's "See Kansas" series in the Wichita Evening Eagle
has continued to appear in recent months. Among the articles were:
"Man-Made Cement 'Garden of Eden [at Lucas]/ Startles Imagina-
tion With Life-Like Figure Displays," January 22, 1953; "St. Fidelis,
'Cathedral of the Plains [at Victoria]/ Stands as Monument to En-
during Faith of a Kansas People," February 5; "Two Quaint Dutch
Windmills in Kansas [Wamego and Smith Center] Monuments to
Pioneer Industry," February 12; " 'Home on the Range* Stands Near
Smith Center," February 26; and "Geographic Center of United
States Located Near Lebanon," March 12.
On January 26, 1953, the first weekly installment of the diary of
John S. Gilmore, Sr., was published in the Wilson County Citizen,
Fredonia. The diary begins in July, 1867, when the writer was 19
years old and working in a newspaper office in Burlington. Gilmore
established the Citizen in 1870.
The question of who was Marshall county's first settler, A. G.
Woodward or F. J. Marshall, was discussed in Marysville news-
papers in recent months. George Hamburg's talk before the Rotary
club of Marysville on the subject was printed in the Marshall County
News, Marysville, January 29, 1953. Letters were published in the
Marysville Advocate, from W. E. Stewart, Vermillion, March 5, and
from Otto J. Wullschleger, Frankfort, March 12.
Settlers began arriving in Jewell county in the early 1870's, ac-
cording to a history of the Jewell area written by Mrs. H. E. Hutch-
craft in 1927 and published in the Jewell County Republican, Jewell,
January 29, 1953. The town of Jewell was first Fort Jewell, the
fortifications having been built by a home guard organization, with
W. D. Street as captain, in 1870.
A brief article about the admission of Kansas into the Union, by
Ruby Basye, appeared in the Pratt Daily Tribune, January 29, 1953.
A history of the events preceding the erection in 1901 of the old
Lyon county courthouse, now being razed, was published in the
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 459
Emporia Gazette, February 4, 1953. It was prepared by the late
Harry E. Peach, then county clerk, and was found in the corner-
stone of the building.
The first of a series of articles on the history of Natoma, by
the Rev. George Lee, appeared in the Natoma Independent, Feb-
ruary 5, 1953. Natoma was established as a railroad town in 1888.
Two series of historical features have recently appeared in the
Cunningham Clipper. One is "Cunningham's Family Album," con-
sisting of pictures of early Cunningham and residents of the area.
The other is entitled "Echoes of the Past." One of the articles in
that group was on the tornado .which struck Cunningham in May,
1898, appearing in the issues of February 13, 20, 27, and March 6,
1953. The story of the celebration in 1888 of the coming of the
railroad to Cunningham was printed March 13.
Six eight-page sections made up the Kansas State College anni-
versary edition of the Manhattan Mercury -Chronicle, February 15,
1953. Established in 1863, Kansas State was the first land grant
college in the United States.
A column-length article on the cholera epidemic in the Ellsworth
area in 1867 was printed in the Junction City Union, February 17,
1953.
The Coffeyville Daily Journal published its second annual progress
edition February 22, 1953. The largest edition ever published in
Coffeyville, 140 pages, it was devoted to the history, building
progress, schools, churches, agriculture, and sports of the com-
munity. Also included was a biography of Walter Perry Johnson,
by many considered the greatest baseball pitcher, whose home was
in Coffeyville.
On February 23 the Winfield Daily Courier published its 1953
achievement edition. This year, which marks the 80th anniversary
of the incorporation of Winfield and the 80th year of the Courier,
148 pages of city and county history and progress were published.
The Beloit Daily Call, February 26, 1953, published a three-
column history of Waconda, "dead" town of Mitchell county. Ap-
parently established in 1871, Waconda was abandoned early in the
ISSCTs.
460 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
A brief history of Doniphan, by T. E. Garvey, appeared in the
Atchison Daily Globe, March 5, 1953. James F. Forman, who
owned the townsite, is considered the father of the town. The town
company was organized November 11, 1854.
On March 12, 1953, The Leader-Courier, Kingman, printed a
short history of the Waterloo Presbyterian church, Kingman, county.
The first meeting for organization of the church was on February
25, 1878, at the home of J. C. Endicott. It is believed to be the first
church organized in Kingman county.
Kansas Historical Notes
All officers of the Northeast Kansas Historical Society were re-
elected at a recent meeting at the C. C. Webb home in Highland.
They are: Mrs. C. C. Webb, president; Fenn Ward, vice-president;
Mrs. Fenn Ward, secretary; and C. C. Webb, finance director. The
society operates the Sac and Fox Indian mission which was visited
by over 2,400 persons during the past year.
The annual meeting of the Augusta Historical Society was held
January 12, 1953, with the president, Stella B. Haines, presiding.
Other officers of the society are: Mrs. J. E. Mahannah, vice-presi-
dent; Florence Hudson, secretary; and Mrs. Henry Bornholdt,
treasurer. The secretary reported that 800 visitors had registered
during the past year at the museum maintained by the society.
Maurice E. Fager, Topeka, and Mrs. David McCreath, Lawrence,
were elected presidents of the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas
at the organization's 35th annual meeting in Topeka, January 28,
1953. Other officers elected by the Native Sons were: Rolla A.
Clymer, El Dorado, vice-president; G. Clay Baker, Topeka, secre-
tary; and John W. Brookens, Westmoreland, treasurer. The Native
Daughters named Mrs. Ethel Godin, Wamego, vice-president; Mrs.
Ivan Dayton Jones, Lyons, secretary; and Mrs. James B. McKay,
El Dorado, treasurer. W. S. Rupe, Ames, Iowa, publisher, was the
principal speaker at the evening meeting. The Capper award for
the winner of the collegiate speech contest went to F. L. Baird,
Newton, and was presented by Henry S. Blake. Retiring presidents
were: C. W. Porterfield, Holton, and Mrs. Ray Pierson, Burlington.
The 46th annual meeting of the Woman's Kansas Day Club was
held in Topeka, January 29, 1953, with the president, Mrs. W. M.
Ehrsam, Wichita, presiding. At the business session Mrs. Douglas
McCrum, Fort Scott, was elected president. Other officers elected
include: Mrs. Earl C. Moses, Great Bend, first vice-president; Mrs.
E. Claude Smith, Topeka, second vice-president; Mrs. J. L. Jenson,
Colby, recording secretary; Mrs. Jessie Clyde Fisher, Wichita, treas-
urer; Mrs. C. W. Spencer, Sedan, historian; Mrs. J. U. Massey, Pitts-
burg, auditor; and Mrs. F. J. Rost, Topeka, registrar. Directors
elected were: Mrs. George Rathbun, Manhattan, first district; Mrs.
Clyde Swender, Blue Mound, second district; Mrs. William Ground-
water, Longton, third district; Mrs. Paul H. Wedin, Wichita, fourth
(461)
462 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
district; Mrs. Will Townsley, Jr., Great Bend, fifth district; and Dr.
Mary Glasson, Phillipsburg, sixth district. This year's theme was
"Early Day Transportation in Kansas." Interesting reports, given
by the district directors and historians, were presented to the Kansas
State Historical Society. Pictures, museum articles, and books were
also given.
Dr. Elizabeth Cochran, Kansas State Teachers College, Pittsburg,
told of her recent trip through Europe at a meeting of the Crawford
County Historical Society in Pittsburg, February 5, 1953. Another
feature of the meeting was a quiz on the history of Crawford county
and Kansas. Prof. L. E. Curfman is president of the society.
Guy Norris, long-time resident of Garden City, was the principal
speaker at the annual meeting of the Finney County Historical So-
ciety, February 10, 1953, in Garden City. Directors chosen at the
business session were: Gus Norton, J. E. Greathouse, William Fant,
Albert Drussel, Mrs. Charles Brown, Mrs. Kate Smith, Mrs. Ella
Condra, Chet Reeve, Mrs. Louis Kampschroeder, Frederick Finnup,
Guy Norris, and Mrs. C. C. Wristen. Norton is president of the
society.
Gov. Edward F. Arn's advisory committee for the observance of
Kansas' territorial centennial in 1954, noted in the February, 1953,
Quarterly, reported their recommendations to the governor on Feb-
ruary 18, 1953. The plans were approved by Governor Arn, an
appropriation of $10,000 was granted and all the members of the
committee were reappointed to the Kansas Territorial Centennial
committee and instructed to put the plans into operation. Addi-
tional members on this committee are: Mrs. Orvill Burtis, Man-
hattan; Everett E. Erhart, Stafford; Mrs. Frank Haucke, Florence;
Bliss Isley, Wichita; Tom Lillard, Topeka; Father Cuthbert Mc-
Donald, Atchison; Larry Miller, Topeka; Mrs. H. N. Moses, Salina;
Dolph Simons, Lawrence; Fred Stein, Atchison; the Rev. Milton
Vogel, Topeka; Vivian Woody, Douglass; C. O. Wright, Topeka;
L. D. Wooster, Hays; Ted L. Sexton, Leavenworth, and Don Mc-
Neal, Council Grove. Dr. Robert Taft, Lawrence, is committee
chairman.
A bronze plaque has been placed on the California camp site
where the 20th Kansas regiment of Volunteer infantry stayed when
en route to Manila in 1898. The project was sponsored by the Cali-
fornia Historical Society but the plaque was provided by members
of the regiment now living in California. Unveiling ceremonies
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 463
were held February 27, 1953, with Col. Clay Anderson, Burlingame,
Cal., in charge of arrangements.
Ralph B. Harrison was named president of the Bourbon County
Historical Society at a meeting in Fort Scott, March 3, 1953. Other
officers elected were: Mrs. J. R. Prichard, vice-president; Mrs. G. D.
Cleland, secretary; and D. V. Swartz, treasurer. Mrs. Effie Peete,
custodian, reported that more than 6,000 people had visited the
museum during 1952.
Owen McEwen was elected president of the Wichita Historical
Museum Association at the annual meeting March 19, 1953. Other
officers chosen were: Eugene Coombs, first vice-president; Carl
Bitting, second vice-president; John Coultis, secretary; and C. K.
Foote, treasurer. Elected to the board of directors of the association
were: Coombs, Bitting, R. T. Aitchison, Mrs. C. H. Armstrong,
Omrah Aley, John P. Davidson, Mrs. W. C. Coleman, Bertha V.
Gardner, and M. C. Naftzer. Allen W. Hinkel was the featured
speaker at the meeting. Hugh D. Lester was the retiring president.
Alden O. Weber was re-elected president of the Osawatomie
Historical Society at a meeting March 27, 1953. Other officers re-
elected were: Pauline Gudger, vice-president; and Ruby Mclntosh,
secretary-treasurer. The society is working on the restoration of
the Old Stone church in Osawatomie, which dates back to 1859,
and was first served by the Rev. Samuel L. Adair, John Brown's
brother-in-law.
A historical marker commemorating the arrival of the Mennonite
pioneers in the vicinity of Great Bend in 1874 has been erected one
mile east of Dundee on Highway SON. An exact model of the origi-
nal church building is on top of the marker. An inscription on the
bronze plate dedicates the marker to the memory of the Mennonite
forefathers who migrated from Karlsualda, Russia.
The journal and diaries of George C. Sibley and others, pertain-
ing to the surveying and marking of a road from the Missouri
frontier to New Mexico, 1825-1827, have been edited by Kate L.
Gregg and recently published in a 280-page volume by the Univer-
sity of New Mexico Press under the title The Road to Santa Fe.
On Freedoms Altar is the title of a 195-page book by Hazel
Catherine Wolf on the Abolition movement of pre-Civil War days,
published recently by the University of Wisconsin Press.
464 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Dr. Robert Taft's series, "The Pictorial Record of the Old West,"
which began appearing in the Quarterly in 1946, has been revised
and recently published in a 400-page volume entitled Artists and
Illustrators of the Old West: 1850-1900 (New York, 1953). "In
this book there have been retold the actual experiences of a number
of artists and illustrators, most of whom personally witnessed some
part of the marvelous transformation of the region beyond the
Mississippi. ..." A 72-page picture section includes examples
from the work of many of the artists. Dr. Taft is a member of the
faculty of Kansas University and president of the Kansas State
Historical Society.
Broadax and Bayonet, the story of the part played by the United
States army in the development of the Northwest, 1815 to 1860, a
263-page book by Francis Paul Prucha, was recently published by
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. This volume deals with
the army's non-military role on the frontier, such as law enforcement,
the building of roads and forts, its contributions in the fields of
science and social development, and the economic effect of its
presence.
The reminiscences of Oliver Nelson, freighter and cowboy in Kan-
sas, the Indian territory, and Texas, 1878 to 1893, have been edited
by Dr. Angie Debo and recently published in a 343-page volume
entitled The Cowman s Southwest (Glendale, Gal., 1953).
Tornadoes of the United States (University of Oklahoma Press,
Norman, 1953), by Snowden D. Flora, is a 194-page book designed
to provide information on the frequency, damage, causes, and
methods of forecasting tornadoes, and ways of saving human lives
when the storms strike. The author was head of the United States
Weather Bureau at Topeka from 1917 to 1949.
D
THE
KANSAS HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
August 1953
Published by
Kansas State Historical Society
Topeka
KIRKE MECHEM JAMES C. MALIN NYLE H. MILLER
Editor Associate Editor Managing Editor
CONTENTS
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE,"
MAY 21, 1856 James C. Malm, 465
MIDWESTERN ATTITUDES ON THE "KANSAS FEVER"
Edited by Philip D. Uzee, 495
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION: From the Diary
of Father Maurice Gailland, S. J.,
Edited by the Rev. James M. Burke, S. /., 501
With the following illustrations:
Chapel of the Pottawatomie Indian Mission at St. Marys and
portrait of the Rev. Maurice Gailland, S. J., facing p. 512;
Pottawatomie Indians at St. Mary's Mission in 1867 and
St. Mary's Mission, 1867, facing p. 513.
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 530
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 538
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES . 543
The Kansas Historical Quarterly is published in February, May, August and
November by the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kan., and is dis-
tributed free to members. Correspondence concerning contributions may be
sent to the managing editor at the Historical Society. The Society assumes no
responsibility for statements made by contributors.
Entered as second-class matter October 22, 1931, at the post office at To-
peka, Kan., under the act of August 24, 1912.
THE COVER
Ruins of the Free-State Hotel, Lawrence, after the city's sacking by a Pro-
slavery mob on May 21, 1856. (See pp. 482-484.) The sketch, from a da-
guerreotype taken for Mrs. Charles ( Sara T. L. ) Robinson, is reproduced from
her book, Kansas: Its Interior and Exterior Life ( Boston, 1857 ) .
THE KANSAS
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Volume XX August, 1953 Number 7
Judge Lecompte and the "Sack of Lawrence,"
May 21, 1856
JAMES C. MALIN
PART ONE: THE CONTEMPORARY PHASE
THE so-called "sack of Lawrence" of May 21, 1856, according to
Kansas traditions, was perpetrated by Sheriff Samuel Jones,
under orders of the United States District Court, presided over by
Chief Justice Samuel D. Lecompte (1814-1888). Only occasionally
has anything like a correct version of that day's events been told.
On May 21, 1856, a posse of supporters of the territorial govern-
ment, many of whom were from Missouri, assembled on the ridge
west of Lawrence, at the call of United States Marshal Israel B.
Donaldson. His purpose was to have aid at hand to support him in
the service of official papers pertaining to his duties as officer of the
United States District Court. Leaving the main posse behind,
Deputy Marshal W. P. Fain served his papers in Lawrence, with-
drew, and, official duties being completed, the posse was disbanded.
At that time Sheriff Samuel J. Jones, of Douglas county, called the
men into his service, alleging the need of aid in making arrests and
abating nuisances under authority of the grand jury, the objectives
being the New England Emigrant Aid Company hotel, and the two
Lawrence newspapers, the Herald of Freedom, and the Kansas Free
State. The presses and office equipment of these newspapers were
destroyed, and the type thrown into the river. And before Jones'
mob departed, the house of Gov. Charles Robinson, southwest of
town, was burned, and an undetermined amount of damage in the
nature of looting and vandalism occurred. No Lawrence people
were killed, or seriously injured. This was the "sack of Lawrence."
In order to justify the action of Jones, the Proslavery newspapers
alleged that Jones was executing the orders of the grand jury or of
DR. JAMES C. MALIN, associate editor of The Kansas Historical Quarterly, is professor
of history at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.
(465)
466 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the United States District Court, Judge Lecompte's division. This
claim of right under law, played directly into the hands of the
Free-State party, in Kansas, and the newly organized Republican
party in federal politics, which were engaged, for political purposes
in the midst of the presidential campaign, in pinning all Kansas
troubles upon the federal government, as represented by the Demo-
cratic party and the Pierce administration. In fact, the excesses of
the presidential campaign are the major explanation of the so-
called Kansas Civil War of 1856, with Bleeding Kansas as the princi-
pal stock in trade of the newly launched Republican party, composed
of discordant elements whose only point of coherence was this one
issue of opposition to the extension of slavery into the territories,
epitomized by Kansas.
THE IMMEDIATE SETTING,
THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1856
On March 30, 1855, the election of the first territorial legislature
was held and Proslavery men won. According to the census taken
preceding the election, settlers of slave state origin were present in
a clear majority. Although facts are not available to provide proof
one way or another, the reasonable presumption is that the so-called
Proslavery party could have carried the election decisively. Upon
that basis, the action of Missourians in invading Kansas and voting
illegally, was an inexcusable blunder. The Free-State men repudi-
ated the legislature as "Bogus," and capitalized upon the situation
politically in the states. For that development the Proslavery party
had only itself to blame.
The next step in Kansas local developments is a different matter.
Free-State men called two conventions; at Big Springs, September
5, and at Topeka, September 19, 1855. The Big Springs convention
organized the Free-State party as a political weapon to unite Free-
State sympathizers of all shades of opinion upon the single issue.
Another element controlled the Topeka convention, which decided
to launch a state government movement, some going so far as to
advocate setting it in operation in defiance of the territorial gov-
ernment, even if such action led to a test of force. More moderate
counsels prevailed for the most part, however, in March, 1856,
stopping with the overt act of installing the officers under the
Topeka constitution and standing in readiness to take further action.1
A bill was introduced into the house of representatives to admit
1. James C. Malin, John Brown and the Legend of Fifty-six (Philadelphia, The Ameri-
can Philosophical Society, 1942), ch. 25, "The Single Issue . . ."
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 467
Kansas into the Union under this constitution and government,
headed by Charles Robinson, the political agent of the New Eng-
land Emigrant Aid Company in Kansas.
While these events were maturing during the early months of
1856, the presidential campaign was moving rapidly into the nomi-
nating convention stage. The American party met at Philadelphia,
February 22, and split on the slavery issue. This party was the
political aspect of a violent nativist movement — 100 percent Amer-
icans— hostile to foreign immigrants, especially to the Catholic
population. Antiforeign and anti-Catholic riots had occurred in
several places during the years immediately preceding this election
of 1856. The American party had minimized the slavery question,
as a secondary issue, but when the Philadelphia convention split,
it meant that the sectional controversy based upon slavery gained
the ascendancy even in the ranks of the political nativists, depriving
the American party of its primary reason for existence.
The process of welding together all opponents of the Democratic
party supporting the administration was well under way with the
opening of the year 1856; Northern Whigs, anti-Nebraska Democrats,
Freesoilers, and in some respects most important, Americans. Na-
thaniel P. Banks, an American, had been elected speaker of the
house of representatives by the anti-administration coalition. The
Republican party elements held a preliminary national convention
at Pittsburgh, February 22. John C. Fremont, a Republican aspirant
for the nomination, and Banks, were collaborating in the task of
capitalizing upon the Kansas situation.
In relation to the nativist sentiment it is important to call atten-
tion to the manner in which the issue crossed party lines. Amos
Lawrence, treasurer of the New England Emigrant Aid Company,
was a major force in the American party in Massachusetts, and
Robinson was the company's political agent in the Territory of
Kansas. In the Democratic party, Senator Atchison of Missouri was
a nativist in sentiment and agreed with the Know-Nothings in his
attitude toward foreigners, while opposing them as a political party,
because the American party would divide and weaken the Demo-
cratic party. He co-operated in attempting to add the anti-foreign
Clayton amendment to the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and was even
accused of being the author of it. Thus Amos Lawrence and Atchi-
son were in agreement on nativism as an attitude, but opposed in
their views on how to implement it partywise, and were opposed
also in attitude toward slavery. Confusion and contradiction in
468 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
ideas and emotions was the most characteristic feature of this
decade of the 1850's. Unless that fact is understood and fully
appreciated, the history of the decade is quite incomprehensible.
Fremont and Charles Robinson had been associated briefly in
California politics at an earlier time, and Fremont used this as an
excuse for writing to Robinson, agent of the New England Emigrant
Aid Company, about the current situation and the advantages of
co-operation. That letter was published, but Fremont had not sent
it direct to Robinson. Banks acted as intermediary, writing to Rob-
inson a covering letter, dated March 19, which was not printed.2
Banks urged the Fremont candidacy. "We are in expectation of
being able to do something in Congress," he wrote, "that will [be]
an effectual aid to Kansas. . . . The Kansas question will meet
its first decision in the House this week, and I think it wih1 not be
against us." Upon two matters in particular Kansas did expect
favorable house action, the admission of Kansas under the Topeka
constitution, and, in the meantime, the seating of Andrew H. Reeder
in the house as delegate from the territory of Kansas.
The house did act on March 19, the day Banks dated his letter
to Robinson, in authorizing a special committee on the Kansas
troubles generally, and in reference to elections particularly. The
committee, composed of William A. Howard of Michigan, as chair-
man, John Sherman of Ohio, and Mordicai Oliver of Missouri,
opened its first session in Lecompton, April 18, and its second on
April 23, expecting hearings to begin at Lawrence the next day.
In the senate, Douglas had made a report on Kansas, March 12,
denouncing the New England Emigrant Aid Company, and the
Topeka state movement. Collamer of Vermont, presented a minor-
ity report upholding the Free-State cause and suggesting repeal of
the Kansas-Nebraska act or admission of Kansas. On March 17,
Douglas introduced his Kansas bill to enable Kansas to form a state
government and apply for admission upon attaining the minimum
population necessary for a congressman, and specifying six months'
residence as the minimum qualification for voting.
In his correspondence from Washington, dated March 12, Horace
Greeley wrote of the Douglas report on Kansas: "No man could
have made his Report who did not mean to earn the gratitude of
the Slave Power. ... I shall consider Mr. Douglas henceforth
2. James C. Malin "Speaker Banks Courts the Free-Soilers: The Fremont-Robinson
Letter of 1856," New England Quarterly, Orono, Maine, v. 12 (1939), pp. 103-112. In
this article, the Banks letter was printed and used for historical purposes for the first time
The inaccurate and misleading title for the article as it appears, was the work of the
editor of the New England Quarterly.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 469
an aspirant for the Cincinnati nomination. . . ." Two days later,
Greeley repeated that the Douglas report was "his bold bid for
Southern favor."3
In connection with Douglas* speech, upon his Kansas-Nebraska
report and bill, the New York Tribune accused him of making a
threat against the antislavery men: "We will subdue you!" The use
of this phrase or anything of similar meaning was denied by Douglas,
but to no avail. The New York Tribune printed a lead editorial,
March 24, under that phrase as a text:
When the arch-traitor from Illinois recently vomited his rage upon the Senate
in his declaration, "We intend to subdue you," he only reechoed the war-
whoop which, from the beginning of things, the principle of Evil in the world
has forever shouted its warfare upon the Good.
The editor cited the Asiatic religions as recognizing that principle
of the warfare of Good and Evil. Also: "To 'subdue' the race of
man, Satan crawled on his belly and ate dirt in Eden." Then, as
examples of the conflict of evil against good, reference was made
to the Prometheus theme, the Pharoahs against Moses, and Judas
against Christ, with application to the contemporary scene: "The
Douglases and Pierces of that day declared that, by the united in-
strumentality of Judas and the Doctors, they would 'subdue' the
Godlike on the Cross of Calvary."
Reverting to Xerxes against the Greeks, the editor continued his
alleged parallels with the Medieval church against Luther, the
Stuart kings against Parliament, and King George against his
American colonies, with victory in each case for "Good":
The godless crowd who resist man's emancipation and enlightenment, who op-
pose every step of progress and cry out, "We will subdue you!" to the agents
and agencies of social regeneration, diminish in numbers and force with the
lapse of every century. . . .
Very early in the year, and prior to the actual organization of the
Republican party nationally, Horace Greeley had written frankly
from Washington to his managing editor, Dana, February 16, 1856:
"We cannot (I fear) admit Reeder; we cannot admit Kansas as a
State; we can only make issues on which to go to the people at the
Presidential election." 4
On May 19 and 20, Sen. Charles Sumner delivered a prepared
speech, "The Crime Against Kansas," including an indecent personal
attack upon Senator Butler of South Carolina. On May 22, Rep-
resentative Brooks, of South Carolina, a relative of the elderly Sena-
3. New York Tribune, March 14, 15, 1856.
4. Printed in the New York Sun, May 19, 1889, and cited by J. F. Rhodes, History of
the United States From the Compromise of 1850 (New York, 1893), v. 2, p. 126.
470 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
tor Butler, attacked Sumner, beating him with a cane. Although
Sumner's conduct was inexcusable according to any code of common
decency, two wrongs did not make a right. Besides, Brooks' as-
sault made an antislavery hero of Sumner, diverting attention from
the gravity of his offense. The dating of this excitement is critical
to the Kansas story, because the Jones "sack of Lawrence" occurred
May 21, the news reaching the East in the midst of the furor over
Sumner, and with the Democratic and Republican national con-
ventions coming up June 2 and 17, respectively.
The Pottawatomie massacre of five Proslavery men on the night of
May 24-25, by John Brown, would appear to have been something
that Proslavery men could have used to offset the Sumner and Law-
rence excitement. It did not work out in that manner, however.
The Proslavery men did not appear to have understood the possi-
bilities of the art of propaganda, and the Free-State men suppressed
and falsified the facts.5
On June 1, in the Plymouth Congregational church in Chicago,
the Rev. J. E. Roy preached a sermon in which he attacked Douglas
personally, charging him again, among other things, with the threat
"We will subdue you!" On July 4, Douglas addressed a letter to
Roy calling attention to the error of his charges:
I send this letter to you, instead of to the newspapers, for the purpose of giving
you an opportunity of doing justice to me and to the cause of truth, which I
trust you will regard a Christian duty, in the same pulpit where the injury
was committed.
At first a private letter, it was soon released to the press, but the
falsehood "We will subdue you!" once at large, could not be over-
taken, and throughout the campaign the Republican press rang
all the changes on the theme.6
THE JUDICIARY IN KANSAS
The Kansas-Nebraska act of May 30, 1854, had authorized terri-
torial governments of the traditional type in the two territories,
based upon the theory of three independent and equal departments,
legislative, executive, and judicial. The judiciary, in turn, was
created with powers identical with that branch in other territories.
The jurisdiction was of a dual character, or mixed type, which was
in itself in no respect different from former delegations of power.
5. Malin, John Brown and the Legend of Fifty-six. As the title of this book indicates,
the central themes, the facts and the legend about the facts, are contrasted. As background
for this treatment, much of the territorial history of Kansas was rewritten in the perspective
of new manuscript materials.
6. "Webb Scrapbooks," in library of Kansas State Historical Society, v. 15, p. 58.
A clipping from the Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, July 19, 1856, which printed the text of the
Douglas letter.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 471
It was the duty of the United States District Court for the territory
to apply two bodies of legislation; the acts of congress applicable
in the territory, and the acts of the territorial legislature. In Kansas
this traditional arrangement afforded the basis of difficulties, be-
cause the Free-State party, challenging the legality of the election
of the legislature of 1855, repudiated that body and all legislation
enacted by it as illegal — bogus — and refused to obey the territorial
laws, or recognize as legal the county governments and their officers,
created by authority of the territorial legislature. Thus, a situation
was created in which the Free-State people accepted the authority
of the United States District Court and its acts when functioning
under federal law, but questioned the right to enforce territorial
"Bogus" law. By so doing, the Free-State men imposed upon them-
selves a dangerous course, and one that was pursued with only a
limited success.7
At this point, it is in order to insert a word about the structure of
the judiciary. The judge presided over the court. The attorney
for the territory, and the district attorneys, were the law officers
charged with the prosecution of violators of the law. The clerk of
the court kept the records of judicial proceedings. The grand jury
carried out investigations of law violation, with a certain co-operation
of the judge and prosecuting attorney, but the action of the grand
jury in voting indictments was an independent function, under the
foreman as presiding officer, both the judge and the prosecuting
attorney being excluded. Indictments must be prepared and signed,
however, by the district attorney. Upon the voting of an indict-
ment, it must be endorsed by the foreman as a "True Bill," and
presented in open court, when it became a part of the record of the
court in the "Journal." The prosecution before the court then be-
came the responsibility of the district attorney. The marshal served
processes, subpoenas, warrants, and made arrests. The sheriff was
a county officer, having no connection with the United States Dis-
trict Court, unless, perchance, he might be deputized as a marshal,
but if so, his duties would be performed as a deputy marshal, not as
a sheriff. In the following discussion all these individual aspects
of judicial structure, jurisdiction, and procedure, must be carefully
differentiated by the reader, regardless of the confusion introduced
by contemporary controversy.
In the case of the Wakarusa War of November, 1855, Governor
7. Malin, John Brown and the Legend of Fifty-six, Part Three, reviewed for the first
time in Kansas history the problem of the judiciary, although primarily for its bearing on
the Brown problem.
472 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Shannon had called out the militia. The disorders flowing from
that procedure brought instructions to the governor from Washing-
ton that in case military force was required in the future he should
not call the militia, but was authorized to call upon the com-
mandant at Fort Leavenworth for a detail from the regular armed
forces stationed there.
In the incidents of April, 1856, when Sheriff Jones was engaged
in serving warrants, April 19, particularly for S. N. Wood on account
of the Branson rescue, as Wood had just returned to Kansas, some
of the citizens of Lawrence interfered with him. He called upon
the governor for aid, received a detail of regular troops, and made
his arrests April 23. Upon the latter occasion Jones was acting as
Deputy United States Marshal as well as sheriff. After nightfall
of the same day Jones was shot by a Free-State man, but survived.
The presence of Lieutenant Mclntosh and his federal troops had
not afforded protection.
The Howard committee, investigating Kansas troubles, had set
April 24, and the Free-State Hotel in Lawrence, as the time and
place for the contestants for the seat of territorial delegate to con-
gress to present evidence. J. W. Whitfield sent a note, instead of
putting in an appearance, saying "One of my chief witnesses
( Sheriff Jones ) has already been shot; on that account, others who
are here have determined to leave. . . ." He stated also "I am
and shall be unable to get my witnesses to attend the sitting of the
committee at this place; they refusing, and with good reason, to
expose themselves and run the risk of being assassinated whenever
night shuts in, by a lawless band of conspirators." Committee
hearings were continued at the Free-State Hotel through May 12,
except at Tecumseh, May 5-7, moving to Leavenworth for the May
14 session. Thus Reeder's witnesses were heard at Lawrence, and
iVhitfield's witnesses could be heard at Leavenworth or elsewhere.8
This congressional committee episode crystallized further among
Proslavery men and Democrats, the idea of the Emigrant Aid Com-
pany Free-State Hotel as the symbol of Free-State and Republican
party tyranny during the presidential campaign.
During these proceedings, the spring term of Judge Lecompte's
division of the United States District Court convened at Lecompton,
May 5. Conflict of jurisdiction between the court and the congres-
sional committee precipitated a crisis. A. H. Reeder was summoned
to testify before the grand jury, defied the marshal, and was sup-
8. Report of the Special Committee Appointed to Investigate the Troubles in Kansas
(Washington, 1856), pp. 114-121.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 473
ported by a majority of the Howard congressional committee,
before whom he was prosecuting his contest for the seat of delegate.
In the perspective of hindsight, no insuperable obstacle appears
in the scene that should have prevented a conference between the
principals, to provide a schedule by which Reeder could have given
the grand jury a few hours of his time to testify, without disrupting
the proceedings of the congressional investigation. But such quiet
and reasonable conduct would not have made political capital.
On account of the prominence of the personalities involved in this
particular incident, the whole situation deteriorated rapidly. It
was during this period that Lecompte was accused of charging
the grand jury on constructive treason. The treason indictments
were voted, but not upon the doctrine of constructive treason,
warrants were issued, and arrests were made.
Even though somewhat a diversion from the central issue of this
study, certain facts must be placed in the record concerning the
accusation against Lecompte about the treason charge to the grand
jury. The matter was reported to the New York Tribune by "Bost-
wick" and printed, May 19, 1856, under a Lawrence, May 9, dateline.
After reporting what purported to be the text of Lecompte's charge,
Bostwick admitted: "Incredible as the above may seem it is never-
theless, as exact as I can from memory make it, and I assure you it
made a deep impression on my memory'' For almost a century
Bostwick's version, admittedly written out from memory, was ac-
cepted and reprinted again and again, and Lecompte denounced
upon the assumption that the language was Lecompte's; that it was
an authentic document, free from any taint of error, misrepresenta-
tion, or fraud. Lecompte's actual charge to the grand jury is not
incredible, but the use that was made of Bostwick's version would
seem incredible, but for the record of it in books over nearly a cen-
tury beginning with William A. Phillips' Conquest of Kansas ( 1856 ) ,
and Mrs. Sara T. L. Robinson's Kansas: Its Interior and Exterior
Life (1856).
United States Marshal Donaldson became convinced that force
was necessary for the service of papers in Lawrence, and called a
posse. Note should be made at this point that he did not apply to
the governor for aid, but acted under the authority vested directly
in him by act of congress to call upon citizens to act as a posse.
It is this situation that provided the setting for the events of May
21 at Lawrence.
As of 1856, the business district, or principal part of the town
474 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
of Lawrence, did not extend south of Eighth street (Henry street),
less than three blocks on Massachusetts street, and the intersection
of Eighth and Massachusetts streets became the defense line in
September, 1856, difficulties. Marshal Donaldson's posse assembled
and established a camp ground, May 20, 21, on the ridge, possibly
two miles west of the town, or where the ridge broadens west of the
present university campus, and where a water supply from springs
was available. Later the activities of the day moved toward the
point of the hill overlooking the town. This was near Charles
Robinson's house, which occupied a site on what is now the eleven-
hundred block on Louisiana street. The posse was later disbanded,
probably in the vicinity of the main camp. To that point in the
day's events, there appears to be no important disagreements in the
verifiable record.
REPORTS BY KANSAS PROSLAVERY NEWSPAPERS
The next, or the Jones phase of the Lawrence episode, occupied a
separate and distinct status. The Proslavery accounts related that
Jones called the marshal's disbanded posse into his service as a
sheriff's posse to execute processes, including orders from the
grand jury to abate nuisances — the hotel, and the two presses.
Some variants in the language and the significance thereof will be
discussed later.
The reports of three papers are selected as examples, the Leaven-
worth Herald, the Atchison Squatter Sovereign, and the Lecompton
Union. The regular Herald editor was Lucien J. Eastin, certainly
one of the ablest men in territorial Kansas journalism, but when he
was elected to the legislature he secured the services of H. Rives
Pollard, a young Virginian, as associate editor. Pollard turned out
to be a fire-eater, and was with the paper from April 13, 1855, to
October 4, 1856. Thus the Herald for this critical period was not
as conservatively and as ably edited as Eastin himself would have
made it. The Squatter Sovereign was also largely in the hands of
its junior editor, Robert S. Kelley, an extremist. The Lecompton
Union, edited by A. W. Jones, would be found in a moderate position
in relation to the Sovereign. In general the so-called Proslavery
papers were as reliable as Free-State papers in handling the news,
and in some cases more so.9
9. Malin, John Brown and the Legend of Fifty-six, chs. 3, 4, 7, 8; Grassland Historical
Studies . . . (Lawrence, The author, 1950), v. 1, chs. 6, 21; "The Nebraska Question,
1852-1854" (unpublished). In the course of these books, attention has been given to the
question of reliability of these papers, and particularly to the journalistic careers
of Eastin, Kelley, Robert H. Miller, of the Liberty (Mo.) Tribune, and R. T. Van Horn,
of the Kansas City (Mo.) Enterprise.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 475
The Herald of May 24, 1856, devoted its leading editorial to the
"News From Lawrence. Rumor with her ten thousand tongues
has various reports from Lawrence, many of which are untrue,
and others exaggerated. We shall aim to give the most reliable
news, and such as we believe to be true." The resistance given
to Sheriff Jones, and Reeder's defiance of the marshal, was repre-
sented as a declaration that Lawrence "would resist the laws unto
death." And then followed a narrative of the marshal's and Jones'
action. The next week, the leading editorial was again "Lawrence
subdued . . .," but other news competed for attention, especially
the first report, by way of the Westport ( Mo. ) Border Times of the
Pottawatomie massacre.
Some commentary upon these editorials is in order. Although
unequivocal in their Proslavery position, they were moderate in
tone, and recognized the editorial responsibility for sifting the
rumors from "ten thousand tongues." The two editorials differ
in their attribution of motive. In the first the move into town to
destroy the hotel and printing presses was assigned to the men;
but in the second, the responsibility was placed upon Jones, who
was said to have called the men as a sheriff's posse. Two points
were not made clear. Jones was represented as having gone into
town with about 20 men, but there is no accounting for the manner
in which the larger body became involved. The second difficulty
lies in alleging that Jones' objective was disarming Lawrence, but
later, the explanation was made that in destroying the hotel and
presses, he was doing so because they "had been declared nuisances
by the Grand Jury of the County, and their destruction was in
obedience to law." It is important to note that the court and
Judge Lecompte were not implicated by this language. Such a
wording may or may not be significant, but it is a fact nevertheless.
Some later controversies were to turn upon the charge that Le-
compte was personally and officially responsible. An incidental
difference lies also in the accurate statement in the second edi-
torial, that only the printing materials were thrown into the river,
after the presses were broken up.
Both editorials are in agreement, however, on points that are
significant to any interpretation of, not only this episode, but this
period of the Kansas troubles. The focus of Proslavery animosity
was the Emigrant Aid Company, and upon arms which were sup-
posedly supplied by that organization or its associates. Both edi-
torials emphasized the contention that private, as distinguished
476 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
from corporate, property was supposed to have been untouched,
including Robinson's house. In this view of things, however, the
fact was overlooked that the Kansas Free State was strictly private.
Still another error was in evidence in the first editorial, which
designated the owner of the hotel as a "society." In fact, the New
England Emigrant Aid Company was an incorporated business
enterprise, promoted as such, whose shares of stock were sold to
the public with the assurance that they would pay handsome divi-
dends upon the investment, while aiding in making Kansas a free
state. Amos Lawrence, the treasurer of the company, was more
realistic, rebuked his associates for misrepresentations, and himself
advised investors that they should look upon their purchases of
shares as contributions to the cause. But Amos Lawrence did not
get a hearing for his realism and sense of honorable business ethics.
After the failure of the company as a business enterprise became
evident, the fashionable method was to refer to it as a "society,"
in a philanthropic sense. The Herald editorial reflects that con-
fusion which had already become widespread.
The Squatter Sovereign, May 27, 1856, published its story, both
editors apparently having been present, Col. (Dr.) J. H. String-
fellow, the senior editor, in command of infantry. Three points
are important to this story, as related to the purpose alleged: 1. the
surrender of arms; 2. the destruction of nuisances, the hotel and the
printing presses, "they having been declared nuisances by the
grand jury and ordered by the court to be abated, which was done";
3. the disarming of citizens found with arms in their hands. The
article closed with a unique glow of sanctity attributable only to
the unpredictable fertility of Kelley's mind. One must know the
boy intimately to appreciate him to the full, but the following must
suffice:
During the stay in the town some cowardly assassins were discovered in
the act of firing on the posse from concealed places, and as may be immagined,
they met the fate they so richly merited. Except in these instances, there was
no act of violence, and neither persons — though unarmed and at our mercy —
nor property was molested, thus giving the lie to the charge "that our cowardice
alone prevented our destroying the town of Lawrence at any time." With a
force of seven hundred and fifty men, the town disarmed and at our mercy,
we simply executed to the letter what the law decreed, and left as though we
had been to church — by the way, there is no church in Lawrence, but several
free love associations.
Note should be made of the fact that in Kelley's language, both
the grand jury and the court, not Lecompte, were specified as re-
sponsible for the abatement of nuisances.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 477
The Lecompton t/raon, edited by A. W. Jones, and published at
the territorial capital, was aggressively Proslavery, but not as ex-
treme as the Squatter Sovereign. Editor Jones accompanied the
marshal's posse, assembling first near Lecompton, May 20, and
moving to the hill overlooking Lawrence late that afternoon. Ad-
ditional forces arrived early Wednesday morning, May 21, altogether
estimated at 800 men. Except for some difference in the hour of
the day, the sequence of events was similar to other accounts. The
remark was made in connection with the report of Fain's arrest of
three men, that "the town seemed almost forsaken/' Editor Jones
then continued with a description of the Sheriff Jones role in the
afternoon's proceedings. Jones was represented as emaciated, as
a result of his recent wound, scarcely able to sit upon his horse, but
the hero of the men:
Jones had a great many writs in his hands, but could find no one against whom
he held them. He also had an order from the Court to demand the sur-
render of their arms, field and side, and the demolition of the two presses
and the Free State hotel as nuisances.
For emphasis, one other point should be quoted:
Before entering town, our commanders instructed each member of his com-
pany of the consequences befalling the violation of any private property. As
far as we can learn, they attended strictly to these instructions. One act we
regret to mention — the firing of Robinson's house. Although there is but
little doubt as to the real owners of this property, yet it was a private resi-
dence, and should have remained untouched. During the excitement, the
Commissary, Col. Abel, of Atchison City, learned that it was on fire, and
immediately detailed a company to suppress the flames, which was done.
Once afterwards, we understand, Sheriff Jones had the flames suppressed,
and the boys guilty of the act sent immediately to camp; but with regret
we saw the building on fire that night about 10 o'clock. This we saw from
camp, and cannot tell who set it on fire the third time.
The political narrative continued in highly partisan style, relating
the dismissal of Governor Reeder on charges of speculation, his
alleged bargain with the Free-State interest, his appearance in
Washington claiming a seat in congress as delegate from Kansas,
the congressional investigating committee sent out to test "the truth
of these allegations," with the result that "the first day of this session
[of the investigation] witnessed the assassination of an officer of the
law. . . ." In the conflict over Reeder, the congressional com-
mittee gave protection to him in defiance of territorial authority.
The people then decided, according to Editor Jones, to teach
the "Aid Society" better use of their means, than building forts and arming
and equipping men to shed the blood of their fellow beings and involve the
country in civil war.
478 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
We have done what we have done, and would not have anything undone
tliat was done and shall do no more if let alone — so let our doings go forth for
the inspection and criticism of the nation.
At the close, Editor Jones recalled that he had forgotten to men-
tion in its proper place — possibly this was a device of emphasis —
"that the long conjecture of the Free-State Hotel being a fortress,
was found to be true." And then followed a description of the roof,
walls, and four port holes on each side, similar to descriptions
printed earlier in the Free-State journals.10
FREE-STATE HOTEL
In view of the fact that the Free-State Hotel, built by the New
England Emigrant Aid Company, became so conspicuously the focus
of Proslavery hostility, it is important to introduce into the record
some of the evidence about the manner in which Free-State people
publicized that building. On January 25, 1856, a Kansas letter
writer, "W," for the Boston Traveller, dated his communication from
the Free State Hotel:
As I write, the heavy and measured tread of the sentinel, as he paces his
beat on the roof above my head in the midst of a blinding snow storm, re-
minds me that I am at the very focus towards which all eyes are now turned.
And well that may be. This nation, at least the northern portion of it, are
not aware that they are standing on the very brink of a volcano, just ready
to belch forth its destructive torrents. . . .
The correspondent "W" represented Lawrence as being liable to
a surprise attack at any moment:
Gen. Robinson does not sleep at his own house, but takes his quarters here
in this fort[r]ess, and sleeps sometimes in my room, while a company of soldiers
are quartered in another near by. The roof of the building, three stories in
height, has a parapet running all around it, pierced with loop holes, from which
in a street fight there could be poured a most destructive volley of rifle balls. —
The thorough look-out which is being kept, will, we think, prevent us being
taken by surprise and so long as we are supposed to be well and completely
armed and determined to die rather than be taken, to be hacked to pieces by
demons with wood hatchets, they will not meddle with us. — But we need
arms. We must have them. Ammunition; men; all the needs of war. To be pre-
pared for war is the best guarantee of peace. . . ." n
Why the "cloak and dagger" melodrama? Was there any real
danger? Did the Free-State men actually keep up such a vigil?
This is not the place to undertake a full examination of the evidence.
Suffice it to say that little factual evidence is available to support
10. The Lecompton Union story of May 24, 1856, was reprinted in the New York
Daily Tribune, June 7, 1856, and in William A. Phillips' The Conquest of Kansas (Boston,
1856), pp. 304-309.
11. "Webb Scrapbooks," v. 9, p. 115, clipping from Boston Daily Evening Traveller,
February 13, 1856.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 479
"W's" crisis picture. Between the "peace treaty" closing the Waka-
rusa War and the April-May troubles, Kansas was remarkably
quiet.12
On April 12, 1856, the Herald of Freedom, financed in part at least
by the New England Emigrant Aid Company, and edited by G. W.
Brown, printed an article, "The Tree State Hotel' Finished." The
construction work had started in April, 1855. In November when
the Wakarusa War began it was unfinished, but, the article went on
to explain, it benefited "our cause, even in its unfinished condition.
. . . It was into this structure the people intended to retreat, if
driven from every other position, gather around them their house-
hold treasures, and make a last desperate effort in the defence of their
lives and liberties. But fate ordered otherwise."
The article did not explain, but there had been no armed attack
upon Lawrence as the difficulties had been compromised. In the
spring, work on the building was pushed to a conclusion, "and on
this, the Twelfth of April, one year from the day the first spadeful
of dirt was thrown up, the FREE STATE HOTEL is finished." Then
followed the detailed specifications of the basement and three
stories; "stairs leading to roof, which is flat, and affords a fine prome-
nade and a splendid view of the surrounding scenery. There are
thirty or forty port-holes in the walls, which rise above the roof,
plugged up now with stones, which can be knocked out with a blow
of the butt of a Sharp's rifle."
Of course, these two independent statements by Free-State writers
do not prove that the hotel was a fortress; but they do, in an absolute
sense, prove that that assertion was not a Proslavery lie. If it was
not true, then it was a Free-State lie, invented by men closely
identified with the most influential people then directing Free-State
strategy at Lawrence. The publication of such statements to the
world was rash, and a serious error of tactics, even if true, and if
not true, a more severe censure is in order. This was not a melo-
drama played by a group of exuberant children in the barn loft on
a summer afternoon. These were adults, supposedly responsible
for their acts, and they were playing this tragic drama, not from
the stage of a theater, but in real life and to a national audience.
Only a few more days were to pass when, as in a Greek tragedy,
once the participants had made their choices, events moved with a
seemingly fatal precision to the inevitable culminating catastrophe,
and the Proslavery men were to use Free-State boasts in their own
defense as justification for destroying this alleged hotel-fortress.
12. Malin, John Brown and the Legend of Fifty-six.
480 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
NEW YORK TRIBUNE REPORTS
With the destruction of the Free-State presses in Lawrence, the
Free-State cause in the territory was temporarily without a news-
paper, except the Topeka Tribune. The cause was not without
newspaper publicity, however, because there were a substantial
number of letter writers for Eastern newspapers in the territory.
Particularly important were those writing for the New York Tribune,
among whom William A. Phillips, "Our Own Correspondent/' was
pre-eminent, and they injected reality into Greeley's briefing of
the situation to his editor, Dana, already quoted at greater length:
". . . we can only make issues on which to go to the people at
the Presidential election."
Three editorials in the New York Daily Tribune, May 26, 1856,
dealt with the news from Lawrence, and Kansas. The first an-
nounced that:
"The King is dead — Live the King!" Lawrence, the heroic focus and
citadel of Free-State principles and efforts in Kansas, has been devastated and
burned to ashes by the Border Ruffians; but most of its inhabitants still live.
. . . A few bare and tottering chimneys, a charred and blackened waste,
now mark the site. . . .
This editorial closed with the assertion:
All this devastation and butchery, be it remembered, have been performed
in the name and by the authority of the Federal Union. . . . But it is the
United States Marshal who directs and impels the operations by which Law-
rence has been destroyed and Kansas subdued. . . .
The second editorial went further in developing the theme:
The responsibility of arson and murder which last winter Gov. Shannon
declined to take, has been assumed this Spring by the United States officials,
Judge Lecompte and Marshal Donaldson . . . with the full concurrence
of President Pierce.
. . . With two such learned and scrupulous lawyers at the head of the
movement as Judge Lecompte and President Pierce, to say nothing of the
occasional advice of Gushing and Marcy, there cannot be a doubt that the town
of Lawrence has been burned down, and more or less of the inhabitants
butchered, all strictly according to law — at least Border Ruffian law. . . .
Mr. Pierce will thus present himself to the Cincinnati Convention as a
candidate for reelection, sprinkled from head to foot with the blood of the
Free-State men of Kansas, and his whole person illuminated and lighted up with
the blaze of their burning houses.
The following day came another editorial in the New York Trib-
une, based upon a Chicago Tribune story as a text, the latter being
reprinted in the news columns. Emphasis should be focused upon
the differences between this editorial and those of the day before.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 481
The process of retreat, if not retraction, from the assertions of total
destruction was begun. Furthermore, the Kansas fugitives who
reported the Chicago Tribune story had not actually seen what had
occurred at Lawrence.
On May 30 the first mail correspondence, direct from Kansas, was
published in the New York Tribune, under a date line of Leaven-
worth, May 22:
The war has at last begun. The legal bands of men, empowered by Presi-
dential and Territorial authority to "subdue" the settlers of Kansas because they
dared to interfere with the policy of making it a Slave State, have inaugurated
their work by an act of reckless and merciless wickedness. A citizen of Law-
rence, Mr. Wm. Hutchinson, has just come in this morning. He saw the scene
of violence from the opposite side of the river, and learned the particulars
from some men who had been in the posse, and who crossed the Kaw and
left the scene of horror in disgust.
The report continued by speculating upon the extent of the de-
struction by explaining that as the hotel and presses were in the
closest built part of the town, the whole of the town would have
been burned. Again, none of these informants had actually seen
the town in ashes. Furthermore, the internal evidence suggests that
Hutchinson was one of the fugitives whose story provided the basis
for the Chicago Tribune article printed two days earlier.
The Missouri Democrat's (St. Louis) story, "An eye-witness" ac-
count, was printed in the New York Tribune, May 30. The descrip-
tion of the events of May 21 to the point of Jones' afternoon visit
followed approximately the standard sequence, and at that point
"commenced the scenes disgraceful to humanity, destructive to
Kansas, and the end of which God only knows." Demanding the
surrender of cannon and Sharps rifles: "Jones stated he had several
times been resisted in that place — attempts had been made to
assassinate him — and he now declared that he was 'determined to
execute the law if he lost his life/" Pomeroy insisted that the
Sharps rifles were private property, but delivered the cannon. Jones
then notified Colonel Eldridge, the operating proprietor of the hotel,
to remove his furniture by five o'clock because the building was to
be destroyed, "that he was acting strictly under orders. The Grand
Jury at Lecompton had declared the hotel and presses at Lawrence
a nuisance, and ordered him to destroy them." While the furniture
was being removed Jones disposed of the presses, the main body of
the posse having entered the town: "Jones promised in the com-
mencement that no private property should be destroyed. But
33—7724
482 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
houses were broken open and rifled of whatever suited the fancy
of the mob. . . ."
The destruction of the hotel was then described, but the letter
writer brought into the narrative other activities, among which, the
role of Former Sen. David R. Atchison and Colonel Jackson de-
serves special attention.
G. W. Brown's house was twice set on fire, but the blaze was
extinguished:
If his house had burned, several others must certainly have been destroyed,
and there would have been danger of burning nearly half the town. Many of
the mob were bent on destroying every house in the place. . . . Atchison,
it is said, advised moderation. Col. Jackson, of Georgia, with many others,
were opposed to the burning of the hotel. . . .13
Later in this article an important admission of error was made:
"The report that a Free-State man was killed at Lawrence, on the
21st, I think a mistake."
On Saturday, May 31, the Tribune editorialized upon the Kansas
letters printed the previous day, which, it alleged "supplied at length
a connected and authentic account of affairs in Kansas down to the
sack of Lawrence. . . ." After recounting the treason indict-
ments and the gathering of the posse, reference to "occasional mur-
ders" along with accusations against Governor Shannon, the events
of the day, May 21, were recounted, and in relation to the hotel
concluded:
. . . as Judge Lecompte's Grand Jury, the same that found indictments
for high treason, had declared it as well as the printing-offices a nuisance, and
on that ground he was determined to destroy it and them. . . . The print-
ing-offices were also destroyed, the types being thrown into the river, and
the house of the editor of one of the papers set on fire, as also the house of
Governor Robinson. ... All the houses in the town were entered and
plundered, and it was with great difficulty that some of the more discreet
among the leaders of the mob prevented the destruction of every house.
In the nine days' operations of this law-and-order posse, exclusive of the
outrages at Lawrence, fourteen men have been shot at, two killed, and two
desperately wounded, . . . and women treated with shocking barbarity.
The New York Tribune did not print a Sunday paper, so Monday,
June 2, brought a Lawrence story with a May 21 date line — "the par-
tial destruction of Lawrence by an armed Ruffian mob/' the letter
being signed "Potter." Also there was a story, under a St. Louis,
May 26, date line — "Lawrence is destroyed, at least a great part of
it. . . ." But there was no editorial upon these week-end news
13. Another study needs to be made of the role of Atchison, along with an examination
into the origin and the authenticity of the reports of his speech or speeches.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 483
arrivals. That came Tuesday, June 3, in a nine-point summary of the
Lawrence episode:
Our accounts by mail from devastated Lawrence, down to the day after
the descent upon it of the Pro-Slavery army under Sheriff Jones and Marshal
Donaldson, are now complete. . . . [Proslavery and antislavery material
has been printed.] And now we desire to call attention to the leading features
of the whole transaction, as established by the concurrent testimony of the
witnesses and narrators from all sides — namely,
1. The question which has distracted and devastated Kansas is purely one
of Slavery or Freedom. Remove this bone of contention, and there would
be no shadow of contest, and no motive for any. . . .
2. The Free-State party are not struggling for equality and fraternity be-
tween Whites and Negroes. A minority of them would prefer that the Law
should know nothing of a man's color in connection with political rights; but
the majority, who are mainly from the Western States, have decided not to
expose themselves to the false accusation of being "negro-thieves" or "negro-
worshippers," and have enacted that the Free State of Kansas shall be open to
settlement by Whites only.
3. The attack upon Lawrence was purely wanton and malicious. There
were no persons in it that the Territorial authorities really wanted to ar-
rest. . . .
4. No shadow of resistance was offered to this array from first to last. . . .
Most of the furniture [of the hotel] appears in the interim to have been re-
moved. . . . The offices of the two Free-State newspapers were sacked
and their printing materials thrown into the river. Governor Robinson's house
was fired and burned, "but not by authority," says a Pro-Slavery bulletin.
5. There being absolutely no resistance to any of these outrages, only
two persons were killed. One was a man who was in Gov. Robinson's house
when it was fired, and who thereupon ran out, and, not halting when required
to do so, was shot by the incendiaries. The other was a member of the posse,
who fired a rifle-ball at the chimney of said house, and thereby dislodged a
stone, which fell on his head, and finished him.
6. The value of the property destroyed by the posse in Lawrence is vaguely
estimated at $100,000. The principal sufferers are the owners of the Free State
Hotel. . . . Gov. Robinson's loss is heavy: that of the newspaper offices
is total.
7. The posse was made up in good part of the seven or eight hundred
Southerners, collected from South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia, and led
into Kansas two months since by Major Buford . . . but not many resi-
dents of Missouri, so far as has yet been ascertained. Thus Missouri has been
relieved by her Southern sisters in the work of subduing Kansas.
8. All this has been done in the name of Law, and under the authority
of the United States. . . . [Chain of command allegedly responsible:
Pierce, Douglas, Shannon.]
9. The leading object of the Ruffians clearly is the expulsion from Kansas,
by violence and terror, of the bolder and more outspoken portion of the Free-
State settlers, the complete subjugation of the residue. . . .
People of the Free States! will you consider?
484 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The instance of charges that women were treated with "shocking
barbarity," made in the May 31 editorial, is one of the rare instances
of that kind. The nature of the offences were not specified. In that
connection, one commentary is in order. Throughout the whole of
the Kansas-Missouri border troubles, crimes against women, or even
charges of such, by either side were virtually nonexistent. In a
region disorganized by bitter controversy as this area was, and over
so long a period of time, such an undisputable fact becomes one of
the remarkable aspects of border troubles, and should give partisan
controversalists pause. Just how much "disorder" did actually occur,
and to what extent did it endanger the rank and file of citizens intent
upon establishing a farm or business in Kansas?
By the June 7 issue, the editorial retreat of the Tribune was vir-
tually completed, and to divert attention and save face a new
rationalization was advanced. The occasion was the printing of
the Lecompton Union story of the Lawrence affair printed by that
paper May 24, and summarized earlier in this article. After urging
Tribune readers to read the Union account, the editor continued:
When the news first came by Telegraph that Lawrence had been attacked
and burned, we thought the outrage must arouse the country; but, now that we
have learned that there was no shadow of resistance to the Ruffians, and that
their destruction of the great Hotel and the two printing offices were judicial acts,
based upon the finding of a Grand Jury, it seems to us that the outrage was
graver and the iniquity more heinous than if the whole town had been burned
in or after a fray, as at first reported. We dare the journals which favor the
Border-Ruffian interest to copy this bulletin of their Kansas ally [The Lecomp-
ton Union], . . .
Having been obliged to admit that Lawrence had not been
burned, and that influential men, called Border Ruffians, had used
their influence to restrain the mob and to save not only the town,
but even the printing equipment and the hotel, a number of em-
barrassing questions were raised. If armed resistance was not a
part of the program, why had the Free-State men carried on a cam-
paign for approximately a year to collect money for cannon, Sharps
rifles, ammunition, to organize and drill military companies, and,
as their own writers claimed, construct the hotel in such a manner as
to serve as a fortress in which they could make a last desperate
stand? How could nonresistance now be made a major virtue?
Furthermore, now that the first sensational charges had broken
down, why were the Free-State men singling out the judiciary and
Judge Lecompte as a particular scapegoat, along with pinning the
responsibility for Kansas troubles upon the federal government at
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 485
Washington for presidential campaign purposes? Was it that the
writers were ignorant of law, of judicial organization, of judicial
procedure, as well as careless of facts?
The technique employed by the Tribune editorials has been given
a name in the mid-twentieth century — the Big Lie technique. The
form is always the same, a simple, blanket accusation, total in its
coverage: "Lawrence . . . burned to ashes. . . ." Step by
step that was narrowed down to the point where only two buildings
were identified as destroyed, the hotel, and Robinson's house. At
first, a large number of the inhabitants were reported killed, but
finally the admission was made that not one Free-State man in Law-
rence lost his life. But the first startling accusation, not the correc-
tions, lodged in the public mind. Various contradictory news stories
followed, and after the facts became available, the Tribune con-
tinued to publish sensational falsehoods. Its correspondent in
Kansas wrote, May 31, printed June 11:
Lawrence wore a changed aspect when I entered it yesterday, to what it
used to wear as the citadel of Freedom in Kansas. It was not only in the
blackened ruins of the buildings that had been burned or in the destruction and
loss that had been sustained by the inhabitants, but it no longer wore the look
of security and energetic prosperity.
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN POLITICS AGAIN
In June, 1856, the national nominating conventions met. The
Democrats met at Cincinnati, June 2, and nominated James Bu-
chanan, of Pennsylvania. The Republicans met, June 17, at Phila-
delphia and there completed the coalition with antislavery Americans
( Know-Nothings ) , nominating Fremont, according to the plans
outlined in the Banks and Fremont letters to Charles Robinson.
Kansas had nine delegates seated in the convention, and they were
conspicuous, though not influential in the convention scene. But
the Kansas issue as personifying the antislavery impulse was the
only major one upon which the otherwise incongruous antiadminis-
tration factions could unite. Kansas was essential to the campaign
until November.
The bill to admit Kansas as a state under the Topeka constitution
was immediately brought forward, and under the Banks speakership,
passed the house, July 3. In the Democratic-controlled senate, Rob-
ert Toombs, of Georgia, proposed an amendment to the Douglas bill
of March 17, which was so framed as to "save faces" all around,
and to concede the essential points to the Free-State contention. It
proposed a fair settlement, which would have removed the Kansas
486 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
issue from the presidential campaign. That was the purpose of
the Pierce administration. The senate debate focus on this issue
came June 25 to July 2. Northern men brought about its defeat,
and "Bleeding Kansas" continued as the campaign issue. The
tactical weakness in the case for the administration lies in the fact
that the Toombs compromise, or something equivalent, was not
proposed in December, 1855, after the Wakarusa War, and immedi-
ately upon the convening of congress. But that had not happened,
and therefore is not history.
COLFAX CHARGES AND LECOMPTE DEFENSE
On June 21, 1856, in the United States House of Representatives,
Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, delivered a one-hour speech, his point
of departure being an amendment he offered to the army appropri-
ation bill, the house being in committee of the whole. The amend-
ment proposed that congress disapprove the code of laws adopted
by the legislature of the territory of Kansas; disapprove also the
manner in which they had been administered, and declared that
until affirmed by the congress, no part of the military force of the
United States be employed in aid of their enforcement and that
no citizen be required, under their provisions, to act as a part of a
posse comitatus under any officer acting as a marshal or sheriff in
the territory of Kansas. Although his speech was directed primarily
at the code of laws, Colfax turned first to attack the manner in which
they were administered and enforced. Murder after murder had
been committed, he charged, "but you have not heard of one single
attempt by any court in that Territory to indict any one of those
murderers . . . neither the territorial nor the General Govern-
ment inquire into the crimes they have committed. . . ." Phelps,
of Missouri, interrupted to inquire whether or not the Free-State
men refused to obey the courts — "Those very witnesses, who are in
opposition to those laws, refuse to go before the [grand] jury and
testify as to those offenses of which they are cognizant/' Colfax
replied that "The Free-State people of Kansas recognize all the
United States courts in that Territory, and they render full allegiance
to the United States authorities/' He charged that the chief justice,
Lecompte, in his charges to the grand juries, had not, so far as he
had heard, ever called attention to the murders, and to the fact
that the murderers were at large and honored by the territorial au-
thorities. Phelps pressed his point against Coif ax's evasion but the
latter pleaded encroachment upon his limited time and proceeded
with his attack upon Lecompte.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 487
Colfax adopted the technique first of enumerating things he did
not impute to Lecompte; lack of moral character, or lack of judicial
ability, or willful and corrupt violation of his oath — those points, he
asserted would be answered authoritatively by a vote for Lecompte's
impeachment. Colfax declined to comment upon Lecompte's Dra-
conian severity "against all who advocated freedom for Kansas."
By this negative technique, Colfax accomplished his intended smear,
without leaving any opening for a reply. He then turned to positive
charges, pointing to self-interest on the part of territorial officers,
including Lecompte, in charters granted by the territorial legisla-
ture. Colfax then quoted from the National Intelligencer, Washing-
ton, June 5, the report of Lecompte's alleged charge to the grand
jury on constructive treason. In criticism of such a concept of con-
structive treason, Colfax quoted the provisions of the United States
constitution on treason, thus setting up a straw man and knocking
him down.
Colfax then reviewed his version of the indictment and arrest of
Charles Robinson and others for treason, their confinement, denial
of bail, etc. :
When the defenders of these proceedings ask us to trust to the impartiality of
courts, I answer them by pointing to this charge, and also to the judicial de-
crees of the Territory, by authority of which numbers of faithful citizens of the
United States have been indicted, imprisoned, and harassed — by authority
of which the town of Lawrence was sacked and bombarded — by authority of
which printing presses were destroyed, without legal notice to their owners,
and costly buildings cannonaded and consumed without giving the slightest
opportunity to their proprietors to be heard in opposition to these decrees; all
part and parcel of the plot to drive out the friends of freedom from the Territory,
so that slavery might take unresisted possession of its villages and plains.
Colfax then attacked the jury system, charging the packing of
juries by the sheriffs and marshals — again ignoring Phelps* challenge
to show to what extent Free-State men refused to recognize the
courts or to serve on juries or to testify before grand juries or in
open court. Colfax later took up separate sections of the territorial
code. On freedom of the press, he declared:
Probably under this provision, as well as the charge of high treason, George W.
Brown, editor of the Herald of Freedom, at Lawrence, has, after his printing
press has been destroyed by the order of Judge Lecompte's court, been himself
indicted, and is now imprisoned, awaiting trial. . . .
Note that this charge was introduced by the word "probably."
Then, calling attention to the section of the territorial code author-
izing the hiring of convicts, Colfax predicted that, unless executed
for treason, Charles Robinson, with ball and chain, could be hired
488 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
out to Governor Shannon, to perform menial labor; "And Judge
Lecompte, would have the privilege, too, and would, doubtless,
exercise it, of having Judge Wakefield as his hired serf. . . ." 14
On July 23, 1856, toward the end of a long speech on "The Slavery
Question/' Rep. James A. Stewart, of Maryland, came to the defense
of Judge Lecompte:
If the President or Chief Justice Lecompte has transcended the limits of his
official duties, with criminal intent to oppress the most obscure citizen, why not
boldly, and as true patriots, bring up your impeachments? Why snarl at them,
when you have the right to make out your bills of indictment? I submit, if it is
right, fair, or manly, to assault official authority, and attempt to bring it into
disrepute, when you have ample remedy, by putting them on their trial, giving
them the power of vindication; and this you decline?
I have said that I believe the President has fearlessly discharged his duty,
and the country will so esteem it. I happen to know Judge Lecompte. He is,
I doubt not, a fearless, firm, and impartial officer, and I am sure will discharge
his high duties faithfully and promptly. I am satisfied, in his responsible
station, he will meet all its requirements as the exigencies of the occasion
may deserve. He is not a man to be badgered or browbeaten. He is a sound
lawyer, and I take it, will so carry himself in his honorable position, as to defy
any well-grounded charge of breach of duty. It is abominable to endeavor to
tarnish his official standing by mere partisan allegation. I dare say similar
testimonials may be borne as to all the territorial judges and officers.
Stewart took the ground that the controversy was a "tempest in a
teapot," and continued: "Where has there been intolerable oppres-
sion in Kansas, and where have all the remedies been resorted to?"
His point was that for such wrongs as were alleged there were legal
remedies :
Congress has not been petitioned for redress by these Topeka constitution
and revolution mongers. The legality of the proceedings of the Kansas Legisla-
ture may be tried before the courts. The much-abused Kansas-Nebraska act,
in the twenty-seventh section, provides an appeal from the court in Kansas,
from Judge Lecompte's, if you please, to the Supreme Court. You can test
the frauds that you say have disturbed you, by bringing the whole subject
before the Supreme Court of the United States. This you can do, even under
the habeas corpus proceedings, recognized by the said section. If, then, there
has been fraud, outrage, violence, and if the Legislature itself is unauthorized,
and its whole proceedings void, why is not the legal and orderly method, and
the only satisfactory one, except the ballot-box, resorted to, in place of revolu-
tion, anarchy, and bloodshed? By pursuing this mode, order and regularity
in all our proceedings are observed. Because this has not been done, I am
right in assuming that the founders of the Topeka constitution are clearly in
the wrong, and upon their own heads, with their coadjutors, does all the
responsibility rest. . . ,15
14. Congressional Globe, Appendix, 34 Cong., 1 Sess., pp. 641-647, at 641-645.
15. Ibid., pp. 982-993, at 989.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 489
The amazing thing is that the responsibility was fastened upon
Judge Lecompte, and that no one in the territory, not even the Pro-
slavery men, came to his defense in the newspapers, during the sum-
mer of 1856, to explain the errors, and set the record straight in such
a manner as to exonerate Lecompte. Certainly, no lawyer, Pro-
slavery or Free-State, practicing in the district court of Kansas, or
acquainted with judicial procedures, but knew the major facts and
was quite aware that they did not support the charges. The Free-
State men referred to Lecompte as the American Jeffries. On the
contrary, he had been reluctant to exceed the legal authority dele-
gated to a judge, but upon occasion had done so in order to protect
Free-State men. Had Lecompte done the things in his official capac-
ity, which Free-State men insisted he should have done, he would
indeed have qualified as an American Jeffries tyrannizing over Pro-
slavery men. The only thing antislavery and Proslavery men would
have been satisfied with in Kansas during this period would have
been aggressive partisanship in promoting their respective causes.
In relation to most of their charges against Lecompte, from both
sides, the focus of the grievance against him was that he refused
to adopt that abuse of the judicial function. In other of the differ-
ences between them the issue turned upon principles of policy that
were legitimately subject to honest difference of opinion. Upon
occasion, all men are liable to errors of judgment, and Lecompte
was no exception, but even in that area caution needs to be exercised
in rendering verdicts, because such historical verdicts may in fact
only convict the historian of an unconscious captivity to prejudice,
and at the same time vindicate Lecompte.
In 1856 Samuel D. Lecompte was 41 years of age, with well-estab-
lished political and professional connections in his native Maryland.
The Colfax attack upon him in the congress, and Stewart's defense,
afforded him an opportunity to make a public explanation of his
official acts in Kansas. This defense took the form of a letter to
Stewart, dated August 1, 1856, which was released to the press.
Among the several contemporary printings, it appeared in the St.
Louis Republican, September 13, and in the Kansas Weekly Herald,
Leavenworth, September 27, 1856. It was never made available
generally to students of Kansas history, however, because it was
omitted from the documents printed by the Kansas State Historical
Society in its Collections, v. 4, although a copy was an integral part
of the archives of the office of the territorial governor.16
16. See the explanation of this omission, Kansas Historical Collections, v. 4, p. 603.
Contrary to the statement in that note that it was a private letter, the fact should be
490 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The letter is too long to summarize here, and furthermore, it
dealt with the whole of Lecompte's judicial career to that date.
Some of the setting must be presented, however, although the focus
of this discussion is the single episode of the "sack of Lawrence." In
review of his tenure of judicial office, Lecompte recited that he had
arrived in Kansas early in December, 1854, with his wife, five chil-
dren, and two Negro women, and he had not been out of the territory
or out of his district, except as specified in detail. He recognized
different categories of charges against him and gave brief attention
first to the indefinite and anonymous ones:
That there is not a solitary specific charge by any individual of character, or,
indeed, by any individual of name, might be relied upon as sufficient reply to
these questions.
I think I could safely rest upon the mere absurdity and palpable falsity of
some of those anonymously made, to discredit all, at least until, in a tangible
form, they shall have been presented by some responsible person.
Surely to every one who knows me, the report that I was seen in a wagon
with a cannon and a barrel of whiskey, heading a company of the Marshal's
posse, carries its own refutation.
Other similar instances reported in the New York Tribune or like
places, such as the packing of the McCrae jury and the constructive
treason charge to the grand jury, he would pass over. Of a different
category, however, were the charges made by Colfax in his speech
in congress and the report of the Howard committee on Kansas
troubles, appointed by the house of representatives. Only recently
had he seen a copy of the Colfax speech, and he had seen only what
purported to be the conclusions of the committee. The third of
these Howard committee conclusions was quoted: "That these
alleged laws have not, as a general thing, been used to protect per-
sons and property, and to punish wrong, but for unlawful purposes/'
In the course of his denial Lecompte said "I put against it an
unequivocal and contemptuous denial, and denounce it as a wanton
and gross slander. . . ." Then in addition to the general denial,
Lecompte reviewed one by one the more prominent cases in his court
by name, describing the circumstances and disposition of each. He
described how he had taken the initiative in action on more than
one occasion to keep the peace and to insure justice regardless of
party. Also, he reminded the public of how he and General Rich-
ardson had slept in the passage in front of Charles Robinson's door
in Leavenworth to protect him from violence.
pointed out that Lecompte's letter of October 6, 1856, was an official reply to Governor
Geary s official inquiry, and the Lecompte letter to Stewart was an enclosure incorporated
into that reply to Geary, and thus, regardless of its original purpose, it became an integral
part of Lecompte's official letter of October 6, which should have been printed in the
"Executive Minutes of Governor Geary."
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 491
A challenge was made to the Howard committee, and to Golf ax:
Let the records of the Courts of my District be examined, let my judgment
be re-opened and canvassed, let every judicial act be tried. Let every criminal
trial be reheard, and let every individual sentiment be spread out, and I am
content to abide the result.
There is a mode of trial, and they know it. Mr. Colfax alluded to it in his
speech in Congress. Let them impeach me. The committee threatened it when
here, and on account of the process from my Court against Ex-Governor A. H.
Reeder. I could not, indeed, but feel dishonored by it — its expense might,
indeed, be ruinous . . . but ... I feel that its result would repay
in infinite satisfaction. It is very true that I might anticipate perjury to be
added to the turpitude of deliberate falsehood, but I must abjure a long fixed
faith in God and truth before I could fear any combination of such atrocities
before an honorable and enlightened tribunal.
In this part of the letter, Lecompte made an extended analysis of
the issue of treason and his charge to the grand jury, showing how
the idea of constructive treason was illegal. In this Lecompte was in
full agreement with his detractors, only Lecompte insisted that the
charge of constructive treason was purely a Free-State invention.
Lecompte had made the mistake of giving the charge to the grand
jury orally, but he insisted that "The indictments as found will show
that both the District Attorney of the United States, who prepared,
and the grand jury, who found them, understood me as I have stated.
. . . For their soundness I shall cheerfully submit them to be
tested by the highest authorities."
Then turning to the Colfax charge relative to the "sack of Law-
rence," Lecompte quoted him in full and pointed out that the laws
of the United States defined the authority of the courts in Kansas
and "It was under the authority of the Marshal thus rightfully exer-
cised, and not of the Court, that his posse went to Lawrence."
As to the rest of the charges, this is all that occurred. The Grand Jury sitting
al the time made presentment of the presses and of the hotel in Lawrence, as
nuisances, and that presentment still lies in Court. No time for action on it
existed — none has been had — no order passed — no decree made — nothing done,
and nothing even dreamed of being done, because nothing could be rightly
done but upon the finding of a petit jury.
At two points in particular in his letter Lecompte undertook to be
facetious, but succeeded only in showing bad taste. These devia-
tions were only minor, but regrettable from the standpoint of what
otherwise was a rather able defense. In the final paragraphs, Le-
compte challenged Colfax to specify cases, give the names of per-
sons unjustly treated. In the course of his castigation of Colfax for
his irresponsible charges and unethical tactics on the floor of con-
gress, Lecompte asked:
492 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
But why not, Mr. Colfax, manfully and directly charge moral depravity and
adduce the facts to sustain it? Why disclaim, but by inuendo and directly
make deadly thrusts? The facts do not exist.
In closing, Lecompte called attention to the unfavorable condi-
tions under which a judge found it necessary to work in Kansas:
novel cases, unsettled conditions, travel in circuit, little access to law
books, and little aid from the bar:
The mixed system provided by Territorial and Federal legislation — a jurisdic-
tion like that of County and Circuit Courts of the States, with the addition of
that conferred upon the Circuit and District Courts of the United States — will
not fail to impress with awe and apprehension of inadequacy any one not vain
to rashness.
CONCLUSIONS
Later in the year, when Geary became governor, he addressed
letters of inquiry to the judges in Kansas asking for an accounting
of their stewardship. As a matter of legal principle, Lecompte
questioned the right of the executive branch to treat the judiciary
as "his subordinates in office," but, out of "high respect," and a desire
for the "restoration of order," Lecompte, in a letter dated October 6,
1856, reviewed the judicial record of Leavenworth county, the
records for the other counties not being available at that place. A
postscript related to the disposition of the treason cases in Douglas
county, and the reasons for releasing the prisoners on bail. It was
upon this occasion that a copy of his letter to Stewart was made a
part of his report.
Lecompte was not a man to be intimidated, and besides challeng-
ing Geary's right to interrogate the independent judiciary, he defined
and defended his rights on other counts:
As to the charge of "party bias," if it means simply the fact of such bias,
I regard it as ridiculous; because I suppose every man in this country, with
very few exceptions, indeed, entitled to respect either for his abilities, his intelli-
gence, or his virtue, has a "party bias." I am proud of mine. . . .
If it be intended to reach beyond that general application, and to charge a
proslavery bias, I am proud, too, of this. ... I love the institution as
entwining around all my early and late associations; . . .
If it means more than the fact, and to intimate that this "party bias" has
affected the integrity of my official action, in any solitary case, I have but to say
that it is false — basely false.17
As an outgrowth of the Geary-Lecompte quarrel later in the year,
which centered upon the Hayes-Buffum murder case, Lecompte
composed two letters of defense, one to Sen. James A. Pearce of
Maryland, dated December 23, 1856, and one to Caleb Gushing,
17. Kansas Historical Collections, v. 4, pp. 602-607.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 493
attorney general of the United States, dated January 9, 1857, but
neither reviewed the issues of the "sack of Lawrence." The Pearce
letter did, however, challenge indirectly, the President's constitu-
tional power to remove him. As in challenging Geary, the issue
raised was the independence of the judiciary.18 In the letter to
Gushing, Lecompte challenged Pierce's attempt to remove him
without prefering charges, or holding hearings to determine facts.
The defeat in the senate of the confirmation of his successor left
Lecompte in office, but without the opportunity of vindication.
Kansas territorial history has been written upon a premise that
vitiates most conclusions about it — the overriding assumption that
Kansas would have been made a slave state but for the antislavery
crusade. Those acquainted with the theater of the 19th century
will recognize the stereotype melodrama routine — the rescue by the
hero of the heroine from ruin at the hands of the villain by a tense
split-second margin. When Kansas became a free territory and
later a free state, that outcome was taken as proof positive of the
validity of the premise, and of the cause-effect sequence. The whole
procedure is unsound as scientific method, and a travesty on pro-
cedural logic. No conclusive evidence has ever been brought for-
ward to prove that Kansas would or would not have been a slave
state in any case; or even if it had been nominally a slave state, to
demonstrate what the nature of the slave society would have been
in this geographical setting of space and time. Excluding for the
moment the moral issue, what conditions, if any, were there in the
situation, as of the 1850's, that would have made slavery a desirable
or undesirable institution in Kansas? What changes were taking
place in the structure of society, independently of slavery — mechani-
cal versus muscle power? What was the status of slavery and
trends in the United States and elsewhere in the world? Once such
questions are raised, the whole structure of Kansas history, or United
States history centering on the Kansas question of the 1850's, col-
lapses like a house of cards.
As a matter of historical method, the historian has no right to
enter upon the investigation of any historical subject except as an
object of study in its own right. Every presumption he encounters
in the search for fact, relationship, and interpretation must be sub-
jected to rigorous analysis to test its validity. Only when he has
canvassed the whole situation, to the extent of his available re-
sources, is he ready to draw conclusions from his study, subject to
18. Ibid., pp. 726-729; Senate Ex. Doc. No. 60 (serial no. 881), 34 Cong. 3 Sess.
(1856-1857).
494 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
rigorous tests for flaws in every aspect of his plans for organization,
of facts, and of his reasoning from them. Above all, he must be
ever willing to admit that, upon the basis of the evidence available,
there are many questions to which he does not know the answer.
To some of these questions, an answer is impossible. He must be
willing to join with Lecompte in admitting a feeling of "awe and
apprehension of inadequacy [on the part of] anyone not vain to
rashness."
[Part Two, "The Historical Phase" Will Appear in the
November, 1953, Issue.]
Midwestern Attitudes on the "Kansas Fever"
Edited by PHILIP D. UZEE
INTRODUCTION
IN 1879-1880 many Negroes and some whites in Louisiana and
other cotton growing Southern states were afflicted with "Kansas
Fever." Due to the crop lien system which kept many in a state of
peonage and because they were being intimidated out of their
political rights by "bulldozing," thousands of Negroes emigrated
to Kansas and its neighboring states and territories.1 They desired
to move to these areas because they believed they could improve
their economic and political status. Many were lured to the Mid-
west by unscrupulous opportunists who spread glowing stories, false
promises, circulars, and chromos depicting opportunities and life in
Kansas in order to fleece them out of what little money they had
through dues-paying emigrant societies or by other schemes.2
The southern white leaders and the intelligent Negro leaders
opposed the moving of the labor force out of the region.3 Many of
the immigrants were unskilled laborers and poverty stricken and
had to be taken care of by private individuals or public agencies in
Kansas. The people of Kansas began to oppose the immigration
of destitute and unskilled Negroes.4 The following letters from
Kansas and Nebraska reflect this attitude.
These letters were published in The Weekly Louisianian, a New
Orleans newspaper published by Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinch-
back, a Negro Republican leader and former acting governor of
Louisiana during the days of Radical rule. The only file of the
newspaper is in the Library of Congress, but the Hill Memorial
Library of the Louisiana State University has microfilm copies. The
newspaper was opposed to the exodus movement.
PHILIP D. UZEE is an instructor in history at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge,
La.
1. Earl Howard Aiken, "Kansas Fever," unpublished master's thesis (Louisiana State
University, Baton Rouge, 1939), pp. 3-11; Morgan Dewey Peoples, "Negro Migration From
the Lower Mississippi Valley to Kansas," unpublished master's thesis (Louisiana State Uni-
versity, Baton Rouge, 1950), pp. 2, 10-15, 19-32.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Movement of the colored people out of Louisiana and other parts of the
South was not directed at Kansas alone, although this state, because of the publicity, received
a large number. The Negro exodus, so far as it was a movement of Negroes out of the South,
was directed at practically all of the Northern states. Indiana, Pennsylvania and New York
received many. In fact several large Northern cities were a promised land to these wan-
derers. In absolute numbers, however, Arkansas received the largest increase of Negroes
from other states during the 1870's as shown by the U. S. census reports of 1870 and 1880.
2. Aiken, op. cit., pp. 16-18; Peoples, op. cit., pp. 16-19.
3. Ibid., pp. 16. 42-47.
4. Ibid., pp. 54-60.
(495)
496 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The sole identification of "H. O. B.," the author of the first letter,
that was given by the editor of the Louisianian is: "The following
letter comes from a well known colored citizen of Kansas, whose
honor and integrity are unquestionable." 5
THE LETTERS
ATCHISON, MAY 18TH. 1879
EDITOR OF LOUISIANIAN:
Having been a constant reader of your valuable paper, we
heartily approve the manly course it has pursued, especially upon
the emigration question. Kansas has enough and to spare of un-
skilled labor. We want mechanics, we want tradesmen, we want
men of means to come into our State and take up lands and become
tax payers and help to build up the State.
Kansas is adapted to stock raising and to the production of grain.
It is a grain country. Cotton will not grow here, so that emigrants
coming here from the South skilled only in the production of cotton
and sugar cane, will be a failure. They know nothing of our system
of farming.
Kansas farmers are men of moderate means, and generally do
their own work, so that labor is never in great demand. The govern-
ment lands are out on the frontier counties generally, and from fifty
to one hundred miles from timber. Parties setling [sic] upon these
lands must have money to buy wood and other necessaries for the
sustenance of life. They must have a good two horse team or an
ox team to break up the land preparatory for using; unless they
have these necessaries they will suffer. It is nonsense to believe that
the government is going to give a mule or anything of the kind. Any
person circulating such a report among the colored people of the
South, ought to be hung to the nearest tree.
Of the 8,000 colored people who have come into the State during
the last four months, a very few have been able to settle upon gov-
ernment lands. The balance have been distributed among the sev-
eral counties. They are in some instances scattered hundreds of
miles apart, and as they are very ignorant it is fair to presume that
they will never be able to find their friends and relatives again. We
have had landed at our wharf 300 of these poor, ignorant, penniless
and dejected people. They were very dirty and ragged and in a
destitute condition. They were cared for by our people irrespective
of party, creed, or nationality. Of this number 75 remain in the city,
5. The Weekly Louisianian, New Orleans, May 24, 1879.
ATTITUDES ON THE "KANSAS FEVER" 497
the balance have been sent to other counties and cities where their
labor is in a great demand.
During the last 18 months we have had squads of Kentuckians
coming into our city. They seem to be a better set, more intelligent,
more industrious than those coming from the South. These Ken-
tuckians do not come among us as beggars and paupers, so that
upon the whole they are more a blessing than a curse.
I see that Mr. Rugle of your city is here and is registered at the
Otis house. He comes for the purpose of carrying back such as are
willing to go — he paying their fare. I presume that there are sev-
eral who have been convinced ere this, that Kansas is not the prom-
ised land they are looking for. I am very sorry for these poor de-
luded people. The sole cause is the kind of religion they practice,
and the only remedy is education.
H. O. B.
N. P. N. D.
HON. ALEXANDRE NOGUEZ; LOUISIANA STATE CONSTITUTIONAL CON-
VENTION NEW ORLEANS, LA.6
I was agreeably surprised on the morning of the 7th. inst. by
being made the recipient of a letter from you, asking what the future
prospects of this State [Nebraska] as well as the adjoining State of
Kansas, and the Indian, Arizonian and New Mexican Territories —
may be; and what opportunities they may afford for many of your
( colored ) people who are looking hopefully toward them as places
of refuge, peace and future prosperity.
Your reliance on me for an unvarnished statement of the facts
relative to which you ask information is duly appreciated and in a
spirit void of partiality or prejudice.
The news-papers have contained almost daily accounts of the
migratory spirit which seems to have seized so strongly upon the
colored population of the South, and I well know the cause of it;
and that neither the whites or blacks are free from blame, for
having each been, more or less, party to the cause.
You also say that some whites are emigrating. I imagine certain
of them cannot leave too soon for their advantage.
6. "Hon. Alex. Noguez of Avoyelles [Parish, La.] having received numerous letters
from his constituents in regard to Kansas, and being desirous of advising them wisely upon
this as upon every subject affecting their welfare, wrote to Mr. E. D. McLaughlin, at one
time a resident of Marksville [parish seat of Avoyelles] and connected with one of the oldest
and most respectable Creole families of the State — a gentleman of character and integrity,
and now engaged in the practice of law at Omaha, Nebraska — to send him such information
as might be of service to colored people disposed to migrate to that section of the country."
Weekly Louisianian, July 26, 1879. Alexandre Noguez was a Negro delegate to the Louis-
iana State Constitutional Convention in 1879 then in session in New Orleans.
34_7724
498 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
But the cause has transpired, and is thought by many good men
to be irremediable. It has at least had the effect of producing the
exodus excitement; and here let us drop it to consider what may be
done with the people now residing in the South — of whatever caste,
class, color, condition, or nativity — who consider it unprofitable and
unconducive to longevity to remain in Dixie.
You say that three hundred colored people leave the City of New
Orleans, alone, every week; or some twelve hundred per month.
Add to that number one hundred and fifty persons per week from
other parts of Louisiana, and we have eighteen hundred per month,
or twenty-one thousand six hundred per year, from that State alone.
Then add for the States of Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Georgia,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas,
each a like number, and we find that nearly two hundred thousand
persons will have left the South — principally from the cotton and
grain fields, during an excitement of only a twelve month duration.
Now this State and Kansas are large in territory, fertile in soil,
healthful in climate, and cannot be surpassed in general natural
resources by any states of the American Union. They are in great
part thinly populated.
Much the same might be said of the State of Colorado, and the
Territories of Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wash-
ington, and Wyoming. The Indian Territory has not been opened
to settlement by other than Indian tribes, and I hope never will be
while there are such to occupy it; for I am one of those who believe
the Government of this Country should keep its pledges inviolate,
though made to persons unable to enforce them.
The other States and Territories I have mentioned can easily
absorb as many of the right kind of persons, coming in the right
spirit, and duly prepared, as would leave the whole South during a
year; even if they equalled the grand aggregate we have computed;
without their numbers being noticed, or anyone's elbow-room being
interfered with.
By right kind, I mean honest men and women. By right spirit,
those who are willing and determined to gain the necessaries of life,
and to that end will begin work with the rising, and end it with
the setting sun, doing a fair day's labor every working day of the
year, no half Saturdays excepted. By duly prepared, I mean having
at least sufficient means to support themselves while they are look-
ing for permanent homes, or employment.
The regular vocations are open to all those who wish — and are
ATTITUDES ON THE "KANSAS FEVER" 499
able — to avail themselves of the opportunities, they afford; but
farm labor is what is especially in demand.
There is a class of colored people with which the North (and I
may also say the South) is over-stocked. I allude to, what, in
southern parlance would be styled the "city nigger"; who is gener-
ally speaking, a barber, hotel porter, waiter or cook, or swaggering
beer guzzling gambler, or impudent bawdy house pimp.
Of course there are very worthy and honorable exceptions, but
so many of the worst element among the colored people have
flocked to the Cities and Towns, that here in the north-west they
are exciting even republicans to say "if there be the characteristics
of the descendents of Ham, we don't want any more of them
amongst us." Such had better, stay where they are; for this busy
north-western hive sometimes gives its drones short shrift.
Lands can be had, (where they are in the market,) at all prices
from $1.25 to $50.00 per acre, in tracts of any regular sub-division of
a section from ten acres to six hundred and forty, by pre-emption,
homestead, or purchase at private sale.
There are certain things no colored man need expect who flees
from a southern state, and I will enumerate a few of them.
There will not be given him 160 acres of land and the teams and
implements for culture. Nor will he be given food and clothing.
Neither will the people rush with open arms to receive and embrace
him. — They don't do after that fashion with the whites who come
among them — And they must not expect so much personal social
intimacy with the white people, as they may have been used to in
their southern homes.
They will also find that their chances for official distinctions are
exceedingly rare, and are like to remain so for many generations.
But as a compensation for these things of which they may be de-
prived, they may be sure that if they prove themselves worthy in
their various callings they will command and receive fair wages,
which are (in this State at least) secured to them by laws which
exclude all property from exemption against claims for wages for
labor. They will also be treated justly, and above all things, be
allowed to entertain, declare and practice any political faith, and
freely do all things not in violation of the laws concerning the peace
and good order of these States and Territories, or contrary to good
morals. They may be sure that, so long as they do as others are
required to do they may remain daily and nightly in enjoyment of
the utmost personal security possible to be attained and may safely
500 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
hold all property their industry and economy may enable them to
accumulate.
The whites who come to this section will be treated according to
their merit, and will have opportunity for demonstrating whether
they have much or little of it.
None need expect to find this northwest settled by ignorant semi-
barbarous people. They will be met with as active intelligence, as
great general culture, and studied acomplishment, as can be found
among the same number of individuals anywhere on God's footstool.
I have written in this plain manner, because, knowing me as you
do, you will not misunderstand me. You are well aware that I am not
given to exaggeration or flattery, but am rather in the habit of saying
plain things. I have always respected you as one of the earnest,
honest leaders of your race; in fact as a representative man among
them; and I am pleased that you so far retain the respect and con-
fidence of all classes, as to have been sent to represent your parish
in the Convention.
You may publish this letter, if you desire to do so as a whole, and
think it worthy and conducive of good.
I am your friend,
E. D. MCLAUGHLIN
Early Years at St. Mary's Pottawatomie Mission
FROM THE DIARY OF FATHER MAURICE GAILLAND, S. J.
Edited by THE REV. JAMES M. BURKE, S. J.
INTRODUCTION
DURING a cold, bleak winter, 105 years ago, on the prairies of
what later became Kansas, Father Maurice Gailland, S. J.,
began his apostolic labors among the Pottawatomie Indians. The
portion of his diary presented in the following pages records some
of the joys and sufferings that fill part of the first two years, 1848
to 1850. The interweaving of these lights and shadows helped
fashion this intrepid missionary. The diary was not written, how-
ever, as a personal account, but rather as a mission record. The
impersonal aspect, therefore, makes it less entertaining, but per-
haps all the more valuable from a historical point of view.
The translator in an attempt to render a precise but idiomatic
translation from the Latin language, was confronted with some
inconsistencies of Latin construction, ambiguous phrases, and mis-
spellings in the diary. Such defects are very understandable when
one recalls that Father Gailland was pressed for time frequently,
and hence, hurriedly jotted down the affairs of the day. No doubt
many of these entries were made after a strenuous day of traveling
on horseback to his flock scattered in two or three directions from
the mission. In order to clarify or correct some of these incon-
sistencies, the translator has checked other sources pertinent to
this period, and as far as possible tried to convey the exact mean-
ing of each entry.
Fortunately many of the details of the life of Father Maurice
Gailland have been recorded. He was born in the Canton of Valais,
Switzerland, on October 27, 1815, and entered the Society of Jesus
on his 19th birthday, October 27, 1834. He made his novitiate at
Brieg, in the diocese of Sion, Switzerland, and completed his usual
course of studies in the Jesuit seminary of his homeland. On April
11, 1846, the Rt. Rev. Stephen Marilley, bishop of Lausanne and
Geneva, conferred upon him the sacred orders of the priesthood.
Shortly after his ordination, Father Gailland and his Jesuit com-
panions were exiled from Switzerland. In the spring of 1848 many
Swiss Jesuits left for Turin and Chambery. Father Gailland was
THE REV. JAMES M. BURKE, S. J., formerly of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kan., is a
student of theology at Alma College, Los Gatos, Cal.
(501)
502 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
among the number to come to the new world. Providentially the
exile from his homeland was to fulfill one of his most cherished
hopes — to be an Indian missionary. Father Gailland went first to
St. Charles, Mo., a little village a short distance from St. Louis, Mo.,
to await his call to the Indian territory. With realistic touches, he
describes his joy in being summoned to Kansas :
Shortly after his [Verreydt's] arrival, whilst in St. Charles, I received the
news that I was appointed by my superiors as missionary among the Potto-
watomies and would soon leave for the Indian territory. Need I tell you,
Dear Father, [De Smet] that my heart leaped with joy at these glad tidings,
and that I longed with impatience for the hour of departure? It came at last.
One morning whilst I was walking in the garden, musing with delight on the
condition of the far-off flock that was committed to my care, the steamboat
arrived and rang the signal for us to come on board. Bidding a hasty farewell
to the good Fathers at St. Charles, ... I embarked.1
Upon arriving at the mission on Sugar creek in present Linn
county, Kansas, Father Gailland was overcome with fever. For a
few days he was confined to bed. During these days of sickness
he felt the full weight of loneliness, recalling the majestic mountains
of Switzerland, from the rocky heights of which wild mountain tor-
rents rushed to the lakes below. In a semidelirious state he imagined
partaking of this cold water to satisfy the maddening thirst that con-
sumed him.
After his recovery, Father Gailland accompanied the Jesuits and
the Ladies of the Sacred Heart to Wakarusa, the mission station of
Father Christian Hoecken, S. J. While visiting at Wakarusa, Father
Gailland employed his time profitably, learning the basic rudiments
of the Pottawatomie language. He attended Father Hoecken's in-
struction classes for the Pottawatomies, and according to his own
testimony he improved daily.
At first the sounds of the words appeared to me very strange and difficult,
but by degrees, and as I commenced understanding it a little, it became daily
easier and smoother to my mind, and I found it to my great astonishment a
rich and expressive though an uncultivated language.2
On September 7, Father Verreydt, the superior, Father Gailland,
the Ladies of the Sacred Heart, Brother George Miles, Joseph
Bertrand, a guide, and Chariot, an Indian boy, set out for their final
destination. Some weeks preceding the arrival of this group, Father
Verreydt had definitely decided on a location on the north side of
the Kansas river, at the present site of St. Mary's College, St. Marys,
Kan. They arrived at their new home on September 9, 1848. Two
log cabins had been erected, but as yet no doors, windows or floor
1. Catholic Mirror, Baltimore, Md., November 16, 1850. — Gilbert J. Garraghan, S. J..
The Jesuits of the Middle United States (New York, 1938), v. 2, p. 602.
2. Ibid., p. 604.
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 503
had been built in these houses. The Fathers and the Indian helpers
had to begin immediately to make them habitable for winter.
The Fathers' house was one story high, covered with boards, the crevices
between the logs being filled with sticks and clay. The house for the Ladies and
the Indian girls was of better finish, being two stories high and having the
rooms rudely plastered.3
From the date of his arrival at St. Mary's, September 9, 1848, to
his death nearly 30 years later, Father Gailland dedicated himself
completely to the spiritual and temporal welfare of the Pottawatomie
Indians of Kansas. Fortunately, he has recorded faithfully in his
writings the important happenings of these 30 years. These events
are highly significant in one's understanding of the character of
Father Gailland, although kaleidoscopic as they may be when
passed in review.
He saw Kansas first as an Indian territory with warfare going on
between the Pottawatomie and Pawnee. He saw the gold seekers
in 1849 passing through Kansas on their quest for hurried wealth;
he saw the little log chapel of St. Mary's mission become the first
cathedral for the vicariate of Kansas, and Father J. B. Miege, S. J.,
become the first Vicar-Apostolic of Kansas. He saw the advent
of the white settlers who were covetous of the land of the Indians,
gaining it frequently by devious means. He endured civil war,
droughts, and pestilences. He beheld many Indians fall victim to
whisky, and, finally, he witnessed what he called "the gloomiest page
of the Pottowatomie mission" — the Indians selling their land to
the whites and leaving for new homes. These are the deep and
the fine lines that sketch the background against which Father Gail-
land lived his life of love for God and man.
For some months Father Gailland labored assiduously learning
the Pottawatomie language. He became in time not only adept in
speaking the language, but composed a large dictionary and gram-
mar of this tongue.4 Besides this work, he compiled and published
a prayerbook containing hymns, meditations, psalms and prayers
in Pottawatomie. The title of this work was: Potewatomi Neme-
winin 1P1 Nemenigamowinen. This prayerbook is used even to this
day by the Pottawatomies. Besides Pottawatomie, he mastered,
also, some dialects of the Algonquin family. To add to his knowl-
edge of these languages, he had a skillful command of two or three
Romance languages, as well as an easy familiarity with Latin.
3. Walter J. Hill, S. J., "Father Maurice Gailland, S. J.," Woodstock Letters, v. 7
(April, 1878), p. 14.
4. This dictionary was never published. It comprises 130 pages, written in long hand
on ledger paper 7% by 15 inches. The dictionary can be found in the archives of St. Mary's
College, St. Marys, Kan.
504 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
This scholarly aptitude of Father Gailland, however, was not his
most striking characteristic. For the human touches, as well as the
profoundly spiritual depths of his character we can best turn to the
writings of Brother Louis deVriendt, S. J., a contemporary of Father
Gailland, who wrote a little biography of his Spiritual Father and
friend. The charming simplicity, naivete, and the graphic details
of Brother deVriendt's account makes it invaluable for a closer
study of this remarkable missionary. According to Brother
deVriendt, Father Gailland had his ear cocked always to "someone
sick/' or "some Indian across the river wants you." After a weary
day of traveling, Father Gailland would first ask if any sick calls
came for him. If such were the case, he would mount his horse
without stopping to rest and gallop off to the one summoning him.
Sometimes, it was recorded by Brother deVriendt that the cook
would forget to keep Father Gailland's supper warm. Such
thoughtlessness did not disturb him, but rather he seemed to de-
light in such treatment. Father Gailland spent many evenings
after supper visiting with the Brothers, recounting the experiences
he had that day with the Indians. Like a true Boswell, Brother
deVriendt jotted them down, leaving a wealth of stories that lend
vivid insight into Father Gailland's love and solicitude for the
Indians, the tremendous power he exercised over them, as well as
some of the bitter disappointments that came in his ministry.5
Two extracts from Brother deVriendt's "Biography of Father
Gailland" may help us understand more intimately this blackrobe
among the Pottawatomies. The following account reveals the re-
spect and veneration some of the Indians held for Father Gailland:
Father Gailland told an Indian to give his wife some beef soup. Father
came back next day and the Indian was bloody and had a knife. He said
that he had killed his cow because you [Father Gailland] have told me to
make some soup. "How many cows do you have?" [Father Gailland asked.]
"Only one cow," he said. Father Gailland: "That will be hard on you. You
will have no more milk." But the Indian said, "My wife will have beef soup
anyways, and I will have done what you told me to do." 6
The second account tells us of the intense sorrow that weighed
on his soul in later years when he saw his flock scattered, and cor-
rupted by the white men.
Almighty God has certainly blessed these Indians with many graces, but I
fear for some because they are beginning to be molested by the whites, and
5. Brother deVriendt's "Biography of Father Gailland" was never published. The
grammar is frequently awkward and faulty, as well as the spelling, but for vivid and dra-
matic touches of the personality of Father Gailland, it is unsurpassed. This work can also be
found in the archives of St. Mary's College.
6. Ibid., p. 175.
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 505
that is very dangerous for them — that is what makes my heart bleed when I
think on it. And the time is not far off that those good people will get cor-
rupted by coming in contact with the whites — . . . . O Lord, spare my In-
dians from those evil days which I now already foresee. Yes, that there [sic]
morals will be spoiled, even that they will swindel them out of their property
and cast them forth as dogs not worthy to be among them, and that they will
be obliged to leave their reserve where now are settled on.7
These scattered sketches of Father Gailland from the pen of
Brother deVriendt clearly testify that Gailland was a man of no
ordinary virtue. For the spiritual welfare of the savages he would
endure any pain and privation. The inclemency of the weather, the
distance of the place, nor the hardship of travel did not deter him
from administering to the cares and needs of his flock. For 30 years
he deprived himself of even meager comforts that he could have en-
joyed at the mission. He was faithful to his flock though some re-
mained indifferent and obstinate to his Christ-like charity. The
cause of his disease that eventually proved fatal was the result of his
devotion to the Indians.
Twelve years before his death he was called to a dying pagan
Indian who lived in the present village of Silver Lake. When Father
Gailland reached Cross creek, the stream was high, full of floating
ice. The companion of Father Gailland warned him of the danger
of crossing at that time. "I must," he replied, "if I die another will
take my place." Then he urged his horse into the rushing torrents
and succeeded in reaching the other bank safely. This plunge into
the icy water and the long ride of 11 hours with his clothes frozen
to his person proved too much, however, for even such a robust
man as Father Gailland. The next day the first symptoms of par-
alysis appeared, and became progressively worse each year until
his death on August 12, 1877. He trembled constantly, finding re-
lief only in sleep. When he sat down his head was bent nearly to
his knees.
There are still to this day a few Pottawatomie Indians living on
their reserve northeast of St. Marys who remember him in that for-
lorn condition. Someone asked him if he felt any pain. His reply was
that he felt as if someone were continually pounding his fingers with
a mallet. Despite his constant pain, the only complaint heard from
his lips was his inability to care for his spiritual charges. After the
paralysis had gained hold on him, he was unable to ride horseback,
but for some years he went long distances by means of horse and
buggy to carry out his ministry.
7. Ibid., p. 185.
506 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Father Gailland's last summons to the sick came in June, 1877.
He was called to a sick woman near Topeka. This journey proved
too much for his already exhausted strength. The Brother Infirmar-
ian, notified that Father Gailland was very ill, set out for Topeka
immediately to bring him home. The month of July passed, and the
valiant missionary's health revived, but only temporarily, for during
the first week of August he suffered a relapse from which he never
recovered. God summoned him to Himself on August 12, 1877.
"With him the Jesuit attempt, lasting through four decades, to
christianize and civilize the Potowatomi of Kansas passed into his-
tory." 8
Father Walter Hill, S. J., summed up Father Gailland's remark-
able life in this manner:
Few missionaries of recent times among the aborigines of America have
accomplished greater and more solid good than did the saintly, noble-hearted,
long-suffering, and most charitable Father Gailland. His life was a model of
every high Christian virtue, and his death was the befitting close to such a
career; for it was peaceful and happy in that hope that confoundeth not. Up
to his dying day he never missed a community exercise to which he was physi-
cally able to attend; and in order to spare others trouble, he would permit no
one to serve him in anything which he was at all able to do for himself.9
THE DIARY, 1848-1850
1848
September 7: We set out on our journey to the place of the new
mission, that is, Father Superior, Father Gailland, the lay brother
Patrick Regan and one boarder named Chariot.10
September 8: At the trading post we were delayed a whole day
owing to a rise in the river.11
September 9: We forded the Kansas River, some in wagons,
others on horseback, Mr. Joseph Bertrand with the Ladies of the
Sacred Heart accompanied us all the way.12 At noon we stopped
8. Garraghan, op. cit., v. 3, p. 65.
9. Walter Hill, S. J., "Maurice Gaffland, S. J.," loc. cit., p. 19.
10. Father Superior at the date of this entry was the Rev. Felix L. Verreydt. He was
b£?i m 2iest' BelgjuP. and entered the Society of Jesus at White March, Md., on October 6,
1821. He was ordained to the priesthood on September 24, 1827. His work as an Indian
missionary began in 1837. At first he was stationed with the Kickapoo Indians, but later
was assigned to the Pottawatomies. His counsel was sought by the Pottawatomies in accept-
ing the terms of the treaty covering the reserve on the Kaw river.
Patrick Regan, the lay brother, spent only a year at St. Mary's mission.
le California trail, was located on tl
\f Madames of the Sacred Heart were Mother Lucille Mathevon superioress of
tbe nuns, Mother Mary Anne O Connor, Mother Basile O'Connor and Sister Louise Amvot
Garraghan, op. cit. , v. 2, p. 602, citing Catholic Mirror, Baltimore, November 16, 1850
wJESfEv f? nd 7" * i?0"*^0111^0* mixed blood- He married a Pottawatomie
™SH±*l&* name of Madeline The children were Joseph, Jr., Benjamin, Laurent. Theresa.
collections ana Researches Made by the Michigan Pioneer and
f. 28, pp. 129, 130.
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 507
to take dinner at a stream; and about four o'clock A. M. we were
gladdened by the sight of the new houses at our future home.
The country presents a cheerful view on every side. But not so
the log-houses, which are only half-finished and allow free scope
to the winds. And the only workman we depend on to remedy
this inconvenience is missing; that is the Brother whom we call the
Doctor, and who being taken with fever was forced to prolong his
stay at Sugar Creek.13
September 17: We erected a cross on the hill of our residence.14
Meanwhile both the Fathers were attacked with fever, from the
effects of which one of them was troubled for nearly two months.
We live in anxiety about the success of the new mission; for our
Indian people continue in the settlements on the other side of the
river. This anxiety is increased by the rumors of a war that is
imminent between the Potawatomies and the Pawnees. For not
so long ago the Kansas Indians, while out hunting with the Pota-
watomies, met the Pawnees and fired upon them, and the Potawa-
tomies seeing themselves involved in the common danger rushed
into battle for their own safety and killed many Pawnee warriors and
ponies.15 Burning with revenge for this, the Pawnees have fore-
sworn their old friendship for the Potawatomies. They are raiding
on the ponies, and are threatening a war of extermination on the
Potawatomies. And this rumor has so frightened our Indians, who
had camped in remote parts of the reserve near the Pawnees, that
in one day they all pulled their tents and fled panic-stricken. In
consequence we are placed in the front exposed to the fury of the
Pawnees. And there is not an Indian who is willing or who dares to
share our danger.
Add to this the lies and manifold arts of Satan who neglects no
means to alienate from us the hearts of the natives; so that the best
disposed are kept from settling around this new mission.16
13. Sugar Creek is one of the first mission stations of the Pottawatomies, and is located
near present Centerville in Linn county, Kansas. The exact location is: sec. 7, T. 21 S.,
R. 23 E.
14. Description of reservation from treaty of 1846: "... a tract or parcel of land
containing five hundred and seventy-six thousand acres, being thirty miles square, and being
the eastern part of the lands ceded to the United States by the Kansas tribe of Indians, by
treaty concluded on the 14th day of January, and ratified on the 15th of April of the present
year, lying adjoining the Shawnees on the south, and the Delawares and Shawnees on the
east, on both sides of the Kansas river." "Treaty with the Potawatomi Nation, 1846," Art.
4, taken from Charles J. Kappler (ed.), Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties (Washington,
1904), v. 2, p. 558.
15. A few of the Pottawatomies had joined some Kansas and Kickapoo and Sac Indians
in a buffalo hunt just west of the reserve. This group met with a band of Pawness encamped
at Rocky Ford on the Big Blue river. A messenger from the Pawnees was sent to offer
tokens of peace. The messenger was received amicably, but on his departure a Kansas
Indian remembering some ancient grudge he held against the Pawnees fired upon and killed
the Pawnee messenger. Warfare ensued as we read in the diary. — See John O Connor, S. J.,
"The Jesuits of the Kaw Valley" (Ms., archives of St. Mary's College), p. 87.
16. The Rev. J. J. O'Meara, S. J., former archivist of St. Mary's College, completed the
translation of the diary to this point. The translator has used Father O'Meara s translation.
508 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
We are receiving frequent greetings from the head-chief of those
Indians who had formerly been at home on the banks of the Mis-
souri. He is proving himself our true friend and appears to express
the sentiments of all his subjects.
September 26: The Doctor finally arrived whom every one has
been so eagerly expecting, and although not completely cured of the
fever, he went to work at once and finished the interior part of the
house.17 A few Indians came at the same time to look over the sur-
roundings for a future home.
October 12: Today, Father Hoecken crossed the river and joined
us.18 His arrival at the new mission opened the entrance of many
Indians who followed their Father and leader.19 Meantime, until
the big chapel is erected, we are building a chapel on the side of
the house where the Holy Sacrifice will be celebrated. For a long
time, however, we have been solicitous about the large chapel; even
though, for sure, workmen from the tenth of September, have been
working hard preparing the material for the roof.
Today we are about to enter upon the heavenly work of building
the new chapel.20 Father Hoecken preached in the Indian language
both in the morning and in the evening.
November 20: Father Hoecken, both for the sake of health and
recreation, accompanied the Indians on their hunt. While he is
gone, on Sunday, Father Superior preached in the morning in Eng-
lish, and by the aid of an interpreter, the sermon was translated into
Potawatomie.21 In the Evening, Father Gailland preached a ser-
mon in French. At this same time a stable was put up for the horses.
December 15-18: Father Gailland is called to care for two sick
youths. He hears their confession. But at home, because we didn't
17. The doctor mentioned in this entry was Brother Andrew Mazzella. Brother admin-
istered not only to the sick of the Jesuit community, but also to the Pottawatomies. He
was born on November 30, 1802, in Procida, a little island in the Mediterranean. He en-
tered the society in 1823, and was assigned to the Maryland province of the United States
in 1833. In 1836 he commenced his labors among the Indians, and continued to give his
talents and service to them until his death in May, 1867. — See M. Gailland, "Historia
Domus" (unpublished document, St. Mary's archives, 1851).
18. Father Christian Hoecken was born on February 28, 1808, at Talburg, Holland.
He entered the Society of Jesus on November 5, 1832. In 1838, shortly after his ordination,
he became an Indian missionary. The scene of his labors was Council Bluffs, Sugar Creek,
and St. Mary's. He acquired a great facility in speaking the Pottawatomie and Kickapoo
languages. His death occurred on June 19, 1851, while he was on a journey to the great
Indian council, being held at Fort Laramie, Wyo. — See Garraghan, op. cit., v. 1, p. 346;
and v. 2, pp. 611, 612, 614, 615, 627-629.
19. Many of the Pottawatomies stayed on the south side of the Kansas river because
they feared an attack by the Pawnees who resided on the north side. Father Gailland sin-
cerely hoped that Father Hoecken's arrival at the mission would convince the Indians to
take up their abode on the north side close to the mission station.
20. This chapel was finished the following spring. "In the meantime a chapel was built
adjoining the missionaries house." — O'Connor, loc. cit., p. 61.
21. The interpreter mentioned in the diary was probably John Tipton, a mixed-blood
Pottawatomie. Tipton s name occurs in two or three places in the writings of the early
millenaries. He taught Father Gailland how to speak and write Pottawatomie. — Ibid.,
p. 64.
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 509
understand the language of the natives, we were unable to hear any
confessions.
At the beginning of December a worker came with the intention
of putting up stakes for the buildings of the students.22 Meanwhile
we have admitted five youths to live with us. On November 25,
Bernard Bertrand registered, Ezechiel Pelletier, William and Fran-
cis Darling, November 30, and Francis La Fromboise, December
II.23 At this time the Madames of the Sacred Heart received five
girls.
December 5: The ice on the Kansas River is so thick that horses
with a wagon loaded with supplies may safely cross it, just as if it
were a paved road.
December 21: There was a fresh snowfall of about three feet
over the old snow. The cold is extremely intense and bothersome.
We administered to a dying youth.
December 22: The weather is fair, but intensely cold; the ink
freezes in the pen while writing. An Indian youth, Pemowetuk,
died.
December 23: The cold this morning is more intense. In the
evening Father Gailland heard eleven confessions; of that number
five were Indians.
December 24: Sunday. Mass without singing. There was no
sermon because of the cold. In the evening there was benediction.
Father Gailland preached the sermon in French. Because of the
approach of the great Solemnity, a large number of confessions were
heard, many of whom were Indians. The weather is serene. It is
moderately cold. We had the burial of Pemowetuk without any
religious songs. Many Indians came from the other side of the
river in order that they may spend a devout Christmas day with us.
Our longing for Father Hoecken is great.
December 25: Christmas Day. Each priest said only one Mass.
There was no mid-night Mass on account of the severity of the win-
ter. In the morning there was Mass with singing and a sermon in
English by Father Superior, with someone to interpret it in the
22. The only buildings that existed at that time were two log cabins; one inhabited by
the sisters and the other cabin sheltered the Fathers and Brothers. A description of these
cabins is recorded in Father O'Connor's "Jesuits of the Kaw Valley," p. 60: "They had
two stories with four rooms, each twenty-five by twenty-feet — on the ground floor, and a
smaller room above the stairway. The nuns occupied the western log house near a creek,
and the Fathers and Brothers took possession of the other, about one hundred and ten yards
to the east."
23. The family name Bertrand and La Fromboise have been perpetuated among the
annals of early frontier history. The name Bertrand, mixed French and Indian blood, is per-
petuated by the town of Bertrand on the Michigan-Indiana line, and by Bertrand avenue in
St. Marys, Kan. La Fromboise was a prominent name among the "Chicago" Pottawatomies.
One of their most illustrious chiefs was Joseph La Fromboise. — See Garraghan, op. cit., v. 2,
pp. 697-699.
510 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Potawatomie language. In the evening there was benediction and
a sermon in French by Father Gailland. The sky is bright. Some
snow has melted.
December 26: St. Stephen's. Somewhat less cold. Weather
is cloudy. A messenger sent to Tremble for the mail was forced
to turn back from the trip on account of so much heavy snow.
December 27: Feast of St. John. The sky is clear. The cold
has let up a bit.
N. B. During the last few days it was so cold that some of the
skinnier dogs and horses perished.
December 28: The weather has become mild. Mr. Darling
came and promised by contract that he would begin shortly to
enclose the fields, and in order that he might plough it first, he
took his two sons for a few days.
December 29: Father Gailland took care of Bergeron who was
gravely ill with the fever.24 We joyfully welcomed Mr. Darvau who
brought us wine for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; for the last two
days we have sorrowfully abstained from the Holy Sacrifice be-
cause of the lack of the precious liquor.25 Bernard Bertrand, be-
cause of a secret illness, was sent to his family. Father Gailland,
who intended to go to Mr. Tremble, returned, unable to see him
because of so much snow. The sky is mild.
December SO: The weather is serene, the snow is melting. The
son of Mr. Pelletier went home so that he might celebrate the new
year with his parents. In the evening both Fathers heard confes-
sions.
N. B. We are in need of a teacher for the boys; meanwhile Father
Superior himself does the teaching. He has a class in the morning
and the evening.
December 81: Sunday. In the morning the Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass was offered at ten-thirty o'clock; there was no singing.
Afterwards there was a sermon in English, interpreted in Potawa-
tomie. In the evening there was benediction.
1849
January 1: The last Mass was at seven-thirty A. M. A large con-
course of Indians, who were not hindered by the difficulty of the
journey, came from the other bank of the river; as was the custom,
they greeted the Fathers with customary handshakes. Extraordinary
24. Most likely the Bergeron mentioned in this entry is Francis Bergeron.
I5-* VsS? Darveau was married to Oheta Bourbonnais. His daughter Eleonor was bap-
8'^ at St' M^ <* «*> L-4
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMEE MISSION 511
joy and love for us shone in everyone's face despite the long series of
hardships. They gave us some venison; the great amount that they
gave us put us to shame. In the evening there was benediction
with the usual sermon. Both Fathers afterwards went to offer the
New Year's greetings to the Madames.
January 2: The weather, again, is very cold. We see, with in-
describable grief, certain Indians without even the bare necessities
of livelihood.26 A sick woman visits us.
January 3: The sky is very cloudy and depressive; Chariot re-
turns from the hunt carrying two prairie chickens. John Tipton
taught Father Gailland the Indian language.
January 4: The sky is serene, and a little snow has melted.
January 5: The weather is gloomy and piercingly cold. The
sons of Mr. Darling returned to our home. Finally Father Hoecken
arrived, so long desired by all; he suffered greatly from cold and
hunger.27
January 6: Weather is very cloudy. In the evening we had a
large snowfall mixed with hail and rain. The last Mass was at
eight o'clock. The son of Mr. La Fromboise came. We visited a
sick woman.
January 7: Sunday. In the morning the last Mass was at ten-
thirty o'clock, without any hymns. Father Hoecken preached in
Pottawatomie. In the afternoon at about three there was benedic-
tion with a sermon in French, preached by Father Gailland. The
cold is quite intense. A furnace was placed in the chapel last night.
January 8: The sky is exceedingly gloomy; the cold is severe.
In the evening it snowed. An Indian, while trying to cross the
river on the ice, lost his horse which broke through the ice and
drowned. The happy news of the beatification of Peter Claver
made us exceedingly joyful.28 The students have started back to
school again. Reverend Father Superior conducts the class.
26. This destitution is all the more pitiful when we consider how severely cold was the
winter of 1849.
27. On November 12, Father Hoecken set out with a party of Indians who were going
to the Miami country to make sugar and hunt. The Indians remained in the Miami country.
Rumors reached the mission that those Indians were leading very disorderly and scandalous
lives. Father Hoecken arrived home after two months of cold and privation. — See O'Connor,
loc. cit., p. 65.
28. Peter Clayer's feast day is September 9. The date of his beatification was July 16,
1850. Father Gailland must have reference to the report that is sent out before the beatifi-
cation of a person, otherwise there is no way to explain the conflict in dates.
Peter Claver was born at Verda in Catalonia in 1581. He entered the society at the age
of 20. He was sent to Cartagenia in South America in 1615. For many years he cared for
the slaves who were shipped into the port of Cartagenia. He is credited with baptizing over
300,000 slaves. He was beatified by Pope Pius IX, and canonized in 1888 by Pope Leo
XIII. — See Francis Corley and Robert Willmes, Wing* of Eagles (Milwaukee, Bruce Pub-
lishing Co., 1941), pp. 159-163.
512 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
January 9: Sky is clear, but is very cold. Yesterday and today
Father Hoecken heard some confessions.
January 10: More very biting weather. Father Hoecken cared
for a sick person on the other side of the river.29 An old Indian,
Pohimak by name, came to us, in order to go to confession in prepa-
ration for Baptism which he sought so ardently. Reverend Father
Superior received a letter from Father Trudens pertaining to some
money matters — both are in friendly disagreement.30 Father Gail-
land starts his triduum preparatory for the renovation of his vows.31
January 11: The wind blew so violently, whirling through the
air, that it threatens to destroy the house and to uproot trees. Early
in the day the wind was from the east, and then it changed to the
south. The snow is melting as a result of this change.
January 12: The south wind blew all night up until noon, and a
great amount of snow melted. At noon, however, the wind changed
and the weather became very cold. Father Hoecken has not yet
arrived; for this reason the catechism of Pohimak must be dropped
again.
January 13: The cold is extremely intense. The snow is so hard
that a man can easily walk over it.
.January 14: Sunday. The feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.
Mass at ten o'clock. There was no singing because of the very
intense cold; afterwards there was a sermon in English by Father
Superior with someone to interpret it into Potawatomie. In the
afternoon at three o'clock there was benediction with a sermon in
French preached by Father Gailland. Father Hoecken arrived
about noon. Father Gailland renewed his vows.
January 15: The sky is serene but cold. We had Mass and class
as usual.
29. A large number of the Indians settled on the south side of the river and scattered
in villages up and down the reserve. Father Hoecken spent a week in each village baptizing,
catechising and arranging marriages, etc. The large portion of the ministerial work of the
Indians on the south side or bank was done by Father Hoecken.
30. Trudens seems to be a misspelling for Truyens. In 1848 Father Verreydt, the
superior of Sugar Creek mission, and later St. Mary's mission, returned from St. Louis, and
brought with him Father Charles Truyens. Strangely enough, Father Truyens' name passes
into oblivion until it appears again in Sadlier's Catholic Directory for the year 1867. He
is listed in this directory as residing at Bardstown, Ky. Though there is no 'written record
of Father Truyens leaving the Sugar Creek mission in 1848, all evidence would seem to
point that way because he is not listed by Father Gailland as one of the early settlers of
St. Marys.
The precise nature of this "money matters" is unknown. The only clue that we have is
that Fathers Verreydt and Truyens brought supplies and a donation of money to be spent for
the mission. Perhaps the discussion is over the expenditure of this money.
31. The word "triduum" means a three-day retreat. The vows that are renewed are
poverty, chastity, and obedience. A Jesuit at the completion of his two years of novitiate
pronounces these three vows. At this time the vows are called "simple" or "first" vows.
After 16 or 17 years, at the recommendation of his superiors, a Jesuit may pronounce his
final vows. In the period between the first and final vows, he renews his simple vows every
six months.
CHAPEL OF THE POTTAWATOMIE INDIAN MISSION AT ST. MARYS
The building was erected in 1849, was used as the first Catholic cathedral in Kansas, 1851-1855,
and was dismantled in 1886.
THE REV. MAURICE GAILLAND, S. J.
(1815-1877)
Missionary among the Pottawatomie Indians at
St. Marys, 1848-1877. He compiled a dictionary
and wrote catechisms, prayer and hymn books in
the Pottawatomie language.
Photos courtesy of the Rev. Augustin C. Wand,
S. J., archivist of St. Mary's College.
(Upper) POTTAWATOMIE INDIANS AT ST. MARY'S MISSION IN 1867
( Lower ) ST. MARY'S MISSION AT ST. MARYS, 1867
Photos by Alexander Gardner of Washington, D. C. — From the Kansas
State Historical Society collection. The pictures are Nos. 91 and 92 of
Gardner's, "Across the Continent on the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern
Division."
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 513
January 16: In the morning it was intensely cold; in the evening
the weather was rather mild. Mass and class as usual.
January 17: There was Mass and class. The sky is clear.
January 18: We had Mass, also class today. The weather is very
cold, but the sky is clear. For third time the stove-pipe was burning.
January 19: We had Mass and class. The cold is moderated
by the wind from the south. A new catechumen joined us. There
was fire in the top of the chimney. Father Hoecken heard confes-
sions.
January 20: There was Mass, but no class today. The weather
is again very cold. Father Hoecken and Verreydt heard confessions.
Mrs. Darling and La Fromboise came to visit us.
January 21: Sunday. There was Mass, followed by a holy hour.
No classes today. In the morning there was a sermon in Pota-
watomie. In the evening there was benediction with a sermon in
French and Potawatomie. The sky is clear.
January 22: As usual, Mass and class. Father Hoecken is called
to care for a sick man across the river. Ezechiel Pelletier returned
after a long stay at home because of sickness. The weather is the
same as yesterday.
January 23: As usual, Mass and class. Joseph Darling arrived
unexpectedly. Father Hoecken returned. We received a friendly
greeting from Mr. McDonald. Weather is mild.
January 24: As usual, Mass and class. The weather is most mild.
The south wind blew all day. A good amount of snow melted.
January 25: As usual we had Mass and class. Very early in the
morning the wind changed and it became very cold. A little four
year old boy died. The funeral will be held tomorrow.
January 26: Mass was celebrated this morning. There was no
school because of some urgent work. Weather is somewhat colder
but serene.
January 27: Mass this morning, but no school. Some confes-
sions were heard. Weather much milder with a south wind.
January 28: We had Mass with singing at ten-thirty this morn-
ing.32 There was a sermon in Potawatomie; in the evening there
was both a sermon in Potawatomie and French. The weather is
very mild. Two non-Catholics were added to our list as catechu-
mens; they had professed the Mormon religion.
32. These hymns were sung in Pottawatpmie. Some years later Father Gailland com-
piled a prayerbook comprising prayers, meditations, little accounts of church history, and
many hymns. This little prayerbook consists of 119 pages and was printed under the title,
Potewatem Nemewinin Nemenigamowinin. A copy of this prayerbook can be found in the
archives of St. Mary's College at St. Marys.
35_7724
514 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The daughter of Claude La Fromboise suddenly ran away from
the home of the Madames of the Sacred Heart. The younger daugh-
ter of Mr. Bourbonais immediately asked to take the place of the
run-away; she obtained the request.33
January 29: We had Mass and class today. The sky is very
cloudy and it is cold.
January 30: There was Mass and class as usual. It snowed.
January 31: Mass this morning, but no class. The students came
back from the hunt with three rabbits. The weather is mild. We
heard confessions.
February 1-2: There was Mass and class. The weather is mild.
There was Mass and class on the second also. In the morning there
was a sermon in Potawatomie. The sky is serene, but it is cold.
Father Hoecken visits a sick person. A whole family is registered
among our catechumens.34
February 3: Mass this morning, but no class.
February 4: Sunday. Mass this morning with a sermon in Pota-
watomie. In the evening there was benediction with a sermon in
French. Father Hoecken set out to visit the sick. The sky is clear,
but it is rather cold.
February 5: We had Mass and class as usual. Father Hoecken
returned.
February 6: We had Mass and class as usual. Weather is calm
but not very mild. On the fifth of this month we received the
calamitous news telling of the exile of our most beloved and Holy
Pontiff Pius IX.35
February 7: As usual, there was Mass and class. The weather is
sufficiently cold. We received a letter from Reverend Father Pro-
vincial concerning the elevation to the Episcopate of Father ,36
February 8: There was Mass and class. It is cold. Father
Hoecken left to care for the sick. Father Gailland was called to
look after a sick woman.
33. Bpurbonnais is a common name in this locale. The Bourbonnais were mixed-blood.
In the register of male students kept from 1865 to 1873, the name appears frequently.
34. A catechumen, as the term is used by Father Gailland, means one who is taking in-
structions to become a Catholic.
35. Pope Pius IX elevated to the Holy See in 1846, immediately met with insuperable
difficulties. The liberal movement that had swept Switzerland in 1846-1847 and resulted
in revolution and expulsion of the Jesuits in 1847 had its repercussions in Italy. In 1846
Mazzini living in Paris was planning a detailed revolution in Italy. Quite cleverly he ap-
proved of all the measures of Pope Pius IX during the first year. During the next year,
under his archconspirator, Angelo Brunetti, he sought every measure he could to ridicule the
Pope. By 1848 the liberals were powerful enough to storm the Vatican and demand under
dire threats a republic. On November 24, 1848, the Pope escaped to Gaeta, just across the
Neapolitan border. — See Lillian Browne-Olf, Their Name is Pius (Milwaukee, Bruce Pub-
lishing Co., 1941), pp. 220-230.
36. Father Gailland, the diarist, does not give the name but uses only the sign of the
cross. The new bishop s name was Miege.
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 515
February 9: There was Mass and class. It is a clear day. The
report has circulated that an extremely virulent form of cholera is
nearing our place.37
February 10: There was Mass this morning. Father Hoecken
returned. We obtained an abundant supply of Indian corn. The
sky is mild and serene. We welcome Mr. McDonald as our guest.
February 11: Sunday. Mass this morning as usual. There was
a sermon in Potawatomie. Two infants were baptized. In the eve-
ning there was benediction and a sermon in French. One of the
Fathers went to care for the sick. The weather is cloudy.
February 12: There was Mass and class today. The weather
is not very cold. An aged sick woman asks for Baptism.
February IS: As usual, there was Mass and class. The weather
is cold. We received a workman whom we hired to build a bake
oven.
February 14-15-16: There was Mass and class. The cold is most
intense. A herd of thirty pigs arrived today; of this number half
were bought for the Madames of the Sacred Heart. The cold, al-
though it has let up a bit, is as firm as a rock.
February 17: There was Mass and confessions. The cold is most
severe. The natives asked us that on Sundays a priest might say
Mass for them; as yet they have not received a favorable reply.38
Three of the students went home for vacations.
February 18: Sunday. In the morning there was Mass with a
sermon in Potawatomie. In the evening there was benediction with
a sermon in Potawatomie. Because of the intense cold, Father
Hoecken is called to administer to a sick woman.
February 19: Mass this morning, but no class. The weather
is mild. We killed the pigs. A goodly number of Kansas Indians
linger about our house.39
February 20: There was Mass, but no class this morning. Brother
La Frombloise returned and is building a smoke house. Many of
the Indians are helping him. It is a calm day; much of the snow
has melted.
37. This Asiatic plague reached the mission in early June. "Its [cholera] advent was
hastened by the parties of California emigrants passing in continual procession in wagons and
on horseback along the western trail." — Garraghan, op. cit., v. 2, p. 613.
38. The "natives" referred to in this entry were probably the Kaw or Kansas Indians.
Father Hoecken visited these Indians in August, 1850. He was beseeched by them to have
a blackrobe come to them. Father Hoecken in a letter of August, 1850, written to his vice
provincial, asked that their request be granted. Due to the lack of missionaries, the vice
provincial was unable to grant his request.
39. The Kansas Indians were notorious beggars. "One of the last acts that Father
Hoecken performed at Mission Creek had been to distribute potatoes and lard to some chiefs
of the Kansas tribe as they had nothing to eat." — O'Connor, toe. cit., p. 63.
516 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
February 21: Ash Wednesday. There was Mass. Many people
received ashes; there was a large attendance. The sons of Mrs.
Nadau sought admission to our school, and obtained it. The weather
is most mild. A little rain fell. Father Hoecken is attending to a
sick man. Brother Regan went to the trading post that he might
get some flour.40
February 22: Mass this morning. A large amount of snow has
melted.
February 23: There was Mass. The son of Calude La From-
boise arrived. Father Hoecken brought Peter Le Clerc to our home.
He is critically ill.41
February 24: There was Mass this morning, also we heard con-
fessions. A woman, Josephine by name, died and was buried.
Ezechiel Pelletier, Francis and William Darling, who for some days
had gone home for a vacation, arrived here. The weather is very
mild. The ice that has held the river in check has broken.
February 25: Sunday. Mass and sermon in Potawatomie this
morning. In the evening there was a sermon in Potawatomie and
French. A woman died who was recently baptized. The weather
is cloudy and below zero.
February 26-27: There was Mass and class. The weather is
fine.
February 28: There was Mass and class. There was a cate-
chism class for the boys and girls in the chapel. The weather is
cold.
March 1: There was Mass and class. Catechism class was held
in the chapel. We heard confessions. We had a large snowfall
accompanied by rolling thunder.
March 2: Mass and class, as usual. The weather is cold. Char-
lot and the Doctor are fever victims.42
March S: There was Mass. In the morning a large amount of
snow fell. Father Superior, both brothers and Chariot are sick.
March 4: Sunday. We had Mass with a sermon in Potawa-
tomie. In the evening we had the Way of the Cross and Rosary,
followed by benediction.
March 5: There was Mass and class. Dusky weather.
March 6: There was Mass, but no class on account of the sick-
ness of Father Superior. A good bit of snow has melted.
40. The trading post mentioned in this entry was Uniontown, in the northwestern part
of present Shawnee county.
41. Peter Le Clerc (Pierre or Perish) was one of the famous chiefs of the "Chicago"
Pottawatomies. — See Garraghan, op. cit., v. 2, p. 698.
42. "The Doctor" has reference to Brother Mazzella. There is no record of the nature
of their sickness or fever.
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 517
March 7: There was Mass and class. The agreement pertaining
to the fencing of the fields was made. The weather is serene.
March 8-9: There was Mass and class. We had a heavy rain.
There is a big rise in the river.
March 10: There was Mass but no class today. The chief,
Patikochek by name, came to our house and promised that he
would embrace the doctrine of Christ.
March 11: Sunday. Mass this morning without hymns. There
was a sermon in Potawatomie. In the evening we made the Way
of the Cross and had benediction.
March 12-13: There was Mass and class. The weather is pleas-
ant. We built a kitchen.
March 14: There was only one Mass on account of the shortage
of wine. There was class. We have two new boarders, the son of
Mrs. Nadau and the son of Mr. Alcot. The weather is serene.
March 15-16: Only one Mass. There was class. A sermon in
Potawatomie is preached each day during Lent. The weather is
clear.
March 17: Only one Mass; no class today. Today marked the
arrival of some Indians from Sugar Creek.43 An infirmary to care
for the sick is put up. The weather is nice.
March 18: Sunday. There were two Masses with a sermon in
Potawatomie. In the evening we made the Way of the Cross and
a sermon in Potawatomie. Peter La Clerc was moved today to a
neighbor's house.
March 19: The Feast of St. Joseph. There was one Mass with
a sermon in Potawatomie.
March 20-21: There was one Mass; there was no class. The
north wind blew. The weather is clear.
March 22: Only one Mass and no class this morning. Michael
La Fromboise arrived.
March 23: There was one Mass; no class. The weather is peace-
ful.
March 24: There was Mass but no class. The same kind of
weather.
March 25: Passion Sunday. There were two Masses and three
sermons in Potawatomie. The weather is fine.
March 26: The Feast of the Annunciation; there was one Mass.
There were two sermons in Potawatomie.
March 27: There was Mass and class.
43. Though the majority of the Pottawatomies moved to the new reserve on the Kaw
river in 1848, there were still some who lingered at Sugar Creek.
518 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
March 28: As usual, there was Mass and class. Mr. Le Clerc
died, one of the bravest generals in battle. The day before he died,
he received Baptism, made his confession, and received Extreme
Unction, with great sorrow for his sins and fervor of spirit.
March 29: One Mass was celebrated this morning with a sermon
in Potawatomie. Class was held. We had the burial of Mr.
Le Clerc. The weather is cold. The students Osskom and
Kiutukiyani arrived. The new kitchen is being occupied.
March 30-81: There was Mass and class. The weather is fine.
One of the Fathers is called to a small Indian village across from
Soldier creek.44
April 1: Sunday. There were three Masses. Beautiful weather.
In the morning there was a sermon in Potawatomie. In the evening
we made the Way of the Cross and there was benediction and a
sermon in Potawatomie.
April 3-4: There was one Mass this morning. There was no
class. Both in the morning and evening there were sermons in
Potawatomie.
April 5: Our Lord's Last Supper: One Mass was celebrated this
morning. All the students except three went to visit their parents.
The agents arrived with the ploughs and the mills. Father Superior
intends to see him about obtaining money for the board of the boys
and the construction of the buildings.45 There was a sermon in
Potawatomie both in the morning and the evening, which was fol-
lowed by benediction.
April 6: Good Friday. In the morning there was the office of
the day. There was a sermon in Potawatomie and the adoration
of the cross. In the evening, again, there was a sermon in Pota-
watomie. Twelve beds and one table have been finished for the
boys. The weather has become mild. Only three of our students
help us; the rest have not yet returned. Father Superior is still
absent.
April 7: Holy Saturday. We said the office as usual; there were
many confessions. Three new students, Alex Toutran, Bernard and
Richard Bertrand, arrived today.
April 8: Easter Sunday. There were three Masses. In the
morning there was a sermon in Potawatomie. In the evening there
was benediction with a sermon in Potawatomie.
April 9: There was one Mass with a sermon in Potawatomie.
44. Soldier creek flows through Nemaha, Jackson, and Shawnee counties.
45. The agent referred to in this entry was Major Cummins.
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 519
The weather is pleasant. Two workmen are added to the one to
prepare posts.
April 10-11-12: There was one Mass. Class was held as usual.
There was a sermon in Potawatomie this morning. In the evening
there was catechism for the boys.
April IS: There was one Mass. Class was held as usual. In the
morning there was a sermon in Potawatomie.
April 14: There was one Mass this morning with a sermon in
Potawatomie. There was class. In the evening Father Gailland set
out to the trading post in order that he might hear confessions there.
April 15: Sunday. There were two Masses with a sermon; in the
evening, as usual, there was benediction with a sermon. The Father
on supply celebrated Mass in the previously mentioned trading
post.46 Then he set out to those Indians most removed from the
Mission and living close to the Protestant Mission.47 He heard their
confessions in the evening, and the following morning he gave them
Holy Communion during the Sacrifice of the Mass. Great was their
joy and consolation.
April 16: There was one Mass this morning. Father Hoecken
left for St. Joseph's in order to purchase provisions for our house.
The infant daughter of Mr. Darling, baptized on the fourth, was
buried today. The son of Mr. Jackson ( an Indian ) arrived. The
Father mentioned before went to those Indians not far from Mr.
Toutran's place to hear confessions and give them Holy Communion.
April 17: There was Mass and class as usual. Father and the
workers returned.
N. B. At this date the number of baptisms of the infidels has
increased to around forty. The Indians still remain scattered to
their great detriment. Those who went to collect sugar or to hunt
at the beginning of winter in the territory of the Miami have not
yet returned. The report is that among them a great decline of
morals is prevailing.
April 18-19: There was Mass and class. A new student arrived,
T. B. (Blackfoot).
April 20: There was Mass and class.
April 21: There was Mass, but no class. There were confessions.
46. The term "on supply" is still used by the Catholic clergy. The term means simply
that a priest is not stationed at a certain parish but is invited to come and help the pastor in
his ministerial work for a brief period of time.
47. This is the first time Father Gailland mentions the Protestant mission in his diary.
This account has reference to the Baptist Pottawatomie school that was located some miles
below St. Mary's on the south side of the Kaw river, about six miles west of Topeka. The
Rev. Johnston Lykins, pastor and supervisor of the school in 1849. gives the following de-
scription of the location of the school: "[It is] half a mile south of the Kansas [river], nine
miles below Uniontown, the trading post of the nation, and a half mile west of the great
California road from Kansas, Westport and Independence." — Garraghan, op. cit., v. 2, p. 622.
520 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
April 22: There were two Masses without hymns. Holy Com-
munion was distributed. In the evening there was benediction. A
large number of the Indians returned from Sugar Creek.48 We
heard the unfortunate news about the giving up of the mission among
the Miami.49
May 8: There were three Masses and a sermon in Potawatomie.
Mr. Laurence Bertrand was buried today.
May 9: There were three Masses with a sermon in Potawatomie.
There was class. From the beginning of this month innumerable
wagons, horses, and men have passed by on their way, intent upon
going into New California. They are lavishly squandering their
counterfeit money and stealing horses.50
June 1: A funeral was held today for one of the Indians, Jussius
Knowassen, by name.
June 2: Father Hoecken is called to Uniontown in order to care
for four persons sick of the cholera, but his efforts were all in vain,
because the same day that they contracted the disease they died.
Two others far away died of the same ailment on the same day.
They also were without help of the priest.51
June S: Sunday. In the morning we had services as usual.
After dinner Father Gailland crossed the river and went to Union-
town in order that immediately he might be with the dying. There
were four new victims of the cholera. One of the cholera victims
confessed.
June 4: We visited the Indians at Wakarusa, but frightened by
two successive funerals, they have all fled except one family. The
wife of the doctor was sick and died. Maria Akwona, very sick,
went to confession. We heard the confession of and administered
Extreme Unction to a sick Indian woman, Wawiga. She died. Mr.
Stinson is sick.
June 5: The burial of Wawiga and the wife of the doctor, a non-
Catholic, was held today. The doctor is gravely ill himself. An-
gelica Akwona and her daughter are ill also. William Brown, the
48. The Pottawatomies were still drifting in from the old mission site abandoned by the
missionaries in 1848. Sugar creek is in Linn county, sections 7 and 8, T. 21 S., R. 23 E.
49. This mission had to be given up because of the unstable character of the Indians.
50. All the romantic and adventurous experiences surrounding the gold rush to Cali-
fornia in 1849 have been depicted by other writers. Father Gailland sees the other side of
the picture. The gold searchers frequently were thieves and counterfeiters.
In the course of his Western excursions in 1842, John Fremont, the pathfinder, made,
perhaps, the first road. It was this road that the gold searchers followed. The road crossed
the Kaw near Uniontown and passed up the north bank to the mouth of the Vermillion.
"Fremont's road formed part of the Oregon Trail and when California travel started over it
in 1849 it became known also as the California Trail." — Garraghan, op. cit., v. 2, p. 692.
51. The Asiatic cholera reported in February as spreading toward St. Mary's, struck
in June. The Fathers traveled day and night to be near the dying. The victims of the
disease did not linger long; in fact, some died within two hours after contracting this fatal
disease.
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 521
eleven year old son of William Brown and Wawiyatinokwe was
baptized. Also Pelagia, the two year old daughter of Mr. Smith
and Catherina Tremble was baptized. Theresa, ten month old
daughter of Ambrose Le Fromboise and Maria Richissan, was also
baptized. Also, Elizabeth was baptized. The sons of a negro
woman, Maria Fichyion, a Mormon, and a negro lady were added
to our list of catechumens. Kino we, who also fell victim to the
disease, was given the Sacraments of the Church.
June 6: The wife of Nicholas Janveau, who is sick, made her
confession and received baptism. The fear of her death is great
in the village. Almost all have fled. Anthony, the son of Wanuki
and Pachnokine, was baptized. He is one year old.
June 7: The wife of Mr. Kakison, and Mr. Lazely, fell ill.
Father Gailland came home as the country was almost deserted.
June 8: There is no school at this time because of the danger of
contagion. Mr. Darling plans to embrace the Catholic faith.
June 9: Father Gailland again took care of the Indians across
the river. The doctor is afflicted more and more by the power of
the disease.52
June 10: Sunday after the feast of Corpus Christi. Everything
is as usual. A young man, Kithekuiy by name, died. He had re-
ceived baptism. He fell ill of the cholera during the night and died
early in the morning at Uniontown. On the same day a woman at
the La Fromboise home died of the same disease. She contracted
this disease during a one day visit at Uniontown.
June 11: Maria Richysen is baptized.53
June 12-18: Everything is as usual. The doctor died.
June 14-15: Nothing new.
June 16: Saturday. We received a letter from St. Louis.
June 17: The third Sunday after Pentecost. In the morning
there was Mass with a sermon in Potawatomie. There was no sing-
ing. In the evening we had benediction and a sermon in French.
June 18-19-20: Everything is as usual. There was class. We
began the building of a house for our classes.
June 21-22: Everything is as usual. An infant died and was
buried today.
June 23: The wife of Dufour, and two Indians died.
June 24-25-26: Everything is as usual. On the twenty-ninth,
Father Hoecken and Father Gailland will renew their vows.
52. The doctor in this entry is not Brother Mazzella, but evidently a white doctor sent to
help the plague-stricken.
53. Maria Richysen is a misspelling for Richardson. She was the wife of Ambrose
La Fromboise.
522 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
June 27-28-29: We are engaged in making the triduum.
June SO: Saturday. Everything as usual.
July 1: The fifth Sunday after Pentecost. In the morning there
was Mass with hymns and a sermon in Potawatomie. In the eve-
ning there was benediction and a sermon in French.
July 2: One of the Fathers went to the Indians across the river.
He heard their confessions and on the following day he celebrated
Mass there. Many approached the sacraments.
July 3-4: Everything is as usual.
July 5: There was Mass and class. We received Hunter Kinsy
amongst our students.
August 25: Father Gailland heard confessions, because Father
Hoecken had gone the day before to visit the Indians across the
river. We had Mass as usual.
August 26: Sunday. There was Mass without hymns this morn-
ing. There was a sermon in English by Father Superior interpreted
in Potawatomie by John Tipton.
August 27-28: Everything is as usual. Joseph Darling left for a
while. The unfortunate news concerning the renewed wars in
Europe reached us.54 Hunter left.
August 29: There was Mass and class. An Indian, by the name
of Tchikwe is admitted to our school. Mr. Darveau begins to work
for us again.
August 30: There was Mass and class. Hilary Nadeau left. An
Indian, Kiya by name, is admitted. The weather is cold. A good
quantity of grapes is maturing.
August 31: There was one Mass, and class as usual. Father
Superior is sick. Father Hoecken returned from the other side of
the river.
September 1: Saturday. There was Mass, but no class.
September 2: Sunday. There were three Masses, with singing
at the last Mass, at which time there was a sermon in Potawatomie
by Father Hoecken. In the evening there was benediction and a
sermon in French. Francis Bourbonnais is admitted among the
students, Wagansi, Francis La Fromboise, and Ossakon went home.
Two workmen arrived to put up chimneys. We received letters
from Father de Smet.55 The planks for doors are brought from
Westport.56 Catherine Bergeron was baptized.
54. The renewed war mentioned in this entry has reference to the revolution of 1848
that swept Metternick into exile, and also the revolt in Paris. The workers and liberals of
raris united to drive the Orleanists into exile.
55. Father de Smet, the world famous Indian missionary, was in St. Louis at this time.
56. The old town of Westport is now a part of Kansas City, Mo.
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 523
September 3: There was Mass and class. The workmen began
to construct ovens.
September 4: There was Mass and class. We received a letter
from Father de Smet telling us of the expected arrival of Reverend
Father Provincial and of himself, Father de Smet, a new superior,
Father Duerinck, and one Brother.57 Father Maes returned from
the mission to the Winabagoes, and at the same time the mission
to the Osage.58 The cathechist, Francis Bourbonnais went to his
people.
September 5: There was Mass, class, and catechism class. An
Indian, by the name of Joseph, an orphan, was admitted to our
school.
September 6: There was Mass and class as usual. We received
a letter from Father de Smet giving us the bill for those things
which have been bought for the mission.
September 7: There was Mass and class. Brother Regan left
for Port of Kansas in order to bring supplies.59
September 8: There was Mass but no class was held. Jakson,
an Indian, arrived today.
September 9: Sunday. In the morning everything went as
usual. In the evening there was solemn supplication in honor of
the Blessed Virgin Mary. There was a great crowd. The students,
Francis La Fromboise, Hilary Nadeau, Wabansi, and Osskom, re-
turned after being away for a while.60
September 10: There was Mass. There was school only in the
morning. In the evening we gathered grapes. Mr. Blanchet ar-
rived. Joseph Darling returned.
September 11: There was Mass and class. Mr. Bergeron ar-
rived. The twelfth of September was the same as yesterday.
September 13: There was Mass and class. Brother Regan ar-
rived. Everything is as usual on the fourteenth.
57. Reverend Father Provincial at this time was Father Klet, and Father DeSmet was
his assistant. The Brother that was expected to accompany them did not arrive, as we shall
learn from a later entry.
58. "On April 18, 1849, Father Ignatius Maes accompanied by Father John Baptist
Miege, left St. Louis for the Winnebago country, which lay north of St. Paul." — Garraghan,
op. cit., v. 2, pp. 470, 471.
The purpose of this journey was to locate a favorable site for a mission and manual
labor school among the Winnebagoes. About 77 miles above St. Paul, Father Maes met the
government agent, General Fletcher, and some Winnebago chiefs. These chiefs who invited
the Fathers a short time before to establish a school were now ill-disposed to the plan; the
reason they gave for their change of heart was the failure to receive from the government
a certain tract of land a few miles distant from the Sauk rapids. Fathers Maes and Miege
had to give up the plan of establishing a mission, therefore, because of the instability of
these Indians. In 1863 the Winnebagoes were removed from Minnesota and finally settled
in northeastern Nebraska. — Ibid., pp. 470-473.
59. "Port of Kansas" means Kansas City, Mo.
60. It is interesting to note that one of the counties in Kansas is called Wabaunsee and
named after Wabansi.
524 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
September 15: Saturday. There was no school.
September 16: Sunday. There was Mass with hymns and a
sermon in Potawatomie. There was also benediction and a sermon
in French.
September 17-18: There was Mass, class, and catechism class.
William and Francis Darling went to their home.
September 19-20: Everything is as usual.
September 21-22: Same as yesterday. Father Hoecken went
across the river.
September 23: Sunday. There was Mass without singing. In
the evening there was benediction. There was a sermon in French.
September 24: There was Mass, class, and catechism class.
September 25-26: There was Mass and class.
September 27: Today marks the arrival of Father Provincial
with Father de Smet. They are solemnly received.61 The Indians
went out to meet them with drums, guns, and horses.
September 28: The visitation begins today. For the "Memoriale"
see the following page (Father Duerinck, Superior).
September 29: Reverend Father Provincial, Father de Smet and
Father Verreydt left today.62 It was decided that the Indians across
the river should build themselves two churches.63
September SO: Sunday. There was Mass without singing.
There was a sermon in Potawatomie. It was announced that a pub-
lic and solemn dinner would be given to the Indians by Father
Provincial.64 In the evening there was benediction and a sermon in
French.
October 1: There was Mass. Almost all the students are absent
because of the payment.65 A student, Sem Ale, the son of a woman
by the name of Sasape, is received.
61. "The Indians, many of whom had crossed from the north side of the river for the
occasion, formed an escort to conduct the three Fathers, the march being enlivened by beat-
ing of drums and volleys of musketry in honor of the distinguished visitors." — Garraghan,
op. cit., v. 2, p. 614.
62. Father Verreydt was relieved of his onerous task as superior of the missions. For
the next ten years he was pastor of St. Thomas church in St. Louis. In 1859 he was trans-
ferred to Cincinnati, and lived there for the remaining years of his life. He died on March 1,
1883, at the advanced age of 86, and in the 62d of his religious life. "He was the last sur-
vivor of the founders of the Missouri Province, as he was the last of those men who were
present with him at the beginning of St. Mary's Mission." — -O'Connor, loc. cit., p. 67.
63. The two chapels were built under the direction of Thomas MacDonnell. One
church was built at Mechgamunag, "located in what is now Mission, Township, Shawnee
County, about twenty miles from St. Mary's in the southeastern corner of the reserve and
just a little south of Shunganunga Creek." This chapel was called St. Joseph's. The other
chapel was erected at Mission Creek. "Mission Creek was a settlement on the creek of the
same name and was located about where stands today the town of Dover in Shawnee County
seventeen miles southeast of St. Marys. The Chapel built here received the title of
St. Mary s of the Valley and later Our Lady of Sorrows." — Ibid., p. 67.
64. Father Elet, the provincial, ordered a barbecue to be held for all the Indians, the
school boys included, for October 10.
v rt! 1 *£ *he annuities given to the Indians by the government.
Father Gailland in 1850 described the acceptance of the treaty concerning the reserve at
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 525
October 2: There was Mass. Catechism class was held in the
morning and evening. The Indians threatened to destroy the schools
of Mr. Lykins. For this purpose 66 we all prayed in unison to the
Blessed Virgin.
October 3-4-5: There was Mass and catechism class. A woman,
Opuko by name, died.
October 6: There was Mass.
October 7: Sunday. There was Mass with hymns and a sermon
in Potawatomie. In the evening there was benediction with a
sermon in French. The great feast is announced.
October 8-9: There was Mass and class. A woman was hired
to look after the cleaning of. the house. Horses are stolen at St.
Marys. The house for the school is pushed forward. The great
feast for the Indians and the students was held today.
October 11-12-13: There was Mass. Class was held on the
eleventh. Mr. Darveau and Mr. Tremble arrived. Yesterday and
today we heard the confessions of the boys and girls. Mr. Blanchard
left.
October 14: Sunday. Father Gailland said two Masses. There
was a sermon in Potawatomie. In the evening there was benedic-
tion and a sermon in French.
October 15-16-17: There was Mass, class and a catechism class.
( On the thirteenth, the uncle of Oscorrus arrived to work for us. )
October 18-19: Everything is as usual. On the twentieth, Satur-
day, there was no class. Two students, David and Alexander Rodd
arrived. Scandal is given by one of ours.
October 21: Sunday. There was Mass with singing and a ser-
mon in Potawatomie in the morning. There was no singing at Mass.
There was a sermon in Potawatomie again in the evening. Brother
Regan left.
October 22-23: There was Mass and class.
October 24-25-26: There was Mass and class. In the evening
the students read from the Bible history for about half an hour.
October 27: There was Mass this morning. Class was not held.
October 28: Sunday. There was Mass this morning with a ser-
St. Mary's. In this respect he cites Father Verreydt as saying to the Indians: "The annuities
which you have been receiving are almost at an end, and in a short time you will be unable
to purchase the first necessaries, as food and blankets." — M. Gailland, Catholic Mirror,
November 9, 1850, cited in Garraghan, op. cit., v. 2, p. 598.
66. The exact threat that the Indians made to the Baptist school supervised by Dr.
Johnston Lykins is unknown. It is clear that Lykins looked upon the Jesuits as "foreigners"
and a threat to his mission. In a school report dated September 30, 1849, Lykins says:
"It is a leading motive with us to Americanize the Indians and attach them to our country
and institutions, as, in our estimation, upon success in this depends much in regard to their
future well being. A foreign influence must ever engender prejudice and produce a want
of confidence in our government and people." — The Report of the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, 1849, p. 151, cited by Garraghan, op. cit., v. 2, p. 623.
526 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
mon in Potawatomie. In the evening there was benediction and a
sermon in French.
October 29-80-31: There was Mass and class. Mr. Darveau and
Bergeron left.
November 1: This is the Feast of all the Saints. Services were
the same as Sunday.
November 2: There was Mass but no class because we were
lacking a place. The Fathers change their residence.67
November 3: Saturday. Everything is as usual. Reverend
Father Superior, two brothers, and a teacher arrived.68
November 4: All is as usual.
November 5-6-7: Everything is as usual. On the seventh an
exhortation was given to the Madames of the Sacred Heart.
November 8: The murmuring stopped.
A Memorial left by Father Provincial after his visitation on the
twenty-eighth day of September, 1849:
The Provincial is persuaded that nowhere is greater regularity required in the
performance of those exercises prescribed by the Institute than in missions
amongst the aborigines, where, if the soul grows tepid, courage will be lacking
to surmount the immense and endless difficulties, and a lapse into evil will not
be far away. He judged it well, therefore, to set down the following:
1. The hour of rising in the morning shall be 4:30 o'clock, and one of the
Fathers shall make his meditation with the brothers from five to six o'clock.
2. Father Gailland shall be the Spiritual Father, and the confessor of Ours and
of the nuns. He shall give an exhortation to both communities in the
chapel twice a month, and he shall make note in a book what is done in
the consultations.
3. Immediately after the arrival of Father Duerinck with the two Brothers, all
who are in this house will at the same time go through the eight day
retreat, and Father Gailland will give or direct the exercises.
4. Hereafter the triduum shall take place at stated intervals, and the renova-
tion of vows shall be made in the usual manner of the Society.
5. After the completion of the (new) house, Ours shall have their own
refectory. Let a chapter of Scripture be read at the beginning of the
meal, and the Martyrology at the end, and let there be the usual penances.
6. The Brothers shall read Rodriguez every day in the afternoon from six
till six- thirty o'clock; the Fathers shall make their reading from the
Epitome of the Institute in accordance with the wishes of our very
Reverend Father General.
7. The bell shall be rung twice before dinner for the first and second examen.
8. Girls shall not be admitted to the kitchen and all externs, as far as it is
possible, shall be kept out.
67. When the Fathers moved into the new building, their old living quarters were used
as a dormitory, dining hall, schoolhouse and study hall. The new Jesuit residence was east
of the other buildings. — O'Connor, loc. cit., p. 64.
68. The Father Superior was Father Duerinck; the two brothers were Daniel Doneen
and Sebastian Schlienger. The lay teacher was a Mr. Ryan.
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 527
9. Father Hoecken shall be the admonitor of Father Duerinck and consultor
of the house. At least once a month the consultors shall meet with the
Superior of the house. He shall also be a confessor of Ours and the
Pastor for the surrounding aborigines. During the first and fourth weeks
of each month he shall exercise his ministry amongst the congregation of
the Blessed Virgin Immaculate. In his absence, Father Gailland shall
take his place.
10. The fourth Father, who will come, shall, together with Father Duerinck,
exercise chief control of the school and he shall act as minister.
11. Ours shall dwell in a house separate from the school building, and the
natives shall be very rarely admitted to the private rooms of ours. The
Fathers should have, each one, his own room.
12. Father Gailland shall collect the points for the annual letters.
13. Let the work of the house be so distributed among the Brothers that each
will have time for his spiritual exercises.
14. Greater cleanliness should be observed in the house, yard, etc. Pigs and
cows should be kept out of the yard.
15. Our yard should be entirely separated from the nuns' yard, and no one
shall visit the nuns without the permission of the Superior.
16. Father Hoecken shall visit the Kansas tribe and arrange with them for the
sending of their boys for instruction and for the building of a chapel.
17. The consultors shall write to the Reverend Father General and to the
Provincial at the appointed time, and they shall state whether these pre-
scriptions are being observed.
18. The summary of the Constitutions, the common rules, the rules of modesty
and the letter of obedience shall be read publicly at table every month.
These are the points which, at present, I think should be observed.69
This 28th day of September, 1849
J. A. ELET, Vice-Provincial
of the Vice Province of Missouri
November 9-10: Everything as usual.
November 11: Sunday. We had Mass with singing and a ser-
mon in Potawatomie. In the evening we had benediction with a
sermon in French.
November 12: There was class. A student by the name of
Joseph arrived (he is an Indian of great stature. He is called
Micabo. ) .
November 13: There was Mass, class, and catechism class. A
student arrived, the son of Mrs. Frappe.
November 14-15-16: There was Mass, class, and catechism class.
Two marriages were revalidated.
November 17: Saturday. There was Mass but no class. An
Indian student by the name of Nisswakwat arrived.
November 18: Sunday. There was Mass and a sermon in Pota-
watomie, but there was no singing. After dinner there was bene-
69. This translation was rendered by Father John O'Connor, S. J., in his "Jesuits of the
Kaw Valley," loc. cit., pp. 68-70.
528 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
diction and a sermon in French. Two students, sons of Mr. Peri-
gora, arrived. Samuel Allen returned.
November 19-20: There was class and catechism instruction;
there was also Mass. Everything is as usual. All workmen are
dismissed. During these next few days all students will husk corn
in the fields.70
November 21: The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. There was Mass and benediction. There was class
and catechism instruction.
November 22-23: Everything is as usual.
November 24: Saturday. There is Mass and class. The two
sons of Mr. Papin arrived with two girls.71
November 25: Sunday. At home everything is as usual.
November 26-27-28-29: There was Mass, class, and catechism
instruction. We had a slight snowfall. The next day it melted.
November 30: There was Mass and class. We received Mr. Lee,
agent of the American government. ( He was the government agent
for our Indians and made an inspection of our two schools. )
December 1: Everything is as usual. A new student, the son of
Mr. Peter Bourbonnais, arrived.
December 2: The feast of Saint Francis Xavier. There was
Mass with benediction. There was class.
December 3-4-5-6-7: Everything is as usual. On the seventh it
snowed. Father Gailland began his eight-day retreat.
December 8: The Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. There was Mass and benediction.
December 9: Sunday. There was Mass without hymns. There
was no sermon on account of the cold. In the evening there was
benediction.
December 10-11-12-13-14-15: Everything is as usual. The Kan-
sas River is frozen over. This week the students, Wabausi and
Joseph Brouvert, were sent home on account of sickness.
December 16: Sunday. There was Mass with hymns. There
was a brief talk in Potawatomie. In the evening there was benedic-
tion.
December 17: There was Mass and class. The first consultation
was held about obtaining the gifts of medicines given so far and to
70. During the busy period school was dispensed with and the students worked in the
fields.
71. It is interesting to note that Helen Papin was the mother of the former Vice-President
of the United States, Charles Curtis. She was a Kansa mixed-blood belonging to the tribe
that settled near Soldier creek. Charles Curtis was baptized on April 15, 1860, by Father
Dumortier of St. Mary's mission. — See Garraghan, op. cit., v. 2, p. 618.
EARLY YEARS AT ST. MARY'S POTTAWATOMIE MISSION 529
be given henceforth, and about the division of the field between
ourselves and the Madames of the Sacred Heart.
December 18-19: Everything is as usual. The snow has wholly
melted. Father Superior set for Kansas City. (He went to visit
Colonel Lee, the agent at Westport.).
December 20: A student, S. B. Gouville arrived.
December 21-22-28-24: Everything is as usual.
December 25: Christmas Day. There was no midnight Mass.
In the morning at six o'clock there was Mass, singing and a sermon
in Potawatomie. At the 10:30 o'clock Mass there were hymns and
a second sermon in Potawatomie. In the evening there was bene-
diction and a sermon in French. Hilary Nadau, a student, arrived.
December 26: Everything is as usual.
December 27: Father During returned from Kansas.72
December 28: The Feast of the Holy Innocents. Ten girls fer-
vently received their first Holy Communion.
December 29-30-31: Everything is as usual.
1850
January 1: The feast of the Circumcision. We received the
usual greetings.
January 2-3-4-5: There is nothing new. Father Hoecken has
been absent for four days. We heard the confessions of the girls.
January 6: The Feast of the Epiphany. There was Mass with-
out singing, and a sermon in Potawatomie. In the evening there
was benediction with a sermon in French.
January 7: There was Mass, class, and catechism class. There
was a heavy snow. An Indian by the name of Natchinnene left our
school.
January 8-9-10-11: Everything is as usual.
January 12-13-14-15: Everything is as usual.
January 16-17-18-19: Everything is as usual. On the seven-
teenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth, we made the triduum for the
renovation of vows.
January 20: The feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. We renewed
our vows. Everything else is as ordinary.
January 22: The first Holy Communion for the Indian children
was held today.
January 23-26: Nothing unusual.
72. Kansas City. "During" is a misspelling for Duerinck. Father Gailland made some
of the entries in the diary hurriedly; hence, the explanation for the abbreviations or mis-
spelled names.
36—7724
Bypaths of Kansas History
THE PERILS OF HAULING A CANNON
From the "Thomas H. Webb Scrapbooks," v. 7, p. 256 (in Library
division of the Kansas State Historical Society), apparently a clip-
ping from the St. Louis (Mo.) Daily Democrat of December 31,
1855.
An amusing anecdote is related by a Kansas correspondent of the Carlisle
Democrat, about the company from Kickapoo, a little town near Leavenworth.
A notoriously eccentric character named Wash Hays, living in Kickapoo, was
hired with his ox team to draw a cannon for the Missouri invaders. ( Queer
light artillery, wasn't it?) He started and got fairly on the road, appearing as
if he was oppressed by some mighty thought — when all at once, he sang out,
"Whoa Buck!" stopped his team, and addressed the "capting:" "Look you,
mister, s'pose you git whipt, how's my oxen to retreat? S'pose they take the
gun and shoot the oxen, who's gwine to pay, eh?" and having delivered himself
thus, he sat down on the muzzle of the gun and paused for a reply. "Oh,
pooh!" says the Captain, "drive on, drive on! I'll be accountable." "Oh, yes,
you will be accountable, if you get whipt; but who's gwine to pay?" At this
juncture, a friend of the driver rode up, and said, "Drive on, Wash! go 'long,
old fellow!" Wash turned around with "Look here, mister, none of yer friendly
digs. I ain't such a fool as you think I am," and he very complacently unyoked
his team, left the cannon in the road and retreated to Kickapoo, no doubt
rejoicing over his sober second thought.
WHEN ABRAHAM LINCOLN SPOKE IN LEAVENWORTH IN 1859
As described in the Leavenworth Weekly Herald, a Democratic
newspaper, December 10, 1859.
OLD ABE LINCOLN. — According to announcement this venerable champion
of Republicanism arrived Saturday afternoon about 5 o'clock, and was imme-
diately surrounded by a respectable crowd of the "faithful," who bore him to the
Mansion House, where the ceremonies of introduction and reception were
gone through with. Col. J. C. Vaughan introduced him to the crowd, when
he responded in a short speech — the pith of which was "he could not speak
long, as he was to address them at night." He was probably afraid he would
explore his 'one idea* and leave no capital for the evening.
AT NIGHT.
Stockton's Hall was filled to overflowing at an early hour — many Democrats
being present. At half past seven, the hero of the occasion arrived, and after
being greeted with a cheer, was introduced by Chief Engineer Delahay. — After
elevating his nose, as if to scent the strength of the crowd in which he found
himself, and taking a view all round, "Old Abe" took out his notes, and squared
himself like a man who had work before him and felt equal to the occasion.
(530)
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 531
The personal appearance of the individual is altogether different from any
idea which a stranger would form. So far from appearing 'old' he bears the
appearance of a man well in his prime, but without dignity or grace; he has the
lank, loose stamp of a six foot Egyptian "sucker," who has had his supply of
whiskey cut off in his growing days, and therefore suddenly "ran to seed."
His style of delivery, though concise, and striking plainly on the hearer, bears
the impress of labored efforts to collect a smooth and easy flow; while his ideas
are put forth in language totally at variance with all rules of grammar.
His SPEECH.
We cannot review it in all its particulars; but we have seldom heard one
where more spurious argument, cunning sophistry, and flimsy evasions, were
mingled together, and made to work out all right — no doubt to the satisfaction
of his audience. He seized the slavery hobby in the beginning and rode it out
to the end; starting out with presumed facts, which the man could not but
know were points in dispute in the war of parties, and by the surreptitious
adoption of which he cunningly evaded any charge of inconsistency in his
erratic and blundering harangue. His remarks throughout were but the repro-
duction of the same old Illinois stump speeches with which he bored his
audiences in that campaign which made him famous, and gave him the notoriety
which he is not entitled to, owing to the position of his opponent. He cer-
tainly has the same old arguments stereotyped, which, if reports be true, he
treats his audiences to on each and every occasion. The most noticeable point
was his appeal to the Republican in Kansas, "to let the slaves in Missouri alone;
no doubt he thought they needed some advice on this subject. His last remarks
were confined to a vindication of the policy and doctrines of modern repub-
licanism, and here is where the weakness of the man was apparent. His reply
to the charge of sectionalism was flimsy, and weak in the extreme, accompanied
with the hesitating delivery and excruciating gesture of a man who finds him-
self upon ground with which he is unacquainted, and accordingly "old Abe"
beat a hasty retreat, and wound up with the apology that "as he had to speak
again on Monday, he could not say more"; afraid of taxing that one idea too
heavily.
Quantum sufficit. "Honest Abraham" will not make one more Republican
voter in this Territory. Bring on another importation of "blooded stock,"
gentlemen.
ABRAM LINCOLN AGAIN. — This last importation of the Blacks again ad-
dressed a shivering squad of his admirers at Stockton's Hall yesterday.
An effort was made beforehand to persuade him to touch more directly
upon our political history, and serve up "bleeding Kansas" in his peculiar and
forcible style, but he preferred to stick to his "nigger," and twang upon the old
and worn out arguments, which by some inexplicable operation have been
stereotyped upon his brain.
Again he seized upon the subject of slavery at the outset, and after borrow-
ing largely from his harangue on Saturday evening, went into a long strain of
villification, invective and abuse against all who opposed him and his party.
His audience cheered and clapped him on, in his miserable attempt to make
capital out of the occasion, by prostituting his ability to pander to an animosity
which delights itself in slurring personalities, and filthy expectorations against
the opposition.
532 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
It is a wonder to many how such a man as Abram Lincoln, can so prostitute
himself. Is there no other issue in this wide country, but that of "nigger"?
Has he forever and firmly wedded his talents and ability in the fanatical crusade
of Abolitionism, and sees nothing upon the political horizon but the African?
Where, we ask, are those issues, in which he once battled with a worthiness
which won him renown? Are they dead? No, but he has forgotten their im-
portance, and has allowed himself to be irrevocably drawn into the whirlpool
of fanaticism.
"He had a word to say of Old John Brown." ( Cheers for Brown. ) "So far
as Brown's sentiments for the negro were concerned, he sympathized with him;
(cheers) but he condemned his lawlessness and bloodshed; (a faint cheer;)
and he had yet to hear the first Republican say, he supported him in it." ( Old
Abe paused in expectation of applause, but it didn't come; his hearers were
not with him there. )
In reply to this balderdash, we would ask him if Conway, Thatcher, Lane &
Co., of this Territory, are not Republicans? and if they did not support Brown,
why did they hold sympathy meetings at Lawrence, on the day of his execu-
tion? Why did the prominent Republican leaders in the States do the same
thing, and raise money for him and his? "Honest Abram" don't read the
papers, or if he does, he's blinded by the "negro."
His whole speech was but just such trumpery as the above, and every posi-
tion had about as much foundation. We don't wonder that Douglas rakes the
man "fore and aft," for he is "open" enough, and shows a good target between
"wind and water." To sum up the whole, we characterize his efforts as weak in
the extreme, and himself an imbecile old fogy of one idea; and that is — nigger,
nigger, nigger.
As seen by the Republican Leavenworth Daily Times, December
5, 1859.
ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION OF HON. ABE LINCOLN. — Saturday was a wintry
day. The sky was clear and a northern wind whistled over plain and street
alike. But warm hearts and willing hands laughed the wintry elements to
scorn. The coming of an honored man — crowned with Nature's patent of
nobility — touched the hearts of our people, and they paid him such loving
tribute as to make the day seem one of sunshine, joy and peace. No conqueror,
with trophies and hostages, circled by martial pomp, was he who came amongst
us, and yet no laureled chief — with all the honors of bloody victories — was ever
welcomed with more cordial cheer than honest Abe Lincoln by the Republicans
of Leavenworth.
It having been previously announced that Hon. Abram Lincoln, of Illinois,
was to visit Leavenworth at an early hour, preparations were made to give
him a reception befitting the man, and the cause of which he is such an able
and fearless champion. It was understood he would arrive on the outskirts
of the city at 12 o'clock, and that the reception would take place at the Mansion
House at 1 o'clock.
A large number of citizens in carriages, on horseback and on foot, accom-
panied by the band, all under the direction of Capt. Dickson, the Marshal of
the day, proceeded about a mile on the Government Lane, and there met our
city's honored guest, greeting him with a rousing round of cheers — such as
Republicans only can give.
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 533
The procession then turned and proceeded to the city in the following order:
1. Band.
2. Citizens on foot.
3. Carriages.
4. Horsemen.
Arriving at Turner's Hall the procession halted, and the large crowd then
gave our guest three times three, while "the Kickapoo" [a cannon] was uttering
a loud-mouthed welcome in thunder tones.
The procession then moved on through Delaware street, up Main, and
Shawnee to the Mansion House. There the crowd was so dense that it was
difficult for the carriages to get through. Mr. Lincoln was received on the
balcony of the Mansion by Col. J. C. Vaughan, who welcomed him in behalf
of the Republicans of Leavenworth in a brief but appropriate speech.
Mr. Lincoln was called for with loud cheers and made a few remarks, allud-
ing briefly to political matters, giving a short sketch of the progress of the
Republican party; of the trials of the Free State men in making this beautiful
country the home of the free. He said their battles would never have to be
fought over again. ( Loud cries of "that's so," and "no! no!" ) and after return-
ing his sincere thanks for so flattering a reception, and remarking that he should
address them in the evening, he retired amid the cheers of the crowd.
Long before the time appointed for the speech, the Hall was filled to over-
flowing. Many ladies were present. Mr. Lincoln was introduced to the audi-
ence by Col. Delahay, amid enthusiastic cheering. He spoke for about an
hour and a half, and every few minutes was interrupted by the applause given.
We have not room to give even an outline of his speech. He showed up popular
sovereignty in its true light; showed conclusively that the Democratic party
of to-day was not the Democratic party of a few years ago; that the Democratic
party was not a conservative party; that the Republican party was the only
party in the Union that attempted to carry out the principles of Washington,
Madison, Jefferson, and the founders of this Government.
After he concluded, many were eager to take by the hand one of whom they
had heard so much.
Of the many receptions that Mr. Lincoln has received, we venture to assert
that he never had a warmer one than that extended to him by the Republicans
of Leavenworth on Saturday last.
MR. LINCOLN'S SPEECH. — We desire to dwell briefly upon the speech made
by Mr. Lincoln, and, as our brother methodists so often say, to make an ex-
hortation after it.
The first characteristic of Mr. Lincoln is truthfulness.
He has no clap trap in or about him. He is simple and downright. No
matter how he deals with parties, or the measures of parties, he deals with
them plainly and justly. No speaker, in our belief, is freer from prejudice, or
those passions which cloud intellect or narrow it. He sees what he believes
to be truth and he presents it as he sees it. Men of heart and of truth, conse-
quently, consider what he urges, whether they agree with him or not.
The second characteristic of Mr. Lincoln is common sense.
Oratory is an art. The mellow voice falls sweetly on the ear, and the
rounded period dies away as a musical note. Yet there may be — often there
is — no grit, no marrow, no food for reflection or thought — on the part of those
534 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
thus gifted. It is all manner — passionate, persuasive, vehement — but it is the
passion, the persuasion, the vehemence, generally of shallow feeling or animal
impulse, and nothing more. Mr. Lincoln, on the contrary, taking a broad com-
mon sense view of principles and measures, presents and argues them with a
broad common sense strength. He is clear and solid. His clearness and solid-
ity, too, are felt, must be felt by bitterest opponents, save those among them
who live upon the stimulus of party, or who seek to lead party.
Mr. Lincoln, consequently, is true to principle without being ultra.
He plays no part, and he would have no political organization play a part,
in State or national affairs. There is the Constitution of the Union. He stands
by it and will do so while he lives. There is its great principle of freedom.
He will compromise that for no triumph — yield it up for no defeat. Either the
slaveholder has the right under the Constitution to bring his human chattels
into the Territories of the Union, or he has not. If he has, we must submit.
If he has not, we must restrain him. Hence he repudiates Squatter Sovereignty,
and all and every clap trap which conceals or seeks to conceal the true issue,
and he does it, too, with a force of logic which cannot be successfully resisted —
with a power of reasoning which no mind or party can overthrow.
But better yet, Mr. Lincoln is full of hope and of faith.
The impatient sink down after defeat, and the impulsive grow weary after
victory. He avoids both errors, and the people must avoid them, if they
would defend their own rights or secure their own progress. It is the iron
will — it is the steady and oft repeated blow — it is the energy which never flags
after victory or pales before defeat — which conquers. — All history establishes
this truth. All human experience proves it. Looking, then, to the progress of
the cause of constitutional liberty, in the near past, and to the certainty of its
success in the near future, Mr. Lincoln earnestly advocates the use of those
means essential to win it. What is worth having, is worth working for. Let
us be hopeful and active — let us have faith, and never tire whether defeat or
victory crown our efforts.
Mr. Lincoln's visit will do good to the Territory. No man can speak as he
speaks or work as he works, without sowing seed which will bear rich fruits.
From the Daily Times of December 6, 1859.
SECOND SPEECH OF HON. ABE LINCOLN. — Pursuant to notice, Hon. Abe
Lincoln addressed the citizens of Leavenworth, yesterday, at Stockton's Hall.
The day was fearfully unpleasant, but the Hall was filled to overflowing — even
ladies being present.
Mr. Lincoln opened by reviewing the Territorial policy of our Government
at the start, proving conclusively that it was in favor of liberty and was ever so
exerted except in some of the Southern States where slavery existed by munici-
pal law or was made a distinctive feature of the articles of cession. But where
these causes were not there was freedom proclaimed.
The Fathers did not seek to interfere with slavery where it existed but to
prevent its extension. This was the policy of the Republican party of to-day.
The divisions of sentiment in the Democratic party in regard to slavery
were flimsy and immaterial. The most advanced element could boast of no
higher sentiment than an indifference to the peculiar institution. No part of
the Democracy ever declared slavery wrong in itself; and they reached a sub-
lime height when they said they didn't care whether it was voted up or voted
down.
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 535
This indifference was all the slave-power could ask. It was a virtual recog-
nition of the right of slavery to universal extension.
If a house was on fire there could be but two parties. One in favor of
putting out the fire. Another in favor of the house burning. But these popular
sovereignty fellows would stand aloof and argue against interfering. — The
house must take care of itself subject only to the constitution and the condi-
tions of fire and wood.
The speaker alluded, with much force and wit, to the great line ( which we
are assured by Senator Douglas was ordained of God) on one side of which
slave-labor alone could be employed — on the other free-labor. Thought the
Missouri River might be the line referred to. If the line was ordained of God
it ought to be plain and palpable, but he had never been able to put his finger
upon it.
The attempt to identify the Republican party with the John Brown business
was an electioneering dodge. Was glad to know that the Democracy under-
rated the good sense of the people as the great Republican victories in New
York, New Jersey, Minnesota and Iowa — where the argument was brought out
with extraordinary emphasis — clearly demonstrated. In Brown's hatred of
slavery the speaker sympathized with him. But Brown's insurrectionary at-
tempt he emphatically denounced. He believed the old man insane, and had
yet to find the first Republican who endorsed the proposed insurrection. If
there was one he would advise him to step out of the ranks and correct his
politics. But slavery was responsible for their uprisings. They were fostered
by the institution. In 1830-31, the slaves themselves arose and killed fifty-
eight whites in a single night. These servile upheavings must be continually
occurring where slavery exists.
The democracy was constituted of two great elements. First. The original
and unadulterated Democrats. Second. The Old line and eminently con-
servative Whigs. This incongruous party was ever charging the Republicans
with favoring negro suffrage, sustaining this charge by instancing the two
Republican States of Massachusetts and New Hampshire where negroes are
allowed to vote. But it so happens that the law conferring this franchise was
enacted by the Old Whigs in Massachusetts and the Democrats in New
Hampshire. Kansas was the only State where the Republicans had the framing
of the organic law and here they confined the elective franchise to the white
man alone.
Mr. Lincoln said that, in political arguments, the Democracy turned up
their noses at "amalgamation." But while there were only one hundred and
seventy-nine mulattoes in the Republican State of New Hampshire, there were
seventy-nine thousand in the good old Democratic State of Virginia — and the
only notable instance of amalgamation that occurred to him was in the case of
a Democratic Vice President.
Mr. Lincoln wanted the races kept distinct. Because he did not wish to
hold a negro woman as a slave it did not follow that he wanted her for a wife.
Such flimsy diatribes were perpetrated by the Democracy to divert the public
mind from the real issue — the extension or the non-extension of slavery — its
localization or nationalization.
Mr. Lincoln closed by a clear and forcible definition of the aims and the
principles of the Republican party. He showed how they harmonized with
the teachings of those by whom the Government was founded and how their
536 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
predominance was essential to the proper development of our country — its
progress and its glory — to the salvation of the Union and the perpetuity of
Free Institutions.
We have given but the merest outline of Mr. Lincoln's speech, which we
count among his ablest and happiest efforts. He sought to make no display,
but gave home-bred truths in a home-bred style that touched the hearts of his
hearers and went home to all. The noble sentiments he uttered and the force
of his logic carried conviction with them and aroused an earnest enthusiasm.
At the close of his speech he was greeted with a cordial round of cheers which
made the old hall ring.
REMEMBER THE DAY —
From the Olathe Mirror, July 11, 1863.
Kansas city is a large town, but it can't support a theater. Takes Leaven-
worth to do that.
BUFFALO HUNTING ALONG THE SANTA FE RAILROAD IN 1874
From the Newton Kansan, October 29, 1874.
Immense herds of buffalo are now coming into the Arkansas valley along the
line of the A. T. & S. F. Road; they are moving north along the line of the rail-
road from Kinsley to some miles west of Dodge City. This will prove of im-
mense benefit to the settlers along the line as it will give them profitable em-
ployment as well as furnish them with excellent meat at a cheap rate. This
will also afford another opportunity for amateur sportsmen to have an exciting
hunt. The trains on the Santa Fe Road were stopped four times in one day to
let the buffalo pass. One passenger shot three from a car window.
THE DEATH OF A COLBY LITERARY SOCIETY
From the Thomas County Cat, Colby, February 18, 1886.
THE TRIAL CLUB GONE. — After much trial and great tribulation the "Colby
Trial Club," alias, the Colby literary society, has followed the way of all good
things, and gone up. It departed this life on Friday eve. Feb. 12th, amidst
the deep and cheerful silence of many friends and neighbors. The solemn still-
ness of its closing hours was only broken by the dulcet tones of acting ex-Presi-
dent Willcoxon as he occasionally arose to pitch into something said by acting
ex-Secretary Hall. Only these two unregenerates out of that vast congregation
of mourners, were not awed and shut up by the agony of the dying struggle.
As usual in cases of demise in this region, it died for want of breath. It was a
sad and solemn time. All was quiet. Anon the gentle soothing voice of Bro.
Bullers, rising to object, would steal in upon the deathly stillness and then died
away like a hot biscuit in the hands of the hired man. Only once it rallied a
little, when Bro. Sager arose and set his teeth into the language of sixty millions
of people and scattered the ripped out, gory and bleeding fragments over the
surrounding gloom.
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 53?
Though dead, there is still hope, for the spring time is coming, by jerks,
Gentle Annie, and bye and bye, when the roses bloom again, the now tired and
anxious friends of this dead "gone before," may be able to pull the little-old-
dried-up society out of the hole it has been put into, and breath into it a new
lease of existence. The writer of this, was made a special "committee of one,"
to "rustle" for the society and report. We have rustled, and this is our report.
The thing is dead. Over the cause of its premature departure, we draw the
kind mantle of silence, and speak in hushed and reverent tones of postponement,
no coal, no janitor, a non est programme and repudiation. The Colby Trial
Club is like bread cast upon the waters, but we have got a string to it, and may
be able to pull it in again sometime. The last society editor is hereby notified
that he can come in out of the woods, as the danger is over. Dear friends, fare-
well. In the name of the Colby Trial Club good bye.
Be virtuous and you will be happy, but you will be lonesome sometimes.
Think of this lesson of tribulation, and govern yourselves accordingly. We will
not murmur about this dispensation of providence, but in the spring try and "get
there" again. We may not get there, but we will try. It will not do to gamble
on. In the spring will be time enough to gambol. In the spring, when the rail-
roads, the street cars and the water works come, we will buy us a new plug hat.
If the weather is severe, we will have two of them. Kind friends, farewell.
We are done. We have spoken. We have no more to say. Sic semper domino.
Plumbago erysipelas in hock eureka sciatica usufruct limburger go braugh.
Pull down the window shades. So mote it be.
BY ORDER OF COMMITTEE.
Kansas History as Published in the Press
Articles in the Bulletin of the Shawnee County Historical Society,
March, 1953, were: "Fire! Fire! Fire!," an account of the burning
of the Crawford Opera House; "Local History in the Making," by
Earl Ives; "The Valentine House and the People Who Lived There,"
by Lois Johnson Cone; "Topeka Once Had Operas," by Euphemia
Page; "Nautilus [Club] Memories," by Margaret Sawyer Lovewell;
and "Burnett's Mound," by R. C. Obrecht.
Brief historical notes on Lyndon appeared in The Peoples Herald,
Lyndon, March 26, 1953. The Lyndon Town Company was organ-
ized March 7, 1870, and on May 1, 1871, Lyndon became a city of
the third class.
The Cunningham Clippers feature, "Echoes of the Past," has
continued to appear regularly in recent issues. From March 20 to
May 1, 1953, a "diary" of Cunningham, July 1, 1888, through July,
1889, was published. On May 8, 15, 22 and 28, a short story, "The
Indians Are Coming," based on an incident in the pioneer life of
Kingman county, appeared. Another Clipper feature, "Cunning-
ham's Family Album," a series of historical pictures, also has been
published regularly the past several months.
Articles in recent issues of the Pittsburg Sun and Headlight
included: a history of the Farlington town hall, built in 1873, by
Harold O. Taylor, Sun, March 22, 1953, and Headlight, March 23;
"Lecompte's Old Town," Headlight, March 27, and Sun, March 28;
and a short history of Pittsburg, Headlight, May 20, and Sun,
May 21.
A biographical sketch of Vincent B. Osborne, for whom Osborne
county was named, was published in the Ellsworth Reporter,
March 26, 1953. Born in Massachusetts, Osborne served with
Kansas units during the Civil War and later settled at Ellsworth.
Recent articles in the Hutchinson News-Herald included: a his-
tory of the Hutchinson fire department, organized 63 years ago, by
Jim Skinner, March 29, 1953, and a short history of Windthorst,
now celebrating its 75th anniversary, April 23. Another article on
Windthorst appeared in the Dodge City Daily Globe, April 23.
Articles in recent issues of the Kansas City (Mo.) Star included:
"Faith of God-Fearing Pioneers Brings Blessings to Lindsborg,"
by Howard Turtle, March 29, 1953; and "Ft. Riley History in
(538)
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 539
Pageantry for Centennial Celebration/' by John Alexander, May 31.
An article in the Kansas City (Mo.) Times, entitled "Stories of
Adventure in Early West Had Beginnings on Missouri's Frontier/'
a review of the diary of Osborne Russell who in 1834 traveled from
Independence, Mo., to the Rocky Mountains, by Robert G. Reason,
was published April 28.
Two articles in the Emporia Daily Gazette recently were the
story of the Reeble food stores in Emporia, April 1, 1953, and a
history of Emporia's hotels, June 8. The Reeble grocery business
began 70 years ago when Rudolph Reeble opened the first store.
The Emporia House, first hotel in Emporia, opened for business in
April, 1857.
Titles of articles included recently in John Watson's "See Kansas"
series in the Wichita Evening Eagle are: "Lindsborg's 'Messiah' in
72nd Year," April 2; "Lucas, Kansas, Couple's [Mr. & Mrs. Roy E.
Miller] Free Rock Museum Plays Host to 5,000 Annually," April 9;
"[Indian] Massacres Once Terrorized Lincoln County," April 16;
"West Kansas Store [Robidoux Store at Wallace] Carves Niche in
History," April 30; "Pueblo Indians Lived in State," May 14; "Colby,
Kansas, Woman [Mrs. Joe Kuska] Owns Unique Collection of
20,000 Items," May 21; "Kansas Often Described as Flat, Holds
Canyons, Ruttes, Rad Lands, Rock Cities," May 28; "Historic Old
Fort Wallace Once Guarded Western Trails," June 4; "Only Sod
House in State Stands at Morland," June 11; and "Cimarron Crossing
Once Point of Decision for Travelers Goading Oxen on Road From
Westport to Ancient Santa Fe," June 18.
A historical sketch of the 19th Kansas cavalry, by Lot Ravenscraft,
was published in the Minneola Record, April 16 and 23, 1953. The
unit, commanded by Samuel J. Crawford, was recruited in the
autumn of 1868 for a campaign against the Indians who had been
attacking settlers and travelers.
Recent stories by Margaret Whittemore in the Topeka Daily
Capital were: "Erosion Made Natural Bridge in Barber Co.,"
April 19, 1953; "Coronado Heights Honors Spanish Explorers,"
May 3; "Post Office Oak [Council Grove] Helped Make Pioneer
History," May 17; and " 'Beecher's Bibles' and Wabaunsee Church,"
May 31.
Publication by installments of the history of Harmony Ridge
school, District 104, Butler county, by Zella Lamb Wolff, began in
540 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the Butler Free-Lance, El Dorado, April 23, 1953. The district
was organized in August, 1873.
Judge A. J. Myers of Lane county recalled the history of Ravanna,
"dead" Finney county town, in a column-length article in the
Dighton Herald, April 29, 1953. Myers came to the Ravanna area
in 1880.
Two letters of historical interest appeared recently in the Ellin-
wood Leader: one, by Mrs. Annie Scheufler, printed April 30, 1953,
reviewed life in Ellinwood around 1875; the other, by Mrs. Anna
Ernsting, appeared May 14. Mrs. Ernsting's family, the Christoph
Bock's, came to Ellinwood in the middle 1870's. Also on May 14
the Leader printed notes from the record book of Silas N. West,
early Ellinwood coffin maker and notary public.
The early Garden City schools were discussed briefly by Marilyn
Hatfield in the Garden City Daily Telegram, April 30, 1953. Sam
Krotzer was the first teacher, holding classes in the John Stevens
home in 1879 for 15 pupils.
Based on his visits to Concordia, Lebanon, Smith Center, Oberlin,
Dighton, and Great Bend, Clyde Hostetter comes to the conclusion
in an article, "Would Your Town Stop Anybody?" in Pathfinder
magazine, Philadelphia, May, 1953, that something to be proud of
in the way of history and progress can be found in almost every
town. Hostetter thinks that small-town residents are far too modest
about their communities.
Some of the history of Elkhart appeared in the Elkhart Tri-State
News, May 1, 1953. Elkhart recently observed its 40th anniversary,
having been established in April, 1913.
Several church histories have appeared in the past few months
in the Hays Daily News. An article on the Hays Baptist church,
established in 1883, was printed May 3, 1953. The history of the
Presbyterian church of Hays, founded in 1873, appeared May 21.
The Congregational church of Ellis, now observing its 80th anni-
versary, was featured May 24. Biographical sketches of two of
Hays' prominent early businessmen, Andrew S. Hall and Morgan G.
Huntington, were published in the News, June 7.
The Wellington Daily News, May 6, 1953, published a history of
Wellington by May Myers Garland. In 1871 Mrs. Garland's father,
L. K. Myers, joined with others in founding Wellington. It was
incorporated in November, 1872.
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS . 541
A history of the early Grinnell grade schools appeared in the
Grinnell Record-Leader, May 14, 1953. The first school in Grinnell
apparently began in the fall of 1885, with Narra Jones as teacher.
The first schoolhouse was erected that same autumn.
Anthony's 75th anniversary was celebrated May 27 and 28, 1953,
with a Diamond Jubilee program designed to revive the pioneer,
spirit. The townsite of Anthony was selected April 6, 1878, by the
town company. Anthony was incorporated in 1879. The Anthony
Republican published a special 42-page edition, May 21, 1953, in
which articles on the history of Anthony and Harper county ap-
peared.
Some of the history of the First Presbyterian church of Dodge
City was printed by the Dodge City Daily Globe, May 23, 1953.
The church was formally organized as a Presbyterian church on
May 26, 1878, but had been in existence on a non-denominational
basis for some time before that. The leader in the organization
was the Rev. O. W. Wright, who arrived in Dodge City in 1876.
A history of the first bridge over the Republican river at Clay
Center, by L. F. Valentine, was published in the Clay Center Dis-
patch, May 26, 1953. The bridge, completed in 1875, was recently
torn down. In the same issue of the Dispatch was a brief article
by the Rev. F. E. Shivers, Milton vale, on the Bateham post office
in Clay county. Another article by Valentine, in the Clay Center
Times, June 4, discussed the fees charged by ferries on the Re-
publican river in the 1870's.
Girard had its beginning February 28, 1868, when Dr. C. H.
Strong erected a stick on the site and attached the name Girard,
according to a short article in the Girard Press, May 28, 1953. A
town company was organized and in that same year lots were sold,
buildings erected, and a post office established.
On May 30, 1953, the first weekly installment of Charles W. Good-
lander's memoirs and recollections of early Fort Scott appeared in
the Fort Scott Tribune-Monitor. Goodlander came to Fort Scott
in 1858 and was active in the development of the town. In 1899
his memoirs were published in a book entitled Memoirs and Recol-
lections of C. W. Goodlander of the Early Days of Fort Scott.
Included in the June, 1953, number of the Transactions of the
Kansas Academy of Science, Lawrence, were "The Geography of
Kansas," part 3— concluded, by Walter H. Schowe; and another
editorial on favorite views in Kansas.
542 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
A history of the Orcutt community, Neosho county, by Grace
Moody Reed, was printed in the Erie Record, June 5, 1953. The
school district of Orcutt was organized and a schoolhouse built in
1873.
Featured in a 50-page special edition of The Phillips County
Review, Phillipsburg, June 11, 1953, was the recently modernized
and expanded Co-operative refinery.
A 92-page Fort Riley centennial edition was published by the
Junction City Union, June 24, 1953. Included were articles on
various phases of Fort Riley, Junction City, and Geary county his-
tory. Other newspapers observing Fort Riley's 100th birthday
with special editions were the Manhattan Mercury-Chronicle,
June 24, and the Junction City Republic, June 25.
Kansas Historical Notes
The Wichita Historical Museum Association will present the
"Cavalcade of Kansas," a pageant which will factually depict the
history of the state from Coronado's visitation to the settlement of
the state, on October 9, 10, and 11, 1953, at 2801 South Hillside in
Wichita. Some 400 Kansans will take part in the historical event
as cast members. The program is being written, directed, and
produced entirely by the Wichita museum association under the
direction of Owen C. McEwen, president, and chairman of the
event.
The 78th annual meeting of the Kansas State Historical Society
will be held in the rooms of the Society in the Memorial building
at Topeka on October 20, 1953.
An essay contest for eighth grade students was recently sponsored
by the Augusta Historical Society. The students were to write
about the item they found most interesting in the society's museum.
The winner was Sandra Criss whose essay on the museum building,
including its history, was published in the Augusta Daily Gazette,
April 16, 1953. Stella B. Haines is president of the society.
The bell from the frigate Emporia has been mounted on a
red granite pedestal in the Lyon County Historical Museum. It
was presented to the city of Emporia several years ago by the late
James Forrestal. Named for the city, the Emporia was a Coast
Guard vessel in service during World War II.
The 27th annual meeting of the Kansas Association of Teachers
of History and Related Fields was held at Washburn University,
Topeka, April 17 and 18, 1953. Speakers and their subjects were:
Oswald P. Backus, III, University of Kansas, "The Philosophy of
History of Karl Jaspers as Presented in Concerning the Origin and
the Goal of History"; Albert R. Parker, Wichita University, "Russo-
American Relations Since the Stresa Conference"; Harley J. Stucky,
Bethel College, "Russia's Attitude on Disarmament"; Katherine F.
Nutt, Fort Hays Kansas State College, "The Political Implications
of Mexican Education Since the Revolution"; and Lin wood L.
Hogdon, Kansas State College, "Sociological Analysis of the 1951
Flood in Kansas." Nyle H. Miller, Kansas State Historical Society,
addressed the group at the luncheon session on "Kansas." Officers
elected at the meeting were: Charles Onion, Fort Hays Kansas
State College, president; Verlin R. Easterling, Kansas State College,
Manhattan, vice-president; and Miss Nutt, secretary-treasurer.
(543)
544 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Elizabeth Cochran, Kansas State Teachers College, Pittsburg, was
the retiring president.
C. M. Cooper, Pittsburg city engineer, spoke to the Crawford
County Historical Society at a meeting in Pittsburg, April 29, 1953,
on the surveys of the southeast Kansas boundaries. The southeast
corner of the state was originally marked in 1857, according to
Cooper. In 1915 Cooper was in charge of relocating the marker.
L. E. Curfman is president of the historical society.
A marker has been placed by the Riley County Historical Asso-
ciation near the point where the old Fort Leavenworth-Fort Riley
post road crossed the Blue river. On May 6, 1953, dedication cere-
monies were held by the association, Dr. C. W. McCampbell,
president.
A history of the Lindsborg community, by Emory K. Lindquist,
until recently president of Bethany College, from the immigration
of the Swedish pioneers to the Smoky valley in the middle and late
lS60's, through the development of the community to the present
day, has been published in a 269-page book entitled Smoky Valley
People (Rock Island, 111., 1953).
Information on the route of the Santa Fe trail through the Kansas
City area, with particular emphasis on its location in relation to
present-day places, has been assembled by Dean Earl Wood and
published in a 272-page book under the title The Old Santa Fe
Trail From the Missouri River. Mr. Wood illustrated his work
with several maps.
A description of school days in Kansas during the 1870's and
1880's is given in the reminiscences of the late Marshall A. Barber,
internationally known scientist, published in an 84-page volume en-
titled The Schoolhouse at Prairie View ( University of Kansas Press,
1953).
Two interesting pocket-size travel guides for Kansas were pub-
lished recently. The first, Travel Kansas, No. 14 in a series of
"Tripgides," lists 51 Kansas cities of especial interest to tourists,
and gives historical information on each. The booklet was issued
by the Helbert Travel Service. The second publication, See Kansas
— Remember Kansas, features 24 Kansas views and paintings in
color, with a descriptive sketch of each. This beautiful booklet,
prepared by Milton A. Holmes, was sponsored by the Junior Cham-
ber of Commerce of Kansas. Copies of both booklets are available
throughout the state.
n
THE
KANSAS HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
November 1953
Published by
Kansas State Historical Society
Topeka
KIRKE MECHEM JAMES C. MALIN NYLE H. MILLER
Editor Associate Editor Managing Editor
CONTENTS
STATE ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAND GRANT TO KANSAS FOR INTERNAL
IMPROVEMENTS Thomas LeDuc, 545
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE," MAY 21, 1856: Part
Two, The Historical Phase — Concluded James C. Malin, 553
With the following illustrations:
Portraits of Judge Samuel D. Lecompte, facing p. 592,
and Col. Daniel Read Anthony, facing p. 593;
Photographs of the original recommendation of the Douglas
county grand jury, May, 1856, concerning the Emigrant
Aid Company hotel and the two newspapers at Lawrence,
between pp. 592, 593.
THE MISSING IMMIGRANT SHIP Gladtvin A. Read, 598
With a reproduction of a painting of the American packet ship
Roger Stewart, cover.
BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 600
KANSAS HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE PRESS 601
KANSAS HISTORICAL NOTES 605
ERRATA AND ADDENDA, VOLUME XX 607
INDEX TO VOLUME XX 609
The Kansas Historical Quarterly is published in February, May, August and
November by the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kan., and is dis-
tributed free to members. Correspondence concerning contributions may be
sent to the managing editor at the Historical Society. The Society assumes no
responsibility for statements made by contributors.
Entered as second-class matter October 22, 1931, at the post office at To-
peka, Kan., under the act of August 24, 1912.
THE COVER
You may be wondering what this sailing scene has to do with the prairie
state of Kansas, so we hasten to write that the foreground shows the American
packet Roger Stewart, which brought Peter Gfeller and his family to the United
States in 1853. Many of his descendants now live in Dickinson and Geary
counties, Kansas (see pp. 598, 599). Photo courtesy of Stephen E. Merrill,
Brunswick, Maine.
THE KANSAS
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Volume XX November, 1953 Number 8
State Administration of the Land Grant to Kansas
for Internal Improvements
THOMAS LEDuc
TN the days of the Grangers and Populists it was popular to con-
•*• demn the federal government for its program of land subsidies to
Western railroads and to other beneficiaries such as the agricultural
colleges of the Eastern states. Little was said about the manage-
ment by the Plains states of the immense grants of land made to
them by congress.
Scholars, too, have failed to examine the record of the Western
states in the administration of the school lands and other grants over
which they had complete control. About seven per cent of the
whole area of Kansas was donated by congress to the state. Ne-
braska, Iowa, and the Dakotas were given about the same relative
amounts. How well did democracy work in the husbanding of
these vast resources in the public interest?
The management by the state of Kansas of the internal improve-
ments grant is an instructive chapter. From an early day congress
granted to new states formed from the public domain grants of land
in aid of transportation. Under the act of September 4, 1841, this
practice was standardized by providing a donation of 500,000
acres of public lands to each state subsequently created from the
federal domain.1 The title of Kansas to this grant was activated by
the federal statute admitting Kansas to the Union in 1861.
Under the terms of this act Kansas was entitled to select from the
public lands within its borders, not reserved or already taken up
by individual entrymen, parcels of not less than 320 acres in the
aggregate amount of 500,000 acres. To select attractive lands, the
legislature in 1861 appointed a committee of three senators, S. E.
Hoffman of Neosho Falls, H. B. Denman of Leavenworth, and E.
P. Bancroft of Emporia. For their services these agents were paid
DR. THOMAS LEDuc is professor of history at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio.
1. U. S. Statutes at Large, v. 5, p. 455.
(545)
546 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
at the rate of three dollars a day; they devoted altogether some 300
days to the work.2 Their announced criteria for selecting tracts shed
some light on contemporary principles of value. Soil fertility was
put first, supply of wood and water next, and proximity to settle-
ments last.3
The quest for good land that had not already been taken up by
settlers or investors soon proved that little remained in eastern
and northeastern Kansas. By the summer of 1861, when the com-
mittee made its search, the public lands of eastern Kansas had been
open to pre-emptors for seven years and they had alienated most
of the tillable land outside the Indian reservations. Good land
could be had only at a distance of 100 miles from Kansas City.
About 300,000 acres were found in scattered parcels in the Junction
City land district and the other 200,000 acres in the Humboldt
land district.4
Kansas seems to have appropriated these lands to the purposes
intended by congress unwillingly, and only on advice of the attorney
general of the state. The Wyandotte constitution, under which
Kansas was admitted to the Union, had conveyed the internal im-
provements grant to the school fund.5 To this proposed diversion
from the purpose asserted in the act of 1841, congress never as-
sented.6 It appears, however, that until 1866 it was assumed that
the state could effect such a diversion. That expectation was chal-
lenged by J. D. Brumbaugh, attorney general, who ruled on Feb-
ruary 16, 1866, that the state could not repudiate the conditions im-
posed by congress in making the grant.7 It is difficult to escape the
logic of Brumbaugh's ruling, which was confirmed by another at-
torney general a decade later.8 But it is perhaps worth noting that
Brumbaugh, within a few months, was appearing as counsel for
the Northern Kansas railroad, one of the beneficiaries of the grant.9
2. The report of the committee, dated January 14, 1862, will be found in the published
state documents for that year. The committee may have selected other minor grants as
well. Hoffman with 167 days to his credit, appears to have performed a majority of the
work.
3. Ibid.
4. In the office of the state auditor, Topeka, will be found 14 selection lists, together
with two clear lists." Clear list No. 1, conveying 495,552.20 acres, was approved by the
Secretary of the Interior on March 19, 1864, and Clear list No. 2, conveying 4 438.68
acres, was approved on April 19, 1870.
5. Art. 6, par. 3, constitution of Kansas.
6. Congress did approve such diversions in the cases of Wisconsin, Iowa, and some
other states. — Benjamin H. Hibbard, A History of the Public Land Policies (New York, 1924),
pp. 344, 345.
7. Kansas House Journal, 1866, pp. 494-498.
8. Opinion of the Attorney-General Concerning 500,000 Acres of Internal Improve-
ment Lands, pamphlet dated Topeka, February 2, 1876.
9. See the resolution of the board of directors of the Northern Kansas Railroad Co.,
June 18, 1866. — "Correspondence of Agent to Sell Railroad Lands," 1866-1869, Archives
division, Kansas State Historical Society.
STATE ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAND GRANT 547
In conformity with the opinion of the state's chief law officer, the
legislature of 1866 finally appropriated the lands to the aid of
transportation and established procedures for the administration of
the grant.
The legislative background of this law, as reported by a con-
temporary state senator, is not without interest. In January, 1866,
Sen. J. F. Legate of Leavenworth introduced a bill appropriating
the proceeds of the sale of the lands to the construction of highway
bridges across the Missouri river at Leavenworth and across the
Kaw at Wyandotte, DeSoto, Lawrence, and Topeka. A few days
later Sen. E. C. Manning introduced a bill providing for the donation
of the proceeds in equitable shares to three railroad companies, the
Kansas & Neosho Valley, the Northern Kansas, and the Union Pa-
cific, Southern branch.10 At that date none of these companies had
secured land grants from congress.
It is said that the Manning bill was passed by the efforts of a
combination of senators from the Neosho valley and the northern
tier of counties. When the bill reached the house it was defeated
by opposition generated from Lawrence. The Leavenworth, Law-
rence, and Galveston Railroad,11 unbuilt, but chartered to run due
south from Lawrence, had secured a federal land grant in 1863,
but by 1866 it was apparent that most of the grant would fail
because of prior private entry and prior railroad grants. Actually,
the L. L. & G. was ultimately to realize only 11.6% of its grant from
Lawrence to the northern border of the Osage lands, and none in
the Osage lands.12
Sen. Oliver Barber introduced a substitute bill which added the
L. L. & G. to the three beneficiaries named in the Manning bill,
and the Barber bill became law on February 23, 1866.13 Twenty-
three members of the house registered a protest against the act,
alleging that four state senators, four representatives, and two state
officials had a pecuniary interest in the outcome of the law.14
10. The Kansas & Neosho Valley was later known as the Missouri River, Fort Scott
& Gulf and is now part of the Frisco system. The Northern Kansas was later known as
the St. Joseph & Grand Island and extended from Elwood to Marysville; it is now part of
the Union Pacific. The Union Pacific, Southern branch, is the line from Junction City
down the Neosho valley to Chetopa; it is now part of the Katy system and was never
affiliated with the Union Pacific.
11. The L. L. & G. never extended north of Lawrence. It is now part of the
Santa Fe.
12. The L. L. & G. received a patent on grant lands within the Osage Ceded Lands,
but the patent was voided after long and bitter litigation instigated by squatters and
financed in part by a contribution from the state of Kansas. — L. L. & G. vs. U. S., U. S. Re-
ports, v. 92, p. 733. See, also, the informative note in L. L. & G. vs. Coffin, Kansas Reports,
v. 16, p. 510.
13. Laws of Kansas, 1866, ch. 61. This account is based on the article by Sen.
Edwin C. Manning, "The Kansas State Senate of 1865 and 1866," Kansas State Historical
Society Collections, v. 9, pp. 359-375.
14. Kansas House Journal, 1866, pp. 483, 484.
548 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Under the act of 1866 the state undertook to apportion the 500,000
acres equitably among the four named corporations, to sell the land,
and to pay over the proceeds to the beneficiaries. To qualify for
the proceeds of the allotted land, each company was required to
complete ten miles of construction within five years.
The act thus permitted the prompt sale of the lands and reten-
tion of the proceeds in the state treasury until they were earned.
This arrangement made the lands immediately available to settlers
and investors.
Sale of the lands was put in the hands of an agent to be appointed
by the governor, but removable at the request of the beneficiary
companies. That the state agent was intended to be wholly a
servant of the railroads was made clear in one section of the statute
that asserted:
The sale and management of said lands and proceeds, the duties and con-
duct of the different officers connected therewith, and all matters and things
pertaining thereto, not specifically set forth in this act, shall be conducted
by and be subject to the instructions and rules made by the directors of said
corporations.
In agreement with federal mandate, a minimum price of $1.25
an acre was fixed, but in 1869 the legislature provided that any of the
beneficiaries might appraise the lands and set higher minima on
individual tracts. It appears that only the Union Pacific, Southern
branch, made such an appraisal.
In evaluating the act of 1866 one is struck with its generosity. The
four beneficiaries were each granted land at the rate of 12,500 acres
per mile of line. Nebraska, in disposing of her internal improve-
ments grant, donated only 2,000 acres per mile.15 On grants made
by congress to the railroads directly the prevailing rate in Kansas
was only 6,400 acres per mile, and few railroads ever realized their
full entitlement. Furthermore, the internal improvements lands
were probably more valuable, acre for acre, than the federal grants.
The location of the federal grants was determined by the line of
route and the railroads had to take the land as it came in the usual
checkerboard pattern of alternate sections. In eastern Kansas and
Nebraska, as in most of Iowa, the available land usually represented
the residue after pre-emptors had filed on the best lands. The
state lands, on the other hand, had been conscientiously selected
in choice parcels without restriction as to location.
Appointed by the governor to serve as state agent to sell the
internal improvements lands was George W. Veale of Topeka.
15. Laws of Nebraska, 1869, p. 154.
STATE ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAND GRANT 549
Veale's qualifications for managing the sale of property worth up-
wards of two million dollars are not entirely clear.16 At the then
not inconsiderable salary of $1,500 a year, he held the position until
he was succeeded by Richard D. Mobley of Ottawa on February 6,
1869.17 It appears that Veale, and perhaps Mobley, were unbusi-
nesslike in their methods. The records they left are confused and
far from systematic. In 1874 Frank H. Drenning was appointed
to the agency and instructed to straighten out the accounts. A year
later he reported:
I found that no person had held the office or performed any services since
1871, and that the books and papers belonging to it were scattered around
promiscuously. ... I found the records of the office in a worse shape
than anything of the kind that I have" ever met with in the course of business.
There has been no system of accounts kept, and I have been compelled to get
such information as I could from the various State officers and the parties who
have purchased land.18
Veale began to sell the lands in 1866. He appears to have made
no effort to secure the best possible prices. To large-scale investors
he sold some 45,000 acres at or near the minimum price of $1.25.
His readiness to sell the land at low prices was obviously adverse to
the long-term interests of the railroads. Two of the companies pro-
tested and asked that sales be deferred. In June, 1866, and again
in July, 1867, the Northern Kansas railroad expressed its disappoint-
ment.19 In September, 1866, and several times in the first half of
1867 the Union Pacific, Southern branch (M.K. T. railroad), took
similar action.20 It appears that Veale had sold none of the lands
earmarked for the account of the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Gal-
veston, and no protest from that road seems to have been filed.
The fourth beneficiary, the Kansas & Neosho Valley, on the other
hand, was anxious to have its lands put on sale "as soon as pos-
sible/'21 This was not a strong company, and it was soon to be
16. Veale was born in 1833 and came to Kansas from Indiana in 1857. He represented
Topeka in the state senate in 1867 and 1868, and was later several times elected to the
state house of representatives. He was president of the Kansas State Historical Society in
1908. — See his reminiscences in Kansas State Historical Society Collections, v. 11, pp. 5-12.
17. Mobley was a member of the state house of representatives in 1867, 1868, and
1875.
18. Drenning's summary report, February 13, 1875, will be found in the Kansas
Senate Journal, 1875, pp. 305, 306. Drenning's home was in Wathena; he represented
Doniphan county in the state legislature several times and was chairman of the state
Republican committee in 1867. He was proprietor of the Wathena Reporter at one time
and had some interest in the Northern Kansas railroad.
19. By authority and direction of the board of directors of the Northern Kansas,
June 18, 1866, J. D. Brumbaugh attempted to arrange with Veale for deferment. See,
also, the letter of Samuel Lappin to Veale, July 18, 1867. — "Correspondence of Agent to
Sell Railroad Lands," 1866-1869, loc. cit.
20. Letter of P. B. Maxson, secretary, Union Pacific, S. B., to Veale, Emporia, September
30, 1866; Maxson to Veale, Emporia, March 13 and May 18, 1867. — Ibid.
21. A. S. Johnson to Veale, Shawnee Mission, January 2, 1868; A. S. Johnson to
Gov. S. J. Crawford, July 12, 1867.— Ibid.
550 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
captured by James F. Joy who planned to make it a link in his Gulf-
to-Lakes route. The desire of the K. & N. V. to secure an advance
payment on account suggests that its finances were desperate, and
that its owners were trying to liquidate either to fend off the threat-
ened absorption by Joy or for their own profit.
Although Governor Crawford "directed" Veale to suspend sales
of the land allotted to the protesting railroads, he admitted that he
was doubtful of his right to do so.22 In the end, to protect their
interests, all four companies, or affiliated interests, purchased from
the state the unsold lands. Only in that way could they derive a
fair value from the lands.
Completion of the required construction on the L. L. & G. was
certified on January 10, 1868. Three weeks later substantially all
of the lands credited to that road were sold at the minimum price of
$1.25 an acre to P. F. W. Peck.23 Peck had advanced money for
construction and held a lien on the assets of the company. When
the lien was discharged he conveyed the lands to the L. L. & G. with-
out consideration.24
About 80% of the lands allotted to the Northern Kansas railroad
passed in the same way by sale to interests that controlled the road.
On December 4, 1868, construction was approved and on the same
date title to 104,632.64 acres was conveyed by the state to Dudley
M. Steele, president of the company, for a consideration of $1.25
an acre.25
After Joy got control of the Kansas & Neosho Valley, he purchased
from the state the unsold lands apportioned to his company. On
December 13, 1868, construction was certified and on December
26 he bought 89,690.83 acres at $1.25 an acre.26
Lands allotted to the Union Pacific, Southern branch, the fourth
beneficiary, likewise passed largely to interests close to the man-
agement of the line and were eventually conveyed to the railroad
itself. This was the last of the four roads to complete construction
of the required ten miles of line. Certification was entered on
October 1, 1869, and on December 16 the state sold 89,095.85 acres
to the Land Grant Railway & Trust Co.27 These lands were later
conveyed, without substantial consideration, to the Missouri, Kansas
22. S. J. Crawford to P. B. Maxson, May 25, 1867. — "Governor Crawford's Letter Copy
Book," p. 50, Archives division, Kansas State Historical Society.
23. State to Peck, patent deed. — "Allen County Deed Record," v. F, pp. 354, 362.
24. Peck to L. L. & G. R. R.— Ibid, p. 367.
25. "Patent Book, Internal Improvements Lands." — Office of state auditor, Topeka.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
STATE ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAND GRANT 551
& Texas railroad, successor to the Union Pacific, Southern branch.28
The Land Grant Co. held the contract for the construction of the
M. K. T. Both the Land Grant Co. and the railroad were controlled
by Levi Parsons.29
Alone among the sales to the beneficiary railroads of the land
apportioned to them, the M. K. T. transaction was made at prices
above the minimum. It will be recalled that only this road had
made an appraisal of its allotment, and it was at the appraised value
that the land was sold. Prices ranged from $2.25 to $6.50 an acre,
with a mean of $4.50. This transaction represents about 17.5% of
all the internal improvements lands. It thus affords some clue
to the extent of the state's bounty and some index of fair prices
for land in comparison with the federal government's politically-
determined price of $1.25 for its public lands. If all of the internal
improvements land was equally valuable, the total value of the
500,000 acres was $2,250,000. It is possible, however, that the lands
of the Union Pacific, Southern branch, that had already been sold
were less valuable than those bought in by the Land Grant Railway
& Trust Co. Assuming that this was the case and that the average
value of all the 500,000 acres was only $4.00 per acre, it follows that
each of the four railroads was given by the state a bounty of half a
million dollars, or fifty thousand dollars for each mile of construction.
The approximate cost of good construction at this time was about
$25,000 per mile. The original 241 miles of the Burlington system
in Nebraska cost $27,291 per mile, including interest payments dur-
ing construction.30 The original estimate for construction of the
Santa Fe from Atchison to Topeka was $13,690 a mile.31
The purchases by which the four beneficiary railroads acquired
the unsold lands allotted to them exhausted the supply of internal
improvements land. A small balance of the whole grant of 500,000
acres had not then been received. On April 19, 1870, the federal
government conveyed to the state the 4,600 acres still due.32 Mobley,
the state agent who had succeeded Veale, did not at once commence
sale of these lands. When, on February 13, 1872, he assembled
state officials and representatives of the beneficiary railroads to ap-
portion the supplementary grant, the state attorney general, A. L.
Williams, petitioned the district court of Shawnee county for an
injunction restraining sale or payment of the proceeds to the rail-
28. Interstate Commerce Commission, "Valuation Docket No. 828," pt. 1, p. 9.
29. Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R., First Annual Report, p. 13.
30. Richard C. Overton, Burlington West (Cambridge, 1941), p. 282.
31. L. L. Waters, Steel Trails to Santa Fe (Lawrence, 1950), p. 33.
32. These lands all lay in Ranges 8 and 10, West, and had been selected by Mobley. —
Supplementary list 14, approved and certified by the U. S. General Land Office, 1870, in
office of the state auditor, Topeka.
552 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
roads. Mobley did not appear in court to oppose the application
and the four railroads filed disclaimers to any interest in the land
or in the proceeds of its sale. The injunction was therefore issued
and on August 9, 1873, was made perpetual.33
The injunction outlawed any disposal of the lands by prohibiting
sale for the only purpose provided by state law. Until the legislature
made some new provision the remaining lands would be available
only to trespassers. In 1876 Governor Osborn stated that he had
been contemplating a recommendation that the legislature authorize
sale of the lands and diversion of the proceeds to the state university,
but that he had been dissuaded by uncertainties arising from con-
fusion in the sales records.34 It was at this stage that Atty. Gen.
A. M. F. Randolph issued a ruling confirming that issued in 1866 by
his predecessor, Brumbaugh. Randolph reiterated that congress
had never accepted the provision of the Wyandotte constitution
diverting the lands to the benefit of education from the purpose
prescribed by the federal law of 1841.35
It appears that no effort was made until 1885 to provide by law
for the disposal of the lands conveyed to the state in 1870. The
state meanwhile collected small balances due on sales made earlier
on the original conveyance of 495,000 acres. By 1885 there was a
little over $8,000 cash and the 4,600 acres still in the state's railroad
account. In that year the legislature, uninhibited by the rulings
of two attorneys general, passed a law authorizing sale of the land
for the benefit of the permanent school fund and transfer of the
cash balance to the same account.36
In retrospect it would seem that the state legislative policy was
unwise and that the state administration was irresponsible and in-
efficient in the disposal of the internal improvements grant. The
legislature offered unusually generous bounties for the construction
of as little as ten miles of trunk line. If trunk lines were wanted,
greater mileage should have been required. If the legislative
policy of having the state sell the lands was intended to prevent
withholding of the lands from settlement, it failed. The railroads
bought in 80% of the land and then were free to withhold it for
optimum market conditions. As to the act of 1885 diverting the
small final balances of land and cash to the school fund, it was clearly
a violation of the mandate of congress.
33. Letter from the attorney general to the legislature, January 26, 1874. — Kansas
Senate Journal, 1874, pp. 127-129.
34. Message of the governor, Kansas House Journal, 1876, p. 40.
35. Opinion of the Attorney-General Concerning the 500,000 Acres of Internal Im-
provement Lands, dated Topeka, February 2, 1876.
36. Laws of Kansas, 1885, ch. 182. This statute listed the unsold parcels. The
statutory listing was repealed by ch. 220 of the Laws of 1887, which gave a slightly different
list.
Judge Lecompte and the "Sack of Lawrence,"
May 21, 1856
JAMES C. MALIN
PART Two: THE HISTORICAL PHASE
IN part one, "The Contemporary Phase/' of this study, Judge
Samuel D. Lecompte's defense of his judicial career rested pri-
marily upon his four letters — to Rep. James A. Stewart, to Sen.
James A. Pearce, to Gov. John W. Geary, and to Caleb Gushing.
He was not permitted a hearing upon any of the charges where
prime documentary records cOuld be presented or witnesses intro-
duced and cross-examined.
Thus matters were left, so far as Lecompte was concerned, until
1873, when old wounds were reopened. This seems all the more
remarkable, because Lecompte had maintained his residence in or
near Leavenworth, had remained loyal to the Union, and after the
Civil War had served as a Democrat in the state legislature in 1867
and 1868, after which he became a Republican during the campaign
of 1868, and in 1874 was chosen chairman of the Republican con-
gressional committee.
Upon the last mentioned occasion, and without any reference to
the impending explosion, Sol Miller, editor of the Troy Kansas
Chief, June 25, 1874, printed this paragraph:
If there still be persons who think that the world does not move, we refer
them to the name of S. D. Lecompte, attached to the call for a Republican
District Convention to nominate a Congressman for this District, and remind
them that this is the same Judge Lecompte for whom Lecompton was named,
and the very mention of whose name, less than twenty years ago, caused a
shudder everywhere in the Free States. He is one of the pleasantest looking
old gentlemen imaginable. It may serve to strengthen their faith in progress,
to know that Gen. Stringfellow is a member in good standing of the Republican
party.
One of the remarkable aspects of the post-Civil War period — re-
markable if one takes seriously the "depravity" charged against the
Proslavery "villains" of the territorial melodrama — is that once the
slavery question was eliminated, former Proslavery people, includ-
ing the more prominent leaders, lived as integral components of
their communities, commanding the respect each deserved as an
individual, unless, perchance, old controversies were revived. In
DR. JAMES C. MALIN, associate editor of The Kansas Historical Quarterly, is professor
of history at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.
(553)
554 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
that case Free-State people, with few exceptions, demanded a com-
plete monopoly upon interpretation of the past.
The answer to the question of the reopening of the old wounds
in the case of Lecompte is to be found in a complex situation,
climaxing in 1873-1874, in a criminal libel suit, State of Kansas vs.
Daniel R. Anthony, with Lecompte as the complaining witness.
The situation providing the immediate setting for the libel suit
involved four episodes, more or less related: a controversy over
enforcement of internal revenue laws; Cole McCrea's charges against
Lecompte arising out of the territorial troubles; Lecompte's article
on the advisability of limiting the President to one term; and
Lecompte's relations with the Grange and farmers' discontent of
1873.
THE DIETRICH CASE
The tax on liquor was inaugurated during the Civil War as an
internal revenue tax to aid in financing the war. It was one of the
few internal taxes retained by the national government after the
war, and was the object of a bitter and relentless campaign for
repeal. In fact, there were many resemblances between this cam-
paign and the antiprohibition campaign of the 1920's against the
Eighteenth amendment. Corruption in administration led to the
Whisky Ring scandals in 1875, which compromised even President
Grant. The federal enforcement in Kansas was in the hands of
George T. Anthony, a cousin of D. R. Anthony, and a political op-
ponent within the Republican party. Lecompte was United States
commissioner in Kansas and preliminary hearings for offenders
prosecuted under federal law came before him to determine whether
evidence seemed to justify binding them over for action by the grand
jury at the next term of the United States court.
The case of Charles Dietrich, for rectifying liquor without a li-
cense, was heard in August, 1873, and he was bound over on $2,000
bond for trial at the next term of the circuit court. In the Leaven-
worth Daily Times, August 8, 1873, Col. D. R. Anthony denounced
the prosecution of Dietrich on the ground that there was no desire
to enforce the law, only to harass small offenders while the big vio-
lators, under a system of protection, became rich. Furthermore, in
attacking the commissioner personally, Anthony charged that: "Le-
compte true to his instincts and the tyranical reputation he bears
for crimes committed in the dark days of 1854 5 6 and '57, bound his
victim over in accordance with the instructions he received, from
the man he now acknowledges his master/' Instead of being re-
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 555
quired to appear in the United States district court in Leavenworth,
Dietrich was required to appear before the United States circuit
court in Topeka.1 Neither the guilt of Dietrich's action nor the cor-
rectness of Lecompte's official action are critical to the present
story, but the language quoted above in characterization of Le-
compte, became one of the counts in the libel action. The Dietrich
case provided only the occasion for its use.
THE McCREA CASE
The revival of the controversy over Lecompte and the murder of
Malcolm Clark by Cole McCrea, April 30, 1855, came about through
a series of "Early Kansas" articles prepared by H. Miles Moore and
published over a period of approximately a year, February, 1873, to
January, 1874, in the Leavenworth Daily Commercial. Moore was
a New Yorker, living in Weston, Mo., 1851-1855, a Whig in politics,
and a member of the Leavenworth town company. He had acted
with the Proslavery element, voting in Kansas on election days prior
to his definite residence in Leavenworth which began in September,
1855. He had joined the Free-State party soon thereafter and was
nominated attorney general, December 22, and elected January 15,
1856, under the Topeka constitution. Thus, at the time of the Clark-
McCrea affair he was still a Weston resident, although a member
of the Delaware Trust Land Squatters' Association because of a
claim held in Kansas.
The murder of Clark had occurred during a Delaware Trust Land
Squatters' meeting. As Moore related the incident, McCrea was
not eligible to participate because he was settled on Kickapoo lands.
Clark had served as marshal in the Delaware association and when
McCrea interrupted after warning that he was not eligible to partici-
pate, an altercation ensued in which Clark was in the act of attacking
McCrea when the latter shot and killed him. McCrea attempted
to escape, was seized by the crowd and with difficulty taken to the
guardhouse at Fort Leavenworth to save him from mob violence.
After several months, McCrea escaped, but after a few years returned
and was then living at Leavenworth.2
In the "Early Kansas" article of the week following the printing
of the above account, Moore added further comments including the
Leavenworth Herald May 11, 1855, account of an indignation meet-
ing and incendiary resolutions of May 3, 1855, of sympathy for
Clark and denunciatory of McCrea. In reprinting this material,
1. Leavenworth Daily Commercial, August 8, 1873; Leavenworth Daily Times, August
8, 1873. Another "vinegar works" liquor case was reported in the Times, August 26.
2. Leavenworth Daily Commercial, July 13, 1873.
556 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
however, Moore omitted names of living persons, particularly the
references to Lecompte. The latter wrote Moore a letter, dated
July 21, thanking him for his kindness, but taking the occasion to
explain the errors in the old Herald story. This was substantially a
restatement of his Stewart letter on the same points, relating how
his role in that meeting had been misrepresented, and that, in fact,
he had intervened to save McCrea, and he still thought he had done
so. That story may be summarized, briefly. Judge Lecompte, who
was then living at Shawnee Mission, was notified of a meeting to be
held in Leavenworth the next day to decide upon action. On a
half-hour's notice, Lecompte insisted, he caught the stage to the
fort, and in the city intervened to persuade leaders to submit to legal
processes. To that end, he thought that he had succeeded. He
addressed the meeting and left thinking the crisis was over. Only
afterward had he discovered what the meeting had done following
his departure in adopting the resolutions in question, and the
Herald's misrepresentation of his address to the meeting as an en-
dorsement.3
Too late, Lecompte realized the mistake he had made in not
entering into the contemporary record an immediate denial of the
Herald story, his letter to Moore stating the circumstances — at any
rate the circumstances as he saw them in 1873:
I intended to write the proper explanation for the next issue, but unhappily
for a proper vindication of myself, I failed to think of the future and consider-
ing that the knowledge of those present would correct the falsity of the posi-
tion assigned me, let pass the opportunity of correction, and they [thus] left,
[as] a permanent record, a report of the proceedings, such as it is.
McCrea took strong exceptions to Moore's version of the affair
and prepared an extended reply, published in the Leavenworth
Daily Times, August 5, 10, 19, 24, 31, 1873. In printing McCrea's
"Card," D. R. Anthony stated, August 5, that "We have no interest
in the controversy, but, as Mr. McCrea thinks he has been grossly
wronged and outraged by Mr. Moore, we give admission to his
card of defense." McCrea referred to Moore as "a paid wretch in
the employ of a newspaper claiming to be Republican," and to his
history as "vulgar twaddle." In the second article McCrea com-
pared Moore to a "snarling cur," and made even a more offensive
comparison, but as the article deals primarily with Lecompte, the
details of the Moore controversy are omitted here.4
McCrea pled self defense in justification of his shooting of Clark,
3. Ibid., July 20, 27, 1873.
4. Leavenworth Daily Times, August 5, 10, 1873. The story of Moore and McCrea has
been told elsewhere by the present author, under the title "From Missouri to Kansas; The
Case of H. Miles Moore, 1852-1855."
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 557
and in defending his claim of right to participate in the squatters'
meeting of April 30, 1855, enumerated five points: the exercise of
jurisdiction by the Delaware association in Kickapoo country; the
resurvey of the Delaware-Kickapoo boundary which placed Mc-
Crea's claim on Delaware land; retainer by William Braham, as his
legal counsel; engagement by the real settlers, regardless of Pro-
slavery or Free-State sentiment as their agent; election as Sachem
of a secret Free-State society. McCrea's narrative was so confused
in places as to render much of it incoherent, and therefore it is
impossible to be certain upon what ground McCrea claimed his
right to participate in the squatters' meeting as of April 30 in con-
trast with his claim of right as of August, 1873. In his "Early
Kansas" articles, Moore had not recognized any aspect of such a
claim of right by McCrea. On McCrea's side, he accused Moore
of heading a mob to deliver McCrea from the guardhouse at Fort
Leavenworth into the hands of the mob to hang him. Moore's
"Journal," however, proves McCrea's accusation false.5
McCrea's grievance against Lecompte is the major focus of the
present story. In connection with the charge against Moore of
heading a mob to hang him, McCrea charged that Moore and Dr.
Bailis appeared at the Fort with a writ of habeas corpus, pur-
portedly sued out by McCrea, before Judge Lecompte — "the affi-
davit bearing the certificate of that most servile of ruffian tools.
. . ." He accused Lecompte further of trying to force an indict-
ment of McCrea from the grand jury in September, 1855, which
was refused. Again in an adjourned session of the court, McCrea
asserted that Lecompte secured a more pliable grand jury. Further-
more, he told a confused story of securing a change of venue under
threats against Judge Lecompte.
Another offensive reference to Lecompte was made by McCrea
in connection with his charge about Lecompte's relation to the
Howard committee which investigated the Kansas troubles in 1856:
Now one more incident in the judicial life of this unjust and imbecile Judge,
. . . the office-seeking Republican, and I have done with him. I now
refer to his raising his hand against the very government of the nation when
the wretch undertook to keep our country from knowing our wrongs.6
McCrea was not "done with him," however, but, in the next in-
stallment of his reply to Moore, discussed the murder of William
5. Leavenworth Daily Times, August 10, 24, 1873; H. Miles Moore "Journal," entries
for April 29, 30, May 1, 2, 3, 1855, account for Moore's activities. He was ill May 1, 2, 3,
and confined to his bed, or to his room, most of the time. The Moore "Journal" is in the
Coe collection, Yale University Library, and is used here with the written permission of the
Yale University Library, dated February 26, 1953.
6. Leavenworth Daily Times, August 24, 1873.
558 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Phillips, by a mob, and the murder of Hoppe by Fugit, charging
that die latter was acquitted by Lecompte:
The judge is living in well-merited contempt about a mile south of the city.
. . . Not one of the mob [that killed Phillips] was ever brought before a
grand jury by that most infamous of judges — S. D. Lecompte. But the strangest
part is, that this judge, the most foul of proslavery lickspitles, expects to re-
ceive a reward from the Republicans. ... He [Phillips] was finally mur-
dered on the 1st of September, 1856, while his gentle wife was an inmate of
a lunatic asylum from the effects of frights received in Kansas from ruffians
under the encouragement and approval of Judge Lecompte. Is it not cruel to
keep that devil in expectancy of office so long? Oh, God! did ever the judicial
ermine rest on so foul a back! 7
The only reaction of Moore to the McCrea articles was an entry
in his journal, August 31, 1873: "McCrea has one in the Times a
rich batch of lies and nonsense." It would seem that, on the basis
of the articles, Moore had as good a case as Lecompte against
McCrea and Anthony for libel.
"PRESIDENTIAL TERMS OF OFFICE"
The third episode that contributed to the Lecompte-Anthony libel
suit arose out of an article written by Lecompte and printed in The
Kansas Magazine, September, 1873, "Presidential Terms of Office."
Lecompte argued for the right of the people to elect a man for as
many terms as they thought fit. The judge pointed out that the issue
was usually raised in the midst of a campaign by the adherents of the
candidate to be benefited. But he insisted that there was a principle
involved that should be considered independently of any particular
candidate or party. The constitution placed no limits, and from
patriotic motives Washington had set a precedent of two terms, but
nearly a century had passed during which the republican principle
of government had become well established in the United States,
and had become widely recognized in the Old World. All argu-
ments against re-election without limits he reduced to two: "The
first, that of an adherence to an old practice because it was so; the
second, that of a doubt of our capacity to maintain the great funda-
mental principle, popular sovereignty."
Lecompte's argument for a change in the custom of the two-term
rule affords an admirable glimpse into the quality of the judge's
mind and personality: "The general adoption of this sentiment [the
two-term rule] would be the most complete quietus to progress that
could be conceived. It is utterly inconsistent with the idea of
human advancement, and can find no advocates amongst the be-
7. Ibid., August 31, 1873.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 559
lievers in the yet untold wonders of human capability." Of course,
there was a fly in the ointment. The New York Herald, a Democratic
organ, had already come out against a third term for Grant. Al-
though Lecompte denied any interest in Grant for a third term, yet
he suggested that if Grant's future conduct did not forfeit public
confidence, and on the contrary, further enhanced it by 1876, the two
objections named should not stand in the way of a third term.
The Topeka Telegraph commented favorably on Lecompte's arti-
cle, but in his Times, August 29, 1873, D. R. Anthony used this notice
as the text for a scathing editorial:
During the old border ruffian troubles Judge Lecompte was the most
obsequeous of all the federal appointees in Kansas. He prostituted the judicial
ermine to do the dirtiest work of the slave power. He went to such extremes
that his name became infamous and is to-day execrated by the friends of
humanity throughout the country. In later years the Democracy failed to
recognize his claims for office, he therefore deserts his old party associations and
for the past few years has called himself a Republican. We do not object to
his voting the Republican ticket, but we do object to his proclaiming himself
the oracle of the party.
Judge Lecompte now prostitutes himself to do the work which no honorable
Republican will do.
We have no unkind feelings towards the Judge, but we must beg him to
keep quiet and not make the Republican party responsible for his wild sub-
servient nonsense. Who is running the Kansas Magazine?
LECOMPTE'S "CARD" OF WARNING
For Lecompte, this seemed to be the last straw. He issued a
"Card'' of warning "To D. R. Anthony and Cole McCrea," published
in the Commercial, September 3, 1873, referring to the "grossly de-
famatory articles," which had appeared in the Times. He pointed
out four possible courses of action: to take redress into his own
hands; to reply in kind; to submit without protest; and to institute
libel proceedings. Although disagreeable, only the fourth course
could he consider adopting:
But before doing so I prefer to give you both this open warning. I therefore
do now advise you that I shall adopt the course indicated if there shall be any
repetition of such use of my name.
I need simply add that the law gives you the privilege of showing the truth
of the matters alleged in justification.
If you are satisfied that you can maintain the truth of such charges then this
warning need not deter you.
I will scarcely say that I am not to be understood as intimating any suit for
damages. I want none. I propose to treat it as the law treats it — as a crime
against order and society to be punished.
The Times did not subside immediately and reprinted, September
7, from the Paola Spirit a commentary on Anthony's editorial on the
560 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
judge's presidential terms article under the headline, "An old
Shyster/' What the Spirit said was that "It [the editorial] very
properly deals out a few hard knocks to one old shyster in the follow-
ing language" — and then quoted Anthony on Lecompte.
LECOMPTE'S RELATIONS WITH THE GRANGE
The Times of September 10, went a step further, providing the
fourth episode in the background of the libel suit:
The Grangers of the county, we are informed, met in council at High Prairie,
on Saturday last. Judge S. D. Lecompte, the U. S. Judge who declared the
Lawrence Hotel a nuisance, and the Judge who tried and cleared Fugitt, was in
attendance. There was a large representation. Lecompte moved, as the sense
of the meeting that it was inexpedient to make county nominations, which was
carried. A delegate, however, pitched into the Judge and exposed his sub-
serviency. The Council reconsidered the resolution and by an almost unanimous
vote resolved to co-operate with the farmers' movement.
If they nominate an independent ticket we hope they will nominate their
best men.
After this eruption, Anthony became quiet until December 23.
The defalcation by the Leavenworth county treasurer had created a
crisis. The Council of the Patrons of Husbandry had met December
20 to consider action, and authorized Lecompte to present their
program to the meeting of the board of county commissioners, De-
cember 22. Anthony took exceptions to this choice and announced
his opinion in an editorial December 23:
It was extremely unfortunate for the Grangers that they selected a tool of the
old Border Ruffians to speak for them. Judge Lecompte is naturally a sub-
servient, lazy man, the very last one that ought to have been selected to act as
the exponent of the farming element. The Judge is by training and instinct
opposed to the Granger policy, and had he not failed in his profession he would
scorn to stand by the sons of toil. He never paid any tax himself, and is there-
fore the last man that should speak for taxpayers. . . .
THE LIBEL SUIT FILED
Anthony's newspaper rival, the Commercial, December 25, re-
viewed the background of the libel case, the McCrea articles,
Lecompte's warning, the silence of the Times, then Lecompte's ap-
pearance on behalf of the county Grange, December 22, and the
Anthony editorial the following day, concluding that there was little
in the editorial itself that should have precipitated a libel suit, but
it was the cumulative effect that "so exasperated the Judge that he,
on yesterday [December 24], filed a bill of complaint. . . ." The
Commercial revealed where its heart lay by the concluding sen-
tence: "Judge Lecompte is an excellent citizen and an estimable
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 561
gentleman, and the whole course of D. R. Anthony towards him has
been malicious and unjustifiable/'
The Times editorialized, December 27: "A libel suit is an unique
Christmas gift, but nevertheless we accept it in the same kindly
spirit that it is tendered, and shall endeavor to use it for the benefit
of truth and justice." Erroneously, Anthony attributed to Lecompte
the authorship of the Lecompton constitution of 1857. The particu-
lar articles in the Times specified in the bill of complaint were edi-
torials of August 8, September 7, 10, and December 23, and the
McCrea articles of August 24, and 31, as well as other articles, not
specified, between August 1 and December 23. Anthony closed his
comment by saying:
To us it seems, although we are neither his physician or legal counsellor, that
a libel suit which must necessarily recall to public notice much of the history
of his past life, would be very distasteful to him. Personally our relations with
Judge Lecompte have been pleasant. We have never exchanged hostile words
with him, and at this time wish him all the happiness usually accorded to com-
plainants in all cases of a similar character.
On August 5, 1873, in the same issue of the Times in which Mc-
Crea began his attack upon H. Miles Moore, Anthony also de-
nounced him on another score. Moore had been elected to the
school board the night before to fill a vacancy, "but as H. M. M. has
always done the bidding of the 'ring' he is just the man they need."
Since territorial days Moore had become a Democrat, and had risen
in party ranks to the position of secretary of the Democratic State
Central Committee. It is evident that, in addition to personal
animosities, political considerations were involved. Anthony and
Lecompte were rivals within the Republican party. The Dietrich
case suggested a bid for the German and the liquor vote for the
Republican party. Moore's "Early Kansas" articles suggested a
Democratic bid for the same vote along with the Catholic vote.
The appeal by both sides to the Free-State traditions of territorial
days suggested a bid for the Negro vote. But in view of the man-
ner in which the case had developed over "Early Kansas" history
between Anthony and Lecompte, who was better equipped to de-
fend Anthony than H. Miles Moore? In his "Journal," December
27, Moore wrote: ". . . Anthony employed me to defend
him rather rich. . . ." Associated with Moore was another
lawyer, E. N. O. Clough. Law as well as politics makes strange
bedfellows. However bitter the feeling may have been between
Moore, McCrea, and Anthony, having accepted the case Moore
was compelled to conduct the defense on the terms Anthony and
38—312
562 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
McCrea had already set by the articles of the preceding August
and September, which largely repudiated Moore's own writing on
"Early Kansas" printed during the summer. Moore himself appears
to have undergone at least a partial transformation. During the
preceding summer, Moore had been generous toward Lecompte and
the friendly exchange of courtesies had ensued in Moore's "Early
Kansas" articles. But on December 28, the day after Moore had
accepted the defense of Anthony, the Commercial printed his in-
stallment of "Early Kansas" dealing with the "Sack of Lawrence."
In that article, Moore depended upon second hand reports from
Lawrence that he had recorded in his "Journal" m May, 1856,
attributing the destruction of the hotel and presses to "orders from
the First District Court." He then reprinted the text of the notorious
"indictment or information against the news papers and free state
hotel," and then added this comment:
I wish I had the names of all the members of that grand jury who made the
above recommendations, that I might give the people of Kansas as well as
themselves if alive the benefit of this advertisement, they should be preserved,
that they might be execrated by the present generation. The chances are that
some of them at least if now residing in this State, are holding Federal or State
appointments. I regret to say that the judge of that court approved the recom-
mendation of that infamous grand jury, and issued the order for the abatement
of those nuisances, so-called. . . .
One might ask whether fulfillment of Moore's professional obliga-
tions to his new client required such a change of front in his re-
sponsibilities to his readers for truth in history?
Anthony began pleading his case through the Times by printing
documents on the William Phillips case taken from the archives of
the district court of territorial vintage:
The papers published, it seems to us, prove conclusively that Lecompte was
the Jeffries of those dark days of blood. Can anyone knowing the facts of the
brutal treatment inflicted upon Phillips and of Lecompte's judicial action in
the premises doubt that the latter was the "tool of the Border Ruffians?"
The original papers in the above case are now on file in the Clerks' office
in this city. The indictment of the Grand Jury, declaring the Free State Hotel
and the two Free State papers in Lawrence nuisances, cannot be found. They
have probably been abstracted from the records of the court. In these later
days, there are obvious reasons why many officials would very naturally desire
their destruction. The old guard of Free State men will appreciate the reading
of the documents.8
The preliminary hearings on the Anthony case began in police
court, before Judge Samuel B. Williams, January 5 (Monday), and
8. Ibid., January 4, 1874. The particular documents printed were not returned to the
clerk's office, and are now in the "H. Miles Moore Papers," Manuscript division, Kansas State
Historical Society.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 563
continued through January 10, 1874. The prosecution placed in
evidence copies of the Times containing the articles named in the
complaint and rested its case. The defense occupied the remainder
of the time. The Times ridiculed the prosecution:
Lecompte dilated on his numerous greivences; told what a perfect burden his
life had been, pictured his deep misery to the Court, till his knees began to
weaken and great crocodile tears chased each other down on either side of his
blushing nose.
Referring to the arguments of the counsel on both sides, the account
continued: "When these buncombe speeches had rippled away
into complete nothingness, the witnesses were called."
Space does not permit a full report of the evidence and commen-
tary from both the Times and the Commercial during the week of
these hearings. The points that appear most pertinent to the main
theme of this paper must be selected for brief review. On the second
day, when the parade of defense witnesses began, Lecompte chal-
lenged the procedure proposed by the defense. The defense held
that all that was necessary to prove was that prevailing public opin-
ion held that Lecompte was guilty as charged by Free-State men.
Lecompte insisted that the defense must be limited to the specific
charges and establish them by positive proof. As the Commercial
reported it:
The Court held that the acts of injustice, oppression and tyrany alleged
to have been committed by Judge Lecompte must be supported by specific
proof of each allegation; and remarked that the public opinion formed at that
time was most likely colored by the partnership [partisanship?] of the actors.
Straightened by this ruling, the amount of evidence adduced bore somewhat
the same proportion to the number of witnesses examined, and the time con-
sumed, that the bread should in the Falstafian view, to the amount of sack with
which it is to be consumed.
Little factual evidence indeed was offered, but in spite of the ruling
much was said of Lecompte's bad reputation. In the cross examina-
tion of Anthony, he fell back upon such phrases as "best information,"
"general sentiment," "do not know," "comparatively," and "universal
opinion." James Legate's testimony, as a witness called by the
defense, proved of particular interest, and was reported in contradic-
tory fashion by the Times and Commercial. He had been a member
of the Douglas county grand jury in May, 1856. The Times in-
terpreted him as saying that the grand jury did bring in a bill, by
a vote of 13 to 4, declaring the hotel a nuisance, and also found bills
against the newspapers, and that Sheriff Jones "publicly proclaimed
that he did it [abated them] under the authority of the Court."
564 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The Commercial reported Legate as saying "that the general talk
at Lecompton was that Judge Lecompte would not make the order —
and that the Deputy Sheriff that headed the mob at the time of the
destruction, declared that it was done by order of the grand jury/*
Because of differences about what Legate had said, he was recalled
the next day and repeated his statement as reported by the Com-
mercial— the deputy sheriff asserted that the destruction was carried
out by order of the grand jury. Lecompte testified that he had not
issued an order to abate nuisances, and reviewed his other judicial
acts in denial of the charges made against him during territorial
days, and repeated in the hearings.
McCrea was recognized as the star witness, but when called to the
stand proved a nonconformist. The Commercial described the scene:
Cole McCrea knew of no good in or about Judge Lecompte, and appeared to
enjoy saying so. As it was found impossible to get catechetical answers to the
questions put to this witness, he was finally left in possession of the floor, and
told a good deal of what he knew about Kansas.
Col. Anthony listened with exemplary patience, and was able to suggest one
or two immaterial items.
When McCrea abandoned the floor, the court was compelled to adjourn on
account of the lateness of the hour.
Twice during the hearings the question arose about the records
of the territorial judiciary. On the second day, the Times reported:
The records of the court while under Lecompte's management were sent for
and found to be either missing or mutilated to such an extent that nothing
could be gleaned from them. Lecompte wanted the records to be used as
testimony, and the defense pleaded their insufficiency and asked to prove the
imbecility and corruption of Lecompte's court by parole testimony.
The Times report of Legate's testimony had him say that:
All the records of this court were burned [probably meaning Douglas county
records] at the time of Quantrell's raid on Lawrence, and a law had to be
passed by the Legislature for the benefit of attorneys practicing in this court.
These allegations are entered into the narrative at this point, but
come up for verification later.9
Judge Williams' opinion stated that the defendant admitted publi-
cation, but defended it on the ground of truth, and denied malice.
Williams held, however, that the truth was not proven, and the
malice was not conclusively proven. There was a strong presump-
tion therefore of guilt, and the defendant was bound over for trial,
on $500 bail.
9. The reports of the preliminary hearings appear in the Times, January 6, 7, 8, 9, 11,
1874; and in the Commercial, January 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 1874.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 565
THE LIBEL TRIAL
After a series of continuances, the libel suit came to trial Decem-
ber 8-12, 1874 (Tuesday through Saturday), with a verdict of guilty,
the sentence being pronounced December 18. Anthony's appeal
to the Kansas supreme court was denied and the mandate of that
court was filed in the Leavenworth criminal court, March 4, 1875.
Furthermore, on December 8, 1875, a resolution of the board of
county commissioners remitted all costs against Anthony.10
The Times summary of the testimony was extensive.11 Again the
prosecution presented only the evidence as contained in the pub-
lications complained of, and Lecompte's personal statement in his
own behalf. No witnesses were called. Of the long list of defense
witnesses the Times insisted "not one of them failed to answer yes
when questioned in regard to his [Lecompte's] former name, as
being infamous, and that of a tyrant . . .; and at one instance
in the trial he became excited, and jumped up and exclaimed, 'I did
try to make Kansas a slave State!' " That summary appears to be
an accurate indication of the basis upon which the defense rested.
The Times insisted that it had only published the truth about his
reputation and had done it without malice. Two months later,
Anthony stated again his difference with the ruling of the court:
Lecompte's deeds in the early days of Kansas have passed into
history. Nothing can now be said that will change that history. ... No
one could, to-day, prove by living witnesses, that which occurred twenty years
ago. It is an absolute impossibility. Most of the witnesses are dead. Yet, in
the late trial for libel, the court ruled that we must prove every fact the same
as we would in case of a transaction of the past month. . . ,12
The testimony of two of the most prominent of the witnesses for
the defense from Lawrence further emphasizes the issue of the
nature of legal proof in relation to libel. James Blood testified, as
summarized by the Times, that "the character of Lecompte in the
early days of Kansas was very bad; that he had not personally seen
anything out of the way in Lecompte's doings, but it was common
talk that he was not doing his duty as United States Judge." And
Charles Robinson "had heard in the East that Lecompte was a tyran-
nical man, but had not seen any of it since he came to Kansas."
The Commercial reported the libel trial only briefly. Concerning
the first day's proceedings it stated that Lecompte "made a plain and
10. "Appearance Docket No. 4," Leavenworth county criminal court, Case No. 1506;
Archives of the district court, Leavenworth county.
11. Leavenworth Daily Times, December 9-13, 1874. The case file for this case has
not been found in the archives of the district court in Leavenworth county.
12. Leavenworth Daily Times, February 14, 1875.
566 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
comprehensive statement of his judicial action during the early days
of Kansas, and devoted his statement to showing that he was not
an imperious or subservient man, and that his character at that time
was not such as represented by Anthony in his paper/' On the other
side, the Commercial characterized the defense testimony as of "a
rambling character, and more important as a review of the history
of the pro-slavery days in Kansas than a means of conveying any
material intelligence or information to the jury. The whole testi-
mony has once appeared in print [in connection with the prelimi-
nary hearings], and it is unnecessary to reproduce it again/' 13 The
next reference to the trial in that paper was on Saturday, December
12, after the case had gone to the jury, but prior to the verdict:
Several attorneys spoke in the case, but the forensic efforts were confined to
the remarks of H. Miles Moore and the prosecuting witness. The speech of
H. M. M. lasted nearly two hours, and exhausted both the speaker and jury.
As to the summing up of the argument and testimony of the case by Judge
Lecompte in his own behalf, it was considered by all hearers to be the most
eloquent and impressive speech ever delivered in that court room.
Lest some might argue that the Commercial was prejudiced in its
estimate of Lecompte's efforts, Moore's "Journal" entry for the night
of December 11, without punctuation, is also eloquent and is in-
valuable:
I made my speech in the Anthony case about 1& hours I thought I made
a good speech & all said so Judge Lecompte followed in one of the ablest
& most eloquent appeals I ever listened to I think we are beat the only hope
is a hung jury waited a half hour & court adj. till 10 to night I broke my
sleeve button I am very tired.
On Saturday, and after the verdict of guilty was rendered, Moore's
"Journal" entry reported: "Saw Anthony he thinks I did all that
could be done as I broke my sleeve buttons he presented me a nice
solid gold Pr Masonic emblems." But by December 18, when
Judge Byron Sherry pronounced the sentence of $500 fine and costs,
Moore had recovered his fighting spirit: "Anthony was red hot. It
was a terrible blow, & I think unjust judgement. The idea of a white
man being fined for libel on old Lecompte for his misdeeds of 54,
55, 56, & 7. Oh Gods such an outrage on humanity/'
Colonel Anthony was totally unrepentant. The Sunday Times,
December 13, contained a leading editorial on "The Verdict," with
the assertion that popular reaction was almost unanimous that the
verdict of the jury was "unwarranted by the facts." He argued that:
These well-known facts have passed into history and were so indelibly im-
pressed upon the minds of the people that all the juries and verdicts in the
land could not change the record. . . .
13. Leavenworth Dotty Commercial, December 9, 1874.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 567
We are proud of the fact that an enlightened, intelligent and truthful people
condemn the verdict as unjust. They need, however, have no fears that it will
deter THE TIMES from the advocacy of the principles of freedom, or prevent
THE TIMES from exposing fraud and corruption as fearlessly in the future as it
has in the past. If the verdict has had any effect upon us it is to impress upon
us the necessity of making THE TIMES more outspoken and independent for the
right.
Also, with the Sunday Times, December 13, Anthony began pub-
lishing a column under the title "A Chapter of Kansas History," each
issue devoted to reprinting an account of Lecompte's conduct during
territorial days. In that issue the "chapter" was taken from the
Howard committee testimony (p. 963) on the Phillips and McCrea
episode. In those days, when a- Sunday paper was published, it was
not usually customary to print one on Monday, so the next issue was
Tuesday, December 15, when the portion was taken from A. D.
Richardson, Beyond the Mississippi (p. 64). On December 16, an
extract from John H. Gihon, Geary and Kansas (Philadelphia, 1857),
told of the Buffum-Hayes case; on December 17, from the same book,
the Douglas county session of Lecompte's court in May, 1856. As
an introduction to the last named item, December 17, Anthony
stated:
The jury, under this charge [of constructive treason], indicted the "Free
State Hotel," at Lawrence, as a nuisance. The "sacking of Lawrence" was done
under the authority of law, and "the approbation of the Chief Justice. . . .
The Grand Jury, at Lecompton, had indicted them as nuisances, and the Court
had ordered them to be destroyed.
Lecompte was the then Judge of the First District Court. To all those who
heard Lecompte's evidence in the court room last week this article will be
interesting testimony. . . . The actors in those days of crime must stand
or fall by the record which they then made.
On December 18, Anthony continued his chapters in Kansas his-
tory, reprinting the conclusions of the majority from the Howard
committee report. On the same day the Times was gratified to be
able to reprint a long article from the Chicago Tribune on the libel
suit, which took the ground that the case was "invested with much
more than local importance." The Tribune's setting for the case
was as follows:
For years past, however, Judge Lecompte has been a Republican, and the
recognized leader of one of the factions of the Republican party. As Mr.
Anthony the editor of the Leavenworth TIMES, has been for a long time the
leader of another faction, a bitter personal enmity has existed between the two,
which has been manifested on every opportune occasion during the past three
years. . . . Anthony had the advantage in controlling a newspaper, and at
last provoked the suit. . . .
568 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The Tribune concluded that the verdict was guilty "notwithstand-
ing the fact that the witnesses for the defense sustained all the
charges made by Mr. Anthony." Although the sentence had not yet
been pronounced, the Tribune commented on Anthony's defiance,
that the Times printed:
articles even more savage than those which produced the suit for libel. Mr.
Anthony has one advantage upon his side, namely, the sympathy of the com-
munity, and also of a majority of the people of the State, who have not forgotten
the position Judge Lecompte occupied towards free Kansas in the years of her
history from 1854 to 1857. His Republicanism is hardly of sufficient age to
wipe out those memories.
Although gratified by the Tribune's view of the case on most
points, Anthony objected sharply to the allegation of personal enmity
between himself and Lecompte and about the latter being the leader
of a Republican party faction:
We simply took exceptions to a man of Lecompte's record thrusting un-
popular ideas upon the Republican party, and also thought that he was too
ready to bind over for trial parties charged only with the trivial, technical vio-
lation of the Revenue laws, . . . and where it is evident that arrests were
made to give officials their fees.
The Times claimed credit for breaking up that sort of persecu-
tion, and for contributing to the breakup of the bankrupt court ring.
To illustrate the contention that there was no personal ill-feeling,
Anthony reminded his readers that he had employed Lecompte in
the Haldeman case, and paid him $150 although he had contributed
nothing to the case.
All this had transpired prior to the session of the criminal court
at which Judge Sherry, on December 18, pronounced sentence. The
following day, still unrepentant, Anthony declared: "The English
language cannot describe a more infamous character than that
which reputation, history, and public opinion accord Lecompte.
THE TIMES will continue to be the advocate of right and justice.
»»
By that time the state was being heard from, and on the same day,
the Times began publishing a column of commentary from Kansas
newspapers, all favorable to Anthony. The Olathe News Letter
reported rumor that Lecompte's "speech and not the evidence se-
cured the verdict." The Louisville Reporter concluded: "It would
tax our ingenuity too much to guess what the TIMES could have said
about the old border ruffian to libel him, unless it accused him of
having been a decent and honest man in those times." Sol Miller's
Kansas Chief attributed the verdict to bitter enemies and the sheriff
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 569
stacking the cards. The Oskaloosa Independent likewise pre-
sumed that the verdict reflected "the outgrowth of ill-will toward
Anthony rather than a vindication of Lecompte, and in any event
is a huge burlesque upon justice and the facts of history." The
Leavenworth Herald, after expressing itself rather freely, pretended
fear of a libel suit, and so closed its comments. The Times, Decem-
ber 20, published a second series of comments, these from the
Ottawa Journal, the Solomon Gazette, the Garnett Plaindealer, the
lola Register, and the Wyandotte Gazette. The Gazette was sure
the verdict was "all wrong, and the jury must have been idiots1/
Along with this installment was another chapter of Kansas history
chosen from W. O. Blake's, The History of Slavery and the Slave
Trade (Columbus, Ohio, 1863), pp. 752-754. On December 22,
the special year's-end edition, came still another chapter in Kansas
history, this time from Gihon's Geary and Kansas, including the al-
leged Lecompte charge of the grand jury on constructive treason.
Along with it was reprinted the first and second series of Kansas
press notices.
Over Christmas, Lecompte was given a short rest, but December
27 brought a third series of press notices, with an introduction as-
serting that "every paper, Democratic and Republican, which has
thus far expressed an opinion, is on the side of the liberty of the
press, and most emphatically against Lecompte, the jury and the
judge" — only persons exposed for shortcomings, or corruption, or
with guilty consciences sustained Lecompte. Several opinions of
unusual violence appeared in this column: the Doniphan County
Republican, Troy: "decided by a jury of nincompoops or partisans
in favor of Lecompte"; the Holton Express: "The mystery to us is
how a jury outside the infernal regions, . . . could bring in a
verdict against the Colonel . . ."; the Howard County Ledger,
Elk Falls, declared that Lecompte "was an old political harlot";
and the Woodson County Post, Neosho Falls: "We should judge
from the published evidence that it would be hard to tell a lie on
old Lecompte without accusing him of possessing some of the at-
tributes of a gentleman of honor."
Not all, however, were so violent. The Topeka Times thought
that "Judge Lecompte will in the end lose more than he will gain.
. . ." The Manhattan Nationalist conceded that "Lecompte may
be a good man now, but he was unquestionably an infernal scoun-
drel in the old days that tried men's souls." After its first sharp
reaction, the Oskaloosa Independent reported "There is quite a
general sentiment in Leavenworth city that the verdict . . . was
570 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
just/' but the editor differentiated, that if considered a vindication of
Lecompte, that opinion was wrong, although if considered as an
expression that Anthony's attack was uncalled for and out of place,
on that point there was room for honest difference of opinion.
Another Independent (n. p.) asserted categorically that: "We think
the editor of the Times ought to let Lecompte alone. If he has re-
pented of his wrong doing, let him die in peace and obscurity." To
this Anthony replied: "The joke is, the old Border Ruffian judge
now claims to have done more than any other man towards making
Kansas a free State."
When the Leavenworth Times came out in a new format in
January, 1875, the Solomon City Gazette congratulated Anthony
on his achievement, in spite of the libel suit brought "by the
notorious Lecompte, of border ruffian fame. . . ." The Ells-
worth Reporter also extended its congratulations, and suggested
that if such a new dress was in consequence of being convicted of
libel, there were other Kansas newspapers that ought to be con-
victed. But Anthony was particularly pleased by the editorial of
the Hiawatha Advocate, "an out and out partisan sheet, that honestly
endorses every act of the White Leaguers/' and one which should
be read "by Lecompte, judge and jury." Extracts from this editorial
follow:
the verdict is one which is calculated to act as an injunction on the liberties of
the press, everywhere, we are provoked to say that, in our estimation, a more
flagrant, unjust and henious verdict has never been returned to any court in
Kansas. ... If Anthony was guilty in this case, then the whole editorial
fraternity, from California to Maine, is guilty, and may be successfully prose-
cuted. It has ever been a wonderment to us that a man whose history is
black with all manner of crimes, who, in the darkest days of Border Ruffianism,
was the cheapest deputy of the hell-born embassy that sought to establish human
slavery on our free soil, should be made the Chairman of the Congressional
Committee of the State.14
Soon the Commercial found itself the defendant in a libel suit.
Anthony had no love for D. W. Houston, and recalled that the Com-
mercial had "gloried in the fact that old Lecompte sued and got a
verdict," yet he believed that the case "ought to be uncermoniously
kicked out of court. . . ." 15 In the legislature a bill was pending
to abolish the criminal court in Leavenworth county and merge it
with the district court as in Atchison, Douglas, Shawnee, and other
counties. Anthony joined in the campaign. But the Commercial
pointed out that in the legislature of 1874, as a member of that body,
Anthony had opposed such a bill. Why had he changed sides? —
14. Leavenworth Daily Times, January 17, 21, 1875.
15. Ibid., February 7, 1875.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 571
"It is to gratify his vengeance on some one he hates; and to pander
to his inordinate selfishness . . . because Col. Anthony has
been tried and found guilty in Judge Sherry's Court . . . this
court must be abolished." 1G
But it is time to get back to first principles. Because of the im-
portance of the parties and issues in the Lecompte- Anthony libel suit,
Judge Sherry had prepared, and the Commercial published in full,
the judge's charge to the jury and the instructions — nearly three
columns in six-point type. There seem to be two good reasons for
quoting at some length Judge Sherry's exposition of the nature of
proof: 1. because of the importance of the principles stated there
as bearing upon the whole controversy that has been reviewed; 2.
because of the legend that has been built up by subjective-relativists
in the 20th century about the rigidity and absolutism of the law as
administered in 19th century jurisprudence.
Judge Sherry explained the difference between criminal and civil
law with respect to proof. In criminal cases the accused was as-
sumed to be innocent until proved guilty:
In civil cases the rule is different, for there the jury weighs the evidence and
when it is sufficient they decide according to the weight or preponderance,
though a reasonable doubt may exist as to the correctness of the decision; but
in criminal cases the jury must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt. A
reasonable doubt, then, is one which in the mind of a reasonable man, after
giving a due consideration to all the evidence, and such as leaves the mind to a
condition in which it is not honestly satisfied, and not convinced to a certainty,
of the guilt of the accused. A reasonable doubt is an honest uncertainty
existing in the mind of an honest, impartial, reasonable man, after a full and
careful consideration of all the facts, with a desire to ascertain the truth, re-
gardless of consequences, and it is to be distinguished from a captious or
capricious doubt, or a mere possible or arbitrary doubt.
If a jury should be fully and clearly convinced of the guilt of the defendant
in a case where the evidence established it beyond a reasonable doubt, and
then acquit a defendant upon an imaginary or speculative doubt, they would
be guilty of perjury for an imaginary or speculative doubt, as contemplated by
law, is not to be considered by the jury, for the law does not require that the
proof should satisfy the jury beyond all possible doubt, but only beyond a reason-
able doubt, and while it is true that the law deems it better that many guilty
persons should escape and go unpunished for the want of adequate proof of guilt,
rather than that an innocent person should suffer and be convicted upon insuffi-
cient evidence, yet absolute and positive certainty is not required in any cases.
Possible and contingent doubt hangs over all human affairs, while absolute, un-
qualified certainty is rarely obtained. I therefore admonish you to give the de-
fendant the benefit of every reasonable doubt, and would further say that if any
juror should entertain this reasonable doubt as already explained, it would be the
duty of such juror to withhold his assent to the rendition of a verdict of guilty.
16. Ibid., February 11, 1875; Commercial, February 13, 1875.
572 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Before proceeding to the next step to be considered in the instruc-
tions, attention is called to the dictionary distinction between the
words "character" and "reputation." The character of a person
refers to the combination of qualities that are inherent in him, and in
his conduct, while his reputation is opinion about him held by others
regardless of whether or not it is true, or accords with his character.
Thus when the issue was joined on the question of the truth of the
charges as published, these differences in the meaning of words were
critical. Judge Sherry's language was not happily chosen, but his
meaning is not to be mistaken:
That evidence of reputation admitted by the Court to go to the jury, is to
be considered by them only in reference to such of the libelous matters in the
information as alleged by reputation, and is not to be considered by them as any
evidence in support of direct charges against the said Samuel D. Lecompte.
That the proof having been made by the State of the publication of the
libelous matter and the defepdant setting up truth thereof, in justification [,]
the burden of proving the truth is on the defendant, and also that it was
published with good motives and justifiable ends.
Anthony was in error when he contended that nothing could
change the verdict of history. He was confusing historical actuality
with written history. True, nothing could change events that had
already transpired — historical actuality — but written history was
subject to error, and in this case the error could be demonstrated,
and the record corrected. He was confused also on the usage and
meaning of the words character and reputation. Thus, the character
of a historical person is historical actuality, a past fact that cannot
be changed, while reputation is a judgment of others about character
( actuality ) and reputation may be modified. When extensive writ-
ten records of the transactions of history are available, historians
can usually reconstruct historical actuality with such a degree of
certainty and fidelity as to revise substantially the errors of first ver-
sions of written history, or in the case in point, the reputations at-
tributed by contemporaries to the characters of historic persons.
This difference between character and reputation was far more
important to Anthony himself than he appears to have realized.
Anthony himself was a positive personality, who had made many
bitter enemies. If his contention was correct about reputation and
written history, then he himself would suffer at their hands, be-
cause his own reputation was not above reproach. Thus fortunately
for both Anthony and Lecompte, the historical actuality as repre-
sented in their characters was not as bad as contemporary written
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 573
history and reputations would have posterity believe. Indeed, sel-
dom are the facts as bad as the evil report spread about them.
SOL MILLER, ANTHONY, AND LECOMPTE'S DEFENSE
Sol Miller was one of the outstanding men of Kansas journalism.
He founded the White Cloud Kansas Chief in 1857, moved it to
Troy, July 4, 1872, and published it until his death. A loyal Repub-
lican always, yet Miller was independent, fearless, and blunt, wield-
ing power because he was respected even by those who opposed and
hated him. He played the game of politics and of journalism ac-
cording to the prevailing rules, and with ability. Sometimes Miller
wrote significantly and at a high ethical level; at other times he wrote
in bad taste; and sometimes he was obscene. Without regard to
the prestige and power of any man, if Miller disagreed, he spoke his
piece and to the point. Certainly he did not stand in awe of
Anthony. His relations with Anthony may be documented by two
illustrative paragraphs in the Chief for June 26, 1873:
D. R. Anthony was thrashed, last week, in the streets of Leavenworth, by a
book agent. As there is no ordinance in Leavenworth against kicking a dirty
dog in the streets, even though he be Mayor of the city, the man was not
arrested.
And again:
One thing that we admire in D. R. Anthony is, that he never goes back on
a friend. His best friend is the Devil, the father of lies; and Anthony never
goes back on a lie.
With that gentle prelude, as the stage setting, Miller's reactions
to the Lecompte-Anthony libel suit may be reviewed without any
illusions :
Our love for Anthony is not like unto the love of Jonathan for David; but these
libel suits against newspapers are hard tuggings at a teat, and precious little
milk. We thought Judge Lecompte was too smart for that.17
When the verdict was returned in December, 1874, Miller ob-
served that:
Considering that Anthony has many bitter enemies, and that the Sheriff who
had the picking up of jurymen hates him as hard as Lecompte does, the cards
were decidedly against him. We sympathize with him — the County does not
pay the costs of the trial.18
The following week, however, Miller had pondered the issues
involved and delivered a challenging sermon on public ethics under
the text: "Shall a Man Never be Forgiven?"
17. The Weekly Kansas Chief, Troy, January 1, 1874.
18. Ibid., December 17, 1874.
574 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Perhaps in strict justice, D. R. Anthony should not have been convicted of
libel for saying what he did about Judge Lecompte; but in reading his denuncia-
tions of the Judge, and his copious extracts from history to back them, the
question arises, shall a man never be forgiven, if he once takes a wrong position,
and does bad acts?
Nobody presumes to say that Judge Lecompte dealt out justice as he should,
when he ran that department of the Territory of Kansas, and his name was by
no means savory among Free State people; even the Judge himself is aware of
this fact, and has remarked to that effect, when conversing upon the subject.
But are there not excuses sufficient to palliate his conduct in some degree?
Judge Lecompte was born, reared and educated in the South. He spent all his
days amidst the institution of Slavery, and was taught to believe it a Divine in-
stitution, and as sacred in law as the Constitution of the United States itself.
He was appointed at a period of intense bitterness on the Slavery question, and
came here with all his prejudices on the question. He was appointed for the
purpose of carrying out a certain line of action, and no doubt fulfilled his mis-
sion more faithfully than was pleasant or wholesome for Northern men. But if
Lecompte did this, we must remember that he was backed by both Presidents
Pierce and Buchanan, Northern men, and by Gov. Shannon, also a Northern
man. Why shall the past be raked up against Lecompte, who believed in the
cause in which he was engaged, and forget the part taken by those Northern
men, who directed Lecompte's actions, but who were not actuated by sincere
motives? Although Lecompte's acts may have encouraged outrages, and pre-
vented the punishment of those who committed them, yet we have never heard
that he engaged in any of them himself — indeed, we have always taken him for
a man whose disposition was averse to ruffianism.
When Slavery was defeated, and Kansas admitted as a Free State, Lecompte
quietly accepted the situation, remained in the State, and yielded obedience
to the laws. When his Southern friends rebelled, he did not go with them,
but remained loyal, and if he was even suspected of disloyal sentiments, we
have never heard of it. Rebels, both Northern and Southern, have been for-
given [Amnesty Act, 1872], and are again beginning to crowd the Halls of
Congress. We cannot see the justice of continuing to throw stones at Lecompte,
for acts committed before the rebellion — especially by men who have so many
sins of their own for which they need forgiveness and forgetfulness. We do
not pretend to justify or apologize for the acts of Judge Lecompte in the early
history of Kansas; but if he has been convinced of his error, and is endeavoring
to atone for it, we say, let him alone.19
Miller's editorial drew an appreciative note from Lecompte, and
an arrangement by which he prepared a defense of his career as
territorial judge in Kansas under the title, "The Truth of History,"
which was printed in the Kansas Chief, February 4, 1875. After
reading what Lecompte had to say, Miller introduced the com-
munication with the following editorial, which went rather further
in concessions to the writer than the earlier editorial:
Most of our inside reading space, this week, is occupied by Judge Lecompte's
review and defence of his official life, as Judge of Kansas Territory. Several
19. Ibid., January 7, 1875.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 575
weeks since, we published an article, in which we contended that, however
censurable some of the Judge's acts may have been, we did not regard him as
so bad a man as he had been represented to be, and that in consideration of
his subsequent good behavior, he was entitled to forgiveness. This prompted
the Judge to ask if we would grant space in our columns for a review and
defence of his official conduct, and if so, what space would be allowed. We
replied that it was a rule with us to give every man who desired it a fair show-
ing in this paper, and that he might occupy as much space as he deemed
necessary to do himself justice. What he has to say on the question is before
the reader.
Judge Lecompte's statements are most complete and clear upon every
point, embracing, we believe, all the acts or alleged acts for which he has been
so bitterly denounced for almost twenty years. He does not shirk any ques-
tion, nor beat about the bush, but defies proof, either by living witnesses or
authentic records, to prove that any of the charges were true or just. If there
be any who have evidence to the contrary, now is the time to produce it.
We are among those who once believed, that if Judge Lecompte did not
directly countenance and encourage Pro-Slavery outrages, his leaning was so
strong on that side of the question, that advantage was taken of it by those
who did commit the outrages. This was the impression we received before
coming to Kansas; and after coming here, we heard nothing to correct the im-
pression. Reports of committees, and the tone of what purported to be true
histories, all pointed in the same direction. The Judge's political friends did
not seem to make an effort to refute the charges, which was regarded as ad-
mitting their truth. Having since met him upon several occasions, his appear-
ance, bearing and style did not seem to us to be those of a man who had a
taste for ruffianism; and his after conduct has been that of a peace-loving and
law-abiding man. We therefore thought, that if he had been open to censure
for past acts, it was time they were forgiven, if not forgotten.
But, according to his own story, the Judge is himself responsible for having
so long rested under the odium of those charges. He tells us, in this article,
that when investigating committees, officials and reporters were charging him
with gross crimes, he took no measures to vindicate himself; that only once,
before this time, has he ever offered, in print, to defend himself — and the first
time, we presume, he did not enter into a thorough review. So that, we may
say, now is the first time that he undertakes a full defence of himself. He
ought not, then, think so badly of the press. We are honest in our belief that
he was open to censure; and other editors, from the same sources of informa-
tion, doubtless honestly believed the same thing. One generation that held
him guilty is rapidly passing away, and their children have been brought up
in the same belief. It may be, that if the Judge had undertaken his vindica-
tion while the bitterness of the strife still existed, it would have been looked
upon as simply intended for effect, and have failed of its object. Perhaps now
is a more appropriate time to speak out; but still, as all statements heretofore
made have been on the opposite side, it is not at all strange that public senti-
ment was against him.
We are glad that Judge Lecompte was induced to place a review of his
official acts upon record, by seeing a desire on our part to be fair and just, and
that he chose our columns for his purpose; for it is the other side of a question
of Kansas and national history, which should be made correct and perfect
576 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
while there are living witnesses of the facts. The statements seem to be fair,
and must be regarded as true, until the contrary is proven.
Except for four paragraphs, Lecompte's "The Truth of History"
letter has been reprinted in the Collections of the Kansas State
Historical Society, 1903-1904, v. 8, pp. 389-405, which makes it
generally accessible. With the details of the occasion for the de-
fense before the reader, he may read and judge for himself the
reasonableness of Lecompte's presentation of his case as it applies
to the many episodes in controversy. The present consideration
must be restricted to the paragraphs omitted in the reprint, with-
out the customary signs of omission, or explanations, and to the
Sheriff Jones episode.
The two opening paragraphs of "The Truth of History" were
deleted in the reprint. The first was not important, except as ex-
plaining something of the occasion for the original publication in
the Chief — an acknowledgment of courtesy for kindness received.
The second paragraph must explain itself:
There has been so much comment of an opposite kind in the papers of the
State, upon the course of the Leavenworth Times toward me, that the slightest
indication of fair dealing on the part of an editor awakens warm gratitude, and
arouses the almost latent hope that the Press has yet left a dormant magna-
nimity that will not suffer injustice and outrage always to triumph. While
your article falls much short of rendering me justice, it evinces a spirit from
which I may well expect justice, upon a full understanding of the facts. These
have been so shamefully perverted, and so studiously substituted by mis-
chievous misrepresentation, that I should be over-fastidious in complaining of
mere lack of rightful appreciation of myself. I think I entertain too correct
an estimate of the allowances to be made for impressions deeply formed, to
fall into so grave an error as to wage a controversy against decently expressed
opinions, however erroneously I know them to be.
Two of the three closing paragraphs of the letter were omitted in
the reprint, the third from the last and the final paragraph, giving
the next to the last paragraph the closing position in the reprint.
These omitted paragraphs follow:
I can not, of course, carry on with any combination of the press of the
State a controversy in this matter. I could not if I would, and I would not if
I could, carry on such a controversy even with the editor of the Leavenworth
Times. How can I with a combination, great or small? If it give them
pleasure to continue upon me, and through me, upon truth, and upon the
Court, the jury, the creatures of the law, a course of aggression, of insult, and
of wrong, I see no alternative but submission, just as the individual can but
submit to the mob, from mere physical inability to resist its outrages. Only
when, as in the instance which forced me to self-vindication, can I, should it
be persisted in, undertake again to invoke farther redress. I have bourne with
much of it from the same source, since the trial by which I have been vindi-
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 577
cated. I have done so, because I felt disposed to allow something to a feeling
of exasperation, and am extremely reluctant again to invoke legal protection.
But I think now, that I have bourne as much as may be excused on that score,
and I take occasion to say, in conclusion, that, claiming no exemption from
just criticism of my opinions, of my acts, of my qualifications, for any trust to
which I may aspire, or to which it may legitimately be supposed that I do
aspire, I do not propose to submit to continued calumny. That a horse has
been stolen from me, and the thief prosecuted to conviction, is no reason why
I should submit to be robbed of all the horses I might own. The same law
that subjected the thief to the penitentiary, subjects the libeler to a fine not
exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year.
If I may be pardoned the abuse, of a partial paraphrase, of one of the
grandest utterances of New England's chiefest orator, God grant that when my
eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun in Heaven, I may not
see him shining on the broken and scattered remains of homes made desolate
by any act of mine, whether in the tyrannical exercise of an accidental power;
by the indulgence of an ill-regulated and unbridled lust; by tainting the air at
large or of the home circle by false and calumnious aspersions; by casting over
the hearth or heart of mother, wife or child the dark gloom of provoked or un-
provoked homicide of father, husband, brother or friend.
Because the four paragraphs dealing with Lecompte's review of
the Sheriff Jones episode are pertinent to the present study, they
are also reprinted here:
Another accusation against me has been to the effect that the destruction
of the Lawrence hotel and press was made under my authority. To this I can
but offer unqualified denial, and an absolute defiance of any particle of proof
from living witnesses or of record. Not until long after did it ever reach my
ear that my name was in any manner connected with it, except that a news-
paper article was sent to me describing my courts as scenes of drunken debauch,
and myself as having been seen riding down to Lawrence astride of a whisky
barrel, and directing operations. To such things I could scarcely have been
expected to give denials. It did, however, in more serious forms, get into print,
and even into so-called histories, as that of "Geary and Kansas," by Gihon (the
only man whom I have ever known who struck me as coming up to the full
significance of lickspittle), that Sheriff Jones proclaimed in the streets of Law-
rence, at the time, that the destruction of the property mentioned had been
ordered by the court.
On the preliminary examination of the case against Anthony, James F.
Legate distinctly disproved any such declaration by Jones. I know of nobody
who will say that Jones ever made any such declaration. I have no idea that
he ever did. All I can say is that, if he did, he stated what is unqualifiedly
false. If he or any other living man should say that, by any order, oral or
written, I directed such destruction, he would say what is unqualifiedly false.
If he or any other living man should say that, by act or word, I had ever inti-
mated any such thing, he would say what is unqualifiedly false. If he or any
other living man should say that, by act or word, I had ever given an expression
to a sentiment of approval of the destruction of this or any other property, he
39—312
578 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
would say what is unqualifiedly false. If he or any other living man should say
that he ever heard me express any other sentiment regarding it than unquali-
fied condemnation, he would say what is unqualifiedly false.
What more can I say? If it be true that I did, directly or indirectly, by
word, by intimation, by order, by connivance, by innuendo, advise, counsel,
direct or approve of all or any of the wrongs then perpetrated, I trust that God
almighty shall paralyze my arm as I write, so that this disavowal shall never
meet the public eye. What more can I say? Where is the order? where was
the trial, where the conviction upon which such an order could have been
based? Do the records show it? Does anybody remember it? Has anybody
ever seen it? How heartless, how base such aspersions!
There were presentments by the grand jury of the hotel, and, I believe, of
the press that denounced the laws and defied and counseled resistance to them.
There may have been issued by the clerk of the court citations to the owners
to appear in court and show cause why they should not be abated as nuisances.
I know not that there were. It was not my duty to know, but that of the district
attorney. If he ordered them, they would have been issued by the clerk. There
may have been many writs in the hands of the marshal for service, and I pre-
sume there were; for I do know that it was to aid him in the service of the writs,
which he stated his inability to serve without aid, that he made the foundation
for his proclamation ordering a posse. It was his duty to serve the process of
the courts. If he could not without aid, it was his duty to summon aid. This
he did, and with this I had nothing to do. The public meetings assembled in
Lawrence so understood; else wherefore is it that all their correspondence and
resolutions and conferences through committees were addressed to and carried
on with the governor and with the marshal? Why was not I ever addressed?
Was it that they lacked confidence in me? Why, then, was not this somewhere
disclosed in the course of the various movements to which the events gave rise?
Nowhere in all the publications of the time will it be seen that my name was
mentioned, except in the purely gratuitous and, as I have shown, absolutely
groundless and false assertion that my authority justified the subsequent
wrongs.20
In this defense, more clearly than in the Stewart letter of 1856,
Lecompte differentiated himself as judge, and the district court,
from the grand jury, and from other officers, each acting within
legally defined jurisdictions. Two important points he did not
clarify; his use of the phrase "presentments by the grand jury," and
the actual status of Sheriff Jones in the whole proceeding. Le-
compte's defense was strictly legalistic and negative. By that is
meant, that he imposed upon himself the limitation of showing that
as judge, he was not responsible and was not even consulted. On
the positive side, he refrained carefully from accusations against
others. As a legalist, his rights and duty in his own defense ended
in his own vindication. The task of proving who was guilty, he left
to others.
In the course of Lecompte's Kansas Chief letter, as in some other
20. Kansas Historical Collections, v. 8, pp. 394, 395.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 579
of his writings, he revealed his knowledge of literature. In this
case, he quoted aptly from Shakespeare, and in such a manner as to
demonstrate his intimate familiarity with the great plays.21 Surely,
those who visualize Judge Lecompte as a Border Ruffian astride a
whisky barrel are obliged to revise substantially their picture. In
December, 1873, when he filed the libel suit, Lecompte was 59 years
of age, and on December 12, 1874, when the verdict against Anthony
was delivered by the jury, he could look upon it as a birthday an-
niversary gift to be celebrated the next day, Sunday, December 13.
He was commonly referred to as an old man, "Old Lecompte," and
for that time, 60 was relatively a more advanced age than in the
mid-20th century. Denied by- public prejudice and intolerance
many of the satisfactions which otherwise might have been his lot,
he found companionship with greater minds through the medium of
literature.
The reaction to Sol Miller's act of giving aid and comfort to
Lecompte in his Kansas Chief was swift and direct. As the reader
may have noticed already, editors of the 1870's were quite unin-
hibited in the language employed in controversy, and Anthony was
among the freest and most fertile in his usage of words and devices
intended to convey a certain disapprobation of a victim. On Feb-
ruary 6, Anthony's Times observed:
The Saintly Lecompte, Deacon Houston [The Commercial], and Sol Miller,
have signed a tripartite agreement, in which they promise to stand by one
another in every difficulty. Lecompte will sling Shakespeare at the enemy,
Houston will pray for him, and Miller will "cuss" him. We are afraid the good
and pious Deacon is in bad company.
Three days later Anthony related that:
The Saintly Lecompte bought one hundred copies of the Troy Chief con-
taining his article on "The Truth of History." He presented them to a news-
stand in this city. Two copies have been sold, and those to a blind man, who
asked for "something religious like, you know for my wife." He has not been
heard from yet.
Miller's retort courteous came in the very next issue of the Chief,
February 11, 1875.
The Leavenworth Times, instead of pitching into editors who are disposed
to give Judge Lecompte a fair hearing, had better devote itself to the main
question. The Judge has warped it to Anthony right lively. It is nice and
pretty, as long as the papers throughout the State denounce the verdict in the
libel case, and Lecompte for bringing the suit, giving the Times occasion to
21. Two quotations were from Macbeth. One from Act III, scene 1, line 91, began
"Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men. . . ." Another was from Act IV, scene 2, line 51,
Son: "What is a traitor?" Lady MacDuff: "Why one who swears and lies." The third
quotation was from Ct/mbeline, Act III, scene 4, line 35, beginning: "Slander, whose edge
is sharper than the sword. . . ."
580 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
copy all these opinions; but those who presume to give the other side an oppor-
tunity to be heard, are very naughty.
The idea of Sol being called "naughty"! He had been called so
many more virile names! What a masterpiece of understatement to
put Anthony in his place! But Anthony gave Lecompte attention in
three places in his issue of February 14. He advised the "saintly
Lecompte to keep cool," but pointed out what the Garnett Plain-
dealer had said:
He makes, of course, a fair showing for himself, but it seems strange that a
man has to go into print to explain his conduct of twenty years ago, to a people
among whom he has lived all these years. As he threatens more libel suits, it
is not a safe subject to comment upon.
The second mention was a reprint of an article from the Oska-
loosa Independent suggesting to Sol Miller that he get Jeff Davis
to write a vindication of himself as a patriot, and Lincoln as a tryant;
and when that was done, and
all of which he can as readily do as Lecompte can blot out the history of Kansas
in the past or the terpitude of his record then made, the thing will be com-
plete. ... It will be vastly more pungent and entertaining than the story
of this one-horse border-ruffian judge.
We wish Lecompte no harm, but all the good possible. We have never yet
seen him to know him, and can consequently have no kind of personal feeling
against him. We think he ought to be encouraged and aided in every "good
word and work," and in the road to reformation, and not be badgered and
abused. But his record as judge of the territory of Kansas was simply infamous.
The Independent placed upon Lecompte the major role in Kansas
border ruffianism, recounting count by count against him:
These are facts as notorious as any in history, and no man can disprove them.
Judge Lecompte was not only a party to these judicial outrages and neglects,
but was the head and front of the whole thing.
We would respect the Judge very much more if he would honestly confess
that he was led away by the excitement of the times, and permitted himself
to become a partisan and a party to these things, and after confession ask
clemency of the public. Such a course would be honorable, dignified and
truthful. But an attempt at "vindication" only leads us to fear his reformation
is not real, but a sham to gain some selfish end. Truth is the first requisite of
true reform, as it is of real nobility and genuine manhood.
This afforded the occasion noted earlier when Anthony declared
that "Nothing can now be said that will change history," and then
concluded:
Our minds may be prejudiced, and that is perhaps the reason why we think
old Lecompte may have been a purer and better judge than the one who now
fills that position in our Criminal Court.
We want one thing distinctly understood, and that is, that all we have said
about Lecompte was that history and his general reputation proved him guilty
of the crimes named.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 581
JAMES CHRISTIAN'S STORY
The silence of Proslavery men is one of the most remarkable as-
pects of all these controversies. One of the few to break the silence,
and fortunately for history, was James Christian. A lifelong Demo-
crat, he did not change sides as so many did, out of either con-
venience or conviction, after the Civil War. Christian compelled
the genuine respect of Republican Kansas of the 1870's. Only occa-
sionally did he make excursions into the explosive area of territorial
history, but when he did, he spoke in no uncertain terms and the
enemy listened, although subsequently, his testimony was almost
uniformly ignored by writers on Kansas history. As a law partner
with James H. Lane during the later part of the territorial period,
the firm handled legal business for both sides in the same manner
as ambidextrous law firms do in the mid-20th century.22 His ac-
quaintance was first hand with both men and measures. As a result
of the agitation growing out of the Lecompte-Anthony libel suit,
he prepared an article which was published in the Western Home
Journal, Lawrence, May 27, 1875, under the title, "The First Sack-
ing of Lawrence." The part of the Christian account bearing on
the Jones phase recounted that Jones
entered the town with fire, torch and cannon, commenced to plunder houses,
destroy printing presses, beat down the old Free State Hotel in defiance of all
law, ending the day by burning Gov. Robinson's dwelling with its contents, just
for amusement. Those who were not here upon that day can form no concep-
tion of what transpired, and even those that were here had little knowledge of
what was in contemplation. . . .
Almost every man, woman and child ran and left their houses open com-
pletely panic stricken. I believe there was but two women who remained in
town during the day, my wife and Mrs. Fry.
According to Christian, Jones ordered Eldridge to remove his
furniture, he refused, but the crowd carried out the most valuable
part, piling it in the street somewhat damaged in the haste. Then
Christian turned to vindication of Lecompte:
Right here I want to correct a false impression that was started upon that
day, that has done gross injustice to a good man. I mean Judge Lecompte.
Jones informed several of our citizens that he had a writ from the District Court
to destroy the hotel as a nuisance, and he held in his hand a paper that he pre-
tended to be the writ, but did not show it. I asked him to let me see it. He
laughed and said: "Don't be too inquisitive." I said: "You know very well
you have got no writ, and you ought not to place the court in a false position. ["]
He remarked: "They don't know any better." It was heralded all through the
East that the Jefferys of Kansas had issued a writ to destroy the hotel and print-
ing offices as nuisances. There never was anything farther from the truth. I
was present in court at Lecompton, some time previous, when the grand jury
22. Lawrence Republican, May 27, 1858.
582 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
brought in a report concerning the hotel, and recommending its abatement
as a nuisance, when a lawyer by the name of Reid, I think, asked the Judge for
an order for its destruction. Lecompte looked at the fellow with astonishment,
and remarked to him: "Mr. R., do you seriously make that motion as a lawyer?"
The fellow answered, "I do." Lecompt[e] told him he should do no such
thing, that the thing was unheard of as a legal proposition, that he had no more
authority to issue such an order than he had to order a man taken out and shot.
The ruffian made some insulting remark to the Judge, when his friends took him
by the arm and led him out of the court room, the fellow still cursing and
calling the Judge an Abolitionist in disguise. I was in the party, and intimately
acquainted with the leading officials, and I know that there never was a man
more basely lied upon than Judge Lecompt[e], except it be Gov. Shannon. The
genuine pro-slavery leaders looked upon both these men as being a little tender-
footed on the question of the day, because they put Democracy before pro-
slaveryism, and the opposition party had an interest and purpose in slandering
these men, owing to their conspicuosity, the one being Governor and the other
Chief Justice of the Territory. Many other little incidence . . . have
passed out of remembrance.
LECTURE OF 1879
In 1875 the Kansas Editorial Association launched the Kansas
State Historical Society. In 1876 F. G. Adams became its secretary
and executive officer, and among the activities that he promoted
were lectures on Kansas history delivered by the actors in that his-
tory. On January 4, 1878, Lecompte accepted an invitation to speak
at some future time, but on January 12 he advised Adams that, be-
cause of engagements it would be better to delay the fixing of the
time and place. Leeompte confessed "that I feel a natural and I am
sure pardonable wish to do something in the way of disabusing the
public mind, and the truth of history, of some misapprehension of
the early politicians of Kansas and of myself as the most conspicuous
object of those misapprehensions." As the Society had no funds
Adams reminded Lecompte, February 12, 1879, that the arrange-
ments must be carried out without expense to the Society, but sug-
gested he apply to the railroad for passes in order to reduce his per-
sonal outlay. Lecompte reported that, although he would appreciate
a pass, he would not make it a condition.23 Charles Robinson was
president of the Society and the lecture was held in Topeka, at the
Baptist church, near the State House, on February 24, 1879. The
Topeka Daily Blade of that date called attention to the event in the
following paragraph :
Judge Lecompte is the oldest Kansas Judge. He was the most conspicuous
of the members of the Judiciary during the Territorial period. He it was who,
as a United States Judge, had the duty of expounding the odious laws passed
23. Correspondence of the Kansas State Historical Society "Incoming," v. 2, pp. 166,
197; v. 4, p. 131-133; "Outgoing," v. 3, p. 329.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE'* 583
by the pro-slavery legislature of 1855. In this way he became very obnoxious
to many Kansas people. He has lived long enough to have outlived the interests
of those times, and he has accepted the invitation of the State Historical society
to lecture this evening upon the subject of "The Territorial Judiciary"; a subject
which he is better able to handle than anybody else. He should have a full
house. . . .
The following day the session was reported briefly in the same
paper:
The lecture of Judge Lecompte last night before the State Historical society,
was attended by a fair sized audience, and was well received. The Judge is
one of the oldest citizens in Kansas, a consummate lawyer, a fair speaker and
a pleasant gentleman. He was introduced last night, in a few well chosen
remarks, by Ex-Governor Robinson, jwho also made a short talk at the close of
the Judge's lecture.
The Topeka Commonwealth, February 25, reported the Lecompte
lecture at greater length. In introducing the judge, the reporter said
that Robinson
gave a brief account of the manner in which Judge Lecompte with others, in
the spring of 1856, stood guard for the protection of the Governor while a
prisoner at Leavenworth, and saved him from the hands of a mob of pro-slavery
men who had determined to take Governor Robinson's life.
In his lecture, Judge Lecompte gave a forcible description of the condition
of the population coming first into Kansas from all parts of the country, all be-
coming at once partisan in the slavery question, a partisanship which very soon
became intensified into acts of violence on both sides.
Lecompte referred to the Missouri advantage of distance which
enabled them to carry the election of the legislature in 1855, but the
reporter represented him as saying:
The judiciary were in duty bound to carry out the laws enacted by the Legis-
lature, without questioning the fairness of the election. . . . the Free State
men . . . looked upon him as a monster, and ascribed to him acts which
he never did, and charged him with judicial decisions, which he never rendered.
He gave an account of his effort to save Cole McCrea from mob violence at
Leavenworth, in 1855, when at the same time he was charged by the Free State
Press with having endeavored to incite the mob to the very act which he per-
suaded them not to committ. Even the Congressional Committees' report, in
1856, placed him in the same false position.
Then turning from the content of the lecture, the Commonwealth
observed that "Judge Lecompte is a clear and forcible speaker, and
he was listened to with attention, the audience evidently being
convinced of the sincerity of the view taken by him now, in looking
back upon the trials of the early Territorial times." One more
incident must be mentioned: "At the close of the lecture, Colonel
Ritchie asked a question or two, which indicated that he and the
lecturer are not now much nearer alike in opinion than twenty-two
584 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
years ago." Except for this element of discord injected by Ritchie,
the evening appears to have been passed in "sweetness and light."
Robinson's closing remarks held that the election of the first legis-
lature was an invasion, not an election, that Free-State men were
in the majority, and that they justly refused to recognize the laws,
and naturally looked with -disfavor upon the judicial officers who
came to enforce them:
He said he was glad that it was permitted to so many of the actors in those
early times of excitement and trouble to come forward and explain to each
other the positions they occupied, and to have the errors that had gone upon
the record corrected. He thanked Judge Lecompte for having accepted the
invitation of the society to deliver a lecture under its auspices.
Thus the experiment in giving Lecompte his opportunity to be
heard passed off without any serious untoward incident. Both
Adams and Robinson, although not compromising their own point
of view, were endeavoring sincerely to keep the scales balanced
evenly and in good taste.
THE QUARTER-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, 1879
At Lawrence, local annual old settler meetings were inaugurated
in September, 1870, continuing without interruption until 1878. At
the meeting of 1877, a decision was reached to skip one year and
make the meeting of 1879 a quarter-centennial celebration on a
state-wide scale. In this manner Lawrence took the lead away
from other centers of old settler organization. The Osawatomie
area had organized in 1872, and Franklin county in 1875.24 The
Leavenworth Old Settler Association had been organized August 8,
1874, H. Miles Moore, secretary.25 Kansas had been busy making
history. Now, in the 1870's, the older generation under the name
of "Old Settlers," began the "Battle of Kansas History." In the
making of Kansas territorial and Civil War history, the participants
operated under the Free-State or Antislavery as against the Pro-
slavery banners. In the later warfare, they fought each other,
another Kansas Civil War, over credits and interpretation.
The quarter-centennial celebration of the organization of the
territory of Kansas was a two-day event held at Bismarck Grove,
along the Union Pacific railroad, near Lawrence, September 15, 16,
1879. Charles Robinson was president, and among the vice-presi-
dents announced was Samuel D. Lecompte. He was present, his
name appearing among the registrants, but he did not speak, and
24. Malin, John Brown and the Legend of Fifty-six, ch. 14.
25. "H. Miles Moore Papers," Coe collection, Yale University Library. Microfilm, Kansas
State Historical Society.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 585
apparently made no appearance before the public. Obviously the
occasion was a celebration of the defeat of the cause for which he
had stood. Gen. Benjamin F. Stringfellow, of Atchison, was invited
but did not attend. His letter explained that he was prevented by
circumstances over which he had no control, and which made him a
"slave."
Col. D. R. Anthony was present, and delivered an address, which
included the following compliments to his fellow citizens of Leaven-
worth:
I hope we will remember the "lesson" that was read to us yesterday, the
"LESSON OF KANSAS." Let us not forget it. Let us see to it that history records
the truth. Do not allow history to record a lie. Let it not be forgotten, that
twenty-five years ago the army, the^ navy, the courts, and the whole power of
the national government and its appointees were invoked to make Kansas a
slave State. No federal judge or other official dared disobey the commands of
the slave power. When the Hon. Samuel D. Lecompte, Judge of the United
States District Court at Lecompton, delivered his famous charge, defining
"constructive treason" to the United States grand jury then in session, and
when the grand jury indicted the Free State Hotel at Lawrence as a nuisance,
and then under command of a United States Marshal proceeded with a posse
comitatus to batter down that hotel with cannon, sacking and then firing it,
the court remained silent as the grave while this outrage was perpetrated, and
not till long years afterward did he even attempt to explain his then apparent
silent approval of the vandalism of his marshal, grand jury and court officials.
President, Congress, Territorial Governor, Judges, Courts and Federal officials
•dared not lift a hand to prevent the destruction of that Free State Hotel. Let
these facts go down into history, and don't let us attempt to wipe them out.
We could not if we would; we ought not if we could.
Anthony hated with the same vigor he put into his other activi-
ties, which made him so potent a force in Leavenworth history.
The last sentence in the above quotation was a paraphrase of
Lecompte's own language from the second paragraph of his Kansas
Chief letter, which Anthony was throwing back at him. As presi-
dent of the old settler association, and official host, Robinson under-
took again, but not so successfully, to keep the proceedings on a
high level of mutual courtesy, an aspect of charity in his character
that has usually been overlooked, obscured possibly by the bitter
controversies of succeeding years to which he became a party.26
HISTORIES
At the hands of several people who have written general histories
of Kansas, Lecompte has not received fair treatment. Only Leverett
W. Spring, professor of English at the University of Kansas, in his
26. The proceedings of the quarter-centennial celebration were edited by C. S. Gleed,
and published under the title, The Kansas Memorial (Kansas City, Mo., 1880). See pp.
10, 95, 102-106, and 234.
586 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Kansas, The Prelude to the War for the Union, published in 1885,
extended to him even partial justice. Spring's blunders were diffi-
cult to explain. He was a friend of Charles and Sara Robinson, who
knew better. In relation to the notorious accusation about the
charge to the grand jury on constructive treason, Spring did Le-
compte the justice to quote from a letter of December 31, 1884, in
which Lecompte explained his position, and again denounced the
alleged charge to the grand jury as an invention of the imagination
of the Free-State reporters. But on the subject of the "sack of
Lawrence" no new statement of facts was introduced. Spring wrote
that the Douglas county grand jury "found bills of indictment
against two newspapers . . . and against the principal hotel of
that town, which some extraordinary obliquity of vision transformed
into a military fortress, 'regularly parapeted and port-holed for the
use of cannon and small arms'" (p. 118).
Later he erroneously involved Marshal Donaldson (the name
should have been Sheriff Jones) by saying:
Marshall Donaldson and his advisers, though some of them belonged to the
legal fraternity, reposed an astonishing confidence in the virtues and preroga-
tives of the famous grand jury of Douglas County. Scorning such intermediate
steps as citations, hearings, opportunities for explanation or defense, and the
like, they wrecked a hotel and threw two printing-presses into the river, upon
the authority of a bare grand jury presentation.
He then quoted from Lecompte's letter to Stewart of August 1,
1856:
That presentment still lies in court. No time for action on it existed — none
has been had — no order passed — nothing done, and nothing ever dreamed of
being done, because nothing could rightly be done but upon the finding of a
petit jury.
But the whole story was told in a satirical vein, holding up the
whole proceeding to ridicule. Even the gestures of justice to Le-
compte, Atchison, Buford, and Jackson, were lost, except upon the
most discerning readers, in the facetious context of the whole treat-
ment. The story of May 21 required some explicit pointing up to
guide the unwary reader through the complexities of the highly
controversial material. Spring himself was confused, apparently,
by legal terminology, and used the words indictment and present-
ment. Under some circumstances they are used interchangeably.
Probably Lecompte had erred in using the word presentment in his
Stewart letter, but that must be discussed later. But with all these
strictures on Spring's handling of the "Sack of Lawrence," his treat-
ment is less objectionable than any others in the general histories.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 587
By the time this book was published, in 1885, the controversy ( or
controversies) over Kansas history was burning with the fury of a
prairie fire before a northwest gale. On one side were Robinson,
Thayer, and others of the Emigrant Aid Company group, and on
the other the admirers of John Brown and Jim Lane.27 These un-
fortunate animosities gave point to that masterpiece of understate-
ment by the Topeka Daily Capital on the occasion of Professor
Spring's resignation to accept a professorship at Williams College
in Massachusetts: "The loss of the professor would be more gener-
ally mourned if he had not attempted to write a history of Kansas." 28
THE PORTRAIT
In 1887 F. G. Adams, secretary of the Kansas State Historical
Society, asked Lecompte for a portrait for the files of the Society.
Lecompte declined, writing a long letter reviewing his point of
view in the territorial troubles. He differentiated between Adams
and the Society, acknowledging Adams' "generous disposition" in all
their personal relations.
Thanking you again, most profoundly, for your individual consideration, I close
with the assurance that I have no desire that my photograph or picture should
grace, as perhaps a score of personal friends might deem, or disgrace, as the
hosts who have confederated to my destruction would adjudge, the halls of
the Historical Society of the state.29
Adams was much disturbed by Lecompte's reply and wrote im-
mediately suggesting his willingness to have the letter published in
a Topeka newspaper:
It has never been my privilege to have much personal intercourse with you,
but I have long known of the great respect, and kind interest with which all
who have known you best have regarded you; and I know that such, even
though they may have differed from you have been pained to observe the harsh
criticism of which you complain.30
Immediately Lecompte gave his consent to publication but
warned that "I should expect to have it made the occasion of re-
opening controversy and strife. . . ." Adams reconsidered, and
offered instead of publication, to locate the Kansas Chief letter pub-
lished in 1875 and enter a reference to it in the index of Kansas
material kept by the Society: "This will subserve your main desire, —
that you shall not, through the records of the Kansas Historical
27. Malin, John Brown and the Legend of Fifty-six, chs. 17-21.
28. "The Annals of Kansas: 1886," Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 20, p. 167.
29. Extracts printed in the Collections, of the K. S. H. S., v. 8, pp. 389, 390, footnote.
The original is in the "Correspondence" of the K. S. H. S., Topeka.
30. Adams to Lecompte, March 11, 1887, "Correspondence" of the K. S. H. S., "Out-
going," v. 16, pp. 126, 127.
588 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Society — go down to history with but a one-sided showing of your
career as the first Kansas Chief Justice. . . ." 31 Thus ended the
episode, but no portrait of Lecompte was forthcoming, and none
is now in the possession of the Historical Society, except as he ap-
pears in the group picture of the legislature of 1868.
REPRINTING THE Kansas Chief LETTER
Historical research has sometimes been referred to cynically as
digging up bones out of one graveyard and reburying them in
another graveyard. That metaphor seemed peculiarly applicable
to the several Lecompte defenses. His Stewart and Pearce letters
of 1856 were forgotten completely by the 1870's. Thus his Kansas
Chief letter published in 1875 appeared to be new. But that state-
ment of the case was not generally accessible even to contem-
poraries. Even though F. G. Adams was as well informed as anyone
on Kansas history, in 1887, he was not aware of Lecompte's Stewart,
Pearce, or Kansas Chief letters. In 1902 G. W. Martin, secretary of
the Kansas State Historical Society, wrote to Mrs. Charles Robinson:
An unfortunate thing in recording history is that those who get whipped
never write history. Since I have been here I have begged and begged John
Martin to write a paper on the personal characteristics of the proslavery leaders.
Only last week in looking through a newspaper file of 1875, 1 came across a half
column extract from an article published in the Troy Chief from Judge
Lecompte. I made a minute of it, and put it away saying that I was going to
have some proslavery matter in the next volume [of the Collect ions] ,32
True to his word, Martin did exactly that, and reprinted Le-
compte's "The Truth of History," from the Kansas Chief, under the
title "A Defense by Samuel D. Lecompte/' and with an explanatory
note: "as an act of historic justice."33 In a footnote was printed
also a biographical sketch and a summary of the Adams-Lecompte
correspondence concerning the portrait. Omitted, however, was
any reference to the exchange over publication of Lecompte's letter
of March 7, 1887. Omitted also, as explained earlier in the present
article, were four paragraphs of the letter. But at any rate, for the
first time the major portion of the Lecompte defense became avail-
able in a form suitable for general reference. Without a substantial
historical background for Lecompte's statement, however, the full
force and substantial accuracy of his version were not generally ap-
preciated. Captivity to a firmly established tradition was too strong.
31. Adams to Lecompte, March 11, 22, 1887, "Correspondence," K. S. H. S., "Out-
going," v. 16, pp. 126, 127, 147, 148; Lecompte to Adams, March 7, 16, 1887, "Miscel-
laneous Mss."
32. Martin to Mrs. Robinson, July 28, 1902, "Charles Robinson Papers," Ms. division,
K. S. H. S.
33. Collections of the K. S. H. S., 1904, v. 8, pp. 389-405.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 589
THE RECORDS OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
TERRITORY OF KANSAS
Why has the history of the United States district court for the ter-
ritory of Kansas remained in such a state of controversy as has been
detailed in the course of this article? One important reason was
that the records were thought to have been lost. In the course of the
Anthony libel proceedings, the Times, January 4, 1874, reported
that:
The original papers in the . . . [Phillips] case are now on file in the
Clerks' office in this city. The indictment of the Grand Jury, declaring the Free
State Hotel and the two Free State newspapers in Lawrence, nuisances, cannot
be found. They have probably bgen abstracted from the records of the court.
In these later days, there are obvious reasons why many officials would very
naturally desire their destruction.
The Times, January 4, 1874, proceeded to publish documents re-
lating to the Phillips case. Later, during the preliminary hearings
in the Anthony case, the Times, January 7, reported that "The
records of the court while under Lecompte's management were sent
for and found to be either missing or mutilated to such an extent
that nothing could be gleaned from them." A suggestion was made
that interested parties had removed papers for self-protection, the
innuendo being that Lecompte was guilty. But the same report also
stated that "Lecompte wanted these records to be used as testimony,
and the defense pleaded their insufficiency and asked to prove the
imbecility and corruption of Lecompte's court by parole testimony."
In the same connection Legate testified that "all the records of this
court were burned at the time of Quantrell's raid on Lawrence.
. . ." In 1911, when the Leaven worth county courthouse burned,
all records were again reported destroyed.
Truth is often stranger than fiction, and in spite of all the reports
to the contrary, the records of the United States district court for the
territory of Kansas are substantially complete. It is possible that the
largest loss occurred in the Leaven worth courthouse fire of 1911,
but most, if not all of the book records were saved.34 The documents
which the Leavenworth Times, January 4, 1874, published were not
returned to the clerk, but were retained by H. Miles Moore, and
are now to be found in his papers acquired by the Kansas State
Historical Society in 1908. Some of the territorial records are in the
archives of the United States district court and of the state supreme
34. The present author made a general survey of the records in the storage vault of
the district court at Leavenworth. An inventory of all the records in the courthouse would
be necessary to be sure about details. The case files for Leavenworth county cases were
not located.
590 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
court at Topeka. As the court traveled from county to county in
circuit during most of the territorial period, exercising jurisdiction
equivalent to the state district courts after 1861, some such records
may have been turned over to clerks of these district courts, in the
respective counties, after 1861. Apparently that is what happened
in Leavenworth county, except that more than the records of that
county accumulated there because Chief Justice Lecompte resided
there rather than at the territorial capital, Lecompton.
The largest single body of records of the court, however, have a
different history. During the winter of 1932-1933, when prepara-
tions were being made for razing the old federal building at Topeka,
the accumulation of federal records of all kinds stored in the upper
story were about to be sold for waste paper, when the State His-
torical Society intervened and secured their transfer to its custody —
seven truck loads of paper. A sorting of that material revealed,
among other things, the existence of most of the judicial archives of
the United States district court for the Territory of Kansas. From
another source, at about the same time, "Record A, 1855-1858"
(the journal of the court), for the first division of the first district,
that of Judge Lecompte, earlier deposited at Leavenworth, came to
the State Historical Society.35 This court material was sorted and
given its preliminary organization for research purposes by the
present author. Only the John Brown study has been published
from this material. The record of the court as bearing upon the
Lawrence episode is presented here for the first time.
Before taking up this particular case, however, the points of the
criminal code essential to legal procedure in the case must be sum-
marized. In the "Bogus" Laws of 1855, chapter 129, article III, "Of
Grand Juries and Their Proceedings — Practice and Proceeding in
Criminal Cases," it was provided that grand juries should consist of
not more than 18 summoned, nor less than 15 sworn. The prose-
cuting attorney was to attend, when required by the grand jury, and
might attend on his own motion to present information, and in either
case would examine witnesses, and give legal advice, but he and all
others should not be present when the grand jury voted upon any
matter before them. A concurrence of at least 12 grand jurors was
necessary for voting an indictment, upon which the foreman must
make the endorsement, "A true bill"; and when less than 12 con-
curred, the foreman must make the endorsement "Not a true bill."
Indictments voted must then be presented in open court, and in
35. Report of the annual meeting of the K. S. H. S., 1932-1933, Kansas Historical
Quarterly, v. 3, p. 93. For a more complete description, see Malin, John Brown and the
Legend of Fifty-six, bibliographical note, pp. 765-767.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 591
the presence of the grand jury be filed there, and remain as records
of the court — the journal of the court.
In article IV of the same chapter, 129, it was provided that in-
dictments were not invalid merely because of certain omissions or
defects in the form. Warrants for the arrest of a person indicted
might be issued by the court, or the judge of the court in which the
indictment occurred, or by any judge of the supreme court, but
"by no other officers, . . ."
Quite properly, the first step in considering the particular case
is to examine "Record A," the minutes of the proceedings of the
court itself. Each and every item of business presented to the court,
or action taken by the court, was entered in this manuscript book.
For the month of May, 1856, no entry whatever appeared relating
to the Free-State Hotel, or to the printing offices at Lawrence. Of
course, Lecompte had said that in his Stewart letter of August 1,
1856, but he was not believed.
The second step is to examine in detail every sheet of paper
identifiable as having to do with the grand jury of Douglas county
for May, 1856. Three pieces of paper are on file that refer to the
objects in question — A complete manuscript copy of the document
so notoriously exploited in history as the indictment or presentment
of the hotel and the printing offices, with the name of Owen C.
Stewart, foreman of the grand jury, at the end. But the document
and the signature are in the handwriting of a clerk. A second copy
of the document, also in the handwriting of a clerk, lacks the last
sentence and the name of the foreman. A third document, a frag-
ment of a sheet of paper, contains the final sentence, missing in the
above, and the signature, both in the handwriting of Owen C.
Stewart. The second version mentioned, and the genuine Stewart
signature are reproduced in the accompanying photographs.
Note should be made of the fact that this document was not in
the form of an indictment; no persons were cited as owners or
operators of the premises complained of; the document had been
signed by the foreman of the grand jury, not by the district attor-
ney. It had not been endorsed by the foreman, "A true bill," as
required by law; and there was no endorsement indicating that it
had been presented in open court. These were not merely technical
defects; taken together, they were fundamental defects which rule
it out as even approximating an indictment, or even a binding legal
document eminating from a grand jury. Inanimate objects cannot
be indicted in any case, only legal persons responsible for a nuis-
ance. With these facts in evidence, it is astounding that Lecompte,
592 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
in his letter to Stewart, August 1, 1856, used the word "present-
ment." On the other points in his explanation he was correct so
far as he went, but evidently he had not refreshed his memory by
an examination of the records of his court as a basis for writing the
Stewart letter. He could have made so much a better case.
It was the function of the prosecuting attorney to prepare and sign
an indictment ready for action by the grand jury. The presence
of the signature of Owen C. Stewart, the foreman of the grand jury
in the place where the signature of the district attorney should
have appeared branded this document on its face as anything but
an indictment, or "a true bill." No legal persons having been speci-
fied in the alleged indictment, no warrants could have been issued,
and none could have been issued on a legal indictment except by
a judge. To go any further would seem to be engaging in the
proverbially useless pastime of flogging a dead horse. Yet for
nearly a century, Kansas, and professional historians, and the legal
fraternity have taken seriously the legend about this document.
How long can people remain captive to so obvious a hoax? Even
in its printed version, before the public for almost a century, the
substantial defects of the document were plainly apparent.
Upon several occasions, and upon a number of subjects, grand
juries had made recommendations for the good of the community
as they saw it. That was all that was done on this occasion; a
recommendation prepared and signed by the foreman, and prob-
ably voted by the grand jury, although there is no record on that
point. That, and nothing more, is what the document purports to
be. Of the several of such recommendations found in the records
of the court, this is the only one that was not accepted and treated
at its face value. In both parts of the second paragraph, the lan-
guage is explicit — "we respectfully recommend . . "
In the second district, Judge Cato presiding, the district court
met in Anderson county, April 28 to May 1, 1856, and after com-
pleting the other business before them, the grand jury expressed
their sentiments in the form of two recommendations; the increasing
political tension, and abuse of the land laws. On the former sub-
ject: "we . . . recommend to that portion of our fellow citizens
. . . that do not believe the laws of the Territory are legal to at
least abide them until a respectable majority of them see proper
through their legislature to have them altered." 36 The recommenda-
tion of the Douglas county grand jury is in the same category, and
possessed no more force than those of Anderson county.
36. "Papers" of the United States district court, K. S. H. S., Topeka; Malin, John Brown
and the Legend of Fifty-six, pp. 558, 559.
JUDGE SAMUEL DEXTER LECOMPTE
(1814-1888)
This photograph is an enlargement of a post-
age-size picture of Judge Lecompte. It ap-
peared on a panel of legislative photographs in
the collections of the Kansas State Historical
Society showing members of the Kansas House
of Representatives of 1868. Although a search
was made, no individual portrait of Judge Le-
compte has been found.
£ ' ™«— ^ Jr
~|£^~it*v. f ff^^^tf- &*^s«~# S^/ si*~~*
A*^*£^&^
0~% X<?*U-*-**-
CX-*^*-*^^, «_ 3
, ^~~~ ^U^-^x^±Z^, .
S *^—'^*~^Lf , e*-*^$~~ t^^- q£*-*-~*~
~4-L.Z^/^-^ t~^-~ >^!li
2U^**-y^_ «-. e^^^^-t^^iL. /r. «- «— -*• — at--«^L^^--v-->-*_-v-^--^~~
THE DOUGLAS COUNTY GRAND JURY RECOMMENDATION, MAY, 1856
The two pages reproduced here represent two fragments of manuscripts
which, when pieced together, provide a complete text of the controversial rec-
ommendation of the Douglas county grand jury of May, 1856, relative to the
Emigrant Aid Company hotel and the two newspapers at Lawrence. In the first
fragment the final words "its destruction" were crossed out. Evidently, com-
position, or copying was interrupted at this point, reflecting divided counsels.
The amended wording was less extreme than that deleted. Of special interest
is the fact that the language of the substitute is in the handwriting of O. C.
Stewart, the foreman, and over his signature. The conclusion seems war-
ranted that Stewart sided with the advocates of moderation.
DANIEL READ ANTHONY, I
(1824-1904)
Col. Daniel Read Anthony, native of Massa-
chusetts, arrived in Kansas in July, 1854, with
the first official party sponsored by the Emigrant
Aid Company. He left Kansas in August, but
returned in 1857 to settle permanently in
Leaven worth. His was a colorful life in poli-
tics, military service and journalism. His fam-
ily, now in the third and fourth generations,
continue to publish the Leavenworth Times
which Colonel Anthony bought in 1871.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 593
CONCLUSION
What was the status of Sheriff Jones on May 21, 1856? That of
mob leader, nothing more, nor less. True, he held legally the office
of sheriff of Douglas county, but he had no authority in the premises
upon which he was alleged to have acted; either in relation to the
United States district court, to Lecompte as presiding judge, or to
the grand jury. The United States marshal and his deputies were
the only officers who could have acted even if the allegations rela-
tive to the court and to the nuisances had been true. They had
completed their legal duties and had dismissed the posse. That
terminated any proceedings emulating from the court. Jones, as
sheriff of Douglas county, had no legal status whatsoever in relation
to matters alleged. As an irresponsible mob leader, Jones disgraced
his office as sheriff.
Of all the statements in print about the incidents associated with
May 21, 1856, the story related by James Christian is the only one
that strikes bluntly at the truth of the matter. Of course, Christian
was writing from memory, 19 years after the event, but the core of
what he wrote rings true. Furthermore, it squares substantially
with the law, and with the documents so far as they go. Further-
more, absence of documentary proof of Lecompte's innocence can-
not be held as suspicion of guilt. Of course, documentary evidence
does not exist to disprove a thing that never happened. The burden
of proof is on the accuser, not the defendant. Anthony's charge of
mutilation of records and destruction of incriminating evidence must
be dismissed upon this ground as well as upon the fact that essen-
tial records of positive action by the United States district court,
in spite of the hazards of neglect over a century, prove remarkably
complete.
A large part of the difficulties of territorial Kansas, conflicts of
authority, were inherent in the situation. In accordance with Ameri-
can tradition, territorial government had been designed to protect
the citizen, through a system of checks and balances, against arbi-
trary authority. The governor, the legislature, and the judiciary
were predominantly equal and independent departments. Within
the judiciary, the judges, the prosecuting attorneys, the grand jury,
and the marshal were delegated independent action, each in its own
jurisdiction. President Pierce's orders to Governor Stanton not to
call out militia, did not apply to the marshal, who did so legally
although inadvisedly. As Lecompte pointed out in his Kansas Chief
40—312
594 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
letter, he was not consulted during the preliminaries leading to the
"sack of Lawrence"; the negotiations being carried on between the
citizens of Lawrence and the marshal and the governor. Yet when
the situation had deteriorated to a state of civil disorder, Lecompte,
the man who had not even been consulted, and who was without
authority to intervene, was held responsible for the action of a mob.
Acting under instructions from Pierce, Governor Geary, in Septem-
ber, 1856, assumed virtually the powers of a dictator, leading to
conflict with the independent judiciary. And Washington was too
far away to understand. Pierce's attempt to remove Lecompte, and
thus make him the scapegoat, put the issue more directly.
The history of territorial government as an object of study has
never received the serious attention of historians. Until that task
is adequately executed, from the Ordinance of 1787 to the contro-
versies over the admission of Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, the
Kansas episode cannot be placed in its proper perspective. For
example, in many respects, the territorial legislature of Nebraska
was more disorderly than that of Kansas. There, in 1857, a mem-
ber of the legislature with a revolver, and the encouragement of the
galleries, held the speaker and the sergeant at arms at bay, until
someone had the presence of mind to move an adjournment.37 The
issue at stake was the location of the capital.
Or the Mormon question in Utah presented more prolonged
difficulties, including the Mormon war, than did slavery in Kansas.
The safeguards against the abuse of power repeatedly led to the
breakdown of territorial government under stress of crisis, yet the
question of remodeling the system was never squarely faced, not
even when the temporary new departure of government by com-
mission was applied to Puerto Rico and to the Philippine Islands
after 1900.
As the territorial judiciary in applying local law operated under
the codes of legal procedure, civil and criminal, enacted by the
territorial legislature, and based upon Missouri's system, they be-
came the focus of intense hostility, especially the code of criminal
procedure. Yet it is important to point out that when the Free-
State men gained control of the territorial legislature of 1858,
pledged to repeal the whole of the "Bogus Laws/' the legislators
failed to do so. New codes of legal procedure were adopted, that
of civil procedure being based upon Ohio's code, and that of crimi-
nal procedure being based upon Missouri's code. The Free-State
legislature of 1859 made further modifications of the code of crimi-
37. New York Tribune, January 28, 1857.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 595
nal procedure but the Missouri code still remained the basis, and
continued so under statehood.
In this context, the repeal of the "Bogus Laws" needs a fuller ex-
planation. The Free-State legislature of 1858 drew down upon
itself the furious denunciation of the more radical wing of the
party, who charged, among other things that: "They occupied
three-fourths of their session in granting special privileges to specu-
lators." 38 Of course, that was just the charge that Free-State men
had made against the "Bogus Legislature" of 1855, and that of
1857. Colfax had given particular emphasis to this point in his
attack in congress upon Lecompte, in 1856. There is reason to
believe that resentment against monopoly over private legislation
was originally the major basis for Free-State denunciation of the
Proslavery capture of the legislature of 1855. The Free-State
aspect of the slavery issue was so largely organized afterward as to
suggest that in part at least it was really a rationalization of that
disappointment, and then came the presidential campaign of 1856.
The Free-State legislature of 1859 set out to redeem, in part, the
reputation of the party, chapter 89, section 1, asserting boldly: "All
laws of the Territorial Legislature, passed previous to the first day
of January, A. D. 1857, are hereby repealed." Section 2, declared:
"All laws of a general nature, passed at the regular session of the
Territorial Legislature, in the year A. D. 1857, except . . .
[those defining county boundaries] are hereby repealed." But sec-
tion 6 must not be overlooked: "This act shall not be construed to
affect or interfere with vested rights, but such rights shall be and
remain as secure as if this act had never been passed." And sec-
tion 7 emphasized the issue of private in contrast with public laws
by providing: "This act, except section six, shall take effect and be
in force from and after the first day of June next; section six
shall take effect immediately." Thus the assertion of the protec-
tion of vested rights became operative prior to any part of the act
relating to repeal, and asserted a continuity that overrode ex-
pressly the sections on repeal. The Free-State party held its book-
burning celebration on the basis of section 1, with a bonfire of the
Statutes of 1855. But the vested rights were protected from the
flames by section 6; Free-State men having bought out control of
such "Bogus" enterprises as the Atchison Town Company, and the
Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad Company, etc. Fur-
thermore, as the old codes of public laws were repealed, and new
38. Kansas Crusader of Freedom, Doniphan City, March 6, 1858, from The Kanzaa
News, Emporia.
596 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
ones enacted, without any proviso for transfer of cases from one
regime to another, the Free-State legislature had, in effect, voted a
general amnesty for all crimes committed prior to June 1, 1859.39
Among other things, if there was any possible manner in which
criminal or other responsibility could be attached to the act of de-
struction of the Free-State Hotel and the printing presses, the
amnesty enacted by the Free-State legislature covered that also.
The setting is now prepared to bring the discussion back to the
New England Emigrant Aid Company and its hotel which was not
a vested right within the meaning of the repeal statute of 1859. The
problem is an aspect of that of "foreign" and domestic corporations
and conflict of legal jurisdictions, a preview of the issues being pre-
sented more and more insistently by a corporate business world.
The New England group interested in carrying on business in the
territory of Kansas had first applied for a charter in Massachusetts
prior to the enactment of the Kansas-Nebraska act. So far as Kansas
was concerned, it was a "foreign" corporation being operated not
only for profit, but also expressly for the purpose of contributing to
the determination of Kansas institutions — in their more boastful
moments, the incorporators expressed the purpose of controlling
Kansas institutions and molding Kansas into the image of Massa-
chusetts. What means of control did the legislature of Kansas pos-
sess over a corporation chartered in another state? There were
others that occupied a less conspicuous position, but which were
more flagrant swindles. The Proslavery monopoly on domestic cor-
porations was one answer. In later years, the Kansas legislature
was aggressive in its efforts to apply controls over "foreign" cor-
porations: railroads, farm equipment, oil, and insurance companies,
and enacted a blue sky law. Even mob action, threatened or exe-
cuted, was not unknown in the later battles against out-of-state cor-
porations.
The major purpose of these concluding paragraphs is to afford
historical perspective that may place the particular events upon
which this study centers into a more comprehensive structure of
relationships. In this manner, possibly, the traditional mode of re-
acting emotionally to the mention of the slavery controversy may be
challenged effectively. Only upon release from captivity to such
emotion-conditioned traditions can people reason from facts at an
intellectual level.
In a way, Lecompte was his own worst enemy, and certainly he
39. Malin, John Brown and the Legend of Fifty-six, p. 712, 713.
JUDGE LECOMPTE AND THE "SACK OF LAWRENCE" 597
was not given any effective aid by his friends when it might have
been decisive. James Christian's analysis was remarkably accurate
in picturing Lecompte as caught between two fanatical and un-
scrupulous extremes, one as vindictive as the other. But Christian
did not come to his defense in 1856, although 1875 was better than
never. By saying that Lecompte was his own worst enemy is meant
that he seemed to have been so constructed as to be quite unable to
defend himself effectively even when the evidence on his side was
clear and unequivocal. Possibly, because the truth was all so ob-
vious, and the charges so outrageously unreasonable, both in fact
and in interpretation, Lecompte could not understand how other
people's minds could fail to see truth. In his letter to H. Miles
Moore during the summer of 1873, he took substantially this ground
in explaining why he had defaulted in his correction of the Herald
article on the McCrea case, and admitted his error. But still in
1873 and later in the Kansas Chief letter of 1875, he did not explain
himself adequately. He still failed totally to understand how cap-
tivity to an idea, no matter how absurd, can paralyze all critical
faculties and make unreason appear reasonable — especially, when
identified, at least nominally, with a moral issue as a desired end.
Well may the historians of Kansas recall Madame Roland's ex-
clamation of disillusionment called out by the excesses of the French
Revolution: "Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!"
The celebrations of the quarter, the semi, and the three-quarter
centennial anniversaries of the organization of Kansas partook so
conspicuously of slanderfests. May the centennial anniversary be
different? To be sure, the historical story must be told in full, in
perspective, and without malice, but "Judge not, that ye be not
judged." Rather, it were better, in true humility, to recognize as
did Lecompte in his letter to Stewart, in 1856, as relates to the judi-
cial function, a feeling of "awe and apprehension of inadequacy [on
the part of] anyone not vain to rashness."
The Missing Immigrant Ship
GLAD WIN A. READ
THIS year we celebrated one hundred years in America. Our
Swiss forebears sailed from Antwerp on the American ship
Roger Stewart, and landed at New York in 1853. They headed
straight for Illinois, beat the panic of 1857 by moving on to Iowa,
and in 1873 bought cheap railroad land from the Kansas Pacific
(now the Union Pacific) and took root in Dickinson county, Kansas.
On May 10, 1953, about 350 attended a reunion held in Junction
City.1
Not being a particularly mobile family, many of those who at-
tended the reunion had never seen the ocean — much less a square-
rigger. Perhaps that was why they were so anxious to locate a
picture of the Roger Stewart. Anyhow, they definitely wanted a
king-size reminder of that historic crossing — to which they owed so
much and about which they knew so little.
It was like looking for that proverbial needle; only this one ante-
dated the Civil War. Neither the Essex Institute nor the Peabody
Museum at Salem, Mass., could furnish any clues. A search was
made among the records of the former Bureau of Marine Inspection
& Navigation, now in the custody of the National Archives. There
was no mention of a vessel by the name of Roger Stewart being
documented, either in New York or Philadelphia, between the years
1852-1854. And the U. S. Immigration Service reported no records
for arrivals at New York prior to 1897. All their papers had been
destroyed by fire.
The New York "Marine Register" for 1857 did carry this helpful
notation: "Roger Stewart— Capt. Scolfield. Class AIM, 1066 tons,
draft 20, 2 checks, wood-oak & hackmatack, fastenings iron & copper,
built 1852 in Brunswick, metalled Jan. 1856. Owner, the captain,
full model." We seemed to be on the right trail as the ship's mani-
fest, on file in the National Archives, listed our Roger Stewart at
"1066 48/95 tons burthen."
Then in the Library of Congress this little item was discovered,
tucked away on the back page of the New York Daily Times for
GLADWIN A. READ, was born in Upland, Dickinson county, and was educated in the
Junction City schools and at Kansas State College, Manhattan. He is now a sales executive
with the International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, Chicago.
1. The Junction City Republic of May 14, 1953, began its story of the reunion as
follows :
"The largest crowd ever to attend the annual Gfeller reunion, assembled in the Junction
City Municipal Auditorium Sunday, May 10, when approximately 350 members and friends
of the family gathered to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Gfeller
family in the United States.
"Peter Gfeller and his wife, Anna Marie, and their 11 children, ages ranging from 17
years to six months, came to this country on the ship 'Roper Stewart,' landing at the Port
of New York on Sunday, May 29, having sailed from Antwerp 38 days before. Peter
Gfeller and his wife had come from Switzerland, and first settled in the State of Illinois,
just west of Chicago. . . ."
(598)
THE MISSING IMMIGRANT SHIP 599
May 30, 1853: "Arrived Sunday, May 27 [May 29?] . . . Ship
Roger Stewart (of Brunswick) Skofield, Antwerp, 38 ds., mdse. and
41 passengers to Perkins & Delano."
Brunswick seemed to indicate the state of Maine, rather than
Georgia, and the search turned toward the customs house in Port-
land. Here again the desired records had been destroyed by fire.
They had no data on vessels built within that area prior to 1869.
But a near-by "marine detective," whose hobby included the exami-.
nation of old registers compiled by Lloyds of London, established
the fact that the Skolfield yard in Brunswick had produced the
"Mayflower" we were trying to locate. Though this hobbyist also
had an album of sailing ship pictures, not one of his 800 captions
made any reference to the Roger Stewart.
We couldn't understand why the name of our ship failed to ap-
pear in the records of the Union navy — along with the Ino, Pampero,
Morning Light, Nightingale, and all the other vessels that had been
rushed into the blockading squadrons, to bottle up the South. That
is, until a yellowed clipping from the Brunswick Telegraph came to
light. It was printed on May 11, 1860. It seems that the Roger
Stewart had sailed from Mobile, with a load of cotton, bound for
Liverpool. All went well until she was a little south of Cape
Hatteras. A severe gale was encountered, a leak was discovered
and the ship went down, head foremost — never to be recovered.
A final letter of inquiry, this time to the Pejepscot Historical So-
ciety at Brunswick, brought a beautifully written letter in longhand
from its treasurer, to prove how friendly those Easterners can really
be. In part she said:
The old Skolfield shipyard is in North Harpswell, about five miles from here.
Nothing is left of it but the old blacksmith shop. Mr. George Skolfield, a great
grandson of Master George Skolfield lives on the old farm, across the road from
the shipyard. His wife tells me that Master George was the builder of ships
and not a sea captain. She said that they had papers telling about the building
of the ROGER STEWART and the material that went into the building of it.
She said Master George owned % of the ship and his son Alfred made early
voyages in it as Captain. So he was Captain probably when your ancestors
came to this country. In his home here in town is an oil painting of the ship
ROGER STEWART. Our photographer Mr. Stephen Merrill, in 1949 made a
photographic copy of this ship ROGER STEWART, the old shipyard, and of
Master George and of Captain Alfred. He says he has the plates and could
furnish you with copies 6 x 10 at $1.00 each.
And that was how we cracked the case of the missing immigrant
ship, measuring 180 by 36 by 18, that housed 421 passengers for 38
days, including the family of 13 Gfellers, their two maid servants,
and a man — back in 1853.
Bypaths of Kansas History
A LIFE INSURANCE AD OF 1854
The' following is an advertisement which appeared in the Daily
Commonwealth, Boston, Mass., August 16, 1854:
Emigrants
TO KANSAS AND NEBRASKA
CAN EFFECT LIFE INSURANCE IN THE
HARTFORD LIFE INSURANCE CO.
WITHOUT EXTRA CHARGE
Especially if they go for Freedom.
Apply at Boston Agency,
HARRIS, COWLES & CO.,
9 and 1 Kilby Street.
WHEN HIGHWAY BUILDING BEGAN AT HOME
From the Newton Kansan, October 28, 1875.
OUR ROADS — The finest natural roads in the world are to be found on the
prairies of Southern and Western Kansas. No stumps, no great rocks, no
swamps, and no tolls to pay. Only at the creek and river crossings is there
ever any work to be done, and all of these will eventually be bridged. Notwith-
standing this almost absolute immunity from labor and expense, it is not ap-
preciated, and from the most gross carelessness, our creek and river crossings
are neglected year after year, until they become little more than treacherous
holes, whose function is only to break wagons and harness, and are made the
fruitful source of more profanity than a hornet up a man's trousers leg. That
there should be any cause for complaint in this direction is a disgrace to the
country, and particularly to every man who travels over our roads in his own
wagon. How simple the remedy for all the evils complained of? How easily
our crossings could always be kept in perfect order, if every man when he
started from home would put a shovel or spade into his wagon, and when he
reaches a spot that looks as if a moments work would fix it, let him stop, get
out and do it. We hope this practice is not ignored here because people are
afraid of doing their neighbors some benefit. In the Eastern States this method
is the rule invariably, we know of farmers who would no more have thought of
neglecting their shovel when they started for town, than they would of for-
getting their hat. Now we contend that it is clearly the duty of those who use
the roads most to keep them in order, and no one will deny it is the farmers who
should do it.
(600)
Kansas History as Published in the Press
A brief history of the Evangelical and Reformed church of Ellin-
wood was printed in the Ellinwood Leader, June 11, 1953. The
church was started in the fall of 1892 when the Reverend Kottich
of Hudson, began to hold services. It was organized April 9, 1893,
and the first church building was dedicated in December, 1893.
On June 13, 1953, the Hutchinson News-Herald printed a history
of the First Baptist church of Lorraine. The church was organized
in June, 1878, as the First German Baptist church. The first pastor
was the Rev. David Zwink.
An article on the history of Mullinville newspapers appeared in
the Mullinville News, June 18, 1953. The first paper was the Mullin-
ville Mallet, started on April 9, 1886, with J. M. Diven as editor.
John G. Connor founded the News — called the Tribune then — in
1904, the first issue appearing August 4, according to the article.
A brief biographical sketch of James B. 'Wild Bill" Hickok ap-
peared in the editorial column of the Hays Daily News, June 24,
1953. Other articles appearing lately in the Daily News included
one on the disastrous fires of early Hays and the city fire depart-
ment, July 5, and another on the entertainment and social life of
early Hays by Catherine K. Cavender, July 26. The Ellis County
News, Hays, printed a story on the cholera epidemic of 1867, June
25, and Mrs. Cavender's article on July 30.
Don Smith's recent talk before the Kiwanis and Lions clubs of
Dodge City on Dodge City in 1878 was published in the Dodge
City Daily Globe, June 27, 1953. Smith said that in 1878 the town
probably reached its zenith as the cowboy capital of the world.
An article by Molly Ferguson, describing the log-cabin museum
in the Manhattan city park, appeared in the Manhattan Mercury-
Chronicle, June 28, 1953. The Riley County Historical Association
built the cabin in 1915 and has stocked it with more than 600 relics.
Over 6,000 persons visited the cabin in 1952. Carl Pfuetze is the
curator.
Kit Carson's experience fighting Indians at Pawnee Rock, as re-
lated by Paul I. Wellman, was printed in the Lincoln Sentinel-
Republican, July 2, 1953. Carson, only 17 years of age, was with a
party headed by Col. Ceran St. Vrain.
(601)
602 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Historical articles in the Marysville Advocate recently included
a history of Life school, District 10, Marshall county, July 2, 1953;
and a history of Bremen by Fred Prell, July 9. A plaque has been
placed at the Bremen town well and dedicated July 5, 1953. It
reads: "Henry Brenneke founded Bremen 1886. Donors of well:
Fred J. Prell, Frank W. Maxwell, Joseph A. Sedlacek."
Indians at war and a flood on the Neosho river in the summer of
1836 were subjects of a brief article in the Emporia Times, July 2,
1953. A letter by Susie O. Higbee, Emporia, written in response to
the article, was printed July 9. An article on past fourth of July
celebrations in Emporia appeared in the "When Emporia Was
Young" column of the Emporia Gazette, July 2. This column ap-
pears regularly in the Gazette.
A history of Achilles, Rawlins county, compiled by Lois Erickson,
was published in the Atwood Citizen-Patriot and the McDonald
Standard, July 2, 1953. The first post office in the Achilles area was
established in 1880, and a schoolhouse was built in 1881. The town
was surveyed in 1887.
Titles of articles included lately in John Watson's "See Kansas"
series in the Wichita Evening Eagle are: "Giant Reptiles Once
Swam in Waters Covering Western Kansas/' the story of the fossil
exhibit in the Oakley high school building, July 2, 1953; "First
Building Erected in Augusta Houses Historic Museum," July 16;
"Wellington Banker [George Harbaugh] Builds Museum to House
Collection," July 30; "Soldiers at Historic Fort Lamed Once Guarded
Santa Fe Trail," August 6; "Early Day Swedish Lutheran Church
Stands at Mariadahl," August 13; and "Historic St. Mary's College
Started as Indian Mission," September 17.
An article on the great buffalo herd in the Barton and Pawnee
county area in 1871, by Dan L. Thrapp, was published in the Great
Bend Daily Tribune, July 3, 1953. The herd was estimated at more
than 4,000,000. The Great Bend Herald-Press began a history of
Great Bend and the surrounding area by Mrs. C. W. Hiatt, July 23,
1953. The last of the seven installments appeared August 16.
Articles of historical interest to Kansans published recently in the
Kansas City (Mo.) Star included: "[Alexander Ramsey] Died
Taming the West," July 5, 1953; "Kansas Has a Folk-Speech Match-
ing the Picturesque Language of the Ozarks," by Nora B. Cunning-
ham, July 8; "Ezra Meeker's Fight for Marking Oregon Trail Led
Him to Kansas City," by Mildred Miles Main, July 31; and "Olathe
KANSAS HISTORY IN THE PRESS 603
Became Wartime Ghost Town After Quantrill's Raid 91 Years Ago,"
by Stan Chapman, September 10. Articles in the Kansas City ( Mo. )
Times were: "The Pioneers of 1850 Met Stark Tragedy on the
Carson Desert Route/' by Vaun Arnold, September 2; and "Chero-
kee Strip Run 60 Years Ago Is a Vivid Memory to Kansas Residents/'
by Delia Mavity McDonnell, September 16.
"The Early History of Macks ville," by Bill Nesbit, appeared in the
Macks ville Enterprise, July 9 and 16, 1953. The town was estab-
lished in 1885.
Several articles of historical interest by L. F. Valentine, have been
published in recent numbers of the Clay Center Dispatch and
Times. Included in the Dispatch were: "Washouts, Misnames
Mark Pete's Creek," July 25, 1953; "Rose Merom Cemetery Took
Name From Bible," August 11; and "Clay County Once Had Narrow
Gauge Railroad," September 5. "Riverview Section [of Clay Cen-
ter] Had River View Until 1915," appeared in the Times August 27.
An article entitled "Pioneer Stock," by D. J. Nelson, San Diego,
Cal., began to run serially in the Kansas Optimist, Jamestown, July
30, 1953. The author was born in a sod house in Mitchell county
in 1875.
The story of Sumner, "dead" town near Atchison, by Arthur
Howe, was published in the Atchison Daily Globe, August 2, 1953.
Founded in 1856, the town survived until 1860 when a tornado
damaged virtually every home.
An article discussing the fate of the infamous Bender family was
published in the Coffeyville Daily Journal, August 2, 1953. That
the Benders were tracked down and killed by a posse is maintained
by C. A. Axton whose father was a member of the posse. A bio-
graphical sketch of Mrs. Artie Case who came to Coffeyville 71
years ago with her family, the Daniel B. Detres, by Oren "Bud"
Wright, was printed in the Journal, August 23.
The story of Studley, a small community on the boundary of
Graham and Sheridan counties, as told by Helen D. Francis, ap-
peared in the Hays Daily News, August 2, 1953; in the Hill City
Times, August 6; and in the Hoxie Sentinel, August 13. The first
settler in the area was Abraham Pratt who homesteaded in the late
1870's. The community was settled largely by middle-class English-
men.
604 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Some of the history of the Argonia area, compiled by Frank Beals,
has appeared in recent issues of the Argonia Argosy. Included were
articles on the tornado which damaged the town in 1888, August 27,
1953; and on the settlers from Kentucky in the early 1880's, Sep-
tember 3.
Arkansas City's first governmental body, which met in 1872, was
the subject of Walter Hutchison's column, "Folks Hereabouts/' in
the Arkansas City Daily Traveler, August 29, 1953.
The Kansas Teachers new historical columnist is Dr. Robert Taft
of the University of Kansas, chairman of the Kansas Territorial
Centennial Committee, and the immediate past president of the
Kansas State Historical Society. In keeping with the times, the
column this year is called "A Century of Kansas History," and
Dr. Taft's first article is "The West of a Century Ago," appear-
ing in the September, 1953, issue.
In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the opening of the
Cherokee strip to settlers on September 16, 1893, the Caldwell
Messenger, September 3, 1953, published a special 22-page edition
containing articles on the race to get land in the strip and on the
history of the Caldwell community.
A 100-page special edition of the Russell Daily News, September
8, 1953, marked the sixth anniversary of the daily newspaper and
honored the Russell oil show, "Three Decades of Derricks." The
Russell Record, September 10, also observed the oil celebration with
special articles on the oil industry and the history of the area. The
News presented a cross section of the central Kansas oil industry,
and both newspapers printed several articles by J. C. Ruppenthal
on attempts to find water, coal, oil, stone, and other products in the
county.
"Wings Over Wichita" is the title of a series of articles by Bliss
Isely, beginning in the Wichita Magazine, September 17, 1953.
Isely devoted his first story to the building of Wichita's first three
airports, Jones Field, selected and marked early in 1919; Stratford
Field, later called Swallow Field; and early in 1926 the Wichita
Airport.
The Kinsley Mercury published a 42-page 80th anniversary edi-
tion September 24, 1953. Kinsley was organized in 1873, and was
first called Peters City. Robert McCanse is said to have been the
first settler and F. H. Hall was the first mayor.
Kansas Historical Notes
Under the auspices of the Kiowa County Historical Society the
Kiowa County Pioneer Museum has been organized and has been
granted a state charter as a nonprofit corporation. The directors
of the new organization met April 30, 1953, and elected officers as
follows: J. H. Olinger, president; Herbert Parkin, vice-president;
Mrs. Benjamin Weaver, secretary; and Mrs. Bruno Meyer, treasurer.
The purpose of the museum is to acquire and preserve records and
relics pertaining to Kiowa county history, and to provide for housing
and displaying these items.
Officers elected by the board of directors of the Finney County
Historical Society at a meeting July 14, 1953, were: Gus Norton,
president; Mrs. Kate Smith, first vice-president; C. L. Reeve, second
vice-president; Mrs. Josephine Cowgill, third vice-president; Mrs.
Ella Condra, secretary; Mrs. Eva B. Sharer, treasurer; Ralph T. Ker-
sey, historian; Mrs. Cecil Wristen, custodian; and P. A. Burtis, busi-
ness manager.
Claude L. Peterson was elected president of the Wyandotte
County Historical Society at a meeting in the old Grinter House,
rural Wyandotte county, July 23, 1953. Other officers chosen in-
cluded: Alan W. Farley, vice-president; Sixten Shogran, secretary;
and Harry Hanson, treasurer. Farley was the retiring president.
Guest of honor and one of the speakers at the annual picnic of
the Shawnee Mission Indian Historical Society on the grounds of Old
Shawnee Mission in Johnson county, August 23, 1953, was Frank
C. Wornall who was born 98 years ago in one of the mission build-
ings. Mrs. Homer Bair is president of the society.
Tom Van Bebber was elected president of the Doniphan County
Historical Society at a meeting in Troy to reorganize and reactivate
the society, September 2, 1953. Senter Brazelton was chosen vice-
president, and Mrs. Margaret Rice, secretary-treasurer.
Mrs. Alma Piper, Parsons, was elected president of the Labette
County Old Settlers Association at a meeting in Oswego, September
7, 1953. Other officers elected included: W. A. Blair vice-presi-
dent; and R. H. Montgomery, secretary-treasurer. The principal
speaker was Mrs. Laura Plumb, Wellington. E. E. Woods, Inde-
pendence, was the retiring president.
(605)
606 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The towns of Great Bend, Hays, and Russell joined with many
private firms and companies in presenting a three-day oil show in
Russell, September 10-12, 1953. One of the features of the program
was the dedication of a monument at the site of the Carrie Oswald
No. 1 discovery well near Fairport. The dedicatory address was by
Gov. Edward F. Arn and the monument was accepted as an official
historic site of Kansas by Nyle H. Miller, secretary of the Kansas
State Historical Society. The marker was inscribed as follows:
"Site of Carrie Oswald No. 1, discovery well of the Fairport oil field.
Drilled November 23, 1923. Dedicated September 12, 1953. Russell
county, Kansas/'
Lloyd R. Hershey, Olathe, was chosen president of the Johnson
County Old Settlers Association at the business meeting during the
55th annual reunion in Olathe, September 12, 1953. Other officers
elected were: Jess L. Hall, vice-president; Mrs. Dale Dorst, secre-
tary; and Herbert E. Julien, treasurer.
Fresh off the presses of the state printing plant in Topeka, is a
216-page, beautifully-illustrated volume by Bliss Isely and W. M.
Richards entitled The Story of Kansas. Published for use in the
Kansas schools, the book is a survey of Kansas geography and his-
tory from prehistoric times to the present. It takes the place of the
authors' previous state history, Four Centuries in Kansas, which has
been used as a schoolroom text for several years.
A Century of Congregationalism in Kansas is the title of a new
207-page book by Charles M. Correll, published by the Kansas Con-
gregational and Christian Conference. The author, a former presi-
dent of the Kansas State Historical Society, is professor emeritus
of history and college historian at Kansas State College, Manhattan.
He has traced the progress of the Congregational church in Kansas
from its beginning on October 15, 1854, when the first church was
organized in Lawrence under the leadership of the Rev. S. Y. Lum,
through the difficult early period, and the years of growth, to the
present church of over 90 congregations in Kansas.
Errata and Addenda, Volume XX
Facing page 16, H. K. Bush-Brown should read H. K. Brown.
Page 68, line 10, Walter M. Koolmorgen should read Walter M. Kollmorgen.
Page 74, table of crests of the 1844 flood, height at Kansas City, Mo., of 1844
flood over 1951 flood should be 1.8 instead of 2.0, and crest in 1951 should be
36.2 instead of 36.0.
Page 81, line 2, should read 36.2 instead of 36.0.
Page 173, line 27, John L. Schaffer should read John J. Schaffer.
(607)
Index To Volume XX
Abbott, A. J 277, 293
Abbott, Dr. Lyman, New York 173
Abbyville 179
Abdelal, Dr. A. G 283, 287
Abel, Col. 477
Abilene 168, 264, 265, 277, 360
— articles on, noted 381, 457
— loading cattle, 1871, sketch
of facing 232
Abilene Evening Reflector, founded . . . 278
Abilene Little Sand-Pounder, founded . . 174
Abilene Weekly Reflector, quoted 168
Abolition movement, book on, noted. . 468
Acers, N. F 271
Acheson, Mrs. Dean, Washington,
D. C 8
Achilles, Rawlins county, article on,
noted 602
Adair, Rev. Samuel L 463
Adams, Bill, Pratt 384
Adams, C. W 164
Adams, F. G 292, 582, 584, 587, 588
Adams, Paul, Topeka 71
— article by, noted 227
— donor 28
Admire, J. V 295
Admire City 179
African Methodist Episcopal Church. . 285
— conference 175
Agricultural Fair and Trotting Assn.. . 279
Agricultural History, Baltimore, article
in, noted 72
Aipe, John 262
Aitchison, R. T., Wichita. .35,64,376, 463
Akin, R. W., memoirs, noted 1
Akwona, Angelica 520
Akwona, Maria 520
Albright, R. G 178
Alcot, 517
Alcott, Amos Bronson 373
Alexander, John, articles by, noted. ... 154
538, 539
Alexander, Verne, U. S. Weather Bu-
reau 80
— quoted 73
Aley, Omrah 463
Alfalfa 278
Alkire, J. C., reminiscences of, noted. . . 153
Allard, J. G 239, 246
Allen, E. B 173, 178, 292
Allen, Forrest (Phog) 31
Allen, Gov. Henry J 30
Allen, Henry Ware, article by, noted. . 156
Allen, J. N 282
Allen, R. N 294
Allen, Samuel 528
Allen, W. E 176
Allen county 278
Allphin, Carrie, article by, noted 153
Alma Wdbaunsee County Herald 30
Alma Wabaunsee County News 30
Altory 288
American Coursing Club 173, 286
American Fur Company 41, 393
American Indian Association 360
American Magazine, New York, article
in, noted 153
American party 467, 485
American Woman's Suffrage Assn 178
Amos, Ed 383
Amos, J. Wayne 296
Amyot, Sister Louise 506
Ancient Order of Hibernians 172
Ancient Order of United Workman ... 166
Anderson, Col. Clay, Burlingame, Cal., 463
Anderson, Dr. George L., University of
Kansas 64, 231, 362, 376, 382
— note on 233
— "The Administration of Federal Land
Laws in Western Kansas, 1880-1890:
A Factor in Adjustment to a New
Environment," article by 233- 251
Anderson, J. E., Salina 240
Anderson, Rep. John A 293
Anderson, Oscar 70, 383
Anderson county 167
Andrews, Lt. Col. George L 110
Angola 288
Annals of Kansas, published, 1886 176
"Annals of Kansas: 1886" 161- 182
"Annals of Kansas: 1887" 271- 297
Anness 288
Anson 288
Antelope 163, 165, 169
Anthony, D. R 62, 64, 165, 283, 369
372, 376, 554, 556, 558- 562
564-568, 570-574, 577, 578, 585
— note on between 592, 593
— photo between 592, 593
Anthony, D. R., Ill, Leavenworth. . . . 359
— donor 29
Anthony, F. M 274
Anthony, Gov. Geo. T. . . 271, 330, 347, 554
Anthony, Susan B 178, 272, 273
Anthony 277, 283, 287
— 75th anniversary, note on 541
Anthony Republican 276
— special edition, note on 541
Anti-claim-jumping society 171
Anti-Monopoly party, state convention,
1886 175
Arbuckle, Roscoe (Fatty) 31
Archer, Sgt. C. A 128, 203
Arcola (111. ) Record 30
Argonia 277
— articles on, noted 604
Argonia Argosu, articles in, noted 604
Arkansas City, articles on, noted 228
— barges built 170
— first government, article on, noted. . . 604
— "Maine Colony," article on, noted . . . 302
— Oak Grove school, article on, noted . 228
Arkansas City Daily Traveler, articles
in, noted 228, 604
— -microfilming of 358
Arkansas, Kansas and Colorado railroad, 281
Arkansas Valley Editorial Assn 285
Arkansas Valley Town Company 86
Armourdale 451
Armstrong, Mrs. C. H 463
Am, Gov. Edward F 382, 462, 606
Arnett, Claude 384
Arnold, E. J 296
Arnold, J. W 295
Arnold, Vaun, article by, noted 603
Arnold 288
Around the World on a Bicycle 282
Arpin, Rev. Edmund 265
Artesian well, Meade Center 286
Artists and Illustrators of the Old West:
1850-1900, book, note on 464
Asherville, article on, noted 153
Ashes of My Campfire, publication,
noted . 227
41—312
(609)
610
GENERAL INDEX
Ashland Clark County Clipper, article
in, noted 153
Atchison, Sen. David R 165, 386, 387
467, 482
Atchison 283
Atchison Champion 82
Atchison county 360
Atchison Daily Globe, anniversary edi-
tion, note on 380
—articles in, noted 230, 303, 460, 603
Atchison Land and Improvement Co. . . 275
Atchison Library Assn 286
Atchison Squatter Sovereign 474, 476
Atchison Times 282, 286
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad, 85
86, 88-90, 92, 94, 103, 168, 170
174, 176, 179, 276-278, 280, 281
283, 286, 289, 299, 305, 307, 314
318,536,547, 551
— donor 374
—rates, 1886 169
Atchison Town Company 595
Atwood, Ward, Colorado Springs, Colo.,
donor 358
Atwood Citizen-Patriot, article in, noted, 602
Aubry, F. X., article on, noted 154
Augusta, museum, article on, noted. . . 602
Augusta Daily Gazette, article in, noted, 543
Augusta Historical Society, essay con-
test, note on 543
— officers, 1953 461
Augustana Lutheran Church, Kansas
Conference 72
Austin, W. P 382
Axtell Catholic church, article on, noted, 152
Axtell Methodist church, article on,
noted 302
Axtell Presbyterian church, article on,
noted 302
Axtell Standard, articles in, noted. 152
302, 457
Axton, C. A 603
Ayres, Byron P 128
Ayres, Mrs. H. D., donor 28, 32
B
Baak, Leonard, CoUege of Emporia. . . 231
Backus, Oswald P., Ill, University of
Kansas, talks by, noted 231, 543
Bacon, George 187
Bader, Anton 262
Bader, Ernest B., Washburn University,
Topeka 231
Bader, Hubert 259, 262
Bailey, M. B 245
Bailey, Roy F., Salina 63, 65, 376
Baileyville, articles on, noted. . . . 229, 381
Bailis, Dr. 557
Baily, Surgeon Elisha 1 123, 125
Bair, Mrs. Homer 69, 384, 605
Baird, F. L., Newton 461
Baird, James 249
Baker, Mrs. A. C 167
Baker, C. C 292, 294
Baker, G. Clay, Topeka 71, 461
Baker, Nina Brown, book by, note on. . 160
review, noted 228
Baker University, Baldwin. . . . 154, 274, 291
— article on, noted 229
— book on, noted 72
Baldry, W. E 77
Baldwin, C. A., Cottonwood Falls 382
Baldwin, Maj. Gen. Frank D . 269
Baldwin 271, 288
— Christmas, 1858, article on, noted. . 156
Baldwin Ledger, article in, noted. ... 156
Ball, Mrs. Isabel Worral 307
Ballance, Joseph 207, 209, 214, 215
Ballard, Lt. David E 215
Ballinger, R. H 241
Bancroft, Sen. E. P., Emporia 545
Bangor 179
Bankhead, Col. H. C., letter, copy
given Historical Society 357
Banks, Gen. Nathaniel P 219, 428. 467
468, 485
Banner, A. J 295
Barber, Marshall A., reminiscences of,
published, note on 544
Barber, Sen. Oliver 547
Barber (Barbour) county. ... 167, 329, 338
— organization 310
— sheriff 281
Bard, S. W 296
Barges, built at Arkansas City 170
Barker, G. J 294
Barker Texas History Center,
San Antonio 23
Barkley, Mrs. John 69
Barlow, C. H 238, 246, 248
Barnard 179
Barnd, Judge J. K 348
Barnes, Elizabeth, articles by, noted . . 302
Barnes, Mrs. Lela 33, 363, 366
— elected treasurer of Historical Society, 376
— treasurer's report on Historical
Society, 1950-1951 33, 35
1951-1952 363- 365
Barnum, P. T., circus 176
Barr, Capt. 151
Barr, Frank, Wichita 64, 375, 377
— donor 30
Barr, Mrs. Herb, Leoti 159
Barrett, Elizabeth 372
Barrett, J. M 245
Barry, Louise 362
— and Joyce Farlow, "Vincent B. Os-
borne's Civil War Experiences,"
edited by 108-133, 187- 223
— note on 108
Bartlett, John R 22, 23
Bartlett, M. D., article by, noted 158
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations 373
Barton county 317
— first Christmas, article on, noted. ... 156
Baseball in Topeka, article on, noted. . 227
Bassett, Lt. Col. Owen A 127, 192, 206
211, 221
Bassett, R. A 293
Bassett, R. C., Seneca 166
Basye, Ruby, articles by, noted . . . 227, 379
381, 458
Bateham post office, article on, noted. . 541
Bauer, Rev. John, article by, noted. ... 153
Baugh, Dr. L. A 160
Baugher, Charles A., Ellis 64, 376
Bawden, W. J 294
Baxter Springs, articles on, noted 229
Baxter Springs Citizen, article in,
noted 156, 157
— special edition, note on 229
Baxter Springs News, quoted 226
Bayard 288
Bazaar 258
B-B-Blizzard 165
Beachy, E. B. Dykes, articles by, noted, 154
303,381, 457
Beal, C. N 274
Beall, Mrs. H. G., donor 360
Beals, Frank, articles by, noted 604
Bear creek 400
Beard, W. C. L 241
Beason, Robert G., article by, noted. . . 539
Beattie, Thomas 295
Beck, M. M 62
Beck, William T., Holton 35, 64, 354
363, 374- 376
— "Daniel Webster Wilder," address
by 367- 374
— donor 28
— elected president of Historical
Society 64
GENERAL INDEX
611
Beck, Mrs. William T., Holton 369
Becknell, William 360
Beecher, Henry Ward 275
Beecher, Dr. Lyman 369
Beecher Bible and Rifle Co 275
Beecher Island Battle 404
Beery, Byron 384
Beezley, George F., Girard .... 63, 65, 376
Begley, John 265
Bell, Mrs. James Glenn ... 69, 362, 375, 384
Belleville, article on, noted 457
Belleville Telescope, articles in, noted . . 457
Bellmard, Mrs. Raymond 59
Beloit 179, 180, 278
— article on, noted 153
aii-ls' industrial school 290
jit Daily Call, article in, noted 459
— special edition, note on 153
Bender family, articles on, noted. .380, 603
Benedict 179
Bennett, A. L 171
Bennett, Al, donor 356
Bennett, C. E 178
Benning, C. W 295
Benson, A. W 27, 293
Benson, G. W 178
Bent, William 74
Bent's Fort 130, 400
Beougher, Edward M., Grinnell, donor, 357
Bergeron, 523, 526
Bergeron, Catherine 522
Bergeron, Francis 510
Bernard, Francis 258
Bernstorf, Rev. F. F 68
Berrigan family 266
Berry, M. H 295
Berryman, Jerome C., Ashland 64, 69
375, 377
Bertrand, Amable 506
Bertrand, Benjamin 506
Bertrand, Bernard 509, 518
Bertrand, Joseph 502, 506
Bertrand, Joseph, Jr 506
Bertrand, Laurence 520
Bertrand, Laurent 506
Bertrand, Madeline 506
Bertrand, Richard 518
Bertrand, Theresa 506
Bestard, Edith Kibbe, article by, noted, 156
Bete, Pierre, biographical sketch of,
noted 152, 153
Bethany College, Lindsborg 170, 291
Betton, Frank H 168, 292
Beurman, Henry 80
Beverly 179
Bickerdyke, Mary A 165
— articles on, noted 227, 228
— book on, noted 160
Big Timber 288
Big Vermillion creek 411, 412
Billings county 338
Birchfield, L. P 174
Bird City 171, 287
Bischoff, Oscar 286
Bishop, Maud 71
Bismarck 179
Bison herd, sketch of between 16, 17
Bittertown 288
Bitting, Carl E 160, 463
Black Kettle, wild horse, article on,
noted 303
Black Vermillion river . 257
Blair, Lt. Col. Charles W.. . U8, 119, 121
127, 423
Blair, W. A 605
Blake, Henry S., Topeka 376, 461
— donor 29, 359
Blake, Mrs. John 69
Blake, W. 0 569
Blaker, Alfred 295
Blanchard, 525
Blanchard, Ben 284
Blanchard, Charles A., article by, noted, 302
Blanchet, 523
Blood, James . 565
Blue, R. W 294
Blue Mound 179
Blue Rapids 360
Blue river 411
Blue Valley Railroad Co 271
Bluemound 179
Bluestem 288
Bluff 288
Bluff Creek 288
Bluffville 288
Blunt, Gen. James G. . . . 157, 187, 193- 195
197, 201-203, 205, 206, 208, 210, 213
214, 216, 219, 422, 423, 426
Blythe, Rep. L. J., White City 24
Bock, Christoph, family 540
Bodwell, Lewis 360
Boertman, C. S., Kansas State Teachers
College, Emporia 231
Bogue, Allan G., "Farmer Debtors in
Pioneer Kinsley," article by 82, 107
— note on 82
— pamphlet by, note on 72
Bohl, Charles 167
Boicourt 179
Boies, L. G 99, 107, 296
Boling, Lulu 174
Bellinger, Wiley . 295
Bolmar, C. P 295
Bolton, Will E 166
Bonasa 288
Bond, Bill 283
Bond, Dr. J. F 174
Bond, L. J., El Dorado, donor 358
Bond, R. F 296
Bonner Springs 179
Boone, Col. Dan Morgan 39
Boone 288
Booth, Charles O., article by, noted . . . 229
Booth, Henry. . 239, 241, 306-309, 314- 316
318-321,344, 345
Booth, John Wilkes 272
Borah, D. A 175, 177
Borland, Hal, article by, noted 152
Bornholdt, Mrs. Henry 461
Borton and Spidle, Ness City 241
Bosley, Mrs. J. W., Coldwater. . .facing 305
Boston Daily Commonwealth,
quoted 600
Boston Traveller, quoted 478
Bostwick, 473
Boswell, Charles 178
Bottorff, C. N 296
Boucher, Euphrates 164
Bourbon County Historical Society,
officers elected, 1953 463
Bourbonnais, Francis 522, 523
Bourbonnais, Oheta 510
Bourbonnais, Peter, son of 528
Bourne, Amelia Spencer 183
Bourne, Daniel M., biographical note. . 183
— lister cultivator invented by, article
on 183- 186
sketches of 185
Bourne, Patricia M., and A. Bower
Sageser, "Background Notes on
the Bourne Lister Cultivator,"
article by 183- 186
— note on 183
Bowen, Col. Thomas M 220
Bowersock, J. D 295
Bowles, Lt. Col. John 426
Bowlus, Thomas H., lola 63, 65, 376
Bowman, J. M 296
Boyd, A. H 309
Boyd, H. N 296
Boyer, John A 231
Bradford, S. B 173, 178, 292
Bradley, Henry 163
612
GENERAL INDEX
Bradley, Msgr. James 261
Braham, William 557
Brainard, J. F 180
Brainerd 179
Braly, Wm. C 58
Braman Hill 288
Brandenburg, Margaret J., Worchester,
Mass., donor 28
Brandley 179
Brannick, John 260
Brannick, Marie 260
Brannick, Mrs. Mary 260
Brannick, Mary Ann 260
Branscombe, C. H 173
Bray, John 178
Bray, Olive P 165
Brazelton, Senter 605
Breen, Pat 262
Bremen, article on, noted 602
Brenaman, A. M 240
Brenneke, Henry 602
Brewer, Judge David J 163, 165, 176
280,284,289, 292
Bridge 179
Bridger, Jim, review of book on, noted, 154
Brigham, Mrs. Lalla M., Council
Grove 64, 375, 377
Bright, D. A 309
— family, article on, noted 456
Brimming Cup, book by Dorothy
Canfield, noted 30
Brinkerhoff, Fred W., Pittsburg . . . 63, 65
161,231, 376
Brinkley, Dr. John 360
— article on 350- 353
Bristol, Capt. H. B 299
Bristow, Joseph L 31
Britt, Mrs. Luella P., Fort Smith, Ark.,
donor 359
Britton, Wiley 419, 428
Broadax and Bayonet, book, note on. . . 464
Broadie, Mrs. Virgil 383
Broadwell, Dick 68
Brock, R. F., Goodland 64, 375, 377
Brookens, John W., Westmoreland .... 461
Brooks, Rep. Preston S., South
Carolina 469, 470
Brooks, J. C 452
Brooks, J. W 240
Broomcorn 164
Brouvert, Joseph 528
Brown, 44
Brown, C. J 292
Brown, Charles H., memorial to .... 62, 63
Brown, Mrs. Charles 462
Brown, Dee, book by, note on 72
Brown, E. H 295
Brown, G. W 479, 482, 487
Brown, J. R., vs. A. Moses 245
Brown, John 31, 288, 418, 463, 470
532,535,587, 590
Brown, John, Jr., donor 288
Brown, Joseph C 254
Brown, Milton, Garden City 241, 242
Brown, S. H 245
Brown, W. K 178
Brown, W. T 167
Brown, William 521
Brown, William, Jr 520, 521
Browne, George H., Kansas City, Mo.,
donor 28, 29
Browning, Robert 372
Brown's Grove 288
Brownsville, Texas, sketch of
between 16, 17
Bruce, H. E., article by, noted 457
Brumbaugh, J. D 546
Brundidge and Bear, publishers 286
Brunetti, Angelo 514
Brunswick Telegraph 599
Bryan, Lt. Francis T 396
Bryant, Edwin, quoted 7
Buchan, W. J 294
Buchanan, Pres. James 485, 574
Bucklin 288
Buechecker, Ed E 164
Buena Vista 288
Buffalo 224
— bones 163
— herd, in Barton and Pawnee counties,
1871, article on, noted 602
near Lake Jessie 13, 14
— hunting, articles on, noted 154, 536
— see, also, Bison.
Bull, John 282
Bullers, 536
Bumgardner, Edward, Lawrence ... 64, 69
375, 377
— donor 25, 27
Bundsche, Henry A., article by, noted, 154
Buntline, Ned, article on, noted 227
Burdette 288
Bureau 288
Burgess, S. T 174
Burke, Rev. James M., "Early Years at
St. Mary's Pottawatomie Mission,"
diary edited by 501- 529
— note on 501
Burkholder, Mrs. Ira, Topeka 159
Burlingame, Mrs. Sheila, New York. . . 360
— donor 357
Burlington 273
Burlington Daily Republican, article in,
noted 153
Burnett's mound, article on, noted. . . . 538
Burns, James P 246
Burt, Randolph, Gettysburg 240
Burtis, Mrs. Orvill, Manhattan 462
Burtis, P. A 605
Burtis, Mrs. P. A 160
Bush-Brown, H. K., sketch by
between 16, 17
Bushnell, David I., Jr 2
Bushton 288
Butin, C. J 295
Butler, Sen. Andrew P.,
South Carolina 469, 470
Butler, Maj. Gen. Benjamin F 418, 421
Butler, Cornelius 167
Butler, Gov. P. M., Cherokee Indian
agent 4
Butler county 170
— Harmony Ridge school, article on,
noted 539, 540
Butterfield Overland Dispatch 255
Buxton, Mrs. Hazel 232
Buxton 288
Byers, J. M., Ohio 52
"Bypaths of Kansas History". . 66,67, 150
151, 224-226, 298-301, 378
450-455,530-537, 600
Cabell, Brig. Gen. W. L 427
Cain, M. R 171
Cairo 288
Calderhead, S. H 296
Caldwell, Alexander 165
Caldwell, Charles 384
Caldwell 175, 284, 301
— articles on, noted 604
— cemetery, article on, noted 155, 156
— newspapers, microfilming of,
noted 28, 29
— pictures of, noted 26
Caldwell Commercial, quoted 151
225, 226
Caldwell Journal, quoted 301
Caldwell Messenger, articles in,
noted 155, 156, 158
— special edition, note on. ... . 604
GENERAL INDEX
613
Caldwell Weekly Times 172
Calhoun, John C 37
Calhoun, Ross 347
California Emigrant Letters, book,
note on 304
California Historical Society 462, 463
Calista 179
Callahan, Margaret, family 264
Callahan, Richard 265
Calvert, J. W 174, 175
Calvin, Ross 7
Calvin, W. J 245, 250
Cameron, Capt. Hugh. . .128,202,203, 212
Cameron, Simon, Secretary of War. . . . 418
Camp, Charles L 7
Campbell, A. B 292
Campbell, A. M 267
Campbell, Alvin 169
Campbell, Anna S 178
Campbell, E. M 172, 174
Campbell, J. G 164
Campbell, J. P 246
Campbell, John W 17J
Campbell, M. A 295
Campbell, Robert 392
Campbell, Mrs. Spurgeon B., Kansas
City 63, 65, 376
Campbell, W. S., Norman, Okla., donor, 28
Canby, Maj. Gen. E. R. S 220
Candish 288
Canfield, Dorothy, author 30
Capper, Sen. Arthur 64, 354
— donor 29, 357
— tribute to, noted 71
Carbaugh, Mrs. Kenneth 69
Carey, Dr. James C., and Verlin R.
Easterling, "Light on the Brinkley
Issue in Kansas: Letters of William
A. White to Dan D. Casement," ar-
ticle by 350- 353
— note on 350
Carey Hotel, Wichita 284
Carl, Harry G 160
Carlisle Democrat 530
Carlos, William Don, Kirwin 241, 246
— and Son 242
Carman, Anson 326
Carman, Buck 326
Carman, J. Neale, article by, noted. . . . 156
Carman, Michael 326
Carney, Thomas 271
Carondelet, Francisco, Baron de, gov-
ernor of Louisiana territory, 1792. . . 37
Carpenter, A. H 296
Carpenter, Dr. C. M 174
Carr, W. E 279
Carrick, Andrew 326
Carrick, Andrew, II 326
Carrie Oswald No. 1 oil well, monu-
ment dedicated, note on 606
Carroll, Col. Charles A 206
Carroll, Ed 295
Carroll, Bishop Mark K 231
Carroll, W. S 167
Carruth, A. J., Jr 71
— article by, noted 155
Carson, F. L., Wichita 64, 354
Carson, J. W., WaKeeney 240, 250
Carson, Kit, article on, noted 601
Carswell, C. H 239
Carter, Elizabeth Simerwell, and family,
article on, noted 380
Carter, Robert W 240
Case, Mrs. Artie, biographical sketch,
noted 603
Case, George H 294
Case, Nelson, biographical sketch, noted, 456
Case, S. W 296
Casement, Dan D., letters from William
A. White, article on 350- 353
— note on . .... 350
Caspar, John 262
Casselman, Erastus 326
Casselman, S 326
Catfish, in Arkansas river 280
Catherwood, Col. E. C 217
Catholic Knights of America 271
Catholic mission stations, St. Mary's
area, 1886, map of facing 264
Catlin, George, artist 2, 5, 9
Cato, Judge Sterling G 592
Cato 180
Cattle, quarantined 288, 289
"Cattle-Raising on the Plains," article
in Harper's Magazine, noted 170
"Cavalcade of Kansas," pageant, note
on 543
Cavanaugh, P. J 177
Cavanaugh, W. T 292
Cave, D. W 171
Cavender, Catherine K., article by,
noted 601
Cawker City, article on, noted 153
Cedar Point 257
Cedar Vale Messenger, articles in, noted, 156
Cedar Vale Star 180
Central Kansas College, Great Bend . . . 176
Central Protective Assn. of Kansas and
Missouri 283
Chadsey, A. N 295
Chamberlain, J. B 174, 175
Chambers, Lloyd, Wichita 64, 376
Chambers, M. A 296
Chandler, C. J., Wichita 64, 376
Chandler, George 293
Chantilly 280, 281
Chanute, Octave 80
Chanute, first school in area, article on,
noted 380
Chanute St. Patrick's Catholic church,
article on, noted 155
Chanute Tribune, article in, noted. ... 155
Chapman, Stan, article by, noted 603
Chapman 264, 279
Chapman's Creek 258
Charlson, Sam C., Manhattan .... 375, 377
Chase county , 179
Chase County Historical Society, officers
elected, 1952 382
Chautauqua, at Ottawa 280
— at Winfield 280
Chautauqua county 180
— article on, noted 164
Cheneworth, Dr. Albert W 223
Cheney, article on, noted 380
Cheney Journal 164
Cherokee 280
Cherokee county 297
— courthouse 280
Cherokee strip, articles on, noted, 603, 604
Cherry creek, Wyoming 398
Cherryvale Republican 172
Chesrown, Peter 89
Chester County Historical Society, West
Chester, Pa., donor
Chetopa Advance, articles in, noted 152
153, 156, 157, 229
Cheyenne county 168, 169, 171
— county-seat election 287
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy rail-
road 551
Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska railroad, 171
177,274, 277
Chicago, Kansas and Western railroad, 171
177, 179, 278
Chicago, Kansas City and Texas
railroad 273
Chicago, Nebraska, Kansas and South-
western railroad 170
Chicago, Omaha and Southwestern
railroad . 278
614
GENERAL INDEX
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific rail-
road 170, 171, 174, 175, 179
278,281-284,287, 290
— station and offices, Topeka 276
— see, also, Chicago, Kansas and
Nebraska railroad.
Chicago Tribune 480, 486, 567, 568
—quoted 423, 424
Chicago Workingmen's Co-operation
colony 308, 314
Chico 179
Children of the American Colonists,
donor 25
Chisholm trail 360, 456
Chittenden, Charles L 250
Cholera epidemic, central Kansas,
1867 268- 270
Choteau, Pierre, Jr., & Company 393
Chouteau, Forrest 54, 56, 58- 60
Chouteau, Peter 59, 60
Chouteau brothers 41
Christian, James 581, 593, 597
Christian 288
Christian Church 284
— convention 168
Christman, Henry M., article by,
noted 156
Christy, Dwight B 309
Church of the Brethren, college 283
Churchill 179
Cimarron 281, 282, 286, 287, 300, 379
— ^drugstores, taxed 172
Cimarron crossing, article on, noted . . 539
Cincinnati 289
Cincinnati Gazette, quoted 5
Circle Street Railway Co., Topeka. . . . 279
Civil War battles. Cane Hill,
Ark. 201- 205
— Dug Springs, Mo.. . . .114- 117
—Old Fort Wayne 197- 200
— Prairie Grove 205- 210
—Wilson's creek 117- 121
Clammer, George 350
Clarinda Walnut Valley Times,
quoted 347
Clark, A. B 302
Clark, Ansel R 293
Clark, Ira S 109
Clark, Malcolm 555, 556
Clark, W. L 175
Clark, William 37
Clark county 165, 177, 290, 328
— courthouse, article on, noted 153
Clark County Historical Society,
officers elected, 1951 69
1952 383, 384
Clarke, Margie 262
Clarke, Mrs. Mary . .262, 265
Clarke, Nelson B 164
Clark's Creek 258
Claver, Peter 511
Clay, James A., articles by, noted . . 157, 457
Clay Center 172,174, 287
— Republican river bridge, article on,
noted 541
Clay Center Dispatch, articles in,
noted 229, 379, 541, 603
Clay Center Evening Times 174
Clay Center Times, articles in,
noted 229,541, 603
Clay County 170, 173, 180
— articles on, noted 229, 603
Clearwater, article on, noted 380
Clearwater News, article in, noted. . . 380
Cleary, Walter W 247, 250
Cleburne 288
Cleland, Mrs. G. D 463
Clemens, Gasper C., biographical sketch,
noted 155
Clemens, Jeremiah, letter 387, 388
Cleveland, Pres. Grover 283
Clift, Ada E 167
Clogston, J. B 292, 295
Cloud, Col. W. F.. .114, 119, 121, 126, 130
190-195, 197, 210
212-216,218, 384
Clough, E. N. 0 561
Clow, William 167
Clugston, W. G., Topeka 30
Clute, A. D 315, 317, 345
Clyde 180
Clyde Carriage Company 186
Clymer, Rolla, El Dorado 71, 376
382, 461
— donor 357
— letters, given Historical Society. . . . 357
Coal, discovered 279
Cochran, Dr. Elizabeth, Kansas State
Teachers College, Pittsburg, 231, 462, 544
Codding, J. S 294
Cody, W. F. "Buffalo Bill" 166, 286
Coeur D'Alene Mission, Cataldo, Idaho, 18
Coffee, Col. John T 216
Coffeyville, articles on, noted 459
— Dalton raid, articles on, noted . . . 158, 379
— first mayor, article on, noted 302
Coffeyville Daily Journal 302
— articles in, noted, 155, 158, 229, 379, 603
— special editions, notes on 157, 459
Coffeyville First Methodist church,
article on, noted 155
Coffman, B. F 173
Coffman, Mrs. F. M 160
Colbrant, Alphonse Eugene 269
Colby, literary society, article on . . 536, 537
Colby Thomas County Cat, quoted. . . . 226
300,301,536, 537
Coldwater Western Star, article in,
noted 152
Cole, E. C 245
Coleman, A. L 295
Coleman, G. J., Mound Valley 166
Coleman, John 150
Coleman, Mrs. W. C 463
Golf ax, Rep. Schuyler 486, 487
489-492, 595
Colket, Meredith B., Jr., Columbia
Historical Society, Washington. ... 22
Collamer, Sen. 468
Colmery, Harry 71
Colonial Dames of America 25, 355
Colony, Neosho Falls and Western
railroad 171
Colorado 179
Colson, Fire Chief 301
Columbus 280
Columbus Modern Light, articles in,
noted 303, 458
Colvin, Mrs. Rome 59
Comanche 179
Comanche cattle pool, article on, noted, 152
Comanche county 165, 172, 289, 329
330,336-339, 346
— organization 310, 321, 328
Comanche County Historical Society,
officers elected, 1951 70
1952 384
Comes, Joseph 281
Compromise of 1850 385,386-388, 389
Concordia 540
Concordia Republican-Empire 186
Condra, Mrs. Ella 462, 605
Cone, Mrs. Harold 71
Cone, Lois Johnson, articles by,
noted 456, 538
Cone, W. W., quoted 76
Confederate States, army, First Regi-
ment Texan Partisan rangers 213
— flags 280
Congdon, W. M 294
Congregational church in Kansas, book,
note on 606
Congregational Ministers and Churches
of Kansas, General Assn 177, 286
GENERAL INDEX
615
Conn, Silas 60
Connelley, William E. . . . 368, 370, 426, 427
Connelly, C. G., donor 359
Connelly, C. T 248
Connor, John G 601
Conrad, G. W 295
Conroy family 259
Conway, Rev. Joseph 265
Cook, B. C 296
Cook, Fern 308, 322
Cook, H. H 285
Cook, R 452- 454
Cook, R. G 239
Cooke, Lt. Philip St. George 232
Cool, Mrs. L. H 184
Coolidge Border Ruffian, quoted 176
Coombs, Eugene 160, 463
Cooper, C. M., talk by, note on 544
Cooper, Mrs. C. M 383
Cooper, Gen. Douglas H 198, 426
Cooper, S. S. 295
Cooper Memorial College,
Sterling 276, 286
Co-operative refinery, Phillipsburg, fea-
tured in special edition, note on. ... 542
Cope, F. B 177
Coppins, H. A. H., article by, noted. . . 381
Corbett, Boston 272, 274
Corbett, J. B 296
Corbitt 288
Cordley, Dr. Richard 165
Corey, Jess 452, 453
Corn, burned 165
Cornatzer, Calvin Austin 32
Cornatzer, Emily Smith 32
Cornish, Dr. Dudley Taylor, "Kansas
Negro Regiments in the Civil War,"
article by 417- 429
— note on 417
Cornstalk disease 180
Coronado 274- 276
Coronado Heights, article on, noted . . . 539
Correll, Charles M., Manhattan . . 24, 64, 354
365, 366, 375, 377, 382, 383
— book by, note on 606
— donor 28
Corse, Edgar B., Greensburg 28
Cott, Hoover, article by, noted 457
Cotton, Corlett J., Lawrence . . 64, 376, 384
Cotton, George 243, 246
Cottonwood Falls 257, 258
Coulter, John 173
Coultis, John 463
Council Grove 175, 413
— articles on, noted 229, 380
— Kaw Mission. See Kansas State His-
torical Society, Kaw Mission.
Council Grove Cosmos, article in,
noted 168
Council Grove, Osage City and Ottawa
railroad 166
Council Grove Press 298
— quoted 224
Covey, Pvt. 400, 409
Cowgill, Mrs. Josephine 160, 605
Cowland 179
Cowley county, articles on, noted 459
Cowman's Southwest, The, book,
note on 464
Cox, Frank 296
Cox, George B 309, 310
Cox, J. J 295
Crane, F. L 357
Crane, R. M 294
Cranor, H. M 174
Crary, A. M 166
Crater, W. H 177
Crawford, J. N 171
Crawford, L. M., Topeka 172
Crawford, Robert 287
Crawford, Samuel J 58, 108, 109, 121
126-128, 180, 187-190, 194
198, 199, 204, 206, 209, 210
307, 426-428, 539, 549, 550
Crawford 288
Crawford county 288
— druggists 277
Crawford County Historical
Society 462, 544
— officers elected, 1951 70
1952 383
Crawford's Opera House, Topeka 288
Crew, E. B 296
Criley, John D 307, 314, 315
Criley 300
Crimmins, Col. M. L., San Antonio. ... 23
Criss, Sandra 543
Crisswell, Ralph L 169
Critchfield, Caroline E., vs.
W. M. Pierson 245
Crocker, "Big Charlie," article on,
noted 457
Cron, F. H., El Dorado 63, 65, 376
Crook, Charles H., article on, noted. . . 154
Crosby, William 173
Grossman, R. A 239
Crouch, J. B 274
Crow, Joseph, Jr 171
Crozier, Robert 293
Cruickshank, Frank L 171
Crumpton, W. J 245
Culbertson, Alexander 16, 17
Culbertson, Thaddeus A 304
Culbertson Dam 405
Culverson, 214
Cumberland church, near Douglass,
articles on, noted 153
Cumings, Maj. [Richard W. Cummins?], 76
Cummings, J. P 176
Cummins, Maj. [Richard W.?] 518
Cummins, Scott 172
Cunningham, Bishop John 269
Cunningham, Nora B., articles by,
noted 381, 602
Cunningham family 259
Cunningham, articles on, noted. . .459, 538
— historical pictures, noted 538
Cunningham Clipper, articles in,
noted 459, 538
Curfman, Prof. L. E 70, 382, 462, 544
Currier, A. E 295
Curry, Mrs. C. L 69
Curtis, 256
Curtis, Charles 37, 52, 56-59, 177
256,257, 528
Curtis, E. W 49
Curtis, Ellen Papin 257
— see, also, Helen Papin.
Curtis, Mrs. May, article by, noted. . . . 380
Curtis, Maj. Gen. Samuel R. . . 196, 201, 219
Curtis, William 257
Gushing, Caleb 480, 492, 493, 553
Cushman, Jerome 382
Custer, Elizabeth 269
Custer, Gen. George 268
Cuthbert, Mrs. C. N 173
Cuthbert, Chas 452- 454
Cutler, E. R 240, 250
Cuyler 288
Cyclone in Calico — The Story of Mary
Ann Bickerdyke, book, note on 1
— review, noted 228
Dahlsten, Rev. A. W 72
Dakin, C. B 250, 251
Dallas 179
Dalton gang, article on, noted 68
— Coffeyville bank robbery, article on,
noted 158
Damorris 288
616
GENERAL INDEX
Dana, Charles A., editor New York
Tribune 469, 480
Daniels, B. F 174
Daniels, Edward 167
Daniels, Georgianna 167
Daniels, N 332, 333
Darling, 521
— daughter of 519
Darling, Mrs. 513
Darling, Francis 509, 516, 524
Darling, Joseph 513, 522, 523
Darling, William 509, 516, 523
Darnell, Charles, donor 26
Darr, Mrs. Abbie L., article by, noted. . 380
Dartmouth College 28
Darveau, Eleonor 510
Darveau, Louis 510, 522, 525, 526
Daugherty, William E 174
Daughters of Colonial Wars, donor. ... 25
Daughters of the American Revolution,
donor 25, 355, 360
— Emporia chapter, donor 355
— John Haupt chapter, donor 355
Davidson, John P 463
Davidson, Mary M., Junction City 173
Davies, Corner T 295
Davis, J. W 171
Davis, James H., governor of Louisiana, 353
Davis, Jefferson 11, 378, 580
Davis, John W 296
Davis, Kenneth 382
Davis, Mrs. Tom 69
Davis, W. E 67
Davis, W. W., Lawrence 64, 375, 377
Dawe, Kate 265
Dawson, Mrs. George, Elmdale 382
Dawson, Jacob 168
Dawson, John S 24, 35, 61, 63, 64, 71
354,365,366,375, 376
Dean, M. F 246
Deardoff, Rush E 178
DeBlieck, John 252
Debo, Dr. Angie, reminiscences edited
by, note on 464
de Boissiere, E. V 27, 28
Debolt 179
de Bourgmont, Etienne Venyard .... 36, 37
Decker, B. C., biographical sketch,
noted 379
Deerton 179
Defence of Kansas, pamphlet,
publication noted 275
DeGeer, Mrs. Maria E 272
Deines, John G 69, 159
Deitzler, Col. George W 110
Dekat, Anton 259
Dekat, Sebastian 259
Dekat, Theodore 259
Delahay, Mark W 530, 533
Delaney, William 263
Delano, Columbus, Secretary of the In-
terior 49, 50
Delashmitt, John 42
Delavan 179
Delaware Trust Land Squatters'
Association 555
Democratic party 466, 467, 485
— state convention, 1886 174
De Mott, John, article by, noted.... 154
Dempsey family 259
Denious, Jess C., Dodge City . . 64, 375, 377
Denman, Sen. H. B., Leavenworth. . . . 545
Denney, Fred, Protection 70
Dennis, H. J 292
Denson, Shade J 169
Denton, 215
Denver, Memphis and Atlantic railroad, 173
175, 179, 272, 284
de Onate, Juan 36
DeSmet, Father Pierre J. . . 18, 252-254, 270
399,502,522- 524
Detre, Daniel B., family 603
Detrick, E. A., article by, noted . . . 155, 156
Detwiler, Margaret M., article by, noted, 158
Devan, Mrs. M 264
Devan, Maggie 264, 266
de Vaudricourt, A 21, 22
Devenney, A. S 174
de Vriendt, Louis 504, 505
Dewey, Chauncey, article on, noted, . 379
Dewey, Ernest, articles by, noted ... 68, 227
303, 379
Dexter, Aaron, article on, noted 379
Dexter, Alonzo, article on, noted 379
Dexter, John, article on, noted 379
Diamond creek 258
Diamond Jubilee — German-Russian
Colonists, 1876-1951, pamphlet, note
on 72
Dibble, C. F., vs. R. W. Satterlee 245
Dick, P. B 173
Dickerman, Kate L., Troy, N. Y 2
Dickerman, Sumner, Troy, N. Y. . . 2, 4, 5
Dickey, O. D 176
Dickhut, Mrs. Clarence 160, 232
Dickinson county 179, 278, 279
— article on, noted 163
Dickinson County Historical Society,
donor 358
— officers elected, 1951 70
1952 383
Dickson, Capt. 532
Dietrich, Charles 554, 555
Digby 179
Dighton 172, 281, 540
Dighton Christian church, article on,
noted 456
Dighton Herald, articles in, noted, 456, 540
Dill, William 281
Dillon, 267
Dillon, Miss 267
Dinsmore, Silas 28
Ditson, Allen 272
Diven, J. M 601
Dixon, 387
Dixon, Annie E 167
Dixon, J. E 282
Dixon, James 262
Dixon, Patrick 262
Dixon, Thomas 262
Dixon brothers 258
Dixon family 261
Dobie, J. Frank, article by, noted 228
Dodd, Lt. Col. Theodore H 425
Dodds, Dr. Harold Willis, Princeton
University 350
Dodge City 168, 179, 224, 225
279,286,290, 337
—articles on, noted 457, 458, 601
— book on, note on 72
— First National Bank 279
— Kiwanis and Lions clubs 601
— price of buffalo meat 271
Dodge City Atheneum Club, article on,
noted 457
Dodge City Cowboy Band 271
— article on, noted 457
Dodge City Daily Globe, articles in,
noted 381, 457, 458, 538, 541, 601
Dodge City First Presbyterian church,
article on, noted 541
Dodge City Ford County Republican. . 178
Dodge City High Plains Journal, articles
in, noted 68, 227, 302
Dodge City Messenger, quoted 378
Dodge City, Montezuma and Trinidad
railroad 281
Dodge City Times, quoted 224, 225
Dole, Artumus Wood 28
Dole, G. H., Pullman, Wash 28
Donahue, Joseph 295
Donaldson, Israel B 465, 473, 474
480,483, 586
GENERAL INDEX
617
Doneen, Daniel 526
Doniphan, article on, noted 460
Doniphan County Historical Society,
officers elected. 1953 605
Donlop, Robert 326
Donnell, E. J 294
Donner party, article on, noted 155
Doohan, John J., article by, noted. . . . 381
Doran, Thomas F., quoted 261
Dorsey, Mrs. Mary Ellen Smith 69
Dorsey, Mrs. Sidney 383
Dorst, Mrs. Dale 606
Doster, Frank 277, 293
Doty, G. W 295
Dougal, W. H., artist, note on 21
Dougan, F. M 186
Douglas, H. C 362
Douglas, Stephen A 385, 450, 468- 470
483,532, 535
—Nebraska bill 387, 388, 390
Douglas county, grand jury, May, 1856,
recommendation between 592, 593
Douglass, articles on, noted 157, 457
Douglass Tribune, articles in,
noted 153, 157, 457
Dow, Jonathan M., article by, noted. . . 154
Dowell 288
Dowling family 259
Downing, Robert L 163
Doyle, Patrick 257
Draut, H. J 232
Drenning, Frank H 549
Dresden 288
Drew, William Y 247
Driftwood creek 405
Driscoll, Charles B., article on, noted. . 303
Drussel, Albert 462
Dudley, Mrs. Guilford, Topeka, donor . . 359
Duerinck, Father 523, 524, 526
527, 529
Dumortier, Rev. Louis, S. J 362, 528
— article on 252- 270
— map of Catholic mission stations in
St. Mary's area, 1866 facing 264
Dunaway, Charles P., Stockton . . . 240, 250
Duncan, A. D 239
Dunlap, Joseph, Indian trader 46
Dunton, L. H 383
Dupree, B. A 245
Durfee, 150
Durham 288
Durham Park
Dustbowl, article on, noted.
Dwight
Dykes family . . .
Dysart, B. W. . .
288
156
288
261
245
Earhart, Amelia 30
Early Reminiscences of Pioneer Life,
publication, noted 271
Earlywine, J. S 295
Earp, George W 169
Earthquakes, in Topeka, article on,
noted 227
Easdale 288
Easterling, Verlin R., Kansas State
College 231, 543
— and James C. Carey, "Light on the
Brinkley Issue in Kansas: Letters of
William A. White to Dan D. Case-
ment," article by 350- 353
— note on 350
Eastin, Lucien J 388, 474
Eastman, Capt. Seth, artist 9
Easton, Capt. Langdon C 392
— biographical note 396, 397
— report of Fort Laramie to Fort Leav-
enworth journey in 1849 392- 416
— route from Fort Laramie to Fort
Leavenworth, 1849, map facing 400
Eaton, John A 295
Eaton, "Pistol Pete," article on,
noted . 227
Ebright, Homer K., Baldwin. . .63, 65, 376
— book by, noted 72
Eckdall, Mrs. Ella Funston, article by,
noted 154
Edmonds, Matt 294
Edsall, Widow , case of illegal
entry 240
Edwards, A. Blanche, Abilene, donor. . 27
Edwards, Charles 174
Edwards, J. B 27
Edwards, Col. John 216
Edwards, John H 109, 303
Edwards, John N 428
Edwards, Mabel 384
Edwards, Oliver 280
Edwards, R. E 89, 95, 98, 99
Edwards, Rufus 176
Edwards, W. C 98, 345
Edwards, Wm. C 296
Edwards county 317, 319
Edwards County Bank 98, 99, 105
Edwards County Historical Society,
ofHcers elected, 1952 232
Edwards County Investment Co 99
Edwards Mercantile Bank 98, 99
Effingham St. Ann's Catholic church,
article on, noted 303
Ehrsam, Mrs. Viola, Enterprise. . . 70
Ehrsam, Mrs. W. M., Wichita. . . .159, 461
Eichenmann, Albert C., biographical
sketch, noted 302
Eisenhower, Dwight D., article on,
noted 153
—home, Abilene, article on, noted. . . 229
Elbing 288
gjbow 258. 260
El Dorado 170
El Dorado and Walnut Valley railroad, 176
El Dorado Butler Free-Lance, article
in, noted 539, 540
El Dorado Daily Republican, quoted 151
El Dorado Daily Walnut Valley Times, 275
El Dorado Times, article in, noted .. 381
Eldridge, Col. Shalor W 283, 481, 581
Eldridge House, Lawrence . . 283
Elet, Father J. A 524, 526, 527
Elgin 288
Eli 288
Elk Falls Howard County Ledger 569
Elkhart, article on, noted. . 540
Elkhart Tri-State News, article in,
noted 540
Ellinwood 300
— articles on, noted 540
Ellinwood Evangelical and Reformed
church, article on, noted 601
Ellinwood Express 279
Ellinwood Leader, articles in,
noted 156, 601
— letters printed in, noted 540
Elliott, John 171
Elliott, T. J 295
Ellis, C. W., Medicine Lodge 166, 293
Ellis Congregational church, article on,
noted 540
Ellis county 316, 345
— German-Russian settlements, article
on, noted 152
pamphlet, note on 72
Ellsworth 268, 270, 284
— article on, noted 303
— cholera epidemic, 1867, article on,
noted 459
Ellsworth County Agricultural and
Mechanical Association 109
Ellsworth Messenger, article in, noted. . 303
Ellsworth Reporter 109, 570
— article in, noted 538
618
GENERAL INDEX
Elwood Free Press ................ 369
Elyria .......................... 288
Emahizer, Arthur J., article by, noted. . 228
Emerson, Ralph Waldo ............. 373
— in Kansas, article on, noted ...... 155
Emery, Philip A., article on, noted. . 228
Eminence .................... 287, 288
Emmons, Mrs. C. W ................ 383
Emory, William H ............... 21, 23
Emporia, articles on, noted ......... 602
— hotels, article on, noted ........... 539
— Reeble food stores, article on, noted . . 539
— Whitley Opera House, article on,
noted ..................... 227, 228
Emporia and El Dorado Short Line
railroad ....................... 171
Emporia Gazette, articles in, noted, 227, 228
458,459,539, 602
Emporia News ................... 419
Emporia Times, articles in, noted ..... 602
Emrie, Mrs. L ..................... 160
Endicott, J. C ..................... 460
Eno, Mai. E. B .................... 217
Enterprise ....................... 360
Enterprise Anti-Monopolist, article in,
noted ......................... 163
Epperson, Elmer .............. 160, 232
Erhart, Everett E., Stafford .......... 462
Erickson, Lois, article by, noted ....... 602
Erie Record, article in, noted ........ 542
Ernsting, Mrs. Anna, letter, noted ..... 540
Erwin, C. 0 ....................... 245
Erwin, John .............. 261, 263, 264
Eskridge, C. V ..................... 52
Esmonde, Sir Henry Gratten ......... 287
Essex Institute, Salem, Mass ......... 598
Etzold, L. A ...................... 174
Eudora News ..................... 171
Eureka ........ 274
Eustis ...................... 176, 178
Eustis Sherman County Dark Horse. . . 172
Eustis Sherman County Democrat ..... 288
Euwer, Elmer E., Goodland ...... 64, 376
Evans, Elwood, Philadelphia, quoted. . . 15
Evans, George H., and Co ........... 280
Evans, Jess ...................... 152
Evans, Lt. N. George ......
Everett .......................... 288
Ewing, Gen. Thomas ............... 372
Excelsior ........................ 179
Exodusters ....................... 164
F
Fager, Maurice E., Topeka. . .71, 382, 461
Fain, W. P., deputy marshal ........ 465
Fairmount College ................ 286
Fant, William ..................... 462
Far West ......................... 288
Fargo Springs ............. 174, 179, 287
Farley, Alan W., Kansas City ____ 64, 70
375, 376, 605
— donor ..................... 358, 359
Farley, James A., talk on, noted ...... 231
Farlington, town hall, article on,
noted ........................ 538
Farlow, Joyce .................... 362
— and Louise Barry, "Vincent B. Os-
borne's Civil War Experiences,"
edited by ........... 108-133, 187- 223
— note on ........................ 108
Farm products, price, 1886 .......... 165
"Farmer Debtors in Pioneer Kinsley,"
article by Allan G. Bogue ...... 82- 107
Farnsworth, Maj. H. W ........... 46, 47
Farnsworth, Jane .................. 327
Farnsworth, John .......... 324, 328, 331
333-335,340- 344
— family ........................ 327
Farnsworth, Mary ................. 327
Farnsworth, Robert . . 327
Farrar, Lillian K., articles by, noted . . 152
302, 457
Farrell, F. D., Manhattan. .63,65,366, 376
— elected second vice-president of
Historical Society 376
Fawn 179
Fawn creek 179
Fay, Mrs. Mamie Axline, Pratt 64, 354
Fay and Stanley, daguerreotypists .... 2
Federal land laws, administration in
Kansas, article on 233- 251
Feller, J. M 382
Ferguson, Mr. and Mrs. James E.,
Texas 353
Ferguson, Molly, article by, noted 601
Ferner, George W 174
Feron, Harry 35
Fichyion, Maria 521
Fickeissen, Charles 239, 245
Filinger, Dr. F. A 383
Filinger, Dr. George 70
Filson, S. W 160, 231, 232
Fink, Homer B 71
Fink, J. Clyde 71
Finney county 275, 284
— irrigation project 285
Finney County Historical Society 375
— directors elected, 1952 160
1953 462
— officers elected, 1953 605
Finnup, Frederick 462
First Military Escort on the Santa Fe
Trail, book, note on 232
First National Bank of Kinsley 98, 99
Fish, J. G 127
Fisher, A. H 280
Fisher, Mrs. Jessie Clyde, Wichita, 159, 461
Fisk, Maj. Julius G 129, 187, 188, 198
199,201, 202
Fitchburg 317
Fitzpatrick, Thomas 393, 395, 396
Flaherty, Francis 257
Flambeau club 174
Fleming, Patrick 172
Fleming, Thomas 167
Fletcher, Gen. 523
Floersch, Michael 259
Floods, in Kansas, 1844, article on. .73- 81
1903, article on, noted 227
1951, article on, noted 68
talk on, noted 543
Flora, Harrison 295
Flora, Snowden D., Topeka 362, 457
— book by, note on 464
— notes on 73, 464
— "The Great Flood of 1844 Along the
Kansas and Marais des Cygnes
Rivers," article by 73- 81
Florence Weekly Bulletin 274
Flournoy, F. R., College of Emporia. . . 231
Flush 260
Flynn, John 265
Flynn, Mrs. Margaret Callahan 265
Flynn, Mrs. Murray C 110
Fockele, Frank 295
Foley, Dennis 165
Food prices, 1887 271
Foote, Charles K., Wichita 160, 463
Foote, Conie, Kansas City, Mo., donor, 358
Ford, Thomas 165, 169
Ford, William C., biographical sketch
of, noted 152
Ford county 170, 177, 275, 281
328,332,336- 338
— irrigating project 171, 272
Ford Historical Society, officers elected,
1952 160
Forman, James F 460
Forrest, Lillian, estate of, donor 354
Forrestal, James . . 543
Forsha, Alexander 89, 90
GENERAL INDEX
619
Forsha, Fred 89, 90
Fort Benton 16- 18
— sketch of between 16, 17
noted 20
Fort Blunt 425
Fort Colville 18
Fort Cottonwood (McPherson) 395
Fort Dodge 452
— cemetery 171
— military reservation 172, 249
Fort Gibson 2, 3, 423, 425
Fort Harker 109, 179, 268
Fort Hays 323, 324
— articles on, noted 381
Fort Hays State College, articles on,
noted 229, 381
Fort Jewell 458
Fort John 393
Fort Kearny 393, 395, 396, 408
Fort Laramie 392-395, 397, 398
400,413, 414
—1849, sketch facing 417
— to Fort Leavenworth, Easton's route, ,.
1849, map facing 400
via Republican river, table of
distances 416
"Fort Laramie to Fort Leavenworth Via
Republican River in 1849," edited by
Merrill J. Mattes 392- 416
Fort Lamed 130, 132, 306, 307, 313
— article on, noted 602
— cemetery 171
Fort Larned Plains 30
Fort Leavenworth . . .31, 173, 392-394, 396
397,405,413, 472
— article on, noted 154
— 1849, sketch facing 416
— 1872, picture of facing 72
Fort Leavenworth-Fort Riley road,
marker, note on 544
Fort Lookout, article on, noted 457
Fort Lyon 130, 132
Fort Owen 18
Fort Pierre 394
Fort Protection, article on, noted. . . 379
Fort Riley 108, 128, 129, 187, 258
268,307,395,396, 411
— articles on, noted 538, 539, 542
— 1880's, sketch of facing 384
— note on facing 385
Fort Scott 163, 167, 175, 188, 277
278,281,284,287, 417
421,423,425, 427
— article on, noted 380
— glass factory 284
— oil well 176
— Parkinson Sugar Works 284
Fort Scott and Wichita railroad 277
Fort Scott Broom Corn Reporter .... 175
Fort Scott Democrat, quoted. .298,378, 451
Fort Scott Monitor 369
— microfilming of 358
Fort Scott Tribune, microfilming of . . . 358
Fort Scott Tribune-Monitor, articles in,
noted 541
Fort Smith, Ark 417, 427, 429
Fort Smith, Kansas and Nebraska
railroad 175
Fort Towson, Indian territory. . . 396
Fort Union, N. Dak 13, 15
Fort Union, N. M 108, 131
"Fort Union, and Distribution of Goods
to the Assinniboines," sketch by J.
M. Stanley between 16, 17
Fort Vancouver 18
Fort Walla Walla 8, 18
Fort Wallace, article on, noted 539
— War Dept. orders, microfilm copies
given Historical Society 357
Fort William 392, 393
Fort Zarah 306
Foster, C. G . 292
Foster, W. F 164
Four Mile School Thanksgiving Associa-
tion, article on, noted 381
Fox, Ed 58
Francis, Ed, Topeka 28
Francis, Edmund 28
Francis, Helen D., article by, noted. . . 603
Francis, Sarah, Topeka 28
Frankfort Index, articles in, noted, 228, 303
Franklin county, old settler
organization 584
Frappe, Mrs. , son of 527
Frazer, Louis E., article by, noted. . . . 227
Frazier, Dr. T. C., article by,
noted 302
Frederic 288
Fredonia 170
Fredonia Wilson County Citizen, article
in, noted 458
Fredrich, R. L., donor 25
Free Methodist Church 284
Freed, Matilda 160, 232
Freeman, C. E 69
Freeport 179
Free-State party . . .466,471,472,483, 595
— conventions, Big Springs and Topeka, 466
Freighting on the frontier, article
on . ... 452- 454
Fremont, John C 392, 393, 395, 396
403,405,407, 415
467,468,485, 520
French, Lt. 217
French, C. 0 293
French, E. G 173
Frenchman creek 405
Friend, Llerena, Barker Texas History
Center, University of Texas 1, 23
Friends, Society of 276
— mission among Kansas Indians . 45- 47
Friends Kansas Manual Labor School, 46
Frisco Pioneer 164
Fritts, Capt. John, article by, noted . . 379
Fronkier, Mitchell 56, 59
Front 288
Frost, Gen. 205
Frush. W. A., Garden City 241
Fry, Mrs. 581
Frybarger, C. H 169
Fryhofer, Wm 295
Fugit, 558
Fuller, Ferdinand, death of, noted. ... 167
Fullington, C. P 168
Fulton, M. G 2
Funston, Edward Hogue 31, 293
Funston, Frederick, letters, article on,
noted 154
Gabbert, Mrs. Bertha McCreery. . . . 69, 384
Gable, Frank 295
Gage, W. H 326
Gailland, Rev. Maurice, S. J.,
biography 501- 506
— "Early Years at St. Mary's Pottawa-
tomie Mission," from the diary
of 506- 529
—photo facing 512
Galena 274
Galli^ar, Dr. Gladys 383
Galvin, W. F., Stockton 240
Gandy, J. L 240
Gandy, L. J 176
Gano,' Gen. R. M 219
Card, Wayne, article by, noted 456
Garden City 167, 172, 274, 276
— land office 167, 281
— Law and Order League 178
— schools, article on, noted 540
— settlement near 178
Garden City Daily Telegram, articles in,
noted 379, 540
Garden City Nickel Plate railroad 284
620
GENERAL INDEX
Garden City Sentinel 167
Gardner, Alexander, photos by. . facing 513
Gardner, Bertha V 463
Gardner, Capt. John 128, 189, 200
Garfield 317
Garfield county 275, 287
—election 287
— organized 282
Garfield Rifles, Negro militia 172
Garfield University, Wichita 284
Garland, A. H 239
Garland, May Myers, article by,
noted 540
Garland 179
Garnett 188
Garnett Plaindealer 569, 580
Garrett, C 174
Garrett, R. A., Topeka 81
— articles by, noted 68, 230
Garrison, William Lloyd 373
Garvey, T. E., article by, noted 460
Gates, Paul W 234
Geary, Gov. John W 490,492, 493
553, 594
Geary county, articles on, noted 542
Gehman, John Luke, autobiographical
sketch, noted 458
Geneseo 288
Georgetown (Ky.) Herald, quoted. ... 451
German element in United States, talk
on, noted 231
Geuda Springs, Caldwell and Western
railroad 175
Geuda Springs Crank 175
Gfeller, Anna Marie 598
Gfeller, Peter 598
Gfeller family, reunion, note on 598
— search for picture of the Roger
Stewart, article on 598, 599
Gibson, Charles K 178
Gibson, Guy E 77, 78
Gibson, J. W. 171
Gibson, Gen. William H 280
Gihon, John H 567, 569, 577
Gilbert, George and J. W 171
Giles, F. W., book by, noted 176
— quoted 76
Gilkeson, A. D 239, 332
Gillett, Almerin 292
Gillett, F. E 296
Gillis, S. F 296
Gilmore, John S., Sr., diary published,
noted 458
Gilmore, Lowry G 281
Gilson, Mrs. F. L 384
Girard 280
— article on, noted 541
Girard Press, articles in, noted. . . .152, 541
Glasco Sun 184
Glass, W. S 295
Glasson, Dr. Mary, Phillipsburg 462
Gleckler, Rev. Homer 302
Glen Elder, article on, noted 153
Glenn family 259
Click, George W., Atchison 163, 271
Goche, 399
Godin, Mrs. Ethel, Wamego 72, 461
Godsey, Mrs. Flora R.,
Emporia 64, 375, 377
Goff, George 282
Gogin, James 261
Gogin, Martin 261
Gogin, Richard 261
Going, Sheriff 335, 336
Gooch, Cpl. James A 199
Goodal, , Cleveland 48
Goodland 288
— article on, noted 152
Goodland Republican, microfilming of, 358
Goodland Sherman County Dark Horse,
microfilming of 358
Goodland Sherman County Republican,
microfilming of 358
Goodlander, Charles W., memoirs,
note on 541
Goodsoe, G. W 296
Goodwyn, A. R 226
Gopher 288
Goss, Nathaniel Stickney 167, 171
172, 287
GouviUe, S. B 529
Gove City 175, 177
Gove City Gove County Gazette 169
Gove county 175
— first election 177
Graham, C. B 7
Graham and Ellwoos, Dekalb, HI 89
Grand Army of the Republic 276
— Department of Kansas 163, 166, 174
— national encampment, 1886 174
— state reunion 177
— sunflower badge 285
Grand Opera House, Topeka 163
166, 172
Grand View 179
Granger, H. S 294
Grant, Ulysses S 46, 47, 220, 554, 559
Grant county 275
— county-seat fight 289
— organization 284
Grasshopper creek 413
Gravenstein, Phil C 78
Graves, Charles B 293
Graves, W. W., biographical sketch,
noted 456
—donor 359
— meeting to pay tribute to, note on . 231
Gray, John M., Kirwin 63, 65, 376
Gray county 275, 281
— county-seat election 286, 287
— county-seat fight, article on, noted. . 379
— organized 282
Great Bend . . . 171, 273, 278, 286, 300, 540
— articles on, noted 380, 602
— schools, article on, noted 380
Great Bend Daily Tribune, articles in,
noted 380, 602
Great Bend Herald-Press, article in,
noted 602
Great Bend Press, articles in, noted. . . 3
Great Bend Tribune 279
— quoted 180
Great Platte road
Great Western Stove Foundry and
Machine Works, Leavenworth
Greathouse, J. E
Greeley, Horace 256, 360, 369, 468, 469
— article on, noted 381
Green, Frank, Topeka 30
Green, George S 294
Greene, A. R 292
Greene, Peggy, article by, noted 380
Greenleaf, O. J 170
Greensburg Baptist church, article on,
noted 153
Greensburg Kiowa County Signal 166
— articles in, noted 153
Greenwood county, persons of foreign
birth 169
Gregg, Mrs. Cecil 70
Gregg, Josiah 5,
— article on, noted 228
Gregg, Kate L., journal and diaries
edited by, note on 463
Greystone 288
Gridley 179
Grieve, W. S 326
Griffith, B. F 174
Grim, George E., Topeka 28
Grinnell, grade schools, article on,
noted 541
394
283
462
GENERAL INDEX
621
Grinnell Record-Leader, article in,
noted 541
Grinstead, Minnie J 30
Grinstead, V. H 173
Groseclose, Chas. J 58
Gross, Rhea 69, 383
Groundwater, Mrs. William, Longton. . 461
Grove, Mrs. Jessie Bright, article by,
noted 456
Gudger, Pauline 463
Guenther, 128
Guilford 179
Guinn, William 175
Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe
railroad 170, 176
Gumm, B. F 171
Gunther, Capt. Arthur 202
Guthrie, John 293
Guthrie Oklahoma Capital, microfilming
of 358
Guthrie Oklahoma State Capital, micro-
filming of £58
Gutzmer, Mrs. Karl E., Newton, donor, 28
Guyer, U. S 27
Gypsum 179
Gypsum creek 179
H
Hadden, D. N 326
Hadley, C. C 174
Hadley, H. M., Topeka 165
Hadley, J. L 171
Hadley, W. R 174
Hagan, Eugene 292
Hagg, Mrs. Percy, Holton 159
Haggart, Mrs. Robert 71
Haines, Charles 167
Haines, Joe 70, 383
Haines, Stella B 461, 543
Halifax 179
Hall, 536
Hall, Andrew S., biographical sketch,
noted 540
Hall, Mrs. Carrie A., Leavenworth. ... 64
375, 377
Hall, F. H 604
Hall, Jess L 606
Hall, Jimmy 265
Hall, Pat, family 264
Hall, Standish. Wichita 64, 375, 377
Hall, Willard P 385, 386
Hallowell, J. R 236, 238, 245-247, 249
Hamburg, George, talk by, noted 458
Hamer, K. D., article by, noted 303
Hamilton, J. W 173, 178, 292
Hamilton, James 177
Hamilton, O. P., quoted 74
Hamilton, R. L., Beloit 63, 65, 376
Hamilton county 165, 169, 171
176, 177, 275
— arrest of election officials 281
— county-seat election 169, 170
— county-seat fight 177, 178, 277
Hanaghan family 261
Hankins, W. N 171
Hanna, B. J. F 241
Hannan, T. F 167
Hannon, Harry, Jr., article by,
noted 154, 155
Hanrahan, James 337, 344
Hanson, Harry . . 70, 605
Hanson, William H 97
Harbaugh, George, Wellington,
museum, article on, noted 602
Harder, Mrs. Carl 384
Hardridge, Pvt. Elias 423
Hardridge, Pvt. Nero 423
Hardy, Mr. and Mrs. Harry A 33, 363
Hardy, Lawrence W 165, 169
Hardy, W. E 56, 59
Hardy, Wm 56, 58, 59
Harger, Charles M., Abilene. . . . 63, 65, 376
— articles by, noted 153, 381
Hargrave, John 296
Harkness, F. P 294
Harlan, E. W., articles by, noted ... 68, 227
Harman, George 274
Harman, Lillian 176, 177, 277
Harman, Moses 176, 274, 277
Harold 179
Harper, Mrs. J. C 383
Harper, Sgt. Marion 108
Harper, Melville Campbell 69
Harper 283, 287
Harper Advocate, article in, noted. ... 157
Harper county .... 283, 329, 336-339, 346
— election 287
— organization 310, 321
article on, noted 157
Harrington, Grant 70
Harrington, Mr. and Mrs. Grant, Kansas
City, donors 358
Harris, George E 289
Harris, Russell C., vs. Anderson Stoops, 243
Harrison, Ralph B 463
Hart's Mill 288
Harvey, Mrs. A. M., Topeka .... 63, 65, 376
Harvey, Gov. James M 309- 312
Harvey county 173
Harwi, A. J 294
Harwood, Walter 1 172
Harwoodville 179
Haskell, H. J .' 353
Haskell, J. G., Topeka 165
Haskell county 275, 285
— organization 281
Haskell Indian Institute, Lawrence, 271, 275
Hatcher, T. B 250
Hatfield, Rodolph ' 296
Hatfield 179
Haucke, August 43, 44, 54
Haucke, Frank 24, 33, 63-65, 357
374, 376
— address on Kansas Indians 36- 60
— made honorary chief of Kansas
Indians 51
Haucke, Mrs. Frank 63, 374, 462
Haun, T. S 296
Haver, Phyllis 30
Hawkins, F. C 307,309-311,313, 314
Hawley, Charles Arthur, articles by,
noted 155, 228, 381, 457
Hay, Mrs. Bert, Holton, articles by,
noted 229, 381
Hayden, Sister Bridget 157
Hayden, James 326
Hayes, Mrs. Audra 159
Hayes, Dolly 246
Hayes, George ,',', 326
Hayes, Col. Josiah E 370
Hays, Patrick 326
Hays, Seth, Indian trader 41, 44
Hays, Wash 530
•Hays 278, 324, 332
— articles on, noted 158, 381, 601
Hays Baptist church, article on, noted . . 540
Hays Daily News, articles in,
noted 152, 457, 540, 601, 603
— special edition, note on 381
Hays Ellis County News, articles in,
__ noted 152, 601
Hays German-American Advocate 164
Hays Presbyterian church, article on,
noted 540
Haysville 287
Hazen, Albert 295
Healey, Michael Joseph 267
Healey, Nellie 267
Healey, Owen, family 267
Heaton, John W., Baker University . . 231
Hebron, W. S 281
Hector Echo 169
Hegler, Ben F., Wichita 64, 375, 377
622
GENERAL INDEX
Heiss, Willard C., Indianapolis, Ind.,
donor 359
Helbert Travel Service 544
Helfrich, Grace 160
Heller, Father 153
Henderson, E. F 179
Henderson, Gene 231
Henderson Mennonite Brethren church,
article on, noted 380
Henkel, D. H 245
Henry, Joseph 8, 9
Henshaw, F. L 296
Herbert, Ewing, Hiawatha 62, 370
Herington Advertiser-Times, article in,
noted 379
Herrick, J. T. . 293
Herron, Gen. F. J 205,206,208, 211
Hershey, Lloyd R . 606
Hetzel, M. E 104, 105
Hewins, E. M 294
Hewins 288
— articles on, noted . 156
Hewitt, Sgt. John Y 128, 199
Hey, P. W 173
Hiatt, Mrs. C. W., article by, noted . 602
Hiatt, J. G 240, 250
Hiattville, creamery 281
Hiawatha Advocate 570
Hiawatha World 370
Hickel, J. W 326, 334, 340
341,343, 344
Hiclonan, Russell K., articles by,
noted 155, 227, 456
Hickok, James B. "Wild Bill" 27, 31
— biographical sketch, noted 601
Hicks, John Edward, articles by,
noted 154, 303, 457
Higbee, Susie O., Emporia, letter,
noted 602
Higgason, F. M 294
Higgins, L. W 98
Higgins, Will C 168
Higginson, Thomas Wentworth 421
Highland University 291
Hill, Hiram, letters and business papers,
acquired by Historical Society 357
Hill, James 214
Hill, Father Walter 506
Hill City 283
Hill City Times, article in, noted 603
Hillsboro Journal, article in, noted. ... 380
Hindman, Gen. ,
Confederate 108, 205, 208
Hindman, Albert H., articles by,
154, 155, 228
noted
Hindman, J. P.
Hinds, S. O.
Hiner, Sgt. J. P
Hinkel, Allen W
Hinkle, Fred, article by, noted. . .
Historic Wichita, Inc., note on. . .
Hobble, Frank A., Dodge City. .33
293
293
128
463
227
382
64, 354
Hodge, 'Mrs. Helen, artist . . 374
Hodge, J. M 340
Hodgeman county 275, 332
Hodges, Frank, Olathe 63, 65, 376
—donor 28, 356
Hodges, Gov. George Hartshorn, por-
trait of, given Historical Society. . . . 356
Hodson, G. W 246
Hodson, Ira T 246
Hoecken, Adrian 252
Hoecken, Father Christian .... 75, 502, 508
509,511-516,519- 522
524,527, 529
Hoeffer, John 60
Hoffersette, Dr. 124
Hoffman, J. A 171
Hoffman, Sen. S. E., Neosho
Falls 545, 546
Hogan, Michael 263, 264
Hogdon, Linwood L., Kansas State
College, talk by, noted 543
Hogg, Mrs. Stuart Tames 32
Hogin, John C., Belleville 64
Hoisington 288
Hoisington Dispatch, article in, noted . . 68
Hoisington Methodist church, article
on, noted 68
Holbrook, Mary 178
Holcombe, Dr. A. A 180, 275
Holden 179
Holderman, W. J. D 175, 176
Holliday, Cyrus K 165, 429
— portrait of, given Historical Society, 374
Holliday 179
Hollyfield, L. V., Cherryvale 238
Holmes, Milton A 544
Holroyd, Mrs. Viola 70
Holt, Joel 292
Holt, Joseph 418
Holton, fire, 1887 290
Holton Express 569
"Home on the Range," cabin, article
on, noted 458
Honig, Louis 0 154
— article by, noted 228
Hood, A. R., quoted 75
Hood, Charles 164
Hook, Lt. W. M 202
Hook, Z. R 74
Hooser 288
Hoover, , case of illegal entry . . . 240
Hoover, Blanche 250
Hoover, Grace 173
Hope, Cliff, Jr 160
Hope Dispatch 166
Hopkins, Charles Jordon, letter,
note on 8
Hopkins, Capt. Henry 128, 201, 218
Hopkins, J. W 177
Hopkins, S. G 165
Hoppe, 558
Horlings, Albert 383
Homer, 1 273, 287, 289
Horner, W. H 329, 338, 339
Horse creek, Wyoming 399
Horstman, Francis 252
Horton, Albert H 165, 176, 292, 338
Horton 176, 274
Horton Daily Headlight 286
Hostetter, Clyde, article by, noted .... 540
Hostetter, L. W 295
Houk, L 293
Houlehan, Mrs. Chas
House, Jay 62
Houston, C. E 173
Houston, D. W 173, 570, 579
Howard, William A., chairman of con-
gressional committee 468, 472, 473
490,491, 557
Howe, Arthur, article by, noted 603
Howe, Edgar Watson 380
— article on, noted 457
— bronze bust, given Historical Society, 360
— letters, given Historical Society 357
— novel by, noted 173
— portrait of, given Historical Society. . 356
Howe, Fanny C., Troy (N. Y.) Public
Library
Howe, Julia Ward 178
Howe, Col. M. S 130
Howe, Thomas 263
Howe 179
Howes, Cecil 161, 304
Howes, Charles C., book edited by,
note on 304
Hoxie, 168
Hoxie 167, 174, 179
— article on, noted 379
Hoxie Sentinel, articles in, noted . . 379, 603
Hoyt, George H 372, 419
Hubbard, H. B 295
Huber, Mrs. David M 69, 384
Hubert, Abe . 160
GENERAL INDEX
623
Hudson, Florence 461
Hudson 288
Huff, J. U 156
Huffaker, Carl 41
Huffaker, T. S 41
Hughes, James White Frierson, articles
on, noted 456
Hugo, Victor 288
Hugo Herald 166, 454
Hugoton 174, 175
— articles on, noted 379
Hugoton Hermes 283
— articles in, noted 379
Hugoton Woman's Club 70
Hukle 288
Hull, Frank V 282
Huls, Don, article by, noted 154
Hulsell, Sallie 167
Humboldt 189, 190
Humphrey, James 165, 292
Humphrey, L. U 294
Humphreys, Capt. A. A 19, 20
Hunoit, Joseph 398, ^07
Hunt, Charles L., Concordia 64, 376
Hunt, J. E 175
Hunt, Maj. S. B 222
Hunt, Maj. Thomas J 218
Hunter, C. C 186
Hunter, D. A 295
Hunter, Maj. Gen. David 418
Hunter, article on, noted 153
Huntington, C. H 281
Huntingdon, Morgan G., biographical
sketch, noted 540
Huntley, G. M 230
Kurd, T. A 295
Husbands, Bruce 393
Hussey, Lew T 67
Hutchcraft, Mrs. H. E., article by,
noted 458
Hutchinson, Edward 293
Hutchinson, Wm 481
Hutchinson 284
— fire department, article on, noted. . . 538
Hutchinson Daily Herald 278
Hutchinson News-Herald, articles in,
noted 68, 227, 303, 379, 538, 601
Hutchison, Walter, articles by, noted. . 228
302, 604
I
Iberville, Pierre le Moyne 36
Imes 288
Improved Order of Red Men 177, 285
Independence 177
Independence and Southwestern
railroad 171
Independence Pioneer, given Historical
Society 359
Independent Order of Good
Templars 177, 285
Independent Order of Odd Fellows . 167
177,276, 285
Indians 164, 305
— Al-le-ga-wa-hu 40, 43, 44, 50, 54
— Anthony 521
—Apache 132, 133
— Arapaho 49, 132, 133
—articles on 150, 225, 226
noted 229, 457
— Assiniboine 15
— Blackfoot 16, 17
— burial customs, article on 224
— Captain Ernest 78
— Chaco 173
—Chariot 502, 506, 511, 516
— Cheyenne 47, 49, 130, 132
133,402, 407
— Chickasaw 3
— Chippewa 14
— Comanche 4, 36, 47, 132, 133
Indians, Comanche, see also, Indians,
Kiowa and Comanche.
— Creek 3
— Delaware 360
— Eagle Plume 55
— encampment, sketch of facing vi
— Flathead, sketch of between 16, 17
— Fool Chief 40
— grand council, 1843 3, 4
— Hard Chief, Kah-he-ga-wah-che-cha, 40
— Iowa 37
— Jakson 523
— John Ross, Cherokee chief 3
—Joseph 523, 527
—Kansas 256, 450, 507, 515
address on 36- 60
agreement with U. S 57, 58
treaty, 1825 38
— Keokuk, Sac and Fox chief 6
— Kickapoo 507
— Kinowe 521
— Kiowa 47, 132, 133
and Comanche, Medicine Lodge
treaty council, 1867, articles
on, noted 380
note on facing 161
sketch of facing 160
— Kithekuiy 521
— Kiutukiyani . 518
— Kiya 522
— last Kansas raid, article on, noted. . 381
—Little Dog 17
— Little Robe 49
— Low Horn, Piegan chief 17
— massacres, Lincoln county, article on,
noted 539
— Natchinnene 529
— Nisswakwat 527
— Osage 3, 49-51, 55, 253, 523
— Oscorrus 525
— Ossakon 522
— Osskom 518, 523
— Ottawa, article on, noted 457
— Pachnokine 521
— Padouca. See Indians, Comanche.
—Pawnee 130, 132, 133, 407-409, 507
— Pawnee Pict 3
— Peir-gah-hosh-he 41
— Pemowetuk 509
— Pohimak 512
— Pottawatomie 253, 256
at St. Mary's Mission, 1867,
photo facing 513
claims 360
St. Mary's Mission, diary of
Father Maurice Gailland 501- 529
—Pueblo, article on, noted 539
— reservations 55
—Sac and Fox 37, 422, 507
— Sasape 524
— Satank, article on, noted 379
— Sem Ale
— Seminole
— Shawnee
— Sioux . .
— Tchikwe
— Wabansi
524
3
378
399
522
523
— Wabausi 528
— Wagansi 522
— Wah-mo-o-e-ke 59
— Wah-noh-o-e-ke 56
— Wanuki 521
— Washunga 43, 54-56, 58- 60
— Wasiki, Ponca chief 279
— Wawiga 520
— Wawiyatinokwe 521
—Whirlwind 399
— White Plume 37
— Winnebago 523
— Wysaw 60
624
GENERAL INDEX
Ingalls, Sen. John J 55, 170, 248, 274
279, 283| 284| 290, 293
Ingalls 286, 379
Insurance, life, advertisement 600
Interstate Galloway Cattle Co 106
lola 286
— article on 224
lola Allen County Courant, given
Historical Society 359
lola Allen County Democrat 278
lola Neosho Valley Register, given
Historical Society 359
— Quoted 224
lola Register 164, 569
— microfilm copies given Historical
Society 29, 359
Irene 288
Irvin, Dr. J. E 371
Irvin, Mary E 368, 371
Irving, Washington 152, 153
Irving, article on, noted 303
Isabel 288
Isely, Bliss, Wichita 462
— and W. M. Richards, book by, note
on 606
— articles by, noted 604
Isett, S. G . 174
luka 180, 287
Ives, Earl, articles by, noted 155, 538
Jackson, , son of 519
Jackson, Col. 482
Jackson, H. M 293
Jackson, W. Turrentine, book by,
note on 384
Jacobs, John A 295
Jamestown Kansas Optimist, article in,
noted 603
Janveau, Mrs. Nicholas 521
Jarvis Conklin Mortgage Trust Co .... 100
Jaspers, Karl, talk on, noted 543
Jefferson county, article on, noted. . . . 156
Jenks, George F., articles by,
noted 68, 157
enness, R. F 180
ennings, Al, article on, noted 227
ennings, Frank S 294
ennings, Capt. S. J 151
ennison, Col. Charles R 372,418- 420
enson, Mrs. James L., Colby 159, 461
erome, W. W 303
esuits, in Kansas 253
esup, Thomas 393
ewell, Lt. Col. Lewis R 202
ewell, article on, noted 458
— Catholic families, letter on, noted. . 157
Jewell county, Rosedale school, article
on, noted 155
Jewell County Republican, Jewell. . . . 458
— article in, noted 155
— letter in, noted 157
ohn Bright University 276
ohnson, 347
ohnson, A. S 549
ohnson, J. B 165
ohnson, J. P 296
ohnson, Lt. John 207, 208
ohnson, Walter Perry, biography,
noted 459
Johnson, Rev. William 39
Johnson 288
Johnson City 280, 284
Johnson county, articles on, noted. . . . 302
— Sharon school, article on, noted. . . . 158
Johnson County Old Settlers Associa-
tion, officers elected, 1953 606
Johnston, Georgr 295
"Johnston, Henry S., Okla 353
Johnston, Lt. John 127, 198
Johnston, Sgt. John 121
Johnston, W. A 292
Jones, A! W 474,477, 478
ones, C. J .......................
ones, Mr. and Mrs. Elwood ........ ,.
ones, George R ................ 332,
ones, Horace, Lyons ........ 64, 375,
tones, Mrs. Ivan Dayton, Lyons. . . .72,
ones, J. H .......................
ones, Prof. J. O., quoted ...........
ones, Joseph W ...................
ones, Lucina ....................
iones, M. B .......................
.,'ones, Narra .....................
Jones, Sam ......................
Tones, Sheriff Samuel. . .465, 470, 472,
475,481,483,
576-578,581,586,
Tones, Tauy, article on, noted .......
Jones, W ........................
Jones, W. C ......................
Jones, William A., Commissioner
Indian Affairs ..................
Journal of an Expedition to the Mau-
vaises Terres and the Upper Missouri,
booklet, note on ................
Joy, James F. .....................
Judson, Col. William R .......... 218,
Julien, Herbert E ..................
Junction City ..... 176, 255, 258, 262,
— articles on, noted ................
Junction City Republic, special edition,
noted .........................
Junction City Smoky Hill and Repub-
lican Union ....................
Junction City Union, article in, noted,
— Fort Riley centennial edition
note on
Junction City Weekly Union,
quoted .................... 252,
Junken, Mrs. A. M .................
jurett ...........................
Justus, James ....................
Kakison,
Kalamazoo • • • •
Kamehameha, III, portrait of, noted . . .
Kampschroeder, Mrs. Louis ......
Kanaga, Clint W., Kansas City, Mo.,
donor
Kanona
Kanopolis •
Kanopolis dam, pictures of, noted. .
Kansas, adjutant general 168, 178,
— admission to Union, article on,
— agriculture, statistical summary, 1886,
_^ 1887 290,
286
363
335
377
461
177
80
284
384
246
541
280
474
563
593
457
240
292
58
304
550
219
606
263
542
542
459
542
2*
167
288
296
521
288
8
462
358
288
179
26
275
45o
181
291
— article on the word ........... 450, 451
— assessment of property, statistical
summary, 1886 ................ 181
— assistant attorney general .......... 281
— attainment of statehood, article on,
noted ......................... 154
— attorney general . . . . . 164, 168, 171, 174
179,273,277,280,287, 315
—blizzard of 1886 ................ 163
-- article on, noted .............. 68
— canyons, buttes, bad lands, rock cities,
article on, noted ................ 539
— charitable institutions, statistical sum-
mary, 1886 ............... 181
--- 1887 .................... 291
— charters, statistical summary, 1886. . 181
--- 1887 .................... 291
—colleges ................... 276, 288
-- enrollments, noted ............ 68
— Congregational church, book,
note on ....................... 60°
— counties, names of, article on,
noted . . ............. 154
GENERAL INDEX
625
Kansas, counties, and towns, fraudulent
organization 305
— County Clerks Assn 272
— county elections 287
— district courts, 1887 293
20th district 180
— divorce rate, 1887 289
— drugstore liquor traffic 272
— education, statistical summary, 1886, 181
1887 291
— emigration 281
— executive department, 1887 292
—fairs 174
— finances, statistical summary, 1886. . 181
1887 291
— flood, 1903, articles on, noted . . 155, 227
1951, article on, noted 68
— folk-speech, article on, noted 602
— forestry station 279
— fuel famine 289
— general election, 1886 178
— geography, articles on, noted. . . .68, 541
and history, book, note on 606
— highway building, 1875, article on. . 600'
— house of representatives . . . 272, 274, 336
1874 337, 338, 340, 343, 344
1887 295, 296
talk on, noted 231
— industry, statistical summary, 1886. . 182
1887 297
— insurance, statistical summary, 1886, 182
1887 297
— judiciary department, 1887 292
— Junior Chamber of Commerce 544
— Knights of Labor 273, 283
— land patented to 180
—legislature, 1858 595
1859 595, 596
1873 319
1886 166, 279
special session 164
1887 271,273, 275
— Livestock Sanitary Commission . . 282, 288
— Meadow Lark named state bird 31
— metropolitan police law 285
— municipal elections 286
— Native Sons and Daughters, annual
meeting, 1952, note on. . . .71, 72
1953, note on 461
— Negroes, convention 282
immigration, 1879, letters
on 496- 500
— newspaper office, 1857 298
— Normal institutes 283
— poets, 1890's, article on, noted 381
— population, statistical summary. 1886, 182
1887 297
— post offices, discontinued, 1886 179
established, 1886 179
1887 288
names changed, 1886 179
1887 288
— prisoners in penitentiary 178
— quarter-centennial celebration 165
584, 585
— railroads, chartered, 1886 271
statistical summary, 1886. . . 182
1887 297
track laid, 1887 280
— real estate boom, 1887 273
— reptiles, article on, noted 602
— school days, 1870's and 1880's, book,
note on 544
— school population, 1886. . . 164
— senate, 1887 275, 294
— senators and representatives in
congress, 1887 293
— silk, commission 287
culture committee 282
industry 173, 273
station, Peabody . . 278, 282, 289, 290
— Soldiers' Orphans' Home 280
42—312
Kansas, southeast boundary surveys, talk
on, noted 544
— southwest, economic development. . . 360
population movements 360
— spring, article on 454, 455
— state administration of land granted
for internal improvements, article by
Thomas LeDuc 545- 552
— state architect .' 276
— state auditor 281
—State House 166, 276, 280
— state sanitary convention 180
— state veterinarian 281
— supreme court . . 165, 167, 169, 175, 178
180,275,276,278, 285
287-289,292,319, 337
— teachers' institutes 282
— territorial legislature, 1855 466
471, 488
— travel guides, note on 544
— views, articles on, noted 230, 541
— weather, 1951, article on, noted. . . . 230
statistical summary, 1886 182
1887 297
— Young Men's Christian Assn 178
— Young Women's Christian Assn 178
Kansas Academy of Language and
Literature 180, 290
Kansas Academy of Science 179, 286
— Transactions, articles in, noted. . . 63, 157
230, 541
Kansas and Colorado railroad 180
Kansas and Missouri Associated Press . . 272
Kansas and Missouri Press Assn. . . . 173, 279
Kansas and Neosho Valley railroad. . . . 547
549, 550
Kansas Anti-Horse Thief Assn 178, 286
Kansas Association of Architects. . .165, 272
Kansas Association of Teachers of His-
tory and Related Fields, annual
meeting, 1952, note on 231
1953, note on 543, 544
Kansas Bankers Assn 274
Kansas Baptist convention 285, 360
Kansas Catholic Society 375
Kansas Center 288
Kansas Central Elevator Co 178
Kansas Chautauqua, Topeka 282
Kansas City 167, 276, 290, 297, 451
Kansas City, Mo 450, 451
Kansas City and Southwestern railroad, 169
Kansas City (Mo.) Commercial Indica-
tor, microfilming of 358
Kansas City (Mo.) Enterprise, quoted, 451
Kansas City Journal 166
Kansas City (Mo.) Livestock Indicator,
microfilming of 358
Kansas City (Mo.) Star 30, 304
— articles in, noted 154, 228,303, 381
457,538,539,602, 603
— quoted 353
Kansas City (Mo.) Times 30, 161, 272
273, 278
—articles in, noted 154, 155, 228, 303
381,457,539, 603
Kansas Commandery, Military Order of
the American Legion 273
"Kansas Commune," article, noted. . . . 156
Kansas Democratic Editors and
Publishers Assn 164
Kansas Editorial Association 582
Kansas Equal Suffrage Assn.. . 164, 272, 286
Kansas Evangelical Assn 168, 276
Kansas Evangelical Lutheran Synod . 286
Kansas Fair Assn 172, 278
Kansas Farmer, Topeka 161
"Kansas Fever," midwestern attitudes,
article on 495- 500
"Kansas Historical Notes". .69-72, 159, 160
231, 232, 304, 382- 384
461-464, 543, 544, 605, 606
626
GENERAL INDEX
Kansas Historical Quarterly, The. .367, 368
— printing appropriation, note
on facing 1
— report, 1951 32
1952 361, 362
"Kansas History as Published in the
Press" 68, 152-158, 227-230, 302
303,379-381,456- 460
538-542,601- 604
Kansas Knights of Honor 278
Kansas League of American Wheelmen, 282
Kansas League of Professional Baseball
Players 277
Kansas Magazine, Manhattan 290
372, 558
— articles in, noted 156
— quoted 270
Kansas Midland railroad 290
Kansas Mill Assn 272, 273, 282
Kansas Ministers Union 285
Kansas-Missouri Floods of June-July
1951, booklet, note on 232
Kansas National Guard 169, 176, 285
—Negro 178
Kansas-Nebraska act ... 450, 467, 468, 470
Kansas, Nebraska and Dakota railroad, 166
167, 175, 180, 274
"Kansas Negro Regiments in the Civil
War," article by Dudley Taylor Cor-
nish 417- 429
Kansas, Pacific and Western railroad . 179
Kansas Pacific railroad 305, 307
— loading cattle at Abilene, sketch
of facing 232
Kansas Prohibition party 290
Kansas Real Estate Agents Assn. . . 164, 272
Kansas river 411
— flood, 1844, article on 73- 81
—Rock Island bridge 174
Kansas Sheriffs' Cooperative Assn 272
Kansas Shorthorn Breeders Assn. . .180, 289
Kansas Society of Friends 177, 285
Kansas State Bar Assn. 164, 272
Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 164, 272
— report, 1886, note on 169
Kansas State Board of Charities . . . 166, 280
Kansas State Board of Education 163
Kansas State Board of Health 172, 280
Kansas State Board of Pension
Examiners 287
Kansas State Board of Pharmacy 164
173, 275
Kansas State Board of Railroad
Commissioners 175
Kansas State Board of Silk
Commissioners 277
Kansas State Board of Trustees of
Charitable Institutions 180
Kansas State College, Manhattan, Mer-
cury-Chronicle anniversary edition,
note on 459
Kansas State Dental Assn 170, 278
Kansas State Eclectic Medical Assn. . . . 165
171, 273
Kansas State Grange 180
Kansas State Historical Society. . . .164, 272
288, 348, 372, 543, 583, 587- 590
— accession, 1950-1951, statistics
of 31, 32
1951-1952, statistics of 361
— annals of Kansas 368
report, 1950-1951 . ..30, 31
1951-1952 359, 360
— annual meeting 231
1951, proceedings 24- 65
1952, proceedings 354- 377
— appropriations, 1951 24
— archives division, report,
1950-1951 26, 27
1951-1952 356, 357
— article on, noted 229
Kansas State Historical Society, budget
requests, 1952 354, 355
— Collections 489, 576, 588
— committee on nominations for
directors, report, 1951 63
1952 375
—directors, listed, 1952-1954 64- 65
1953-1955 376, 377
meeting, 1951 64
1952 375, 376
— Elizabeth Reader Bequest. . . .34,35, 365
— executive committee, report, 1951 ... 35
1952 365
— First Capitol, report, 1950-1951 .... 33
1951-1952 362
— founding of 582
— John Booth Bequest 34, 364
— Jonathan Pecker Bequest 34, 364
— Kaw Mission 24, 25, 41, 42
article on, noted 229
report, 1951 24, 25
1951-1952 362
—library, additions to, 1950-1951, 134- 149
1951-1952 430- 449
report, 1950-1951 25
1951-1952 355
— List of Kansas Newspapers and
Periodicals 29, 359
— manuscript division, report,
1950-1951 27, 28
1951-1952 357, 358
— microfilm division, report,
1950-1951 28, 29
1951-1952 358
— museum, report, 1950-1951 31
1951-1952 360
— newspaper and census divisions,
report, 1950-1951 29, 30
1951-1952 358, 359
— nominating committee, report, 1951, 35
1952 366
— picture collection, report,
1950-1951 25, 2R
1951-1952 356
— Quarterly. See Kansas Historical
Quarterly, The.
— research subjects 31, 360
—secretary's report, 1950-1951 ... 24- 33
1951-1952 354- 363
— Shawnee Mission, report, 1950-1951, 39,
— — —1951-1952 362
— Thomas H. Bowlus Donation .... 34, 364
—treasurer's report, 1950-1951 . . . 33, 35
1951-1952 363, 365
Kansas State Homeopathic Medical
Assn 170, 279
Kansas State Horticultural Society, 180, 289
Kansas State Medical Society 171, 279
Kansas Stnte Music Assn. 171
Kansas State Music Teachers Assn 278
Kansas State Normal School, Emporia. . 172
176,280, 291
Kansas State Oratorical Assn 274
Kansas State Pharmaceutical Assn., 172, 280
Kansas State Reading Circle 171
Kansas State Reformatory Commission. . 166
Kansas State Sanitary Board 289
Kansas State School for Deaf, article on,
noted 228
Kansas State Sheriffs' Assn 172
Kansas State Silk Commission 277
Kansas State Sportsman's Assn 278
Kansas State Sunday School Assn., 170, 279
Kansas State Teachers Assn. 180, 290
Kansas State Temperance Union 272
Kansas State Veterinary Assn., 172, 180, 289
Kansas State Volunteer Firemen's
Assn 288
Kansas Teacher, The, Topeka, article
in, noted 604
— note on . . 604
GENERAL INDEX
627
Kansas territory, centennial
committee 382, 462
Kansas Turner Society 286
Kansas Wesleyan University, Salina. . . 176
Karnes, Rev. Harold R 70
Kassebaum, Beatrice, Topeka 159
Kassebaum, E. C 78
Katy Railroad and the Last Frontier,
The, book 379
— note on 304
Kearny, Col. Stephen W 6, 7
Kearny county 169, 275, 277
— county-seat election 281
— county-seat fight 280
— irrigation project 285
— peanut crop, 1886 178
Keffer, A. J 160
Kehler, Mrs. Lawrence 70
Keimfield 288
Keith, Walter S., article by, noted 229
Keller, A. E 178
Keller, Mrs. Erwin 71
Keller, Mrs. L. V 69, 382
Keller, Mrs. Pauline, donor 355
Kelley, Mrs. M 264
Kelley, M. C 294
Kelley, Robert S 474, 476
Kellogg, L. B . 294
Kelly, Sen. H. B 271, 294
Kelly, John 294
Kelly, Mrs. Samuel J., Olathe, donor. . 26
Kelly, W. D .174
Kelsey, Mayor S. H., Atchison 169
Kendall 177-179, 277, 283
Kennedy, Dr. T. A 384
Kenneth 174, 179
Kern, Henry, Palco 240
Kerndt, Charles I... . 171
Kerns, J. W 284
Kersey, Ralph T 160, 605
Ketcham, J. M 168
Kilfoil, John 326
Kilmer, Maggie 167
Kimball, C. A 70
Kimball, C. H. . . 294
Kimball, P. W '. 174
Kincaid 179
Kindekens, Peter 252
King, Lee 383
King, Louis P 295
King City 288
Kingman county, article on, noted 538
Kingman Leader-Courier, article in,
noted 460
Kingsley, H. E 171
Kinietz, W. Vernon 2
Kinsley, Edward 86 89
Kinsley 300, 604
— First National Bank 98, 99
Kinsley Daily Mercury 281
Kinsley Edwards County Leader . . . 88, 94
Kinsley Exchange Bank 98, 99
Kinsley Graphic 87, 88, 98, 105
— quoted 106
Kinsley Loan and Trust Company 99
Kinsley Mercury, anniversary edition,
T noted 604
Kinsy, Hunter 522
Kiowa 288
Kiowa county 168, 171
— Old Settlers Day party, officers
elected, 1951 69
Kiowa County Historical
Society 28, 69, 605
— officers elected, 1952 382
Kiowa County Pioneer Museum, officers
elected 605
Kirby, C. W 175
Kirk, Harold 231
Kirk, James E., biographical sketch
of, noted . 152
Kirk, L. K 294
Kirk, Lewis L., biographical sketch
of, noted 152
Kirkman, L. D. . . . 296
Kirtland, J. T 296
Kirwin Independent, quoted 244
Kittleman, Marley K 178
Klaine, W. B 173
Klet, Father 523
Knapp, Dallas W., Coffeyville 64, 376
Knapp, George S 79
Knapp, George W 296
Knight, 54
Knights of Labor 166
Knights of Pythias grand
lodge 171, 277, 279
Knights Templar grand com-
mandery 171, 279
Knott, B. W 168, 171
Knotts, I. V 247
Knowassen, Jussius 520
Knox, Mrs. Eva 70, 383
Kohler, Conrad 294
Kollmorgen, Walter M., articles by,
noted 68, 157
Koppel, Charles, artist 19
Kottich, Rev. 601
Kraft, Mayor Chris, Lawrence 384
Krohn, Rev. Philip 169
Krotzer, Sam 540
Ku Klux Klan 30
Kuska, Mrs. Joe, collection, article
on, noted 539
Labette county 284, 338
Labette County Old Settlers Associa-
tion, officers elected, 1953 605
Lacey, E. D 295
La Crosse 173, 282, 289
La Crosse Rush County News 380
Ladies of the G. A. R 278
La Fromboise, 513, 515
La Fromboise, Ambrose 521
La Fromboise, Claude, daughter of . . . 514
— son of 516
La Fromboise, Francis 509, 522
La Fromboise, Joseph 509
La Fromboise, Michael 517
La Fromboise, Theresa 521
Lakin 280, 281, 300
Lakin Eagle, quoted 66, 67
Lamb, C. J 241
Lamb, W. M 279
LaMont's Hill 288
Land Grant Railway & Trust Co.. 550, 551
Land Mortgage Company in the Early
Plains States, The, pamphlet, note
on 72
Landon, Alf M 351- 353
Landon, Luther D 69, 159
Landon, R. B 28
Lane, Prof. H. H 384
Lane, James H 418-420,422,581, 587
Lane county 172, 284
— claim jumpers 290
— first election 173
Langsdorf, Edgar 33, 356, 363
Langston, C. H 173
Lappin, Samuel 370, 549
La Ramie, Jacques 399
Laramie river 398
Larcom, Lucy 25
Larimore 288
Larned 177, 272, 278, 300
307,313,314, 319
— articles on, noted 456
Larned Daily Chronoscope 276
Lamed Tiller and Toiler, article in,
noted 456
— supplement published, note on 456
Larson, Lucile 384
628
GENERAL INDEX
Lasley, J. H 167
Latimer 288
Laurant, Capt. C. G 217
Law, Mrs. Lottie, article on, noted. . . . 154
Law and Order Society 283
Lawhead, J. H 173, 178, 292
Lawler, Hugh B 287
Lawless, John 258
Lawrence, Amos A 467, 476
— death of, noted 175
Lawrence, R. E 296
Lawrence 175, 273
— centennial committee, noted 382
—1862 129
—Free-State Hotel. .472,476-479,483, 596
ruins, sketch of facing 464
— old settler meetings 584
— Quantrill raid 589
— sack of, 1856, article on 465- 494
553- 597
— Walruff brewery 289
Lawrence Daily Journal-World,
microfilm copies given Historical
Society 29, 359
Lawrence Herald of Freedom, 465, 479, 487
Lawrence Historical Society, officers
elected, 1951 71
1952 384
Lawrence Kansas Free State 465, 476
Lawrence Kansas Tribune, quoted. . . . 378
Lawrence Kansas Weekly Tribune,
quoted 150, 151
Lawrence Western Home Journal 581
Lawrenson, R. E 262
Lawton, Keith 384
Lazely, 521
Lea, W. J 273
Leach, L. H 296
League of American Wheelmen 176
Leahy, D. D 172
Lease, Mary Ellen 31, 170
Leavenworth 180, 274-276, 283
284,297, 536
— census fraud 168
— 1862 129
— fire, 1887 '. . 281
Leavenworth and Pike's Peak
Express 255, 395
Leavenworth Commercial 555, 560
562-566,570, 571
Leavenworth Conservative 369, 371
418, 421
Leavenworth county 175
— covered bridge, article on, noted. . . 299
— criminal court 570
— orchard 281
Leavenworth Kansas Weekly Herald. . . 298
474-476, 489, 555, 556, 569
Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston
railroad 547, 549, 550
Leavenworth Old Settler Association. . . 584
Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western
Railroad Company 595
Leavenworth Times 273, 274, 281, 283
554, 556, 559-570, 579, 589
— microfilm copies given Historical
Society 29, 359
— quoted 532- 536
Leavenworth Weekly Herald, article
in 530- 532
Leavitt, Charlotte M., Topeka 30
— donor 357
Lebanon 540
Le Clerc, Peter 516- 518
Lecompte, Judge Samuel D., and the
"Sack of Lawrence," article by
James C. Malin 465-494, 553- 597
— photo of between 592, 593
Lecompton, article on, noted 538
Lecompton National Democrat,
microfilming of, noted 29
Lecompton Union 474, 477, 484
— microfilming of, noted 29
LeDuc, Thomas, note on 545
— "State Administration of the Land
Grant to Kansas for Internal Improve-
ments," article by 545- 552
Lee, Col. [Luke Lea?], Indian
agent 528, 529
Lee, Rev. George, articles by, noted. . . 459
Lee, James 323, 326
Lee, John 326
Lee, Lt. John A 202
Lee, Mary Cornelia, Manhattan, donor, 358
Lee, Milo M 166
Lee, W. H 173
Leeman, J. H 165
Legate, Sen. James F., Leavenworth. . 547
563,564,577, 589
Lehmer, G. G 177
Leis, Tracy F., Denison, Tex., donor. . . 28
Leisure, Oliver 174
Leland 288
LeLoup, article on, noted 157
Lenihan, William 308, 322, 323
325,331, 349
Lennen, O. L 375
Leo XIII, Pope 511
Leoti 180, 273-276, 288
Leoti Transcript 289
Lescher, William 246
Leslie, S. W 277, 293
Leslie 288
Lester, Hugh D., Wichita 160, 463
Lewis, Mrs. A. W., Galva, donor 358
Lewis, C 295
Lewis, Hiram W 170
Lewis, Meriwether 37
Lewis and Clark, explorers 13
Lewis and Rader, publishers 272
Lewis Academy 170
Lexington 179
Library of Congress 29, 598
Lieker, Rev. C. H 379
Lillard, T. M., Topeka. .24, 64, 71, 354, 363
365,375,377, 462
Lilleston, W. F., Wichita 64, 376
Lincoln, Abraham 369, 420, 580
— administration 417
— in Kansas, article on, noted 155
— in Leavenworth, articles on. . . .530- 536
Lincoln 267
Lincoln Sentinel-Republican, article in,
noted 601
Lincolnville St. John's Lutheran church,
article on, noted 379
Lind, Jenny 369
Lindquist, Dr. Emory K.,
Lindsborg 64, 375, 377
— address by, note on 72
— book by, note on 544
Lindsay, Lt. John G.. . .121, 122, 125, 187
Lindsborg, article on, noted 538
— community, history of, note on 544
— "Messiah, article on, noted 539
Lindsborg News 164
Lindsley, H. K., Wichita 64, 354
Lingenfelser, Rev. Angelus,
Atchison 63, 65, 375, 376
Lingenfelter, W. J 294
Lingo, Robert L 77, 78
Linn, Etta 171
Linn county, "Women's Rights,"
article on, noted 153
Lions club, Lawrence, donor 356
Lippard 179
Lister cultivator, invented by Daniel M.
Bourne, article on 183- 186
Little, Mrs. Neil, West Lafayette, Ind.,
donor 28
Little River 278
Little River Monitor 173
Litton, James 324, 328, 334
GENERAL INDEX
629
Litts, Henry 278
Livingston, Maj. T. R 214, 425
Lloyd, Ira E 294
Lockard, Frank M., article on, noted . . 303
Lodgepole creek 400, 401
Logan, J. Glenn 71
Logan, Gen. John A 173, 180, 274
Logan county 180, 274
— county-seat election 283, 289
— organization 284
Logan Republican 173
Logansport 283
London Chronicle, quoted 273
Long, Huey 353
Long, John 452, 453
Long, John G 171
Long, Jonathan G 290
Long, Richard M., Wichita 63, 65
376, 382
Long, Maj. Stephen 37
Long, Vivian Aten, article by, noted. . 457
Loring, Capt. H. G 423
Lorraine First Baptist church, article
on, noted 601
Louden and Freeman, Ness City 239
Louisiana, state lottery 173
Louisville, pictures of, noted 26
Louisville Pottawatomie Gazette 30
Louisville Reporter 568
Lovelette, Lt. A. T 202
Loveweil, Margaret Sawyer, article by,
noted 538
Loveweil, Paul 71
— article by, noted 155
Lovitt and Sturman, Salina 240
Lowe, J. G 246
Lowe, P. G 294
Loyal Legion 281
Lucas, Rev. S. B 301
Lucas 179, 288
— "Garden of Eden," article on, noted, 458
Lucifer, the Light Bearer 274
Luckey, Msgr. A. J 260, 269
Lum. Rev. S. Y 606
Lundrigan, John 264
Luray, articles on, noted 379
Luray Herald, special edition, note on, 379
Lybarger, R. S 295
Lykins, Rev. Johnston 360, 519, 525
Lyndon 273
— article on, noted 538
Lyndon Peoples Herald, article in,
noted 538
Lyon, Mrs. Lillian, Coldwater 70
Lyon, Brig. Gen. Nathaniel. .110,115- 118
— death of 119
Lyon county, courthouse, article on,
noted 458, 459
Lyon County Historical Museum 543
Lyon County Historical Society 375
— meeting, note on 304
— officers elected, 1952 384
Lyons, E. L 178
Lyons, Ida 384
Lyon's creek 261
M
295
288
McAfee, J. B
McAllister
McArthur, Mrs. Vernon E.,
Hutchinson 63, 65, 376
McBride, Alexander 326
McBride, John 326
McCall, James 296
McCall, N. K 164
McCall, S. W 180
McCammon, G. W 295
McCampbell, Dr. C. W 69, 383, 544
McCanse, Robert 308, 315, 317, 604
McCarter, Margaret Hill 229
McCarthy, Timothy J 173, 178, 292
McCasland, Mrs. Charles 69, 383
McClain, James 179
McClanahan, Jerome B 175
McCleary, Patrick 326
McClellan, D. G 173
McClellan, E. S 282
McClellan, Capt. George B 11, 18
McClintock, G. W 166
McClung, G. W., Westminster, Md.,
letter by, noted 157
McClure, Arnold, article by, noted. ... 158
McClure, W. E 174
McClure and Wright, Junction City . . . 286
McClurg's, publisher, Chicago 173
McComas family 173
McConnell, Samuel 167
McCoy, Isaac 360
McCracken 288
McCrea, Cole 554-559, 561, 562
564,567, 583
McCreath, Mrs. David, Lawrence. . .72, 461
McCrum, Mrs. Douglas,
Fort Scott 159, 461
McCulloch, Brig. Gen. Ben 110, 117
McCune, railroad, article on, noted .... 303
McCune Herald, article in, noted. .... 303
McDaniel, Eugene 174
McDermott, John Francis 154, 304
McDonald, 513, 515
McDonald, Father Cuthbert, Atchison. . 462
McDonald, Mr. and Mrs. John 451
McDonald, John W 246, 250
McDonald, 1st Lt. Robert 299
McDonald Standard, article in, noted. . 602
McDonnell, Delia Mavity, article by,
noted 603
McDonnell, Thomas 524
McDowell, C. O 294
McDowell's creek 258, 260
McElroy, G. M., Oberlin 240
McEwen, Owen C., Wichita 463, 543
McFadden, S. S 292
McFarland, Helen M 33, 63, 65, 71
363, 376
— additions to Historical Society library,
compiled by 134-149, 430- 449
McFarland, N. C 236, 242, 247
McFarland, R. J 330, 347
Mcferran, William, Jr., articles by,
noted 456
McFurson, Laury 257
McGaffigan, John 334, 337
McGill, George 27
McGrath, Ellen 261, 264
McGregor, R. P 295
McGuin, John 275
Mclntosh, Lt. James 472
Mclntosh, Ruby 463
Mackay, Col. Aeneas 393,394,397, 415
McKay, Mrs. James B., El Dorado 461
Mackay, Thomas 398
McKay, W. W 168
McKibben, T. J 164
MacKinley, William 0 169
McKinney, 215
McKinney, S. F 240
McKnight, R. P 284
Macksville, article on, noted 603
Macksville Enterprise, article in,
noted 603
McLaughlin, E. D., letter by 497- 500
— note on 497
McLean, Milton R 24
— memorial to 61, 62
McLellan, Charlotte 71
McNeal, Don, Council Grove 462
McNeal, T. A 30, 296, 345
McNeil, Brig. Gen. John 216- 218
McNown, Prof. W. C 80
McPherson county 167
630
GENERAL INDEX
McPherson Daily Freeman 271
McPherson Daily Republican 273
McReynolds, John W., Manhattan,
donor 359
McTaggart, D 295
McWhirter, Nolan,
Goodwell, Okla 70, 71
Maes, Rev. Ignatius, S. J 263, 523
Magaw, Charles A., article by, noted. . 155
Magoffin, Susan 6
Maguire, Bernard R 326, 331
Maguire, Charles ..323,326-328,331, 333
Maguire, Ellen 323, 329, 331, 335
Maguire, Henry 326, 331, 333, 342
Maguire, Henry, Jr 331
Maguire family 322, 324, 325
330,331, 335
Mahan, Dr. Ernest 70, 383
Mahannah, Mrs. J. E 461
Main, Mildred Miles, article on, noted . . 602
Malin, James C., Lawrence .... 64, 82, 87
161, 183, 233, 234, 376
— article by, noted 32
— "Aspects of the Nebraska Question,
1852-1854," article by 385- 391
— "Judge Lecompte and the 'Sack of
Lawrence,' May 21, 1856," article
by 465-494, 553- 597
— notes on 385, 465, 553
Mallon family 261
Malone, James, Topeka 63, 65, 375, 376
Maloney, James 262
Maloney, Patrick 261
Maloy, John, article by, noted 168
Manhattan 187, 255, 350
— museum, article on, noted 601
Manhattan Mercury-Chronicle, article
in, noted 601
— special editions, noted 459, 542
Manhattan Nationalist 569
Mankato Advocate 107
Mann, Horace 373
Manning, Sen. E. C 547
Manning, M. J 167
Marais des Cygnes river, flood,
1844 73- 81
Marcy, William L 480
Mariadahl Swedish Lutheran church,
article on, noted 602
Marilley, Rt. Rev. Stephen 501
Marion county 173
Maris, Myra, article by, noted 303
Marlatt, Mrs. F. A 383
Marlow, James E 281
Marmaduke, Gen. John S., C. S. A 108
201,205, 427
— Gov. of Missouri 168
Maroney, Edward 326, 333, 342
Maroney, John 326, 343, 348
Marque, Frank, biographical sketch,
noted 380
Marquette, Father James, map, note on, 450
Marshall, F. J., articles on, noted 458
Marshall, T. L 294
Marshall 179
Marshall county, Antioch school, article
on, noted 228
— Indian Mission school, article on,
noted 158
— Life school. District 10, article on,
noted 602
Martin, Ed 241
Martin, George W 370, 588
Martin, Glenn L 30
Martin, J. C 167
Martin, J. W 295
Martin, John 588
Martin, Gov. John A 62, 164-168, 170
173,177-180,271, 273
277,280,286,287, 292
Martin, Mrs. Oella Ingraham, article by,
noted 152
Marysville 279
— letter on, noted 230
Marysville Advocate, articles in, noted, 602
— letters published in, noted 458
Marysville Marshall County News 230
— articles in, noted 158, 458
Mason, C. B 338- 340
Mason, James, family 264
Mason, Walt 229
Mason, Wilbur N., Kansas City, Mo.,
donor 28
Masons, Ancient, Free and Accepted, of
Kansas 166, 274
— Royal Arch, and the Royal and Se-
lect Masters, of Kansas 166, 274
Massey, Mrs. J. U., Pittsburg 159, 461
Masterson, V. V 379
— book by, note on 304
Masterson, William B. "Bat" 168
Matanzas 288
Mathevon, Mother Lucille 50H
Mathews, John 157
Matlock, T. J 296
Mattes, Merrill J., "Fort Laramie to
Fort Leavenworth Via Republican
River in 1849," edited by 392- 416
Matthews, Capt. Austin W 128
Mattingly, Rev. Romanus 264
Maud 179
Mauer, Gust 239
Maurer, John D 295
Maxey, Gen. Samuel B., C. S. A 427
Maxson, P. B 549, 550
Maxwell, Frank W 602
Maxwell, Percy G., letter, noted 230
May, W. T. S 246, 249
Mayhew, Mrs. Patricia Solander,
Topeka 64, 376
Mayo, Charles 174
Mays 179
Maze, Iva, article by, noted 227
Mazella, Andrew 508, 516
Mazzini, Giuseppe 514
Mead, S. G 273
Meade county 165
— first election 163, 164
Means, Hugh, Lawrence 64, 375, 377
Mechem, Kirke 63, 65, 363, 368, 376
— introduction to "Annals of Kansas:
1886" 161- 163
— note on 161
— resignation as secretary of Historical
Society, noted 354
— review of years as secretary of
Historical Society, noted 60, 61
— secretary's report on Historical
Society, 1950-1951 24- 33
Medicine creek 406
Medicine Lodge Barber County Index,
Indian peace treaty edition, note on, 380
Medora 288
Meeker, Ezra, article on, noted 602
Meeker, Jotham 31, 75
Memphis 179
Mencer, Lt. John M 210
Mende, A. C 247
Menger, Mrs. L. H 71, 384
Menninger, E. A., Stuart, Fla., donor. . 30
Menninger, Dr. Karl, Topeka, donor. . 358
Mennonites 360
— pioneers, marker commemorating,
note on 463
Meridith, Fletcher 278
Merrill, Mary E 288
Merrill, N. C 347
Merrill, Stephen 599
— photo courtesy of facing 598
Merstetter, Frank S 167
GENERAL INDEX
631
Methodist Episcopal Church 284
— Assembly, 1886, Lawrence 173
— Kansas Conference 168, 276
— mission at Council Grove 41
— Northwest Kansas Conference. . 168, 277
— South Kansas Conference 167, 275
— Southwest Kansas Conference 276
— West German Conference 283
Methodist Episcopal Church South,
Western Annual Conference 285
Metzler, Bette Jan, article by, noted. . 155
Mexican education, political implica-
tions, talk on, noted 543
Meyer, Mrs. Bruno 382, 605
Meyer, Mrs. Harry 384
Meyers, Mrs. A. M 69
Meyers, Cpl. Michael 128
Meyers, William . 326
Michler, Lt. Nathaniel 21, 23
Mid-Lothian 179
Midway 288
Mid-West Truckman, The, article in,
noted 302
"Midwestern Attitudes on the 'Kansas *
Fever,' " edited by Philip D.
Uzee 495- 500
Miege, John Baptist, S. J 253, 258, 266
503,514, 523
Miles, George 502
Miles, Laban J., Indian agent 55
Millard, H. L 296
Millbrook, Minnie Dubbs, "Dr. Sam-
uel Grant Rodgers, Gentleman From
Ness," article by 305- 349
— note on 305
Millbrook 283
Miller, Charles . 239
Miller, Claude 324
Miller, George 382
Miller, J. D 296
Miller, Judge Karl, Dodge City. . . 64, 376
383, 384
Miller, Larry, Topeka 462
Miller, Mrs. Leonard 232
Miller, Nyle H 33, 35, 69, 71
232,382, 606
—addresses by, noted 70, 71, 304, 543
— elected secretary of Historical
Society 64
— secretary's report on Historical So-
ciety, 1951-1952 354- 363
Miller, O. L 277, 293
Miller, Robert H 474
Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Roy E., museum,
article on, noted 539
Miller, Sol 294, 553, 568, 573- 575
579, 580
Miller, William . 295
Milligan, William McK 296
Mills, Alex . 330
Mills, Mrs. Edith M 384
Millsap, Clifford R 70
Miner, Paul V., articles by, noted . . 227, 457
Minneapolis Messenger 301
—Quoted 226, 455
Minneola Record, article in, noted . . . 539
Missouri and Kansas Telephone Co. . 282
Missouri Compromise . . . 385, 386, 388, 389
Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad. 44, 48
550, 551
Missouri Pacific railroad 172, 174, 176
180,272-274,279- 282
286, 289
—strike 167- 170
Missouri river bridge, Leavenworth. . . 175
Missouri River, Fort Scott & Gulf
railroad 547
Missouri Valley Turner Society . . .280, 286
Mr. Desmond, U. S. A., publication of,
noted 173
Mitchell, Lt. P. B. . . . 202
Mitchell, Robert B 112, 115, 119
127- 129
Mitchell county 281
Mitscher, Oscar A., Indian agent 58
Moberley, F. H., Wilmore 70, 384
Mobley, Richard D 549, 551, 552
Modoc club 174
Moffitt, John T 167
Moletor, Beulah 232
Monrovia 360
Montezuma 171
Montgomery, James 419
Montgomery, R. H 605
Montgomery, W. H., Salina 376
Montgomery, W. J. A 174, 241
Moody, Joel 294
Moody, Price 164
Moonlight, Thomas 174, 178, 271
Moonlight Boy, A, publication of,
noted 173
Moore, Adelaide .163
Moore, Capt. Amaziah 128, 195, 211
Moore, Mrs. C. A 384
Moore, F. M 452
Moore, Lt. H. L 189, 200, 203
Moore, H. Miles 555-558, 561, 562
566,584,589, 597
Moore, Lilburn 180
Moore, R. R 292
Moore, Russell, Wichita 64, 376
Moore, William T 69, 383
Moran, J. P., article by, noted 158
More, W. L 374
Morgan, Margaret 70
Morgan, Ray, article by, noted 381
Morphy, Merlin 69, 159
MorriU, Rep. Edmund N., Hiawatha. . 173
293
MorriU, John, Hixton, Wis 28
Morris, C. A 241
Morris, George 326
Morris, R. B 281
Morris, Warren 384
Morris county, article on, noted 168
Morrison, Charles, Hillside 238
Morrison, Mrs. Dora H 69, 159
Morrison, J. H 295
Morrow, Dr. G. M 360
Morrow, Marco, Topeka, donor 358
Morse, J. Hudson 295
Morse, Theodore W., Mound City,
donor 28
Morton, F. R 295
Morton, Warren P., Coldwater. . . .70, 384
Morton City, articles on, noted 68
Morton county 166, 179, 273
Moses, A., vs. J. B. Brown 245
Moses, Mrs. E. R., Sr., Great Bend. . . . 159
Moses, Mrs. Earl C., Great Bend 461
Moses, Mrs. H. N., Salina 462
Mosher, Orville Watson 375, 384
Mosier, Lee 287
Motz, Frank, Hays 376
Motz, Simeon 316
Mound City Republic, article in, noted, 153
Moundridge 288
Mount Jesus, article on, noted. . 68
Mowry, Andrew J 327, 328, 330
337,339, 340
Mudge, Miss . 300
Mueller, Carl 274
Mueller, Harrie S., Wichita 63, 65
156, 376
Mule creek 288
Mullan, Lt. John 20
Mullen, Hugh L 163
Mullen, Capt. John 269, 270
Mullinville, newspapers, article on,
noted 601
Mullinville Mallet 601
Mullinville News, article in, noted .... 601
Mulvane, 352
Mulvane, Joab, house, article on, noted, 456
Mulvane, John R 274
Munger, Ed C 452, 454
632
GENERAL INDEX
Munn & Company, New York,
publishers 184
Murdick, Holla F., article by, noted. . . 153
Murdock, Rev. Daniel A 158
Murdock, M. M. 62
Murphy, Franklin D., Lawrence 376
— address by, noted 71
Murphy, William 177
Murray, John A 296
Murray, John F 168, 171, 296
Murray, William H., Okla 353
Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation, New York City 4
Myers, Cpl. [Michael Meyers] 128
Myers, Judge A. J., article by, noted. . 540
Myers, Charles 326
Myers, Mrs. Fred, donor 359
Myers, Henry 326
Myers, L. K 540
Myers, Newton, article by, noted 156
Myers, Thomas 327
Myton, H. P 296
N
Wadau, Mrs. , sons of . . . .516, 517
Nadau, Hilary 522, 523, 529
Naftzer, M. G 463
Nagle, Rev. Patrick J 155
Naomi 179
Napier, J. L., Newton 358
Nasby 288
Nash, John 264
Nast, Thomas 288
National Archives 392, 417, 598
National cemetery, Leavenworth 171
National Geographic Magazine, The,
Washington, D. C., article in, noted . . 158
National Loan and Trust Co., Topeka. . 97
National Society of Daughters of
Founders and Patriots of America,
donor 355
Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas,
annual meeting, 1952, note on. . .71, 72
1953, note on 461
Natoma, articles on, noted 459
Natoma Independent, articles in, noted, 459
Natural bridge, Barber county, article
on, noted 539
Nebraska, territorial legislature, 1857. . 594
Nebraska question, 1852-1854, article
on 385, 391
Neckelman, Elizabeth 259
Neckelman, Toby 259
Neese, Georgia 30
Negro exodus from the South, 1870's. . 495
Negro Knights Templar 174
Negro soldiers in Civil War, article
on 417- 429
Nelley, G. W 174
Nellis, D. C 326^329, 333
Nelson, D. J., article by, noted 603
Nelson, J. A 246
Nelson, M. A 168
Nelson, Oliver, reminiscences, book,
note on 464
Nemaha county 170
— freighting, article on, noted 302
— schools, article on, noted 302
Neosho Falls Woodson County Post . . . 569
Nesbit, Bill, article by, noted. . . 603
Ness, Cpl. Noah V 108
Ness county 284, 360
— organization, 1873, 1874 305, 349
Ness County Historical Society 375
—officers elected, 1952 159
Ness County Teachers' Association. . . 323
Neufeldt, Cornelius 380
Nevins, Allan, Columbia University . . . 236
New Elgin . 288
New England Emigrant Aid Co. . . 175, 465
467,468,475-479, 596
New Kiowa 288
New Orleans Weekly Louisianian 495
— letters published in 496- 500
New York, "Marine Register" 598
New York Citizens' Bicycling Club .... 274
New York Express 387
— quoted 386
New York Herald 559
New York Times 420, 559, 598
New York Times Magazine, article in,
noted 152
New York Tribune. .469,473,480-485, 490
— quoted 11
Newcastle 179
Newlin, John 232
Newport 288
Newton 300
— anti-dude club 169
— streetcars 282
Newton Daily Republican 282, 285
Newton Harvey County News, micro-
filming of 358
Newton Kansan 300
—quoted 224, 452, 536, 600
— microfilming of 358
Newton Milling and Elevator Co 164
Neye, F. W 308, 315
Nichols, Mrs. 298
Nichols, H. F 175
Nicholson, M. B 293
Nicodemus 278, 282
— note on 171
Nicodemus Western Cyclone 171
Niles 288
Nilesville 288
Noguez, Alexandre, letter to 497- 500
Nonchalanta 288
Non-Partisan league 30
Norris, Guy, Garden City 462
Norris, Pvt. John 122
North American Knights of Labor, state
assembly 176
North American Review, articles in,
noted 170
Northeast Kansas Historical Society,
officers elected, 1952. . . .159
1953 461
Northern Kansas railroad. . . .547,549, 550
Norton, C. A 296
Norton, Gus S., Kalvesta 64, 160, 375
377,462, 605
Norton, Minnie 382
Norton, William 258
Norton county 515, 336
— organization 310
— wolves 271
Nortonville, Seventh Day Baptist settle-
ment, article on, noted 303
Nugent, Sgt. Henry 121, 122, 128, 208
Nulton, William, Pittsburg 71
Numbers, Mrs. D wight, Paola 159
Nunemacher, Mrs. V/. R 383
Nutt, Katherine F.. Fort Hays Kansas
State College, talk by, noted . . . 543
Nyack 288
Nyce, 301
Nye, Capt. 318
Nye, Bill, quoted 272
Nye, Cpl. Ephraim 128
Oakes, Col. James 331
Oakley, fossil exhibit, article on,
noted 602
Oberlin 169, 540
— land office 281
Obrecht, R. C., article by, noted 538
O'Connell, Wayne A., articles by,
noted . ..152. i£P 1 *f* 1*1 OOQ 45ft
GENERAL INDEX
O'Connor, Arthur 287
O'Connor, Mother Basile 506
O'Connor, Mother Mary Anne 506
O'Daniel, W. Lee, Texas 353
O'Day, Tom 261, 262
O'Donel, Patrick 326
O'Donnell, Huey 257
Oesterreich, B. H., Woodbine 70, 383
Offerle, Harry 232
Offerle, article on, noted 68
Ogden, Maj. E. A 258
Ogden 258, 261, 262
Oil show, Russell, note on 606
O'Keef e, Mrs. Mary 266
Oklahoma territory 273
Oklahoma War Chief, microfilming of,
noted 29
Olathe 281
— Quantrill's raid, article on, noted. . . 603
Olathe Johnson County Democrat,
articles in, noted 158, 228
Olathe Mirror, quoted 378, 536
Olathe News Letter .568
Olcurt 288
Oleomargine 271
Olinger, J. H 605
Oliver, Mordecai 468
Olney, Corydon C 28, 172
Olpe 288
Olson. A. J 69, 159
Omaha, Abilene and Wichita railroad. . 170
O'Meara, Rev. J. J 507
O'Meara, M. J 296
Onion, Charles, Fort Hays Kansas State
College 231, 543
Opdycke, Mrs. H. A., article by,
noted 381
Orcutt community, article on, noted. . 542
Order of the Eastern Star 167, 276
Oregon trail, article on, noted 302
Oronoque 179
Osage ceded tracts, Neosho & Labette
counties 360
Osage City 166, 273
Osage county 297
— druggists 176
Osage Indian Mission 190
Osage Mission Daily Transcript, given
Historical Society 359
Osawatomie, old settler organization. . 584
— Old Stone Church 463
Osawatomie Historical Society, officers
elected, 1953 463
Osborn, Stephen J 166. 293
Osborn, Gov. Thomas A.. . . .165,271, 310
312,327,346,348, 552
Osborne, Katie 109
Osborne, Vincent B 362
— biographical sketch, noted 538
— Civil War experiences 108- 133
187- 223
Osborne 283
Osborne Western Odd Fellow 169
Oskaloosa Independent 569, 570. 580
Oswego, cemeteries, article on,
noted 229
— first house, article on, noted 157
Oswego Democrat, articles in,
noted 157, 229. 456
Oswego Independent, articles in
noted 152, 153, 157, 229
O'Toole, John 326
Ott and Tewkesbury, Topeka 89, 90
Ottawa 278
Ottawa county 172
Ottawa Journal 285, 569
Ottawa Republican 285
Ottawa University 291
Our Messenger, Topeka 165
Overland Park Johnson County Herald,
articles in, noted 302
Owen, Arthur K., Topeka 64,375, 377
Owen, Mrs. E. M., Lawrence 64, 71
375, 377
Owen, Jennie S. . . 30, 33, 161, 359, 363, 368
Owen, Col. S. C 5, 6
Ozark 179
Pacific railroad, reports, article on ... 1- 23
Padilla, Father Juan, article on, noted, 381
Pafford, Mrs. R. L 269
Page, Euphemia, article by, noted. . . . 538
Pall Mall Gazette, quoted 273
Palmer, Dr. Eben 31
Palmer, F. R., Topeka, donor 31
Palmer, F. S 178
Pancoast, John L 176, 296
Pantle, Alberta, article by, noted 32
Paola 168, 169, 281, 285
— land adjoining, leased 172
— library 172
Paola Spirit 559, 56"
Papin, , sons of 528
Papin, Auguste 256
Papin, Helen 256, 528
Papin, Henry . 257
Papin, Louis 256, 257
Papin, Suzanne 257
Pappan, Achan 53
Park, George, article on, noted 457
Parke, Lt. John G 1
Parker, Albert R., Wichita University,
talk by, noted 543
Parker, Mrs. Cora 383
Parker, May L 178
Parker, Theodore 373
Parkes, 45
Parkhurst, V. R 78
Parkin, Herbert 382, 605
Parkin, Robert 69
Parkman, Francis 393, 399
Parks, Dr. 398, 409
Parnham, J. P., Lawrence 169
Parr, Dick, article on, noted 155
Parsons, Mrs. Ben 70
Parsons, Levi 551
Parsons, Gen. Mosby M., C. S. A 205
Parsons 277
Parsons and Pacific railroad 175, 272
Partridge 179
Patee, Dr. Eliphalet L.. .115, 121, 123- 125
187,214, 215
Pathfinder magazine, Philadelphia,
article in, noted 540
Patrick, Mrs. Mae C., Satanta . . 64, 375, 377
Patten, H. H 168, 171
Patterson, Jennie 167
Patterson, Mrs. Marguerite. . . 160
Paul, J. K 167
Paul, William 223
Pawnee county 328, 336, 338, 345, 346
— articles on, noted 456
— boundaries before and after 1873,
sketch 320
— organization, 1873 305- 321
Pawnee County Historical Society,
annual pioneer reunion, note on .... 383
Pawnee Valley and Denver railroad . . 171
Payne, Albert L 204, 209, 214, 215
Payne, David L., article on, noted. . . . 227
Payne, Mrs. L. F., Manhattan. .64,375, 377
Payne, W. W 171
Peabody 278
Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass 598
Peach, Harry E., article by, noted. .458, 459
Peacock, Thomas Brewer 289
Peak, Mr. and Mrs. Mathew 260
Peak, Rose 260
Peak family 259
Pearce, Frank T 172
Pearce, Sen. James A 492, 553
634
GENERAL INDEX
Pearson, Charles G., article by, noted. . 156
Peck, P. F. W 550
Peckham, David 327
Peckham, Nelson, family 327, 334
Peete, Mrs. Effie 463
Pejepscot Historical Society, Brunswick,
Maine 599
Pekari, Father Matthew, article by,
noted 152
Pelletier, Ezechiel 509, 513, 516
Pembina settlers, description of 14
Pennell, J. J., photograph collection .... 374
Penny, E. W . 178
Penny, M. N 71, 384
Perigora, , sons of 528
Perkins, Bishop W 248
Perkins, R. W 293
Perry, Rev. J. T 39
Perry, O. H 326, 327
Perry, W. C 238-240, 243, 245- 247
250,251, 292
Peters, Judge Lorin T., note on 306
Peters, S. R.
Peters, T. J
Peters, W. P., vs. George Spaulding.
293
308
247
Petersburg . ' T .30*7, 309,^317, 319
Peterson, Claude L 605
Peterson, Mrs. E. G . 232
Petillon, W. F 174
Fetter, Mrs. J 262
Pfiefer 288
Pfuetze, Carl 383, 601
Phelps, John S., Mo. . . . . 486, 487
Phester, V 262
Philadelphia Times 289
Philip, George, donor 358
Philip, Mrs. W. D., Hays . . 63-65, 363, 376
— donor 358
Philippine Islands 594
Phillips, Edwin M 171
Phillips, James 167
Phillips, Wendell 373
Phillips, William A 214, 423, 480, 557
558,562, 567
— Conquest of Kansas 473
Phillips county 278, 338
Phillipsburg, Phillips County Review,
special edition, note on 542
Phinney, N. C 284
Pickler, R. M 294
"Pictorial Record of the Old West, XV.
John M. Stanley and the Pacific
Railroad Reports," article by Robert
Taft 1- 23
— published in book form, note on. ... 464
Pierce, Pres. Franklin B. . . 10, 450, 480, 483
574,593, 594
— administration 486
Pierson, Mrs. Ray, Burlington 71, 461
Pierson, W. M., vs. Caroline E.
Critchfield 245
Pike, Zebulon M 392, 409
Pike 288
Pilkenton, W. H 246
Pinchback, Pinckney Benton Stewart. . . 495
Piper, Mrs. Alma 605
Pitt, John E 390
Pitts, Zazu 30
Pittsburg 282
— article on, noted 538
— druggists 283
— zinc workers, strike 170
Pittsburg Daily Headlight 281
— articles in, noted 538
Pittsburg Sun, articles in, noted. . .230, 538
Pius IX, Pope 511, 514
Plainville 283
PlainviUe Times 165
Platte river 401-403, 414
Pliny 179
Plover . . 170
Plumb, Mrs. Laura 605
Plumb, Preston B 54, 62, 248 273
—quoted 247
Plumer, Mrs. Mabel, Downs 28
Poe, D. W 295
Poems of the Plains 289
Police Gazette 171
Polk, Pres. James 393
Polk, Wayne W., Sidney, Iowa, donor . . 28
Pollard, H. Rives 474
Pollinger, J. V 295
Pomeroy, J. M 127
Pomeroy, J. P 286
Pomeroy, S. C 481
Pony Express, articles on, noted. . .381, 457
Ponziglione, Rev. Paul 258
Pope, Capt. John 1
Port Royal (S. C.) New South, given
Historical Society 359
Porterfield, C. W., Holton 71, 461
Post office oak, Council Grove, article
on, noted 539
Pottawatomie county 170
— article on, noted 164
Pottawatomie Indian Mission, St. Marys,
chapel, photo facing 512
diary of Father Maurice
Gailland 501- 529
Pottawatomie Indian school, Baptist. . . 519
Pottawatomie massacre, 1856 470
Potter, M. L 295
Poulson, Thomas 174
Powers, John 263
Powers, Tom L 279
Poynter, Mrs. Jane Wilder 374
Prairie Dog creek 407
Prather, Ed 68
Pratt, Abraham 603
Pratt, C. N 307, 308
Pratt, G. C 282
Pratt, H. C 22
Pratt, John 126, 127
Pratt, Louis K 293
Pratt 179
Pratt county, county-seat election. .180, 287
— county-seat fight 164, 165, 167
Pratt Daily Tribune, article in, noted. . 458
Prell, Fred J 602
— article by, noted 602
Prentice, Mrs. T. D 384
Prentis, Noble L. 62, 165
Presbyterian church, Synod of
Kansas 177, 285
Prescott, Clarence 279
Preston 288
Price, Fay 200
Price, Francis C 296
Price, Gen. Sterling, C. S. A. . . 110, 111, 428
Prichard, Mrs. J. R 463
Prohibition party, state convention,
1886 173
Proslavery party 466, 470
Protestant Episcopal Church 276
— Diocese of Kansas 180, 288
Prucha, Francis Paul, book by,
note on 464
Puerto Rico 594
Purcell 288
Purdyville, article on, noted 227
Purple, Sam, hanged 178
Quantrill, William C., attempt to cap-
ture 127, 128
— raids, claims resulting from 281
Lawrence 589
Olathe, article on, noted 603
Queen of Cowtowns — Dodge City,
book, note on 72
Quick, Will H 280
Quin, Sgt. Hugh 128
GENERAL INDEX
635
Quinter Church of the Brethren, article
on, noted • • • 15t>
Quinter Gove County Advocate, article
in, noted 158
R
Rabb, Capt. John W., Ind 190, 201
Rabbits J63
Radical City 288
Raffington, Mrs. Mabel C.,
Ness City 159, 306
Rafter, Case Broderick, Washington,
D. C., donor 28
Ragland, A. T 174
Railroads, bonds 179
RafnT^Ge^ James ' S.'. '. '. '. '. '. '. 110, 111', 194
Ramsey, Sheriff Alexander 334- 336
— article on, noted 602
Randall, Paul 69, 383
Randolph, A. M. F 292, 552
Range wars, article on, noted » 379
Rankin, Robert C., Lawrence ... 24, 63, 65
354,365,375, 376
Rapid Transit Co 276
Rath, 454
Rathbun, Mrs. George, Manhattan .... 4
SSSSr*"..-. .Y.Y.Y.Y. '179, 282, 11?
— articles on, noted 456, 540
Ravelli, Father Anthony, S. J
Raymond, Lyman 175, 177
Raymond 300
Raynesford, H. C., Ellis 64, 376
Read, Gladwin A., note on 598
— "The Missing Immigrant Ship,"
article by 598, 599
Read, Lathrop B., Jr 71, 384
Ream, S. E 295
Red Willow creek 405
Redden, A. L 277, 293, 294
Redfield, Dr. John S 222, 223
Redmond, B. P., biographical sketch of,
noted 152
Redmond, John, Burlington 64, 376
Redsell, 318
Reeble, Rudolph 539
Reed, Charles S 174
Reed, Clyde M 31
— pictures of, given Historical Society. . 356
Reed, Grace Moody, article by, noted . . 542
Reed, M. B 163
Reed, Walter W., article by, noted 154
Reeder, Andrew 468, 469, 472
475,477, 491
Rees, G. E 251
Reeve, C. L 160, 462, 605
Reformed Church, Synod of the
Interior 286
Regan, Patrick 506, 516, 523, 525
Regier, Peter 380
Reichelderf er, F. W .232
Reid, 582
Reitz, Nick 295
Reminiscences of Early Days, publica-
tion of, noted 172
Reno Centre 179
Reno county 173, 175, 316, 338
Repp, Vincent 259
Republican party 466, 467, 472, 485
— anti-saloon campaign 283
— state convention, 1886 173
Republican river, bridge, article on,
noted 541
— exploration, 1849, report on. . . .392- 416
— ferries, 1870's, article on, noted 541
— Fort Laramie to Fort Leavenworth,
route in 1849, map facing 400
table of distances 416
Reynolds, C. W 239
Reynolds, George W 171
Reynolds, John N 282, 286
Reynolds, Maj. Gen. Joseph J 220
Rhodes, T. F 295
Rice, Emily S 167
Rice, Harvey D., reminiscences of,
noted 155
Rice, Mrs. Margaret L 605
— article by, noted 457
Rice, Merton, memorial, article on,
noted 154
Rich, Everett 353
— article by, noted 228
Richards, Stanley B 70
Richards, Walter M., Emporia 375, 377
— and Bliss Isely, book by, note on .... 606
Richardson, Albert D 490, 567
— quoted 255
Richardson, Maria 521
Richardson, Mrs. Myrtle 232
Richardson, Thomas J 239, 240, 245, 251
Richey and Topliff, publishers 169
Richfield 179, 273
Richissan, Maria 521
Richmond, Robert W 356
Richter, Harry 43
Riddle, A. P 165, 173, 178, 292
Ridenour, A. P 175
Riegle, Wilford, Emporia. . .24, 35, 61, 63
64,354,365,375, 377
Riley, Maj. Bennet 232
Riley, Saul, article on, noted 227
Riley County Historical Associa-
tion 544, 601
— officers elected, 1951 69, 70
1952 383
Rinehart, G. F 169
Riner, Mrs. Nellie, Protection 70
Riordan, Bridget 266
Riordan, Dennis 266
Riordan, John 266
Riordan, Mrs. Margaret 265
Riordan, Mary 266
Riordan, Patrick 264, 266
Riordan, Thomas 266
Riordan, Timothy 266
Ritchie, Dr. A. J 214
Ritchie, Col. John 189, 192, 583, 584
— article on, noted 227
— death of, noted 283
Ritchie 288
Ritter, John N 294
River Brethren Church 280
Rizer, H. C 292
Rizer, R. 0 262
Roache, Msgr. C. J 262
Road to Santa Fe, The, book, note on . . 463
Robbins, E. R., Vermont 97, 100
Roberts, Capt. Benjamin S 393
Roberts, L. W 382
Robertson, Mrs. Clyde, Boulder, Colo.,
donor 360
Robertson, John 169, 174
Robertson, Mrs. Walter M., Oklahoma
City, donor 27
Robinson, Charles . . 130, 165, 271, 419, 465
467,468,474,478, 482
485,487,490,565,581- 587
—house 477, 483
Robinson, E. W., San Antonio, Tex.. . . 23
Robinson, Frank 179
Robinson, Sara T. D 586, 588
— Kansas: Its Interior and Exterior
Life 473
— sketch from photo taken by. . .facing 464
noted facing 465
Robison, Edna 159
Robison, J. W 287
Robison, T. J 173
Roche, Maurice 173
Rochester (N. Y.) Express 369
Rock Creek 258, 259
— see, also, Flush.
636
GENERAL INDEX
Rodd, Alexander 525
Rodd, David 525
Rodgers, John 153
Rodgers, John M 326, 327
Rodgers, Dr. Samuel Grant, article
on 305- 349
Rodkey, Clyde K., Manhattan 64, 376
Roes, John 252
Roetzel, H. J 296
Rogers, Charles (Buddy) 30
Rogers, J. N 295
Rogers, Richard 383
Rogers 179
Rogler, Henry, Matfield Green 382
Rohrer, E. E 164
Rohrer, Mrs. Ed 383
Roland, Marie 597
Rome [Kan.], article on, noted 379
Romine, Sgt. Ezra 128, 190
Rooks, Pvt. John C 108
Rooks Centre 179
Rooks county 278, 328, 336, 338
Rooks County Homesteader's Union. . . 250
Root, George A 76, 78
— Shawnee county chronology by,
noted 155, 227, 456
Root, Dr. Joseph P 222, 223
Ropes, George C., Topeka 169
Rosemont 288
Rosenberg, Ruby Holland, article on,
noted 228
Ross, Edmund G. 170
Ross, John, Cherokee chief 3
Rost, Mrs. F. J., Topeka 461
Rowe, Clark S 240, 246
Rowe, Mrs. Ivan 384
Roy, Rev. J. E 470
Rugle, 497
Rule, J. E 178, 287
Runyon, A. L 173
Runyon, Damon 173
— article on, noted 154
Rupe, W. S., Ames, Iowa 461
Rupp, Mrs. Jane C., Lincolnville 64
375, 377
Ruppenthal, J. C., Russell 63, 65, 69
159, 376
— articles by, noted 604
— donor 28, 358
Rush, J. W 294
Rush county 173, 287
— county-seat election 282
— county-seat fight 279, 289
— old settlers' reunion 380
Rush creek, Colorado 401
Russell, Capt. Avra P.. . 119, 120, 127, 128
195,203, 209
Russell, Osborne, diary, review of,
noted 539
Russell, W. J., Topeka 64, 376
Russell, articles on, noted 604
— Cosmos club, article on, noted 381
— oil show, note on 606
Russell county, Carrie Oswald No. 1 dis-
covery well, monument, note on dedi-
cation 606
Russell County Historical Society,
officers elected, 1952 69, 159
Russell Daily News, special editions,
notes on 152, 604
Russell Record, articles in, noted .381, 604
Russell Springs 283, 284, 289
Russia, attitude on disarmament, talk
on, noted 543
Russo-American relations, talk on,
noted 543
Ryan, 526
Ryan, Mrs. Catherine 264
Ryan, James, family 261
Ryan, Rep. Thomas 293
Ryan family 260, 261
1854
St. Joseph and Fort V
St. Joseph and Grand
St. Joseph (Mo.) Frt
St. Joseph (Mo.) Ga
S
Saar, Walter, Topeka, donor 30, 359
Sac and Fox Indian mission 461
Sager, 536
Sageser, Dr. A. Bower, and Patricia M.
Bourne, "Background Notes on the
Bourne Lister Cultivator," article
by 183- 186
— note on 183
St. Francis Xavier parish, Burlington,
article on, noted 153
St. John, John P 271, 274, 347
St. John 278, 280
— bank of 99
St. John County Capital 272
St. John's Military Academy 276
St. Joseph, Mo., Nebraska convention,
1854 385- 387
St. Joseph and Fort Worth railroad .... 179
Grand Island railroad. . 547
fee Democrat 369
Gazette . . .386,387, 450
— quoted 389
St. Joseph Herald 370
St. Louis Browns 278
St. Louis (Mo.) Daily Democrat,
quoted 530
St. Louis, Fort Scott and Wichita rail-
road 276, 279
St. Louis, Fredonia and Denver rail-
road 274
St. Louis Missouri Democrat 481
St. Louis Republican 489
St. Mary's College 503, 504, 507, 513
— article on, noted 602
St. Mary's Pottawatomie Indian Mis-
sion 252
— diary of Father Maurice Gail-
land 501- 529
— photo, 1867 facing 513
St. Paul, Minn., sketch of,
1853 . . . between 16, 17
St. Paul Journal 231, 456
St. Vrain, Col. Ceran 601
St. Vrain's Fort 414
Salina 172, 267, 276, 280, 286
— construction, 1887 284
Salina Daily Journal, microfilming of, 358
Salina Daily Union, microfilming of . . . 358
Salina Evening Journal, quoted 67
Salina Kansas Farm Journal, micro-
filming of 358
Salina Journal, articles in, noted 379
— microfilming of, noted 29, 358
Salina Semi-Weekly Journal, microfilm-
ing of 358
Salina Western Kansas Journal, micro-
filming of 358
Sallee, James 30, 161
Salt Creek 179
Salt Springs land, Kansas 172, 176
Salter, Mrs. Dora 277
Sample, E 245
Sample, Cpl. Josiah 128
San Antonio, Texas, military plaza,
sketch of between 16, 17
San Antonio Public Library, San An-
tonio, Tex 23
Sanberry, Rev. T. C 153
Sanborn, Frank 373
Sanders, W. F., article by, noted 457
Sanderson, Maj. W. F 393
San Diego Historical Society 359
Santa Fe [Kan.] 281, 285
— article on, noted 68
Santa Fe trail 360
— article on, noted 302
— book, note on 544
— guard by soldiers, article on, noted, 602
— research, article on, noted 154
Saratoga 287
GENERAL INDEX
637
Sarcoxie 194
Sargent 299
Satanta 179
Saterthwaite, J. M., article by, noted, 153
Satterlee, R. W., vs. C. F. Dibble 245
Saturday Review, London 289
Saulsbery, Pvt. Albert 121
Sautois, Florian 252
Sawhill, J. F 295
Sayer, D. D 179
Sayers, Wm. L., Hill City 63, 65, 376
Scenes and Incidents of Stanley's West-
ern Wilds, handbook, noted 19
Schafer, Joseph, quoted 234
Schaffer, J. J 172
Schaffer, John L 173
Schenck, Leland, Topeka, donor . . . 29, 359
Scheufler, Mrs. Annie, letter, noted. . . 540
Schippel, Gotthard 267
Schippel, John 267
Schippel, Mrs. Rose Wessling 267
Schippert, Lutheran, family 260
Schlichter, J. B., article by 299. 300
Schiienger, Sebastian * 526
Schmidt, Heinie, Dodge City 69, 71
383, 384
— articles by, noted 68, 227, 302
Schmitt, Martin F., book by, note on . . 72
Schmocker, Christian 163
Schneider, Ida 382
Schoewe, Walter H., article by, noted, 68
Schofield, Gen. John M 196, 214
Schott, Arthur, artist 21, 23
— sketch by between 16, 17
Schott, Webster, article by, noted. . . . 154
Schuchard, Carl, artist, note on. ..... 1
Schulein, Solomon 175
Scientific American, New York, article
in, note on 184, 186
Scott, Angelo, lola 35, 64, 359
366,375, 377
— donor 29
— elected first vice-president of Histori-
cal Society 376
— elected second vice-president of His-
torical Society 64
Scott, Charles F 27 164
Scott, James A 171
Scott, John 33, 363
Scott, Tully 241, 246
Scott City 174
Scott county, first election 174
Scott County Historical Society, direc-
tors elected, 1952 231 232
— officers elected, 1952 159, 160
Scottsville, article on, noted 153
Scrivner, Errett P. 27
Scully, William, London '.'.'. 170
Seaman, Capt. H. C 420
Searl, O. F 243
Sears, Burton, Evanston, 111., donor. . . 28
Sears, Charles 27
Sears, Harold S., donor 26, 27
Sears, M. F 281
Seaton, Fay 352
Seaver, B. A 295
Sedan Graphic, article in, noted 164
Sedgwick, articles on, noted 381
Sedgwick county 173, 175, 288
Sedgwick Pantograph 273
— articles in, noted 381
Sedlacek, Joseph A 602
See Kansas — Remember Kansas, book-
let, note on 544
Sell, Willie 174
Sellers, A., Jr., publisher 30
Seneca Courier-Tribune, articles in,
noted 229, 381
Senex, John, map of Louisiana territory,
note on 450
Seventh Day Adventists 171, 279
Seward, L. D 246
Seward county 166, 172, 287
— elections 174, 175, 275
Sexton, Ted L., Leavenworth 462
Shanklin, Rev. 153
Shannon, Sgt. Henry S 128, 199
Shannon, John 322, 326, 331
Shannon, Gov. Wilson. . .471,472,480, 482
483,488,574, 582
Shannon family 330, 331, 335
Sharer, Mrs. Eva B 160, 605
Sharp, J. Lew 52, 53
Sharpe, Gen. , C. S. A 212
Sharpe, A. T 285
Shattuck, Willis, Ashland, address by,
noted 70
Shaw, Rev. James 271
Shaw, Joseph C 33, 63, 64, 365, 376
Shawnee Baptist Mission, article on,
noted 302
Shawnee county, boundary change, arti-
cle on, noted 155
— chronology, noted 155, 227
— events of 1951, review, noted 155
— flood, 1951, article on, noted. . . . 155
— Negro voters 271
— school population 175
Shawnee County Historical Society . . 375
— annual meeting, 1951, noted 71
— Bulletin, articles in, noted 155, 227
456, 538
— officers elected, 1952 71
Shawnee Indian Manual Labor School,
article on, noted 302
Shawnee Mission Indian Historical So-
ciety 375
— annual picnic, note on 605
—officers, 1953 384
— officers elected, 1951 69
Shawnee Quaker Mission, article on,
noted 302
Shawnee trail, article on, noted 456
Shayt, Alvin, article by, noted 155
Shean, W. M 294
Sheehan, John 167
Shelby, Col. Joseph 0 216
Sheldon, Alva 275
Sheldon, Silas E. 294
Sheldon, Warren J., Ottawa 81
Shep 179
Sheridan, Gen. Philip H 268
Sheridan county 174
Sherlock 300
Sherman, John 468
Sherman, Porter 295
Sherman, Gen. W. T 397
Sherman Center News, microfilming of, 358
Sherman county 176
— articles on, noted 68, 157
— elections 178, 287, 288
Sherry, Judge Byron. . . .566, 568, 571, 572
Sherry, Tom 231
Sherwin City 288
Sherwin Junction 288
Shetterly, John 296
Sheward, L. A 172
Shideler, Ralph 70, 383
Shilo 179
Ship 179
Shivers, Rev. F. E., article by, noted. . 541
Shlesinger, Sigmund, diary, photostatic
copies given Historical Society 357
Shockey, W. D. H 169
Shogran, Sixten 70, 605
Short Creek Baptist church, article on,
noted 230
Shoup, J. 0 282
Shrewder, Dorothy Berryman (Mrs. R.
V. ) 69, 384
Shuler, 246
Shull, Elias 341
638
GENERAL INDEX
Shutte, A. H., Ellis, museum, article
on, noted 457
Sibley, George, journal and diary, pub-
lished, note on 463
Sidell 288
Sigel, Col. Franz 110,113,117, 118
Silkville, pictures of, noted 26
Silverton 288
Simerwell, Robert 360
Simons, Dolph, Lawrence 71, 376, 462
— donor 29, 359
Simons, W. C., Lawrence 63, 65, 354
— donor 29
Simons, Cpl. William 128
Simpson, B. F 165, 292
Simpson, J. M 296
Simpson, Jerry 107
Simpson brothers, Lawrence 357
Sims, William 165, 292
Sing, Charley 163
Singleman, A 262
Sisters of St. Joseph College, Abilene. . 280
Skeen, Gertie 167
Skillings, M. Beatrice, McPherson,
donor 30
Skinner, Alton H., Kansas City. .63, 65, 376
Skinner, Jim, article by, noted 538
Skinner, W. M 246, 296
Skolfield, Alfred 599
Skolfield, Capt. George 589, 599
Skolfield, George 599
Slavens, W. H 295
Sloan, E. R., Topeka 64, 375, 377
Sloan, John N 169
Sluder, Will A 69, 382
Smalley, Joe 245
Smallwood, W. H 310,311,319, 323
324,327,329,330, 332
Smallwood 324, 326, 327, 330
331,333,340, 345
Smelser, Edith 33, 354, 363
Smelser, Mary M., Lawrence . . 64, 375, 377
Smelser, Maud 71
Smillie, James, engraver 23
Smillie, James D., engraver 23
Smith, 521
Smith, A. W 296
Smith, Clark A 293
Smith, Mrs. D. W., Wichita, donor. ... 30
Smith, Don, article by, noted. . . . 601
Smith, Prof. Dwight L., Ohio State Uni-
versity 5
Smith, Mrs. E. Claude 461
Smith, Col. G. P 371
Smith, H. E., Wamego 28
Smith, James 292
Smith, Mrs. James E., donor 159, 356
Smith, Jedediah 31, 68, 260
Smith, Mrs. Kate 462 605
Smith, Gen. Kirby, C. S. A 428
Smith, Mrs. Lee J 384
Smith, Pelagia 521
Smith, S. L 172
Smith, T. J , . . 173
Smith, Vera, Topeka, donor 28
Smith, Mrs. W. M., article on, noted . . 227
Smith, W. W 294
Smith, Justice William A 161
Smith, William Elmer, estate of,
donor 28
Smith Center 540
— Dutch windmill, article on, noted . . . 458
Smoky Hill Editorial Assn 172
Smoky Hill river 410, 411
— gold strike, article on, noted 303
Smoky Valley People, book, note on. . . 544
Smuggler, race horse, picture given His-
torical Society 25, 26
Snook, B. A., Topeka 77, 78
Snook, Silas 214
Snow, Francis Huntington 31
Social Science Club of Kansas and
Western Missouri 170, 279
Socolofsky, Dr. H. E 383
Sod House, Morland, article on,
noted 539
— near Coldwater, 1880's,
sketch of facing 304
note on facing 305
"Sod Shanty on the Claim," article on,
noted 302
Sohon, Gustav, artist 16, 20
— sketches by between 16, 17
Soldier creek 256, 257, 413, 518
Solomon City 265
Solomon Gazette 569, 570
Solomons, Gen. 194
Somers, John G., Newton 64, 376
Sons of Veterans 166, 276
Soper, Charles A 280
Sorghum . 288
Soule, A. T 68, 171, 279
Southern Kansas Academy, Eureka. . . . 176
Southwestern Historical Quarterly, The,
Austin, Tex., article in, noted 456
Southwestern Kansas Exposition 177
Southwestern Kansas Railroad Co 286
Spangler, Irma 384
Spanish- American War, Kansas regi-
ments, article on, noted 230
Sparks, William Andrew Jackson 235 237
238,241-244,247, 248
Spaulding, George, vs. W. P. Peters . . . 247
Spearville Blade 272
Speer, John 165
Spencer, Mrs. C. W., Sedan 159, 461
Spencer, Cpl. George W 199
Sperry, Dr. Theodore 383
Spillman, B. B 293
Spivey 288
Splitlog, Mathias 281
Spray, Uriah 50
Spring, Leverett W 167, 585- 587
Springer, Alvin 70
Springfield 172, 275, 287
Sproul, W. P 381
Stafford 280
Stafford county 280
— bounties paid, 1887 271
Stanfield, John 169
Stanley, Capt. David S 114
Stanley, John Mix, artist, article on. 1- 23
— sketch of between 16, 17
— sketches by ... facing vi, between 16, 17
Stanley, L. C., article by, noted 2
Stanley, Thomas H 50
Stanley, W. E., Wichita 63, 65, 376
Stanton, Edwin M 109, 418 420
Stanton, Gov. Frederick P 593
Stanton family 266
Stanton county 275
— organized 280
State Line 179
Steamboats, Annie Jacobs .... 109, 220, 222
— Belle of the Walnut 281
— Chippewa 220, 221
— Kansas Miller 170, 174
— Key West 212
— Lotus 220, 222, 223
— Rose Douglass 212, 213
Steele, Dudley M 550
Steele, Gen. Frederick. . .218-220, 427, 428
Steele, Lt. Col. James M 429
Steeley, G. H 172, 173
Stein, Fred, Atchison 462
Stephenson, J. K 171
Stephenson, Lizzie J 167
Sterling 300
— syrup works 178, 271
— waterworks 276
Sterling Evening Bulletin 279
Stern, M . 209
GENERAL INDEX
Sternberg, Dr. George Miller 268
Sternberg, Louisa Russell 268
Stevens, Bob 53, 55
Stevens, E. E 276
Stevens, Gertrude E 167
Stevens, Isaac 1 1, 10-18, 20
Stevens, R. B 71
Stevens, Thomas J 282
Stevens, Thomas W 274
Stevens county 174, 346
— county-seat fight 175
—first election 175, 176
Stevens County Historical Society,
officers elected, 1951 70, 71
— old settlers' reunion, 1952 384
Stevenson, Mrs. M. G 383
Stevenson, Myron G 69
Stewart, Donald, Independence. . . . 64, 376
Stewart, J. A 284, 286
Stewart, Rep. James A. . . 488-490, 492, 553
Stewart, Mrs. James G., Topeka 64
375, 377
Stewart, Owen C 591,- 592
between 592, 593
Stewart, W. E., letter published, noted, 458
Stickel, A. L 174
Stilwell, L 293
Stinson, 520
Stippville 179
Stith, Henry Thomas, biographical
sketch, noted 156
Stockton Rooks County Record, quoted, 244
Stockwell, O. L 171
Stokes, William 175
Stone, Eddie 273
Stone, Fred 273
Stone, Lucy 178
Stone, Robert 35, 63, 65, 376
Stone, William M 235
Stoner, Mrs. 228
Stoops, Anderson, vs. Russell C. Harris, 243
Stotler, Jacob 173
Stover, Lt. E. S 128, 198
Stover 179
Stowell, Cpl. Abishai 128
Stowell, Helen 160
Strang, J. C 293
Stranger creek 413
— bridge, article on, noted 228
Stratford, E. D 295
Strawberries, price, 1886 171
Street, W. D 458
Stringfellow, Gen. Benjamin F 553, 585
Stringfellow, Col. J. H 476
Strobel, Max, artist 12
Strong, Dr. C. H 541
Strong, George 322
Strong, Capt. N. Z . 222
Stroud, Mrs. Mae 70, 383
Strumph, Walter E. . . 56
Stubbs, A. W 45-51, 55
— family 357
Stubbs, Mahlon 45-47, 51-53, 55, 357
Stubbs, Rachel .... 45- 47
Stucky, Harley J., Bethel College, talk
by, noted 543
Studley, Graham and Sheridan counties,
article on, noted 603
Sturgis, Maj. Samuel D 110, 117
Sublette, William 392
Sugar creek 520
Sullivan, John L 271
Sullivan family 266
Sultzer, William 326
Summunduwot 288
Sumner, Sen. Charles 469, 470
Sumner, Atchison county, article on,
noted 603
Sumner county 288
Sunday School assembly, Ottawa, 1886, 173
Sunderland, H. C. . . . 246
Surprise 288
Sutton, M. W 178
Swartz, D. V 463
Swedes, colony 173
Swedish Baptist Church 280
Swedish Evangelical Lutheran
Augustana Synod 177
Sweedlun, Verne S., Kansas State
College 231
Sweeny, Gen. Thomas W Ill
Sweet, Annie B 71
Sweet, Paul B. 71
Sweet, Mrs. Sallie DeArmond,
reminiscences of, noted 458
Sweezer family 80
Swembergh, Rev. Felix 265, 266
Swender, Mrs. Clyde, Blue Mound. . . . 461
Swenson, John S., article by, noted. . . . 155
Swink, L. C 169
Sylvia 288
Syracuse 178, 277, 283, 289, 299
Tabor, Milton, Topeka, donor 29, 359
Taft, Dr. Robert, Lawrence . . 32, 35, 63, 65
68, 362, 366, 374, 376, 382, 462, 604
— article by, noted 157
— book by, note on 464
— donor 357
— elected first vice-president of Histori-
cal Society 64
— elected president of Historical So-
ciety 376
— note on 1
— "The Pictorial Record of the Old
West: XV. John M. Stanley and the
Pacific Railroad Reports," article
by 1- 23
Tait, J. H 172, 176, 287
Tallman, Arthur G 171
Tallman, Dr. G. J 302
Tant, Dr. H 239
Taylor, Albert 43
Taylor, Bayard, article on, noted 155
Taylor, Buck 166
Taylor, C. H. J 277
Taylor, Charles 295
Taylor, Harold O., article by, noted. . . 538
Taylor, Thomas T 296
Teams, G. B 176
Tebbut, F. W., article by, noted 228
Teller, Henry 242, 247
Templar, George, Arkansas City, 63, 65, 376
Terwecoren, Father 254
Tescott 179
Texas, cattle, in Abilene, article on,
noted 381
Texas Historical Association 23
Thanhouser, Frank, Garden City. .238, 246
Thayer, Eli 587
Thayer, Gen. J. M 218-220, 427
Thirty Years in Topeka, publication of,
noted 176
This Place Catted Kansas, book, note
on 304
Thisler, Mrs. Ann Erwin 274
Thixten, Mrs. Clara, reminiscences of,
noted 379
Thomas, A. H 384
Thomas, A. S 292
Thomas, E. A., Topeka 64, 376
Thomas, E. E 240, 246
Thomas, Sister M. Evangeline 362
— note on 252
— "The Rev. Louis Dumortier, S. J.,
Itinerant Missionary to Central Kan-
sas, 1859-1867," article by 252- 270
Thompson, Asa 295
Thompson, C. C 169
Thompson, Ernest 51, 59, 60
640
GENERAL INDEX
Thompson, W. F., Topeka 63, 64, 376
— donor 359
Thompson, William H. "Big Bill" . . . 353
Thomson, Edith 70
Thoreau, Henry David 373
Thrailkill, Levi §96
Thrapp, Dan L., article by, noted ... 602
Thrasher, Capt. S. A 423
Tiblow 179
Tice, A. E 178
Tilden 288
Tillinghast, J. B 247
Tilton, W. S 296
Timmons, James F 295
Tinney, J. M 239
Tipton, John 508, 511, 522
Tipton, article on, noted 153
To the Stars, Topeka, Kansas Day issue,
1952, note on 156
— tourist issue, noted 228
Tobias, Lewis E 178
Toedman, Neil L 302
Toews, Gerhard 380
Toler, Col. Hooper G., family, bio-
graphical sketch, noted 158
Toler, Sidney 30
Tolle 179
Tonganoxie, Kenna farm, article on,
noted 154
Toombs, Robert 485
Topeka 282, 283, 297
— article on, noted 227
— Barber Asphalt Co., strike 282
— baseball, article on, noted 227
— centennial committee, noted 382
— Crawford Opera House, burning of,
article on 5
— earthquakes, article on, noted 227
—1862 129
— food prices, 1886 163
— house numbers, article on, noted. . 456
— Nautilus club, article on, noted. . 538
— operas, article on, noted 538
— pension agency 177
— real estate transfers, 1887 280
— steam brickyard 177
— street railways 360
— underground railroad, article on,
noted 155
— Valentine house, article on, noted. . 538
—wages, 1887 283
Topeka baseball club 278, 289
Topeka Bicycle Club 176
Topeka City Railway 276, 279, 282
Topeka Commonwealth 300, 583
—quoted . . . 299, 300, 317, 318, 338, 339
Topeka Daily Blade 582
Topeka Daily Capital. . . .30, 161, 174, 273
290, 587
— articles in, noted 229, 380, 539
— microfilm copies given Historical
Society 29, 359
— microfilming of 358
— quoted 167, 177
Topeka First Baptist church, records,
microfilmed by Historical Society. . . 357
Topeka First Congregational church,
articles on, noted 155, 227, 456
Topeka Kansas Breeze, microfilming
of 358
Topeka Mail and Kansas Breeze, micro-
filming of 358
Topeka pension office 163
Topeka Rapid Transit Street Railway
Co 282
Topeka, Salina and Western railroad . . 180
Topeka Sorghum Sugar Manufacturing
Co 286
Topeka State Journal 30
Topeka Telegraph 559
Topeka Times 569
Topliff and Richey, publishers 169
Tornadoes, articles on, noted 457
—1886 170
Tornadoes of the United States, book,
note on 464
Torrance, E. S 293
Totten, Capt. James 110, 114
Toutran, 519
Toutran, Alex 518
Townsent, Martha 46
Townsley, C. H 296
Townsley, Mrs. Will, Jr., Great Bend . . 462
Trace, Mrs. Carl F., Topeka, donor . . . 357
Trail City, article on, noted 227
Trail Drive Days, note on 72
Trans-Mississippi Associated Press. . . . 272
Travel Kansas, note on 544
Travelers' Insurance Co., Hartford,
Conn 97
Travelers' Protective Assn 279
Traxler, C. J 174
Tremble, 525
Tremble, Catherina 521
Trembly, W. B., Kansas City . . 63, 65, 354
—article on, noted 154, 155
Trenton 288
Trotter, Lavina 232
Trovinger, P. V 295
Troy Doniphan County Republican. . . 569
Troy Kansas Chief 568, 569, 574- 576
578-580, 588
— quoted 553
Trumbull, J 308
Truyens, Father Charles 512
Tully, Mary Ann 260, 261
Tully family 260
Turner, C. M 295
Turner, Rep. E. J 293
Turtle, Howard, article by, noted. ... 538
Twiggs, Gen. D. E 393
U
Uhrich, Mrs. Burns H 374
Ulysses 179, 289
Union Labor party, Kansas 283
Union Pacific railroad 271, 301, 547
Union Pacific railroad, Southern
branch 547, 548, 550, 551
Union Veterans Union ... 285
Uniontown 412, 413, 516
Unitarian Church, Missouri Valley con-
ference 179
United Presbyterian Church, conven-
tion 172
—Synod of Kansas 286
United States, army, Allen's battery. . 214
Hopkin's battery 214
Independent Colored Kansas bat-
tery 417
Indian regiments 214
Leaven worth Colored militia 417
Rabb's battery 214
regiments. First Arkansas cavalry, 218
First Arkansas infantry 216
First dragoons 398
First infantry 110
First Iowa 110, 111, 113
First Kansas Colored
First Kansas infantry
417
421- 429
110
118, 129
110, 118
First Missouri
First South Carolina Colored
Volunteers 418, 421
Second artillery 110, 111, 118
Second Colorado 425
Second dragoons 39*
Second Indian 426
Second Indian home guards. . 189
Second Kansas cavalry 108
126-133, 187- 220
GENERAL INDEX
641
United States, army, regiments, Second
Kansas Colored 4^.7, 426- 429
Second Kansas infantry 108
110-122, 129
Second Missouri 110
Second South Carolina Colored
volunteers 420
Third Indian home guards. . . 425
Third Missouri 110
Third Wisconsin 214
Fifth infantry 151
Fifth Missouri 110
Sixth infantry 393
Sixth Kansas cavalry 178
Sixth Kansas infantry .... 198, 202
214, 219
Sixth Missouri State militia. . . 218
Seventh Kansas 129
Eighth Missouri State militia, 218
Ninth Kansas 214, 425
Ninth Wisconsin 214
Tenth Kansas 214
Tenth Wisconsin 129
llth Colored 429
llth Kansas 187, 197, 201
202,205, 214
Company K 28
12th Wisconsin 129
13th Kansas 214
14th Kansas 425
18th Kansas 269
19th Kansas cavalry, article on,
noted 539
20th Kansas 462
38th infantry 268
48th Wisconsin volunteers .... 28
role in development of Northwest,
book, note on 464
Second Kansas battery 425
— Board of Equitable Adjudi-
cation 238, 239
— Bureau of Marine Inspection & Navi-
gation 598
— census, 1860 150
Iowa, 1850, given Historical So-
ciety 355
— circuit court 276, 279, 280, 289
— district court, Kansas . . 168, 276, 280, 465
466,470,472,589, 590
— flag, in Kansas, article on,
noted 156, 157
— geographic center, article on, noted, 458
— house of representatives 165
— immigration service 598
—land offices 84, 235- 238
locations in Kansas 237
— laws, Second Confiscation Act,
1862 418, 420
— National Park Service 392
^onor 26
— pioneer postal service, article on,
noted 155
— senate 170, 271, 273
— ships, Cyane 6, 7
Emporia, bell, note on 543
Eveline 8
Ino 599
Morning Light 599
Nightingale 599
Pampero 599
Roger Stewart, article on . . .598, 599
photo facing 544
Star of the West 19
— supreme court 289
— weather bureau, booklet by, note on, 232
Universalist Church 284
— conference 176
University of Kansas, Lawrence. . .167, 175
— centennial committee, noted 382
— Dyche Museum, article on, noted. . 229
—Snow Hall 179
Usher, Linton J., article on, noted . . . 154
Utah, Mormon question 594
43—312
Uzee, Philip D., "Midwestern Attitudes
on the 'Kansas Fever,' " article edited
by 495- 500
— note on 495
Vail, Bishop Thomas 165
Valeda 179
Valentine, D. A 174
Valentine, D. M 292
Valentine, L. F., articles by,
noted 541, 603
Valley Falls Vindicator, articles in,
noted 156
Van Antwerp, Earl 231
Van Bebber, Tom 605
Van Brunt, Henry, article by, noted. . . 154
Van Buren, John 387
Van De Mark, M. V. B.,
Concordia 64, 375, 377
Van Horn, Benjamin F 422,423, 426
Van Horn, R. T 474
Van Hulst, Adrian 252
Van Patten, Clarence . 282
Van Tuyl, Mrs. Effie H.,
Leavenworth 64, 354
Van Valkenburgh, Mrs. Dale, Manhat-
tan, donor 358
Van Vliet, Capt. Stewart 394
Varnum, Walter 71
Vassar 288
Vaughan, Col. J. C 530, 533
Veale, George W 295, 548, 549
Venner, Clarence H 276, 284
Verdigris and Independence railroad. . 168
Vernon 288
Verreydt, Rev. Felix L 502, 506, 512
513,524, 525
Vestal, Stanley, book by, note on 72
review, noted 227
Veteran 288
Veteran Sentinel . 168
Vial, Pedro 37
Victoria, "Cathedral of the Plains,"
article on, noted 458
Villard, Henry 255
Vinson, Mrs. Ida M 382
Vogel, Rev. Milton, Topeka 462
Voils, Mrs. Jessie Wiley 26
Voltaire Adviser, microfilming of 358
Voltaire Sherman County News, micro-
filming of . 358
von der Heiden, Mrs. W. H., Newton . . 376
Vosper, Robert 382
W
Wabaunsee church, article on, noted . . . 539
Wabaunsee county 523
Waconda, Mitchell county, article on,
noted 459
Waddell, Mrs. C. D., Edwardsville . . . . 159
Wagon Roads West, book, note on. . .384
Waite, W. S 173
Wakarusa, mission station 502
Wakarusa valley, wolves 271
Wakarusa War, 1855 471
WaKeeney, article on, noted 380
Wakefield, Judge 488
Walker, E. C., Jr 176, 177, 277
Walker, Mrs. Ida M., Norton 64, 376
Walker, Sen. Isaac, Wisconsin. . 9
Walker, Cpl. James F 121
Walker, Will T 296
Walker, William 383
Walker, Mrs. William 70
Wall, T. B 293
Wallace, B. F 296
Wallace, Robidoux store, article on,
noted . 539
642
GENERAL INDEX
Wallace county 179, 272, 276, 278
Wallace County Register, Wallace. ... 163
Wallace News 30
Waller, John L 296
Walnut City 173, 282, 289
Walnut City Business Men's Assn 279
Walnut Valley and Colorado railroad. . 171
Walnut Valley Town Company 345
Walrond, Z. T 296
Walruff, August 289
Walruff, E 165
Walruff, John 165, 278, 289
Walsh, Agnes, Topeka, donor 357
Walsh, Patrick, U. S. marine, 1862-
1864, journal given Historical Society, 357
Walton, Gov. John C., Okla 353
Wamego 283
— Dutch windmill, article on, noted. . . 458
Wampler, John 160
Wand, Rev. Augustin C., photos
courtesy of facing 512
Wano 168, 287
Ward, Artemus 368
Ward, Fenn 159, 461
Ward, Mrs. Fenn 159, 461
Ware, Eugene F 62, 164, 173, 370
Wark, George H., Caney 64,375, 377
Warkentin, Bernard 164
Warner, Mrs. M. E 245, 247
Warnock, L. L., family 264
Warren, Fred W., article by, noted. ... 156
Warren, Lt. J. K 19
Warren Mortgage Co., Emporia. . .97. 98
Wary, Clara 267
Waseca 179
Washburn University 274, 283
— article on, noted 456
— Boswell Hall 178
— campus, article on, noted 227
— Holbrook Hall 178
Washington county .... 281, 282, 288, 289
— courthouse 285
Wasson, L. C 294
Waterloo Presbyterian church, article on,
noted 460
Waters, Joseph G., article by, noted. . . 227
— biographical sketch, noted 227
Watkins, J. B 100
— Land Mortgage Co., Lawrence. . .97- 101
Watson, Edson 58
Watson, Edward A 172
Watson, John, articles by, noted . . 229, 458
539, 602
Watson, Virginia, article by, noted .... 457
Waugh, Alfred S., article on, noted. . . . 154
Waugh, Lt. Gideon M 199
Weaver, Arthur B . 71
Weaver, Mrs. Benjamin O., Mullin-
ville 28, 69, facing 305
382, 605
Weaver 288
Webb, C. C 159, 461
Webb, Mrs. C. C 159, 461
Weber, Alden O. 463
Wedin, Mrs. Paul H., Wichita 461
Weed, Maj. 215
Weer, Col. William 197, 207, 211, 214
Weichselbaum, Theodore 262
Weichselbaum family 261, 262
Weilup, Edward C 286
Weir City 275
Weldon, Clay 160
Weller, Sen. John B., California 9, 10
Wellington 180, 283
— article on, noted 540
Wellington Daily News, article in,
noted 540
Wellington Monitor 164
Wellington Press 173
Wellman, Paul I., article by, noted. . . 601
Wells, Charles 221
Wells, T. R 382
Wellsford 288
Wellsville, article on, noted 157
Wellsville Globe, articles in, noted 157
West, E. S 296
West, Silas N., notes from record book,
noted 540
West Side Circle Railway Co 282
Western Baseball League 164, 276
Western National Fair Assn. . . 175, 274, 284
Westerners Brand Book, The, Chicago,
article in, noted 156
Westmoreland Recorder, article in,
noted 164
Westport, Mo 522
Westport (Mo.) Border Times 475
Weyss, John E., artist 21- 23
— sketch by . .between 16, 17
Wheatcroft, Joshua 172
Wheeler, George M 22
Wheeler, H. O. 174
Whipple, D. N 239
Whipple, J. H., Topeka, donor 259
White, A. B 262
White, F. G 245
White, J. W 279, 294
White, Sam 226
White, Sen. W. H., Council Grove. . 24
White, William Allen. .27,30,31,151, 367
— article by, noted 154
— article on, noted 228
— letters, given Historical Society 357
to Dan D. Casement, article
on 350- 353
— note on 350
White, Mrs. William Allen 31
— article on, noted 228
White Cloud Kansas Chief 573
— quoted 150, 298
Whitfield, J. W 472
Whitman, Walt, article on, noted 228
Whitman, Dr. and Mrs. Marcus, murder
of, noted 8
Whitman Mission, Oregon territory. . . 8
Whitney, Sheriff C. B 109
Whitney, Nellie V. 109
Whittemore, Margaret, articles by,
noted 229, 539
Whittenhall, Daniel S 128
Wichita 273, 276, 297
— air fields, articles on, noted 604
— 1868, article on 150, 151
— employment agency 280
— factories and employees, 1887 285
— 1900, article on, noted 156
— products 169
— schools, project to name, article on,
noted 156
Wichita Beacon 30
Wichita City Library 303
Wichita county 180
— county-seat fight 274- 276
— elections 273, 274, 276
Wichita Eagle 30, 161, 281, 287
Wichita Evening Eagle, articles in,
noted 229, 380, 458, 539, 602
Wichita German Immigration Society. . 272
Wichita Historical Museum Association,
officers elected, 1952 160
1953 463
— to present pageant, note on 543
Wichita Magazine, articles in, noted . . . 604
Wichita Piscatorial Society 174
Wichita St. Aloysius' Catholic church . . 178
Wichita University 286
Wick, John D 163
Wigglesworth, James 71
Wildcat creek 411
Wilder, Dr. Abel 368
Wilder, Carter 369
GENERAL INDEX
643
Wilder, Daniel W 161, 165, 176
281, 292, 359
— Annals of Kansas 367, 370
— article on 367- 374
Wilder, E 307
Wilhoite, W. H 295
Wilkeson, Frank, article by, noted .... 170
Wilkins, Mrs. Walter 383
Willard, Frances, article on, noted. . . . 457
Willard 288
Willcoxon, 536
Williams, A. L 311,321,330,340, 551
Williams, Charles A., Bentley. .64,375, 377
Williams, Cpl. Chas. T 128
Williams, Col. James 421,423- 429
Williams, Capt. James M 420
Williams, Jessie-Lea M., article by,
noted 154
Williams, Mary 167
Williams, Judge Samuel B 562, 564
Williamson, Chas 295
Wills, Pvt. William „ 127
Wilson, Bruce 70, 383
Wilson, D. C 296
Wilson, E 202
Wilson, Ed 193
Wilson, Sgt. Edward 128
Wilson, Frank 184
Wilson, J. M 172
Wilson, Joseph C 292
Wilson, S. L 163
Wilson county 170
Wind wagon 278
Windes, Russell, Jr., Kansas State
Teachers College, Pittsburg 231
Windthorst, articles on, noted 538
Winfield 286
— articles on, noted 229, 459
Winfield Daily Courier, articles in,
noted 229
— special edition, note on 157, 459
Wingate 179
Winona 288
Winslow, W. S 28
Winter, M. S., Sr 384
Winter, Shipman, Jr 71
Winter Wheat in the Golden Belt of
Kansas, book, note on 183
Wish all, Mrs. John, reminiscences of,
noted 379
Wolf, Mrs. Arthur 384
Wolf, Hazel Catherine, book by, note
on 463
Wolf, Mrs. Max 70, 383
Wolf hunt 274
Wolff, Zella Lamb, article by,
noted 539, 540
Womack, T. J 173
Woman suffrage 274
— article on, noted 284
— conventions 177
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, 176
284, 290
— Our Messenger 165
Woman's Kansas Day Club 356
— annual meeting, 1952, note on 159
1953, note on 461, 462
— donor 25, 28, 30, 355, 360
Women, holding office, 1886 167
Women's Relief Corps 166, 174, 276
Womer, Mrs. L. E., Agra 159
Wood, Dean Earl, book by, note on. . . 544
— research on Santa Fe trail, article on,
noted . 154
Wood, Richard 273
Wood, Samuel N 115, 165, 472
— article on, noted 302
— kidnaped 175
Woodbury, Lt. Daniel P 393
Woodring, Harry H., Topeka. . .63, 65, 376
Woodruff, Frank 280
Woods, E. E 605
Woods, Harry 382
Woods family 261
Woodsdale 175
— article on, noted 379
Woodston 179
Woodward, A. G., articles on, noted . . . 458
Woodward, Earl C 29
Woody, Aaron 226
Woody, Vivian, Douglass 462
Wooster, L. D., Hays 462
Wooster, Lorraine E., Salina . . 64, 375, 377
Wooten, Mrs. Mamie 160
Worcester, Mattie 167
Wornall, Frank C 605
Wornall, John B 278
Worrall, Henry, sketch by facing 232
Worth 288
Wren, John 167
Wright, 454
Wright, C. O., Topeka 462
Wright, F. F 177
Wright, Rev. O. W ; . . 541
Wright, Oren "Bud," article by,
noted 603
Wright, R. M 246
Wright, Robert M., article by, noted . . . 227
Wristen, Mrs. Cecil C. 462, 605
Wullschleger, Otto J., Frankfort .... 30, 358
— article by, noted 158
— letter published, noted 458
Wyandott City Register, given Histori-
cal Society 359
Wyandotte 451
Wyandotte constitution 546
Wyandotte county, district court 287
Wyandotte County Historical Society. . 375
— officers elected, 1951 70
1953 605
Wyandotte Gazette 569
Wyandotte Herald, quoted 75
Wyatt, Geraldine, articles by,
noted 154, 155
Wyman, Dr. Walker D., book edited by,
note on 304
Wyoming territory 271
Yates Center 168
— article on, noted 302
Yonge, H. A 241
York, E. D 296
York, Stella 384
Young, Mrs. Ada 159
Young, I. D 294
Young, Otis E., book by, note on 232
Young, W. H 298
Young Men's Christian Assn., Marion. . 286
Young Men's Christian Assn., of Kansas, 286
Young Women's Christian Assn 287
Yount, Sgt. W. O facing 73
Zamora 179
Zenith 288
Zickefoose, 246
Ziebold and Hagelin, brewers 289
Ziegler, J. B. 295
Ziegler, Mrs. Martin 384
Zwink, Rev. David . 601
PRINTED BY
FERD VOILAND. JR.. STATE PRINTER
TOPEKA. KANSAS
1953
25-312
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