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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  XXIII 
1957 

(Kansas  Historical  Collections) 

VOL.  XL 


Published  by 

The  Kansas  State  Historical  Society 
Topeka,  Kansas 


33—1378 


72288 


Contents  of  Volume  XXIII 


Number  1 — Spring,  1957 

THE  INVENTION  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  DIAL  TELEPHONE:    The  Con- 
tribution of  Three  Lindsborg  Inventors Emory  Lindquist,       I 

With  portraits  of  John  Erickson,  Charles  J.  Erickson  and  Frank  A.  Lund- 
quist,  facing  p.  8,  and  photographs  of  early  dial  telephones,  between 
pp.  8,  9. 

MANHATTAN'S   OLDEST   HOUSE  WAS   BUILT  BY   DAVID  A.   BUTTERFIELD, 

C.  W.  McCampbell,       9 

With   photographs    of  Poyntz   avenue,    Manhattan,   in    1860,   between  pp. 
8,  9,  and  the  David  A.  Butterfield  residence,  Manhattan,  facing  p.  9. 
THEATRE  IN  KANSAS,  1858-1868:    Background  for  the  Coming  of  the  Lord 
Dramatic  Company  to  Kansas,  1869  (Part  One,  Leavenworth ) , 

James  C.  Malin,     10 

THE  ANNUAL  MEETING:    Containing  Reports  of  the  Secretary,  Treasurer, 
Executive  and  Nominating  Committees;  Address  of  the  President,  PECK'S 
BAD  BOYS,  the  Story  of  the  35th  Infantry  Division  in  World  War  I, 
by  Wilford  Riegle;  Election  of  Officers;  List  of  Directors  of  the  Society,     54 
RECENT  ADDITIONS  TO  THE  LIBRARY, 

Compiled  by  Alberta  Pantle,  Librarian,     85 

BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY 104 

KANSAS  HISTORY  AS  PUBLISHED  EM  THE  PRESS 105 

KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES  .    108 


Number  2 — Summer,  1957 

A  SURVEY  OF  HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  IN  KANSAS 11& 

With  photographs  of  Allen  county  jail,  lola;  Gen.  Frederick  Funston  home, 
near  lola;  officers'  quarters,  old  Fort  Scott;  "Fort  Blair"  blockhouse, 
Fort  Scott;  birthplace  of  Amelia  Earhart,  Atchison;  birthplace  of  Arthur 
Capper,  Garnett;  Pawnee  Rock,  Barton  county;  boyhood  home  of  Dwight 
Eisenhower,  Abilene;  Irvin  Hall,  Highland  Junior  College,  Highland; 
Constitution  Hall  and  Lane  University,  Lecompton;  Iowa,  Sac  and  Fox 
Presbyterian  Mission,  near  Highland;  Old  Castle  Hall,  Baldwin;  "Cathe- 
dral of  the  Plains,"  Victoria;  Fort  Harker  guardhouse,  Kanopolis;  boy- 
hood home  of  Walter  Chrysler,  Ellis;  Fort  Hays  blockhouse,  Hays; 
Santa  Fe  trail  ruts,  near  Dodge  City;  "Tauy"  Jones  house  and  Silkville 
colony,  Franklin  county;  Shawnee  Methodist  Mission,  Fairway;  covered 
bridge,  Leavenworth  county;  Mark  W.  Delahay  and  Fred  Harvey  homes, 
Planters'  House,  Leavenworth;  Point  of  Rocks,  Morton  county;  "Last 
Chance"  Store  and  Kaw  Methodist  Mission,  Council  Grove;  Potta- 
watomie  Baptist  Mission  building,  near  Topeka;  Fort  Larned,  Pawnee 
county;  cabin  of  Dr.  Brewster  Higley,  Smith  county;  El  Quartelejo 
monument,  Scott  county;  Brookville  Hotel,  Saline  county;  "Cowtown 
Wichita,"  Sedgwick  county;  birthplace  of  Damon  Runyon,  Manhattan; 
Fort  Wallace  cemetery  marker,  Wallace  county;  First  territorial  capitol, 
Fort  Riley;  Pond  creek  stage  station,  Wallace  county;  cave  in  Battle 
canyon,  Scott  county;  Hollenberg  ranch  Pony  Express  station,  Washing- 
ton county;  Moses  Grinter  house,  Wyandotte  county,  and  Beecher  Bible 
and  Rifle  Church,  Wabaunsee,  between  pp.  144,  145. 

A  FREE-STATER'S  "LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR":    Samuel  N.  Wood's  Letters 

to  Eastern  Newspapers,  1854 Edited  by  Robert  W.  Richmond,  181 

THEATRE  IN  KANSAS,  1858-1868:    Background  for  the  Coming  of  the  Lord 
Dramatic  Company  to  Kansas,  1869   (Part  Two,  Atchison,  Lawrence 

and  Topeka) — Concluded James  C.  MaUn,  191 

BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY    204 

KANSAS  HISTORY  AS  PUBLISHED  IN  THE  PRESS 211 

KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES 221 

(iii) 


Number  3 — Autumn,  1957 

PAGE 

THE  LECOMPTON  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION:    An  Analysis  of  Its  Mem- 
bership   Robert  W.  Johannsen,  225 

With  picture  of  Gen.  John  Calhoun,  facing  p.  240,  and  photograph  of 
portion  of  first  page  of  the  Lecompton  constitution,  facing  p.  241. 

THE  ORIGINAL  LECOMPTON  CONSTITUTION  RETURNS  TO  KANSAS  AFTER 

100  YEARS    244 

THOMAS  BENTON  MURDOCK  AND  WILLIAM  ALLEN  WHITE, 

Rolla  A.  Clymer,  248 

With  portraits  of  Thomas  Benton  Murdock  and  William  Allen  White,  facing 
p.  256. 

THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED William  E.  Unrau,  257 

With  a  sketch  of  Fort  Lamed  (1867)  and  a  photograph  (1886),  facing 
p.  272,  and  a  facsimile  of  first  page  of  The  Plains,  an  1865  Fort  Lamed 
newspaper,  facing  p.  273. 

NOTES  ON  Two  KANSAS  IMPEACHMENTS:    Josiah  Hayes,  1874,  and  Theo- 

dosius  Botkin,  1891   Cortez  A.  M.  Etoing,  281 

TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:    The  James  A.  Lord  Chicago  Dramatic 
Company,  1869-1871.     (In  two  installments,  Part  One), 

James  C.  Malin,  298 

BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY 324 

KANSAS  HISTORY  AS  PUBLISHED  IN  THE  PRESS 326 

KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES  .   333 


Number  4— Winter,  1957 

PAGE 

AN  ARMY  HOSPITAL:    From  Dragoons  to  Rough  Riders — 

Fort  Riley,  1853-1903  George  E.  Omer,  Jr.,  337 

With  photographs  of  the  hospitals  of  Fort  Riley  in  1854,  1865  and  1889; 
main  post  dispensary,  1889;  hospital  ambulance,  1900;  the  medical 
detachments  of  1870  and  1900,  and  portraits  of  Medical  Officers  Joseph 
K.  Barnes,  James  Simons,  William  A.  Hammond  and  Bernard  J.  D. 
Irwin,  between  pp.  352,  353. 

A  KANSAS  REVIVAL  OF  1872 William  E.  Berger,  368 

THE  KIOWA  AND  COMANCHE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1860  AS  RECORDED  IN  THE 

PERSONAL  DIARY  OF  LT.  J.  E.  B.  STUART, 

Edited  by  W.  Stitt  Robinson,  382 
TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:    The  James  A.  Lord  Chicago  Dramatic 

Company,  1869-1871— Concluded  James  C.  Malin,  401 

BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY 439 

KANSAS  HISTORY  AS  PUBLISHED  IN  THE  PRESS 441 

KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES 445 

ERRATA  AND  ADDENDA,  VOLUME  XXIII 448 

INDEX  TO  VOLUME  XXIII 449 

(iv) 


THE 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL 
QUARTERLY 


Spring     1957 


Published  by 

Kansas  State  Historical  Society 

Topeka 


NYLE  H.  MILLER  KIRKE  MECHEM  JAMES  C.  MALIN 

Managing  Editor  Editor  Associate  Editor 


CONTENTS 


THE  INVENTION  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  DIAL  TELEPHONE:  The  Con- 
tribution of  Three  Lindsborg  Inventors Emory  Lindquist,  1 

With  portraits  of  John  Erickson,  Charles  J.  Erickson  and  Frank  A.  Lund- 
quist,  facing  p.  8,  and  photographs  of  early  dial  telephones,  between 
pp.  8,  9. 

MANHATTAN'S  OLDEST  HOUSE  WAS  BUILT  BY  DAVID  A.  BUTTERFIELD, 

C.  W.  McCampbell,       9 

With   photographs    of   Poyntz   avenue,    Manhattan,   in    1860,    between    pp. 
8,  9,  and  the  David  A.  Butterfield  residence,  Manhattan,  facing  p.  9. 

THEATRE  IN  KANSAS,  1858-1868:  Background  for  the  Coming  of  the  Lord 
Dramatic  Company  to  Kansas,  1869  (Part  One,  Leavenworth) 

James  C.  Malin,     10 

THE  ANNUAL  MEETING:  Containing  Reports  of  the  Secretary,  Treasurer, 
Executive  and  Nominating  Committees;  Address  of  the  President,  PECK'S 
BAD  BOYS,  the  Story  of  the  35th  Infantry  Division  in  World  War  I, 
by  Wilford  Riegle;  Election  of  Officers;  List  of  Directors  of  the  Society,  54 

RECENT  ADDITIONS  TO  THE  LIBRARY Compiled  by  Alberta  Pantle, 

Librarian,     85 

BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY 104 

KANSAS  HISTORY  AS  PUBLISHED  IN  THE  PRESS 105 

KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES  .  .  .    108 


The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly  is  published  four  times  a  year  by  the  Kansas 
State  Historical  Society,  120  W.  Tenth,  Topeka,  Kan.,  and  is  distributed  free  to 
members.  Correspondence  concerning  contributions  may  be  sent  to  the  manag- 
ing 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 

An  Alexander  Gardner  photograph  of  1867  which  he  titled: 
"U.  S.  Express  Overland  Stage  Starting  for  Denver  From  Hays 
City,  Kansas." 


THE  KANSAS 
HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Volume  XXIII  Spring,  1957  Number  1 

The  Invention  and  Development  of  the  Dial 

Telephone:   The  Contribution  of 

Three  Lindsborg  Inventors 

EMORY  LINDQUIST 

THE  Smoky  valley  in  central  Kansas,  peopled  by  Swedish  im- 
migrants in  the  1860's,  has  made  a  distinctive  contribution 
to  the  best  tradition  of  fine  music  and  art.  The  Lindsborg  "Messiah" 
chorus  and  the  great  artistry  of  the  late  Birger  Sandzen  have  greatly 
enriched  the  cultural  life  of  the  Plains  area.  This  valley  also  fur- 
nished the  setting  for  the  careers  of  three  people  of  Swedish  ances- 
try, whose  creative  ability  was  turned  into  inventions.  They  were 
two  brothers,  John  and  Charles  J.  Erickson,  and  Frank  A.  Lund- 
quist.  These  men  shared  their  talent  primarily  in  making  substan- 
tial contributions  to  the  invention  and  development  of  the  dial  tele- 
phone.1 

The  story  had  its  beginning  on  the  Erickson  homestead,  three 
miles  northeast  of  Lindsborg,  where  Anders  Erickson  and  his  wife, 
Anna  Maria,  settled  in  1869.  They  came  in  April  of  that  year  from 
Varmland,  Sweden,  to  share  in  founding  the  Lindsborg  com- 
munity.2 Anders,  the  father,  had  unusual  talent  as  a  mechanic; 
he  was  recognized  in  the  entire  area  for  his  skill  as  a  blacksmith,  and 
as  a  fine  craftsman,  working  in  metal  and  wood.  The  sons  watched 
their  father  perform  difficult  tasks  with  simple  equipment.  With  the 
passing  of  the  years,  a  shop  measuring  14  by  9  feet  was  provided  for 

DR.  EMORY  KEMPTON  LINDQUIST,  a  former  president  of  Bethany  College,  Lindsborg,  is 
dean  of  the  faculties  at  the  University  of  Wichita.  He  is  author  of  Smoky  Valley  People 
(1953). 

1.  John  Erickson  was  born  in  Langbanshyttan,   Sweden,   January   25,    1866.      He  died 
on  October  18,   1943.     Charles  J.  Erickson  was  born  at  Lindsborg  on  July  23,  1870.     He 
died  on  September  28,  1954.     Frank  A.  Lundquist  was  born  in  Galva,  111.,  June  23,  1868. 
He    died    on    April    6,    1954.       Biographical    information    on    the    Ericksons    is    found    in 
Svenska  Nyheter,  Chicago,  July  19,  1904. 

2.  The    Anders    Ericksons    came    prior    to    the    250    Swedes,    who    immigrated    from 
Varmland  in  May,   1869,  under  the  leadership  of  Rev.  Olof  Olsson.     About  one-half  of  the 
group    came    to    the    future    Lindsborg    community. — Emory    Kempton    Lindquist,    Smoky 
Valley  People.     A  History  of  Lindsborg,  Kansas  (Lindsborg,   1953),  pp.  5-16. 


2  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

the  brothers,  adjoining  that  of  their  father.  Here  they  dreamed, 
planned,  and  worked. 

In  an  account  written  by  Charles  Erickson,  the  younger  of  the 
two  brothers,  is  found  a  description  of  their  early  activities  and  their 
relationships  with  Frank  A.  Lundquist,  a  friend  and  associate.3  The 
brothers  knew  no  limits  to  their  plans  for  inventions.  Charles 
pointed  out  that  their  first  project  was  to  solve  the  perpetual  motion 
problem!  They  worked  on  it  for  three  years,  but  were  forced  like 
countless  others  to  abandon  it.  They  next  turned  toward  the  inven- 
tion of  a  "horseless  buggy"  to  be  driven  by  gas  explosion.  The  en- 
gine functioned,  but  it  did  not  generate  adequate  power.  The  crea- 
tive spirit  continued  to  challenge  the  youthful  inventors  as  described 
by  Charles: 

John  and  I  stuck  to  the  old  game  and  were  busier  than  ever.  Our  workshop 
on  the  farm  was  a  busy  place  day  and  night  during  the  Winter  months  and 
whenever  opportunity  presented  itself  in  the  Summer,  and  the  dusky  kerosene 
lamp  gleamed  until  midnight  almost  every  night.  At  the  time  we  were  struck 
by  the  automatic  brain  storm.  We  had  many  irons  in  the  fire,  a  printing  tele- 
graph, a  new  principle  for  a  phonograph  to  store  the  sound  without  mechanical 
engraving  and  an  automatic  piano  player.  We  had  a  connection  in  Denver  that 
financed  the  work  as  far  as  paying  for  the  material  and  patents,  if  we  should  get 
that  far.  The  tools  and  machinery  we  made  ourselves,  such  as  lathes,  gear 
cutting  machines,  and  drill  presses.4 

The  careers  of  the  Ericksons  and  Lundquist  were  influenced 
greatly  by  the  residence  which  the  latter  established  in  Chicago, 
where  he  worked  for  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company  for  six 
months.  Lundquist  was  interested  in  an  invention  relative  to  the 
telephone.  The  development  of  his  ideas  based  upon  a  visit  to  a 
hotel  in  Salina,  where  he  observed  the  operation  of  the  telephone 
exchange,  has  been  described  by  him  as  follows :  "The  idea  occurred 
to  me  then  that  some  day  those  connections  would  be  made  auto- 
matically. I  loitered  around  the  hotel  lobby  and  made  a  regular  pest 
of  myself  examining  that  switchboard  and  revolving  that  thought  in 
my  mind.  Then  I  went  back  home  and  began  to  figure  and  tinker 
away  with  the  idea/' 5  Lundquist  had  a  little  shop  in  the  loft  of  an 
old  red  barn  at  his  home  in  Lindsborg,  where  he  tried  to  translate  his 

3.  Letter,  Charles  J.  Erickson  to  Carl  L.   Olson,  April  2,   1932.     Lundquist  was  the 
son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  N.  F.  Lundquist,  who  came  to  the  Lindsborg  community  from  Illinois 
in  1870. 

4.  Ibid. 

5.  Lindsborg  News-Record,  July  6,  1923. 


INVENTION  AND  DEVELOPMENT,  DIAL  TELEPHONE  3 

ideas  into  reality.  He  subscribed  to  one  scientific  magazine,  whose 
contents  he  studied  carefully.6 

Lundquist,  according  to  Charles  Erickson's  account,  continued 
to  emphasize  his  interest  in  an  automatic  telephone  and  told  the 
brothers  that  someone  in  Chicago  was  trying  to  develop  this  system. 
The  basic  patent  on  the  telephone  was  obtained  by  Alexander 
Graham  Bell  in  1876.  Three  years  later,  in  1879,  an  automatic 
switching  system  was  devised  by  David  Connolly,  T.  A.  Connolly, 
and  J.  T.  McTighe,  although  it  was  not  practical.  The  reference 
by  Lundquist  was  undoubtedly  to  the  device  created  by  Almon  B. 
Strowger  in  1889,  which  developed  into  a  successful  automatic 
switching  system.  On  November  3,  1892,  the  first  exchange,  which 
accommodated  about  75  subscribers,  was  opened  at  La  Porte,  Ind.7 

The  response  of  the  Erickson  brothers  to  the  possibility  of  de- 
veloping an  automatic  telephone  is  recorded  by  Charles  as  follows: 

After  John  and  I  thought  the  problem  over  for  a  few  minutes  we  saw  that 
it  could  be  done  on  somewhat  the  same  principle  as  the  printing  telegraph  we 
had  underway.  After  we  had  explained  to  Frank  how  we  saw  it  possible, 
he  was  up  in  the  air  with  enthusiasm  and  said  that  if  we  could  produce  such 
a  system  it  would  be  a  gold  mine  and  worth  more  than  all  the  inventions  we 
were  working  on.  He  became  very  insistent  that  we  tackle  the  problem  and  lay 
all  our  work  aside  for  the  time  being.  .  .  .  This  happened  about  the  1st 
of  November,  1892,  and  by  the  New  Year  we  had  a  model  completed  with 
a  capacity  of  one  hundred  contacts  or  lines.  We  also  had  a  calling  device 
finished  to  operate  the  switch  with.8 

Financial  support  for  the  new  project  was  secured  by  Lundquist 
from  Gust  and  John  Anderson,  grain  dealers  in  Lindsborg  and 
Salina.  The  kerosene  lamp  burned  far  into  the  night  in  the  small 
shop  on  the  Erickson  homestead  near  Lindsborg  as  the  invention 
was  redesigned  and  perfected. 

The  time  had  come  when  the  trio  decided  that  their  automatic 
telephone  should  be  presented  to  the  world.  The  place  chosen 
was  Chicago.  On  March  14,  1893,  Carl  O.  Pearson,  a  friend  and 
neighbor,  brought  the  Ericksons  and  their  precious  invention  in  a 

6.  Capper's  Weekly,  Topeka,  July  28,  1923. 

7.  These   early   developments   are   discussed   in  R.    B.   Hill's   "The  Early  Years    of   the 
Strowger  System,"  Bell  Laboratories  Record,  New  York,  v.  31    (1953),  pp.  95,  96;  R.  B. 
Hill,  "Early  Work  on  the  Dial  Telephone  Systems,"  Bell  Laboratories  Record,  New  York, 
v.  31   (1953),  pp.  22,  23.     Strowger  was  a  mortician  in  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  before  entering 
the  field  of  telephonic  inventions.     He  left  the  Strowger  Company  for  reasons  of  health  in 
1896.     He  died  in  St.  Petersburg,  Fla.,  in  May,  1902. 

8.  Charles  J.  Erickson  to  Carl  L.  Olson,  April  2,  1932.    When  Mr.  C.  M.  Candy,  chief 
patent  attorney  for  Associated  Electric  Laboratories,  Inc.,  presented  the  Talbot  G.  Martin 
award  to  Charles  J.   Erickson  at   Chicago   on  December   15,   1938,  he  exhibited  an   auto- 
matic switch  made  by  the  Erickson  brothers  before  they  came  to  Chicago  in  1893. — Tele- 
phony Magazine,  Chicago,  February  4,   1939,  p.  32. 


4  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

spring  wagon  to  the  Lindsborg  railroad  station  for  the  beginning 
of  the  fateful  journey  to  Chicago.  Upon  arrival  in  Chicago,  an 
old  store  front  was  rented  as  a  workshop  and  equipped  with  neces- 
sary tools  and  machinery,  including  a  foot-power  lathe.  Money 
was  scarce  and  other  employment  could  not  be  obtained.  This 
was  a  time  of  real  hardship  for  the  eager  Lindsborg  inventors.  A 
group  of  Chicago  Swedes  became  interested  in  the  proposed  auto- 
matic telephone,  but  this  was  a  precarious  venture,  and  adequate 
financial  support  was  not  available. 

The  pattern  changed,  however,  toward  the  end  of  1893,  when 
two  men,  A.  E.  Keith  and  A.  B.  Strowger,  contacted  the  Linds- 
borg inventors  and  requested  a  conference  with  the  objective  of 
discussing  the  automatic  telephone.  Charles  Erickson  has  described 
the  situation  as  follows: 

Previous  to  our  time  in  this  field,  about  a  year  earlier,  a  company  was 
organized  in  Chicago  for  the  purpose  of  developing  an  automatic  telephone 
system,  namely  the  Strowger  Automatic  Telephone  Exchange  Company,  and 
as  a  last  resort  we  invited  this  company  to  look  into  what  we  had  developed. 
As  for  having  anything  in  the  shape  of  an  automatic  telephone  system  they  were 
in  much  worse  shape  than  we  were.  They  realized  their  own  weakness  and 
were  as  close  to  throwing  up  the  sponge  as  we  were,  so  they  gladly  and  quickly 
accepted  our  invitation,  and  the  following  morning  two  of  the  company's 
engineers  appeared  on  the  scene  and  introduced  themselves  as  Messrs.  A.  E. 
Keith  and  A.  B.  Strowger.  After  a  couple  of  hours's  discussion  and  exhibiting 
they  were  pretty  well  spirited  up  with  enthusiasm  and  admitted  that  what  we 
had  was  quite  a  bit  further  advanced  than  their  own.  The  result  was  that  they 
made  us  a  proposition  to  join  their  company.  .  .  .  This  took  place  at  the 
close  of  the  year  1893,  and  so  ended  our  first  year  of  pioneering  work  in  quest 
for  gold  on  the  inventor's  rocky  road  on  unexplored  ground.  Up  to  this  time 
we  had  designed  three  types  of  switches,  two  in  Chicago  and  one  in  Kansas."  9 

When  the  Lindsborg  inventors  joined  the  Strowger  Company,  the 
latter  had  a  small  exchange  at  La  Porte,  Ind.,  which  required  five 
lines  to  every  telephone.  The  automatic  telephone  was  advertised 
at  that  time  as  the  "girl-less,  cuss-less,  and  wait-less  telephone." 
The  Erickson's  invention  required  only  two  lines.  Strenuous  efforts 
were  made  to  improve  the  system.  Charles  has  pointed  out  that  the 
first  product  was  a  system  with  one  hundred  line  capacity,  but 
soon  this  proved  inadequate.  The  capacity  was  increased  substan- 
tially from  time  to  time.  The  inventors  worked  steadily  and  imagina- 
tively. In  1895  application  was  made  for  a  patent,  which  became 
No.  638,249,  issued  to  A.  E.  Keith  and  the  Erickson  brothers  in 

9.    Charles  J.  Erickson  to  Carl  L.  Olson,  April  2,  1932. 


INVENTION  AND  DEVELOPMENT,  DIAL  TELEPHONE  5 

1899.  It  recognized  a  type  of  switch  quite  similar  to  the  modern 
step-by-step  switch.10 

The  most  important  developments  with  which  the  Erickson 
brothers  were  associated  received  the  finishing  touches  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1896.  The  future  of  the  automatic  telephone  was  limited 
by  the  number  of  lines  required.  Keith  and  the  Ericksons  worked 
steadily  on  a  new  system  "employing  the  trunking  or  transfer  prin- 
ciple in  order  to  remove  the  limitation  on  the  size  of  an  automatic 
exchange  imposed  by  the  necessity  of  multiplying  all  of  the  sub- 
scribers lines  to  each  switch."  n  The  patent  for  the  1,000-line  trunk- 
ing  system  by  Keith  and  Ericksons  was  applied  for  on  June  23,  1897, 
and  Patent  No.  672,942  was  granted  on  April  30,  1901.  Charles  has 
described  the  background  factors  as  follows : 

John  and  I  had  long  before  this  time  decided  on  the  one  and  only  principle 
to  follow  to  success.  We  realized  at  the  start  how  impractical  and  impossible 
the  principle  was  that  we  had  started  on  and  that  all  others  had  followed  in  their 
attempt  to  develop  an  automatic  system.  The  second  principle  entertained  by 
John  and  myself  remained  quite  hazy  for  a  long  time.  The  problem  of  dis- 
persing the  mist  was  hard  and  seemed  impossible  at  times,  but  the  hobby  for 
unsolved  problems  still  lived  in  us  and  the  will  that  always  finds  a  way  drove  us 
on,  and  as  the  work  went  on  a  spark  now  and  then  dislodged  some  of  the  doubt 
and  between  hope  and  dispair  we  paved  the  way  to  the  crowning  day  of  our 
labor.  Three  years  passed  by  before  we  saw  the  way  clear  to  give  the  prin- 
ciple a  test  and  on  June  6,  1896,  we  put  the  finishing  touch  on  the  most  im- 
portant model  ever  built  in  the  field  of  automatic  telephone  engineering,  and 
after  a  few  demonstrations,  the  work  was  pronounced  a  success.  The  doors 
were  now  open  to  a  field  of  great  possibilities  of  which  the  boundaries  have  not 
yet  been  explored.12 

Lundquist,  who  had  left  the  Strowger  company  in  1896,  received 
Patent  No.  776,524  in  1904  for  the  automatic  selection  of  an  idle 
trunk.13 

The  most  dramatic  contribution  of  the  Ericksons  in  telephony  is 
associated  with  the  invention  and  development  of  the  dial  telephone. 
Application  for  the  patent  was  made  by  Keith  and  the  Ericksons  on 
August  20, 1896,  and  Patent  No.  597,062  was  granted  on  January  11, 
1898.  The  dial  method  was  based  upon  a  finger  wheel  dial  instead 
of  the  push  buttons,  which  were  cumbersome  and  impractical.  The 
dial  method,  with  the  switching  and  trunk  systems,  provided  full 

10.  Hill,    "The   Early   Years    of   the    Strowger   System,"    loc.    cit.,   p.    96;    Hill,    "Early 
Work  on  Dial  Telephone  Systems,"  loc.  cit.,  p.  28. 

11.  Hill,  "The  Early  Years  of  the  Strowger  System,"  loc.  cit.,  pp.  99,  100. 

12.  Charles  J.  Erickson  to  Carl  L.  Olson,  April  2,   1932. 

13.  Hill,  "The  Early  Years  of  the  Strowger  System,"  loc.  cit.,  p.  100. 


6  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

access  to  the  vast  resources  of  a  telephone  exchange.  R.  B.  Hill, 
an  authority  in  telephony,  has  described  this  important  development 
as  follows:  "Dialing  a  number  wound  up  a  spring  whose  tension, 
when  the  finger  was  withdrawn,  caused  the  dial  to  return  to  its 
normal  position.  The  return  rotation  was  limited  to  a  moderate 
speed  by  an  escapement  mechanism,  and,  during  the  return,  the  re- 
quired number  of  circuit  interruptions  took  place  to  control  the 
movement  of  the  central  office  apparatus."  14  C.  M.  Candy,  chief 
patent  attorney  for  Associated  Electric  Laboratories,  Inc.,  at  a  tes- 
timonial dinner  for  Charles  in  Chicago  in  December,  1939,  described 
the  invention:  "This  dial  was  circular  like  the  present  dial  but  in- 
stead of  holes,  it  had  lugs  on  a  finger  plate,  which  were  finger  ^holds' 
rather  than  holes."  15  This  invention  was  a  distinctive  and  unique 
development;  the  principle  has  not  been  superceded.  The  inventors 
from  the  Smoky  valley,  who  had  always  placed  themselves  on  the 
line  of  discovery,  saw  a  further  realization  of  their  hopes  and  dreams. 
The  Erickson  brothers  continued  their  association  with  the  Strow- 
ger  Automatic  Telephone  Exchange  Company  until  1901,  when  the 
Automatic  Electric  Company  was  organized  at  Chicago.  They  be- 
came development  engineers  and  remained  with  that  organization 
until  time  of  retirement.  The  handful  of  men,  including  A.  B.  Keith, 
Almon  B.  Strowger,  Charles  J.  and  John  Erickson,  and  Frank  A. 
Lundquist,  the  last  three  from  Lindsborg,  shared  in  the  development 
of  a  great  industry.  The  Automatic  Electric  Company,  Chicago, 
now  employs  6,000  men  and  women.16  Strowger-type  equipment 
serves  more  telephones  in  the  United  States  and  throughout  the 
world  than  all  other  automatic  systems.  The  system  was  introduced 
abroad  for  the  first  time  in  1898  by  the  use  of  a  200-line  switchboard 
in  London.  A  400-line  system  was  established  in  Berlin  in  1899. 
The  system  was  later  installed  in  Canada,  Cuba,  Australia,  Argen- 
tina, Hawaii,  New  Zealand,  India,  and  South  Africa,  and  elsewhere 
in  the  Far  East  and  Europe.17  Leslie  H.  Warner,  a  graduate  of 

14.  Ibid.,  pp.  98,  99.     It  is  important  to  identify  this  basic  fact.     While  the  principle 
of  the  automatic  telephone  was  known  prior  to  this  time,  the  important  invention  of  the  dial 
telephone,    with    its    unique    features,   resulted    from    the    patent    issued    to   Keith    and    the 
Ericksons. 

15.  Telephony   Magazine,   February   4,    1939,   pp.    32,   33.      The  first   dial   telephones 
were  installed  at  Albion,  N.  Y.,  in  1896. — "The  Story  of  the  Automatic  Electric  Company" 
(Chicago,  N.  D.,  mimeograph),  p.   10. 

16.  John  and  Charles  J.  Erickson  were  the  sixth  and  seventh  employees  of  the  original 
company    and    its    first    two    development    engineers. — Telephony    Magazine,    February    4, 
1939,  p.   32. 

17.  "The  Story  of  the  Automatic  Electric  Company,"  p.  7. 


INVENTION  AND  DEVELOPMENT,  DIAL  TELEPHONE  7 

Wichita  High  School  East  and  the  University  of  Wichita,  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Automatic  Electric  Company. 

The  Erickson  brothers  and  Lundquist  established  an  enviable  pat- 
tern in  the  field  of  inventions.  John  was  credited  with  115  patents. 
Charles  had  a  total  of  35  patents.  The  latter  was  characterized  by 
a  philosophical  type  of  mind,  exploring  theoretically  the  laws  of 
nature.  He  was  often  called  upon  by  company  associates  to  solve 
complicated  problems  and  met  with  great  success.  Both  men  re- 
ceived the  Talbot  G.  Martin  award  for  distinguished  service  in  tele- 
phony. The  award  was  made  to  John  in  1936  and  to  Charles  in 
1938.  The  record  of  their  achievement  is  impressive.  Outstand- 
ing contributions  were  made  by  them  in  the  invention  of  the  dial 
telephone,  the  piano  wire  switch,  the  automatic  selection  of  an  idle 
trunk,  the  pay  stations  for  automatic  subscriber  lines,  the  preselec- 
tion of  trunk  lines,  etc.18  Lundquist  applied  for  more  than  100 
patents  on  the  automatic  telephone.19 

The  pattern  of  development  from  the  first  experiments  on  the 
homestead  north  of  Lindsborg  until  the  day  of  triumph  has  been 
described  by  Charles  Erickson  as  follows: 

From  that  early  frosty  dawn  of  March  14,  1893,  that  brought  the  hours  of 
parting  from  the  peaceful  prairies  of  Kansas  to  the  momentous  day  of  June  6, 
1896,  when  the  finishing  touches  were  put  on  the  most  important  model  ever 
produced  in  the  automatic  telephone  field,  there  were  cloudy  and  stormy  days 
in  which  [we]  pioneered  in  unexplored  grounds  of  research.  But  now  and  again 
there  came  a  ray  of  sunlight  to  inspire  new  hopes,  to  encourage  [us]  to  continue 
to  struggle.  And  the  day  that  served  to  crown  [our]  achievement  did  arrive, 
the  queen  of  communication,  "The  Machine  Girl,"  was  completed;  then  to  be 
abused  and  ridiculed  in  infancy;  now  adopted  and  praised  by  all  nations.20 

In  May,  1951,  dial  telephone  service  was  installed  in  Lindsborg 
by  the  Southwestern  Bell  Telephone  Company.21  The  grandchil- 
dren of  the  Swedish  pioneers  became  once  again  the  beneficiaries  of 
the  vision  and  energy  of  an  earlier  generation.  Millions  of  people 
throughout  the  world  share  daily  in  the  convenience  of  the  dial 
telephone,  which  owes  so  much  to  the  dreams  and  hopes  of  these 
young  Kansans  in  the  Smoky  valley. 

While  the  pattern  of  life  brought  fame  to  the  Erickson  brothers 

18.  Telephony   Magazine,   February  4,    1939,   pp.    32,   33;    Capper's  Weekly,   Topeka, 
July  2o,    1923. 

19.  Capper's  Weekly,  July  28,   1923. 

20.  Lindsborg  News-Record,  February  2,   1939. 

21.  Ibid.,  May  10,  1951. 


8  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

in  distant  places,  there  was  for  them  across  the  decades  a  fond  re- 
membrance of  the  early  days  in  Kansas.  Charles  described  his  feel- 
ings on  the  occasion  of  a  testimonial  dinner  in  1939: 

A  sheltered  nook  in  the  Smoky  Valley  of  Central  Kansas  today  preserves  the 
crumbling  and  forgotten  monument  to  the  model  that  substituted  brains  and 
fingers  of  iron  for  the  human — the  workshop  that  cradled  the  "Machine  Girl." 
Forgotten  that  monument  may  be,  but  there  linger  therein  many  and  sweet 
memories  of  happy  days  of  long  ago  for  two  who  began  their  work  there.22 

22.  Ibid.,  February  2,  1939.  The  small  frame  building  in  which  the  Ericksons 
worked  is  located  on  the  farm  of  Carl  O.  Pearson  northeast  of  Lindsborg. 


£ 

Q 
CO 
CO 


Manhattan's  Oldest  House  Was  Built  by 
David  A.  Butterfield 

C.   W.    McCAMPBELL 

A  SEARCH  of  several  years  has  revealed  the  fact  that  the  oldest 
«*-~JL  residence  in  Manhattan  is  the  stone  house  at  307  Osage  St., 
shown  in  the  accompanying  photograph.  It  is  still  in  good  condition 
and  occupied.  Two  frame  rooms  have  been  added  since  the  orig- 
inal structure  was  built.  It  is  now  owned  by  A.  W.  Torluemke. 

The  exact  age  of  the  house  is  not  certain.  The  original  owner, 
David  A.  Butterfield,  bought  the  site  from  the  Manhattan  Town 
Association  on  July  18, 1857,  for  $50.  On  July  8, 1858,  he  mortgaged 
it  to  John  Mails  for  $400,  with  interest  at  20  percent.  The  mortgage 
includes  this  statement:  "Lot  150,  Ward  2  ...  meaning  and 
intending  the  lot  on  which  David  A.  Butterfield  now  lives."  The 
house  therefore  was  built  between  July  18,  1857,  and  July  8,  1858. 

Several  publications  dealing  with  early  Manhattan  state  that 
William  Goodnow  built  the  first  and  David  A.  Butterfield  the  second 
stone  house  in  Manhattan.  The  Goodnow  house  was  torn  down 
some  years  ago.  Earlier  frame  houses  have  passed  out  of  existence. 

David  A.  Butterfield  was  born  at  Jay,  Maine,  1834,  and  came  to 
Kansas  in  1856.  He  was  elected  sheriff  of  Riley  county  in  1857.  The 
records  of  the  New  England  Emigrant  Aid  Company  contain 
references  to  Butterfield's  operation  of  its  mill  at  Manhattan  in 
1857  and  1858.  By  the  middle  of  1858,  however,  he  may  have  been 
in  the  process  of  transferring  his  work  and  residence  to  Junction 
City,  for  a  letter  from  a  correspondent  of  that  city  published  in  the 
Herald  of  Freedom,  Lawrence,  on  June  26,  1858,  reported:  "Mr. 
D.  A.  Butterfield  of  Manhattan,  has  purchased  a  steam  saw  mill, 
has  it  now  in  town,  and  is  being  put  up  as  rapidly  as  possible.  In 
connection  with  the  saw  mill,  he  will  have  a  grist,  shingle  and  lath 
mill." 

Butterfield  moved  to  Denver  in  1862  and  returned  to  Kansas, 
at  Atchison,  in  1864.  He  organized  that  year  Butterfield's  Overland 
Dispatch,  a  famous  freighting  concern  which  operated  between 
Atchison  and  Denver.  It  failed  in  1866  and  Butterfield  moved  to 
Mississippi.  Later  he  located  in  Hot  Springs,  Ark.,  where  he 
established  a  horse-drawn  street  car  line.  He  was  killed  there  on 
March  28,  1875,  in  a  quarrel  with  an  employee. 

DR.  C.  W.  MCCAMPBELL  is  a  professor  of  animal  husbandry  emeritus  at  Kansas  State 
College,  Manhattan. 

2—5869  (9) 


Theatre  in  Kansas,  1858-1868:  Background 

For  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  Dramatic 

Company  to  Kansas,  1869 

JAMES  C.  MALIN 
I.    INTRODUCTION:   LEAVENWORTH,  THE  METROPOLIS 


history  of  theatre  in  Kansas  begins,  for  all  practical  pur- 
J-  poses,  with  the  decade  1858-1868.  Attempts  at  dramatic  en- 
tertainment prior  to  1858  were  isolated,  but  that  year  brought  some 
semblance  of  orderly  development  and  continuity.  Furthermore, 
that  decade  possessed  an  approximation  of  unity,  characterized  by 
the  tradition  of  the  resident  theatrical  company  and  the  "star"  sys- 
tem. The  condition  which  marked  the  coming  of  the  Lord  Dramatic 
Company  to  Kansas,  in  the  season  of  1869-1870,  indicated  a  sharp 
break  away  from  the  earlier  general  theatrical  practices  in  the  coun- 
try as  a  whole  —  one  that  crystallized  in  this  particular  area  during 
the  late  1860's.  A  comparatively  detailed  historical  treatment  is  re- 
quired to  differentiate  the  decade  1858-1868  from  everything  that 
was  to  come  after,  and  to  explain  how  the  change  came  about  that 
introduced  James  A.  and  Louie  Lord,  and  road  shows  like  them. 
A  number  of  factors  were  involved  in  so  complex  a  transition,  both 
as  related  to  the  country  as  a  whole  and  to  the  local  area,  but  among 
the  Missouri  river  elbow  cities  and  the  interior  towns  of  Kansas, 
the  advent  of  railroads  was  critical. 

For  practical  purposes,  also,  the  history  of  this  decade  of  theatre 
in  Kansas  is  virtually  the  history  of  Leavenworth  theatre,  1858- 
1867.  But  it  is  related  in  a  major  fashion  to  St.  Joseph,  St.  Louis, 
Cincinnati,  and  New  Orleans.  Necessarily  the  population  of  Kan- 
sas towns  afforded  something  of  an  index  of  the  ability  of  each  to 
support  theatrical  production  of  any  kind,  but  the  theatrical  history 
of  each  was  different.  Until  the  late  1880's  Leavenworth  was  easily 
the  metropolis  of  Kansas.  The  only  challenge  to  that  generalization 
would  be  to  consider  within  the  Kansas  context  the  Greater  Kansas 
City  metropolitan  area,  which  was  mostly  on  the  Missouri  side  of  the 
line. 

In  the  appended  table  the  population  figures  are  compiled  for  ten 
Kansas  towns.  The  first  four  are  important  only  to  the  first  period 

DR.  JAMES  C.  MALIN,  associate  editor  of  The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  is  professor 
of  history  at  the  University  of  Kansas,  Lawrence,  and  is  author  of  several  books  relating 
to  Kansas  and  the  West. 

(10) 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:    1858-1868 


11 


of  theatre,  but  all  are  pertinent  to  the  second.  By  1880  Atchison,  the 
second  city  of  1860,  appeared  to  be  about  to  challenge  Leavenworth, 
but  leveled  off  to  a  condition  almost  static.  The  changing  relative 
positions  of  Lawrence  and  Topeka  between  1860  and  1880  are  im- 
portant to  the  story.  As  the  state  capital,  Topeka  emerged  rapidly 
from  a  village  into  a  substantial  city  with  a  population  structure 
peculiar  to  its  political  character.  Lawrence,  which  had  occupied 
a  prominent  role  during  territorial  days,  declined  relatively  in  status 
and  became  very  nearly  static.  Theatrewise,  it  was  rated  a  poor 
show  town.  Fort  Scott,  the  fifth  city  in  1870,  had  been  too  small  in 
1860  to  be  listed  separately  in  the  federal  census.  It  was  too  small 
to  support  a  resident  theatre,  either  with  or  without  the  star  system, 
in  both  periods,  although  the  attempt  was  made  in  1870,  spring  and 
fall,  immediately  after  the  advent  of  the  first  railroad  from  Kansas 
City.  Even  with  the  rail  connections,  it  was  relatively  isolated  from 
other  large  towns  in  either  Kansas  or  Missouri  that  could  provide 
receipts  to  meet  high  time  and  money  costs  incident  to  travel. 

POPULATION  OF  TEN  KANSAS  TOWNS,  1860-1890 


1860 

1870 

1875 

1880 

1885 

1890 

Leavenworth 

7,429 

17,873 

15,136 

16,546 

29,268 

19,768 

Atchison 

2,616 

7,054 

10,927 

15,105 

15,599 

13,963 

Lawrence 

1,645 

8,320 

7,268 

8,510 

10,625 

9,997 

Topeka 

759 

5,790 

7,272 

15,452 

23,499 

31,007 

Fort  Scott 

4,174 

4,572 

5,372 

7,867 

11,946 

Emporia 

2,168 

2,194 

4,631 

7,759 

7,551 

Junction  City 

'217 

2,778[?] 

1,782 

2,684 

3,555 

4,502 

Salina 

918 

980 

3,111 

4,009 

6,149 

Wichita 

2,580 

4,911 

16,023 

23,853 

Wyandotte  (After 

1886  Greater 

K.  C.  Kansas) 

2,940 

4,093 

3,200 

12,086 

38,316 

The  10th  Census  of  the  United  States,  1880,  left  Junction  City,  blank,  indicating 
that  the  figure  given  by  the  preceding  census  was  not  accepted  as  valid.  Possibly  the  figure 
should  have  been  1,778. 

II.    BUILDINGS  USED  FOR  THEATRICAL  PURPOSES 

Prior  to  1870  Leavenworth's  theatrical  history  had  been  associated 
primarily  with  four  different  buildings,  essentially  successive  struc- 
tures. Although  not  specifying  in  what  building,  on  November  29, 
1856,  the  Kansas  Weekly  Herald  reported  that  Gabay's  Theatricals 
had  been  playing  that  week  to  crowded  houses.  The  editor  went  on 
to  point  out  that  Leavenworth  needed  "a  TOWN  HALL  for  Concerts, 
Theatricals,  Public  Meetings,  &c.  Who  will  take  the  lead  in  this 
matter  .  .  .  ?"  Although  not  designated  as  a  theatre,  Melo- 
deon  Hall  served  in  that  capacity  in  April,  1858,  and  later.  Not 
until  March,  1858,  was  the  Varieties  or  Union  Theatre  provided. 


12  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

BURT'S  UNION  (MARKET  BUILDING)  THEATRE 

The  announcement  was  made  in  March,  1858,  that  H.  T.  Clark 
&  Company,  apparently  the  owners,  "are  fitting  up  the  large  hall  on 
the  corner  of  Delaware  and  3rd  streets  for  a  Theatre.  It  is  being 
fitted  up  in  real  city  style.  .  .  .  The  stage  and  scenery  are  in 
perfect  order.  The  floor  is  elevated,  and  good  seats  so  arranged 
that  those  in  the  rear  can  see  as  well  as  those  in  front.  About  500 
persons  can  be  comfortably  seated."  On  March  23  the  theatre 
opened  and  continued  until  April  16,  when  it  was  closed  for  repairs 
and  preparation  of  new  scenery.  The  newspaper  accounts  were 
not  explicit  about  the  situation,  but  some  inferences  appear  to  be 
reasonable.  Probably  the  first  opening  was  a  trial  run  and  a 
calculated  risk  in  which  no  more  money  was  invested  than  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  test  out  the  possibilities. 

The  experiment  had  proved  sufficiently  successful,  apparently, 
to  justify  a  heavier  expenditure  and  some  substantial  changes  in 
management.  George  Burt,  who  had  been  identified  with  St. 
Joseph  theatre,  had  been  engaged  as  stage  manager  as  well  as  actor, 
was  a  scene  painter,  and  was  credited  with  being  the  architect  of 
the  Smith  Theatre  of  St.  Joseph.  He  was  now  made  manager  of 
the  operating  company,  which  was  a  local  group.  The  seats  were 
cushioned,  and  the  aisles  matted: 

The  scenery  has  been  remodelled  and  renewed  generally;  but  the  best  feature 
of  the  late  improvement  is  the  "drop  curtain,"  designed  and  executed  by  Mr. 
Burt.  It  represents  the  "National  Flag"  falling  in  waving  folds  of  "Red,  white 
and  blue"  upon  a  marble  pavement.  Upon  the  pavement  is  the  word  "Union," 
in  large  letters  of  gilt.  The  design  is  worthy  of  the  author,  the  execution 
artistic  in  the  highest  degree,  and  the  effect  is  charming. 

Thus  the  Varieties  Theatre  became  the  Union  Theatre.  In  this 
fashion,  even  the  theatre  in  Leavenworth,  a  city  Democratic  in 
politics  and  reputedly  Proslavery  in  sentiment,  reflected  the  critical 
political  issue  of  the  day.  Also,  Burt  announced  explicitly  that 
there  would  be  no  barroom  either  in  or  about  the  theatre.  This 
was  in  deference  to  "the  ladies  [who]  can  in  future  feel  no  repug- 
nance in  visiting  the  Theatre.  .  .  ." 

For  two  and  a  half  months  the  Union  Theatre  carried  on  with 
apparent  success,  when  fire  burned  it  and  both  sides  of  Third  street 
eastward  from  Delaware  street  until  it  had  destroyed  35  buildings. 
The  loss  was  estimated  at  $250,000.  In  describing  the  fire  loss,  the 
best  available  account  of  the  setting  of  the  Union  Theatre  emerged. 
The  building  was  known  as  Market  Hall.  The  basement  was  oc- 
cupied by  a  billiard  and  bowling  saloon;  the  first  or  ground  floor  by 
the  City  Market;  the  second  floor  by  the  city  recorder's  and  the 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  13 

marshal's  offices  and  the  Union  Theatre.  In  view  of  this  descrip- 
tion of  the  basement  occupants  of  the  building,  one  is  left  to  wonder 
how  Hurt's  assurance  about  the  elimination  of  the  barroom  atmos- 
phere was  implemented.  With  the  burning  of  their  own  building, 
the  Union  company  fell  back,  temporarily,  upon  Melodeon  Hall 
where  a  benefit  performance  was  given  for  the  relief  of  fire  victims.1 

THE  NATIONAL  THEATRE 

Within  a  week  of  the  Union  Theatre  fire,  a  move  was  made  to 
build  a  new  theatre  to  be  ready  for  operation  by  September  15. 
In  fact,  the  opening  of  the  National  Theatre  did  not  occur  until 
the  second  week  in  November.  Burt  and  Hunter  promoted  the 
enterprise  and  designed  and  painted  their  own  scenery.  Emphasis 
was  placed  upon  the  point  that  this  building  was  constructed  for 
a  theatre,  with  stage,  private  boxes,  dress  circle,  orchestra,  par- 
quette,  gallery,  and  other  arrangements.  In  fact,  Leavenworth 
insisted  that  it  was  the  only  "theatre"  west  of  St.  Louis;  at  the 
entrance  was  the  box  office  and  on  either  side  were  two  large 
doors.  The  building  was  40  by  100  feet,  and  the  stage  was  35  feet 
deep  and  28  feet  wide.  Although  not  explicit,  the  description  im- 
plied that  this  was  a  ground  floor  theatre,  not  a  second  or  third  floor 
hall  above  business  establishments.  The  location  was  Shawnee  and 
Fifth  streets.2 

Theatrical  operating  companies  kept  the  theatre  in  active  use 
with  substantial  continuity  for  about  two  years,  or  until  mid- 
September,  1860,  after  which  it  experienced  a  checkered  career. 
It  became  the  American  Concert  Hall  in  July,  1861,  and  by  early 
1863,  was  operated  as  the  Varieties  Theatre.  Attempts  were  made 
on  different  occasions  to  burn  it.  In  August,  1863,  a  grand  jury  had 
returned  an  indictment  against  the  "Moral  Show"  (its  familiar  ap- 
pelation),  as  a  public  nuisance.  After  being  unoccupied  for  some 
time  the  first  attempt  to  burn  the  building  occurred  in  November, 
1863.  In  August,  1869,  the  show  was  finally  closed  out — "a  relic  of 
infamy  gone."  Partly  burned  in  June,  1870,  the  comment  was  sig- 
nificant, that  although  the  fire  was  extinguished  nobody  "cared  in 
particular  whether  the  filthy  old  concern  was  reduced  to  ashes 
or  not."  At  one  time,  and  possibly  throughout  its  history,  this 
building  was  owned  by  a  Philadelphian.3 

1.  Kansas   Weekly   Herald,   Leavenworth,    March    13,    20,    27,   April    17,    24,    May    1, 
July  17,   24,   1858. 

2.  Ibid.,  July  24,  October  16,  23,  30,  November  13,  1858. 

3.  Leavenworth   (Daily)   Conservative,  July  7,  10,  September  18,  December  28,  1861; 
March  23,  June   14,  November   19,  December  9,   1862;   July  25,  August  9,  20,  November 
13,   1863;  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  July  26,  August  9,   13,  1863;  Times  and  Conserva- 
tive, Leavenworth,  August  3,  1869;  June  15,  1870. 


14  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

THE  UNION  (STOCKTON  HALL)  THEATRE 

Stockton  Hall  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Delaware  and  Fourth 
streets  was  built  late  in  1858  and  advertised  as  available  after 
November  22  "for  Balls,  Parties,  Concerts,  Lectures,  &c.,  &c.";  a 

"NEW  AND  SPACIOUS  HALL,  THE  LARGEST  AND  FINEST  IN  THE  WESTERN 

COUNTRY.  .  .  ."  In  the  winter  of  1861-1862,  when  amusement 
for  the  military  personnel  became  important  to  Leavenworth,  the- 
atrical activity  revived.  The  Melodeon  Concert  Hall  was  refitted 
for  operation,  but  more  important  was  the  conversion  of  Stockton's 
Hall  into  a  theatre.  Under  the  circumstances,  the  Daily  Times, 
January  24,  1862,  was  convinced  "a  well  managed  theatre  will  pay." 
On  March  20  George  Burt  and  his  wife  Agnes  opened  it  as  the 
Union  Theatre.  Under  changing  management,  operation  was  con- 
tinuous under  that  name  until  the  building  burned  January  25, 
1864.  The  Union  Theatre  was  a  second  floor  affair,  at  the  time 
of  the  fire  the  ground  floor  was  occupied  by  a  drug  store,  a  saloon, 
and  a  wholesale  liquor  store,  while  the  basement  accommodated  a 
pork-packing  establishment.  At  the  time  of  the  fire  the  property 
was  owned  by  a  Cincinnati  man.4 

THE  NEW  UNION  THEATRE 

Soon  after  the  burning  of  the  Union  Theatre  ( Old  Stockton  Hall ) 
a  new  building  was  undertaken,  to  be  opened  in  September,  1864. 
It  was  located  upon  the  old  site  at  Delaware  and  Fourth  streets, 
48  feet  on  Delaware  and  90  feet  on  Fourth  street,  two  stories,  the 
theatre  occupying  the  second  floor.  The  ground  floor  was  occupied 
by  two  of  the  same  tenants,  the  drug  store  and  the  wholesale  liquor 
business,  who  had  used  the  former  building,  and  a  new  saloon.  At 
the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  new  theatre  the  description  of  this 
saloon  made  it  appear  as  attractive  as  possible:  "A  perfect  little 
bower  of  beauty — mirrors  and  marble,  crystal  and  coral,  decanters 
and  demijohns,  is  the  New  Theatre  Saloon  on  Fourth  Street."  The 
main  entrance  to  the  theatre  itself,  on  the  second  floor,  was  also 
from  Fourth  street,  while  the  gallery  entrance  was  from  Delaware 
street.  The  stage  of  the  theatre  was  30  by  40  feet,  with  green 
room  and  dressing  rooms  under  the  stage,  and  an  entrance  from 
Fourth  street.  The  theatre  capacity  was  700.  When  reporting 
progress  in  April,  the  Daily  Times,  April  21,  consoled  itself  that 
when  completed  the  metropolis  of  Kansas  would  again  enjoy  legiti- 
mate drama.  The  opening  occurred  September  10,  1864,  with 

4.  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  November  22,  1858,  February  5,  April  23,  1859, 
January  24,  March  20,  1862,  January  26,  1864. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  15 

Sheridan  Knowles'  play  "The  Hunchback"  presented  by  the  resident 
company. 

Only  five  years  later  the  Times  and  Conservative  lamented  that 
the  old  building  was  misnamed  an  Opera  House — its  acoustics  were 
bad,  its  condition  filthy,  and  it  was  dangerous  because  the  old  exit 
from  the  gallery  had  been  removed.  In  November  of  the  same 
year,  when  the  tenor  Brignoli  had  offered  an  operatic  concert,  the 
editorial  comment  was  even  more  blunt:  "We  received  many  com- 
plaints and  would  not  speak  of  it  but  that  there  is  always  something 
wrong  with  it  [the  Opera  House].  If  the  proprietors  cannot  keep 
it  in  good  order  they  should  not  rent  it.  The  community  are  getting 
tired  of  going  into  a  hog  pen  unless  it  is  warmed."  5  The  conclusion 
to  be  drawn  from  these  candid  indictments  was  unmistakable — a 
new  theatre  was  necessary.  Not  until  1880,  however,  was  the  new 
Opera  House  a  reality — on  Shawnee  between  Fifth  and  Sixth 
streets,  with  a  capacity  of  900.  Thus  in  December,  1869,  when 
James  A.  and  Louie  Lord  first  visited  Leavenworth  and  revived 
theatrical  activity,  in  spite  of  the  disparagement  about  its  acoustics, 
filth,  and  danger,  they  played  in  the  old  (five  years  old)  Opera 
House. 

Leavenworth  had  other  public  halls  which  were  used  for  enter- 
tainment, special  events,  and  meeting  places  for  organizations.  The 
most  pretentious  of  these  was  Laing's  Hall,  over  business  establish- 
ments, located  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Delaware  and  Fourth 
streets.  It  was  described  as  being  designed  to  accommodate  1,000 
persons  in  comfortable  arm  chairs,  and  was  dedicated  April  12, 
1864,  by  the  Leavenworth  Musical  Association.  Apparently  it  was 
not  equipped  for  theatrical  performances  until  sometime  during  the 
1870's.6 

III.    THEATRE  MANAGEMENT 
RESIDENT  COMPANIES 

The  term  "theatre"  was  used,  during  the  1850's  and  1860's,  two 
ways.  It  was  applied  interchangeably  to  either  the  building  or  to 
the  company  of  actors  who  performed  there,  often  leaving  to  the 
reader  the  task  of  discriminating  from  the  context  in  each  particular 
case  which  was  meant.  The  exact  character  of  the  chain  of  business 
relations  involved  between  the  owner  of  the  building  and  the  actor 
on  the  stage  is  seldom  available  to  the  historian,  and  cannot  be 

5.  Times  and  Conservative,  Leavenworth,  August  1,  November  11,  1869. 

6.  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  December  10,  1863;  May  7,  June  22,  1864;  Leavenworth 
Daily  Conservative,  April  10,  23,  June  23,  1864. 


16  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

dealt  with  in  the  present  essay  except  in  the  most  general  terms.  The 
preceding  section  has  described  something  of  the  buildings  used 
for  theatrical  purposes  in  Leavenworth.  The  present  section  deals 
in  general  terms  with  the  management  of  theatrical  production, 
but  even  this  simplified  approach  is  sufficiently  complicated  to  con- 
fuse anyone. 

When  transportation  was  slow,  unreliable,  and  expensive  (Mis- 
souri river  navigation  was  closed  by  ice  about  three  months  of  every 
year)  theatrical  operations  had  to  be  geared  to  the  realities  of  the 
situation.  Whether  in  the  Missouri  river  cities,  or  further  east,  the 
resident  theatre  (theatrical  troupe  or  company)  was  one  possible 
answer.  When  Gabay's  Dramatic  Troupe  visited  Leavenworth 
early  in  November,  1856,  the  Herald  comment  reflected  this  situa- 
tion: "We  learn  Mr.  Gabay  proposes  at  some  future  time  making 
permanent  arrangements  for  a  theatre  in  this  place.  We  need  a 
Town  Hall  for  Concerts,  Theatricals,  Public  Meetings,  &c."  Such 
a  "permanent  .  .  .  theatre"  would  require  continuity  of  pro- 
prietorship and  management  as  well  as  a  company  of  actors  who 
would  prepare  a  long  list  of  plays  permitting  a  change  of  bill  each 
night  without  too  frequent  repetitions.  To  avoid  monotony  several 
leading  actors  would  be  required  and  further  diversification  could 
be  achieved  by  bringing  in  stars  from  time  to  time  on  short  engage- 
ments who  might  feature  plays  not  on  the  home  list,  the  resident 
company  playing  the  other  parts,  providing  support  for  such  stars. 
The  resident  theatre  might  make  outside  engagements,  leaving  the 
home  theatre  building  vacant  from  time  to  time  or  permitting  its 
use  on  such  occasions  by  other  forms  of  entertainment.  The  St. 
Joseph  Theatre,  the  Union  Theatre  at  Leavenworth,  and  as  late  as 
1870  the  Olympic  Theatre  at  Fort  Scott  undertook  to  function  upon 
such  a  basis. 

The  use  of  the  term  stock  company  as  applied  to  the  Kansas 
theatre  of  this  period  has  been  purposely  avoided.  Although  it  was 
the  technical  term  used  in  the  profession  for  certain  types  of  theatre, 
sometimes  being  substantially  the  equivalent  of  the  Leavenworth 
situation,  yet  both  the  meaning  of  the  term  and  the  status  of  the 
Leavenworth  Theatre  were  quite  variable  and  the  application  to  the 
Kansas  theatre  might  serve  only  to  confuse  further  the  history  that 
is  being  presented.  The  term  resident  theatre  has  among  other 
things  the  virtue  of  being  descriptive  of  the  nature  and  objective  of 
the  institution  as  Leavenworth  and  Atchison  saw  it.  Also,  the  term 
resident  theatre  has  the  further  merit  of  contrasting  sharply  with  the 
term  traveling  theatre,  a  difference  which  is  the  focus  of  this  study. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  17 

In  other  words,  this  is  not  a  treatment  of  the  changing  internal  struc- 
ture of  the  acting  profession  in  its  own  right,  but  a  presentation  of 
the  relations  of  theatre  as  an  institution  to  the  changes  taking  place 
in  the  structure  of  society  under  the  influences  of  technology,  par- 
ticularly the  displacement  of  water  communications  by  mechani- 
cally-powered land  communications,  together  with  a  recognition  of 
all  that  this  meant  to  the  individual  and  to  the  community  in  relation 
to  entertainment. 

The  success  of  the  resident  theatre  system  depended  upon  more 
than  a  population  large  enough  to  meet  theoretical  support  require- 
ments. In  some  respects  continuity  in  management  and  soundness 
in  long  range  planning  were  more  important  than  the  continuity  of 
acting  personnel.  Yet  a  measure  of  stability  for  the  membership 
was  desirable  to  attract  good  actors  who  might  also  be  good  citizens. 
Actors  and  the  public  might  soon  tire  of  each  other.  Mutual  re- 
spect between  the  actors  and  the  public  both  on  professional  and 
personal  bases  was  peculiarly  necessary  in  small  cities.  For  those 
actors  who  did  have  families,  the  resident  theatre  could  be  made  at- 
tractive. Not  only  did  theatre  face  these  problems,  the  schools  and 
churches  had  many  of  the  same  difficulties.  To  meet  the  problem 
of  the  minister  and  his  congregation  tiring  of  each  other,  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  made  annual  appointments,  and  usually 
limited  reappointments.  Theatre  had  no  overhead  organization  to 
administer  such  an  approach.  In  a  sense,  it  was  near  the  opposite 
extreme  in  its  lack  of  any  organized  institutions. 

For  the  decade  of  Leavenworth  theatrical  history,  1858-1867, 
under  review,  the  principal  proprietorships  of  the  acting  companies 
centered  successively  around  four  men;  a  theatrical  association  for 
which  George  Burt  was  manager,  April,  1858,  irregularly  to  1860  ( ? ) , 
1862;  A.  S.  Addis,  a  local  photographer,  March,  1862,  to  January, 
1864;  W.  H.  Coolidge,  druggist,  April,  1864,  to  May,  1866;  and 
George  D.  Chaplin,  actor,  August,  1866,  to  November,  1867. 
Addis  and  Coolidge  were  local  business  men,  not  actors;  Burt  and 
Chaplin  were  actors  as  well  as  operators  and  depended  upon  finan- 
cial support  from  others  not  named.  For  two  years,  1867  to  1869, 
Leavenworth  had  no  theatre.  In  the  sense  of  permanent  resident 
theatre,  a  statement  of  conclusions  would  seem  almost  superfluous. 
Yet  a  more  intimate  view  of  the  workings  of  Leavenworth  theatre 
are  revealing  and  rewarding. 

The  operating  association  for  the  Leavenworth  Varieties  Theatre 
of  1858  secured  the  services  of  George  Burt  and  his  "talented  and 
charming  wife"  Agnes.  His  specialty  was  "low  comedy,"  and  in 


18  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

addition  he  was  a  scene  painter.  Mrs.  Burt  played  the  leading 
feminine  roles  of  lighter  nature  usually,  and  she  sang  and  danced. 
Burt's  major  responsibility  at  the  start,  however,  was  that  of  stage 
manager.  After  the  trial  run  of  March  and  April,  1858,  and  the  reor- 
ganization, Burt  became  the  manager  of  the  theatre,  under  the  new 
name  Union  Theatre.  In  his  announcement  to  the  public  he  insisted 
that  "The  'Varieties'  [Union  Theatre]  is  emphatically  a  local  institu- 
tion— the  first  regular  Theatre  in  Kansas — (owned  by  an  association 
of  well-known  men,  who  have  used  every  exertion  for  its  advance- 
ment) and  as  such  will  be  supported  and  protected  by  our  citizens." 
The  Herald,  whose  editor,  L.  J.  Eastin,  was  a  theatre  patron,  took 
similar  ground — "the  Theatre'  is  now  a  fixed  institution  of  Leaven- 
worth."  7 

Scott's  Theatre,  playing  at  Melodeon  Hall  in  April  and  May, 
1858,  was  operated  by  a  man-and-wife  team,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  D.  L. 
Scott.  Late  in  May,  J.  C.  Thome  was  brought  to  the  theatre,  and 
after  mid-June  C.  R.  Thorne  was  manager  of  the  Union  Theatre. 
The  C.  R.  Thorne  family,  father,  mother,  and  two  sons  "chips  off  the 
old  block"  were  well  known  in  the  west.  The  fire  of  mid-July 
closed  their  career  at  this  Union  Theatre.8 

The  project  for  a  new  theatre,  which  became  the  National,  was 
promoted  by  Burt  and  Hunter.  When  the  National  Theatre  opened 
September  10,  1858,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burt  were  still  favorites,  but 
another  man-and-wife  team,  well  known  to  the  river  towns,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  C.  F.  Walters,  were  hired  to  sustain  the  heavy  characters.  The 
National's  management  changed  rapidly;  Burt  and  Coutra,  April, 
1859;  Conrad  and  Haun,  June,  1859;  Langrishe  and  Allen,  Novem- 
ber, 1859;  Thorne  and  Burt,  December,  1859;  and  Burt  again  in 
April,  1860.  Its  management  during  its  last  months  is  not  clear. 

The  Daily  Times  gave  theatre  its  editorial  support  and  when  the 
outlook  appeared  discouraging,  September  8,  1859,  wrote  of  the 
role  of  theatre  as  follows: 

The  question  of  whether  we  are  to  have  some  standard  place  of  amusement 
is  being  freely  canvassed.  The  old  National  looks  "like  a  banquet  hall  deserted." 
As  the  evenings  grow  longer,  and  the  time  gradually  approaches  for  overcoats 
and  fires,  our  "homeless"  and  restless  citizens  are  growing  exceedingly  anxious 
and  restive.  We  have  a  host  of  unmarried  folk  in  Leavenworth  who  would 
patronize  most  anything  in  the  theatrical  line,  and  we  cannot  see  why  a 
theatre  well  conducted  would  not  be  well  supported. 

During  the  winter  of  1861-1862,  with  military  personnel  to  enter- 

7.  Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leavenworth,  March  13,  20,  27,  AprU  3,  10,  17,  24,  May 
1,  15,  1858. 

8.  Ibid,  April  24,  May  22,  June  5,  12,  19,  July  10,  17,  1858. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  19 

tain,  George  Burt  and  George  Gosling  had  remodeled  Stockton  Hall 
as  a  theatre,  but  Addis  bought  into  the  Union  (Stockton  Hall) 
Theatre  in  March,  1862.  He  was  listed  as  manager,  but  the  staging 
of  shows  fell  to  Burt  at  first  and  then  to  John  Templeton  who 
quarreled  with  Burt  and  dismissed  him  in  July,  1862.  Templeton's 
control  under  the  Addis  regime  lasted  until  July,  1863,  when  he  and 
a  group  of  the  company  resigned,  in  protest  of  their  treatment,  and 
founded  a  traveling  company  under  Templeton's  management. 
George  D.  Chaplin  became  manager  of  the  Union  Theatre  under 
Addis  in  July,  1863,  continuing  until  January,  1864,  when  the  com- 
pany broke  up  in  a  quarrel  with  Addis  over  salaries.  This  theatre 
building  burned  and  Addis'  theatrical  career  as  promoter  ended. 

The  new  "Leavenworth  Theatre"  in  the  rebuilt  Stockton  Hall 
opened  in  September,  1864,  under  Coolidge  as  manager  as  well  as 
proprietor,  with  Henry  Linden  as  acting  and  stage  manager.  With 
some  modifications  in  the  proprietorship,  this  management  con- 
tinued until  May,  1866.  The  Chaplin  Opera  House  ( Stockton  build- 
ing )  opened  in  August,  1866,  and  operated  under  his  control  during 
the  season  ending  in  June,  1867;  and  in  reality  his  management 
continued  from  September  to  November,  1867,  when  the  company 
broke  up  in  a  scandal.  For  this  misfortune  the  blame  did  not  rest 
directly  upon  Chaplin,  but  lacking  adequate  financial  resources 
apparently  he  had  found  it  necessary  to  make  an  arrangement  that 
later  brought  disaster  to  his  enterprise.  In  the  briefest  terms,  a 
Leavenworth  business  man  invested  in  an  actress,  Susan  Denin, 
making  her  manageress,  with  Chaplin  as  stage  manager.  The 
company  opened  September  7,  1867,  running  until  late  October 
when  an  engagement  in  Kansas  City  took  them  out  of  town  for 
several  days,  reopening  in  the  home  theatre  November  5.  Two 
days  later,  without  notice,  the  company  went  to  St.  Joseph  where 
they  played  between  two  and  three  weeks,  again  disappearing 
without  notice — the  company  had  collapsed  when  the  sponsor  de- 
cided not  to  continue  paying  deficits.  Possibly  the  sponsor  and 
Susan  had  quarreled.  In  a  lawsuit  which  followed,  the  main  facts 
became  public  property.9 

During  the  winter  seasons  of  1867-1868  and  1868-1869  Leaven- 
worth had  no  theatre,  although  the  "Varieties"  flourished  until  closed 
August,  1869.  This  fulfilled  the  lament  and  prophecy  of  the 
Conservative,  November  24,  1867: 

9.  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  September  6,  10,  1864,  June  27,  September  9,  10, 
1865,  August  19,  1866,  August  7,  September  7,  October  23,  1867;  Daily  Conservative, 
November  2,  3,  5,  8,  12,  27,  28,  1867. 


20  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Our  people  have  very  generally  concluded  that  they  are  to  have  no  theatre 
to  entertain  them  this  winter.  Many  of  them  even  regret  not  having  encouraged 
Manager  Chaplin,  while  he  was  here,  and  as  they  are  at  a  loss  to  know  how  to 
pass  the  long  evenings,  would  probably  be  willing  to  go  now  and  see  Julia  Dean, 
Mrs.  Gladstane,  or  some  of  the  other  artists  of  ordinary  ability,  who  have  ap- 
peared in  our  city  to  $50  audiences  during  the  past  year.  On  the  whole,  we  are 
inclined  to  think  the  pleasure  seekers  of  Leavenworth  don't  want  a  theatre. 
They  will  probably  be  gratified,  for  a  time  at  least. 

Indeed  the  winter  of  1869-1870  was  well  along  before  a  break  came. 
Early  in  November,  1869,  the  tenor  Brignoli,  en  route  to  California, 
stopped  for  two  days,  November  9,  10.  He  presented  an  operatic 
concert  the  first  night,  which  included  the  first  act  of  "Lucia  di 
Lammermoor"  and  the  third  act  and  garden  scene  from  "Faust,"  and 
on  the  second  night  came  Rossini's  "Barber  of  Seville."  It  was  fol- 
lowing the  Brignoli  performances  that  the  Times  and  Conservative, 
November  11,  rendered  its  blunt  verdict  that:  "The  community  are 
getting  tired  of  going  into  a  hog  pen  unless  it  is  warmed."  Between 
that  time  and  the  appearance  of  the  Lords,  December  20,  the  opera 
house  had  been  the  scene  of  a  minstrel  show  from  St.  Louis,  and  a 
tragedian  who  read  a  number  of  dramatic  roles  and  poems.10  Of 
course,  this  did  not  mean  that  Leavenworth  had  no  entertainment  of 
any  kind;  only  that  there  were  no  theatrical  performances.  From 
time  to  time  the  opera  house  and  other  public  halls  had  many  kinds 
of  amusements  and  lectures,  some  good,  and  some  very  bad. 

THEATRE  CIRCUITS 

Not  only  was  theatre  in  the  west  in  a  state  of  flux,  such  was  its 
conspicuous  characteristic  elsewhere.  One  of  the  innovations  was 
the  theatre  circuit  in  some  form.  Thus  whatever  the  origin  of  the 
shows,  they  were  assured  a  place  in  the  offerings  of  the  member 
theatre  in  each  city  in  the  circuit. 

H.  R.  Camp,  of  Kansas  City,  was  reported  to  have  arranged. for 
a  circuit  including  Leavenworth  to  begin  in  January,  1864.  Ap- 
parently this  was  premature.11  In  1871  the  Western  Star  circuit, 
including  Kansas  City,  Leavenworth,  St.  Joseph,  and  Omaha,  was 
under  the  management  of  J.  A.  Stevens  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  where 
he  headed  a  theatrical  company.  Apparently  this  circuit  was  based 
upon  stock  companies  and  stars.  In  November,  1872,  Stevens  took 
his  company  to  Topeka  for  an  experimental  two-night  engagement  to 
test  out  the  feasibility  of  including  Topeka  in  the  circuit.  The  fol- 
io. Times  and  Conservative,  Leavenworth,  November  4,  9-11,  14,  22-28,  December 
9,  1869. 

11.    Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  October  27,  29,   1863. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  21 

lowing  year  reference  is  found  to  a  Missouri  river  circuit,  which 
included  Omaha,  Lincoln,  St.  Joseph,  Leavenworth,  Topeka,  and 
Kansas  City.  It  provided  billing  among  member  theatres  for  travel- 
ing dramatic  companies.12  In  the  West  these  projects  were  con- 
spicuously experimental  and  transitional,  and  were  introductory  to 
more  stabilized  practices  of  the  1880's,  if  anything  in  theatre  can  be 
properly  termed  stabilized. 

IV.    THE  ACTORS 
THEATRE  BEGINNINGS,  1858-1860 

In  dealing  with  the  management  of  theatres  and  dramatic  com- 
panies, necessarily  something  about  the  actors  who  appeared  on 
the  stage  has  been  included.  Several  of  the  managers  were  actors 
in  their  own  right.  The  story  of  George  and  Agnes  Burt  is  the  first 
and  most  conspicuous  case  in  point.  When  they  came  to  Leaven- 
worth  in  March,  1858,  Mrs.  Burt  was  given  a  special  introduction 
through  the  medium  of  a  letter  from  St.  Joseph  where  she  was  well 
known.  The  writer  defended  the  theatre  in  general  but  in  particular 
declared: 

In  view  of  a  vulgar  prejudice  which  has  obtained  to  a  great  extent  in  the 
towns  of  this  region,  I  will  add  that  Mrs.  Burt's  course  in  this  city,  has  been 
such  as  to  gain  for  her  the  respect  and  esteem  and  love  of  all  who  have  become 
acquainted  with  her,  and  such  as  proves  her  title  to  move,  as  she  always  has, 
in  the  best  social  circles.  Of  her  abilities  as  a  talented  and  sprightly  actress, 
you  will  not  say  I  have  spoken  too  enthusiastically  when  you  have  witnessed 
them.13 

Some  days  later,  and  on  the  basis  of  her  Leavenworth  perform- 
ances, the  verdict  was  that:  "This  talented  and  accomplished  actress 
and  lady  has  obtained  for  herself  in  this  community  an  enviable 
reputation.  She  plays,  sings  and  dances  well,  and  so  far  has  given 
universal  satisfaction."  A  few  nights  later  her  "Castinet  Dance" 
was  said  to  have  been  "perfectly  bewitching,"  and  she  was  presented 
with  a  gift  by  a  number  of  gentlemen,  headed  by  Judge  G.  W. 
Purkins. 

Additions  were  made  from  time  to  time  to  the  original  Burt 
company.  Among  them,  in  June,  1858,  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pennoyer, 
and  in  November  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  F.  Walters.14  The  wives  in  both 
of  these  man-and-wife  teams  were  distinctly  the  better  halves. 
Also  during  this  first  period  in  Leavenworth's  theatrical  history  the 

12.  Ibid.,  September  26,  1871,  February  6,  1873,  February  3,  1875;  Leavenworth  Daily 
Commercial,   September   28,    1871,   February  7,    1873;    The  Kansas  Daily  Commonwealth 
Topeka,  November  28,  1872. 

13.  Kansas  Weekly  H-erald,  Leavenworth,  March  20,  1858. 

14.  Ibid.,  June  5,  12,  November  13,  1858. 


22  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

beginnings  of  the  star  system  were  introduced,  although  not  so 
labeled.  This  is  of  some  importance  because  at  a  later  time  Addis 
was  credited  with  this  innovation.15  Among  the  several  stars, 
Eliza  Logan  must  be  mentioned  in  particular.  She  appeared  in 
April,  1859,  for  two  weeks,  beginning  April  11,  the  plays  including 
"Ingomar,"  "Evadne,"  "Lucretia  Borgia,"  and  "Romeo  and  Juliet." 
In  introducing  her  it  was  said:  "Her  name  may  be  found  on  the 
brightest  page  of  American  Drama.  Miss  Logan  is  not  a  glaring 
meteor,  flashing  through  the  histrionic  world;  but  she  is  a  sweet 
morning  star,  whose  chaste  and  mellow  light  gives  assurance  of  its 
immortality."  16  Not  only  did  she  impress  the  scribe  of  the  Herald, 
but  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burt  named  one  of  their  daughters  Eliza  Logan 
Burt.  Another  daughter  was  named  Clara,  possibly  for  Clara 
Walters.17 

One  of  the  points  made  in  the  press  when  Burt  first  arrived  in 
Leavenworth  was  that  he  was  "determined  to  elevate  the  character 
of  the  Stage  in  this  upper  country,  and  place  it  upon  a  proper 
basis."  Upon  occasion  the  Herald  featured  the  evaluations  of  out- 
siders who  were  supposedly  more  objective  than  local  critics.  One 
of  these  strangers  who  attended  the  theatre  during  a  brief  visit  to 
the  city,  commented  favorably  upon  a  number  of  the  actors  by 
name,  particularly  the  Burts  in  "The  Lady  of  Lyons,"  "Ingomar," 
"The  Maniac  Lover":  "In  a  word,  the  Union  Theatre  has  a  company 
of  professional  artists,  the  majority  of  whom  are  competent  to 
appear  on  the  boards  of  any  theatre  ...  in  elevating  the  stand- 
ard of  the  legitimate  drama,  and  in  establishing  an  institution  that 
should  meet  with  the  hearty  support  of  every  lady  and  gentleman 
in  Leavenworth  of  scholarly  attainments,  refinement  and  intelli- 
gence." On  the  same  day  the  Herald  editor  commented  that:  "The 
stock  of  performers  is  everything  that  it  should  be,  embracing  actors 
of  every  variety,  and  well  capable  to  fill  the  characters  of  any  play, 
however  numerous." 

Nearly  a  year  later  the  Times  admitted  that:  "Our  neighbors  of 
St.  Joseph  and  Kansas  City  laugh  at  us,  and  call  us  sneeringly,  the 
'Cottonwood  town/  So  be  it.  Let  those  laugh  who  win."  Again  a 
stranger  was  quoted:  "despite  your  newness,  and  the  suddenness 
of  your  being,  yours  is  the  only  place  which  imitates — which  has  the 

15.  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  December  8,  1863. 

16.  Eliza  Logan    (1829-1872)   was  a  member  of  the  Cincinnati  theatrical  family  of 
Logans,  and  sister  of  Dr.  C.  A.  Logan,  the  distinguished  Leavenworth  physician,  who  had 
located   at  Leavenworth   in    1857.      She  married   George  Wood,  theatrical   manager   in   her 
home  town,  later  in  1859  and  retired  from  the  stage. 

17.  Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leavenworth,  April  9,   16,  23,  1859;   Daily  Times,  April 
11-23,   1859,  December  20,  22,  1866. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  23 

air  and  look  of  a  metropolis."  Also,  Leavenworth  was  still  proud 
of  George  and  Agnes  Burt  because  they  were  held  "in  the  highest 
esteem  by  our  citizens,  not  only  for  the  interest  they  contribute  to 
the  stage,  but  for  their  social  qualities."  18 

The  Thorne  family  played  at  Scott's  Theatre  in  May  and  stayed 
to  perform  at  the  Union  Theatre,  C.  R.  Thorne  beginning  in  "The 
Wife,"  June  2,  and  later  playing  "Richard  III,"  and  "Othello."  Mrs. 
C.  R.  Thorne  played  Amelia  in  the  last  named  play.  In  July  Thorne 
was  in  charge  of  the  Union  Theatre.  When  the  National  Theatre 
opened  in  November,  1858,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burt  were  on  hand  for  the 
lighter  parts  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walters  for  the  heavier  parts.  In 
November,  1859,  the  Thornes  took  over  the  National  and  the  next 
month  the  Thornes,  Burts,  and  J.  R.  Aliens  worked  together  for  a 
time.  Burt  became  ill,  and  the  Thornes  and  Aliens  went  to  St. 
Joseph.  Burt,  who  had  been  having  reverses,  became  involved  in 
lawsuits,  but  in  April,  1860,  the  Times  reported  he  had  been  vindi- 
cated —  "Burt  is  indomitable  .  .  .  and  we  may  soon  expect  to 
see  the  National  again  in  its  glory."  Conditions  were  against  the 
theatre  during  the  next  months,  the  year  of  the  great  drought,  and 
the  National  closed  in  September  leaving  Leavenworth  without  a 
theatre  until  1862.  Not  at  the  National,  but  at  Stockton's  Hall,  a 
benefit  was  scheduled  for  Burt  on  September  1,  1860.  The  Time's 
urged:  "Let  all  who  can  scare  up  a  quarter,  invest  it  in  making  him 
a  bumper.  He  has  fought  hard  here  for  his  honorable  profession, 
and  as  the  pioneer  of  Leavenworth  histrionics  should  never  be 
slighted  by  our  people."  19 

During  these  trying  years  of  beginnings,  the  Burts,  the  Thornes, 
and  the  Aliens  were  closely  identified  with  the  area,  particularly 
with  St.  Joseph  and  Leavenworth.  The  elder  Thornes  retired  from 
the  stage  in  1862  and  settled  in  California.20  Part  of  the  personnel  of 
these  early  years  carried  over  into  the  second  period  beginning  in 
1862,  but  most  of  it  in  the  later  years  was  new. 

BEN  WHEELER  AND  AMERICAN  CONCERT  HALL,  1861  — 

When  the  National  Theatre  suspended  in  September,  1860,  Leav- 
enworth was  left  without  any  regular  place  of  amusement  other  than 
the  saloons,  billiard  halls,  and  places  of  a  still  lower  order  that  did 
not  advertise  or  receive  locals  notice.  Nevertheless  a  vacuum  tends 

18.  Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leavenworth,  March  27,  May  22,   1858    March  26    1859- 
Leavenworth  Weekly  Times,  April  23,  1859. 

19.  Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leavenworth,  May  22,  29,  June  5    12    19    July  10    No- 


y  10    No- 
ber  *  17' 
20.    Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  May  2,  1862. 


24  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

to  be  filled  by  something,  and  such  was  the  case  in  Leavenworth. 
Starting  operations  in  Melodeon  Hall,  on  Cherokee  street,  Ben 
Wheeler,  a  flamboyant  local  "character,"  launched  the  American 
Concert  Hall  during  the  winter  of  1860-1861.  On  April  9,  1861, 
the  Daily  Conservative,  D.  W.  Wilder,  editor,  either  as  a  "local"  or 
as  an  unidentified  advertisement,  reported  on  the  nature  of  the  at- 
tractions: "Miss  Fannie  Gilmore  in  her  songs  and  dances,  Ben. 
Wheeler  in  his  Irish  comicalities,  Pendergrast  in  the  'Happy  Land 
of  Canaan/  and  Carroll  and  Lynch  in  their  negro  eccentricities,  are 
unapproachable,  and  present  an  array  of  talent  unequaled  in  the 
West."  In  this  "varieties"  type  of  entertainment  "stars"  came  and 
went  and  the  composition  of  the  company  changed  with  some  per- 
sonalities persisting  over  a  substantial  period  of  time. 

When  the  American  Concert  Hall  moved  to  the  old  National 
Theatre,  July  10,  1861,  the  features  stressed  were  songs,  dances, 
plays,  and  burlesques  "never  before  produced  in  this  city."  Further- 
more, the  advertisement  boasted  that  the  price  had  been  reduced 
"from  one  dime  to  10  cents."  Of  the  opening  it  was  said  that  "the 
elephant  'Columbus'  was  hugely  ludicrous,  and  the  operatic  bur- 
letta,  'Oh  hush/  was  immense."  The  following  week  came  the 
"Orphan  Girl,"  and  the  "Masquerade  Ball,"  and  the  source  of  income 
to  supplement  the  reduction  of  price  "from  one  dime  to  10  cents" 
was  revealed  to  the  historian  who  otherwise  might  be  naive  and 
might  worry  about  how  so  low  an  admission  fee  could  finance  a 
show  advertising  at  least  a  half  dozen  named  stars:  — "  'Major  John' 
at  the  bar  contributes  to  the  comfort  of  the  spiritually  inclined." 
Possibly  some  sense  of  the  degradation  involved  was  reflected  in  a 
paragraph  in  which  a  parallel  was  drawn: 

The  old  National  Theater,  wherein  Hamlet  and  Romeo  were  wont  to  be 
murdered,  and  Shakespear's  [sic]  ghost  haunted  the  grim-visaged  representa- 
tives of  his  fertile  brain,  is  now  the  nightly  scene  of  Afric's  fair  sons  excentricities 
[sic],  interspersed  with  a  variety  of  entertaining  amusement. 

But  the  burden  of  the  article  in  which  the  above  paragraph  oc- 
curred was  praise  of  the  merits  of  the  current  show  and  its  particular 
star: 

Miss  Gilmore  is  gifted  with  rare  musical  talent,  and  in  to  all  of  her  melodies 
she  throws  her  whole  soul,  imbuing  each  with  a  touching  pathos,  and  feeling 
that  strikes  the  heart,  and  like  sweet  melody  lingers  to  please  the  people  of 
Leavenworth,  and  they  can  properly  show  their  appreciation  by  attending  her 
benefit  on  Saturday  night. 

With  a  change  of  bill  the  following  week  the  public  was  assured: 
"No  plays  will  be  introduced  that  need  shock  the  nerves  of  the  most 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  25 

fastidious."  Sure  the  American  Concert  Hall  was  well  on  its  way  to 
earning  its  ironic  appellation  the  "Moral  Show."  21 

The  opening  of  the  Civil  War  in  April,  1861,  inaugurated  a  fever- 
ish activity  of  military  preparations.  These  were  momentous  weeks 
of  decision  for  everybody.  The  selfish,  the  insincere,  the  charlatan 
had  an  opportunity,  and  many  made  the  most  of  it.  Ben  Wheeler, 
colonel,  if  you  please,  went  to  St.  Louis  to  see  Fremont  about 
military  matters  and  reported  satisfactory  arrangements  for  his 
military  company,  the  Fusileers,  which  would  appear  soon  on  dress 
parade  at  the  American  Concert  Hall.  Soon  the  Conservative  began 
to  ask  what  had  become  of  them — had  they  gone  south  to  join  the 
Confederacy?  They  did  not  appear  in  the  mayor's  parade,  and 
the  Conservative  inquired  again  about  the  mystery.  The  excuse 
given  was  that  they  were  too  busy  preparing  the  next  play:  "He 
Would  Be  a  Son  of  Malta,"  which  opened  September  10.  The 
Fusileers  were  called  to  meet  at  the  theatre  September  18.  The 
following  evening  a  new  program  was  presented,  including  "The 
Omnibus"  featuring  Ben  Wheeler  and  others:  ".  .  .  those  who 
thirst  will  be  attended  to  promptly  by  the  lady  waiters,  or  by  'Jonn> 
at  the  bar.  The  utmost  order  and  decorum  is  preserved  in  every 
part  of  the  house,  and  everything  is  conducted  with  the  strictest 
regard  to  propriety."  And  so  it  went — "rich,  rare  and  racy"  into 
the  winter  of  entertainment  for  soldiers  and  others  that  season  of 
1861-1862.  But  what  became  of  Ben  and  the  Fusileers  is  not  clear. 
The  management  of  the  Concert  Hall  changed  rapidly. 

In  July,  1862,  a  facetious  paragraph  referred  to  both  the  American 
and  Fusileers,  but  without  giving  much  tangible  information: 

The  Ancient  and  Honorable  Fusileers,  Col.  Ben  Wheeler,  commanding, 
J.  R.  O'Neil  Captain  and  A.  G.  G.  G.  (awful  glorious,  great  gun),  have  con- 
sented to  come  out,  march  and  show  themselves  on  the  Fourth.  Since  last 
year's  festivities  they  have  seen  much  action  in  the  tented,  contented  and  dis- 
contented field.  Persons  wishing  to  unbend  and  recreate  themselves  should  go 
to  the  meeting  at  4  o'clock  this  afternoon,  at  the  American,  when  recruits  will 
be  received.  Under  the  new  law  half  the  bounty  will  be  paid  on  enlistment. 

In  December,  1862,  Maj.  Ben  Wheeler  was  reported  to  have 
opened  a  saloon  "in  the  lately  remodelled  and  renovated  Moral  Show 
building."  Apparently  his  venture  did  not  last  long,  because  the 
notorious  "Varieties"  took  over  under  different  management  during 
the  winter  of  1862-1863,  and  in  spite  of  encounters  with  the  law  sur- 
vived until  its  final  closing  in  1869.22 

21.  Leavenworth  Daily  Conservative,  AprU  9,  July  7,  9,  10,  11,  16,  21,  25,  28,  1861. 

22.  Ibid.,  August  27,  28,  31,   September  7,  8,   10,  11,  14,   18,   19,  October  30,  No- 
vember 10,   13,  December  1,  5,   10,   12,  28,   1861,  March  23,  25,  June  14,  26,  27,  July 
1,  3,  20,  22,  31,  November  19,  December  9,   1862,  July  25,  26,  August  9,   1863;  Dotty 
Times,  March  23,  25,  30,  April  1,  2,  4,  May  12,  June   10,  1862. 

3—5869 


26  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

BURT  AT  THE  UNION  THEATRE,  1862 

As  actor,  in  differentiation  from  his  career  as  manager,  George 
Burt's  reception  was  cordial  when  he  undertook,  in  February,  1862, 
to  operate  the  Union  ( Stockton  Hall )  Theatre.  Before  regular  pro- 
ductions began  a  benefit  for  Mrs.  Burt  was  announced  for  March  20. 
The  play  was  to  be  "Honey  Moon."  The  "local"  of  the  Conserva- 
tive pronounced  Burt  "the  best  theatrical  manager  in  the  West" — 

The  house  will  be  crowded  and  the  crowd  will  be  delighted.  Manager 
Burt,  we  are  glad  to  state,  has  opened  the  Union  on  an  entirely  different 
principle  from  that  which  has  heretofore  governed  our  theatrical  representa- 
tions. It  will  be  strictly  fastidious  and  our  best  people  will  favor  it  with  their 
patronage. 

The  Times  "local"  agreed  that  the  heading  "Mrs.  Burt's  Benefit"  was 
enough  to  attract  all  play  goers:  "Many  of  our  citizens  remember 
and  appreciate  her  good  qualities  as  a  woman  and  actress,  and  will 
fill  the  house  .  .  .  Burt  will  be  on  hand  with  his  usual  budget  of 
fun." 

The  Conservative,  March  21,  announced  sadly: 

Burt  has  postponed  that  Benefit.  He  says  he  has  lived  here  five  years  and 
always  brought  a  drenching  storm  whenever  he  advertised  a  Benefit.  In  the 
fall  of  '59  he  left  the  stage  for  other  pursuits;  hence  that  unprecedented 
Drought  [of  I860].  We  think  it  will  pay  those  who  drive  over  the  prairies  to 
get  up  a  purse  and  send  Burt  out  of  the  State,  to  be  brought  back  by  the 
farmers  on  the  first  indication  of  a  dry  season. 

The  Times  continued,  March  22,  that  despite  the  weather,  Burt 
was  determined  to  satisfy  the  fun-loving  people  of  the  city  by  open- 
ing the  Union  Theatre:  ".  .  .  we  will  not  be  responsible  for 
damaged  vest  buttons  and  buckles,  when  Burt  opens  his  budget 
of  fun." 

Again  a  benefit  for  George  Burt  was  announced  on  April  3,  for 
that  very  evening — "Benefit  of  George  Burt  (The  Aquarius  of 
Kansas)."  Three  comedies  constituted  the  bill:  "Toodles,"  "Merry 
Cobler,"  and  "Ellsworth  Tableau."  But  the  "local"  of  the  Conserva- 
tive commented:  "Go  early  and  get  a  good  seat,  it  will  be  a  gay 
old  time — 'if  it  don't  rain'."  The  Times  version  reported  that: 
"Burt,  by  special  request  of  many  of  our  citizens,  will  open  Union 
Theatre  Hall  to-night,  and  entertain  his  many  friends  for  an  hour 
or  two  .  .  .  assisted  by  his  ^better  half.  .  .  ."  Also,  several 
young  men  had  volunteered  to  take  part.  The  plays  listed  by  the 
Times  were  "He  Had  a  Brother,"  "Why  Don't  She  Marry?,"  "Merry 
Cobler,"  and  "Toodles."  Neither  paper  reported  next  day  upon 
the  show.  Not  explicit  in  these  notices  was  the  fact  that  Burt  had 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:    1858-1868  27 

not  assembled  a  complete  company  and  was  not  yet  producing 
plays.  That  accounted  for  the  reference  to  volunteers  who  were 
making  a  show  possible. 

When  the  announcement  came,  March  26,  that  Addis  had  bought 
the  Gosling-Collins  interest  in  the  Union  Theatre,  making  Burt 
manager,  the  Conservative  observed: 

The  well  established  character  of  this  gentleman  as  manager,  and  the  high 
popularity  he  has  attained  as  a  comedian  will  make  the  "Union"  the  chief  at- 
traction of  the  city.  As  an  artist,  Burt  stands  pre-eminent  in  his  profession. 
His  National  drop  curtain  would  grace  any  theatre  in  the  country,  and  is  a 
work  of  art  of  which  our  citizens  should  be  proud.  Burt  has  struggled  through 
hard  times,  ruinous  law  suits  and  numerous  opposition  to  establish  a  good 
theatre  in  Leavenworth,  and  he  is  justly  entitled  to  the  encouragement  and 
support  of  our  citizens. 

On  April  5  the  Conservative  announced  a  benefit  for  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Kent  and  again  took  advantage  of  the  occasion  to  elaborate  upon  the 
debt  owed  to  Burt: 

The  efforts  of  Mr.  Burt  to  revive  the  drama  in  this  city  have  been  perfectly 
successful.  He  has  succeeded  in  producing  fine  pieces  and  making  a  place  of 
amusement  fitted  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  best  class  of  people.  Our  community 
is  indebted  to  his  exertions  for  this  privilege,  and  they  have  shown  their  ap- 
preciation of  his  services  by  full  houses  every  night  of  the  new  season.23 

But  about  a  month  later,  in  alarm  (?),  the  Conservative  asked: 
"Where  is  Burt?  We  must  send  for  him  and  have  him  get  up  a 
Benefit.  He  is  now  at  Fort  Riley  and  they  have  showers  there  every 
day.  Burt  is  the  only  man  equal  to  the  dry  emergency  and  must 
be  obtained  at  any  cost."  The  occasion  for  the  absence  of  Burt  and 
Addis  was  the  troop  movements  of  April  and  May,  1862.  A  May  25 
local  reported  that  "Mr.  Addis,  Deguereotype  Artists,  has  returned 
from  an  extensive  and  profitable  trip  through  the  State.  .  .  ." 
Thus  Burt  and  Addis  had  been  reported  at  Lawrence  where  the 
show  business  was  good  on  account  of  the  troop  assignments  there. 
Early  in  May  they  moved  on  to  Topeka,  and  later  came  the  report 
quoted  from  Fort  Riley.  The  next  major  movement  of  military  per- 
sonnel came  the  last  week  of  May  when  named  Wisconsin  and  Kan- 
sas regiments  were  marched  to  Fort  Leavenworth  for  transport  by 
steamboats.  A  soldier  writing  from  Fort  Riley,  May  22,  reported: 

"Fort  Riley  is  ours!  Yesterday  the  'Home  Guards'  evacuated  the 
Fort,  'retreating  in  good  order/  and  save  the  bedbugs  and  gray-backs 
who  hold  a  life  lease  on  the  place,  we  are  the  undisputed  possessors." 
As  no  one  seemed  to  understand  the  purpose  of  the  marching  and 

23.  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  January  24,  March  20,  22,  April  3,  1862;  Daily  Con- 
servative, February  4,  March  19,  20,  21,  26,  April  3,  5,  1862. 


28  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

counter-marching,  or  of  the  unpredictable  transfers  of  officers,  or 
of  the  merits  and  status  of  the  quarrel  between  Gov.  Charles  Robin- 
son and  the  Lane  faction  about  who  controlled  Kansas  regiments, 
morale  was  very  low.  Apparently,  the  soldier  badly  needed  amuse- 
ment that  would  relieve  his  mind  even  temporarily  of  troubles. 

The  return  of  Burt  and  Addis  to  Leavenworth  near  the  end  of  May 
was  thus  geared  to  the  military  situation.  Also,  the  makeshift 
theatrical  company  had  served  its  purpose.  Addis  went  east  for 
photographic  equipment  and  to  engage  a  new  theatrical  company. 
Burt  remained  in  Leavenworth  to  keep  the  show  going,  opening 
May  27  with  a  four-play  bill:  "Kiss  in  the  Dark/'  "Yankee  in  Kan- 
sas," "Brown's  a  Brick,"  and  "Irish  Assurance."  Interspersed,  of 
course,  were  songs  and  dances.24 

In  view  of  this  background,  the  events  of  the  following  weeks 
are  particularly  difficult  to  accept.  The  new  Union  Theatre  com- 
pany brought  in  Misses  Julia  and  Lola  Hudson,  Miss  Helena, 
and  Mr.  Wilson,  but  most  important  to  this  story  John  Temple- 
ton  as  stage  manager  and  leading  man.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burt  re- 
mained, Burt  being  listed  as  manager.  The  opening  occurred 
June  17  with  "The  Avenger"  and  "Honey  Moon."  The  second  night 
the  plays  were  "The  Stranger"  and  "The  Limerick  Boy,"  on  the  third 
night,  "Black  Eyed  Susan"  and  "The  Rough  Diamond,"  on  the  fourth 
night,  "Camille,"  and  on  the  fifth  night,  "The  Taming  of  the  Shrew" 
and  "Family  Jars."  Though  hot  were  the  summer  days,  every  seat 
was  reported  taken;  then  special  ventilation  was  improvised  to  in- 
sure greater  comfort.  Both  the  Times  and  the  Conservative  were 
generous  in  their  praise  of  the  venture,  the  latter  emphasizing  that 
it  is  "a  first  class  place  of  amusement  where  persons  of  refinement 
can  go  and  be  delightfully  entertained;" — "It  is  an  orderly  and  com- 
fortable place."  The  Times  observed  that  "A  well  patronized 
theatre  is  an  evidence  of  unusual  prosperity  or  depression,  as  in  the 
latter  instance  people  will  go  to  drive  off  the  Iblues/  and  in  the 
former  because  they  want  amusement,  and  think  they  can  afford  it." 

The  dramatic  critics  were  less  generous  with  individuals.  Temple- 
ton  cast  himself  and  Miss  Helena  in  the  leading  roles  for  most  of 
the  plays  and  he  was  pronounced  only  "fair,"  or  "Templeton  did 
better,  much  better,  than  we  anticipated  as  William*  [in  "Black 
Eyed  Susan"]  night  before  last,  and  as  'Armand'  [in  "Camille"] 
last  evening  .•  S ;  .  a  really  fine  actor."  Miss  Helena  received 
the  best  press  although  that  may  be  a  reflection  of  a  male  bias  in 

24.  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  April  12,  May  7,  1862;  Daily  Conservative,  May  15, 
25,  27,  28,  1862. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  29 

an  age  which  was  peculiarly  a  man's  world — she  "took  the  house 
by  surprise  on  Friday  evening  by  her  correct  and  spirited  rendition 
of  'Camille'."  The  play  "Camille"  was  repeated  twice  soon  there- 
after. The  Times  commented  that:  "The  play  is  one  of  those  which 
may  be  termed  terribly  sensational  and  wholly  French.  .  .  ." 

The  Burts  got  few  good  parts  during  these  opening  days  of  the 
season.  When  the  comedies  "The  Serious  Family,"  and  the  "Two 
Gregories"  were  to  be  presented,  the  Conservative  local  said:  "We 
want  to  see  Burt's  'Aminadab'  for  we  think  he  will  do  it  to  per- 
fection." This  was  the  same  day  that  the  Times  pronounced 
Templeton's  playing  in  "Camille,"  the  previous  night's  offering,  as 
only  "fair"  while  saying  that:  "Burt's  Izak  was  a  happy  conception 
well  rendered,  as  are  all  his  comedy  parts.  .  .  ."  And  Miss  Hud- 
son was  referred  to  as  "refreshing"  in  the  role  of  "Marie."  25 

Trouble  was  brewing  and  quickly  came  to  a  climax.  In  the 
papers  for  July  4  the  advertisement  of  the  Union  Theatre  changed 
form,  dropping  Burt's  name  from  the  position  of  manager.  The 
Burt  benefit  announced  for  July  16  met  the  usual  Burt  luck,  rain  and 
poor  receipts.  In  the  controversy  Burt  was  dismissed.  Friends 
of  the  Burts  met  at  the  Planters'  House,  July  25,  to  try  to  arrange 
a  proper  benefit,  but  apparently  failed.  Templeton  issued  a  card 
July  27  stating  his  side  of  the  case  and  alleging  that  Burt  had  had 
no  financial  interest  in  the  Union  Theatre  since  Addis  had  bought 
control,  and  worked  on  a  salary  basis,  had  managed  nothing,  his 
listed  position  as  manager  of  the  Union  Theatre  having  been  merely 
a  courtesy  title.  Whatever  the  merits  of  the  controversy,  for  the 
time  being,  the  Burts  were  again  eliminated  from  Leavenworth 
theatre  activities.  Although  out  of  sequence,  perspective  may  be 
better  focused  to  quote  the  Conservative's  compliment  to  the  Burts 
in  announcing  their  benefit  with  the  comedies  "Asmodeus,"  "Lottery 
Ticket,"  and  "Omnibus."  "Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burt  take  a  Benefit  to-night 
at  the  Theatre.  Unless  Burt's  usual  luck  of  a  rainy  night  follows  him, 
the  house  will  be  packed  to  overflowing.  .  .  .  The  public  are 
more  indebted  to  Mr.  Burt  than  to  any  other  person  for  having  a 
Theatre  here,  and  his  long  and  successful  labors  should  meet  with 
a  substantial  reward  from  his  hosts  of  admiring  friends."  26 

Replacements  were  brought  to  the  Union  Theatre  in  July  and  only 
about  four  weeks  prior  to  summer  closing,  August  19,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
C.  F.  Walters  who  were  already  known  to  Leavenworth,  and  Henry 

25.  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  June  17-22,  24,  25,  1862;  Daily  Conservative,  June  17- 
22,  24-28,  1862. 

26.  Leavenworth  Daily   Conservative,  July   16,   25,   1862;   Daily   Times,  July   16,    17, 
25,  27,  1862. 


30  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

(Harry)  Jordan,  and  Mr.  Charles.  They  appeared  for  the  first  time 
in  Sheridan  Knowles'  "Hunchback/'  The  Conservative,  July  23, 
took  exception  to  the  conduct  of  Jordan:  "Jordan  ought  to  be  told, 
and  we  think  we  will  do  it,  that  profanity  and  vulgarity  are  not  wit." 
Other  personal  comment  on  the  company  pronounced  Mrs.  Walters 
as  "a  good  actress  and  sings  finely,"  and  except  for  Eliza  Logan, 
Miss  Helena  was  the  best  actress  to  visit  Kansas. 

The  impression  Mrs.  Walters  made  on  the  Times  critic,  as  of 
August  5,  1862,  was  expressed  freely  on  the  occasion  of  her  benefit, 
when  she  played  in  "Ireland  as  It  Is"  (Judy  OTrot),  and  "A  Loan 
of  a  Lover":  "The  bill  might  be  more  attractive,  perhaps,  or  at  least 
not  so  stale,  but  she  has  friends  enough  to  fill  the  Hall,  just  for  the 
pleasure  of  hearing  her  sing  'Annie  of  the  Vale/  and  the  'Flag  of 
the  Free';  and  besides  no  one  would  tire  of  her  inimitable  rendition 
of  'Judy  O'Trot'."  She  was  scheduled  to  sing  other  songs,  one  of 
which  was  "I  Have  No  Money,"  in  the  second  play.  After  the 
event,  the  Times  continued  August  7: 

Mrs.  Walters'  benefit  on  Tuesday  night  was  a  perfect  triumph,  which  she 
must  be  proud  of  as  long  as  her  recollection  of  it  lasts.  She  has  made  an 
impression  during  her  engagement  here,  and  given  us  a  sparkling  and  vivacious 
originality  which  months  of  cut  and  dried  conventionality  will  fail  to  extinguish. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  closing  of  the  summer  season,  the  Times 
August  17  undertook  to  sum  up  the  high  points  of  the  theatrical 
situation,  evaluating  several  personalities  by  name,  apparently  con- 
demning others  by  silence,  but  paying  respects  adversely  to  one  in 
forthright  terms.  Addis  was  complimented  as  "successful"  in  his 
role  of  manager,  "earning  the  good  will  of  the  entire  company." 
Burt  and  his  friends  would  have  dissented.  Miss  Helena  and  Mrs. 
Walters  were  linked:  "Both  favorites  with  our  play  goers,  it  would 
be  difficult,  perhaps,  to  say  which  has  made  the  deepest  impression. 
The  former  has  charmed  all  by  her  very  natural  and  correct  style 
of  acting,  while  the  latter,  as  an  actress  and  vocalist,  has  taken  a 
new  lease  of  admiration  of  our  citizens."  Templeton  came  in  for 
praise  as  "an  indefatigable  worker  and  fully  competent  manager. 
...  As  an  actor  he  has  made  himself  many  friends.  .  .  ." 
Jordan  was  rated  as  a  number  one  comedian.  And  O'Neil:  "What 
would  they  do  without  .  .  .  [him],  who  not  only  gets  up  the 
scenery  in  a  truly  artistic  manner,  but  plays  everything  from  'Bra- 
bantio'  to  'Lady  Creamley.'  He  is  at  home  in  anything  among  the 
'wings'."  No  mention  was  made  of  Mr.  Walters.  Apparently  his 
habits  had  made  him  a  controversial  subject,  and  as  will  come  out 
later,  most  unpopular.  But,  as  with  a  bee,  the  sting  of  the  Times 
summary  was  in  its  tail: 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  31 

Wright — cannot  consider  his  visit  to  Leavenworth  as  either  a  pleasant  or 
agreeable  episode  in  his  latter  day  experience.  Well,  we  are  a  stupid  set,  thus 
to  ignore  the  presence  of  live  genius;  unable  to  distinguish  between  excellent 
and  execrable;  which  reflection  may,  in  a  measure,  console  the  aforesaid  for  any 
chagrin  at  his  lack  of  success  here. 

THE  TEMPLETON  REGIME,  1862-1863,  AND 
MRS.  WALTERS'  PEOPLE'S  THEATRE 

The  fall  theatre  season  of  1862  got  off  to  a  slow  start.  Templeton 
was  retained  by  Addis  as  manager  because,  as  the  Conservative, 
September  14,  put  it,  he  "gave  such  universal  satisfaction  last  sea- 
son." With  a  short  company  the  opening  came  September  16  with 
"The  Stranger"  and  "Irish  Lion."  On  the  fourth  night  "Camille." 
Templeton  and  Miss  Helena  took  the  leads,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Jordan  in  secondary  and  comedy  roles.  A  new  danseuse,  Mile. 
Aubrey,  was  announced  October  4,  "said  to  be  skilled  in  the  'poetry 
of  motion/"  and  the  reappearance  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walters  came 
October  6.  The  following  day  the  Conservative  reported  that  they 
drew  an  unusually  large  audience:  "The  Union  has  now  an  efficient 
company,  and  can  do  up  the  'legitimate  drama/  as  well  as  the  farce, 
the  song  and  the  dance  in  good  style."  But  the  Conservative,  of 
which  D.  W.  Wilder  was  the  editor,  had  not  been  satisfied  with 
some  things: 

We  have  thought  for  some  time  that  we  would  make  a  friendly  suggestion  to 
the  manager  of  the  Union  Theatre,  but  have  deferred  it  for  some  time.  We  pro- 
pose to  do  so  now.  He  must  have  noticed  that  the  conduct  of  a  large  portion 
of  the  audience,  particularly  those  who  occupy  the  rear  of  the  building,  is  not 
such  as  should  be  allowed  in  places  where  ladies  and  gentlemen  are  expected  to 
be  present.  Yelling,  blasphemy  and  vulgarism,  will  do  more  to  break  down  the 
institution  than  the  best  artistes  in  the  country  can  do  to  build  it  up.  We  be- 
lieve that  this  accounts  for  the  fact  that  fewer  of  the  best  portion  of  our  people 
attend  the  Theatre  of  late  than  formerly.  We  do  not  attribute  blame  to  the 
manager  or  proprietor,  and  believe  they  will  see  that  the  fault  is  corrected. 

Others  must  have  been  dissatisfied  and  less  tactful,  because  a  later 
note  reported  that:  "Mr.  Templeton,  Manager  of  the  Union  Theatre, 
still  survives,  all  rumors  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding." 

In  spite  of  the  unusual  reception  given  to  Mrs.  Walters  upon  her 
first  appearance  in  October,  she  was  not  cast  for  important  roles  or 
given  prominence  in  billing.  Principally,  she  was  mentioned  as 
featuring  ballads  and  the  favorite  songs  of  the  day.  Eventually, 
on  December  4,  she  was  allowed  a  benefit,  taking  her  turn  as  a  sec- 
ondary member  of  the  company,  but  the  Conservative  gave  her  a 
very  special  notice  on  the  preceding  day: 

Of  Mrs.  Walters  hardly  too  much  can  be  said  in  this  city,  where  her  appear- 


32  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

ance  upon  the  stage  is  always  a  signal  for  applause,  where  she  has  never  sung 
a  song  that  was  not  encored,  and  where  her  versatile  talents  and  irrepressible 
mirth  have  won  for  her,  from  first  to  last,  the  hearty  good  will  of  the  whole 
community.  She  deserves  a  house  crowded  from  dome  to  foundation,  and  she 
will  have  it,  and  hundreds  will  snarl  at  Addis  and  at  Leavenworth  because 
there  is  not  a  house  here  big  enough  to  hold  them. 

The  following  day  the  praise  continued: 

She  has  labored  long  and  faithfully  to  please  the  Leavenworth  public,  and 
render  the  Theatre  a  pleasant  and  attractive  evening  resort,  and  has  so  far 
succeeded  as  to  excite  rounds  of  applause  at  her  appearance  each  evening.  We 
hope  to  see  the  house  well  filled. 

The  Conservative  was  no  doubt  sincere  in  its  praise  of  Mrs. 
Walters,  but  the  editor  was  also  propagandizing  for  a  new  theatre 
building,  which  he  said  was  "greatly  needed."  One  of  the  leading 
business  firms  was  understood  to  be  planning  a  new  building  at 
the  corner  of  Delaware  and  Third  streets,  its  dry  goods  business 
on  the  first  floor  with  a  theatre  above. 

A  final  round  of  benefits  occurred  at  year's  end  and  the  first 
days  of  January,  1863,  before  the  season  closed  January  17.  Tem- 
pleton  led  off  and  afforded  the  Conservative  an  opportunity  to  say 
kind  things:  ".  .  .  no  man  ever  worked  harder  or  more  suc- 
cessfully to  please  his  patrons,  and  render  our  Theatre  a  first  class 
one.  .  .  ."  In  this  reference  was  made  both  to  his  managerial 
function  and  to  his  "proving  himself  an  actor  of  uncommon  merit." 
Mrs.  Walters'  second  benefit  came  January  16,  1863,  in  "Wandering 
Boys,"  and  "Irish  Diamond."  27 

MRS.  WALTERS  AND  THE  PEOPLE'S  THEATRE 

The  reasons  are  not  clear  why  a  long  vacation  was  taken  by  the 
Union  Theatre  from  January  17  to  March  11,  1863,  when  a  new 
company  was  assembled.  Actors  had  to  eat  the  same  as  other 
people,  so  the  members  got  up  a  series  of  shows  of  their  own  for 
which  Addis  permitted  the  use  of  the  Union  Theatre.  But  he  made 
the  matter  plain  to  the  public:  "The  vacation  exhibitions  given  now 
are  got  up  by  the  company  for  their  own  benefit.  Mr.  Addis  has 
sent  Mr.  Templeton  East  to  engage  a  new  company,  and  does  not 
wish  to  have  it  understood  that  the  present  performances  are  his 
regular  Theatre.  .  .  ."  This  was  printed  February  4,  the  day 
before  Mrs.  Walters'  benefit  was  scheduled.  The  series  of  shows 
had  opened  February  3,  and  the  Conservative  reported  that:  "This 
institution  opened  as  successfully  as  ever  last  night.  A  good  audi- 

27.  Leavenworth  Daily  Conservative,  September  14-20,  October  3-5,  7,  8,  21,  De- 
cember 3-5,  24,  28,  1862,  January  16,  17,  1863. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  33 

ence  was  in  attendance  and  everything  passed  off  nicely."  Diffi- 
culties developed  from  another  direction.  Mr.  Walters  had  not 
been  mentioned  in  the  theatre  reports  which  praised  Clara  Walters 
so  generously,  but  obviously  he  was  unpopular  as  the  following 
notice  makes  only  too  evident: 

Owing  to  the  threats  against  Mr.  Walters,  by  some  rowdies  in  town,  that 
gentleman  will  not  appear  to-night  at  Mrs.  Walters'  benefit.  .  .  .  This 
change  will  preclude  the  possibility  of  any  trouble,  and  no  one  need  have 
fear  of  a  disturbance.  An  efficient  police  force  will  be  present  and  if  any 
rowdie  interrupts  the  performance,  he  will  be  instantly  arrested. 

Five  days  later,  February  10,  but  whether  or  not  the  threat  of 
difficulties  at  the  theatre  was  a  manifestation  of  general  conditions 
or  strictly  personal  is  not  clear,  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
Military  District  of  Kansas,  Brig.  General  Blunt,  proclaimed  martial 
law  in  Leavenworth.  Mrs.  Walters  was  personally  popular  with 
the  military  people  at  the  Fort,  and  presented  a  musical  entertain- 
ment there  February  26,  postponed  from  the  previous  night  on 
account  of  a  storm.  Early  in  March  she  accepted  an  invitation  from 
citizens  to  present  a  musical  and  dramatic  entertainment  at  the 
German  Theatre  Hall,  March  4,  but  the  public  was  assured  that  the 
saloon  operated  in  connection  with  the  hall  would  be  closed.  She 
was  assisted  by  other  members  of  the  company.  As  the  number 
of  chairs  available  was  not  sufficient,  Mrs.  Walters  tried  to  rent 
additional  chairs  from  the  Union  Theatre,  but  Addis  refused  per- 
mission. This  led  to  a  public  controversy  in  which  she  proved 
Addis  untruthful,  but  also  deprived  herself  of  employment  when 
Addis  reopened.28 

The  new  company  secured  by  Templeton  for  Addis  was  only 
partly  new:  George  D.  Chaplin,  Frank  Roche,  Harry  and  Anne 
Stone,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wildman,  Mary  McWilliams,  Miss  Miller,  and 
Mr.  Smith.  Seven  of  the  old  company  were  retained,  including 
Miss  Helena,  and  Mile.  Aubrey.  Chaplin  and  the  Stones  were  the 
important  additions,  especially  Chaplin,  formerly  of  the  New  York 
Winter  Garden.  After  his  second  appearance  he  was  rated  "the 
best  actor  who  has  ever  visited  Leavenworth."  The  Conservative 
protested  his  playing  female  parts,  insisting  that  he  was  too  good 
for  that.  On  March  18  he  played  "Othello"  to  Templeton's  "lago." 
On  April  20,  the  star  system  made  its  appearance  again;  Mary  Shaw 
for  two  weeks,  Cecile  Rush  for  three  weeks,  C.  W.  Couldock  and 
daughter  Eliza  for  nine  days,  and  Kate  Denin  for  two  weeks.  These 
stars,  together  with  the  new  members  of  the  company,  made  possible 

28.    Ibid.,  February  4,  5,  7,  11,  25,  26,  March  4,  8,  10,  1863. 


34  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

the  presentation  of  a  number  of  plays  seldom  if  ever  offered  in 
Leavenworth.  Cecile  Rush  was  particularly  popular  in  "Fanchion" 
and  played  it  five  times  during  her  visit;  "Ida  Lee"  was  played  three 
nights.  On  this  and  later  visits  Couldock  and  daughter  played  his 
specialties,  "Willow  Copse,"  "Chimney  Corner,"  "Richelieu,"  "Mer- 
chant of  Venice,"  "King  Lear,"  "Romeo  and  Juliet,"  "Louis  XI." 

But  Addis  had  not  taken  a  true  measure  of  the  woman  who  was 
Clara  Walters,  without  a  husband  to  complicate  her  life.  She  ar- 
ranged for  the  remodeling  of  a  hall  on  Delaware  street,  between 
Fifth  and  Sixth  streets,  naming  it  the  People's  Theatre,  of  which  she 
was  the  sole  lessee,  with  J.  R.  Healey  of  the  former  company  as  stage 
manager,  and  Col.  Lyman  Eldridge  as  treasurer.  She  was  the  first 
woman  theatre  executive  in  Leavenworth.  The  Conservative 
greeted  her  venture  cordially:  "The  company  is  said  to  be  an  ex- 
cellent one,  and  under  the  energetic  management  of  Mrs.  Walters, 
who  is  herself  one  of  the  best  actresses  and  singers  of  the  West,  we 
doubt  not  will  draw  crowded  houses."  This  was  April  10,  and  the 
People's  Theatre  opened  the  following  night. 

The  first  regular  performance,  April  13,  opened  with  a  "Grand 
Musical  Olio"— "The  Battle  Cry  of  Freedom"  (new)  by  Mrs.  Wal- 
ters, "Robin  Rough"  (duet)  by  Mrs.  Walters  and  Mr.  Healey,  a 
ballad  by  Healey,  and  a  ballad  "Kathleen  Mavourneen"  by  Mrs. 
Walters.  The  featured  play  was  Sheridan  Knowles'  "Hunchback" 
and  the  afterpiece  comedy,  "The  Irish  Tutor."  The  company  was 
strengthened  by  new  members  as  time  passed,  Arnold  and  Rogers, 
both  from  Cincinnati,  and  April  29  the  star  of  them  all,  Sophia, 
the  little  daughter  of  Col.  C.  R.  Jennison,  jayhawker,  saloon  keeper, 
gambler,  horseman,  and  political  boss  of  Leavenworth's  third  ward. 
Her  "Eva"  played  to  Mrs.  Walters'  "Topsy"  in  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin/' 
George  Aiken's  version,  was  a  smash  hit.  It  ran  four  nights — "Miss 
Sophia  Jennison's  'Eva'  was  superb."  She  showed  "self  possession 
and  grace"  in  her  first  appearance  upon  the  stage.  After  May  6 
Mrs.  Walters  took  her  show  to  Lawrence,  returning  at  the  end  of  the 
month.  On  Saturday  night,  May  30,  after  the  play  was  over  she 
collapsed  and  was  unconscious  until  after  daylight  Sunday  morn- 
ing. The  responsibilities  of  business  management  and  acting  had 
proved  too  great  a  burden.29 

Apparently  Clara  Walters  spent  the  month  of  June  recuperating 
her  health,  but  possibly  she  had  taught  Addis  a  lesson.  At  any  rate, 
July  2,  she  was  advertised  to  play  Beatrice  in  "Much  Ado  About 
Nothing"  at  the  Union  Theatre.  The  local  observed  that  drama 

29.    Ibid,  April  10  through  May  6,  June  2,  1863. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:    1858-1868  35 

lovers  would  learn  with  pleasure  of  her  return  after  so  long  a  re- 
tirement and  predicted  the  largest  audience  ever  to  assemble  in  the 
hall.  Mrs.  Walters  was  featured  regularly  during  the  next  two 
weeks  when  the  theatre  closed  for  the  summer.  Furthermore,  she 
had  good  parts,  playing  heavy  roles  not  formerly  associated  with  her 
career,  including  Queen  Elizabeth  in  a  second  Shakespearean  play 
"Richard  III."  The  closing  announcement  listed  the  members  of  the 
company  who  would  be  retained  for  the  fall  opening — the  two  prin- 
cipals were  Mrs.  Walters  and  George  Chaplin  whose  theatrical 
careers  were  to  be  closely  linked  for  several  years.30 

The  return  of  Mrs.  Walters,  whether  causal  or  casual  is  not  cer- 
tain, coincided  with  the  publication,  July  2,  of  a  card  by  John 
Templeton  and  six  other  members  of  the  company,  including  Miss 
Helena  and  Mile.  Aubrey,  announcing  their  resignations:  "to  pre- 
serve ourselves  from  theatrical  imposition,  and  to  maintain  the 
decent  dignities  of  ladies  and  gentlemen."  Chaplin  became  both 
acting  and  stage  manager,  combining  Templeton's  position  of  acting 
manager  with  his  own  as  stage  manager.  Chaplin's  end-of-season 
benefit  came  July  10:  "With  Mrs.  Walters  to  support  him  as  leading 
lady,  we  should  be  glad  to  see  Chaplin  become  a  permanency  in 
our  midst,  for  none  who  have  played  here  have  more  friends  among 
our  play  goers/' 

Evidently  the  affairs  of  the  company  were  not  functioning 
smoothly  because  the  Times,  July  12,  enigmatically  explained: 
"When  Stone  announced  on  Friday  evening  that  the  next  would  be 
positively  the  last  night  of  the  season,  he  probably  forgot  the  fact 
that  Mrs.  Walters  was  justly  entitled  to  an  extra  night  in  considera- 
tion of  her  laborious  efforts  to  amuse  our  play-going  public."  With 
this  apologetic  introduction,  the  Times  announced  the  farewell 
benefit  for  Mrs.  Walters  to  occur  Monday,  July  13,  in  the  plays 
"Ben  Bolt"  and  "Grandmother's  Pet," — "with  a  pleasing  interlude  of 
vocal  music  in  which  herself  and  Miss  Shaw  will  appear.  Give  her  a 
bumper." 

Having  been  with  the  company  for  only  the  last  days  of  the  season, 
July  2-11,  the  announced  closing  date,  nine  show  nights,  a  rigid  ap- 
plication of  the  custom  of  theatre,  might  not  have  recognized  Mrs. 
Walters'  rights  even  though  she  had  appeared  as  the  leading  lady. 
Miss  Helena,  the  season's  leading  lady  had  resigned.  But,  in  any 
case,  the  Times  announcement  gave  the  impression  that  the  benefit 
was  probably  only  an  oversight  in  publicity.  The  Conservative, 
of  the  same  date  afforded  a  contrasting  version  of  the  situation;  that 

30.    Ibid.,  July  2  through  July  14,  1863;  Daily  Times,  July  2  through  July  14,  1863. 


36  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

the  benefit  was  tribute  initiated  independently  of  Addis  if  not  ac- 
tually in  rebuke: 

The  patrons  of  the  drama  and  the  public  generally  will  be  pleased  to  learn 
that  Mr.  Addis  has  given  the  use  of  the  Theatre,  and  the  old  company  of 
favorites  have  volunteered  their  services  for  a  farewell  benefit  to  Mrs.  Walters 
tomorrow  night.  Never,  since  the  first  dramatic  entertainment  given  in  this  city, 
has  an  actress  been  upon  Leavenworth  boards,  whose  popularity  has  equalled 
or  been  as  long  continued  as  that  of  Mrs.  Walters.  Stars  from  Eastern  cities 
have  visited  our  city,  who  for  a  few  nights  have  carried  an  expectant  public  by 
storm,  and  after  their  departure  the  first  appearance  of  the  old  favorite  would 
be  more  enthusiastically  received  than  ever.  In  short,  while  she  remains,  no 
other  actress  can  usurp  her  hold  upon  the  admiration  of  the  patrons  of  the  drama. 
She  has  contributed  more  than  any  other  member  of  the  profession  to  the  enter- 
tainment of  the  theatre  goers  in  the  city,  and  on  the  occasion  of  her  benefit 
to-morrow  night  the  hall  should  be  filled  as  it  never  has  been  before. 

Some  people  do  not  seem  to  learn  easily.  Others  find  it  impossible 
to  learn  any  lesson  well.  Possibly  the  belated  consideration  of  Mrs. 
Walters'  case,  if  the  implications  of  the  Times'  version  were  true, 
or  permission  for  her  friends  to  use  the  theatre,  if  the  Conservative 
interpretation  was  correct,  reflected  somewhat  of  a  bad  conscience 
and  a  making  of  amends  for  the  chair-renting  incident,  her  omission 
in  the  spring  from  the  reorganized  company,  and  her  single-handed 
challenge  in  launching  the  People's  Theatre.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  reasons,  and  the  true  inwardness  of  the  affair  may  not  have 
found  expression  in  the  press:  "Mrs.  Walters'  benefit  was  the  largest 
of  the  week,  and  one  of  the  finest  houses  of  the  entire  season.  This 
is  the  best  evidence  of  the  appreciation  in  which  she  is  held  by  the 
play  going  public."  The  season  really  did  close  the  next  night,  with 
the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  benefit  from  which  Addis  was  reported  to 
have  paid  that  organization  $120  and  possibly  as  much  as  $150. 
In  commenting  on  the  close  of  the  season  the  Times  praised  Addis, 
and  Chaplin  since  he  "took  the  reins."  The  editor  insisted  that  the 
hall  was  not  large  enough  and  hoped  for  a  new  theatre  by  1864.31 

During  this  long  vacation  Addis  followed  a  policy  rather  different 
from  that  of  the  earlier  period.  He  announced  a  series  of  concerts, 
beginning  August  1,  featuring  Mrs.  Walters.  The  second  concert 
was  scheduled  for  August  15  but  was  postponed  due  to  illness.  On 
August  21  came  the  Quantrill  raid  in  Lawrence,  and  Addis  arranged 
an  early  extra  performance  of  his  new  theatrical  company  for 
August  28,  the  proceeds  to  go  to  the  Lawrence  victims.32 

31.  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  July  10,  12,  15,  1863;  Daily  Conservative,  July  2-4,  7 
through   15,   1863. 

32.  Leavenworth   Daily   Conservative,  July   28,   31,   August   15,   28,   29,    1863;   Daily 
Times,  July  28,  August   1,  25,  27,   1863. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  37 

THE  CHAPLIN  REGIME,  1863-1864 

The  regular  fall  theatrical  season  for  the  Union  Theatre,  1863- 
1864,  opened  August  29  with  a  few  new  faces  in  the  company,  and 
Chaplin  in  the  managerial  role  as  leading  man.  Mrs.  Walters  and 
a  new  member,  Annie  E.  Dillingham,  shared  the  feminine  leads.  In 
the  "Lady  of  Lyons,"  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  "Les  Miserables"  ( Fan- 
tine  and  the  grown-up  Cosette),  Mrs.  Walters  played  the  leads, 
but  Miss  Dillingham  played  Juliet  to  Chaplin's  Romeo.  None  of 
the  local  company,  however,  had  much  opportunity  for  personal 
publicity  in  print  because  the  time  was  well  filled  with  the  passing 
succession  of  "stars";  Ettie  Henderson,  C.  W.  Couldock  and  daugh- 
ter Eliza,  Mr.  Neafie,  Emily  Thome,  Carlotta  Pozzoni,  Jean  Hosmer, 
Cecile  Rush,  and  J.  Wilkes  Booth.  At  first  the  local  actor  who 
played  the  lead  opposite  the  star  was  billed  by  name,  next  only 
the  local  company  collectively  was  listed,  but  quickly  even  that 
recognition  was  usually  eliminated,  the  star  shining  in  lonely 
splendor.  Couldock  had  the  advantage  over  the  others  listed 
because  his  daughter  always  played  the  feminine  lead. 

Between  stars,  however,  the  local  company  carried  on,  and  were 
recognized  for  benefits.  Mrs.  Walters  was  so  honored  November 
13.  The  Times  took  advantage  of  the  occasion  that  day  and  the 
next  to  pay  her  the  highest  compliments: 

The  favorite  pre-eminent  of  the  Leavenworth  play-goers,  Mrs.  C.  F.  Walters, 
has  a  benefit  this  evening  at  the  Union.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Walters  has  been  among 
us  longer  than  any  other  lady  on  the  boards.  .  .  .  [Exceedingly  versatile 
— comedy  and  tragedy.]  Whatever  have  been  the  "foreign"  attraction  [star] 
the  appearance  of  Mrs.  Walters  has  always  been  the  signal  for  the  heartiest 
applause.  .  .  . 

The  critic's  appraisal  after  the  event  was  even  more  enthusiastic: 

We  like  home  feeling.  There  is  truth  in  the  old  saying  "The  prophet  has 
no  home  in  his  own  country,"  yet,  if  rightly  applied,  there  is  no  justice  in  it — 
the  home  man  and  the  home  feeling  should  be  first. 

Theater  goers  like  "stars" — so  de  we.  But  these  stars  should  not  blind 
us  to  home  worth.  Yet  they  do,  and  often  when  they  should  not. 

Of  course,  stock-actors  are  always  the  subject  of  abuse.  We  are  so  familiar 
with  them  that  we  do  not  acknowledge  their  worth.  This  is  wrong.  Stand 
by  home  men  wherever  they  are,  and  by  home  talent  wherever  it  shows  itself. 

We  make  these  remarks  especially  in  reference  to  Mrs.  Walters.  She  is 
always  equal  to  her  part.  She  is  rarely  inferior  to  the  "stars"  who  shine  around 
her.  The  glitter  of  her  coronet  is  as  bright  as  the  brightest  we  have  seen  in 
those  who  are  called  or  considered  "above  her."  See  her  where  you  may — be 
Mrs.  Walters  in  an  ordinary  or  extraordinary  part — let  her  appear  as  she  may — 
still,  she  is  always  excellent — always  acts  well,  and  does  well. 

One  characteristic  marks  her,  and  it  is  a  shining  one — telling  alike  upon 


38  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

actor  and  audience — life.  She  is  full  of  spirit;  she  never  lags;  the  fire  of  the 
heroine  she  represents  is  in  her,  and  she  flashes  it  out.  That  fire  is  in  her  song. 
It  is  in  all  she  does  and  says — and,  hence,  she  is,  and  should  be,  a  favorite 
of  the  public. 

Her  reception  last  night  proves  the  truth  of  all  we  say.  It  was  stirring  and 
earnest.  It  proved  that  the  home  actress  of  Leavenworth  is  appreciated. 

For  some  reason  not  clearly  apparent  the  editor  of  the  Times, 
December  8,  saw  fit  to  discuss  the  star  system,  prefacing  his  com- 
ments by  a  theatrical  interpretation  of  an  index  of  prosperity  of  a 
city.  As  a  general  rule,  he  argued,  "the  best  criterion  we  can  have 
of  the  prosperity  of  a  city  is  the  extent  of  patronage  bestowed  upon 
amusements.  To  be  sure  there  are  exceptions  to  this  rule" — people 
may  wish  to  escape  from  trouble — they  "may  wish  to  obliterate  the 
blues  or  find  a  temporary  relief  from  anticipations  of  bankruptcy." 
But  the  editor  insisted  that  such  exceptions  did  not  apply  to  Leav- 
enworth. Credit  for  the  high  position  of  the  theatre  in  Leaven- 
worth  was  assigned  to  Addis  "and  to  no  other  can  be  accredited  the 
introduction  of  the  'star  system'  which  while  it  may  be  decried  in 
certain  quarters,  is  the  present  policy  of  the  stage."  He  insisted  that 
only  this  system  had  made  possible  "those  dramatic  'luxuries,'  Fan- 
chon,  Chimney  Corner,  Evadne,  &c.,  as  performed  by  the  first  artists 
in  the  country,  and  produced  in  a  style  that  would  be  creditable 
.  .  .  to  any  theatre  in  the  West."  Of  course,  this  led  up  to  a  plea 
for  a  new  theatre  building  suited  to  the  metropolitan  position  of 
Leavenworth. 

All  this  was  a  strange  preface  to  what  followed.  The  same  issue 
of  the  Conservative,  January  3,  1864,  that  reported  the  joint  curtain 
call  an  enthusiastic  audience  had  given  Mrs.  Walters  and  Chaplin 
for  their  acting  in  "Black  Eyed  Susan,"  reported  the  alterations  in 
the  heating  system  that  assured  patrons  that  the  theatre  would  be 
"thoroughly  heated."  Then  came  the  turn  of  fate.  On  the  .night 
of  January  5  the  gas  gave  out  leaving  the  theatre  dark.  By  January 
10  apparently  substitute  lighting  had  been  provided  or  the  gas  had 
been  restored,  but  the  audience  was  dismissed  because  of  differ- 
ences between  the  management  and  the  actors  about  salaries. 
Mary  Gladstane,  the  star  who  should  have  played  January  4,  was 
snowbound  and  did  not  arrive  until  January  13  after  the  salary 
quarrel  had  closed  the  theatre.  Announcement  was  made,  how- 
ever, that  the  theatre  was  available  to  her  to  present  her  own 
performance,  and  that  Chaplin  and  Walters  would  co-operate. 
But  already  a  benefit  for  them  had  been  arranged  at  the  Turner 
Hall  for  January  13,  along  with  the  comment  that  they  had  not 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  39 

participated  in  the  controversy.  This  is  difficult  to  reconcile  with 
other  data.  At  any  rate,  Miss  Gladstane  left  Leavenworth  without 
appearing  on  the  stage. 

When  the  storm  broke,  the  Times,  January  12,  editorialized: 
It  is  somewhat  strange  that  Leavenworth  must  be  periodically  bored  by  the 
quarrels  of  actors,  actresses  and  managers.  Last  night,  at  the  Union,  the 
audience  was  treated  to  a  dish  that  has  been  served  semi-occasionally  since  the 
first  time  a  theatrical  company  performed  in  this  city.  Will  not  managers  be 
just?  Our  citizens  will  support  a  good  theatre,  let  it  be  managed  by  whom  it 
may,  but  not  at  the  expense  of  those  who  depend  upon  their  profession  for 
subsistence. 

In  contrast,  the  same  editor  in  the  same  issue  remarked  pointedly: 
"The  difficulties  at  the  Union  Theatre  do  not  deter  our  German 
friends"  at  Harmony  Hall  giving  "German  Emigration  to  America," 
and  "The  Bewitched  Villager."  This  is  a  reminder  that  the  Turn- 
verein  and  its  related  activities  deserve  a  full  historical  treatment 
that  lies  outside  the  scope  of  this  essay. 

In  the  Evening  Bulletin,  January  12,  Chaplin  issued  a  "card"  alleg- 
ing that  Addis  had  said  that  if  the  falsehoods  reported  the  previous 
evening  at  the  theatre  were  retracted,  he  would  pay  full  salaries  and 
give  benefits,  thus  acknowledging  the  season's  end.  Chaplin's  re- 
sponse to  this  proposal  was  explicit;  that  he  had  stated  no  false- 
hoods therefore  there  was  nothing  to  retract.  Addis  replied  about 
money  matters  the  following  day  in  the  Conservative,  Chaplin 
rebutted  the  same  day  in  the  Bulletin  and  introduced  a  new  factor 
even  more  explosive  than  money.  After  calling  Addis  a  liar  and 
detailing  the  alleged  lies,  Chaplin  continued:  "His  reasons  for  not 
liking  the  ladies  of  the  company,  I  have  only  lately  discovered: 
there  is  scarcely  one  he  has  not  grosely  insulted  and  in  every  in- 
stance he  has  been  indignantly  repulsed!'  Chaplin  closed  by  as- 
serting that  he  stood  ready  to  swear  to  these  statements.  Addis 
replied  with  a  libel  suit.  The  Times  quipped:  "Between  manager 
and  actors,  the  public  is  having  as  much  fun  as  they  would  if  the 
Union  was  in  full  blast." 

The  first  hearing  on  the  Addis-Chaplin  suit  was  held  Saturday 
January  16,  when  the  case  was  dismissed  on  technicalities  and  a  new 
suit  filed  immediately  which  was  set  for  hearing  the  following  Mon- 
day. The  court  room  was  filled,  according  to  the  Times,  with  row- 
dies and  lecherous  individuals  who  enjoyed  the  lawyer's  examination 
of  the  ladies  who  blushed  at  the  indelicate  details  they  were  required 
to  relate.  Among  the  witnesses  was  C.  F.  Walters  who  was  handled 
by  the  Times  as  follows: 


40  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

That  nice  young  man — truthful  young  man — C.  F.  Walters,  skevire,  is  in 
town.  He  appeared  at  the  Police  Court  yesterday,  and  testified  adversely  to 
the  veracity  of  a  woman  who  has  supported  him  when  he  couldn't  raise  a  five 
cent  piece.  As  a  matter  of  course,  his  testimony  was  ruled  out.  It's  a  pity 
such  a  thing  could  not  be  kicked  out  of  town. 

No  longer  did  the  Times  treat  the  controversy  as  providing  "as 
much  fun  as"  the  theatre  "in  full  blast."— 

Suffice  it  to  say,  the  whole  proceedings — from  beginning  to  end — were  indeli- 
cate and  disreputable  alike  to  all  parties.  .  .  .  The  course  pursued  by 
manager  and  company,  in  this  affair,  will  do  no  good  to  themselves  or  the  pro- 
fession. It  conveys  the  idea  that  quarrels,  rascality,  bad  morals,  and  obscenity 
are  the  necessary  consequence  of  the  introduction  of  the  drama.  .  .  . 

The  editor  had  already  given  his  readers  what  he  considered 
wholesome  advice: 

No  theatres,  no  snows  [showsl,  no  dances,  no  amusements  of  any  kind  in 
our  city  at  present.  Some  of  our  citizens  are  turning  their  attention  to  more 
serious  matters,  as  this  evening  at  the  M.  E.  Church  will  convince  anyone  who 
will  visit  the  interesting  meetings  now  being  held  there.  It  is  well.  There  is 
something  beyond  the  pleasures  and  pastimes  of  this  mundane  sphere,  and  it  is 
the  duty  of  every  one  to  obtain  the  pleasure  which  the  consolation  of  religion 
alone  can  give.  We  advise  our  citizens  to  attend  these  meetings.  They  may 
reap  some  benefit,  and  it  certainly  can  do  no  harm. 

But  in  fact  there  were  competing  institutions  and  even  actors  had 
to  eat.  A  saloon  occupied  a  part  of  the  first  floor  of  Stockton  Hall 
which  housed  the  second  floor  Union  Theatre  and  the  proprietor 
inserted  the  following  advertising  local: 

Since  the  smash-up  of  the  Union,  Cooter  pere  has  been  giving,  and  will  con- 
tinue to  give,  a  series  of  concerts,  in  the  "Green  Room"  With  "legitimate 
artists,"  a  "legitimate  manager,"  and  no  "half-salaries,"  the  institution  is  bound 
to  run.  "The  best  of  wines,  liquors  and  cigars  to  be  had  at  the  bar."  P.S. — 
No  pretty  waiter  girls.  Take  suthin,  Doc? 

This  was  the  situation  when  on  the  morning  of  January  25  fire 
broke  out  above  the  stage  in  the  Union  Theatre  destroying  the  whole 
structure.  The  theatre  had  occupied  the  second  floor;  Coolidge  and 
Company  drug  store;  Ashton  &  Bros.,  wholesale  liquor;  and  Cooter's 
Saloon  occupied  the  ground  floor,  and  the  Ashton  &  Bros.,  pork  pack- 
ing establishment  operated  in  the  basement.  Cooter  moved  what 
he  had  saved  back  to  his  old  location  on  Third  street,  between  Dela- 
ware and  Shawnee  streets: 

Cooter — the  indefatigable,  unconquered  Cooter — is  on  his  pegs  again. 
.  .  .  The  season  will  open  tonight  [January  29]  with  a  new  Opera,  written 
expressly  for  the  occasion  by  the  Colporteur.  A  talented  corps  of  artists  will 
render  it  in  the  inimitable  manner  for  which  they  are  so  well  known. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:    1858-1868  41 

Chaplin,  Mrs.  Walters,  and  the  theatre  company  went  to  New 
Orleans  to  play  at  DeBar's  Theatre.  The  Times  devoted  a  full  para- 
graph to  praise  of  Chaplin's  year  at  Leavenworth.  "In  the  thank- 
less role  of  Manager  ...  he  has  acquitted  himself  to  the  satis- 
faction of  even  the  most  fastidious.  .  .  ."  Addis  did  not  con- 
tinue in  the  theatre  business.  For  the  evening  of  January  28,  the 
third  day  after  the  fire,  a  meeting  was  called  to  consider  the  organ- 
ization of  a  fire  department  to  replace  the  existing  fire  companies.33 

THE  LINDEN  REGIME,  1864-1866 

The  Leavenworth  Theatre,  successor  to  the  Union  Theatre,  opened 
September  10,  1864,  in  the  new  building  erected  upon  the  Stockton 
Hall  site.  No  proprietor  was  indicated,  but  W.  H.  Coolidge,  pro- 
prietor of  the  drug  store  which  occupied  part  of  the  ground  floor, 
was  listed  as  manager,  with  Henry  Linden  as  acting  and  stage  man- 
ager. The  play  was  the  "Hunchback."  The  company  was  short- 
handed  and  the  reception  given  it  was  not  enthusiastic.  The  show 
closed  October  2,  for  winter  preparations  and  for  Linden  to  recruit 
additional  talent,  also  to  play  an  engagement  on  his  own  account 
in  Kansas  City.  The  local  paper  became  restive  at  his  delay  in  re- 
turning, but  November  24  the  theatre  reopened.  Linden  and  wife, 
and  J.  B.  Turner  played  the  leading  parts  until  January,  1865,  when  a 
succession  of  stars  was  imported:  Ettie  Henderson,  Carlotta  Pozonni, 
Mary  Gladstane,  Rachel  Johnson  and  B.  Macauley,  McKean  Bu- 
chanan and  Virginia  Buchanan.  J.  B.  Turner  played  "Nick  of  the 
Woods,  or  the  Jabbenainosay,"  which  was  repeated  several  times 
before  the  end  of  the  season,  but  the  play  that  created  a  sensation 
was  the  "Octoroon"  by  Boucicault  which  played  ten  times  in  succes- 
sion, barring  a  single  night  interruption,  and  several  times  at  inter- 
vals later  in  the  spring.  This  phenomenon  drew  from  the  Times, 
February  21,  on  the  occasion  of  the  announcement  of  its  tenth  show- 
ing, a  long  editorial  on  the  failure  of  the  legitimate  drama  in  Leaven- 
worth, which  may  have  had  a  meaning  beyond  the  single  issue  of 
artistic  excellence: 

All  efforts  to  establish  the  legitimate  drama  in  this  city  have  heretofore  failed, 
and  they  will  continue  to  fail  so  long  as  the  majority  of  the  theater-going  people 
care  more  for  sensation  than  acting,  more  for  loud  talking  and  fierce  gestures 
than  correct  reading  and  natural  motions.  The  Hunchback  was  played  last 
night,  to  a  comparatively  small  house,  the  greater  portion  of  which  was  un- 
doubtedly attracted  more  by  the  announcement  that  Linden  would  play  "Cuffy" 

33.  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  January  6,  7,  10,  12,  14-17,  19,  21,  26,  29,  1864' 
Daily  Conservative,  January  3,  5,  13,  15-17,  20,  22,  1864;  Evening  Bulletin,  Leavenworth' 
January  12,  13,  1864. 

4—5869 


42  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

in  a  negro  farce,  than  by  the  first  named  piece,  and  although  the  play  was  well 
put  on  the  boards,  and  better  rendered  than  expected,  it  failed  to  interest  the 
audience,  or  extort  from  it  one  single  round  of  applause.  We  advise  the  man- 
agement to  stick  to  the  sensational.  It  is  better  suited  to  this  community,  be- 
sides being  more  remunerative.  To-night,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  a  large 
number  of  persons,  the  "Octoroon"  will  be  played  again.  Owing  to  the  bad 
state  of  the  weather,  last  week,  many  persons  were  prevented  from  seeing  it, 
and  as  it  is  decidedly  sensational,  it  of  course  attracts  attention  and  created  a 
desire  in  the  minds  of  theatre-goers  to  witness  its  representation. 

The  theatrical  season  1865-1866  continued  under  the  same  man- 
agement, but  the  proprietors  were  designated  as  Coolidge  and 
George  Ummethun,  the  resident  agent  of  the  Cincinnati  owner  of  the 
building.  Again  the  company  opened  short-handed,  Linden  himself 
being  absent.  The  Times,  September  10,  1865,  editorialized  in  a 
satirical  attack  upon  the  "poor  simpleton  public"  and  its  absurd 
expectations,  not  realizing  realities,  including  "the  risks  and  vicissi- 
tudes of  railroad  and  steamboat  navigation."  Linden  appeared  fi- 
nally on  September  16. 

Again,  during  this  season  stars  dominated  the  scene  for  most  of 
the  time:  Blanche  DeBar,  Ettie  Henderson,  C.  W.  Couldock  and 
daughter  (twice),  Cecile  Rush  (twice),  Jenny  Hight,  Yankee  Locke, 
Pauline  Cushman,  Marietta  Revel,  Susan  Benin,  Fannie  Price,  the 
Maddern  Sisters,  but  more  unusual  three  members  of  the  local  com- 
pany were  given  star  status,  two  for  a  week's  run  each,  Mrs.  Linden 
being  the  first. 

In  February,  1866,  two  old  friends  returned  to  the  Leavenworth 
theatre,  George  Chaplin  and  Clara  Walters.  During  their  absence, 
since  the  break-up  of  the  Union  Theatre  in  January,  1864,  they  had 
been  reported  as  playing  in  the  St.  Charles  Theatre  in  New  Orleans 
in  May,  1864.  Both  were  in  Leavenworth  a  short  time  in  June, 
1864,  and  gave  concerts  in  Laing's  Hall.  In  December  of  the  same 
year  Clara  Walters  was  reported  as  making  a  sensation  in.  New 
Orleans  with  "The  Ticket-of-Leave  Woman,"  a  burlesque  on  "The 
Ticket-of-Leave  Man."  Chaplin  passed  through  Leavenworth  again 
in  May,  1865.  Now,  upon  his  return  to  Leavenworth  Theatre,  Chap- 
lin played  Saturday,  February  3,  to  Saturday  of  the  following  week 
as  the  star  after  which  he  took  his  place  in  the  company.  Mrs. 
Pennoyer  was  again  a  member  of  the  company  and  played  the  femi- 
nine lead,  but  without  star  billing.  The  following  Saturday  Clara 
Walters  was  the  star  and  remained  as  a  regular  member  of  the 
company. 

During  his  week  as  star,  Chaplin  played  "Ingomar,"  "Hamlet," 
"Money,"  "Macbeth,"  "Lady  of  Lyons,"  and  "Madelaine."  It  was 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  43 

recalled  that  he  had  been  a  universal  favorite  some  two  years  earlier, 
but  in  commenting  upon  individual  roles,  the  Times  was  patroniz- 
ingly complimentary:  "Hamlet"  was  a  "very  creditable  rendition;" 
his  "Money"  was  "far  beyond  mediocrity;"  his  "Macbeth"  was  "not 
so  perfect  as  in  previous  efforts;"  and  finally:  "He  is  emphatically  a 
good  actor.  .  .  ."  Clara  Walters,  specializing  in  the  lighter  char- 
acters, played  in  "Perfection,"  and  "Ireland  as  it  is."  The  Times  in- 
troduced her  as  "an  old  favorite  .  .  .  and  if  reports  speak  truly, 
has  greatly  improved  during  her  absence."  After  the  event  the 
Times  reported  that  in  spite  of  the  rain  and  mud  she  drew  one  of  the 
biggest  houses  of  the  season:  ".  .  .  We  do  not  think  she  has 
any  superior  in  the  delineation  of  Irish  character."  34 

CHAPLIN  AGAIN,  1866-1867 

The  Chaplin  Opera  House  opened  the  1866-1867  theatre  season 
on  August  20,  virtually  a  "new"  opera  house  after  the  summer's  re- 
modeling operations.  The  personnel  included  names  from  the  pre- 
vious winter;  Clara  Walters  and  Mrs.  M.  A.  Pennoyer  in  particular. 
The  first  plays  were  "Honey  Moon,"  and  "Sarah's  Young  Man,"  fol- 
lowed by  another  favorite  pair,  "Lady  of  Lyons,"  and  "Lottery 
Ticket."  The  third  night  brought  an  Irish  play  "Arrah-na-Pogue." 
Although  the  critic  pronounced  the  company  as  yet  awkward,  this 
play  had  four  successive  showings,  including  Saturday  matinee, 
giving  way  to  J.  E.  Little's  "Richard  III"  on  Saturday  evening.  Re- 
peat performances  became  frequent  during  this  winter,  both  by  stars 
and  the  resident  company.  The  traveling  stars  were  Miss  Leo  Hud- 
son, Blanche  DeBar,  C.  W.  Couldock  (alone),  Emilie  Melville,  Mrs. 
J.  H.  Allen  and  D.  R.  Harkins,  Cecile  Rush,  Jean  Hosmer,  Stuart 
Robson,  Lotta  and  Joseph  Proctor.  In  December  the  Burt  family, 
with  two  small  daughters,  returned  to  Leavenworth,  being  assigned 
stardom.  Furthermore,  Jean  Clara  Walters,  as  she  was  now  officially 
billed,  had  her  turn  from  the  local  company  as  star  in  January,  1867. 

The  Burt  family  had  been  reported,  during  the  winter  of  1862- 
1863,  to  be  operating  a  theatre  in  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  but  other- 
wise information  about  the  period  of  their  absence  from  Leaven- 
worth  remains  a  blank.  The  prospect  of  their  return  was  announced 
December  16,  1866,  and  on  the  18th  notice  was  given  of  the  "first 
appearance  of  Mr.  Burt,  and  the  youthful  progidy  Eliza  Logan  Burt." 
On  December  20  Burt  and  little  Eliza  Logan  played  "Ten  Nights  in 
a  Bar  Room,"  and  were  such  a  hit  that,  including  Saturday  matinee, 

34.  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  May  7,  June  22,  23,  September  6,  8,  10,  October  2 
27,  November  17,  24,  December  9,  1864,  February  21,  May  5,  June  27  September  10* 
1865,  February  3,  5-11,  13,  May  18,  1866. 


44  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

they  played  it  four  successive  times — Eliza  Logan  Burt  "as  'Little 
Mary'  is  the  attraction  in  the  piece."  On  Monday  the  Burt  family 
presented  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin":  George  playing  Gumption  Cute; 
Mrs.  Burt,  Aunt  Ophelia;  and  of  course,  Eliza  Logan  starred  as  Eva. 
Christmas  day  Burt  played  his  famous  role  in  "Toodles."  The  elder 
Burt  daughter,  Clara,  was  featured  one  night  as  a  vocalist.  After 
the  cordial  star-rated  reception  the  Burt  family  settled  down  as  mem- 
bers of  the  company. 

In  April,  1867,  apparently  the  usual  Burt  luck  was  present.  Mrs. 
Burt  and  Eliza  Logan  were  to  have  a  benefit  April  6,  but  it  was  post- 
poned until  April  10.  A  special  attraction  was  provided,  a  card 
picture  of  the  little  girl  being  presented  to  each  woman  attending 
the  theatre.  About  this  time,  apparently,  the  Burt  family  started  a 
new  venture,  a  traveling  company,  a  partnership  known  as  the  John- 
son and  Burt  Theatrical  Troupe,  which  played  at  Lawrence,  Kansas 
City,  and  Atchison.  In  1876  the  Burt  family  was  still  in  the  field  as 
a  traveling  dramatic  company  appearing  in  Independence,  Kan., 
the  week  before  Christmas.  A  benefit  was  given  to  the  Burt  children 
(Clara  not  being  mentioned,  but  two  new  ones  being  present): 
Eliza  (now  15),  Willie,  and  Nellie.35 

The  theatrical  season  of  1867-1868,  at  Leavenworth,  "managed" 
by  Susan  Denin,  added  nothing  to  the  glory  of  Leavenworth  theatre 
and  ended  shortly  after  a  few  minor  stars  had  appeared:  Belle  Boyd, 
LaBelle  Oceana  (who  had  starred  formerly  at  the  American  Concert 
Hall),  Mary  Gladstane,  and  Madame  Scheller, — and  of  course  Susan 
herself.  Then  followed  the  two-season  theatrical  blank,  1867-1868 
and  1868-1869,  before  the  Lord  Dramatic  Company  appeared  in 
December,  1869,  a  complete  traveling  theatrical  company,  not  a  resi- 
dent stock  company — traveling-star  combination.  The  Lords  rep- 
resented a  new  order  in  theatre.36 

Too  much  should  not  be  made  of  the  adverse  criticism  of  the 
theatre  or  of  the  obvious  failures  of  the  theatre  and  of  its  public  in 
Leavenworth.  Theatre  everywhere  and  always  was  in  crisis — that  is 
its  normal  condition  regardless  of  place  or  time,  or  whether  it  thrives 

35.  Independence  Kansan,  December  15,  22,  1876.     At  Atchison,  the  Daily  Champion, 
April   13,   1866,  gave  Eliza  Logan's   age  as  five  which  would  have  made  her   15  in   1876 
when  at  Independence.     If  Clara  had  survived  the  rigors  of  traveling  theatre,  she  may  have 
been  in  school  or  married. 

36.  Leavenworth   Daily  Times,   August    19,    1866,   through  June  20,    1867,   covers   the 
daily   offerings   and   comment   thereon,   but   a  few   particular   issues   may   be   designated   to 
document    particular    statements    in    the    foregoing    narrative;    August    26,    September    14, 
December  16-30,  1866,  January  6-13,  February  3,  March  17,  April  5-7,  10,  May  6,  1867. 
The  Daily  Conservative  provides  similar  daily  coverage,  but  some  dates  of  particular  interest 
for  the  history  of  the  Burt  family  are  December  11,  1862,  January  11,  1863. 

The  fall  season  of  1867  is  covered  by  both  papers,  the  Times  and  the  Conservative, 
September  7,  November  27,  1867,  some  issues  of  particular  interest  are  Daily  Conservative, 
November  8,  12,  19,  24,  27,  28,  30,  1867. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  45 

or  dies  only  to  live  again  in  a  different  form.  Primitive  or  "civilized" 
people  insist  upon  escape  into  a  world  of  make-believe  in  some  guise, 
and  for  manifold  purposes. 

V.    NOTES  ON  THE  PLAYS 

No  complete  record  of  the  plays  presented  in  the  Leavenworth 
theatre  between  1858  and  1867  can  be  compiled.  Prior  to  the  spring 
of  1859,  for  example  before  Eliza  Logan  was  star,  no  formal  theatre 
advertisements  appeared,  and  besides  the  newspaper  files  preserved 
are  incomplete.  The  "local"  column  contained  comment  and  an- 
nouncements, however,  with  an  approximation  of  regularity.  After 
the  summer  of  1862,  a  fairly  complete  record  is  available.  A  large 
part  of  the  plays  must  be  classed  as  ephemeral,  with  emphasis  upon 
the  comedy  and  farce  side.  Nevertheless,  the  showing  of  Shake- 
speare's plays  and  other  classics,  "The  School  for  Scandal,"  and  "She 
Stoops  to  Conquer,"  for  example,  was  substantial;  "Othello,"  "Ham- 
let," "Macbeth,"  "Richard  III,"  and  "King  Lear"  appeared  about  in 
that  order  of  frequency;  and  besides  there  were  occasional  show- 
ings of  "The  Merchant  of  Venice,"  "Much  Ado  About  Nothing,"  and 
"As  You  Like  It."  Other  plays  that  were  popular  included  several 
drawn  from  English  literature;  dramatized  versions  of  Dickens' 
"Cricket  on  the  Hearth,"  "Chimney  Corner,"  "Oliver  Twist";  Tenny- 
son's "Dora";  Scott's  "The  Bride  of  Lammermoor,"  "Rob  Roy,"  and 
"The  Lady  of  the  Lake."  From  the  French  were  "Fanchion,  the 
Cricket,"  "Camille,"  Hugo's  "La  Tour  de  Nesle,"  and  "Les  Miser- 
ables,"  besides  several  of  lesser  merit.  From  the  German  examples 
were  "Ingomar,"  "Leah  (Deborah)  the  Forsaken,"  and  Schiller's 
"Robbers."  The  better  American  literature  did  not  contribute  much, 
but  Irving's  "Rip  Van  Winkle"  appeared  in  two  or  more  dramatiza- 
tions. Plays  involving  the  American  Indian  were  represented  by 
"Metamora,"  "Wept  of  Wish-ton- Wish,"  the  farce  "Pocahontas,"  and 
the  frontiersman  of  Kentucky  and  the  Indian  in  the  dramatized  ver- 
sion of  R.  M.  Bird's  "Nick  of  the  Woods,  or  the  Jibbenainosay."  Be- 
sides the  ubiquitous  Negro  (burnt-cork)  minstrels  of  continuously 
declining  quality,  plays  using  the  Negro,  with  exceptions  to  be  men- 
tioned later,  dealt  with  him  only  as  a  comic  character. 

Social  problem  plays  were  fairly  conspicuous,  "The  Poor  of  New 
York,"  "Under  the  Gaslight,"  the  "Drunkard,"  and  "Ten  Nights  in  a 
Bar  Room."  Irish  plays  were  probably  the  most  numerous  of  any 
single  class,  a  list  of  over  20  in  number  has  been  compiled,  all  treated 
the  Irish  as  comic  characters  or  in  ridicule.  Dion  Boucicault's  "Col- 
leen Bawn,"  first  produced  in  New  York  in  March,  1860,  is  an  excep- 


46  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

tion.37  Kate  Denin  first  brought  it  to  Leavenworth  in  June,  1863. 
In  offering  "Ireland  as  It  Is"  to  the  Atchison  audience  it  was  char- 
acterized as  an  Irish  national  drama  sympathetic  to  the  peasantry: 
"This  thrilling  picture  of  the  struggles,  trials,  and  self-denials  of  the 
Irish  peasantry  has  been  universally  acknowledged  as  the  most 
beautiful  and  touching  domestic  drama  ever  placed  upon  the 
stage."38  Of  course,  the  play  "Robert  Emmett"  was  unconcealed 
Irish  nationalist  propaganda  based  upon  the  revolt  of  1796. 

The  star  system  determined  largely  the  choice  of  plays  presented, 
the  more  prominent  of  these  luminaries  specializing  in  a  limited 
number  of  roles.  Necessarily,  in  the  West,  the  theatres  found  their 
choices  of  stars  limited  by  availability.  From  1863-1867,  C.  W. 
Couldock  offered  quite  regularly  "Willow  Copse,"  "Chimney  Cor- 
ner," "Still  Waters  Run  Deep,"  "Richelieu,"  "Louis  XI,"  "King  Lear," 
"Othello,"  and  others,  with  slight  variation.  Cecile  Rush  was  almost 
sure  to  present  "Fanchion,"  "Evadne,"  the  "Hunchback,"  etc.  Others 
seemed  to  follow  the  changing  fashions. 

Of  the  playwrights  represented,  the  most  conspicuous  was  Dion 
Boucicault,  born  in  Ireland,  then  of  the  New  York  theatre.  The  lead- 
ing version  of  "Rip  van  Winkle"  available  after  1850  was  that  of 
Charles  Burke,  but  in  1865,  Boucicault's  appeared.  Boucicault's 
"The  Poor  of  New  York,"  which  compared  victims  of  the  panics  of 
1837  and  1857,  was  offered  first  in  New  York,  and  later  in  Leaven- 
worth  in  October,  1859.  His  "Octoroon,"  based  on  Mayne  Reid's 
"The  Quadroon,"  was  first  played  in  New  York  in  December,  1859, 
and  created  a  sensation  in  Leavenworth  in  February,  1865.  "Colleen 
Bawn,"  and  "London  Assurance"  made  frequent  appearances  in 
1863  and  later.  Tom  Taylors  plays  were  popular,  particularly  "Still 
Waters  Run  Deep,"  "Our  American  Cousin,"  and  "The  Ticket-of- 
Leave  Man." 

Some  plays  were  so  striking  in  their  impact  upon  the  public  as  to 
stimulate  a  demand  for  repeat  performances.  Partly,  no  doubt,  the 
effective  combination  of  actor  and  play  were  the  explanation  rather 
than  the  content  of  the  production  itself.  On  occasion  this  occurred 
with  the  local  resident  company,  but  more  often  it  was  associated 
with  a  limited  number  of  stars.  In  a  few  cases  the  preoccupation 
of  the  public  with  a  particular  subject  might  account  for  the  re- 
sponse. In  May,  1859,  Miss  E.  Mitchell,  advertised  as  a  niece  of 
Booth,  played  "The  Mormons"  four  times  and  in  October,  1859,  the 

37.  Arthur   H.   Quinn,  History   of  the  American   Drama,   From   the   Beginning   to   the 
Civil    War    (New    York,     1923),    p.    377.      Quinn    limited    his    generalization    that    there 
was  only  one  such  Irish  play  to  the  use  of  the  better  common  class  of  the  Irish  and  other 
conditions  which  might  make  his  verdict  rather  drastic. 

38.  Atchison  Daily  Champion,  February  21,  1866. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  47 

Langrishe-Allen  St.  Joseph  Theatre  company  played  "The  Poor  of 
New  York"  at  the  National  for  three  nights.  Public  interest  in  sub- 
ject matter  as  social  issues  of  the  day  no  doubt  contributed  to  the 
demand.  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  was  played  once  in  October,  1859, 
five  times  in  August,  1862,  and  four  times  in  April,  1863,  and  raises 
the  perennial  question  about  the  hold  exercised  by  both  the  book 
and  the  play  upon  the  public  in  the  United  States  and  abroad. 
"Camille,"  played  by  the  local  company,  was  offered  twice  in  June, 
1862.  The  enthusiastic  response,  December,  1862,  to  "The  Lady  of 
the  Lake,"  played  by  Clara  Walters  and  Healey  of  the  resident  com- 
pany would  seem  to  provide  no  special  circumstances  other  than 
good  acting.  American  themes  were  treated  in  "Nick  of  the  Woods, 
or  the  Jibbenainosay"  ( twice )  in  January,  and  "The  Hidden  Hand" 
(four  times)  in  April,  1863,  by  the  resident  company.  Mary  Shaw 
played  twice  each  "Our  American  Cousin"  and  "Child  of  the  Regi- 
ment" in  April,  1863,  while  Cecile  Rush  gave  "Fanchion"  (four 
times)  and  "Ida  Lee"  (three  times)  in  April-May,  1863.  Kate 
Benin's  presentations  of  "Colleen  Bawn"  and  "East  Lynne"  (twice 
each),  occurred  in  June,  1863. 

A  year  and  a  half  later  the  "Octoroon"  sensation,  ten  nights,  by 
the  resident  theatre  company,  in  February,  1865,  must  have  been 
associated  with  the  state  of  public  sentiment  near  the  end  of  the 
Civil  War  in  relation  to  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  race  issue  which 
it  raised.  But  the  Maddern  Sisters  may  have  been  responsible  for 
the  run  of  "Three  Fast  Men"  for  six  nights  in  May,  1866.  In  August 
of  the  same  year  the  resident  company  presented  the  Irish  play 
"Arrah  na-Pogue"  four  times.  The  success  in  August,  1866,  of  such 
widely  different  plays  as  "Mazeppa,  or  the  Wild  Horse  of  Tartary" 
( six  nights )  and  "Putnam,"  a  story  of  the  American  Revolution  ( two 
nights ) ,  must  have  been  due  primarily  to  the  star  Miss  Leo  Hudson. 
The  "Sea  of  Ice"  was  first  presented  in  Leavenworth  in  October, 

1866,  by  the  local  company  for  a  five-night  run.    The  return  of  the 
Burt  family,  with  the  spotlight  upon  little  Eliza  Logan  Burt,  may 
help  to  explain  the  four-night  run,  in  December,  1866,  of  "Ten 
Nights  in  a  Bar  Room."   The  vogue  of  the  "Seven  Sisters"  in  January, 

1867,  was  only  partly  the  responsibility  of  "Lotta,"  because  the  local 
company  played  it  for  two  nights  in  the  February  following.    Also, 
the  resident  company  played  "Rosedale"  ( Wallock's  150  night  sensa- 
tion in  New  York)  for  four  nights  in  June,  1867.    "The  Black  Crook" 
run  of  18  days  in  July  and  August,  1867,  was  clearly  a  combination 
of  high  pressure  advertising  and  a  sensational  show.    In  retrospect, 
this  record  reveals  a  peculiar  grouping  of  repeat  performances  in  two 


48  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

chronological  spots,  April-June,  1863,  and  May-October,  1866,  for 
which  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any  assignable  reason. 

These  repeat  performances  were  one  thing,  but  long-term  popu- 
larity of  a  play  regardless  of  players  is  quite  another.  Shakespeare 
and  the  classics  held  their  own  remarkably  well  in  Leavenworth 
during  the  decade  1858-1867,  but  were  losing  ground  near  the  end, 
and  during  the  next  decade.  Other  plays  of  a  serious  nature  whose 
popularity  persisted  included  the  "Hunchback,"  "Evadne,"  "Lucretia 
Borgia,"  "Don  Caeser  de  Bazan,"  "Ingomar,"  and  "Camille."  Of  a  less 
serious  nature,  or  in  some  cases  farcical,  were  "The  Lady  of  Lyons," 
"Our  American  Cousin,"  "Toodles,"  "Ireland  as  It  Is,"  "The  Serious 
Family,"  and  the  farcical  afterpieces,  "The  Limerick  Boy,"  "The 
Lottery  Ticket,"  and  "Jenny  Lind."  The  social  problem  plays 
"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  and  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room,"  were  of 
course  in  a  class  by  themselves.  What  provided  the  hold  of  these 
plays  upon  the  public  imagination  is  one  of  the  intangibles  that 
eludes  all  attempts  at  explanation.  Likewise,  when  "The  Lady  of 
Lyons"  was  billed  for  July  24,  1862,  the  Daily  Times  protested  that 
it  would  not  draw,  that  it  was  played  out  and  should  be  laid  on  the 
shelf.  Afterwards,  the  editor  had  the  courage  to  admit  his  error — it 
drew  a  large  audience  and  went  off  remarkably  well.  Several  of 
these  well-worn  pieces  continued  to  be  standard  fare  for  nearly  two 
more  decades. 

An  extended  reference  to  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  has  been  deferred 
until  this  stage  in  the  discussion.  The  vogue  of  the  original  book, 
prior  to  the  Civil  War,  was  phenomenal  and  no  more  than  a  refer- 
ence to  that  fact  need  be  made  here.  The  play  presents  some  special 
problems.  In  Leavenworth,  a  town  with  a  strong  Southern  back- 
ground, "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  was  first  presented  on  the  stage  Oc- 
tober 24,  1859,  to  a  house  "quite  well  filled."  In  fact,  the  reporter 
said:  "It  was  by  all  odds  the  largest  audience  of  the  season." 

Considering  the  limited  extent  of  the  company  and  their  facilities  for 
rendering  a  scenic  piece  of  this  description,  the  play  was  excellently  gotten  up, 
and  the  parts  rendered  in  a  respectable  manner. 

We  trust  that  its  representation  will  fill  the  depleted  treasury  of  the  managers 
and  make  the  Theatre  no  longer  desolate  with  a  beggerly  arrray  of  empty 
seats. 

The  evening  did  not  pass,  however,  without  trouble:  "The  Wil- 
liam Yerby,  who  became  so  indignant  at  the  Anti-Slavery  senti- 
ments of  Uncle  Tom  as  to  compel  the  police  to  remove  him  from 
the  theatre,  and  for  which  on  Wednesday  he  was  fined  by  the  Re- 
corder, has,  we  understand,  not  subdued  the  pugnacious  propen- 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  49 

sities  he  then  exhibited."  On  the  same  day  as  the  trial,  "he  chal- 
lenged Marshall  M alone  to  fight  a  duel  with  Colt  revolvers,  large 
size,  at  sixteen  paces."  Also,  the  report  circulated  that  he  threatened 
the  press:  "Oh,  dear!  how  we  quake  in  our  stocking-feet,"  jeered 
the  Times.89 

The  second  presentation  of  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  came  in  August, 
1862,  and  prior  to  the  preliminary  emancipation  proclamation.  Also, 
this  was  near  the  beginning  of  the  Addis-Templeton  regime  at  the 
Union  Theatre,  and  soon  after  Mrs.  Walters'  arrival.  She  played 
Topsy,  and  the  Conservative  conceded  that  "a  better  Topsy  than 
Mrs.  Walters  cannot  be  produced."  Nevertheless,  Editor  Wilder 
was  not  happy.  He  conceded  something,  however,  that  the  presen- 
tation "did  the  highest  credit  to  the  manager,  Mr.  Templeton,  and 
the  scenic  artist,  Mr.  O'Neill.  .  .  ."  What  distressed  Wilder 
was  that  in  the  midst  of  the  Civil  War  a  Proslavery  version  had  been 
presented: 

The  version  used,  however,  leaves  out  Legree  and  some  of  the  most  important 
scenes,  and  makes  Uncle  Tom  a  mere  obedient  servant.  As  it  was  put  on  the 
boards  in  New  York  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  would  be  good  for  thirty  nights.  We 
are  not  more  pro-slavery  than  New  York  City,  and  there  is  no  necessity  for  cater- 
ing to  that  sentiment. 

True,  it  ran  five  nights  only  in  Leavenworth,  not  thirty.40 

The  Times  reacted  positively  also  to  this  wartime  offering  of 
"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin":  "The  most  popular  dramatization  of  modern 
times,  'Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,'  will  be  produced  for  the  first  [sic]  time 
in  this  city,  at  the  Theatre  this  evening.  Jordan  does  Uncle  Tom, 
Mrs.  Walters,  Topsey,  Miss  Mann,  Eva,  and  Miss  Helena,  Eliza 
Harris."  After  the  second  performance  the  Times,  August  8,  also 
exploded  about  the  alleged  Proslavery  version: 

"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  is  announced  at  the  theatre  for  this  and  to-morrow  even- 
ings. A  crowded  house  greeted  its  first  production,  Wednesday  night,  and  we 
can  unhesitatingly  say  that  so  far  as  it  goes  the  play  was  excellently  put  upon 
the  stage,  and  in  the  leading  characters  well  done.  Mrs.  Walters'  "Topsey"  is 
an  interesting  and  truthful  portraiture  of  a  character  very  common  on  the  plan- 
tations of  the  South;  Miss  Helena  succeeds  admirably,  as  she  ever  does,  in  the 
effective  part  of  Eliza  Harris,  the  fugitive  quadroon;  Jordan's  "Uncle  Tom"  is 
a  fine  piece  of  character  acting,  and  Healey  does  the  generous  Kentuckian, 
Fletcher,  in  a  manner  that  all  along  carries  with  it  the  sympathies  of  the 
audience;  but  nevertheless  the  omission  of  the  scenes  with  Legree  and  Gassy, 
and  the  death  of  Uncle  Tom,  make  the  play  seem  as  incomplete  as  if  one  had 
read  only  the  first  volume  of  the  book  itself,  with  no  chance  of  getting  the  re- 
mainder of  the  story.  Lack  of  people  may  be  sufficient  excuse  for  shortening 
the  play,  and  we  would  much  rather  this  were  the  case  than  that  it  were  done 

39.  Daily   Times,  Leavenworth,   October  26-28,   1859. 

40.  Leavenworth  Daily  Conservative,  August  6-9,  1862. 


50  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

to  spare  the  sensibilities  of  the  resident  remnant  of  Border  Ruffianism  in  the 
city.  The  whole  piece, — and  it  can  be  done  by  one  or  two  "doubles" — would 
draw  a  good  per  cent  on  the  cost  of  its  presentation  and  the  money  invested 
for  canvas  and  colors.  Except  in  a  few  minor  points  the  play  is  exceedingly 
well  done.  The  crossing  scene  is  well  contrived;  but  were  we  disposed  to  be 
critical  we  might  ask  how  it  is  that  feudal  banqueting  goblets  find  their  way 
into  a  Kentucky  tavern?  or  why  Tom  Loker  and  Haley  are  made  to  resemble  a 
couple  of  grog  shop  loafers  rather  than  the  flashy  "traders"  they  are  intended 
to  represent?  Little  Miss  Mann's  "Eva"  is  a  surprising  performance,  in  view 
of  her  inexperience,  Wednesday  evening  being  the  first  time  she  has  ever  ap- 
peared on  the  stage.  In  a  little  time,  however,  her  slight  monotony  will  wear 
off,  and  her  rendition  of  "the  flower  of  the  South"  be  all  that  can  be  asked  for. 

In  April,  1863,  Leavenworth  again  saw  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  on 
the  stage,  a  four-time  run  with  Mrs.  Walters  again  as  Topsy  and 
Sophia  Jennison  as  Eva  at  the  People's  Theatre.  The  Conservative 
noted  with  satisfaction  that  George  Aiken's  version  of  the  play  was 
to  be  used,  and  recalled  the  past: 

It  has  been  put  on  the  boards  once  before  in  this  city,  but  mutilated  in  the  most 
approved  pro-slavery  style.  We  sincerely  hope  and  trust  that  such  will  not  be 
the  case  to-night.  It  is  one  of  the  most  exciting  pieces  ever  written,  and  we 
believe  the  management  of  the  People's  will  present  it  in  a  masterly  manner.41 

The  play  was  given  again  in  September  and  December,  1863,  and 
January,  1864,  but  in  Leavenworth  its  popularity  was  limited.  In 
Atchison,  according  to  the  Champion,  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  was 
seen  for  the  first  time  on  April  30  and  May  1,  1866.  In  conclusion, 
whatever  the  meaning  may  be,  the  great  vogue  of  "Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin"  in  its  dramatized  form  in  Kansas,  came  after  the  Civil  War 
and  after  the  abolition  of  slavery  was  an  accomplished  fact.  Further- 
more, "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  either  in  book  form  or  in  play  form  was 
really  popular  only  among  white  people.  To  self-conscious  Negroes, 
Uncle  Tom's  submissiveness  and  the  patronizing  attitude  toward  the 
negro  race  were  offensive.  Only  Eliza's  escape  stirred  the  race  pride 
and  that  was  not  central  to  the  original  conception  of  either  the  book 
or  the  play.  In  its  wanderings  as  a  stage  play,  except  for  Topsy 's 
antics,  Eliza  and  the  pack  of  hounds  became  the  focus  of  the  play's 
more  sensational  advertising. 

Introduced  during  the  decade  of  the  1860's  were  a  number  of 
new  plays  that  proved  durable.  Those  listed  here  in  that  category 
probably  reached  their  peak  of  popularity  in  Kansas  during  the  dec- 
ade of  the  1870's,  some  continuing  as  standard  even  later.  Although 
records  are  too  incomplete  to  be  certain  about  firsts  in  Leavenworth, 
Boucicault's  "Colleen  Bawn"  (1860),  probably  had  its  initial  presen- 
tation in  Leavenworth  by  Kate  Denin  in  June,  1863.  On  the  same 

41.    Ibid.,  AprU  28-30,  May  2,  1863. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  51 

visit  she  introduced  "East  Lynne."  In  April  of  the  same  year,  with 
Amy  Stone  as  Capitola,  "The  Hidden  Hand"  received  a  first  local 
hearing.  It  was  dramatized  from  Mrs.  E.  D.  E.  N.  Southworth's 
novel  of  the  same  name.  "The  Ticket-of-Leave  Man"  came  to  the 
city  in  1864,  also  by  the  local  company.  "Lady  Audley's  Secret" 
was  introduced  by  Jean  Hosmer  in  May,  1867. 

Burlesques  on  great  or  popular  plays,  especially  the  tragedies, 
were  a  peculiar  phenomenon.  The  first  noticed  was  "Otello,  or  de 
Moor  ob  Wenis"  in  November,  1862.  Another  "Norma"  has  been 
found  for  March,  1863.  The  climax  of  this  burlesque  fad  came 
during  the  season  of  1866-1867;  "King  Lear,  the  Cuss,"  "Hamlet,  or 
the  Wearin  of  the  Black,"  "Katherin  and  Petruchio"  ("The  Taming 
of  the  Shrew"),  "Antony  and  Cleopatria,"  "Camille,  or  the  Cracked 
Heart,"  the  "Spectre  Bridegroom,"  "Mazeppa,  or  the  Wild  Rocky 
Horse,"  "Lady  of  the  Lions,"  "The  Ticket-of-Leave  Woman,"  and 
"The  Ticket-of-Leave  Man's  Wife."  Whether  or  not  identified  by  the 
form  of  the  title  or  by  description  as  a  burlesque,  during  the  season, 
when  one  of  the  great  plays  or  major  current  melodramas  was 
played  as  the  afterpiece,  or  by  the  comedy  members  of  the  com- 
pany, it  was  almost  certain  to  be  a  burlesque  on  the  real  play. 
Generalization  about  what  this  meant  is  difficult.  Probably  it  was 
in  part  a  reaction  against  the  excesses  and  artificialities  of  the  actors 
in  both  tragedy  and  melodrama.  Also,  it  may  be  interpreted  as  a 
reflection  of  postwar  cynicism  following  the  emotional  extrava- 
gances of  the  slavery  crusade  and  war  patriotism,  and  all  the 
"moral"  bombast  and  pretenses  that  had  accompanied  the  "national" 
crisis.  In  part,  almost  certainly,  it  was  escapism  from  postwar  con- 
fusion, public  and  private;  economic,  social,  religious,  and  political. 
But  when  all  this  has  been  said,  the  matter  is  still  elusive. 

VI.   PRICES  AND  PATRONAGE 

The  prices  of  admission  were  not  reported  for  1858-1862.  The 
advertisements  of  June,  1862,  listed  dress  circle  seats  at  40  cents 
( ladies  25 ) ,  a  lady  and  gentleman  75  cents,  two  ladies  and  a  gentle- 
man $1.00,  parquette,  25  cents.  In  March,  1863,  parquette  seats 
were  50  cents,  with  the  same  lady-gentleman  combinations,  dress 
circle  seats  40  cents,  and  the  new  gallery  25  cents.  In  the  new 
theatre  on  the  Stockton  Hall  site,  in  September,  1864,  the  dress 
circle  and  parquette  seats  were  75  cents,  and  the  gallery  and 
colored  gallery,  50  cents.  The  same  prices  prevailed  a  year  later. 
The  Chaplin  Theatre  opened  in  August,  1866,  at  advanced  prices: 
dress  circle,  men,  one  dollar,  ladies  75  cents,  lady  and  gentleman 


52  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

$1.50,  parquette  75  cents,  the  galleries  50  cents  respectively.  Re- 
ductions came  within  the  month.  The  boxes  for  eight  persons  were 
$8.00,  dress  circle  and  parquette,  75  cents,  the  galleries  25  cents. 
The  season  of  1867  began  with  dress  circle  and  orchestra  chairs  75 
cents,  parquette  seats  50  cents,  and  the  colored  gallery  25  cents. 

VII.    MORALS 

Some  form  of  dramatic  representation  seems  to  have  been  an 
essential  aspect  of  all  cultures  since  primitive  times.  Theatre  per 
se  is  a-moral,  its  ethical  significance  depending  upon  its  use.  Among 
primitive  peoples  the  dramatic  forms  were  conspicuously  religious 
and  ethical,  yet  in  modern  society  a  separation  occurred  in  which 
theatre  came  to  have  many  associations  of  essentially  an  opposite 
social  nature.  Some  of  these  have  been  revealed  only  too  clearly 
in  the  present  study.  Leavenworth  had  over  200  license-paying 
saloons,  in  November,  1858,  constituting  a  source  of  substantial 
city  revenue.  A  saloon,  in  the  form  in  which  such  institutions 
operated  during  the  third  quarter  of  the  19th  century,  was  often  if 
not  usually  housed  in  the  same  building  as  the  theatre.  The 
Market  building,  which  housed  the  first  Union  Theatre  in  1858, 
had  a  saloon  in  the  basement,  and  one  of  Burt's  first  steps  as  theatre 
manager  was  an  attempt  to  dissociate  in  the  public  mind  the  theatre 
and  the  saloon. 

"Order  and  decorum"  were  promised  in  1858  as  they  had  been 
promised  in  1856  when  Gabay's  Dramatic  Company  played  in 
Leavenworth.  A  third  aspect  of  assurances  related  to  the  respecta- 
bility of  the  acting  personnel.  Thus  the  Burts,  especially  Mrs.  Burt, 
were  spotlighted  in  the  social  scene  as  good  citizens.  They  were 
determined  to  elevate  the  stage  and  overcome  the  "vulgar  prejudice" 
that  obtained  in  the  towns  of  the  area.  A  particular  bid  was  made 
for  the  patronage  of  women.  About  100  "ladies"  were  said  to  have 
been  present  on  the  occasion  of  Mrs.  Burt's  benefit  in  April,  1858. 
If  true,  this  meant  that  one  of  every  five  persons  in  the  "full  house" 
of  500  was  a  woman.  Even  this  optimistic  estimate,  however,  left 
theatre  attendance  primarily  an  aspect  of  a  man's  world. 

The  theatre  had  its  competitors  in  the  entertainment  field  in  the 
form  of  minstrel  shows,  varieties  (which  "covered"  a  multitude  of 
sins),  and  showboats.  During  the  years  1858-1859  the  Gambrinus 
Saloon  offered  its  free  concert  every  night  in  addition  to  a  free 
lunch.  Of  course,  the  liquor  that  was  supposed  to  accompany  these 
was  not  free.  The  American  Concert  Hall,  with  its  10  cent  admis- 
sion charge,  was  only  one  step  removed  from  the  Gambrinus  estab- 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  53 

lishment.  Reality  was  represented,  therefore,  in  the  plea  of  Sep- 
tember 8,  1859,  for  some  decent  place  of  amusement  for  "unmarried 
folks"  without  homes  where  they  could  spend  their  evenings.  After 
the  National  Theatre  reopened  to  a  precarious  existence,  the  Times, 
October  13,  urged  support  for  "a  respectable  place  of  amusement" 
and  warned:  "The  supply  is  regulated  by  the  demand."  Several 
days  later  substantially  the  same  advice  was  repeated,  but  the 
National  Theatre  managed  to  operate  only  irregularly  for  less  than 
a  year  more. 

Soon  after  the  Union  Theatre  was  re-established  in  Stockton  Hall 
in  1863,  a  saloon  on  the  ground  floor,  an  actor  was  admonished  by 
name  that  "profanity  and  vulgarity  are  not  wit,"  and  over  a  year 
later  another  actor  was  reprimanded  for  drunkenness  on  the  stage 
which  required  a  replacement  during  the  evening's  production. 
On  October  3,  1862,  the  Conservative  insisted  that  audience  be- 
havior was  a  responsibility  of  the  management.  The  quarrels  be- 
tween managers  and  companies  over  contracts  and  salaries  came  to 
a  climax  in  the  libel  suits  of  January,  1864.  The  Times'  admonition 
was  to  the  point,  that  such  scandal  "conveys  the  idea  that  quarrels, 
rascality,  bad  morals  and  obscenity  are  the  necessary  consequences 
of  the  introduction  of  the  drama."  Benefits  to  good  causes  to  offset 
the  public's  moral  sensibilities  were  futile  gestures,  whether  to  the 
new  Christian  church  building  fund,  the  Hospital  fund,  the  Ladies 
Aid  Society,  or  the  Lawrence  Quantrill  massacre  sufferers.  Nor  did 
reduced  admission  charges  for  women  offset  moral  delinquencies  at 
the  theatre. 

Possibly  absentee  ownership  of  the  buildings  equipped  for  theatre 
may  have  had  a  bearing  on  saloon  and  theatre  in  the  same  structure: 
a  certainty  of  rental  income  to  offset  risk.  The  National  Theatre 
building  was  Philadelphia  owned,  and  the  Stockton  Hall  was  Cin- 
cinnati owned.  The  Union  Theatre  advertisements  (old  Stockton 
Hall),  during  the  hot  summer  months  of  1863,  reminded  patrons: 
"Ice  Water  in  the  Theatre  for  the  accommodation  of  Ladies  and 
Children."  Should  it  be  necessary  to  point  out  the  implication? 
When  the  theatre  in  the  new  Stockton  Hall  opened  in  September 
1864,  the  ubiquitous  saloon  was  on  the  ground  floor.  However,  on 
the  occasion  of  Clara  Walters'  vacation  concert  in  the  Turner  Hall 
Theatre,  she  had  the  saloon  closed  for  the  evening.  But  Clara 
Walters  was  more  than  offset  by  Susan  Benin,  and  Leavenworth 
Theatre  was  discontinued  for  two  years  on  that  note. 

(Part  Two,  the  Theatre  in  Atchison,  Lawrence  and  Topeka,  Witt 
Appear  in  the  Summer,  1957,  Issue.) 


The  Annual  Meeting 

THE  81st  annual  meeting  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society 
and  board  of  directors  was  held  in  the  rooms  of  the  Society 
on  October  16,  1956. 

The  meeting  of  the  directors  was  called  to  order  by  President 
Wilford  Riegle  at  10  A.  M.  First  business  was  the  reading  of  the 
annual  report  by  the  secretary: 

SECRETARY'S  REPORT,  YEAR  ENDING  OCTOBER  16,  1956 

At  the  conclusion  of  last  year's  meeting  the  newly  elected  president,  Wilford 
Riegle,  reappointed  Charles  M.  Correll  and  Frank  Haucke  to  the  executive 
committee.  The  members  holding  over  were  Will  T.  Beck,  John  S.  Dawson, 
and  T.  M.  Lillard. 

Two  members  of  the  Society's  board  of  directors  died  during  the  past  year: 
Mrs.  W.  D.  Philip,  Hays,  and  Henry  S.  Blake,  Topeka.  Mrs.  Philip,  a  life 
member  since  1918,  had  served  on  the  board  of  directors  continuously  since 
1931.  A  resident  of  Ellis  county  since  1886,  she  was  the  first  student  to  enroll 
at  Fort  Hays  State  College  when  it  was  established.  She  early  began  to 
collect  historical  objects  of  northwest  Kansas  and  contributed  many  fine 
relics,  including  an  entire  furnished  room,  to  the  Fort  Hays  museum.  Mr. 
Blake,  president  and  general  manager  of  Capper  Publications,  was  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Capper  Foundation  for  Crippled  Children  and  was  active  in  many 
other  civic,  state,  and  charitable  organizations.  The  death  of  these  two 
friends  is  noted  with  deep  regret. 

APPROPRIATIONS  AND  BUDGET  REQUESTS 

The  legislative  session  which  convened  in  January,  1956,  was  the  first 
"budget  session"  under  the  constitutional  amendment  of  1954.  It  was  im- 
mediately obvious  that  the  session  must  find  new  sources  of  revenue  to  meet 
financial  needs  as  listed  in  the  governor's  budget  recommendations  or  pare 
budget  requests  in  an  attempt  to  stay  within  anticipated  revenues.  It  chose 
the  latter  course,  but  still  failed  to  hold  the  total  budget  within  these  limits. 
For  the  Society  this  meant  that  although  necessary  appropriations  for  salaries 
and  normal  operating  expenses  were  made,  almost  all  items  of  special  mainte- 
nance were  denied. 

Major  requests  which  were  cut  from  the  budget  included  completion  of  the 
air-conditioning  system,  installation  of  steel  stack  floors,  replacement  of  main 
exterior  doors,  laying  of  asphalt  tile  flooring  in  the  museum,  and  installation 
of  two  new  flagpoles.  In  fact,  the  only  important  maintenance  requests  allowed 
were  $10,000  to  continue  the  rewiring  of  the  building  and  $650  for  new  rear 
entrance  doors.  A  request  for  funds  to  convert  the  garage  at  the  Kaw  Indian 
Mission,  Council  Grove,  into  living  quarters  for  the  caretaker,  and  to  build  a 
new  frame  garage  and  toolhouse,  was  rejected  for  the  second  time.  All  major 
requests  for  improvements  at  Shawnee  Methodist  Mission,  near  Kansas  City, 

(54) 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  55 

were  also  denied.  These  included  construction  of  an  addition  to  the  garage, 
erection  of  a  chain-link  fence,  deepening  of  the  West  building  basement  and 
laying  a  concrete  floor.  The  only  maintenance  appropriation  made  was  $3,500 
for  exterior  and  interior  painting.  The  appropriation  for  operation  of  the 
Funston  Memorial  Home  near  lola  was  only  $1,300,  which  with  a  reappro- 
priated  balance  from  the  preceding  fiscal  year  allows  approximately  $25  per 
month  for  all  expenses  of  operation  exclusive  of  the  caretaker's  salary.  For 
the  First  Territorial  Capitol  an  appropriation  of  $400  was  made  for  exterior 
painting  of  the  caretaker's  cottage. 

Budget  requests  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1958,  were  filed  with 
the  state  budget  director  in  September.  In  addition  to  appropriations  for 
salaries  and  operating  expenses,  the  major  items  listed  above  were  asked  for 
again.  New  requests  included  $800  for  museum  storage  closets,  $1,350  for 
fire  protection  installations  in  the  Memorial  building,  $4,000  for  modernization 
of  plumbing,  and  $5,300  for  interior  painting.  For  the  First  Territorial  Capitol 
$700  was  asked  for  a  new  electric  line,  and  a  supplemental  appropriation  of 
$1,200 — to  be  added  to  the  $1,500  already  available — was  requested  for  re- 
placing the  roof.  The  Funston  Home  needs  a  new  well  and  a  flagpole,  and 
$600  was  budgeted  for  these  items.  New  maintenance  items  for  Shawnee 
Mission  included  $2,000  for  waterproofing  and  $3,000  for  interior  painting  of 
the  East  building,  and  $1,000  for  tree-trimming. 

Capital  improvement  items — relatively  large  amounts  for  long-time  improve- 
ments and  special  maintenance  of  the  buildings  and  properties — constitute  in 
total  an  unusually  large  percentage  of  the  budget.  Yet  these  improvements 
are  necessary  and  must  be  requested  if  administrative  responsibilities  are  not 
to  be  neglected.  Several  of  these  requests  undoubtedly  will  be  cut  from  the 
final  budget,  but  the  Historical  Society  as  trustee  of  the  state  must  nevertheless 
point  out  the  necessity  for  proper  maintenance  of  the  various  properties. 

SPECIAL  PROJECTS 

Work  on  the  cumulative  index  to  the  Society's  publications — the  Collections, 
Quarterlies,  Biennial  Reports  and  special  Publications — was  again  interrupted 
in  order  to  finish  the  index  to  the  new  two-volume  Annals  of  Kansas.  However, 
entries  for  the  first  ten  volumes  of  the  Collections  have  been  completed,  totaling 
an  estimated  26,000  index  slips  for  4,280  pages  of  text. 

News  releases,  taken  from  territorial  and  other  newspapers  of  a  century 
ago,  are  still  being  sent  each  month  to  the  Kansas  press.  This  program,  launched 
two  years  ago  as  part  of  the  observance  of  the  1954  territorial  centennial,  has 
been  so  well  received  by  newspaper  editors  and  readers  that  the  articles  will 
be  continued. 

The  report  of  the  survey  of  historic  sites  and  structures  in  Kansas  authorized 
by  the  1955  legislature  will  be  prepared  for  submission  to  the  1957  session. 
Although  many  sites  and  buildings  have  not  yet  been  examined  and  will  not 
be  included  in  this  report,  it  is  expected  that  the  work  can  be  continued  until 
all  important  historic  sites  are  covered.  A  project  of  this  nature,  to  be  carried 
out  efficiently  and  with  a  minimum  of  wasted  effort,  would  require  the  services 
of  a  full-time  staff  member  for  the  greater  part  of  a  year.  Since  this  is  impos- 
sible under  present  circumstances,  it  seems  best  to  continue  the  survey  as  time 
permits  and  as  personnel  is  available. 


56  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

ARCHIVES  DIVISION 

Public  records  from  the  following  state  departments  have  been  transferred 
during  the  year  to  the  archives  division: 

Source  Title  Dates  Quantity 

Agriculture,  Board  of  ...    Statistical  Rolls  of  Counties,  1949  1,699  vols. 

Population  Schedules  of 

Cities  and  Townships  .  .    1955  4,031  vols. 

Insurance  Department  . .   Annual  Statements    1948  50  vols. 

Kansas  Judicial  Council,     Correspondence  and  Papers,  1927-1946     1  box 

Secretary  of  State Original  House  and  Senate 

Bills,     Resolutions     and 

Petitions    1895-1917     34  transfer 

cases 

Annual  reports  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1955,  were  received  from 
the  accounts  and  reports  division  of  the  Department  of  Administration,  di- 
rector of  Alcoholic  Beverage  Control,  state  auditor,  Children's  Receiving  Home, 
Crippled  Children  Commission,  Entomological  Commission,  Fort  Hays  State 
College,  Horticultural  Society,  Industrial  School  for  Boys,  Industrial  School 
for  Girls,  Lamed  State  Hospital,  Osawatomie  State  Hospital,  Parsons  State 
Training  School,  Real  Estate  Commission,  Sanatorium  for  Tuberculosis,  Di- 
vision of  Institutional  Management  of  the  Department  of  Social  Welfare, 
Topeka  State  Hospital,  state  treasurer,  and  the  Winfield  State  Training  School. 
Annual  reports  were  also  received  from  the  School  Book  Division  of  the  Board 
of  Education,  the  Board  of  Engineering  Examiners  and  the  state  printer  for 
the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1956. 

A  progress  report  on  construction  and  remodeling  programs  in  the  state 
as  of  January  1,  1956,  was  received  from  the  state  architect's  office.  Also 
deposited  in  the  archives  was  a  copy  of  the  "Transcript  of  Proceedings  Before 
the  Investigating  Committee  of  the  Kansas  State  Legislature,  March  10-20, 
1953,"  relating  to  the  sale  of  a  building  at  the  Sanatorium  for  Tuberculosis 
at  Norton. 

A  small  body  of  county  and  local  government  archival  material  was  received 
during  the  year.  One  volume,  a  "Record  of  Bond  Undertakings,  1887-1909," 
originally  in  the  district  court  of  Stevens  county,  was  added  to  the  collections 
and  some  miscellaneous  Stevens  county  records,  including  poll  books  and 
school  bond  election  papers,  1888-1895,  were  lent  for  microfilming.  Two 
volumes  of  Dickinson  county  commissioners'  journals,  1861-1883,  were -micro- 
filmed, as  were  two  volumes  of  early  Abilene  city  records — an  ordinance  book, 
1869-1874,  and  a  minute  book,  1870-1876. 

In  co-operation  with  the  State  Records  Board  and  the  Governmental  Re- 
search Center  of  Kansas  University,  the  Historical  Society  helped  sponsor  a 
state  conference  on  records  management,  June  26,  27,  1956.  The  conference 
was  prompted  by  the  ever  increasing  records  problems  being  encountered  by 
state  agencies.  Planned  by  the  Governmental  Research  Center,  the  program 
consisted  of  lectures  by  Benjamin  Cutcliffe  of  the  General  Services  Administra- 
tion of  the  U.  S.  government  and  discussion  sessions  led  by  Prof.  E.  O.  Stene 
of  Kansas  University.  Inventories  of  agency  records,  filing  systems,  records 
disposal  and  storage,  and  microfilming  were  topics  discussed  during  the 
meetings.  All  sessions  were  well  attended  and  nearly  all  state  offices  were 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  57 

represented.     Other  studies  and  conferences  now  in  the  planning  stage  should 
eventually  lead  to  a  more  efficient  records  program  for  Kansas. 

A  new  assistant  archivist,  Carl  W.  Deal,  joined  the  staff  on  May  10.  Mr. 
Deal  is  a  graduate  of  Kansas  State  Teachers  College  of  Emporia  and  holds 
a  master's  degree  in  history  from  the  Mexico  City  College. 

LIBRARY 

Alberta  Pantle,  acting  librarian  since  the  retirement  of  Helen  M.  McFarland, 
has  been  appointed  head  librarian.  Miss  Pantle  has  been  a  member  of  the 
staff  since  1940. 

The  number  of  patrons  using  the  library  again  reached  a  record  high. 
During  the  year  4,041  came  in  person,  of  whom  1,444  worked  on  subjects 
pertaining  to  Kansas,  1,620  on  genealogy,  and  977  on  general  subjects.  In- 
quiries by  correspondence  were  predominantly  on  Kansas  topics,  ranging  from 
a  request  from  Woodstock,  England,  for  information  on  the  origin  of  Wood- 
stock, Kan.,  to  queries  from  several  states  concerning  the  authenticity  of  exploits 
of  Wyatt  Earp  as  portrayed  on  a  current  television  program.  Some  of  these 
inquiries  were  answered  by  sending  182  packages  of  material  from  the  loan 
file,  which  consists  largely  of  pamphlets  and  articles  on  Kansas  subjects. 

Five  special  newspaper  editions  and  2,066  miscellaneous  issues  were  read 
and  clipped  in  addition  to  seven  daily  newspapers  which  were  regularly 
searched  for  Kansas  items.  All  clippings  are  classified  and  catalogued  by  the 
library  staff  before  being  placed  on  the  shelves.  With  the  aid  of  a  part-time 
assistant  during  the  summer,  clippings  from  14  worn  volumes,  totaling  4,118 
pages,  were  remounted.  Much  remounting  remains  to  be  done  because  many 
of  the  older  clipping  volumes  are  deteriorating. 

A  display  of  rare  and  interesting  Bibles  and  other  religious  books  from 
the  library  collection  has  been  arranged  on  the  third  floor.  Several  hundred 
people,  including  groups  of  children  from  Vacation  Bible  schools  in  Topeka 
and  the  surrounding  area,  have  made  special  trips  to  see  the  exhibit. 

The  1850  federal  census  of  Vermont  was  added  to  the  microfilm  collection 
of  early  out-of-state  census  records  as  a  gift  from  the  Kansas  Society  of 
Colonial  Dames.  The  1860  census  of  Missouri  and  Nebraska  was  purchased, 
bringing  the  number  of  states  represented  by  these  records  to  fourteen.  Family 
histories  and  vital  records  were  donated  by  the  Kansas  Society,  Daughters  of 
the  American  Revolution,  and  by  a  number  of  individuals.  Some  of  these 
genealogies  were  written  by  Kansas  people,  others  were  old  and  out-of-print 
books  which  are  rarely  available  for  purchase. 

Many  Kansas  churches  celebrated  their  75th  or  100th  anniversaries  during 
1955  and  1956.  The  library  received  copies  of  the  following  histories  which 
were  published  as  part  of  these  celebrations:  Atchison,  First  Christian  Church, 
donated  by  the  author,  G.  Harold  Roberts;  Hutchinson,  Grace  Episcopal  Church, 
donated  by  Mrs.  Vernon  McArthur;  Leavenworth,  Christian  Church  and  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  donated  by  John  Feller;  Manhattan,  Congregational 
Church,  donated  by  the  author,  Charles  M.  Correll;  Topeka,  First  Congrega- 
tional Church,  donated  by  Mrs.  Charles  Gait.  A  collection  of  historical  sketches 
of  11  Methodist  churches  in  central  Kansas  was  also  received  from  B  F. 
Young,  Winfield. 

A  number  of  reminiscences  of  early  days  in  Kansas  were  given,  among  them 
Mental  Snapshots  Along  Life's  Highway,  by  Mrs.  Lutie  Van  Velzer,  and  Kansas 

5—5869 


58  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Heritage,  by  Mrs.  L.  L.  Pabst.  Historical  works  received  included  "Ness 
County,  Kansas,  Histories,"  copied  by  Mrs.  Minnie  Dubbs  Millbrook  from 
manuscript  and  newspaper  sources;  History  of  Boston,  Kansas,  by  Herbert  C. 
Jones;  and  Prairie  Pioneers  of  Western  Kansas  and  Eastern  Colorado,  by  John 
C.  and  Winoma  C.  Jones. 

Total  library  accessions,  October  1,  1955-September  30,  1956,  were: 
Books 

Kansas    304 

General     541 

Genealogy  and  Local  History  110 

Indians  and  the  West 48 

Kansas  State  Publications    59 

Total      1,062 

Pamphlets 

Kansas    814 

General     389 

Genealogy  and  Local  History  35 

Indians  and  the  West   8 

Kansas  State  Publications   238 

Total    1,484 

Clippings  (bound  volumes)    10 

Magazines  (bound  volumes)    220 

Microfilm  (reels) 

Books,  magazines,  etc 8 

Census    17 

Total    25 

MANUSCRIPT  DIVISION 

Twenty  manuscript  volumes  and  approximately  600  manuscripts  were  re- 
ceived during  the  year. 

Mrs.  Eugene  L.  Bowers,  Topeka,  gave  74  family  letters,  1827-1879,  and 
two  manuscript  volumes.  Among  the  letters  is  a  series  written  by  Harrison 
Clarkson  in  1868.  Clarkson,  then  a  resident  of  Indiana,  was  on  a  business 
trip  to  Kansas  representing  the  Aetna  Fire  Insurance  Co.,  and  the  letters  offer 
a  lively  description  of  the  places  visited.  Later  the  same  year  Clarkson  removed 
to  Topeka  where  he  resided  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

A  small  group  of  papers  of  Ebenezer  Nicholas  Orrick  Clough  was  given 
by  Mrs.  Gerald  Clough  Bulkeley,  Abingdon,  111.  Of  special  interest  is  a  series 
of  four  communications  by  Clough  addressed  to  the  Western  Star  of  St.  Charles, 
Mo.,  in  1849,  describing  the  Santa  Fe  trail  from  Independence  to  Council 
Grove  as  the  author  found  it  in  1847.  Clough  was  a  resident  of  Leavenworth 
for  more  than  40  years. 

The  Dickinson  County  Historical  Society  gave  25  historical  sketches  of  that 
county.  This  society  has  collected  biographical  and  historical  information 
for  more  than  20  years  and  has  filed  copies  of  articles  and  sketches  with  the 
state  Society. 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  59 

A  notebook  containing  papers  of  Albin  K.  Longren,  pioneer  airplane  builder, 
was  given  by  his  brother,  E.  J.  Longren,  Topeka.  The  papers  include  a  de- 
scription of  the  Longren  factory  facilities  at  Topeka. 

Minutes  of  the  annual  meetings  of  the  Bar  Association  of  Northwestern 
Kansas,  1929-1954,  were  received  from  Judge  J.  C.  Ruppenthal,  Russell. 

A  collection  of  records  of  the  James  Turner  furniture  and  undertaking 
business  of  Clyde  was  given  by  L.  E.  Turner,  Clifton.  The  17  manuscript 
volumes  and  six  files  of  invoices  cover  the  period  1883-1924.  Included  is  one 
volume  of  minutes  of  the  Clyde  Development  Company,  1904-1907. 

Minutes  of  the  Southwest  Kansas  Editorial  Association,  1896-1945,  were 
given  by  Earl  Fickertt,  Peabody. 

An  interesting  single  item  received  during  the  year  is  a  letter  by  James 
Josiah  Webb  to  his  wife  dated  at  Walnut  Creek,  Kansas  territory,  May  10, 
1856. 

Nine  muster  and  pay  rolls  of  the  6th  regt,  U.  S.  infantry,  1853-1855,  were 
received.  The  rolls  were  dated  at  Camp  Center,  Ft.  Riley,  Ft.  Atkinson,  and 
Camp  Precaution,  all  frontier  army  posts. 

Other  donors  were:  A.  E.  Anderson,  Leoti;  Jerome  Beatty,  Roxbury,  Conn.; 
H.  E.  Breed,  El  Cajon,  Cal.;  Mrs.  Luther  Burns,  Topeka;  Mrs.  Bernard  P. 
Chamberlain,  Charlottesville,  Pa.;  Mrs.  Marion  Catren,  Olpe;  Mary  E.  Clemens, 
Core,  West  Va.;  Mrs.  Anna  Conwell,  Topeka;  Lois  Coons,  Parsons;  Mrs.  Paul 
Ernst,  Olathe;  Alan  W.  Farley,  Kansas  City;  Dr.  Madge  Gabriel,  Topeka; 

D.  V.    Godard,   Albuquerque,    N.    M.;    Mrs.    Bert    Hay,  'Holton;    Mrs.    Lloyd 
Hershey,   Olathe;   Dr.   and   Mrs.   Gordon   Hill,   Topeka;   Neal  Jordan,   Harper 
county;  Charlotte  McLellan,  Topeka;  James  P.  McCollom,  Dodge  City;  James 
C.  Malin,  Lawrence;  Dr.  Karl  A.  Menninger,  Topeka;  Dorothy  Murphy,  Cald- 
well;  Jennie  Small  Owen,  Topeka;  Mrs.  Ben  Pannkuk,  Wisconsin  Rapids,  Wis.; 
the  Jennie  A.  Philip  estate;   Mrs.  Edward  Rooney,  Topeka;   Julien  V.   Root, 
Boise,  Idaho;  Mrs.  Leland  Schenck,  Topeka;  Mrs.  Clif  Stratton,  Topeka;  Dr. 

E.  B.  Trail,  Berger,  Mo.;  and  J.  A.  Wells,  Seneca,  Mo. 
Microfilm  copies  of  the  following  have  been  acquired: 

Diaries  of  Joseph  Harrington  Trego,  Linn  county  pioneer,  for  the  years 
1844-1859.  The  originals  were  lent  by  Mrs.  J.  H.  Morse,  Mound  City. 

Diaries  of  Elizabeth  Simerwell,  daughter  of  the  Baptist  missionary,  Robert 
Simerwell,  for  the  years  1852-1861,  in  two  volumes.  Vol.  2  contains  farm 
accounts  of  her  husband,  John  S.  Carter.  The  diaries  were  lent  by  Bessie 
E.  Moore,  Wakarusa. 

Five  letters  of  James  E.  Love,  1862.  Love  was  first  lieutenant,  Co.  K, 
8th  regiment,  Kansas  Volunteer  infantry.  The  letters  give  details  of  the  move- 
ment of  troops  from  Camp  Hunter  to  Aubrey,  Johnson  county.  The  originals 
were  lent  by  Love's  grandson,  Lewis  B.  Stuart,  St.  Louis. 

Medical  records  of  Andrew  H.  Fabrique,  pioneer  doctor  of  Wichita.  The 
records  include  a  list  of  births,  1871-1876,  and  a  visiting  list  for  1889.  With 
the  records  was  a  ledger  of  the  Tefft  House,  Topeka,  1868-1870.  The  originals 
were  lent  by  Dr.  Fabrique's  daughter,  Mrs.  George  T.  Nolley,  Wichita. 

Records  of  the  First  Congregational  church  of  Russell,  1886-1942.  Orig- 
inals were  furnished  through  the  courtesy  of  Mrs.  Ralph  Ewing,  Russell. 

Post  returns  of  Camp  Mackey,  New  Post  Arkansas  River  and  Ft.  Atkinson, 
early  1850's.  Film  was  obtained  from  the  National  Archives. 


60  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Papers  in  the  claim  of  F.  J.  Marshall  and  Albert  G.  Woodward,  Marshall 
county,  for  depredations  committed  by  the  Pawnee  Indians,  1854-1855.  Orig- 
inal documents  are  in  the  National  Archives. 

MICROFILM  DIVISION 

This  year  marked  the  tenth  anniversary  of  the  Society's  microfilming  pro- 
gram. Although  some  film  was  purchased  earlier,  it  was  in  1946  that  the 
Society's  camera  was  installed  and  a  permanent  microfilming  program  under- 
taken. As  of  September  30,  1956,  nearly  4,200,000  photographs  have  been 
made,  more  than  380,000  of  them  during  the  past  12  months.  This  year  there 
were  330,000  photographs  of  newspapers,  and  nearly  45,000  of  archival  rec- 
ords, with  the  balance  divided  between  library  and  manuscript  materials. 

Work  on  the  Ottawa  Daily  Herald  was  completed  for  the  period  November 
18,  1896-November  27,  1952,  a  total  of  more  than  148,000  exposures  on  215 
rolls  of  film.  Microfilming  of  the  Herald  will  be  continued  through  1954.  The 
Chanute  Daily  Tribune,  reported  last  year  as  microfilmed  for  June  22,  1892- 
November  1,  1915,  was  completed  through  1954.  Other  newspapers  filmed 
during  the  year  were  the  Cimarron  Herald  and  Kansas  Sod  House,  July  16, 
1885-March  25,  1886;  Coffeyville  Journal,  January  1,  1900-December  31,  1920, 
and  January  1-December  31,  1937;  Coldwater  Republican,  November  27,  1884- 
December  30,  1886;  Coolidge  Border  Ruffian,  January  2,  1886-January  15, 
1887;  Kansas  Daily  Tribune,  Lawrence,  January  10,  1855-December  31,  1881 
(with  issues  missing  for  December  7,  1874-January  6,  1876;  October  19- 
December  31,  1879);  and  the  Kansas  City  (Mo.)  Times,  July  1-November  13, 
1874. 

Archival  materials  microfilmed  included  148  volumes  of  the  state  census 
of  1905  and  two  volumes  of  the  census  of  1925. 

MUSEUM 

The  program  of  expansion  and  modernization  of  the  museum  has  continued 
through  the  year.  Its  success  in  part  is  reflected  in  the  attendance  figures — 
41,702  for  the  year  ending  September  30,  as  compared  with  36,097  for  the 
preceding  year. 

Twenty  new  exhibit  cases  received  last  November  have  been  fitted  with 
displays  depicting  the  early  history  of  Kansas,  from  the  migrations  of  pre- 
historic man  and  the  expedition  of  Coronado  to  subjects  of  the  territorial 
period  and  such  personalities  as  Gov.  Andrew  Reeder,  John  Brown,  and 
Abraham  Lincoln.  An  additional  20  cases,  funds  for  which  were  appropriated 
by  the  1956  legislature,  are  on  order  and  should  be  delivered  next  month. 
These  will  complete  the  renovation  presently  planned  for  the  main  gallery. 
An  appropriation  for  the  purchase  of  a  third  group  of  20  cases  is  included 
in  the  budget  for  next  year.  These  cases  are  to  be  used  for  Indian  and 
military  displays. 

Two  more  period  rooms  have  been  finished  since  the  last  report:  a  farm 
kitchen  of  the  1900's  and  a  parlor  of  the  1920's,  though  the  latter  still  lacks 
a  few  articles  of  furniture  and  accessories.  Three  additional  rooms  are  planned 
for  this  wing  of  the  museum,  but  their  construction  probably  must  wait  while 
the  staff  turns  its  attention  to  the  east  wing.  In  this  area,  as  mentioned  in  last 
year's  report,  plans  call  for  the  development  of  a  general  store  and  post 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  61 

office,  a  blacksmith  and  harness  shop,  a  print  shop,  doctor's  office,  and  a 
dentist's  office. 

Air-conditioning  units  to  cool  approximately  one  half  of  the  museum  area 
were  put  into  operation  for  the  first  time  last  spring.  They  have  not  only 
made  it  possible  for  the  museum  staff  to  work  far  more  efficiently  but  have 
been  a  major  factor  in  increasing  attendance  during  the  summer  months.  In 
this  connection  a  comparison  of  monthly  attendance  records  is  interesting. 
In  July,  1955,  2,786  persons  visited  the  museum,  and  in  August  the  number 
was  3,772.  A  year  later,  when  the  air-conditioning  was  in  operation,  the 
figures  for  the  same  months  were  4,57.1  and  5,755,  an  increase  of  approximately 
2,000  for  each  month. 

Another  important  stimulus  to  increased  attendance  has  been  the  publicity 
given  the  Society  by  the  two  Topeka  newspapers.  The  Topeka  State  Journal 
has  printed  each  week  a  photograph  taken  from  our  files  showing  old  build- 
ings and  street  scenes.  Inevitably  such  pictures  revive  interest  in  the  past, 
and  the  credit  line  printed  with  each  tends  to  focus  attention  on  the  Society 
and  its  work.  The  Topeka  Daily  Capital  has  been  publishing  on  Sunday  a 
"Museum  Feature  of  the  Week,"  pointing  out  by  means  of  a  photograph  and 
brief  descriptive  paragraph  some  object  which  is  displayed  in  the  museum. 
Public  response  to  this  series  has  been  excellent. 

The  museum's  educational  program  also  has  continued  to  expand.  Guided 
tours  are  available  to  groups  upon  request,  and  approximately  150  school  and 
scout  groups  from  all  parts  of  the  state  have  utilized  this  service  during  the 
year. 

A  photographic  darkroom  is  operated  as  an  adjunct  to  the  museum.  In 
addition  to  photographing  and  processing  all  pictures  used  in  museum  dis- 
plays, the  darkroom  staff  has  been  responsible  for  all  photographic  work  for 
the  Annals,  the  Quarterly,  and  for  newspaper  releases.  It  has  rephotographed 
all  the  legislative  pictures  which  formerly  hung  on  the  walls  of  the  museum, 
and  made  them  into  panels  of  a  size  suitable  for  the  new  display  wings  on  the 
third  floor.  A  collection  of  color  slides  of  state  landmarks  and  historic  sites, 
some  of  which  will  be  shown  at  the  meeting  this  afternoon,  has  been  started. 
Many  old  photographs  have  been  copied  for  better  preservation,  and  hundreds 
of  prints  from  the  Society's  files  have  been  made  for  patrons. 

Through  the  generosity  of  the  Eisenhower  Museum  at  Abilene  a  temporary 
exhibit  of  gifts  and  mementos  belonging  to  the  President  is  currently  displayed 
in  two  cases  on  the  fourth  floor.  A  series  of  original  Eisenhower  cartoons 
by  Karl  K.  Knecht,  also  lent  by  the  Eisenhower  Museum,  may  be  seen  in  the 
glass  panels  in  the  third  floor  lobby. 

There  were  68  accessions  comprising  456  objects  during  the  year.  One 
of  the  most  important  was  a  purchase  of  Indian  materials  relating  to  the  Kansas 
area  from  the  Beloit  College  Museum  at  Beloit,  Wis.  Although  the  Society 
rarely  buys  museum  articles,  the  inadequacy  of  our  Indian  collections  made 
it  advisable  to  take  advantage  of  this  opportunity  to  obtain  a  number  of 
interesting  and  valuable  pieces. 

Important  accessions  during  the  year  include  a  collection  of  furniture  from 
the  Emma  Lodean  Hinton  estate,  Kansas  City;  the  Lillian  S.  Guy  Memorial 
collection  of  142  items,  many  of  them  articles  of  clothing  of  the  1880's,  re- 
ceived through  Mrs.  Frank  Pettit  and  Hinkle  M.  Guy,  Jr.,  Topeka;  fixtures  and 


62  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

equipment  from  the  general  store  and  post  office  at  Zarah,  from  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Harry  King,  Zarah,  with  the  assistance  of  Robert  Baughman;  articles  from  a 
drugstore  at  Delia,  from  Mrs.  B.  E.  Frisby,  Delia;  pioneer  sod  house  items 
from  Mrs.  Ira  E.  Harshbarger,  Loveland,  Colo.;  household  furnishings  of  the 
1920  era  which  were  the  property  of  former  Gov.  W.  E.  Stanley,  from  his 
daughter-in-law,  Mrs.  W.  E.  Stanley,  Wichita;  two  large  collections  of  house- 
hold items  from  Mrs.  Eugene  Bowers,  Topeka,  and  the  estate  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hugh  D.  Carver,  Concordia,  through  their  heirs,  Mrs.  Dean  Finley,  Mrs. 
Grover  Empson,  and  Lewis  Carver;  and  a  collection  of  Indian  items  belonging 
to  Prof.  J.  V.  Cortelyou,  formerly  of  Kansas  State  College,  donated  by  his 
wife  through  R.  G.  Cortelyou,  Omaha,  Neb. 

Other  donors  during  the  year  were  Mrs.  P.  W.  Allen,  Topeka;  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Milton  F.  Amrine,  Council  Grove;  Mrs.  Louise  Baber,  Lawrence;  Mrs. 
John  B.  Bellamy,  Topeka;  Roderick  Bentley,  Shields;  Warren  P.  Chancy,  To- 
peka; Mrs.  W.  B.  Collinson,  Topeka;  Mrs.  Anna  Conwell,  Topeka;  Eldon 
Corkill,  Dallas,  Tex.;  the  Julia  Cotton  estate,  Topeka;  Col.  Brice  C.  W.  Custer, 
Topeka;  Alva  E.  Dillard,  Melvern;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  C.  Durkee,  Manhattan; 

A.  R.  Earhart,  Topeka;  Mrs.  Harry  B.  Farnsworth,  Oakland,  Cal.;  Dr.  Newell 
Feeley,  Topeka;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  E.  Ferguson,  Valley  Falls;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  I. 
Forbes,  Topeka;  Mrs.  W.  H.  Freienmuth,  Tonganoxie;  Al  F.  George,  Topeka; 
the  Governor's  Mansion  through  Mrs.  Fred  Hall;  Horace  T.  Green,  Topeka; 
Ray  W.  Groom,  Council  Grove;  Mrs.  J.  L.  Grubaugh,  Council  Grove;  heirs 
of  Loren  Hadley,  Kansas  City,  Mo.;   Hall  Lithographing  Co.,  Topeka;   Mrs. 
Bert  Hay,  Holton;  Chester  Heizer,  Caldwell;  Mrs.  Jack  Hendrix,  Topeka;  Mrs. 
Daisy  Keller,  Sapulpa,  Okla.;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  A.  Kelley,  Topeka;  Manuel 
Kolarik,  Caldwell;  E.  J.  Longren,  Topeka;  Paul  Lyons,  Topeka;  the  heirs  of 
William  D.  McFarland,  Chase;  Mrs.  Frank  Miller,  Topeka;  John  Miller,  Topeka; 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  C.  Mulroy,  Topeka;  Georgia  Nicholson,  Lawrence;  Mrs.  Gail 
French  Peterson,  Lawrence;  Ward  R.  Philip,  Brownell;  B.  W.  Purdum,  Topeka; 
Mrs.  R.  W.  Richmond,  Topeka;   Mrs.  George  E.  Smith,  Topeka;   Mrs.   Hall 
Smith,  Topeka;  Stanley  D.  Sohl,  Topeka;  the  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richard 

B.  Stevens,  Lawrence;  Annie  B.  Sweet,  Topeka;  Mrs.  Virgil  Teeter,  Partridge; 
Mrs.  Carl  F.  Trace,  Topeka;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Tucking,  Valley  Falls;  Judy 
Ann  Walker,  Topeka;  Mrs.  L.  R.  Watson,  Altoona;  Charles  J.  Williams,  Topeka; 
Wolfe's  Camera  Shop,  Topeka;  the  Woman's  Kansas  Day  Club;  Charles  Wulf- 
kuhle,  Topeka;  Otto  Wullschleger,  Frankfort. 

NEWSPAPER  AND  CENSUS  DIVISIONS 

A  total  of  6,342  patrons  who  called  in  person  were  served  this  year  by  the 
newspaper  and  census  divisions,  and  a  much  larger  number  by  correspondence. 
This  service  involved  the  use  of  6,191  single  issues,  6,472  bound  volumes,  and 
1,828  microfilm  reels  of  newspapers,  and  43,886  census  volumes,  an  increase 
of  more  than  12,000  over  the  number  of  census  volumes  searched  during  the 
previous  year. 

The  demand  for  certified  copies  of  state  census  records  continues  to  mount. 
Another  all-time  high  was  reached  this  year  with  17,580  certificates  issued, 
nearly  2,500  more  than  in  the  preceding  year.  These  records  provide  proof 
of  age  and  place  of  birth  needed  for  delayed  birth  certificates,  social  security, 
railroad  retirement,  and  other  purposes.  The  broadening  of  the  social  security 
program  is  undoubtedly  responsible  for  the  increasing  demand. 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  63 

Nearly  all  Kansas  newspapers  are  received  regularly  for  filing.  These 
include  55  dailies,  one  triweekly,  ten  semiweeklies,  and  292  regular  weeklies. 
The  Society's  files  now  total  57,353  bound  volumes  of  Kansas  newspapers 
and  over  12,000  volumes  of  out-of-state  newspapers,  dating  from  1767  to  1956. 
With  the  addition  of  679  reels  this  year,  the  Society's  collection  of  newspapers 
on  microfilm  now  includes  5,926  reels. 

Publishers  who  contribute  microfilm  copies  of  the  current  issues  of  their 
newspapers  to  the  Society  are:  Oscar  Stauffer  and  Rex  Woods,  Arkansas  City 
Daily  Traveler;  E.  W.  Johnson,  Chanute  Tribune;  Harry  Valentine,  Clay  Center 
Dispatch;  George  W.  Marble,  Fort  Scott  Tribune;  Angelo  Scott,  lola  Register; 
W.  A.  Bailey,  Kansas  City  Kansan;  Dolph  Simons,  Lawrence  Daily  Journal- 
World;  Daniel  R.  Anthony,  III,  Leavenworth  Times;  and  Leland  Schenck, 
Topeka  Daily  Capital 

The  Society  frequently  receives  miscellaneous  issues  of  older  newspapers. 
Ruth  E.  Hunt,  Topeka,  recently  donated  several  issues  of  out-of-state  news- 
papers, most  of  them  published  on  historic  dates.  Charles  H.  Carr,  Wichita, 
gave  The  Phoebus,  Hutchinson,  July  20,  1891-April  1,  1892.  This  was  a 
small-size  biweekly  newspaper  published  by  Carr  and  two  other  "printer's 
devils"  to  gain  experience.  Other  donors  of  older  newspapers  include:  Norman 
Niccum,  Tecumseh;  Mrs.  Loyal  Payne,  Manhattan;  Mrs.  Wm.  L.  Smith,  Sara- 
sota,  Fla.;  and  Mrs.  Eugene  Bowers,  Ralph  Crawshaw,  Louis  R.  Smith,  and 
LeRoy  Stevens,  Topeka.  Mrs.  C.  D.  Churchill,  St.  Francis,  lent  the  Wano 
Plain  Dealer,  December  30,  1886,  to  the  Society  for  photostating. 

PHOTOGRAPHS  AND  MAPS 

During  the  year  1,262  photographs  were  added  to  the  collection.  Of  these, 
707  were  gifts  and  555  were  lent  to  the  Society  for  copying.  Many  of  the 
pictures  came  in  response  to  requests  for  Anna/5  illustrations.  In  addition, 
a  great  many  still  photographs  and  color  slides  and  several  feet  of  motion 
picture  film  were  taken  by  the  staff.  New  filing  cases  have  made  the  picture 
storage  facilities  less  crowded,  and  the  system  of  filing  is  being  revised. 

The  new  photographic  darkroom,  mentioned  previously  in  this  report,  has 
already  proved  of  great  value  to  the  Society.  All  photographs  lent  for  copying 
were  reproduced  by  our  own  staff  and  equipment  rather  than  by  a  commercial 
photographer  as  in  the  past.  A  large  number  of  faded  or  damaged  pictures 
from  the  files  were  also  copied.  Service  to  the  public  has  been  substantially 
improved.  Dozens  of  patrons  have  been  aided  by  the  files  and  darkroom 
facilities  as  the  Society  has  been  able  to  furnish  copies  in  sizes  from  small 
snapshots  to  large  photo  murals  upon  request. 

The  map  collection  has  undergone  some  changes  and  40  new  maps  have 
been  accessioned  during  the  year.  The  acquisition  of  a  new  map  case  has 
facilitated  cleaner  and  more  efficient  storage.  A  large  backlog  of  uncataloged 
material  has  been  recorded  and  filed.  Space  has  been  saved  and  the  maps 
themselves  are  more  easily  accessible. 

SUBJECTS  FOR  RESEARCH 

Subjects  for  extended  research  during  the  year  included:  Negro  migration, 
1879;  St.  John's  Episcopal  church,  Wichita;  banking  in  Kansas;  the  Indian 
frontier  on  the  upper  Missouri  before  1865  and  missions  and  fur  trade  on  the 
upper  Missouri  before  1900;  labor  unions  in  Kansas;  World  War  I;  the 


64  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Lecompton  constitution;  woman  suffrage;  railway  promotion  in  the  settlement 
of  Kansas;  Shawnee  county  schools;  cow  towns;  Pottawatomie  Indians;  local 
taxes  in  Kansas;  the  Republican  party;  Highland  Park;  Kansas  folklore;  E. 
Haldeman- Julius  and  his  publications;  textbooks  used  in  Kansas  schools;  Kansas 
sheriffs  and  outlaws,  and  life  in  central  Kansas,  1870-1900;  Eugene  F.  Ware; 
Mary  Elizabeth  Lease;  Frederick  Funston;  William  Clark;  and  David  R. 
Atchison. 

PUBLICATIONS 

The  Quarterly. — Reduced  printing  appropriations  of  the  past  four  years 
were  increased  by  the  1956  legislature,  enabling  the  Society  again  to  publish 
a  Quarterly  of  sufficient  pages  to  warrant  the  binding  of  an  annual  volume. 
Volume  22,  therefore,  will  contain  the  four  numbers  for  1956,  and  should  be 
ready  for  distribution  by  the  end  of  the  year. 

A  larger  magazine  will  permit  publication  of  a  greater  variety  of  articles, 
which  in  turn  will  attract  more  reader  interest.  Among  the  features  this  year 
were  the  Charles  B.  Lines  letters,  edited  by  Alberta  Pantle,  which  told  the 
story  of  the  Connecticut-Kansas  colony  and  its  settlement  at  Wabaunsee  100 
years  ago.  Articles  relating  the  experiences  of  two  pioneer  women  in  western 
Kansas,  Mrs.  Hattie  E.  Lee  and  Mrs.  Catherine  Wiggins  Porter,  have  received 
widespread  praise.  George  C.  Anderson's  journal,  being  published  in  two 
parts,  records  an  Ohio  land  committee's  impressions  of  several  areas  of  Kansas 
and  Colorado  in  1871.  Dr.  James  C.  Malin's  contributions  this  year  are  articles 
on  James  A.  and  Louie  Lord,  and  other  theatrical  groups  and  individuals  who 
entertained  in  Kansas.  The  Winter  number  will  include  an  account  of  the 
old  ghost  town  of  Quindaro,  by  Alan  W.  Farley,  and  the  journal  of  William 
W.  Salisbury,  who  joined  the  gold  rush  across  Kansas  to  the  Pike's  Peak  area 
in  1859,  edited  by  David  Lindsey. 

Annals  of  Kansas. — Today  the  second  and  final  volume — at  least  for  the 
present — of  the  new  Annals  of  Kansas  will  be  formally  presented.  It  marks 
the  conclusion  of  a  gigantic  task.  Nearly  ten  years  of  research,  selection,  and 
editorial  effort  have  gone  into  the  preparation  of  these  two  books.  The  first 
volume,  published  two  years  ago,  covered  the  period  1886-1910.  The  second 
volume  continues  this  day-by-day  history  of  the  state  through  1925.  More 
will  be  said  of  this  work  at  the  afternoon  meeting,  but  it  is  fitting  here  to 
make  special  mention  of  Jennie  S.  Owen,  chief  annalist,  and  the  several 
assistants  who  have  worked  with  her  through  the  years;  of  Kirke  Mechem,  the 
editor;  and  Louise  Barry,  who  undertook  singlehanded  the  immense  job  of 
compiling  the  index. 

Upon  the  completion  of  her  work  on  the  Annals  Miss  Owen  retired  from 
active  service  with  the  Society.  Although  she  had  been  a  member  of  the 
staff  for  18  years,  she  often  spoke  of  her  desire  to  write  again  for  the  news- 
papers. Now  she  will  have  time,  and  Jennie's  by-line  undoubtedly  will  be 
seen  over  special  articles  and  feature  stories,  as  it  was  in  earlier  years  when 
she  worked  for  the  Emporia  Gazette,  the  El  Dorado  Times,  and  the  Junction 
City  Union. 

The  Mirror. — Publication  of  the  Mirror,  the  Society's  bimonthly  newsletter, 
has  continued  through  the  year.  It  has  been  well  received  by  members  and 
friends  and  has  been  helpful  in  bringing  them  into  closer  contact  with  the 
actual  administration  and  activities  of  the  organization.  Many  fine  accessions 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  65 

have  been  received,  particularly  for  the  museum,  as  a  direct  result  of  articles 
which  have  appeared  in  its  columns. 

THE  FIRST  CAPITOL 

Registration  of  visitors  at  the  First  Territorial  Capitol,  on  the  Fort  Riley 
reservation,  totaled  3,590  for  the  year.  This  is  a  decrease  of  approximately 
1,000  from  last  year's  figure,  and  may  be  accounted  for  at  least  in  part  by  the 
fact  that  many  tourists  now  use  the  new  U.  S.  40  highway  which  by-passes 
Fort  Riley. 

Installation  of  new  display  cases  was  completed  during  the  year,  and  elec- 
trical wiring  was  installed  in  the  building  for  the  first  time.  The  new  cases, 
each  with  its  own  electrical  fixture,  may  now  allow  exhibits  to  be  seen  under 
the  most  advantageous  conditions. 

THE  FUNSTON  HOME 

Officially  known  as  the  Funston  Memorial  State  Park,  this  property  did  not 
begin  active  operation  until  May,  1956.  V.  E.  Berglund  was  employed  as 
caretaker  and  a  great  deal  has  been  accomplished  since  that  time  despite  the 
handicap  of  extremely  limited  funds.  Grounds  have  been  cleaned  up,  trees 
and  shrubs  trimmed,  and  new  plantings  have  been  set  out. 

Many  articles  of  furniture,  decoration,  and  household  goods  have  been 
received  from  Mrs.  F.  A.  Eckdall,  Emporia,  and  Aldo  Funston,  Parsons,  a 
sister  and  brother  of  Gen.  Frederick  Funston.  The  Society's  museum  staff  has 
installed  two  wall  cases  in  which  are  displayed  articles  relating  to  the  general's 
career. 

A  visitors'  register  opened  in  June  was  signed  by  377  persons  through  the 
end  of  September.  Thirteen  states,  in  addition  to  Kansas,  were  represented. 
The  number  of  visitors  undoubtedly  will  increase  substantially,  although  lack 
of  a  heating  sytsem  will  make  the  home  primarily  a  three-season  attraction. 

THE  KAW  MISSION 

This  has  been  a  highly  successful  year  for  the  Kaw  Methodist  Mission  at 
Council  Grove.  Visitors  registered  from  45  states,  the  District  of  Columbia, 
Hawaii,  Alaska,  and  nine  foreign  countries.  Registrations  totaled  5,722,  a  gain 
of  more  than  a  thousand  over  the  preceding  year. 

Much  of  the  credit  for  the  increase  in  attendance  must  go  to  local  supporters. 
A  "Museum  Scoreboard"  published  each  week  by  the  Council  Grove  Republican 
has  created  a  geat  deal  of  interest,  while  an  information  bureau  established  by 
the  Junior  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  done  an  excellent  job  of  directing  tourists 
to  the  Mission.  Council  Grove  is  aware  of  its  historic  sites  and  their  interest 
to  visitors.  It  is  also  aware  of  the  commercial  value  of  such  places  to  the 
community,  and  it  is  losing  no  opportunity  to  call  attention  to  them. 

Three  floodlights  purchased  and  installed  by  the  Council  Grove  Ladies' 
Civic  Improvement  Club,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Kiwanis  Club,  also  have 
made  the  Mission  and  grounds  a  place  of  beauty  after  dark.  The  Kansas 
District  of  Kiwanis  International  has  placed  an  attractive  marble  bench  in  a 
corner  of  the  grounds  to  commemorate  the  founding  of  the  district  at  Council 
Grove. 

Donors  during  the  year  included  Ralph  Edwards,  Burdick;  Dorothy  Miller, 
White  City;  Fred  Roy,  Wilsey;  John  Ryman,  Dunlap;  and  Lucy  Porter  Axe, 


66  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Rose  Axe,  O.  A.  Copple,  O.  D.  Griffing,  Bud  Larmer,  Larry  Stewart,  W.  H. 
White,  Jr.,  and  Willard  Young,  Council  Grove. 

OLD  SHAWNEE  MISSION 

During  the  year  visitors  representing  29  states,  England,  Germany,  Australia, 
Colombia,  Ecuador,  the  Egyptian  Sudan,  and  the  Philippine  Islands  stopped  at 
Old  Shawnee  Mission,  located  in  the  Kansas  City  suburbs.  All  sections  of 
Kansas  and  Missouri  were  represented  and  there  were  many  school  and  scout 
groups.  A  group  of  approximately  100  new  Johnson  county  public  school 
teachers  visited  the  Mission  on  a  tour  to  points  of  interest  in  the  vicinity, 
sponsored  by  the  Mission,  Kan.,  Chamber  of  Commerce.  Among  other  visitors 
were  Mrs.  Eleanor  Lia,  great  granddaughter  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  McCoy,  Shawnee 
Baptist  missionary;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Louis  T.  Dick,  Tulsa,  Okla.,  George  Dick,  and 
James  Squirrel,  all  Shawnee  Indians. 

The  original  brick  walls  of  the  North  building  and  most  of  the  West 
building  were  tuckpointed  and  waterproofed.  Three  rooms  in  the  North 
building  were  papered  with  a  reproduction  of  a  wallpaper  used  before  1840. 

The  annual  pilgrimage  of  the  Kansas  department,  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution,  was  held  as  usual  at  the  Mission  on  Constitution  Day, 
September  17.  Approximately  115  members  from  over  the  state  attended  the 
meeting  and  picnic. 

The  Society  is  indebted  to  the  state  department  of  Colonial  Dames,  Daugh- 
ters of  American  Colonists,  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  Daughters 
of  1812,  and  the  Shawnee  Mission  Indian  Historical  Society  for  their  continued 
assistance  at  the  Mission. 

THE  MITCHELL  BEQUEST 

In  1953  the  board  of  directors  accepted  for  the  Society  a  30-acre  tract  of 
hill  pasture  known  as  Mount  Mitchell.  Bequeathed  by  William  I.  Mitchell  in 
memory  of  his  father,  Capt.  William  Mitchell,  and  the  Connecticut-Kansas 
colony  of  which  he  was  a  member,  the  hill  overlooks  the  town  of  Wabaunsee 
where  the  colony  settled.  The  terms  of  the  bequest  required  that  an  appropriate 
monument  or  marker  be  placed  on  the  hill.  This  condition  was  fulfilled  last 
month  when  a  six-foot  monument  of  Onaga  stone  was  erected  on  the  summit. 
A  bronze  plaque  attached  to  the  stone  reads: 

In  commemoration  of  the  Connecticut  Kansas  Colony,  known 
also  as  the  Beecher  Bible  and  Rifle  Colony,  which  settled  at  Wa- 
baunsee in  1856,  and  in  memory  of  Capt.  William  Mitchell,  a  ' 
member  of  the  Colony,  this  monument  is  erected  on  Mount  Mitchell 
through  the  generosity  of  his  son,  William  I.  Mitchell,  by  the  Kansas 
State  Historical  Society,  1956. 

This  year  is  the  centennial  of  the  Connecticut  colony's  arrival  in  Kansas, 
and  it  is  therefore  fitting  that  the  marker  should  have  been  erected  at  this 
time.  The  Society  is  pleased  to  have  had  a  part  in  commemorating  the  con- 
structive efforts  of  this  group  of  pioneers. 

THE  STAFF  OF  THE  SOCIETY 

It  is  a  pleasure  this  year,  as  always,  to  call  attention  to  the  work  of  the 
staff.  The  Society's  collections  have  made  it  one  of  the  nation's  leading 
historical  institutions,  but  the  people  who  do  the  work  day  after  day  are 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  67 

responsible  for  the  personal  element  which  brings  such  commendations  as  this 
from  California:  "In  my  opinion  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society  is  the 
most  efficient  and  co-operative  historical  society  in  the  country. 

While  it  is  not  possible  to  name  every  individual  on  the  staff,  the  work  of 
each  is  sincerely  appreciated.  Special  mention  should  be  given  to  Edgar 
Langsdorf,  assistant  secretary;  Mrs.  Lela  Barnes  of  the  manuscript  division, 
treasurer  of  the  Society;  Alberta  Pantle,  librarian;  Robert  W.  Richmond, 
archivist;  Stanley  D.  Sohl,  museum  director;  Forrest  R.  Blackburn  of  the 
newspaper  division;  and  Jennie  S.  Owen,  annalist. 

Acknowledgment  should  also  be  made  of  the  fine  work  of  the  custodians  of 
the  several  historic  sites  administered  by  the  Society:  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harry 
Hardy  at  Shawnee  Mission,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elwood  Jones  at  Kaw  Mission,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  V.  E.  Berglund  at  the  Funston  Memorial  Home,  and  John  Scott  at 
the  First  Capitol.  Respectfully  submitted, 

NYLE  H.  MILLER,  Secretary. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  reading  of  the  secretary's  report,  Karl 
Miller  moved  that  it  be  approved.  Motion  was  seconded  by  Will 
T.  Beck  and  the  report  was  accepted. 

President  Riegle  then  called  for  the  report  of  the  treasurer,  Mrs. 
Lela  Barnes: 

TREASURER'S  REPORT 

Based  on  the  post-audit  by  the  State  Division  of  Auditing  and  Accounting 
for  the  period  August  5,  1955,  to  July  26,  1956. 

MEMBERSHIP  FEE  FUND 

Balance,  August  5,  1955: 

Cash  (including  $1,153.69  of  the  Elizabeth  Reader 

bequest)     $6,396.36 

U.  S.  bonds,  Series  K 3,500.00 

$9,896.36 

Receipts: 

Membership  fees   $929.01 

Gifts  and  donations 35.30 

Bond  interest   274.90 

1,239.21 


$11,135.57 

Disbursements:     $2,041.50 

Balance,  July  26,  1956: 

Cash  (including  $775.19  of  the  Elizabeth  Reader  be- 
quest)         $4,094.07 

U.  S.  bonds,  Series  K 5,000.00 

9,094.07 


$11,135.57 


68 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 
JONATHAN  PECKER  BEQUEST 


Balance,  August  5,  1955: 

Cash    $68.02 

U.  S.  treasury  bonds 950.00 

$1,018.02 

Receipts: 

Savings  account  interest 2.54 

$1,020.56 
Balance,  July  26,  1956: 

Cash    $20.56 

U.  S.  bonds,  Series  K 1,000.00 

$1,020.56 

JOHN  BOOTH  BEQUEST 

Balance,  August  5,  1955: 

Cash    $142.90 

U.  S.  bonds,  Series  K 500.00 

$642.90 

Receipts: 

Savings  account  interest 1.29 

$644.19 

Disbursements,  books  $27.12 

Balance,  July  26,  1956: 

Cash    $117.07 

U.  S.  bonds,  Series  K 500.00 

617.07 


$644.19 


THOMAS  H.  BOWLUS  DONATION 


This  donation  is  substantiated  by  a  U.  S.  bond,  Series  K,  in  the  amount  of 
$1,000.    The  interest  is  credited  to  the  membership  fee  fund. 

ELIZABETH  READER  BEQUEST 

Balance,  August  5,  1955: 

Cash  (deposited  in  membership  fee  fund) $1,153.69 

U.  S.  bonds,  Series  G 5,200.00 


Receipts: 

Interest  (deposited  in  membership  fee  fund) 


Disbursements,  books  

Balance,  July  26,  1956: 

Cash  (deposited  in  membership  fee  fund) 


$775.19 


U.  S.  bonds,  Series  G 5,200.00 


$6,353.69 
130.00 

$6,483.69 
$508.50 


5,975.19 


$6,483.69 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  69 

STATE  APPROPRIATIONS 

This  report  covers  only  the  membership  fee  fund  and  other  custodial  funds. 
Appropriations  made  to  the  Historical  Society  by  the  legislature  are  disbursed 
through  the  State  Department  of  Administration.  For  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1956,  these  appropriations  were:  Kansas  State  Historical  Society,  including  the 
Memorial  building,  $217,232;  Funston  Home,  $2,600;  Pike  Pawnee  Village  site, 
$1,000;  First  Capitol  of  Kansas,  $4,848;  Kaw  Mission,  $4,534;  Old  Shawnee 
Mission,  $14,363.  Respectfully  submitted, 

MRS.  LELA  BARNES,  Treasurer. 

On  motion  by  Lea  Maranville,  seconded  by  John  S.  Dawson,  the 
report  of  the  treasurer  was  accepted. 

President  Riegle  then  called  for  the  report  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee on  the  post-audit  of  the  Society's  funds  by  the  state  division  of 
auditing  and  accounting.  The  report  was  read  by  Will  T.  Beck: 

REPORT  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 

October  12,  1956. 
To  the  Board  of  Directors,  Kansas  State  Historical  Society: 

The  executive  committee  being  directed  under  the  by-laws  to  check  the 
accounts  of  the  treasurer,  states  that  the  State  Department  of  Post-Audit  has 
audited  the  funds  of  the  State  Historical  Society,  the  Old  Shawnee  Mission, 
the  First  Capitol  of  Kansas,  the  Old  Kaw  Mission,  the  Funston  Home  and 
Pike's  Pawnee  Village,  for  the  period  August  5,  1955,  to  July  26,  1956,  and 
that  they  are  hereby  approved.  WILL  T.  BECK,  Chairman, 

JOHN  S.  DAWSON, 
FRANK  HAUCKE, 
T.  M.  LILLARD, 

C.   M.   CORRELL. 

Will  T.  Beck  moved  acceptance  of  the  report.  Alan  W.  Farley 
seconded  the  motion  and  the  report  was  accepted. 

The  report  of  the  nominating  committee  for  officers  of  the  Society 
was  read  by  Will  T.  Beck: 

NOMINATING  COMMITTEE'S  REPORT 

October  12,  1956. 
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:  Rolla  Clymer,  El  Dorado,  president;  Alan  W.  Farley, 
Kansas  City,  first  vice-president;  and  Richard  M.  Long,  Wichita,  second  vice- 
president. 

For  a  two-year  term:   Mrs.  Lela  Barnes,  Topeka,  treasurer. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

WILL  T.  BECK,  Chairman. 

The  report  was  referred  to  the  afternoon  meeting  of  the  board. 
Because  of  interest  in  the  controversy  over  the  Wyandotte  Indian 


70  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

burial  ground  in  the  heart  of  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  Alan  W.  Farley 
was  called  on  to  speak  briefly  on  the  history  of  the  site  and  its 
current  status.  Mr.  Farley  concluded  his  remarks  by  presenting 
the  following  resolution  and  moving  its  acceptance: 

RESOLUTION 

BE  IT  RESOLVED,  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical 
Society  at  the  annual  meeting  on  October  16,  1956,  at  Topeka,  Kan.,  that  the 
Huron  Indian  Cemetery  in  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  is  a  place  of  unusual  historical 
interest  and  should  be  preserved  for  posterity  because  of  its  unique  character 
and  because  of  the  historical  significance  of  the  lives  of  those  Wyandotte 
Indians  buried  therein,  and  that  the  Secretary  is  hereby  directed  to  notify 
all  of  the  Kansas  representatives  and  senators  of  this  resolution,  and  that  they 
be  urged  to  secure  the  repeal  of  provisions  relating  to  said  cemetery  contained 
in  Public  Law  887— 84th  Congress,  Chapter  843,  Second  Session,  S  3970. 

R.  F.  Brock  seconded  the  motion  by  Alan  W.  Farley,  and  the 
resolution  was  adopted. 

There  followed  a  brief  discussion  of  means  of  obtaining  new 
members  with  remarks  by  Joseph  C.  Shaw,  Charles  C.  Rankin, 
Frank  Haucke,  Otto  J.  Wullschleger,  and  Karl  Miller. 

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. 

Before  the  president's  address,  Col.  Brice  C.  W.  Custer  was  intro- 
duced to  the  meeting.  Colonel  Custer  is  a  grandnephew  of  Gen. 
George  A.  Custer  and  is  currently  serving  as  Senior  Army  Adviser 
for  Reserve  units  in  the  state  of  Kansas. 

The  address  by  President  Wilford  Riegle  follows: 

ADDRESS  OF  THE  PRESIDENT 
PECK'S  BAD  BOYS 

WELFORD  RIEGLE 

THIS  is  a  brief  story  of  an  infantry  division  in  World  War  I,  a 
division  composed  of  men  from  Kansas  and  Missouri;  a  divi- 
sion that  covered  itself  with  glory  and  everlasting  fame  by  helping 
to  drive  the  Germans  out  of  France,  and  across  the  Rhine  river, 
which  brought  peace  for  awhile  to  a  troubled  world. 

I  refer  to  the  35th  division,  a  National  Guard  outfit,  if  you  please. 
When  war  was  declared  on  the  Germans  in  1917,  our  United  States 
armed  forces  were  neither  large  nor  strong.  Much  planning,  organi- 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  71 

zation,  and  reorganization  had  to  be  effected  expeditiously  by  our 
military  leaders  in  Washington  and  elsewhere  in  the  country,  for  the 
Germans  were  driving  toward  Paris  and  ultimate  victory  over  the 
Allies.  In  order  to  reach  the  required  strength  for  a  war-size  in- 
fantry regiment,  for  instance,  the  National  Guard  regiments  within 
a  state,  and  sometimes  from  two  states,  were  joined  together. 

Uniting  two  regiments  to  make  one  regiment  of  the  required 
strength  eliminated  virtually  half  of  the  officers.  Many  officers  were 
transferred  to  other  units  or  camps  for  duty;  a  good  many  were  dis- 
charged for  physical  disabilities;  others  were  relieved  from  the  serv- 
ice because  of  certain  deficiencies.  Those  were  days  that  tried  an 
officer's  soul  because  of  the  anxiety  for  his  military  future.  In  order 
to  reach  the  required  strength  of  a  division,  battalions  and  regiments 
of  the  various  branches  of  several  or  more  states  were  joined  to- 
gether. To  make  up  the  35th  division,  the  National  Guard  organiza- 
tions of  Kansas  and  Missouri  were  combined.  The  Missouri  Guard 
contributed,  according  to  the  record,  14,282  men,  and  Kansas  9,781 
men.  When  the  divisional  strength  was  placed  at  27,000  the  addi- 
tional men  were  taken  almost  entirely  from  Kansas  and  Missouri 
drafts,  so  that  the  division  about  which  we  speak  today,  started  out 
and  continued  to  be,  to  the  time  it  was  mustered  out  in  1919,  a  Kan- 
sas and  Missouri  outfit. 

Here  in  Kansas,  for  many  years  prior  to  1917,  our  National  Guard 
units,  small  in  size,  and  without  much  pay  and  equipment,  were  in- 
structed, trained,  and  led  by  many  devoted,  loyal,  and  efficient  offi- 
cers. I  have  time  here  to  speak  briefly  of  only  three  of  these  officers 
who  helped  to  mould  our  Kansas  National  Guard  in  those  days. 
Many  of  you  knew  these  officers  personally,  I  am  sure. 

Gen.  Charles  I.  Martin,  of  Fort  Scott,  was  the  adjutant  general 
of  Kansas  before  and  after  World  War  I.  He  had  a  long  and  dis- 
tinguished military  career.  As  a  captain  of  the  famous  20th  Kansas 
infantry  in  the  Battle  of  Manila,  Martin's  company  suffered  the 
heaviest  casualties  of  the  regiment.  Near  Calucan  in  the  Philippines 
his  company  held  the  enemy  in  place  without  relief  for  six  weeks. 
Martin  came  out  of  that  engagement  a  major  and  was  the  only  Na- 
tional Guard  general  officer  with  the  35th  division  in  1917  and  1918. 

Gen.  Wilder  S.  Metcalf,  of  Lawrence,  had  been  in  command  of  the 
1st  Kansas  infantry  regiment  from  1897  to  1917,  except  during  the 
Spanish-American  War,  during  which  time  he  served  as  a  major  of 
the  20th  Kansas  infantry.  He  succeeded  Funston  as  commanding 
officer  of  that  famous  regiment. 


72  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Col.  Perry  M.  Hoisington,  of  Newton,  the  grand  old  man  of  the 
2d  Kansas  infantry  regiment,  was  born  in  Michigan.  He  served  in 
the  National  Guard  of  that  state  as  an  enlisted  man  and  officer  before 
coming  to  Kansas  in  1884.  Colonel  Hoisington  served  in  the  Na- 
tional Guard  of  Kansas  most  of  the  years  from  1890  until  1925,  be- 
ginning as  a  private.  He  received  the  rank  of  colonel  in  1895  and 
commanded  the  2d  Kansas  through  the  Spanish-American  War  and 
on  the  Mexican  border.  He  was  the  first  commanding  officer  of 
the  137th  infantry  in  1917.  He  gave  the  guard  an  uplifting  and  per- 
meating influence  which  displayed  devotion  and  love  of  service  of 
the  highest  order.  Many  a  time  the  men  followed  on  foot  this  gal- 
lant soldier  and  his  horse  while  on  some  hike  or  maneuver. 

Such  was  the  caliber  of  the  officers  who  prepared  the  National 
Guard  for  service  in  World  War  I. 

Many  of  the  men  of  the  division  served  on  the  Mexican  border  in 
1916,  guarding  and  protecting  our  southern  American  frontier 
against  Mexican  outlaws  who  were  making  life  miserable  for  those 
who  lived  there. 

The  service  on  the  border  proved  to  be  a  great  training  center  for 
these  men  who  later  became  veterans  of  World  War  I.  Down  there 
in  the  hot  winds,  sand,  and  cactus  the  men  were  moulded  into 
soldiers  of  the  best  quality  by  living  a  vigorous  outdoor  life  and  by 
learning  to  endure  fatigue,  discomfort,  and  hardship. 

On  Sunday,  August  5, 1917,  the  troops  of  Kansas,  and  other  states, 
were  called  into  active  service  and  assigned  to  home  camps.  The 
units  were  federalized,  passed  from  the  control  of  the  states,  and 
became  a  part  of  the  United  States  army.  From  then  until  October 
a  steady  stream  of  guard  troops  departed  from  many  towns  in  Kan- 
sas for  Camp  Doniphan,  Okla.  Here  organizations  were  joined  to- 
gether and  allotted  designated  areas.  They  started  an  intensive  pro- 
gram of  exercises,  marches,  and  drills;  they  became  accustomed  to 
a  daily  menu  of  Oklahoma  dust.  Soldiers  were  routed  out  of  bed 
each  morning  with  dust  in  their  eyes  and  dust  on  their  army  bacon. 
They  drilled  or  hiked  under  a  scorching  sun  with  equally  scorching 
sands  underfoot. 

Gen.  William  M.  Wright,  the  division  commander,  insisted  firmly 
that  the  men  of  his  division  be  highly  proficient  in  the  use  of  the 
rifle,  accurate  in  firing  at  all  ranges,  and  skilled  at  maneuvering  in 
the  open  woods  by  day  or  by  night.  The  manual  of  arms,  bayonet 
drill,  grenade  throwing,  and  trench  warfare  became  an  important 
part  of  each  day's  routine  for  the  infantry.  The  field  signal  battalion, 
with  its  radio  work;  the  artillery  with  its  range  practice;  and  the 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  73 

medical  men  with  their  first  aid  training  also  were  on  a  busy  sched- 
ule. Gruelling  hikes  took  the  men  out  into  the  scrub  oak  districts 
surrounding  the  camp.  The  men  had  never  trained  for  trench  war- 
fare so  experts  in  the  new  art  of  war,  French,  Scotch,  and  English, 
were  sent  from  the  battlefields  of  France  to  teach  them.  In  spite  of 
living  in  tents,  which  meant  a  fight  day  after  day  to  maintain  their 
health,  the  men  were  hardened  and  toughened  by  constant  hard 
work. 

At  Camp  Doniphan  the  Kansas  contingents  of  the  division  passed 
in  review  before  the  governor  of  Kansas,  the  Hon.  Arthur  Capper. 
It  was  a  windy  and  dusty  day,  and  the  mental  picture  of  Governor 
Capper,  astride  a  strange  and  frisky  army  steed  has  not  yet  faded. 
During  much  of  that  day  the  governor  also  passed  through  the  Kan- 
sas area  of  the  camp  shaking  hands  with  many  soldiers  over  the  age 
of  21. 

During  the  late  winter  of  1917  and  the  early  spring  of  1918  rumors 
were  numerous  and  insistent  about  the  division's  departure  from 
Camp  Doniphan.  Nobody  knew  just  how  and  where  all  the  rumors 
were  started.  Finally,  early  in  April,  the  order  for  evacuation  came. 
All  the  tracks  of  the  spur  railroad  leading  into  camp  were  spotted 
with  empty  passenger  coaches.  As  troop  train  after  troop  train  de- 
parted, the  soldiers  bid  a  fond  and  profane  adieu  to  Oklahoma's 
dusty  precincts. 

Immense  crowds  saw  the  troop  trains  as  they  passed  through 
cities  and  hamlets.  Once  or  twice  each  day  the  men  were  marched 
through  the  streets  of  various  cities  in  order  to  exercise  their  legs. 

The  whole  division  was  assembled  in  Camp  Mills,  near  Mineola, 
on  Long  Island,  N.  Y.  Here  the  equipment  of  the  men  was  checked 
and  made  complete  and  they  were  given  last  minute  instructions 
for  the  trip  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  However,  there  was  time 
for  relaxation  and  furloughs.  Many  of  the  men  were  given  two- 
day  furloughs,  so  they  could  see  the  bright  lights  and  wonders  of 
New  York  City.  The  old  Hippodrome  Theatre,  with  its  spectacular 
shows,  was  probably  the  main  attraction  for  the  men. 

The  men  of  the  division  attracted  the  immediate  attention  of  the 
New  Yorkers  because  of  their  chin  straps.  The  winds  of  Oklahoma 
spoiled  many  formations  on  the  parade  ground  by  blowing  hats 
from  the  soldiers'  heads.  For  that  reason,  General  Wright,  the 
division  commander,  ordered  every  officer  and  enlisted  man  to  secure 
his  campaign  hat  with  a  strap  under  his  chin.  The  New  York  papers 
called  the  division,  the  "Chin  Strap  Division,"  and  the  citizens  of 

6—5869 


74  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

the  East  concluded  that  the  Kansans  were  either  cowpunchers  or 
ranchers.  In  fact,  a  good  many  of  the  Easterners,  smug  in  their 
culture  and  provincial  thinking,  were  a  little  afraid  of  these  Kansans 
as  they  walked  their  streets.  Peering  with  strained  necks  at  sky- 
scrapers and  getting  lost  among  the  canyons  of  the  city,  indicated 
to  the  Easterners  that  these  chin  strap  boys  from  the  "Wild  West" 
might  not  be  civilized. 

On  April  24  and  25,  the  Middle  Westerners,  many  of  them  smell- 
ing salt  water  for  the  first  time,  boarded  ships  at  the  loading  docks  in 
New  York  City  and  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  and  sailed  away  to  the  first 
great  adventure  of  their  lives.  It  was  a  cold,  windy  voyage  across 
the  boisterous  sea.  Because  of  the  German  submarine  the  ships 
traveled  in  convoys,  and  they  were  routed  far  to  the  North  Atlantic. 
Turning  southward  near  the  Scottish  coast,  the  ships  passed  through 
the  Irish  Sea  between  England  and  Ireland.  Immediately  upon 
debarkation  at  Liverpool  the  troops  were  marched  through  the  city, 
beneath  flying  flags,  banners,  and  confetti  to  waiting  trains.  They 
were  then  whisked  away  to  Winchester,  Southampton,  and  other 
cities  of  southern  England.  Here  they  basked  in  England's  sun- 
shine; here  they  saw  their  first  German  prisoners,  erect,  proud, 
and  defiant. 

After  a  few  days'  rest,  the  men  embarked  on  small  boats  and 
ships,  and  on  a  cold  and  foggy  night,  crossed  the  English  channel 
safely  to  Le  Havre  on  the  northern  coast  of  France.  The  troops 
moved  to  various  bivouac  areas,  erroneously  called  rest  camps, 
near  the  city  of  Eu.  The  war  was  not  far  away.  The  division,  with 
eight  other  American  divisions,  was  assembled  in  a  little  corner  of 
northern  France  not  far  from  Dunkerque  of  World  War  II  fame. 
Here  they  were  attached  to  the  British  army  as  reserves.  The  men 
were  issued  English  rifles  and  other  British  equipment.  English 
instructors  and  cooks  were  assigned  to  the  various  units.  Under 
their  guidance  the  Kansans  dug  reserve  trenches,  and  erected 
barbed  wire  entanglements;  they  prepared  a  line  of  defense  to 
which  the  British  could  fall  back,  or  into  which  some  of  the  Amer- 
ican reserve  divisions  could  be  thrown,  if  need  be,  to  stop  a  push 
of  the  Germans  to  the  English  channel. 

About  this  time  the  Allied  command  was  putting  heavy  pressure 
on  General  Pershing  for  a  drastic  change  in  organization.  The 
English  "Big  Brass"  insisted  that  these  American  reserve  divisions 
be  split  up.  They  wanted  to  use  the  men  of  these  divisions  as 
replacements  for  British  units.  If  their  plan  had  been  successful, 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  75 

American  soldiers  would  have  worn  British  uniforms,  eaten  English- 
cooked  food,  and  would  have  fought  as  Englishmen.  The  thought 
of  this  un-American  plan  lowered  the  morale  of  the  men  greatly. 
But  General  Pershing,  God  bless  him,  with  speed  and  firmness, 
convinced  the  Allied  command  that  his  men  would  fight  under  the 
American  flag,  in  American  uniforms  and  units,  under  command  of 
American  officers. 

On  June  7,  1918,  the  division  boarded  the  small  boxcars,  com- 
monly called  40  men  or  8  horses,  for  the  province  of  Alsace  in 
southeastern  France.  By  lying  bumper  to  bumper  40  men  could 
sleep  most  unsuccessfully  in  one  of  these  boxcars.  Alsace  had  been 
taken  from  the  French  in  1870  during  the  Franco-Prussian  War.  It 
remained  a  German  province  until  the  early  days  of  World  War  I 
when  the  French  recaptured  it  from  the  Germans.  The  majority 
of  the  people  spoke  German.  Alsace  was  a  quiet  and  peaceful 
sector  and  a  good  training  ground  for  the  division.  High  pine-clad 
hills  looked  down  on  the  fertile  valleys  below.  The  homes  of  the 
peasants  were  intact  there  and  the  fields  produced  their  yearly 
harvests.  The  linen  factories,  on  the  banks  of  the  streams,  hummed 
the  song  of  peace.  The  inhabitants  of  the  villages  clattered  along 
in  their  wooden  shoes,  like  troops  of  trotting  cavalry.  Old  women 
at  the  municipal  washing  troughs  beat  out  a  symphony  of  peace 
with  their  pounding  paddles. 

Golden-haired  girls  shouted  welcomes,  waved  their  hands,  and 
threw  flowers  in  the  trucks  filled  with  soldiers.  The  men  unani- 
mously agreed  that  it  was  a  bully  sector  in  which  to  fight  a  war. 
And  every  soldier  felt  sure  he  would  do  well  in  this  peaceful  sector. 

After  being  in  Alsace  a  short  time,  the  men  observed  that  most 
of  the  farm  work  was  done  by  women.  The  public  relations  officer 
of  the  division  issued  a  bulletin  stating  that  all  soldiers,  who  wished 
to  do  so,  might  volunteer  to  assist  the  women  in  the  fields  on 
Sunday  after  church.  Eight  hundred  men  volunteered.  He  never 
issued  such  a  bulletin  again. 

In  the  little  town  of  Wesserling,  high  in  the  Vosges  mountains 
in  Alsace,  a  good  many  of  the  men  slept  in  a  great  barracks  which 
formerly  had  been  a  German  headquarters.  Others  slept  in  hay- 
mows. The  stables  usually  were  under  these  haymows  so  there 
was  always  an  elaborate  assortment  of  odors.  The  soldiers  were 
annoyed  by  the  stamping  and  moving  cows.  Rats  and  troops 
developed  into  congenial  bedmates. 

The  war  in  Alsace  had  taken  on  a  subdued  tone.    There  had  been 


76  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

no  major  action  since  1915.  It  had  been  a  rest  center  for  both  the 
French  and  the  German  troops  for  some  time.  The  roar  of  guns 
was  seldom  heard  and  air  raids  never  occurred. 

However,  the  Kansans  did  their  best  to  make  things  exciting  for 
the  Germans,  who  retaliated  with  shrapnel,  gas  shells,  and  hand 
grenades.  The  Kansans  received  their  first  baptism  of  fire  when 
the  Germans  staged  a  raid  on  their  lines.  A  short  time  later 
Company  C  of  the  137th  infantry,  made  up  of  boys  from  Burlington 
and  Great  Bend,  raided  the  German  trenches  and  captured  seven 
prisoners.  The  division  left  100  men  in  the  foothills  of  the  Alps 
who  had  been  killed  during  raids  on  the  German  lines,  or  who 
had  died  of  wounds,  accident,  or  disease.  Lt.  Thomas  Hopkins,  a 
Kansan,  was  killed  while  rescuing  a  wounded  comrade  from  the 
barbed-wire  entanglement  in  "No  Man's  Land."  He  formerly  lived 
in  Wichita,  and  the  American  Legion  Post  there  is  named  for  him. 
Sgt.  McKinley  Pratt,  of  Emporia,  threw  himself  upon  an  unex- 
ploded  hand  grenade  in  order  to  protect  near-by  comrades  and 
was  killed  when  the  grenade  exploded. 

In  Alsace  the  men  learned  how  grim  war  could  be.  They  swore 
at  the  discomforts  and  were  disgusted  with  fighting  in  the  mountains. 
Yet,  when  they  had  moved  on  to  other  sectors,  where  battles  raged 
and  men  died  on  every  side,  they  remembered  how  serene  their 
lives  had  been  in  the  high  mountains  of  Alsace. 

Intense  fighting  had  developed  in  the  Marne  valley,  east  of  Paris, 
while  the  35th  trained  in  the  Alsace  sector.  The  enemy  had  at- 
tacked, and  they  had  been  repulsed  with  heavy  losses.  For  the 
first  time  in  four  years  conditions  were  encouraging  for  the  Allies. 
General  Pershing  had  obtained  consent  from  the  supreme  command 
to  reduce  the  sector  above  St.  Mihiel,  a  strong  and  dominating  area 
which  the  Germans  had  occupied  since  1914;  so,  early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  September  12,  after  intensive  artillery  preparation,  the 
Americans  launched  their  first  major  offensive,  designed  to  wipe 
out  this  St.  Mihiel  sector.  The  day  before  the  St.  Mihiel  offensive 
began,  the  35th  landed  in  the  Foret  de  Haye,  a  densely  wooded 
area  not  far  from  Nancy  and  only  a  few  miles  in  the  rear  of  St. 
Mihiel. 

The  35th  division  was  in  reserve  during  the  St.  Mihiel  offensive 
which  was  an  important  assignment.  The  reserve  is  an  essential 
part  of  every  attacking  force,  large  or  small,  even  if  that  reserve 
never  moves  a  foot  nor  fires  a  shot. 

Those  were  trying  days  for  the  35th.    The  St.  Mihiel  fight  was 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  77 

only  a  few  miles  away,  and  the  roar  and  flash  of  the  guns  could 
sometimes  be  heard  and  seen  by  the  men.  At  night  enemy  air- 
planes came  over  and  dropped  bombs  on  the  forest,  and  a  good 
part  of  the  time  it  rained  heavily.  The  St.  Mihiel  offensive  was 
tactically  perfect  and  was  operated  with  precision.  The  Americans 
crashed  at  will  against  the  German  lines  and  there  was  no  need  to 
call  upon  the  reserves.  Immediately  after  the  St.  Mihiel  sector  was 
taken  the  35th  left  its  reserve  position  and  moved  by  motor  buses, 
trucks,  and  on  foot  toward  the  Argonne  Forest. 

This  forest,  forever  made  immortal  by  the  blood  of  many  Ameri- 
can boys,  covered  hills  and  low  mountains.  It  dominated  the 
country  surrounding  it  and  was  heavily  fortified  by  the  Germans. 
As  long  as  the  Germans  held  and  occupied  this  forest  the  war  could 
not  end.  It  was  the  most  essential  area  in  the  possession  of  the 
enemy.  The  operation  to  attack  and  capture  the  Argonne  was 
set  tentatively  for  the  spring  of  1919.  However,  the  ease  with 
which  the  St.  Mihiel  sector  was  captured,  and  the  obvious  weaken- 
ing of  the  enemy  on  all  fronts,  convinced  Marshal  Foch,  the  allied 
supreme  commander,  that  he  could  capture  this  forest  and  end 
the  war  in  the  fall  of  1918.  He,  therefore,  set  the  force  of  the 
Allied  armies  to  the  task  of  preparing  for  the  last  great  battle  of 
World  War  I. 

The  American  battle  line  extended  from  the  Meuse  river,  a  few 
miles  above  Verdun,  westward  to  the  Argonne  Forest,  where  it 
connected  with  the  French  Fourth  army  which  was  attacking  on 
the  left  of  the  Argonne.  Nine  American  divisions  were  in  the 
Meuse-Argonne  line  ready  to  attack  on  the  night  of  September  25. 
The  men  of  these  divisions  had  been  under  constant  enemy  fire 
for  four  days  and  nights. 

At  11:30  P.  M.,  September  25,  the  American  artillery  opened  a 
deceptive  fire  to  the  east  of  the  Meuse  river  and  to  the  west  of  the 
Argonne  Forest.  This  was  intended  to  deceive  the  enemy  as  to 
the  place  at  which  the  attack  would  come.  It  was  hoped  that  the 
enemy  would  shift  his  reserves  and  other  forces  away  from  the 
American  line.  At  2:30,  on  the  morning  of  September  26,  all  other 
artillery  concentrated  its  fire  between  the  Meuse  river  and  the 
Argonne.  All  Hell  broke  loose.  The  sky  was  slashed  and  cut 
with  a  mass  of  crimson.  The  earth  jarred  and  rumbled,  for  three 
hours,  as  3,000  guns  concentrated  their  fire  upon  the  enemy  lines. 
Naval  guns  stationed  at  posts  farther  to  the  rear  concentrated  on 
movement  of  troops  behind  the  enemy  lines. 


78  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Then  at  5:30  the  infantry  on  the  American  line  went  over  the 
top.  There  was  little  ceremony  about  it.  Every  man  knew  that  at 
last  he  was  going  forward  to  a  new  and  great  adventure.  He  knew 
that  he  might  fall  along  the  way,  rise  again  to  sweep  toward  the 
enemy,  and  then  fall  again  to  rise  no  more. 

The  ground  over  which  the  division  advanced  was  not  heavily 
wooded.  The  trees  were  scattered.  There  were  many  deep 
ravines,  destroyed  villages  and  farms,  and  other  obstacles. 

It  is  impossible  to  relate  here  in  detail  the  part  played  by  the 
35th  in  the  Argonne.  In  five  days  of  intensive,  unremitting  fighting, 
the  division  had  fought  against  the  best  the  Germans  had  to  offer. 
In  a  bedlam  of  death,  destruction,  and  debris  it  had  thrust  aside, 
and  pushed  back,  the  pride  of  the  German  army.  The  35th  had 
fought  against  and  taken  prisoners  from  six  German  divisions.  It 
had  advanced  ten  miles  into  enemy  territory.  It  had  been  pushed 
back,  had  gone  forward  again,  and  then  had  been  forced  to  organize 
and  hold  a  line  about  ten  miles  forward  of  the  original  front.  The 
division  had  advanced  farther  into  the  Argonne  than  any  other 
division  in  the  First  army.  It  had  captured  Vauquois  Hill,  a  perfect 
example  of  German  fortification  with  an  elaborate  trench  system. 
Along  with  the  28th,  Pennsylvania's  National  Guard  division,  on 
the  left,  it  had  captured  the  town  of  Varennes.  When  the  French 
Revolution  was  brewing  King  Louis  the  16th  and  Marie  Antoinette 
endeavored  to  escape  from  France.  They  got  as  far  as  Varennes 
where  they  were  captured,  returned  to  Paris,  and  eventually  turned 
over  to  the  executioner. 

The  35th  also  captured  the  towns  of  Cheppy,  Very,  Neuvilly, 
Baulny,  Charpentry,  Exermont,  Fleville  as  well  as  Chaudron  Farm 
and  Montrebeau  Woods. 

The  division  captured  over  1,000  prisoners.  It  also  captured  a 
great  mass  of  enemy  equipment:  machine  guns,  auto  rifles,  anti- 
tank guns,  telephone  systems,  engineer  dumps,  ammunition  dumps, 
6-inch  howitzers,  antiaircraft  batteries,  and  many  other  weapons 
and  materiel  of  warfare. 

It  suffered  8,023  casualties  out  of  27,000  men  in  five  days  of 
desperate  fighting.  The  War  Department  records  show  over  1,000 
killed,  6,894  wounded,  and  169  captured. 

The  35th  division  played  a  decisive  part  in  the  Meuse-Argonne 
offensive,  the  last  great  battle  of  the  war.  Under  the  dark,  autumn 
sky,  and  through  the  steady,  cold  rain  it  pushed  ahead,  and  the 
Aire  river  valley  was  reddened  with  the  blood  of  a  thousand  dead. 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  79 

When  the  division  had  spent  its  force,  it  stepped  aside  to  let  the 
First  Regular  army  division  take  its  place  to  carry  on  the  battle. 

On  October  1,  1918,  the  weary  columns  of  the  35th  were  on  their 
way  to  the  rear.  It  was  morning  and  the  sky  was  clear.  The  air 
was  cool  for  it  was  October  in  France.  The  leaves  on  the  trees 
were  purple  and  russet. 

The  division,  as  it  went  to  the  rear,  looked  more  like  a  band  of 
refugees  than  a  military  organization.  The  men  were  unshaven, 
dirty,  and  haggard.  Their  clothing  was  soiled  and  torn.  Many 
men  had  minor  wounds,  and  white  bandages  were  much  in  evidence. 
A  great  deal  of  equipment  had  been  lost  or  destroyed.  A  serious 
dysenteric  epidemic  had  broken  out. 

Into  this  scene,  even  before  the  men  had  time  to  recuperate,  to 
clean  their  clothes  or  equipment,  or  to  get  a  good,  square  meal, 
rode  one  Maj.  Robert  Gray  Peck,  of  the  Inspector  General's  depart- 
ment. He  arrived  at  the  scene  in  a  shining  limousine,  spic  and  span 
in  a  clean,  spotless  uniform,  stiff,  erect,  his  military  appearance 
perfect  in  every  detail.  Major  Peck  was  far  behind  the  front  lines, 
during  the  Meuse-Argonne  offensive.  The  roar  and  flash  of  the 
guns  of  that  battle  had  not  disturbed  his  sleep.  He  had  been  sent 
forward  to  inspect  the  troops,  then  ride  back  to  his  rendezvous 
in  the  rear  of  the  lines  and  make  his  report  to  his  superior  officers. 

Major  Peck  was  indeed  a  well-trained  and  discerning  officer.  He 
had  been  taught  to  appreciate  shining  buttons,  well-polished  shoes, 
and  snappy  saluting. 

Colonel  Rieger  of  the  division  explained  to  Major  Peck  about  the 
battle  and  the  long  march  immediately  afterward,  whereupon  Peck 
heatedly  replied,  "The  soldiers  ought  to  be  ready  for  inspection  on 
all  occasions/'  Some  men  did  not  have  buttons  on  their  coats. 
Major  Peck  reported  on  that.  Some  did  not  have  blouses  at  all, 
and  none  could  be  obtained,  but  Major  Peck  severely  reprimanded 
the  division  for  this  deficiency.  One  soldier,  sick  with  dysentery,  his 
uniform  torn,  and  legging  partly  gone,  as  a  result  of  the  battle,  was 
reprimanded  by  Major  Peck.  When  the  Kansas  boy  said,  "I 
haven't  any  other  clothes,"  Major  Peck  replied,  "Why  don't  you  get 
them?" 

Major  Peck  severely  criticized  the  men  because  they  did  not 
jump  to  their  feet  with  military  precision,  stand  at  attention,  and 
salute  him.  He  complained  that  the  officers  and  men  were  talking 
together.  He  came  upon  about  40  men  resting  together.  A  few  of 
them  were  sick.  They  failed  to  notice  the  major  as  he  approached 


80  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

them,  and  they  did  not  come  to  attention.  Major  Peck  severely 
reprimanded  these  men  and  made  three  who  were  sick  stand  up  and 
come  to  attention. 

As  Major  Peck  was  driving  away  in  his  limousine,  he  came  upon  a 
wagon  with  officers'  bed  rolls.  On  them  were  two  privates  who  had 
been  gassed  in  battle.  "What  the  Hell  are  you  doing  on  that 
wagon?"  shouted  the  major.  The  sergeant  explained  that  the  men 
were  sick,  and  had  been  ordered  to  rest  on  top  of  the  rolls.  To 
which  Peck  instantly  replied,  "I  don't  give  a  damn  who  told  you 
to  ride  there,  get  the  Hell  off  and  stay  off."  The  men  got  off.  Major 
Peck  should  have  known  better.  Any  officer  knows,  or  should  know, 
that  an  Inspector  General,  or  his  representative,  is  an  administrative 
officer.  He  does  not  command  except  in  his  own  department.  His 
job  is  to  inspect,  ascertain  conditions,  offer  helpful  suggestions  and 
advice,  and  then  make  his  inspection  report  to  his  superior  officers. 
Major  Peck  had  no  business  giving  any  commands  to  the  lowliest 
private  in  the  division.  If  he  wanted  the  two  men  to  get  off  the 
bedding  rolls  he  should  have  asked  the  captain  to  order  them  off. 

Major  Peck's  entire  report  showed  how  appalled  he  was  by  these 
ragged  and  wearied  men.  He  ended  his  written  report  by  saying, 
"Most  of  the  organizations  showed  all  the  earmarks  of  National 
Guard  units,  which  they  are.  Captains  and  lieutenants  were  con- 
tinually noticed  on  most  familiar  terms  with  enlisted  men.  The  Na- 
tional Guard  attitude  permeates  the  entire  division  and  must  be 
gotten  rid  of  at  once." 

The  wheels  of  time  turn. 

On  February  28,  1921,  the  names  of  4,000  officers  came  before 
the  Military  Affairs  committee  of  the  United  States  Senate  for  pro- 
motion. The  names  had  to  be  confirmed  by  the  senate.  The  com- 
mittee was  about  to  take  favorable  action  on  the  entire  list  when 
Sen.  Arthur  Capper  of  Kansas  inquired  if  there  were  a  Robert  Gray 
Peck  on  the  list.  There  was.  Senator  Capper  then  explained  to  the 
committee  about  the  Peck  report  on  the  35th  division.  The  committee 
listened  intently  to  Senator  Capper  and  also  to  the  reading  of  resolu- 
tions opposing  Peck's  promotion,  and  then  struck  his  name  from  the 
list.  Later  another  effort  to  force  the  promotion  of  Peck  was  balked 
by  Senator  Capper  in  the  committee.  He  was  supported  this  time 
by  Sen.  Selden  P.  Spencer  of  Missouri  and  by  Sen.  Charles  Curtis 
of  Kansas.  Later,  the  senate  committee  recommended  the  promo- 
tion of  Major  Peck.  Senators  Capper,  Spencer,  and  I.  L.  Lenroot  of 
Wisconsin  filed  a  minority  report  against  the  promotion.  The  nom- 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  81 

ination  of  Peck  to  be  a  lieutenant  colonel  in  the  Regular  army  was 
discussed  later  in  an  executive  session  in  the  senate.  Strong  opposi- 
tion to  the  promotion  developed  early  in  the  debate.  Capper,  and 
many  other  senators,  spoke  against  Peck.  Finally,  about  11  months 
after  his  name  was  first  considered,  the  senate  in  executive  session, 
by  a  vote  of  41  to  19,  confirmed  the  nomination  of  Peck  to  be  a  lieu- 
tenant colonel  in  the  Regular  army.  Thus  ended  one  of  the  strangest 
and  most  publicized  episodes  in  the  military  history  of  the  National 
Guard  of  Kansas. 

What  became  of  Peck?  He  served  as  a  lieutenant  colonel  only 
seven  months,  for  he  was  retired  from  the  army  on  December  15, 
1922. 

What  became  of  the  35th  division?  It  was  soon  reactivated  after 
World  War  I,  this  time  composed  of  the  National  Guard  troops 
from  Kansas,  Missouri,  and  Nebraska.  Charles  I.  Martin  was  its 
first  post-war  commanding  general. 

In  December,  1940,  the  division  was  ordered  into  Federal  service 
and  was  sent  to  Camp  Robinson,  Ark.,  near  Little  Rock.  Here  it 
trained  until  a  few  weeks  after  Pearl  Harbor,  in  December,  1941, 
when  it  was  ordered  to  the  West  Coast.  After  two  years  of  training 
and  duty  in  various  camps  of  the  United  States  it  was  shipped  over- 
seas. On  D-day  it  landed  on  Omaha  Beach  in  Normandy  under 
command  of  General  Eisenhower,  and  once  more  helped  to  drive 
the  Germans  out  of  France  and  across  the  Rhine  river. 

Soon  after  the  end  of  World  War  II,  the  division  was  again  re- 
activated and  was  composed  once  more  of  the  National  Guard 
troops  of  Kansas  and  Missouri.  It  is  now  considered  one  of  the  best 
trained  and  equipped  National  Guard  divisions  in  the  United  States. 

I  am  proud  to  have  served  in  this  division  for  over  25  years  and 
during  two  World  Wars. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  president's  address,  the  secretary  showed 
a  series  of  color  slides  of  historic  buildings  and  sites  in  Kansas.  The 
slides  were  selected  from  the  collection  being  assembled  by  the 
Society. 

Kirke  Mechem,  former  secretary  and  editor  of  the  Annals  of  Kan- 
sas, 1886-1925,  was  introduced  by  President  Riegle.  Mr.  Mechem 
in  turn  introduced  Jennie  Small  Owen,  annalist,  and  presented  the 
second  volume  of  the  Annals. 

The  report  of  the  nominating  committee  was  called  for,  and  was 
presented  by  Will  T.  Beck: 


82  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  NOMINATIONS  FOR  DIRECTORS 

October  12,  1956. 

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  in 

October,  1959: 

Aitchison,  R.  T.,  Wichita.  Malin,  James  C.,  Lawrence. 

Anderson,  George  L.,  Lawrence.  Mayhew,  Mrs.  Patricia  Solander, 

Anthony,  D.  R.,  Leavenworth.  Topeka. 

Baugher,  Charles  A.,  Ellis.  Menninger,  Karl,  Topeka. 

Beck,  Will  T.,  Holton.  Miller,  Karl,  Dodge  City. 

Chambers,  Lloyd,  Clearwater.  Moore,  Russell,  Wichita. 

Chandler,  C.  J.,  Wichita.  Motz,  Frank,  Hays. 

Clymer,  Rolla,  El  Dorado.  Rankin,  Charles  C.,  Lawrence. 

Cochran,  Elizabeth,  Pittsburg.  Raynesford,  H.  C.,  Ellis. 

Cotton,  Corlett  J.,  Lawrence.  Reed,  Clyde  M.,  Jr.,  Parsons. 

Dawson,  John  S.,  Topeka.  Rodkey,  Clyde  K.,  Manhattan. 

Eckdall,  Frank  F.,  Emporia.  Shaw,  Joseph  C.,  Topeka. 

Euwer,  Elmer  E.,  Goodland.  Somers,  John  G.,  Newton. 

Farley,  Alan  W.,  Kansas  City.  Stewart,  Donald,  Independence. 

Knapp,  Dallas  W.,  Coffeyville.  Thomas,  E.  A.,  Topeka. 

Lilleston,  W.  F.,  Wichita.  von  der  Heiden,  Mrs.  W.  H.,  Newton. 

Lose,  Harry  F.,  Topeka.  Walker,  Mrs.  Ida  M.,  Norton. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

WILL  T.  BECK,  Chairman, 
JOHN  S.  DAWSON, 
FRANK  HAUCKE, 
T.  M.  LILLARD, 

C.   M.   CORRELL. 

Will  T.  Beck  moved  the  adoption  of  the  report.  Motion  was  sec- 
onded by  J.  C.  Shaw  and  the  report  was  accepted.  Members  of  the 
board  for  the  term  ending  in  October,  1959,  were  declared  elected. 

Reports  of  local  societies  were  called  for  and  given  as  follows: 
Orville  Watson  Mosher  for  the  Lyon  county  society;  Mrs.  C.  M. 
Slagg  for  the  Riley  county  society;  Mrs.  Clyde  E.  Glandon  for  the 
Wyandotte  county  society;  Lea  Maranville  for  the  Ness  county  so- 
ciety; and  Paul  B.  Wood  for  the  Chase  county  society. 

Emory  K.  Lindquist  presented  the  following  and  moved  that  it 
be  made  a  part  of  the  record: 

In  recognition  of  the  distinguished  contribution  to  a  knowledge  of  the  his- 
tory of  Kansas  by  the  publication  of  the  two  volumes  of  the  Annals  of  Kansas, 
and  in  appreciation  of  the  high  level  achievement  which  the  volumes  represent, 


THE  ANNUAL  MEETING 


83 


we  hereby  extend  our  hearty  congratulations  and  genuine  thanks  to  Kirke 
Mechem,  Jennie  Small  Owen,  Nyle  Miller,  Louise  Barry,  and  all  others  who 
have  shared  in  the  writing,  editing,  and  publishing  of  the  two  volumes  of  the 
Annals  of  Kansas. 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  Sylvester  Baringer,  and  the  members 
of  the  Society  voted  their  approval. 

There  being  no  further  business,  the  annual  meeting  of  the  So- 
ciety adjourned.  Refreshments  were  served  to  members  and  visitors 
in  the  museum. 


MEETING  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS 

The  afternoon  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  was  called  to 
order  by  President  Riegle.  He  called  for  a  rereading  of  the  report 
of  the  nominating  committee  for  officers  of  the  Society.  This  was 
read  by  Will  T.  Beck  who  moved  that  it  be  accepted.  J.  C.  Shaw 
seconded  the  motion  and  the  board  voted  to  accept  the  report.  The 
following  were  elected: 

For  a  one-year  term:  Rolla  Clymer,  El  Dorado,  president;  Alan 
W.  Farley,  Kansas  City,  first  vice-president;  and  Richard  M.  Long, 
Wichita,  second  vice-president. 

For  a  two-year  term:   Mrs.  Lela  Barnes,  Topeka,  treasurer. 

After  the  introduction  of  new  officers  and  brief  remarks  by  Presi- 
dent Clymer,  the  meeting  adjourned. 

DIRECTORS  OF  THE  KANSAS  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 
AS  OF  OCTOBER,  1956 

DIRECTORS  FOR  THE  YEAR  ENDING  OCTOBER,  1957 


Bailey,  Roy  F.,  Salina. 
Beezley,  George  F.,  Girard. 
Beougher,  Edward  M.,  Grinnell. 
Bowlus,  Thomas  H.,  lola. 
Brinkerhoff,  Fred  W.,  Pittsburg. 
Brodrick,  Lynn  R.,  Marysville. 
Cron,  F.  H.,  El  Dorado. 
Docking,  George,  Lawrence. 
Ebright,  Homer  K.,  Baldwin. 
Farrell,  F.  D.,  Manhattan. 
Hall,  Fred,  Dodge  City. 
Hamilton,  R.  L.,  Beloit. 
Harvey,  Mrs.  A.  M.,  Topeka. 
Haucke,  Frank,  Council  Grove. 
Hodges   Frank,  Olathe. 
Lingenfelser,  Angelus,  Atchison. 
Long,  Richard  M.,  Wichita. 


McArthur,  Mrs.  Vernon  E.,  Hutchinson. 
McCain,  James  A.,  Manhattan. 
McFarland,  Helen  M.,  Topeka. 
McGrew,  Mrs.  Wm.  E.,  Kansas  City. 
Malone,  James,  Gem. 
Mechem,  Kirke,  Lindsborg. 
Mueller,  Harrie  S.,  Wichita. 
Murphy,  Franklin  D.,  Lawrence. 
Rogfer,  Wayne,  Matfield  Green. 
Ruppenthal,  J.  C.,  Russell. 
Simons,  Dolph,  Lawrence. 
Slagg,  Mrs.  C.  M.,  Manhattan. 
Stone,  Robert,  Topeka. 
Templar,  George,  Arkansas  City. 
Townsley,  Will,  Great  Bend. 
Woodring,  Harry  H.,  Topeka. 


84 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 


DIRECTORS  FOR  THE  YEAR  ENDING  OCTOBER,  1958 


Barr,  Frank,  Wichita. 
Berryman,  Jerome  C.,  Ashland. 
Brigham,  Mrs.  Lalla  M.,  Pratt. 
Brock,  R.  F.,  Goodland. 
Charlson,  Sam  C.,  Manhattan. 
Correll,  Charles  M.,  Manhattan. 
Davis,  W.  W.,  Lawrence. 
Denious,  Jess  C.,  Jr.,  Dodge  City. 
Godsey,  Mrs.  Flora  R.,  Emporia. 
Hall,  Standish,  Wichita. 
Hegler,  Ben  F.,  Wichita. 
Jones,  Horace,  Lyons. 
Kampschroeder,  Mrs.  Jean  Norris, 

Garden  City. 
Lillard,  T.  M.,  Topeka. 
Lindquist,  Emory  K.,  Wichita. 
Maranville,  Lea,  Ness  City. 


Means,  Hugh,  Lawrence. 
Owen,  Arthur  K.,  Topeka. 
Owen,  Mrs.  E.  M.,  Lawrence. 
Patrick,  Mrs.  Mae  C.,  Sublette. 
Payne,  Mrs.  L.  F.,  Manhattan. 
Richards,  Walter  M.,  Emporia. 
Riegle,  Wilford,  Emporia. 
Robbins,  Richard  W.,  Pratt. 
Rupp,  Mrs.  Jane  C.,  Lincolnville. 
Scott,  Angelo,  lola. 
Sloan,  E.  R.s  Topeka. 
Smelser,  Mary  M.,  Lawrence. 
Stewart,  Mrs.  James  G.,  Topeka. 
Taylor,  James  E.,  Sharon  Springs. 
Van  De  Mark,  M.  V.  B.,  Concordia. 
Wark,  George  H.,  Caney. 
Williams,  Charles  A.,  Bentley. 


DIRECTORS  FOR  THE  YEAR  ENDING  OCTOBER,  1959 


Aitchison,  R.  T.,  Wichita. 
Anderson,  George  L.,  Lawrence. 
Anthony,  D.  R.,  Leaven  worth. 
Baugher,  Charles  A.,  Ellis. 
Beck,  Will  T.,  Holton. 
Chambers,  Lloyd,  Clearwater. 
Chandler,  C.  J.,  Wichita. 
Clymer,  Rolla,  El  Dorado. 
Cochran,  Elizabeth,  Pittsburg. 
Cotton,  Corlett  J.,  Lawrence. 
Dawson,  John  S.,  Topeka. 
Eckdall,  Frank  F.,  Emporia. 
Euwer,  Elmer  E.,  Goodland. 
Farley,  Alan  W.,  Kansas  City. 
Knapp,  Dallas  W.,  Coffeyville. 
Lilleston,  W.  F.,  Wichita. 
Lose,  Harry  F.,  Topeka. 


Malin,  James  C.,  Lawrence. 
Mayhew,  Mrs.  Patricia  Solander, 

Topeka. 

Menninger,  Karl   Topeka. 
Miller,  Karl,  Dodge  City. 
Moore,  Russell,  Wichita. 
Motz,  Frank,  Hays. 
Rankin,  Charles  C.,  Lawrence. 
Raynesford,  H.  C.,  Ellis. 
Reed,  Clyde  M.,  Jr.,  Parsons. 
Rodkey,  Clyde  K.,  Manhattan. 
Shaw,  Joseph  C.,  Topeka. 
Somers,  John  G.,  Newton. 
Stewart,  Donald,  Independence. 
Thomas,  E.  A.,  Topeka. 
von  der  Heiden,  Mrs.  W.  H.,  Newton. 
Walker,  Mrs.  Ida  M.,  Norton. 


Recent  Additions  to  the  Library 

Compiled  by  ALBERTA  PANTLE,  Librarian 

IN  ORDER  that  members  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society 
and  others  interested  in  historical  study  may  know  the  class  of 
books  the  Society's  library  is  receiving,  a  list  is  printed  annually  of 
the  books  accessioned  in  its  specialized  fields. 

These  books  come  from  three  sources,  purchase,  gift  and  ex- 
change, and  fall  into  the  following  classes:  Books  by  Kansans  and 
about  Kansas;  books  on  American  Indians  and  the  West,  including 
explorations,  overland  journeys  and  personal  narratives;  genealogy 
and  local  history;  and  books  on  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. 

The  library  also  receives  regularly  the  publications  of  many  his- 
torical societies  by  exchange,  and  subscribes  to  other  historical  and 
genealogical  publications  which  are  needed  in  reference  work. 

The  following  is  a  partial  list  of  books  which  were  received  from 
October  1,  1955,  through  September  30,  1956.  Federal  and  state 
official  publications  and  some  books  of  a  general  nature  are  not  in- 
cluded. The  total  number  of  books  accessioned  appears  in  the  re- 
port of  the  Society's  secretary  printed  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

KANSAS 

ANDERSON,  BERNICE,  and  DALE  ASHER  JACOBUS,  Cabbage-Patch  Magic,  a  Musi- 
cal Play  for  Children  in  Two  Acts.    Cincinnati,  Willis  Music  Company,  c!954. 

38p. 
,  and  REBECCA  DUNN,  Purple  on  the  Moon,  an  Operetta  in  Two  Acts. 

[Wichita]  Raymond  A.  Hoffman  Company,  1955.    72p. 
APPLER,  A.  C,  The  Younger  Brothers,  Their  Life  and  Character.    New  York, 

Frederick  Fell,  Inc.,  Publishers  [c!955].     245p. 
ATWOOD,  FIRST  METHODIST  CHURCH,  First  Methodist  Church,  Atwood,  Kansas, 

Seventy-Fifth  Anniversary,  1880-1955.    No  impr.     Unpaged. 
BAELES,  KENDALL,  From  Hunting  Ground  to  Suburb,  a  History  of  Merriam, 

Kansas.    N.  p.  [1956].    42p. 

BAIRD,  MARTHA,  Nice  Deity.    New  York,  Definition  Press,  1955.    82p. 
BARKER,  ROGER  G.,  and  HERBERT  F.  WRIGHT,  Midwest  and  Its  Children,  the 

Psychological  Ecology  of  an  American  Town.    Evanston,  111.,  Row,  Peterson 

and  Company,  n.  d.  532p. 
BARNS,  GEORGE  C.,  Denver,  the  Man     .     .     .     Wilmington,  Ohio,  n.  p.,  1949. 

372p. 
BILL,  EDWARD  E.,  The  Friendly  Dragon  and  Other  Poems  for  Little  Folk.    N.  p., 

Privately  Printed  [c!955].    94p. 

(85) 


86  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

BLAIR,  JOHN  ALVIN,  The  Flaming  Torch.  N.  p.,  Comet  Press  Books  [c!955]. 
373p. 

BOGUE,  ALLAN  G.,  Money  at  Interest,  the  Farm  Mortgage  on  the  Middle  Border. 
Ithaca,  Cornell  University  Press  [c!955].  293p. 

BRUNSON,  HOWARD,  The  Oilman  Who  Didn't  Want  To  Become  a  Millionaire. 
New  York,  Exposition  Press  [c!955].  [84]p. 

CHEETHAM,  FRANCIS  T.,  Kit  C arson ,  Pathfinder,  Patriot  and  Humanitarian. 
Taos,  N.  M.,  n.  p.,  1926.  27p. 

CHOGUILL,  ORLO,  Let  Every  Heart.  Topeka,  First  Presbyterian  Church,  1955. 
126p. 

Claflin  City  Directory,  1954.     [Claflin,  Claflin  Clarion]  n.  d.    Unpaged. 

CLEARWATER,  METHODIST  CHURCH,  1885-1955,  Our  70th  Anniversary,  the  Clear- 
water  Methodist  Church  ...  No  impr.  [10]p. 

COGGINS,  CAROLYN,  Fabulous  Foods  for  the  People  You  Love.  Englewood 
Cliffs,  N.  J.,  Prentice-Hall  [c!955].  308p. 

COLLINS,  EARL  L.,  As  of  a  Mustard  Seed.  New  York,  Vantage  Press  [c!954]. 
78p. 

COMANDINI,  ADELE,  Doctor  Kate,  Angel  on  Snowshoes;  the  Story  of  Kate  Pel- 
ham  Newcomb,  M.  D.  New  York,  Rinehart  &  Company  [c!956].  339p. 

CONNER,  VIRGINIA,  What  Father  Forbad.  Philadelphia,  Dorrance  &  Company 
[c!951].  219p. 

COOPER,  FRANK  A.,  It  Happened  in  Kansas.  Ottawa,  Tallman  Printing  Com- 
pany, c!955.  Unpaged. 

COPELAND,  LYNN,  Old  Wine  in  New  Bottles.  New  York,  Comet  Press  Books 
[c!954].  55p. 

CORRELL,  CHARLES  M.,  Manhattan  Congregational  Church,  1856-1956,  a  His- 
tory. No  impr.  70p. 

COWGILL,  DONALD  O.,  and  WAYNE  PARRIS,  Senior  Citizens  of  Wichita.  Wichita, 
Community  Planning  Council,  1955.  51p. 

Cross  Reference  Directory,  Topeka,  July,  1956.  Independence,  Kan.,  City 
Publishing  Company,  c!956.  Unpaged. 

DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION,  EUNICE  STERLING  CHAPTER,  WICH- 
ITA, Richard  Eason  of  Bernardston,  Massachusetts,  and  His  Descendants, 
Compiled  by  Mrs.  Bertha  Eason  Haas.  Wichita,  n.  p.,  1956.  Typed.  33p. 

,  KANSAS  SOCIETY,  Proceedings  of  the  Fifty-Seventh  Annual  State  Con- 
ference, February  14,  15,  and  16,  1955,  Parsons,  Kansas.  No  impr.  236p. 

,  MARTHA  LOVING  FERRELL  CHAPTER,  WICHITA,  Goddard  Cemetery  Rec- 
ords, Sedgwick  County,  Kansas,  1955;  Will  of  John  Irwin,  Westmoreland 
County,  Pennsylvania;  Will  of  William  McCaughey,  Jefferson  County,  Ohio. 
Wichita,  n.  p.,  n.  d.  Typed.  24p. 

,  SUSANNAH  FRENCH  PUTNEY  CHAPTER,  EL  DORADO,  Notes  Copied  From 

Will  Book  'B'  of  Butler  County,  Kansas,  1880-1894.    El  Dorado,  n.  p.,  1955. 
Typed.     [55]p. 

-,  WYANDOT  CHAPTER,  KANSAS  CITY,  Marriage  Records,  Book  One,  July, 


1859-October,  1867,  Wyandotte  County,  Kansas.    No  impr.    Typed.    29p. 
Dedication  Ceremonies,  The  Frank  A.  Beach  Music  Hall,  Kansas  State  Teachers 

College,  Emporia,  Kansas,  Tuesday,  June  12,  1956.    No  impr.    Unpaged. 
DE  FRIES,  STANLEY,  The  Pendragon.    N.  p.,  c!949.    14p. 
DITZEN,  LOWELL  RUSSELL,  You  Are  Never  Alone.    New  York,  Henry  Holt  and 

Company  [c!956].    253p. 


RECENT  ADDITIONS  TO  THE  LIBRARY  87 

Dodge  City  Pictorial,  No.  1.    [Dodge  City,  Holland  Jacquart,  1955.]    Unpaged. 

DONOVAN,  ROBERT  J.,  Eisenhower,  the  Inside  Story.  New  York,  Harper  & 
Brothers  [c!956].  423p. 

Eisenhower  Museum,  Abilene,  Kansas.    No  impr.    32p. 

EMBREE,  RAYMOND,  The  Kansas  Wind  Guage  [sic],  a  Folksy  Yarn.  Chillicothe, 
Ohio,  Dave  Webb,  1956.  Mimeographed.  [6]p. 

ENGELHARDT,  MADYNE  FRANCES.  Three  Creeks  to  Cross.  New  York,  Comet 
Press  Books  [c!956].  191p. 

ENGLIS,  GOLDEN  LORRAINE,  The  Well  Boston,  Chapman  &  Grimes  [c!956]. 
123p. 

ESTERGREEN,  MARION,  The  Real  Kit  Carson.    Taos,  N.  M.,  n.  p.,  1955.    [35]p. 

FERRIS,  BERNICE  DODGE,  Tales  of  Cats,  Catastrophes  and  Kittens,  Stories  in 
Verse.  New  York,  Exposition  Press  [c!955].  29p. 

FILINGER,  GEORGE  A.,  The  Story  of  Johnny  Kaw,  the  Kansas  Pioneer  Wheat 
Farmer.  Manhattan,  Manhattan  Mercury,  c!955.  28p. 

FOOTE,  STELLA  ADELYNE,  Letters  From  Buffalo  Bill,  Taken  From  the  Originals 
Now  on  Exhibit  at  the  Wonderland  Museum,  Billings,  Montana.  Billings, 
Foote  Publishing  Company,  1954.  80p. 

Fort  Leavenworth  and  the  Command  and  General  Staff  College,  Fort  Leaven- 
worth,  Kansas.  Fort  Leavenworth,  Public  Information  Office,  n.  d.  Un- 
paged. 

FOTHERINGHAM  &  COMPANY,  Elwood  Directory  for  the  Year  1860-61  .  *  * 
St.  Joseph,  F.  M.  Posegate,  1860.  18p. 

FRANKLIN,  GEORGE  CORY,  Monte.  Boston,  Houghton  Mifflin  Company  [c!948]. 
[H0]p. 

,  Wild  Animals  of  the  Southwest.  Boston,  Houghton  Mifflin  Company, 

1950.  214p. 

FREEMASONS,  A.  F.  &  A.,  LAWRENCE,  LODGE  No.  6,  In  the  Beginning,  a  History 
and  Roster  .  .  .  One  Hundredth  Anniversary  ...  No  impr.  80p. 

FRIEDERICHS,  HEINZ  F.,  President  Dwight  D.  Eisenhowers  Ancestors  and  Rela- 
tions .  .  .  Neustadt/Aisch  near  Nuremberg,  Verlag  Degener  &  Com- 
pany, 1955.  210p. 

FULLER,  WILBERT  H.,  Gold  Nuggets  for  Your  Selling  Kit.  Wichita,  Kashfinder 
System  [c!955].  193p. 

GALT,  ANNA  (MANLEY),  Topeka,  First  Congregational  Church,  Our  First  100 
Years  .  .  .  1855-1955.  No  impr.  Unpaged. 

GALT,  CHARLES  A.,  Terse  Verse.    Lawrence,  Allen  Press,  1955.    85p. 

GENTRY,  CLAUDE,  Kit  Carson.  Baldwyn,  Miss.,  Magnolia  Publishers  [c!956]. 
212p. 

GIBSON,  WILLIAM,  The  Cobweb.    New  York,  Alfred  A.  Knopf,  1954.    369p. 

HALL,  EUGENE  RAYMOND,  Handbook  of  Mammals  of  Kansas.  Lawrence,  Uni- 
versity of  Kansas  Museum  of  Natural  History  [1955].  303p.  (Miscellaneous 
Publication,  No.  7.) 

,  and  JAMES  W.  BEE,  Mammals  of  Northern  Alaska  on  the  Arctic  Slope. 

Lawrence,  University  of  Kansas  Museum  of  Natural  History  [1956].  309p. 
( Miscellaneous  Publication,  No.  8. ) 

HEIMANN,  CHARLOTTE,  and  BETSY  PEARSON,  An  ABC  for  Mothers.  New  York, 
Simon  and  Schuster,  1955.  lllp. 


88  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

HEWETT,  EDGAR  L.,  Kit  Carson,  "He  Led  the  Way."  [Taos,  N.  M.,  Kit  Carson 
Memorial  Foundation,  1955.]  12p. 

HIBBARD,  CLAUDE  W.,  The  Jinglebob  Inter  glacial  (Sangamon?)  Fauna  From 
Kansas  and  Its  Climatic  Significance.  Ann  Arbor,  University  of  Michigan 
Press,  1955.  [50]p.  (Contributions  From  the  Museum  of  Paleontology, 
Vol.  12,  No.  10,  pp.  179-229.) 

HOLLAND,  FRANCYS  BELL,  comp.,  Yesterday  and  Today,  a  History  of  the  Leaven- 
worth  Christian  Church,  1855-1940.  N.  p.,  Independent  Publishing  Com- 
pany, n.  d.  Unpaged. 

HOPE  COMMUNITY  DEVELOPMENT  ASSOCIATION,  Industrial  Data  on  Hope,  Kan- 
sas. No  impr.  Mimeographed.  [21  ]p. 

HUGHES,  LANGSTON,  Famous  Negro  Music  Makers.  New  York,  Dodd  Mead  & 
Company,  1955.  179p. 

[HUTCHINSON,  GRACE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  Grace  Episcopal  Church,  a  Short 
History,  1879-1955.]  No  impr.  44p. 

Information  for  Emigrants  and  Others  in  Regard  to  Kansas,  From  the  Volten- 
burg  Kansas  Association.  Boston,  C.  C.  P.  Moody,  1857.  8p. 

ISELY,  MALCOLM  D.,  Arkansas  Valley  Interurban.  [Los  Angeles,  Ira  L.  Swett, 
c!956.]  55p. 

JOHNSON,  LUTHER  R.,  The  Wonderful  Morning.  Emory  University,  Ga.,  Banner 
Press  [c!955].  86p. 

JOHNSTON,  ELEANOR  RICKEY,  and  BERNICE  HANSON,  Old  Grinter  House  Cook 
Book.  Lawrence,  Allen  Press,  1953.  43p. 

JONES,  HERBERT  C.,  The  Trail  to  Progress,  1855-1955,  History  of  Easton,  Kan- 
sas. Clay  Center,  Wilson's  Engravers  &  Printers,  1956.  [138]p. 

JONES,  JOHN  C.,  and  WINOMA  C.  JONES,  Prairie  Pioneers  of  Western  Kansas  and 
Eastern  Colorado.  Boulder,  Colo.,  Johnson  Publishing  Company  [c!956]. 
[137]p. 

KANSAS  GRAIN  AND  FEED  DEALERS  ASSOCIATION,  Kansas  Official  Directory,  1956 
.  .  .  Hutchinson,  Association,  1956.  292p. 

Kansas  Magazine,  1956.  [Manhattan,  Kansas  Magazine  Publishing  Association, 
c!955.]  104p. 

KARSON,  MARC,  A  History  of  Trade  Unions  in  Kansas  .  .  .  N.  p.,  1956. 
[20]p. 

KEFFER,  ALFRED  J.,  comp.,  Seventy-Five  Years  of  Music.    No  impr.  [8]p. 

[KELLOGG,  ALLEN  O.,  and  RAYMOND  L.  YORK,  eds.],  A  Century  for  Christ  and 
His  Church,  1856-1956.  N.  p.,  Kansas  Conference  (U.  B.)  Evangelical 
United  Brethren  Church,  n.  d.  16p. 

LATHROP,  GILBERT  A.,  Little  Engines  and  Big  Men.  Caldwell,  Idaho,  Caxton 
Printers,  1955.  339p. 

LAUDE,  KILMER  H.,  The  Fruitful  Plains.    N.  p.,  1956.    Typed.    46p. 

LEAVENWORTH,  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH,  Centennial,  1855-1955.  No  impr.  Un- 
paged. 

,  FIRST  METHODIST  CHURCH,  First  Methodist  Church,  Leavenworth,  Kan- 
sas, 1854-1954.  No  impr.  24p. 

LEONARD,  ELIZABETH  JANE,  Buffalo  Bill,  King  of  the  Old  West.  New  York, 
Library  Publishers  [c!955].  320p. 

LONG,  WILLIAM  RALPH,  The  Agra-Snow  [Methodist  Churches]  Historical  Book- 
let. N.  p.,  1940.  Mimeographed.  Unpaged. 


RECENT  ADDITIONS  TO  THE  LIBRARY  89 

LOUCKS,  C.  A.,  ABSTRACT  COMPANY,  Kearny  County,  Kansas,  Yearbook-Direc- 
tory, 1940.  No  impr.  16p. 

LYLE,  EARLE,  Roaring  Lions  of  Kansas,  a  Source  Book  of  37  Years  of  Historical 
Information  on  Lionism  in  the  Great  Sunflower  State.  Anthony,  Kansas  State 
Council  of  Lions  Clubs,  1955-1956.  329p. 

MCDANIEL,  WILLIAM  H.,  Beech  .  .  .  a  Quarter  Century  of  Aeronautical 
Achievement.  Wichita,  McCormick-Armstrong  Company  [c!947].  67p. 

[MARKHAM,  WILLIAM  COLFAX],  One  Hundred  Years  in  Kansas,  1854-1954. 
N.  p.,  Author,  1956.  Unpaged. 

MATSON,  ARCHIE,  From  Mystery  to  Meaning,  a  Guide  to  Scientific  Thinking 
About  Personality.  New  York,  Pageant  Press  [c!955].  206p. 

MENNINGER,  EDWIN  A.,  What  Flowering  Tree  Is  That?  Stuart,  Fla.,  Author, 
1956.  [110]p. 

MILLBROOK,  MINNIE  (DUBBS),  comp.,  Ness  County,  Kansas,  Histories.  N.  p. 
[1955].  Typed.  [151]p. 

MILLER,  ALEXANDER  QUINTELLA,  Jayhawk  Editor,  a  Biography  of  A.  Q.  Miller, 
Sr.,  Compiled  and  Edited  by  James  D.  Callahan  .  .  .  [Los  Angeles, 
Sterling  Press,  c!955.]  256p. 

Moss,  L.  HANI,  Thought  Shadows.    Dexter,  Mo.,  Candor  Press,  1955.     lOOp. 

NELSON,  DICK  J.,  The  Old  West  and  Custers  Last  Stand,  as  Recorded  in  the 
Memory  of  Dick  J.  Nelson.  [San  Diego,  Author,  c!956.]  17p. 

NELSON,  EDWARD  G.,  The  Company  and  the  Community.  Lawrence,  Univer- 
sity of  Kansas  Bureau  of  Business  Research  [c!956].  433p. 

NICKEL,  KATHARINE,  Seed  From  the  Ukraine.  New  York,  Pageant  Press  [c!952]. 
113p. 

NOWLIN,  CLIFFORD  HIRAM,  My  First  Ninety  Years,  a  Schoolmaster's  Story  of 
His  Life  and  Times.  N.  p.  [c!955].  147p. 

OERKE,  BESS  VIOLA,  Dress.  Peoria,  111.,  Charles  A.  Bennett  Company  [c!956]. 
575p. 

OSWALD,  A.  LEWIS,  Jay  Bok,  Esq.  Boston,  Christopher  Publishing  House 
[c!955].  57p. 

PABST,  LETTIE  LITTLE,  Kansas  Heritage.  New  York,  Vantage  Press  [c!956]. 
153p. 

PARKS,  BILL,  The  Mestizo.    New  York,  Macmillan  Company,  1955.    187p. 

PARSONS,  JOHN  E.,  and  JOHN  S.  DU  MONT,  Firearms  in  the  Custer  Battle.  Harris- 
burg,  Pa.,  Stackpole  Company  [c!955].  59p. 

PICKEN,  MARY  BROOKS,  Dressmakers  of  France;  the  Who,  How  and  Why  of  the 
French  Couture.  New  York,  Harper  &  Brothers  [c!956].  178p. 

Folk's  Topeka  (Shawnee  County,  Kansas)  City  Directory,  1955,  Including  Shaw- 
nee  County  Taxpayers  .  .  .  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  R.  L.  Polk  and  Company, 
c!955.  [1179]p. 

PRATT,  [JOHN  J.],  and  [F.  A.]  HUNT,  Guide  to  the  Gold  Mines  of  Kansas:  Con- 
taining an  Accurate  and  Reliable  Map  of  the  Most  Direct  Railroad  Routes 
From  the  Atlantic  Cities  .  .  .  to  the  Gold  Mines.  Chicago,  C.  Scott  & 
Company,  1859.  70p.  ( Mumey  Reprint,  n.  d. ) 

PUSEY,  MERLO  J.,  Eisenhower  the  President.  New  York,  Macmillan  Company, 
1956.  300p. 

R.  L.  Polk  6-  Go's  lola  City  Directory,  1912.  Wichita,  R.  L.  Polk  &  Company, 
c!912.  319p. 

7_5869 


90  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

R.  L.  Polk  6-  Company's  Parsons  City  Directory,  1912     .     .     .    Parsons,  R.  L. 

Polk  &  Company,  c!912.    339p. 
RANDOLPH,  VANCE,  The  Devil's  Pretty  Daughter  and  Other  Ozark  Folk  Tales. 

New  York,  Columbia  University  Press,  1955.    239p. 
RATH,  IDA  ELLEN,  Frankie  and  Her  Little  Brother,  a  Story  for  Young  People. 

New  York,  Exposition  Press  [c!955].    42p. 

,  The  Year  of  Charles.     San  Antonio,  Naylor  Company  [c!955].     218p. 

REDMOND,  JOHN,  comp.,  First  Hand  Historical  Episodes  of  Early  Coffey  County, 

From  the  Pens  of  George  Throckmorton     .     .     .     and  Many  Other  Pioneers. 

No  impr.    144p. 
REIMER,  GUSTAV  E.,  and  G.  R.  GAEDDERT,  Exiled  by  the  Czar,  Cornelius  Jansen 

and  the  Great  Mennonite  Migration,  1874.    Newton,  Mennonite  Publication 

Office,  1956.    205p. 
RICHARDS,  RALPH,  Our  Endangered  Life  Sustaining  Natural  Resources — Soil 

and  Water    ...     No  impr.    48p. 
ROBERTS,  G.  HAROLD,  Concerning  the  Ministry  of  First  Christian  Church,  1882- 

1956,  Atchison,  Kansas.    Atchison,  n.  p.,  1956.    Mimeographed.     13p. 
ROSSITER,  RUTH  (STOUT),  How  to  Have  a  Green  Thumb  Without  an  Aching 

Back.     New  York,  Exposition  Press  [c!955].     164p. 
ROVERE,  RICHARD  H.,  Affairs  of  State,  the  Eisenhower  Years.    New  York,  Farrar, 

Straus  and  Cudahy  [c!956].    390p. 
SCHADT,  RODNEY  MARVIN,  A  Summary  of  the  Independent  Rural  High  School 

District  in  Kansas.    Ellinwood,  n.  p.,  1956.     Mimeographed.     Unpaged. 
SELL,  HENRY  BLACKMAN,  and  VICTOR  WEYBRIGHT,  Buffalo  Bill  and  the  Wild 

West.    New  York,  Oxford  University  Press,  1955.    278p. 
SHOEMAKER,  RALPH  J.,  The  Presidents  Words,  an  Index.    Vol.  1,  Eisenhower, 

June  1952  Thru  May  1954.    Vol.  2,  Eisenhower,  June  1954  Thru  December 

1955.    Louisville,  Elsie  DeGraff  Shoemaker  [c!954,  1956].    2  Vols. 
SIEBEL,  JULIA,  The  Narrow  Covering.    New  York,  Harcourt,  Brace  and  Com- 
pany [c!956].    214p. 
SMITH,  WALTER  BEDELL,  Eisenhower's  Six  Great  Decisions,  Europe,  1944-1945. 

New  York,  Longmans,  Green  and  Company,  1956.    237p. 
SNYDER,  MARTY,  with  GLENN  D.  KITTLER,  My  Friend  Ike.    New  York,  Fred- 
erick Fell,  Inc.,  1956.    237p. 
Story  of  Clay.    N.  p.,  1886.    Unpaged. 
TROTTER,  GEORGE  A.,  From  Feather,  Blanket  and  Tepee.    New  York,  Vantage 

Press,  c!955.    190p. 
VAN  VELZER,  LUTIE,  Mental  Snapshots  Along  My  Life's  Highway.    Kansas  City, 

Mo.,  Burton  Publishing  Company  [c!955].    124p. 
VESTAL,  STANLEY,  The  Book  Lovers  Southwest,  a  Guide  to  Good  Reading. 

Norman,  University  of  Oklahoma  Press  [c!955].    287p. 
WABAUNSEE,  FIRST  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST,  Historical  Sketch,  Confession  of  Faith 

and  Covenant,  and  Standing  Rules  of  the  First  Church  of  Christ,  in  Wabaun- 

see    .     .     .     Lawrence,   Lawrence  Republican  Office,   1858.     Photocopy. 

8p. 
WALLACE,  BERENICE  (  BOYD),  History  of  Paola,  Kansas,  1855  to  1955.    No  impr. 

Mimeographed.    128p. 
WALLACE,  ELIZABETH  WEST,  Scandal  at  Daybreak.    New  York,  Pageant  Press 

[c!954].    167p. 


RECENT  ADDITIONS  TO  THE  LIBRARY  91 

WATERS,  EDWARD  N.,  Victor  Herbert,  a  Life  in  Music.    New  York,  Macmillan 

Company,  1955.    653p. 
WILHELM,   IDA   MILLS,   Not  Without   Honor.     New  York,   Exposition  Press 

[c!955].    258p. 
WILSON,  HOLLY,  Deborah  Todd.     New  York,  Julian  Messner,  Inc.   [c!955], 

192p. 
WINSLOW,  WALKER,  The  Menninger  Story.    Garden  City,  N.  Y.,  Doubleday  & 

Company,  1956.    350p. 
WOODSTON  RURAL  HIGH  SCHOOL,  CLASS  OF  1956,  History  of  Woodston,  Kansas. 

Woodston,  n.  p.,  1956.    Mimeographed.    20p. 
WORLINE,  BONNIE  BESS,  Sod  House  Adventure.    New  York,  Longmans,  Green 

and  Company,  1956.    147p. 

YATES,  ELIZABETH,  Prudence  Crandall,  Woman  of  Courage.     New  York,  Alad- 
din Books,  1955.    246p. 
[YOAKUM,  HELEN],  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  Centennial 

Commemoration  With  Historical  Sketch  and  Directory,  January  1,  1956.    No 

impr.  31p. 
YOST,  BARTLEY,  Memoirs  of  a  Consul.    New  York,  Vantage  Press  [c!955].    186p. 

AMERICAN  INDIANS  AND  THE  WEST 

ABBOTT,  E.  C.,  and  HELENA  HUNTINGTON  SMITH,  We  Pointed  Them  North,  by 
E.  C.  Abbott  ("Teddy  Blue")  .  .  .  Norman,  University  of  Oklahoma 
Press  [c!939].  247p. 

AMSDEN,  CHARLES  AVERY,  Navaho  Weaving,  Its  Technic  and  History.  Albu- 
querque, University  of  New  Mexico  Press,  1949.  263p. 

BATE,  W.  N.,  Frontier  Legend,  Texas  Finale  of  Capt.  William  F.  Drannan, 
Pseudo  Frontier  Companion  of  Kit  Carson.  New  Bern,  N.  C.,  Owen  G.  Dunn 
Company,  c!954.  68p. 

BEEBE,  Lucius,  and  CHARLES  CLEGG,  The  American  West,  the  Pictorial  Epic  of 
a  Continent.  New  York,  E.  P.  Dutton  &  Company,  1955.  Slip. 

BROWN,  MARK  H.,  and  W.  R.  FELTON,  The  Frontier  Years;  L.  A.  Huffman, 
Photographer  of  the  Plains.  New  York,  Henry  Holt  and  Company  [c!955]. 
272p. 

BUSHELL,  WILLIAM,  The  Life  of  Captain  Adam  Bogardus.    No  impr.     12p. 

CARTER,  HARVEY  L.,  ed.,  The  Pikes  Peak  Region,  a  Sesquicentennial  History. 
N.  p.  [Historical  Society  of  the  Pikes  Peak  Region,  c!956].  75p. 

,  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,  Pathfinder  and  Patriot.    N.  p.,  c!956.    32p. 

COLORADO,  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY,  Bent's  Fort  on  the  Arkansas,  Edited  by 
Le  Roy  Hafen.  [Denver,  Society,  c!954.]  Unpaged. 

CUNNINGHAM,  EUGENE,  Triggernometry,  a  Gallery  of  Gunfighters.  Caldwell, 
Idaho,  Caxton  Printers,  1952.  441p. 

FATOUT,  PAUL,  Ambrose  Bierce  and  the  Black  Hills.  Norman,  University  of 
Oklahoma  Press  [c!956].  180p. 

FOREMAN,  CAROLYN  THOMAS,  Indian  Women  Chiefs.  [Muskogee,  Okla.,  Star 
Printery,  c!954.]  [90]p. 

FRANTZ,  JOE  B.,  and  JULIAN  ERNEST  CHOATE,  JR.,  The  American  Cowboy,  the 
Myth  b  the  Reality.  Norman,  University  of  Oklahoma  Press  [c!955].  232p. 

FRINK,  MAURICE,  Cow  Country  Cavalcade  .  .  .  Denver,  Old  West  Publish- 
ing Company,  1954.  243p. 


92  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

GARLAND,  JOHN  H.,  ed.,  The  North  American  Midwest,  a  Regional  Geography. 

New  York,  John  Wiley  &  Sons  [c!955].    252p. 
GORDON,  S.  ANNA,  Camping  in  Colorado,  With  Suggestions  to  Gold-Seekers, 

Tourists  and  Invalids.     New  York,  Authors'  Publishing  Company  [c!879]. 

201p. 
HAINES,  FRANCIS,  The  Nez  Perces,  Tribesmen  of  the  Columbia  Plateau.    Nor- 

man, University  of  Oklahoma  Press  [c!955].    329p. 
HANSON,  CHARLES  E.,  JR.,  The  Northwest  Gun.    Lincoln,  Nebraska  State  His- 

torical Society,  1955.    85p. 
HARRIS,  WILLIAM  FOSTER,  The  Look  of  the  Old  West.    New  York,  Viking  Press. 

1955.    316p. 
HAVIGHURST,  WALTER,  Wilderness  for  Sale,  the  Story  of  the  First  Western  Land 

Rush.     New  York,  Hastings  House  [c!956].     372p. 
HOLBROOK,  STEWART  H.,  The  Rocky  Mountain  Revolution.    New  York,  Henry 

Holt  and  Company  [c!956].    318p. 
Index  Pony  Express  Courier,  June  1934  to  May  1944,  and  the  Pony  Express, 

June  1944  to  May  1954.     [Sonora,  CaL,  Pony  Express  Publishers,  c!955.] 

167p. 
IRVING,  JOHN  TREAT,  Indian  Sketches  Taken  During  an  Expedition  to  the 

Pawnee  Tribes,  1833,  Edited  by  John  Francis  McDermott.     Norman,  Uni- 

versity of  Oklahoma  Press  [1955].    275p. 

JENSEN,  LEE,  The  Pony  Express.    New  York,  Grosset  &  Dunlap  [c!955].    153p. 
JOHANNSEN,  ROBERT  W.,  Frontier  Politics  and  the  Sectional  Conflict,  the  Pacific 

Northwest  on  the  Eve  of  the  Civil  War.    Seattle,  University  of  Washington 

Press  [c!955].    240p. 
JOHNSON,  CHARLES  A.,  The  Frontier  Camp  Meeting,  Religions  Harvest  Time. 

Dallas,  Southern  Methodist  University  Press  [c!955].    325p. 
KELEHER,  WILLIAM  A.,  Turmoil  in  New  Mexico,  1846-1868.    Santa  Fe,  Rydal 

Press  [c!952].    534p. 
KELSEY,  VERA,  Young  Men  So  Daring,  Fur  Traders  Who  Carried  the  Frontier 

West.    Indianapolis,  Bobbs-Merrill  Company  [c!956].    288p. 
KLUCKHOHN,  CLYDE,  and  DOROTHEA  LEIGHTON,  The  Navaho.    Cambridge,  Har- 

vard University  Press,  1947.    258p. 
McFARLiNG,  LLOYD,  Exploring  the  Northern  Plains.    Caldwell,  Idaho,  Caxton 

Printers,  1955.    441p. 
MCKELVEY,  SUSAN  DELANO,  Botanical  Exploration  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  West, 

1790-1850.    Jamaica  Plain,  Mass.,  Arnold  Arboretum  of  Harvard  University, 

1955.    1144p. 
[MARTTN,  CHARLES  L.],  A  Sketch  of  Sam  Bass,  the  Bandit    .     .     .     Norman, 

University  of  Oklahoma  Press  [c!956].    166p. 
MATTISON,  RAY  H.,  Indian  Reservation  System  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  1865- 

1890.    (Reprinted  from  Nebraska  History,  Vol.  36,  No.  3,  September,  1955.  ) 


MITCHELL,  SAMUEL  AUGUSTUS,  Accompaniment  to  Mitchell's  New  Map  of  Texas, 

Oregon,  and  California,  With  the  Regions  Adjoining.    Philadelphia,  Augustus 

Mitchell,  1846.    46p. 
MUMEY,  NOLIE,  Estelle  Philleo,  "Setting  the  West  to  Music"  1881-1936.    Den- 

ver, Artcraft  Press,  1955.    20p. 
-  ,  Poker  Alice     .     .     .     History  of  a  Woman  Gambler  in  the  West.    Den- 

ver, Artcraft  Press,  1951.    47p. 


RECENT  ADDITIONS  TO  THE  LIBRARY  93 

NATIONAL  GEOGRAPHIC  SOCIETY,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  National  Geographic  on 
Indians  of  the  Americas,  a  Color-Illustrated  Record.  Washington,  D.  C., 
Society,  c!955.  431p. 

NORDYKE,  LEWIS,  Great  Roundup,  the  Story  of  Texas  and  Southwestern  Cow- 
men. New  York,  William  Morrow  &  Company,  1955.  288p. 

PENFIELD,  THOMAS,  Western  Sheriffs  and  Marshals.  New  York,  Grosset  &  Dun- 
lap  [c!955].  145p. 

PHARES,  Ross,  Texas  Tradition.  New  York,  Henry  Holt  and  Company  [c!954]. 
239p. 

PRUITT,  O.  J.,  Indian  Stories.  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  Pottawatomie  County  His- 
torical Society,  n.  d.  Unpaged. 

ROOSEVELT,  THEODORE,  Ranch  Life  and  the  Hunting  Trail.  New  York,  Century 
Company  [c!888].  186p. 

Ross,  ALEXANDER,  The  Fur  Hunters  of  the  Far  West,  Edited  by  Kenneth  A. 
Spaulding.  Norman,  University  of  Oklahoma  Press  [c!956].  304p. 

SAGE,  RUFUS  B.,  Rufus  B.  Sage,  His  Letters  and  Papers,  1836-1847  .  •{  . 
Notes  by  Le  Roy  R.  Hafen  and  Ann  W.  Hafen.  Glendale,  Cal.,  Arthur  H. 
Clark  Company,  1956.  2  Vols.  ( The  Far  West  and  the  Rockies  Historical 
Series,  1820-1875,  Vols.  4-5.) 

SCHMITT,  MARTIN  F.,  and  DEE  BROWN,  The  Settlers'  West.  New  York,  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  1955.  258p. 

SETTLE,  RAYMOND  W.,  and  MARY  LUND  SETTLE,  Saddles  and  Spurs,  the  Pony 
Express  Saga.  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  Stackpole  Company  [c!955].  217p. 

SHIRLEY,  GLENN,  Six-Gun  and  Silver  Star.  Albuquerque,  University  of  New 
Mexico  Press,  1955.  235p. 

SONNICHSEN,  C.  L.,  and  WILLIAM  V.  MORRISON,  Alias  Billy  the  Kid.  Albu- 
querque, University  of  New  Mexico  Press,  1955.  136p. 

STRONG,  WILLIAM  DUNCAN,  Indian  Tribes  of  the  Chicago  Region,  With  Spe- 
cial Reference  to  the  Illinois  and  the  Potawatomi.  Chicago,  Field  Museum  of 
Natural  History,  1938.  35p. 

TOWN,  CHARLES  WAYLAND,  and  EDWARD  NORRIS  WENTWORTH,  Cattle  &  Men. 
Norman,  University  of  Oklahoma  [c!955].  384p. 

TUCKER,  GLENN,  Tecumseh,  Vision  of  Glory.  Indianapolis,  Bobbs-Merrill  Com- 
pany [c!956].  399p. 

UNDERBILL,  RUTH  M.,  The  Navajos.  Norman,  University  of  Oklahoma  Press 
[c!956].  299p. 

WASHBURN,  CEPHAS,  Reminiscences  of  the  Indians,  Edited  by  Hugh  Park.  Van 
Buren,  Ark.,  Press- Argus  [c!955].  192p. 

WEAVER,  J.  E.,  and  F.  W.  ALBERTSON,  Grasslands  of  the  Great  Plains,  Their 
Nature  and  Use.  Lincoln,  Neb.,  Johnsen  Publishing  Company  [c!956]. 
395p. 

WEISEL,  GEORGE  F.,  ed.,  Men  and  Trade  on  the  Northwest  Frontier  as  Shown 
by  the  Fort  Owen  Ledger.  [Missoula,  Montana  State  University,  c!955.] 
29 lp.  (Montana  State  University  Studies,  Vol.  2.) 

WESTERMEIER,  CLIFFORD  P.,  comp.,  Trailing  the  Cowboy,  His  Life  and  Lore  as 
Told  by  the  Frontier  Journalists.  Caldwell,  Idaho,  Caxton  Printers,  1955. 
414p. 

[WESTERNERS,  DENVER],  1954  Brand  Book.    N.  p.  [c!955].    368p. 

,  Los  ANGELES,  Brand  Book,  Book  6.  Los  Angeles  [The  Los  Angeles 

Westerners,  c!956].  163p. 


94  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

WHETSTONE,  DANIEL  W.,  Frontier  Editor.  New  York,  Hastings  House  Pub- 
lishers [c!956].  287p. 

WOOD,  DEAN  EARL,  The  Old  Santa  Fe  Trail  From  the  Missouri  River  .  •.:  . 
the  Panoramic  Edition.  N.  p.  [c!955],  278p. 

YOUNG,  OTIS  E.,  The  West  of  Philip  St.  George  Cooke,  1809-1895.  Glendale, 
Cal.,  Arthur  H.  Clark  Company,  1955.  393p. 

GENEALOGY  AND  LOCAL  HISTORY 

ALBEMARLE  COUNTY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY,  The  Magazine  of  Albemarle  County 

History,  Vol.  14,  1954-1955.    Charlottesville,  Society,  1955.    62p. 
American  Genealogical-Biographical  Index     .     .     .     Vols.  13-16.    Middletown, 

Conn.,  Published  Under  the  Auspices  of  an  Advisory  Committee  Represent- 
ing the  Co-operating  Subscribing  Libraries     .     .     .     1955-1956.     4  Vols. 
ASHFORD,  CHARLIE  RABB,  SR.,  Some  of  the  Ancestors  and  Descendants  of  James 

and  George  Ashford,  Jr.,  of  Fairfield  County,  North  Carolina.     Starkville, 

Miss.,  n.  p.,  1956.    Mimeographed.    123p. 
ATWATER,  EDWARD  E.,  ed.,  History  of  the  City  of  New  Haven  to  the  Present 

Time     .     .     .     New  York,  W.  W.  Munsell,  1887.    702p. 
BANTA,  THEODORE  M.,  A  Frisian  Family;  the  Banta  Genealogy     .     .     .     New 

York,  n.  p.,  1893.    412p. 
BAYLES,  RICHARD  M.,  ed.,  History  of  Windham  County,  Connecticut.     New 

York,  W.  W.  Preston  &  Company,  1889.    1204p. 
BEGLEY,  JACKSON  ALLEN,  comp.,  A  History  and  Genealogical  Record  of  the 

Allens-Begleys-Mays  of  Kentucky     .     .     .     Cincinnati,  n.  p.,  1953.    147p. 
Biographical  Memoirs  of  Wyandot  County,  Ohio     .     .     .     Logansport,  Ind., 

B.  F.  Bowen,  Publisher,  1902.    686p. 
BODDIE,  JOHN  BENNETT,  Southside  Virginia  Families.     Redwood  City,  Cal., 

Pacific  Coast  Publishers,  1955.    422p. 
BOND,  OCTAVIA  ZOLLICOFFER,  The  Family  Chronicle  and  Kinship  Book     .    .     . 

Nashville,  McDaniel  Printing  Company,  c!928.     663p. 
BOWIE,  EFFIE  GWYNN,  Across  the  Years  in  Prince  George's  County     .    » .  • ; 

Maryland     .     .     .     Richmond,  Va.,  Garrett  and  Massie  [c!947].    904p. 
BRINKMAN,  EDNA  EPPERSON,  The  Story  of  David  Epperson  ir  His  Family  of 

Albemarle  County,  Virginia.    Hinsdale,  111.,  n.  p.,  1933.    304p. 
BROOKS,  HAZEL  CARSON,  comp.,  Family  Ancestors  and  Descendants  of  Eulalia 

Lucore  6-  Wm.  Leroy  Lillie,  From  Written  Notes  of  Willard  Brooks.     No 

impr.    Typed.    47p. 

BROWN,  WILLIAM  GRIFFEE,  History  of  Nicholas  County,  West  Virginia.    Rich- 
mond, Va.,  Dietz  Press,  1954.    425p. 
BURGESS,  KENNETH  FARWELL,  Colonists  of  New  England  and  Nova  Scotia, 

Burgess  and  Heckman  Families.    N.  p.,  Privately  Printed,  1956.    134p. 
BURT,  ALVAH  WALFORD,  Cushman  Genealogy  and  General  History,  Including 

the  Descendants  of  the  Fayette  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  Monongalia 

County,  Virginia,  Families.    Cincinnati,  Author,  1942.    432p. 
[CHARLES,  CORA  COPPINGER],  Coppinger  Genealogy.    No  impr.    Mimeographed. 

116p. 
,  Sloop  Genealogy,  Beginning  With  the  1st  Generation  in  America,  1837- 

1946.    No  impr.    Mimeographed.    69p. 


RECENT  ADDITIONS  TO  THE  LIBRARY  95 

[COOK,  FRANCES],  comp.,  Cemetery  and  Bible  Records,  Vols.  1-2.     [Jackson] 

Mississippi  Genealogical  Society,  1954-1955.    2  Vols. 
CORSON,  ORVILLE,  Three  Hundred  Years  With  the  Corson  Families  in  America 

.     .     .     N.  p.  [c!939].    2  Vols. 
COVINGTON,  W.  A.,  History  of  Colquitt  County  [Georgia].    Atlanta,  Foote  and 

Davies  Company,  1937.     365p. 
CRAVEN,  CHARLES  E.,  History  of  Mattituck,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.    N.  p.,  Author 

[c!906].    400p. 
DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION,  FORT  EARLY  CHAPTER,  History  of 

Crisp  County  [Georgia].    Cordele,  Ga.,  n.  p.,  1916.    29p. 
,  GEORGIA  SOCIETY,  Catalogue  of  the  Georgia  Society,  D.  A.  R.  Library 

( "the  Georgia  D.  A.  R.  Collection  Genealogical  and  Historical  Records" ) 

.     .     .     Compiled  by  Mrs.  Mary  Givens  Bryan.    Atlanta,  Society,  1954-1955. 

232p. 

DICKSON,  TRACY  CAMPBELL,  comp.,  Some  of  the  Descendants  of  William  Dick- 
son  and  Elizabeth  Campbell  of  Cherry  Valley,  New  York.     N.  p.  [c!937]. 

367p. 
[DOOLEY,  SQUIRE  WASHINGTON],  History  of  the  Dooley  Family.    Whitestown, 

Ind.,  Central  Printing  Company,  1908.    76p. 
DREW,  BENJAMIN,  Burial  Hill,  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  Its  Monuments  and 

Gravestones     .     .     .     Plymouth,  D.  W.  Andrews  [c!894].     177p. 
DUTCHESS  COUNTY  [NEW  YORK]  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY,  Year  Book,  Vol.  38,  1953. 

N.  p.  [c!955].    76p. 

,  Year  Book,  Vol.  39,  1954.    N.  p.  [c!956].    68p. 

EASTMAN,  CHARLES  JOHN,  That  Man  Eastman.    N.  p.,  1952.    2  Vols. 
EVERTON,  GEORGE  B.,  SR.,  and  GUNNAR  RASMUSON,  The  New  How  Book  for 

Genealogists.    Logan,  Utah,  Everton  Publishers,  1956.     lOlp. 
FRENCH,  JANIE  PRESTON  COLLUP,  Notable  Southern  Families,  Vol.  6;  the  Doak 

Family.    Chattanooga,  Lookout  Publishing  Company  [c!933].    98p. 
FRISBEE,  EDWARD  S.,  The  Frisbee-Frisbie  Genealogy,  Edward  Frisbye  of  Bran- 
ford,  Connecticut    .     .     .     [Rutland,  Vt,  Turtle  Company,  c!926.]     778p. 
FROST,  JOSEPHINE  C.,  ed.,  Underbill  Genealogy.    N.  p.,  Myron  C.  Taylor,  1932. 

4  Vols. 
FRUTH,  GLENN  J.,  History  of  the  Melchoir  Fruth  Family.    Woodland,  Mich., 

n.  p.,  1954.    46p. 
GETZENDANER,   GEORGIA  BELLE,   Cemetery  Inscriptions  From  Leona  Chapel 

Cemetery.    West  Hartford,  Conn.,  Chedwato  Service,  n.  d.     [ll]p. 
,  comp.,  Dillard  Family  of  Uvalde  County,  Texas.    West  Hartford,  Conn., 

Chedwato  Service,  1956.     [53]p. 
,  comp.,  George  Washington  Patterson  Family  History.    West  Hartford, 

Conn.,  Chedwato  Service,  1956.    73p. 
GILBERT,  HIRAM  WHITNEY,  Memoirs  Regarding  the  Family  of  John  Gilbert 

(1752-1829)  of  Galway,  Saratoga  County,  N.  Y.,  by  the  Reverend  Hiram 

Whitney  Gilbert,  1886.    N.  p.,  Privately  Printed,  1955.    83p. 
GOODYKOONTZ,  COLIN  B.,  A  Short  History  of  the  Congregational  Church  of 

Boulder,  Colorado.     Boulder,  First  Congregational  Church,  1954.     31p. 
GRAMMER,  NORMA  RUTLEDGE,  and  MARION  DAY  MULLINS,  comps.,  Marriage 

Record  of  Washington  County,  Tennessee,  1787-1840.    No  impr.  [68]p. 


96  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

HAYWARD,  ELIZABETH,  comp.,  American  Vital  Records  From  "The  Baptist  Reg- 
ister," Volumes  I  and  II,  1824-1826.  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  American  Baptist  His- 
torical Society,  1956.  Mimeographed.  18p. 

HEALD,  EDWARD  THORNTON,  The  Stark  County  Story,  Vol.  4,  Free  People  at 
Work,  1917-1955;  Pt.  1,  a  Contribution  to  the  Canton,  Ohio's  Sesquicen- 
tennial  of  1955.  Canton,  The  Stark  County  Historical  Society,  1955.  856p. 

HERTZLER,  SILAS,  The  Hertzler-Hartzler  Family  History.    N.  p.  [c!952].    773p. 

History  of  Cass  County,  Iowa  .  .  .  Springfield,  111.,  Continental  Historical 
Company,  1884.  910p. 

History  of  Franklin  and  Cerro  Gordo  Counties,  Iowa  .  .  .  Springfield,  111., 
Union  Publishing  Company,  1883.  1005p. 

History  of  Livingston  County,  Illinois  .  .  .  Chicago.  Wm.  Le  Baron,  Jr., 
&  Company,  1878.  [901  ]p. 

History  of  Tennessee  .  .  .  and  the  County  Madison  .  .  .  Nashville, 
Goodspeed  Publishing  Company,  1887.  917p. 

HOLMAN,  DAVID  EMORY,  The  Holmans  in  America,  Concerning  the  Descendants 
of  Solaman  Holman  .  .  .  New  York,  Grafton  Press,  1909.  295p. 

HOLMAN,  WINIFRED  LOVERING,  Descendants  of  Andrew  Everest  of  York,  Maine. 
Wausau,  Wis.,  David  Clark  Everest,  1955.  488p. 

HORTON,  GEORGE  FIRMAN,  The  Hortons  in  America,  Being  a  Corrected  Reprint 
of  the  1876  Work  by  Dr.  Geo.  F.  Horton  .  .  .  Compiled  by  Adaline 
Norton  White.  Seattle,  Sherman  Printing  &  Binding  Company,  1929.  650p. 

HOSKINS,  ELKANAH  BARNEY,  Historical  Sketches  of  Lyman,  New  Hampshire. 
Lisbon,  N.  H.,  Charles  P.  Hibbard,  1903.  149p. 

HUBBARD,  WILLIAM  FRANKLIN,  and  others,  comps.,  Golden  Memories,  Family 
History  of  Allen  Hubbard  and  Julia  Blowers-Hubbard.  [Hugoton,  Kan., 
Compiler,  c!955.]  50p. 

HUGUENOT  SOCIETY  OF  NEW  JERSEY,  Huguenot  Ancestors  Represented  in  the 
Membership  of  the  Huguenot  Society  of  New  Jersey  .  .  .  Second  Edi- 
tion. N.  p.,  Society,  1956.  74p. 

HUGUENOT  SOCIETY  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  Transactions,  No.  60.  Baltimore, 
Waverly  Press,  1955.  54p. 

HUNT,  THOMAS,  A  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Town  of  Clermont  [New  York]. 
Hudson,  N.  Y.,  Privately  Printed,  1928.  153p. 

Index  to  the  Wisconsin  Magazine  of  History,  Vols.  26-35,  September,  1942- 
Summer,  1952.  Madison,  State  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin,  1955.  159p. 

JOHNSON,  BEULAH  JEANETTE,  comp.,  Genealogy  of  John  Morton,  Henrico 
County,  Virginia,  and  His  Descendants.  N.  p.,  1939.  Mimeographed.  51p. 

JONES,  ALICE  J.,  In  Dover  on  the  Charles,  a  Contribution  to  New  England  F  oik- 
Lore.  Newport,  R.  I.,  Milne  Printery,  1906.  114p. 

KICHLINE,  THOMAS  J.,  The  Kichlines  in  America     ...     No  impr.    29p. 

KIMMELL,  J.  A.,  Twentieth  Century  History  of  Findlay  and  Hancock  County, 
Ohio,  and  Representative  Citizens.  Chicago,  Richmond-Arnold  Publishing 
Company,  1901.  656p. 

KING,  GEORGE  HARRISON  SANFORD,  Marriage  Bonds  and  Ministers'  Returns  of 
Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  1782-1850;  Also  Tombstone  Inscriptions  From  St. 
George  Cemetery,  1752-1920.  N.  p.,  Catherine  Lindsay  Knorr,  1954.  107p. 

KNAPP,  ALFRED  AVERILL,  comp.,  Supplement  to  Nicholas  Knapp  Genealogy. 
Winter  Park,  Fla.,  n.  p.,  1956.  105p. 


RECENT  ADDITIONS  TO  THE  LIBRARY  97 

KRAKEL,  DEAN  F.,  South  Platte  Country,  a  History  of  Old  Weld  County,  Colo- 
rado, 1739-1900.  Laramie,  Wyo.,  Powder  River  Publishers,  1954.  Various 
paging. 

LAWSON,  HARVEY  M.,  History  and  Genealogy  of  the  Descendants  of  Clement 
Corbin  of  Muddy  River  (Brookline),  Mass.,  and  Woodstock,  Conn.,  With 
Notices  of  Other  Lines  of  Corbins.  [Hartford,  Conn.]  Hartford  Press,  1905. 
378p. 

LEFFLER,  LYDIA  ANNE  VALE,  A  Genealogy  of  the  Vale  and  Garretson  Descend- 
ants .  .  .  Ames,  Iowa,  n.  p.,  1913.  Photocopy.  194p. 

LINDENBERGER,  RUTH  W.,  [Information  Copied  From  a  Book  Compiled  and 
Privately  Printed  by  Jonathan  Stutsman  Howell,  Rushville,  Illinois,  1922.] 
No  impr.  Manuscript  Copy.  127p. 

LOMEN,  G.  J.,  comp.,  Genealogies  of  the  Lomen  [Ringstad],  Brandt  and  Joys 
Families.  Northfield,  Minn.,  Mohn  Printing  Company,  1929.  361p. 

[LORD,  IRENE  WILCOX],  comp.,  From  the  Bend  of  the  Little  River,  a  Wilcox 
Book  .  .  .  the  Descendants  of  George  Wilcox.  [Los  Angeles,  Cali- 
fornia Education  Press,  1954.]  167p. 

LYTLE,  LEONARD,  Descendants  of  Joseph  Triplett  of  Hardy  County,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  Summit  and  Licking  Counties,  Ohio.  N.  p.,  Privately  Printed, 
1955.  12p. 

M'CLUNE,  JAMES,  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Forks  of  Brandy- 
wine,  Chester  County,  Pa.  .  .  .  Philadelphia,  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company, 
1885.  273p. 

McCmNG,  JAMES  W.,  Historical  Significance  of  Rockbridge  County,  Virginia. 
Staunton,  Va.,  McClure  Company,  1939.  276p. 

McMAHON,  BLANCHE  C.,  Sevier  County,  Tennessee,  Population  Schedule  of 
the  United  States  Census  of  1830  .  .  .  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  n.  p.,  1956. 
Mimeographed.  [61]p. 

McNAiR,  JAMES  BIRTLEY,  McNair,  McNear,  and  McNeir  Genealogies,  Supple- 
ment, 1955.  Los  Angeles,  Author  [c!955].  457p. 

MCQUEEN,  ALEX.  S.,  History  of  Charlton  County  [Georgia].  Atlanta,  Stein 
Printing  Company,  c!932.  269p. 

MALL,  DANIEL,  Ancestry  Mall.  [Hoisington,  Kan.,  Jesse  M.  Mall,  c!954.] 
241p. 

MICHAELS,  PAUL  W.,  James  and  Nancy  Gray  Harkness,  a  Colonial  Family  His- 
tory, 1700  to  1850.  N.  p.,  c!953.  Mimeographed.  18p. 

MILLER,  JOSEPH  LYON,  1652-1912,  the  Descendants  of  Capt.  Thomas  Carter  of 
"Barford,"  Lancaster  County,  Virginia  .  .  .  2d  Edition.  No  impr.  388p. 

MOORE,  EDITH  AUSTIN,  A  Genealogy  of  the  Descendants  of  Robert  Austin,  of 
Kingstown,  Rhode  Island.  No  impr.  738p. 

MORGAN,  WILLIAM  MANNING,  Trinity  Prostestant  Episcopal  Church,  Galveston, 
Texas,  1841-1953,  a  Memorial  History.  Houston,  Anson  Jones  Press,  1954. 
801p. 

MORRIS,  WHIT,  A  Morns  Family  of  Mecklenburg  County,  North  Carolina.  N.  p. 
[c!956].  128p. 

NORTON,  DAVID,  Sketches  of  the  Town  of  Old  Town,  Penobscot  County,  Maine 
.  .  .  Bangor,  S.  G.  Robinson,  1881.  152p. 

Panhandle-Plains  Historical  Review,  Vol.  28,  1955.  [Canyon,  Tex.,  Panhandle- 
Plains  Historical  Society,  1955.]  [148]p. 


98  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

PORTER,  JOHN  H.,  and  EDITH  SMITH,  Probate  Records  6-  Wills  of  Oklahoma 

County,  Oklahoma.    No  impr.    Mimeographed.    Unpaged. 
PRESCOTT,  WORRALL  DUMONT,  A  Genealogical  and  Biographical  Record  Con- 
cerning Phebe    (Reed)    Trott  and  John   Trott    .     .     .     N.   p.,   Privately 

Printed,  c!954.     235p. 
HANDLE,  ELMER  T.,  Foster  Family  History  and  Genealogy  and  Other  Families 

Related  Thereto.    N.  p.,  1955.    102p. 
RAVENSHAW,  THOMAS  F.,  Antiente  Epitaphs  (From  A.  D.  1250  to  A.  D.  1800) 

Collected  6-  Sett  Forth  in  Chronologicall  Order.    London,  Joseph  Masters  & 

Company,  1878.     196p. 
RIDENOUR,  GEORGE  L.,  Early  Times  in  Meade  County,  Kentucky.    Louisville, 

Western  Recorder,  1929.    107p. 
RITCHIE,  RUTH,  and  SUDIE  RUCKER  WOOD,  Garner-Keene  Families  of  Northern 

Neck,  Virginia.     [Charlottesville,  Va.,  Jarman  Printing  Company,  c!952.] 

241p. 
SIEBERT,  HARRIET  ELLSWORTH,  and  WILLARD  ELLSWORTH,  comps.,  Ellsworth 

Genealogy;  Male  Descendants  of  Moses  Ellsworth  of  North  Carolina  and 

Virginia.    No  impr.    Mimeographed.     [114]p. 
SMITH,  EDWARD  M.,  Documentary  History  of  Rhinebeck,  in  Dutchess  County, 

N.  Y.     .     .     .     Rhinebeck,  n.  p.,  1881.    239p. 
SOCIETY  OF  INDIANA  PIONEERS,  Year  Book,  1955.    Published  by  Order  of  the 

Board  of  Governors,  1955.     128p. 
SOCIETY  OF  MAYFLOWER  DESCENDANTS,  ILLINOIS,  Publication  Number  Four, 

Memorial  Edition.    Chicago,  Lakeside  Press,  1925.    562p. 
SONS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION,  MARYLAND,  Year  Book.    Baltimore,  n.  p.,  1896.    80p. 
SORLEY,  MERROW  EGERTON,  comp.,  Lewis  of  Warner  Hall,  the  History  of  a 

Family     .     .     .     N.  p.,  1935.    887p. 
SPENCER,  FRANCIS  MARION,  Spencer  History  and  Family  Records.     No  impr. 

63p. 

STEWART,  WILLIAM  H.,  ed.,  History  of  Norfolk  County,  Virginia,  and  Repre- 
sentative   Citizens.      Chicago,    Biographical    Publishing    Company,    1902. 

1042p. 
STUMP,  JOSEPH,  and  MELTON  STUMP,  History  or  Record  of  the  Descendants  of 

Peter  Stump.    No  impr.    207p. 
Tax  Lists  of  Washington  County,  Penna.,  1784-85,  1793.     Washington,  Pa., 

n.  p.,  1955.    Mimeographed.    48p. 
TEMPLETON,  LEUMAS  BASCOM,  JR.,  comp.,  Templeton  Family  History     .    »    » 

Laurens  County,  South  Carolina     .     .     .     N.  p.,  c!953.    155p. 
TINSLEY,  HARRY  D.,  History  of  No  Creek,  Ohio  County,  Kentucky,  With  a 

Genealogy  and  Biographical  Section.    Frankfort,  Ky.,  Roberts  Printing  Com- 
pany, 1953.    310p. 
TOWNSEND,  CHARLES  D.,  and  EDNA  W.  TOWNSEND,  Border  Town  Cemeteries  of 

Massachusetts.    West  Hartford,  Conn.,  Chedwato  Service  [c!953].    88p. 
U.  S.  CENSUS,  1850,  Vermont,  1850  Census  Population  Schedules.    Microfilm. 

12  Vols.  on  4  Reels. 
U.  S.  CENSUS,  1860,  Missouri,  1860  Census  Population  Schedules.    Microfilm. 

28  Vols.  on  12  Reels. 
,  Nebraska,  1860  Census  Population  Schedules.    Microfilm.     1  Vol.  on 

1  Reel. 


RECENT  ADDITIONS  TO  THE  LIBRARY  99 

VAN  VOORHIS,  E.  W.,  comp.,  Tombstone  Inscriptions  From  the  First  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  of  Fishkill  Village,  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y.  N.  p.,  Privately 
Printed,  n.  d.  229p. 

WELCH,  ALICE  TRACY,  comp.,  Family  Records  Mississippi  Revolutionary  Soldiers. 
N.  p.  [Mississippi  Society  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution],  n.  d. 
457p. 

WIEBE,  DAVID  V.,  My  Parents,  an  Illustrated  Biographical  and  Historical  Sketch. 
Hillsboro,  Kan.,  n.  p.,  1955.  63p. 

WILLARD,  JOSEPH,  Willard  Memoir;  or,  Life  and  Times  of  Major  Simon  Willard, 
With  .  .  .  His  Descendants  .  .  .  Boston,  Little,  Brown,  and  Com- 
pany, 1913.  470p. 

WILLIAMS,  IDA  BELLE,  History  of  Tift  County  [Georgia].  Macon,  J.  W.  Burke 
Company  [c!948].  503p. 

WILLIS,  BYRD  CHARLES,  and  RICHARD  HENRY  WILLIS,  A  Sketch  of  the  Willis 
Family  of  Virginia,  and  of  Their  Kindred  .  .  .  Richmond,  Whittet  & 
Shepperson,  1898.  160p. 

WOOD,  GRACE  E.  PEMBER,  A  History  of  the  Town  of  Wells,  Vermont  .  *  . 
N.  p.,  Author,  1955.  150p. 

WOODSTOCK  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY,  Publications,  Vol.  17,  December,  1955. 
[Woodstock,  N.  Y.]  Society,  1955.  38p. 

WORRELL,  ANNE  LOWRY,  comp.  A  Brief  of  Wills  and  Marriages  in  Montgomery 
and  Fincastle  Counties,  Virginia,  1773-1831.  N.  p.  [c!932].  56p. 

,  comp.,  Over  the  Mountain  Men,  Their  Early  Court  Records  in  South- 
west Virginia.  Hillsville,  Va.,  Hillsville  Publishing  Company,  n.  d.  69p. 

WRIGHT,  JAMES  A.,  Historical  Sketches  of  the  Town  of  Moravia  [New  York] 
From  1791  to  1873.  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  Benton  &  Reynolds,  1874.  289p. 

GENERAL 

American  Book-Prices  Current,  Index  1950-1955.  New  York,  American  Book- 
Prices  Current,  1956.  1709p. 

AMERICAN  PEOPLES  ENCYCLOPEDIA,  Yearbook,  1954.  Chicago,  Spencer  Press 
[c!955].  [1167]p. 

Americana  Annual,  1956,  an  Encyclopedia  of  the  Events  of  1955.  New  York, 
Americana  Corporation  [c!956].  866p. 

ANDREWS,  J.  CUTLER,  The  North  Reports  the  Civil  War.  [Pittsburgh]  Uni- 
versity of  Pittsburgh  Press  [c!955].  813p. 

ARMITAGE,  MERLE,  The  Railroads  of  America.  N.  p.,  Duell,  Sloan  and  Pearce — 
Little,  Brown  [c!952].  319p. 

AYER,  N.  W.,  AND  SON'S,  Directory  of  Newspapers  and  Periodicals,  1956.  Phila- 
delphia, N.  W.  Ayer  and  Son  [c!956].  1540p. 

BARTON,  ROY  FRANKLIN,  The  Mythology  of  the  Ifugaos.  Philadephia,  Ameri- 
can Folklore  Society,  1955.  244p.  (Memoirs  of  the  American  Folklore 
Society,  Vol.  46.) 

BLEGEN,  THEODORE  C.,  Land  of  Their  Choice,  the  Immigrants  Write  Home. 
[St.  Paul]  University  of  Minnesota  Press  [c!955].  463p. 

BOSTONIAN  SOCIETY,  Proceedings,  Annual  Meeting,  January  17,  1956.  Boston, 
Society,  1956.  61p. 

BOTKIN,  B.  A.,  A  Treasury  of  Mississippi  River  Folklore  .  .  .  New  York, 
Crown  Publishers  [c!955].  620p. 


100  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

BROOK,  HERBERT,  ed.,  The  Blue  Book  of  Awards.     Chicago,  Marquis — Who's 

Who  [c!956].     186p. 
BRUCE,  ROBERT  V.,  Lincoln  and  the  Tools  of  War.    Indianapolis,  Bobbs-Merrill 

Company  [c!956].     368p. 
BUCHANAN,  LAMONT,  Ballot  for  Americans,  a  Pictorial  History  of  American 

Elections     .     .     .     1789-1956.     New  York,  E.   P.  Dutton  and  Company, 

1956.     192p. 

BYRD,  CECIL  K.,  and  HOWARD  H.  PECKHAM,  A  Bibliography  of  Indiana  Im- 
prints, 1804-1853.     Indianapolis,  Indiana  Historical  Bureau,  1955.     479p. 
CATHEY,   CORNELIUS   OLIVER,  Agricultural  Developments  in  North  Carolina, 

1783-1860.    Chapel  Hill,  University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1956.     229p. 

(The  James  Sprunt  Studies  in  History  and  Political  Science,  Vol.  38.) 
CROZIER,  EMMET,  Yankee  Reporters,  1861-65.     New  York,  Oxford  University 

Press,  1956.     441p. 
DALE,  GEORGE  A.,  Education  for  Better  Living.     [Washington,  D.  C.]   U.  S. 

Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs,  1955.     245p. 
DAVIS,  BURKE,  Gray  Fox;  Robert  E.  Lee  and  the  Civil  War.    New  York,  Rine- 

hart  &  Company  [c!956].     466p. 
DE  SEVERSKY,  ALEXANDER  P.,  Victory  Through  Air  Power.     New  York,  Simon 

and  Schuster,  1942.     354p. 
DURANT,  JOHN,  and  ALICE  DURANT,  Pictorial  History  of  American  Presidents. 

New  York,  A.  S.  Barnes  [c!955].    320p. 

Encyclopedia  of  American  Biography.    New  Series,  Vol.  25.    New  York,  Ameri- 
can Historical  Company,  1955.     [466]p. 
FADIMAN,   CLIFTON,   ed.,   The  American   Treasury,   1455-1955.     New  York, 

Harper  &  Brothers,  Publishers  [c!955].     1108p. 
FERM,  VERGILIUS,  The  American  Church  of  the  Protestant  Heritage.     New 

York,  Philosophical  Library  [c!953].     481p. 
FLEMING,  HOWARD,  Narrow  Gauge  Railways  in  America,  a  Sketch  of  Their 

Rise,  Progress  and  Success     ...       N.  p.,  1876.     lOlp.   (Grahame  H. 

Hardy  Reprint,  1949. ) 
FLIESS,  PETER  J.,  Freedom  of  the  Press  in  the  German  Republic,  1918-1933. 

Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana  State  University  Press  [c!955].     147p.   (Louisiana 

State  University  Studies.     Social  Science  Series,  No.  2.) 
FRIEDBERG,  ROBERT,  Paper  Money  of  the  United  States;  a  Complete  Illustrated 

Guide  With  Valuations.     Second  Edition.     New  York,  Coin  and  Currency 

Publishing  Institute   [c!955].     151p. 
GRAY,  CARL  R.,  Railroading  in  Eighteen  Countries     .     .     .     New  York,  Charles 

Scribner's  Sons,  1955.     351p. 
GREENE,   SHIRLEY  E.,    This  Earth,   This  Land.      [Denver,   National  Farmers 

Union,  cl955.]     141p. 
GREGORY,  JAMES  P.,  JR.,  comp.,  Missouri  Historical  Review  Cumulative  Index 

to  Volumes  26-45,  October,  1931 -July,  1951.     Columbia,  State  Historical 

Society  of  Missouri,  1955.     333p. 
HANSEN,  HENNY  HARALD,  Costumes  and  Styles.     New  York,  E.  P.  Dutton  & 

Company  [c!956].     160p. 

HOLBROOK,  STEWART  H.,  Machines  of  Plenty,  Pioneering  in  American  Agricul- 
ture.   New  York,  Macmillan  Company,  1955.    246p. 


RECENT  ADDITIONS  TO  THE  LIBRARY  101 

HORAN,  JAMES  D.,  Mathew  Brady,  Historian  With  a  Camera.  New  York, 
Crown  Publishers  [c!955].  244p. 

HORN,  ROBERT  A.,  Groups  and  the  Constitution.  Stanford,  Gal.,  Stanford  Uni- 
versity Press,  1956.  187p.  (Stanford  University  Publications,  University 
Series,  History,  Economics  and  Political  Science,  Vol.  12. ) 

JAMES,  JOSEPH,  The  Framing  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment.  Urbana,  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois  Press,  1956.  220p.  ( Illinois  Studies  in  the  Social  Sciences, 
Vol.  37.) 

JEFFERSON,  THOMAS,  Papers.  Vol.  11,  1  January  to  6  August  1787.  Princeton, 
Princeton  University  Press,  1955.  701p. 

,  Papers.  Vol.  12,  7  August  1787  to  31  March  1788.  Princeton,  Prince- 
ton University  Press,  1955.  70 Ip. 

KENNEDY,  JOHN  F.,  Profiles  in  Courage.  New  York,  Harper  &  Brothers  [c!955]. 
266p. 

KNOLES,  GEORGE  HARMON,  The  Jazz  Age  Revisited;  British  Criticism  of  Ameri- 
can Civilization  During  the  1920' s.  Stanford,  Gal.,  Stanford  University  Press, 
1955.  171p.  ( Stanford  University  Publications,  University  Series,  History, 
Economics  and  Political  Science,  Vol.  11.) 

LARSON,  ARTHUR,  A  Republican  Looks  at  His  Party.  New  York,  Harper  & 
Brothers  [c!956].  210p. 

LEJAU,  FRANCIS,  The  Carolina  Chronicle  of  Dr.  Francis  Le  Jau,  1706-1717, 
Edited,  With  an  Introduction  and  Notes,  by  Frank  J.  Klingberg.  Berkeley, 
University  of  California  Press,  1956.  220p.  ( University  of  California  Pub- 
lications in  History,  Vol.  53.) 

LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS,  Library  of  Congress  Catalog,  a  Cumulative  List  of  Works 
Represented  by  Library  of  Congress  Printed  Cards,  1955.  Washington,  D.  C., 
Library  of  Congress,  1956.  3  Vols. 

LILLARD,  RICHARD  G.,  The  Great  Forest.  New  York,  Alfred  A.  Knopf,  1948. 
[413]p. 

LOCKMILLER,  DAVID  A.,  Enoch  H.  Crowder,  Soldier,  Lawyer  and  Statesman. 
Columbia,  University  of  Missouri  Studies,  1955.  286p.  ( The  University  of 
Missouri  Studies,  Vol.  27.) 

LUCAS,  HENRY  S.,  Netherlands  in  America,  Dutch  Immigration  to  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  1789-1950.  Ann  Arbor,  University  of  Michigan,  1955. 
744p. 

MACARTNEY,  CLARENCE  EDWARD,  Mr.  Lincoln's  Admirals.  New  York,  Funk  & 
Wagnalls  Company,  1956.  335p. 

MAXWELL,  WILLIAM  QUENTTN,  Lincoln's  Fifth  Wheel,  the  Political  History  of 
the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission.  New  York,  Longmans,  Green  & 
Company,  1956.  372p. 

MITCHELL,  JOSEPH  B.,  Decisive  Battles  of  the  Civil  War.  New  York,  G.  P. 
Putnam's  Sons  [c!955].  226p. 

MONAGHAN,  JAY,  The  Man  Who  Elected  Lincoln.  Indianapolis,  Bobbs-Merrill 
Company  [c!956].  334p. 

MOUNT  VERNON  LADIES'  ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  UNION,  Annual  Report,  1955. 
Mount  Vernon  [Association,  c!956].  68p. 

MUMEY,  NOLIE,  Two  Broken  Glasses  and  Other  Poems.  Denver,  Range  Press, 
1952.  143p. 


102  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

NATIONAL  HISTORICAL  PUBLICATIONS  COMMISSION,  Writings  on  American  His- 
tory, 1951,  James  R.  Masterson,  Editor.  [Washington,  D.  C.,  U.  S.  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office]  n.  d.  544p. 

NEIDERHEISER,  CLODAUGH  M.,  Forest  History  Sources  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  Saint  Paul,  Forest  History  Foundation,  1956.  140p. 

New  York  Times  Index  for  the  Published  News  of  1955.  New  York,  New  York 
Times,  c!956.  1271p. 

OLSON,  OSCAR  N.,  Sward- Johnston,  Biographical  Sketches  of  Augustana  Leaders. 
Rock  Island,  111.,  Augustana  Historical  Society,  1955.  80p.  (Augustana 
Historical  Society  Publications,  Vol.  15.) 

PAINTER,  MURIEL  THAYER,  and  others,  eds.,  A  Yaqui  Easter  Sermon.  Tucson, 
University  of  Arizona  Press  [c!955].  89p.  (University  of  Arizona  Bulletin 
Series,  Social  Science  Bulletin,  No.  26. ) 

Pattersons  American  Education,  Vol.  53.  North  Chicago,  111.,  Educational  Di- 
rectories [c!956].  [740]p. 

PEIRCE,  JOSEPHINE  HALVORSON,  Fire  on  the  Hearth,  the  Evolution  and  Romance 
of  the  Heating-Stove.  Springfield,  Mass.,  Pond-Ekberg  Company  [c!951]. 
254p. 

PHELAN,  JOHN  LEDDY,  The  Millennial  Kingdom  of  the  Franciscans  in  the  New 
World,  a  Study  of  the  Writings  of  Geronimo  de  Mendieta  (1525-1604). 
Berkeley,  University  of  California  Press,  1956.  159p.  ( University  of  Cali- 
fornia Publications  in  History,  Vol.  52. ) 

[QUIGLEY,  MARTIN],  St.  Louis,  a  Fond  Look  Back;  an  Appreciation  of  Its  Com- 
munity by  the  First  National  Bank  in  St.  Louis  ...  No  impr.  Un- 


RANDALL,  JAMES  GARFIELD,  Lincoln  the  President;  Vol.  3,  Midstream.     New 

York,  Dodd,  Mead  &  Company,  1952.    467p. 
RANDALL,  RUTH  PAINTER,  Lincoln's  Sons.    Boston,  Little,  Brown  and  Company 

[c!955].    373p. 

RIEGEL,  ROBERT  E.,  America  Moves  West.    New  York,  Henry  Holt  and  Com- 
pany [c!956].    659p. 
SAUCIER,  CORINNE  L.,  Traditions  de  la  Paroisse  des  Avoyelles  en  Louisiane. 

Philadelphia,  American  Folklore  Society,  1956.     162p.     (Memoirs  of  the 

American  Folklore  Society,  Vol.  47.) 
SHANKLE,  GEORGE  EARLIE,  American  Nicknames,  Their  Origin  and  Significance. 

Second  Edition.    New  York,  H.  W.  Wilson  Company,  1955.    524p. 
SHEPHERD,  WILLIAM  R.,  Historical  Atlas,  Eighth  Edition,  1956.    Pikesville,  Md., 

Colonial  Offset  Company  [c!956].    [341]p. 
SIEVERS,  HARRY  J.,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Hoosier  Warrior,  1833-1865.    Chicago, 

Henry  Regnery  Company,  1952.    344p. 
SILVER,  DAVID  M.,  Lincoln's  Supreme  Court.     Urbana,  University  of  Illinois 

Press,  1956.    272p.     (Illinois  Studies  in  the  Social  Sciences,  Vol.  38.) 
SMITH,  THOMAS  C.,  Political  Change  and  Industrial  Development  in  Japan: 

Government   Enterprise,   1868-1880.     Stanford,   Gal,   Stanford   University 

Press,  1955.     126p.     (Stanford  University  Publications,  University  Series, 

History,  Economics  and  Political  Science,  Vol.  10. ) 


RECENT  ADDITIONS  TO  THE  LIBRARY  103 

STROUPE,  HENRY  SMITH,  The  Religious  Press  in  the  South  Atlantic  States,  1802- 
1865,  an  Annotated  Bibliography  With  Historical  Introduction  and  Notes. 
Durham,  N.  C.,  Duke  University  Press,  1956.  172p.  ( Historical  Papers  of 
the  Trinity  College  Historical  Society,  Series  32. ) 

TABER,  MARTHA  VAN  HOESEN,  A  History  of  the  Cutlery  Industry  in  the  Con- 
necticut Valley.  Northampton,  Mass.,  Department  of  History  of  Smith 
College  [1955].  138p.  (Smith  College  Studies  in  History,  Vol.  41.) 

TROWBREDGE,  JOHN  T.,  The  Desolate  South,  1865-1866.  New  York,  Duell, 
Sloan  and  Pearce  [c!956j.  320p. 

TRUMAN,  HARRY  S.,  Memoirs,  Vol.  1,  Year  of  Decisions.  Garden  City,  N.  Y., 
Doubleday  &  Company,  1955.  596p. 

,  Memoirs,  Vol.  2,  Years  of  Trial  and  Hope.  Garden  City,  N.  Y.,  Double- 
day  &  Company,  1956.  594p. 

VANDERBILT,  CORNELIUS,  JR.,  The  Living  Past  of  America,  a  Pictorial  Treasury 
of  Our  Historic  Houses  and  Villages  That  Have  Been  Preserved  and  Re- 
stored. New  York,  Crown  Publishers  [c!955].  234p. 

Who's  Who  in  America,  Vol.  29  [1956-1957].  Chicago,  A.  N.  Marquis  Com- 
pany [c!956].  3335p. 

Who's  Who  in  the  Midwest.    Chicago,  Marquis— Who's  Who  [c!954].    982p. 

WILCOX,  RUTH  TURNER,  The  Mode  in  Footwear.  New  York,  Charles  Scribner's 
Sons,  1948.  190p. 

,  The  Mode  in  Furs,  the  History  of  Furred  Costume  of  the  World  From 

the  Earliest  Times  to  the  Present.  New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1951. 
257p. 

WILSON,  RUFUS  ROCKWELL,  Lincoln  in  Caricature.  New  York,  Horizon  Press, 
1953.  327p. 

WORKS,  GEORGE  A.,  and  SIMON  O.  LESSER,  Rural  America  Today,  Its  Schools 
and  Community  Life.  Chicago,  University  of  Chicago  Press  [c!942].  450p. 

World  Almanac  and  Book  of  Facts  for  1956.  New  York,  New  York  World- 
Telegram,  c!956.  896p. 

YEAR,  INCORPORATED,  Pictorial  History  of  America  .  .  .  [Los  Angeles,  Year, 
c!954.]  [432]p. 


Bypaths  of  Kansas  History 

TRAFFIC  PROBLEMS  IN  MANHATTAN 
From  the  Manhattan  Express,  December  24,  1859. 
One  of  the  greatest  nuisances  with  which  a  town  was  ever  cursed,  is  the 
habit  people  from  the  country  have  of  leaving  their  teams  standing  on  the 
crossing  of  streets,   and  any  person  of  common  sense  will  at  once  see  the 
inconvenience  to  which  pedestrians  are  subjected,  and  refrain  from  doing  so. 
[See  photograph  between  pp.  8,  9.] 


GUILT  BY  ASSOCIATION? 

From  the  Emporia  News,  September  8,  1860. 

Sam.  Wood,  of  the  Council  Grove  Press,  has  two  very  nice  Suffolk  pigs, 
which,  judging  from  his  looks,  he  eats  with,  drinks  with  and  sleeps  with.  He 
took  us  to  see  them  when  we  were  at  the  Grove  lately,  thinking,  we  presume, 
that  we  would  give  him  and  his  pigs  an  editorial  notice.  Out  of  respect  for 
the  pigs  we  didn't  do  it,  as  they  undoubtedly  would  hate  to  have  folks  know 
that  they  associate  with  Sam. 

GARBAGE  DISPOSAL  IN  DODGE  CITY? 

From  the  Dodge  City  Times,  July  27, 1878. 

The  practice  of  throwing  rotten  onions,  potatoes,  cabbage,  turnips  and 
sometimes  eggs,  is  becoming  a  very  popular  amusement  for  the  gentlemen  of 
leisure  who  rusticate  on  the  benches,  boxes  and  kegs  along  the  principal 
thoroughfare.  It  is  better  than  a  monkey  show  to  see  an  unsuspecting  pedes- 
trian struck  between  the  eyes  with  a  rotten  potato. 


AN  EARLY-DAY  FLYING  SAUCER? 
From  the  Ottawa  Weekly  Herald,  April  8,  1897. 
THE  AIR  SHIP  MALADY  BREAKS  Our  HERE — SEVERAL  SAW  rr  THURSDAY  NIGHT. 

The  mysterious  light  which  has  created  so  many  startling  stories  of  its  ap- 
pearance over  many  cities  and  towns  of  the  state  of  Kansas  within  the  past 
two  weeks,  is  reported  to  have  been  visible  in  the  heavens  to  the  westward  of 
Ottawa  that  night  and  a  large  number  of  residents  witnessed  its  mysterious 
passage.  They  state  that  at  about  dusk  a  bright  light  about  the  size  of  a  street 
electric  light  appeared  in  the  southwest  and  moved  slowly  in  a  wavy  line  across 
the  heavens  to  the  northwest  where  it  gradually  grew  fainter  and  fainter  in 
brilliancy  until  it  disappeared  from  view.  The  same  light  was  seen  last  night  by 
many  people  of  Kansas  City  and  is  perhaps  the  same  light  that  hovered  over 
Topeka  a  few  days  ago. 

(104) 


Kansas  History  as  Published  in  the  Press 

Elizabeth  Barnes*  column  "Historic  Johnson  County"  has  con- 
tinued to  appear  frequently  in  the  Johnson  County  Herald,  Over- 
land Park.  Articles  printed  in  recent  months  included:  a  history 
of  the  town  of  Shawnee,  August  9,  1956;  biographical  sketch  of 
Richard  A.  Hall,  August  16;  biographical  sketch  of  Claude  J.  St. 
John,  August  23;  biographical  sketch  of  John  Morrow,  September 
6,  13;  a  history  of  the  Overland  Park  State  Bank,  November  29;  and 
"Fifty  Years  in  Overland  Park,"  December  6,  13. 

The  Pratt  Daily  Tribune  published  the  third  issue  of  Pride,  its 
annual  progress  edition,  August  15,  1956. 

Points  of  historic  interest  in  Kansas  are  listed  and  reviewed  by 
John  Watson  in  the  Wichita  Beacon,  August  19,  1956.  Also  pub- 
lished in  the  Beacon  recently  were :  an  article  on  the  First  Territorial 
Capitol  of  Kansas,  by  Frank  Madson,  Jr.,  October  24;  and  "Kansas 
Salt  Mining  Industry  Has  Historical  Past  in  Kingman  Area/'  by  Dee 
Ridpath,  December  23. 

Historical  articles  appearing  in  the  Pittsburg  Headlight  the  past 
several  months  included:  an  article  on  the  town  of  Lane,  Franklin 
county,  August  20,  1956;  a  brief  history  of  Girard,  September  29;  a 
sketch  of  the  First  Christian  church,  Pittsburg,  October  12;  and  "Old 
Landmark  [Miller  home]  Recalls  Colorful  Miller  History  in  Mul- 
berry," October  29. 

Among  historical  articles  of  recent  date  in  the  Emporia  Gazette 
were:  "[Plymouth]  Community's  First  House  Was  Built  by  John 
Carter,"  August  25,  1956;  "Emporia  Pioneer's  [Curtis  Heitt]  Square 
Dealing  With  Indians  Once  Saved  His  Life,"  September  27;  articles 
on  the  First  Christian  church,  Emporia,  October  2,  10;  a  history  of 
the  Verdigris  church,  near  Olpe,  October  5;  "First  Fire  Department 
Was  Organized  in  1874,"  October  11;  "J.  W.  Bolton  Remembers 
Grasshoppers  and  Ducks,"  October  15;  "Lincoln  Adair  Was  First 
Negro  Child  Born  on  Townsite,  Probably  in  1864,"  October  19; 
"Plymouth's  Indian  Neighbors,"  by  Mrs.  S.  H.  Bennett,  October  25, 
29;  "Area  West  of  Emporia  Was  First  Settled  in  Year  1855,"  by  Mrs. 
E.  M.  Stanton,  December  24;  and  "First  Wedding  in  Emporia  Area 
Was  on  January  7, 1857,"  January  7. 

Roy  F.  Nichols  reviewed  a  century's  writing  about  the  Kansas- 
N°braska  act  and  traced  its  passage  through  congress  in  'The  Kan- 

8—5869  (105) 


106  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

sas-Nebraska  Act:  A  Century  of  Historiography,"  published  in  The 
Mississippi  Valley  Historical  Review,  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  and  Lin- 
coln, Neb.,  September,  1956. 

On  September  2,  1956,  the  Hutchinson  News-Herald  published 
an  article  entitled  "Electric  Trolley  Debut  50  Years  Ago,"  by  Charles 
Remsberg.  "South  Hutchinson  Remembers  Saga  of  Old  Ben  Blanch- 
ard,"  by  Jim  Skinner,  appeared  in  the  News-Herald,  September  23, 
and  on  January  6,  1957,  Ruby  Basye's  "Great  Stone  Churches  Stand 
as  Monuments  to  Pioneers,"  a  history  of  the  Schoenchen  community 
and  church,  Ellis  county,  was  printed. 

Veteran  business  men  featured  in  the  Great  Bend  Tribune  in  re- 
cent months  included  Jake  Bisenius,  a  druggist  in  Great  Bend  for  22 
years,  September  4,  1956,  and  Ed  McNown,  who  operated  a  meat 
market  in  Great  Bend  for  many  years,  December  23. 

Near  Canton  is  the  grave  of  Edward  Miller,  18-year-old  boy 
killed  by  Indians  in  1864.  The  story  of  Miller's  death  is  told  in  an 
article  by  Ruth  Meyer  in  the  Wichita  Eagle,  September  6, 1956.  On 
January  22,  1957,  "Elgin,  Kan.,  Once  'Biggest  Shipping  Point*  in 
World,"  by  Charlotte  Offen,  appeared  in  the  magazine  section  of  the 
Eagle.  Elgin  became  a  cattle-shipping  point  in  the  middle  1880's 
with  the  coming  of  the  Santa  Fe  railroad. 

A  historical  article  in  the  McCune  Herald,  September  7,  1956, 
called  attention  to  the  75th  anniversaries  of  the  town  and  news- 
paper. The  Times,  started  in  1882,  is  claimed  as  the  Herald's  earliest 
ancestor.  McCune  was  incorporated  in  1881. 

A  historical  sketch  of  the  First  Methodist  church  of  Hugoton  ap- 
peared in  the  September  13,  1956,  issue  of  the  Hugoton  Hermes. 
The  Rev.  Charles  Brown  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  church  after  its 
organization  October  11,  1886. 

Some  early-day  experiences  of  W.  G.  Nicholas,  born  in  1873  at 
Eureka,  are  related  in  the  Western  Star,  Coldwater,  September  14, 
1956.  Nicholas  engaged  in  a  number  of  activities  in  early  Kansas, 
including  freighting,  well  digging,  and  farming. 

Regular  publication  of  historical  articles  in  the  Hays  Daily  News 
has  continued  with  the  appearance  of  the  following:  "[Town  of] 
Chetola  Once  Meant  Gold  in  Hays  Area,"  September  16, 1956;  "First 
Old  Settlers'  Reunion  [1894]  Received  a  Few  Sharp  Digs  From  Early 
Editor  [George  D.  Griffith]"  and  "[Town  of]  Yocemento  Had  Its 
Start  in  Cement,"  September  23;  "Much  of  What  Was  Rome,  Kans. 
Important  to  Life  of  Hays  City,"  and  "The  Great  Fire  of  1895  De- 


KANSAS  HISTORY  IN  THE  PRESS  107 

stroyed  Most  of  Landmarks  of  Early  Hays,"  September  30;  "Kipple 
Murder  Case  in  Toulon  Rocked  Ellis  County  in  1880's,"  October  7; 
"Strong  Men  Wept  at  News  That  General  Bull  Was  Dead,"  October 
21;  "New  Story  About  Custer  Proves  Daring  of  the  Handsome  Gen- 
eral," November  25;  and  "Strain  of  Rebellion  Leads  Stockton's  'Old 
Doc'  to  Take  Rocky  Road  to  Osteopathy  50  Years,"  a  biographical 
sketch  of  Dr.  J.  W.  McMillen,  Sr.,  by  Bernice  Brown,  December  2. 

A  history  of  the  Trinity  Lutheran  church,  Atchison,  and  "Once- 
Booming  Doniphan  a  Ghost  Town,"  by  Charles  Spencer,  were  pub- 
lished in  the  Atchison  Daily  Globe,  September  16,  1956.  The  Globe 
printed  the  story  of  High  Prairie  school,  district  No.  3,  near  Lan- 
caster, in  the  issue  of  October  24. 

Included  among  articles  by  Howard  Moore  in  recent  issues  of  the 
Abilene  Reflector-Chronicle,  were:  "Visit  Here  Led  to  Marriage  [to 
Augustus  Packard]  for  Beauty  Queen  [Alice  Belle  Tuton],"  Septem- 
ber 18,  1956;  "Enterprise  Bars  Raided  by  Carry  Nation  in  1901,"  Oc- 
tober 3;  "Fought  Over  Site  of  Early  Courthouse,"  and  "Early-Day 
County  Commissioners  Had  Their  Troubles,  Too,"  October  20.  On 
October  10  the  Reflector-Chronicle  printed  a  history  of  the  Mt. 
Pleasant  Presbyterian  church,  Dickinson  county,  which  was  observ- 
ing its  75th  anniversary. 

Articles  of  historical  interest  appearing  in  the  News  Chronicle, 
Scott  City,  in  recent  months  included  a  short  sketch  of  the  Scott  City 
&  Northern  Railway,  which  has  ceased  to  exist,  September  20,  1956, 
and  a  history  of  school  district  37  in  Scott  county,  November  29. 

Independence  history  down  through  the  years  comprised  the  24- 
page  historical  section  of  the  Independence  Daily  Reporter,  Septem- 
ber 23, 1956.  The  special  edition  was  published  in  observance  of  the 
Reporters  75th  anniversary. 

Newton's  more  violent  history  was  reviewed  in  an  article  pub- 
lished in  the  Newton  Kansan,  September  25,  1956.  It  is  pointed  out 
that  Newton  has  a  "Boot  Hill"  cemetery  where  eight  to  fourteen  gun- 
slingers  now  rest. 

In  1876  Benjamin  H.  Smith  organized  the  Chetopa  Christian 
church  with  25  charter  members.  An  article  sketching  the  history 
of  the  church  was  published  in  the  Chetopa  Advance,  September 
27, 1956. 

The  Highland  Vidette,  September  27, 1956,  printed  a  history  of  the 
Zion  Methodist  church,  near  Robinson.  The  congregation  was  or- 
ganized in  1881  by  the  Rev.  John  Asling. 


Kansas  Historical  Notes 

Officers  elected  at  the  22d  annual  meeting  of  the  Chase  County 
Historical  Society  in  Cotton  wood  Falls,  September  8,  1956,  were: 
Paul  B.  Wood,  president;  Henry  Rogler,  vice-president;  Clint  A. 
Baldwin,  secretary;  George  T.  Dawson,  treasurer;  and  Mrs.  Ruth 
Conner,  chief  historian.  Appointed  to  the  executive  committee 
were:  Mrs.  Conner,  Mrs.  Ida  M.  Vinson,  Mrs.  Helen  Austin,  Charles 
Gaines,  Beatrice  Hays,  R.  Z.  Blackburn,  and  Wood. 

The  Shawnee  Mission  Indian  Historical  Society  met  at  the  home 
of  Mrs.  Sola  Bradley  in  Merriam,  September  24,  1956,  for  an  elec- 
tion of  officers.  Those  elected  were:  Lucile  Larsen,  president;  Mrs. 
Yolande  Smith,  first  vice-president;  Mrs.  Roy  E.  Boxmeyer,  second 
vice-president;  Mrs.  Pearl  Christ  Miller,  recording  secretary;  Mrs. 
Elwood  Hobbs,  corresponding  secretary;  Mrs.  Louis  Rieke,  treas- 
urer; Mrs.  H.  B.  Sullivan,  historian;  Mrs.  Charles  Houlehan,  curator; 
and  Mrs.  James  G.  Bell,  member-in-waiting.  Mrs.  Harry  Meyer  was 
the  retiring  president. 

On  September  30,  1956,  members  of  the  Crawford  County  His- 
torical Society  toured  the  county  by  bus,  visiting  32  historic  sites. 
The  organizer  and  guide  for  the  tour  was  the  society's  president, 
C.  M.  Cooper. 

New  members  elected  to  the  Allen  County  Historical  Society's 
board  of  directors  at  a  dinner  meeting  of  the  society  in  lola,  October 
1,  1956,  were:  L.  T.  Cannon,  W.  C.  Caldwell,  and  Lewis  Drake  of 
Humboldt;  Stanley  Harris  of  Colony;  R.  L.  Thompson,  Jr.  of  Moran; 
and  Spencer  Card,  Mrs.  R.  H.  Carpenter,  Mary  Hankins,  and  Angelo 
Scott  of  lola.  A  feature  of  the  program  was  the  showing  of  colored 
slides  of  historic  sites  and  structures  in  Kansas  by  Edgar  Langsdorf 
of  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society. 

Raymond  Tillotson,  Shields,  was  elected  president  of  the  Lane 
County  Historical  Society  at  a  meeting  in  Dighton,  October  8,  1956. 
Other  officers  are:  Walter  Herndon,  vice-president;  Mrs.  Arle  Boltz, 
secretary;  and  Mrs.  R.  G.  Mull,  Sr.,  treasurer.  Arle  Boltz,  A.  R. 
Bentley,  and  Frank  Vycital  were  elected  to  the  board  of  directors. 

Officers  elected  by  the  Dickinson  County  Historical  Society  at  the 
annual  meeting  October  12,  1956,  at  Enterprise,  for  two-year  terms 
were:  Mrs.  Ray  Livingstone,  second  vice-president;  and  Mrs.  Adele 
Wilkins,  treasurer.  Willard  Connell,  Kansas  City,  a  former  resident 

(108) 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES  109 

of  Enterprise,  was  in  charge  of  the  program.    B.  H.  Oesterreich  is 
president  of  the  society. 

New  officers  elected  by  the  Leavenworth  County  Historical  So- 
ciety at  a  meeting  in  Leavenworth,  October  18,  1956,  were:  Mrs. 
Jesse  Jones,  president;  Col.  Ralph  Stewart,  first  vice-president;  John 
Feller,  second  vice-president;  Mrs.  Gorman  Hunt,  secretary;  and 
Homer  Cory,  treasurer.  The  following  will  serve  on  the  board  of 
directors:  George  S.  Marshall,  W.  Hans  Frienmuth,  E.  Bert  Collard, 
Sr.,  D.  R.  Anthony,  III,  Byron  Schroeder,  J.  V.  Kelly,  and  Ruth  Bur- 
gard.  Feller  was  the  retiring  president. 

Mrs.  C.  M.  Slagg  was  re-elected  president  of  the  Riley  County 
Historical  Society  at  the  annual  meeting  in  Manhattan,  November 
15,  1956.  Other  officers  are:  Clyde  Rodkey,  vice-president;  Homer 
Socolofsky,  recording  secretary;  Mrs.  F.  F.  Harrop,  corresponding 
secretary;  Dave  Dallas,  publicity  secretary;  Mrs.  C.  M.  Correll,  mem- 
bership secretary;  Carl  Pfuetze,  curator;  and  Ed  Amos,  historian. 
Joe  D.  Haines,  John  Holmstrom,  and  Bruce  Wilson  were  elected  to 
three-year  terms  on  the  board  of  directors.  The  speaker  for  the 
program  was  Louise  Barry  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society. 
The  Riley  county  society  has  recently  acquired  new  quarters  and 
equipment  for  its  museum.  The  new  location  is  in  the  Memorial 
Auditorium. 

Twenty  Ottawa  county  citizens  met  in  Minneapolis  December  1, 
1956,  organized  the  Ottawa  County  Historical  Society,  and  elected 
the  following  officers:  Marshall  Constable,  president;  W.  A.  Ward, 
vice-president;  Mrs.  Myrtle  Thompson,  secretary;  and  Fred  Jagger, 
treasurer. 

Approximately  150  persons  attended  the  annual  dinner  of  the 
Shawnee  County  Historical  Society  at  the  Hotel  Jayhawk,  Decem- 
ber 4, 1956.  The  following  trustees  were  elected  for  three-year  terms 
ending  December  5,  1959:  Paul  A.  Lovewell,  Ray  A.  Boast,  Beryl 
R.  Johnson,  F.  J.  Rost,  Frank  Durein,  Mrs.  Paul  Adams,  Mrs. 
Henry  S.  Blake,  Dr.  John  D.  Bright,  Mrs.  W.  M.  Mills,  Mildred  Quail, 
and  Earl  Ives.  Highland  Park  was  featured  on  the  program  which 
included  a  slide  show  by  John  Ripley.  On  February  22,  1957,  the 
directors  met  and  elected  the  following  officers:  J.  Glenn  Logan, 
president;  Milton  Tabor,  vice-president;  Mrs.  Harold  Cone,  secre- 
tary; and  Mrs.  Frank  Kambach,  treasurer. 

Alan  W.  Farley,  first  vice-president  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical 
Society,  was  named  sheriff  of  the  Kansas  City  posse  of  the  Western- 


110  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

ers,  succeeding  Frank  Glenn,  at  a  meeting  December  11,  1956. 
Other  officers  are  James  R.  Fuchs,  chief  deputy  sheriff,  and  Col.  Ray 
G.  Sparks,  deputy  sheriff. 

Dr.  George  L.  Anderson,  chairman  of  the  department  of  history, 
University  of  Kansas,  delivered  the  presidential  address  entitled 
"From  Beef  to  Wheat,  the  Impact  of  Agricultural  Developments 
Upon  Banking  in  Early  Wichita,"  to  a  meeting  of  the  Agricultural 
History  Society,  December  30,  1956,  in  St.  Louis. 

Charles  N.  McCarter,  Wichita,  was  elected  president  of  the  Native 
Sons,  and  Mrs.  George  Marshall,  Basehor,  was  chosen  to  head  the 
Native  Daughters  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Native  Sons  and 
Daughters  of  Kansas  in  Topeka,  January  28,  1957.  Other  officers 
named  by  the  Native  Sons  were:  Roy  Bulkley,  Topeka,  vice-presi- 
dent; Wayne  Randall,  Osage  City,  secretary;  Dean  Yingling,  To- 
peka, treasurer.  The  Native  Daughters  elected  Mrs.  Hobart  Hoyt, 
Lyons,  vice-president;  Evelyn  Ford,  Topeka,  secretary;  and  Mrs. 
J.  C.  Tillotson,  Norton,  treasurer.  Retiring  presidents  were  Jim 
Reed,  Topeka,  and  Mrs.  J.  B.  McKay,  El  Dorado.  Bob  Considine, 
International  News  Service  columnist,  was  the  principal  speaker  at 
the  meeting.  Parts  of  the  program  appeared  on  a  nation-wide  tele- 
vision broadcast.  Among  those  appearing  on  the  broadcast  were: 
Considine,  Dr.  Karl  Menninger,  chosen  "Kansan  of  the  Year"  by 
the  Native  Sons  and  Daughters,  Gov.  George  Docking,  and  former 
Gov.  Alf  Landon.  John  McComb,  Kansas  State  College,  won  the 
oratorical  contest  sponsored  by  the  Native  Sons  and  Daughters. 

Using  the  theme  "Chautauquas,"  the  Woman's  Kansas  Day  Club 
held  its  annual  meeting  in  Topeka,  January  29,  1957.  The  retiring 
president,  Mrs.  Emerson  L.  Hazlett,  Topeka,  presided  at  the  meet- 
ing. As  its  new  president  the  club  chose  Mrs.  Edna  Peterson,.  Cha- 
nute.  Other  new  officers  are:  Mrs.  Lucile  Rust,  Manhattan,  first 
vice-president;  Mrs.  Harry  Chaff ee,  Topeka,  second  vice-president; 
Mrs.  Eugene  McMillin,  Lawrence,  recording  secretary;  Mrs.  Paul  H. 
Wedin,  Wichita,  treasurer;  Mrs.  Tillie  Karns-Newman,  Arkansas 
City,  historian;  Mrs.  McDill  Boyd,  Phillipsburg,  registrar;  and  Mrs. 
Claude  Stutzman,  Kansas  City,  auditor.  District  directors  include: 
Mrs.  T.  M.  Murrell,  Topeka,  first  district;  Mrs.  Chester  Young,  Kan- 
sas City,  second  district;  Mrs.  Raymond  Smith,  Parsons,  third  dis- 
trict; Mrs.  Ruth  Vawter  Rankin,  Wichita;  fourth  district;  Mrs.  Glee 
Smith,  Lamed,  fifth  district;  and  Mrs.  Sharon  Foster,  Ellsworth, 
sixth  district.  Historical  material  gathered  by  the  historian,  Mrs. 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES  111 

Edward  Isern,  Ellinwood,  the  district  directors  and  assistant  his- 
torians was  presented  to  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society.  This 
year's  meeting  marked  the  golden  anniversary  of  the  club. 

Eleven  members  were  named  to  two-year  terms  on  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  Finney  County  Historical  Society  at  the  society's 
annual  meeting  February  12,  1957,  in  Garden  City.  They  are:  Mrs. 
Frank  Crase,  Mrs.  Mabel  Rowe  Brown,  J.  E.  Greathouse,  Albert 
Drussel,  R.  G.  Brown,  Mrs.  Ella  Condra,  William  Fant,  Chet  Reeve, 
George  Anderson,  Mrs.  Irene  Walters,  and  Arthur  Stone.  Clifford 
Hope,  Sr.,  was  the  principal  speaker  at  the  meeting.  R.  G.  Brown 
is  president  of  the  society. 

Development  of  the  Prairie  Grove  battlefield  in  Arkansas  as  a 
historic  shrine  is  under  way,  sponsored  by  the  Washington  County 
( Ark. )  Historical  Society  and  other  groups.  It  is  designed  to  honor 
both  Union  and  Confederate  soldiers.  Kansas  troops  were  among 
those  who  fought  at  Prairie  Grove. 

The  New  York  Community  Trust  announced  recently  the  grant 
of  the  Byron  Caldwell  Smith  Award  posthumously  to  Dr.  Robert 
Taft  for  his  Artists  and  Illustrators  of  the  Old  West,  1850-1900,  pub- 
lished in  1953.  The  $750  award  is  financed  by  the  Kate  Stephens 
bequest  in  the  foundation.  Miss  Stephens  was  formerly  professor 
of  Greek  at  the  University  of  Kansas.  Dr.  Taft  was  well  known  to 
readers  of  the  Quarterly  where  his  articles,  including  "Artists  and 
Illustrators  .  .  .,"  frequently  appeared. 

Wamego  had  its  beginning  on  May  1,  1866,  when  seven  men  ar- 
rived at  the  site  and  constructed  a  small  shack.  In  1956  a  22-page 
pamphlet  on  the  town's  history  and  development  was  published  by 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Snowden  D.  Flora,  head  of  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau 
at  Topeka  from  1917  to  1949,  is  the  author  of  Hailstorms  of  the 
United  States,  published  by  the  University  of  Oklahoma  Press  in 
1956.  The  201-page  volume  includes  information  on  hail  forecast- 
ing, damage,  and  insurance.  Flora  also  discusses  the  characteristics 
of  hail  and  the  storms  that  produce  it.  During  the  period  1944-1953 
Kansas  had  the  greatest  hail  damage  of  any  state  by  a  considerable 
margin. 

Historical  sketches  of  towns  served  by  the  Missouri  Pacific  are 
printed  in  The  Empire  That  Missouri  Pacific  Serves,  a  352-page  book 


112  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTEBLY 

recently  published  by  the  railroad.    Also  included  are  brief  histories 
of  the  states  through  which  the  line  operates. 

Sigma  Nu  at  Kansas  University— 1884-1956  is  the  title  of  a  222- 
page  history  published  by  the  Sigma  Nu  fraternity  at  Lawrence  in 
1956.  Authors  included:  Grant  W.  Harrington,  Burton  P.  Sears, 
Solon  W.  Smith,  Webster  W.  Holloway,  Edward  H.  Hashinger, 
John  J.  Wheeler,  Owen  C.  Jones,  and  Edward  F.  Hudson. 

Vision — a  Saga  of  the  Sky,  by  Harold  Mansfield,  a  389-page  "nar- 
rative account  of  forty  years  of  progress  in  the  air,  the  trials  and 
triumphs  of  the  great  Boeing  Airplane  Company,"  was  recently 
published  by  Duell,  Sloan  and  Pearce,  New  York.  Of  special  in- 
terest to  Kansans  is  the  chapter  "Battle  of  Kansas,"  the  story  of  pre- 
paring the  first  B-29's  for  use  in  World  War  II. 

A  biography  of  George  Rogers  Clark,  by  John  Bakeless,  entitled 
Background  to  Glory — the  Life  of  George  Rogers  Clark  was  re- 
cently published  by  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company,  Philadelphia  and 
New  York.  Clark  was  the  military  leader  who  fought  the  British, 
French,  Spanish  and  Indians  to  win  the  Old  Northwest  during  the 
American  revolution. 

The  Founding  of  Public  Education  in  Wisconsin,  a  252-page  book 
by  Lloyd  P.  Jorgenson,  was  published  in  1956  by  the  State  Historical 
Society  of  Wisconsin,  Madison. 

Medicine  in  Chicago,  1850-1950,  a  302-page  work  by  Thomas  N. 
Bonner,  was  published  early  in  1957  by  the  American  History  Re- 
search Center,  Madison. 


D 


THE 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL 
QUARTERLY 


Summer  1957 


Published  by 

Kansas  State  Historical  Society 

Topeka 


NYLE  H.  MILLER  KIRKE  MECHEM  JAMES  C.  MALIN 

Managing  Editor  Editor  Associate  Editor 


CONTENTS 


A  SURVEY  OF  HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  IN  KANSAS 113 

With  photographs  of  Allen  county  jail,  Tola;  Gen.  Frederick  Funston  home,  near  Tola; 
officers'  quarters,  old  Fort  Scott;  "Fort  Blair"  blockhouse,  Fort  Scott;  birthplace 
of  Amelia  Earhart,  Atchison;  birthplace  of  Arthur  Capper,  Garnett;  Pawnee  Rock, 
Barton  county;  boyhood  home  of  Dwight  Eisenhower,  Abilene;  Irvin  Hall,  High- 
land Junior  College,  Highland;  Constitution  Hall  and  Lane  University,  Lecomp- 
ton;  Iowa,  Sac  and  Fox  Presbyterian  Mission,  near  Highland;  Old  Castle  Hall, 
Baldwin;  "Cathedral  of  the  Plains,"  Victoria;  Fort  Harker  guardhouse,  Kanopolis; 
boyhood  home  of  Walter  Chrysler,  Ellis;  Fort  Hays  blockhouse,  Hays;  Santa  Fe 
trail  ruts,  near  Dodge  City;  "Tauy"  Jones  house  and  Silkville  colony,  Franklin 
county;  Shawnee  Methodist  Mission,  Fairway;  covered  bridge,  Leavenworth 
county;  Mark  W.  Delahay  and  Fred  Harvey  homes,  Planters'  House,  Leaven- 
worth;  Point  of  Rocks,  Morton  county;  "Last  Chance"  Store  and  Kaw  Methodist 
Mission,  Council  Grove;  Pottawatomie  Baptist  Mission  building,  near  Topeka; 
Fort  Larned,  Pawnee  county;  cabin  of  Dr.  Brewster  Higley,  Smith  county; 
El  Quartelejo  monument,  Scott  county;  Brookville  Hotel,  Saline  county;  "Cow- 
town  Wichita,"  Sedgwick  county;  birthplace  of  Damon  Runyon,  Manhattan;  Fort 
Wallace  cemetery  marker,  Wallace  county;  First  territorial  capitol,  Fort  Riley; 
Pond  creek  stage  station,  Wallace  county;  cave  in  Battle  canyon,  Scott  county; 
Hollenberg  ranch  Pony  Express  station,  Washington  county;  Moses  Grinter  house, 
Wyandotte  county,  and  Beecher  Bible  and  Rifle  Church,  Wabaunsee,  between 
pp.  144,  145. 

A  FREE-STATER'S  "LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR":    Samuel  N.  Wood's  Letters 

to  Eastern  Newspapers,  1854 Edited  by  Robert  W.  Richmond,  181 

THEATRE  IN  KANSAS,  1858-1868:    Background  for  the  Coming  of  the  Lord 
Dramatic  Company  to  Kansas,  1869   (Part  Two,  Atchison,  Lawrence 

and  Topeka) — Concluded    James  C.  Malin,  191 

BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY    204 

KANSAS  HISTORY  AS  PUBLISHED  IN  THE  PRESS 211 

KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES   .  221 


The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly  is  published  four  times  a  year  by  the  Kansas 
State  Historical  Society,  120  W.  Tenth,  Topeka,  Kan.,  and  is  distributed  free  to 
members.  Correspondence  concerning  contributions  may  be  sent  to  the  manag- 
ing 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 

Students  and  faculty  of  Lane  University,  Lecompton,  about  1884. 
The  parents  of  President  Dwight  Eisenhower  attended  this  college. 
Ida  Elizabeth  Stover,  the  President's  mother,  is  seated  sixth  from 
the  right  in  the  front  row.  Photo  courtesy  J.  O.  Gunnels,  Colby. 

For  a  picture  of  the  Lane  University  building  at  it  appears  today 
see  between  pp.  144,  145. 


THE  KANSAS  ' 

HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Volume  XXIII  Summer,  1957  Number  2 


A  Survey  of  Historic  Sites  and  Structures  in  Kansas 

DURING  1955  and  1956,  in  compliance  with  an  act  of  the  1955 
legislature,  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society  conducted  a 
survey  of  historic  sites  and  structures  in  the  state.  The  law  required 
that  a  report  containing  "the  results  of  the  survey  and  recommenda- 
tions for  acquisition,  maintenance  and  preservation"  of  such  sites 
and  structures  should  be  made  to  the  1957  session. 

The  report  was  presented  to  the  governor  and  members  of  the 
legislature  in  March,  1957.  Since  it  was  not  printed  in  sufficient 
quantity  that  it  could  be  sent  also  to  the  members  of  the  Society 
it  is  reprinted  here,  with  several  additions  and  revisions,  in  the 
belief  that  it  will  be  of  general  interest  to  the  membership  and 
other  readers  of  the  Quarterly.  The  presentation  includes  a  brief 
historical  statement  for  each  site,  its  location  and  present  status, 
and  a  recommendation  for  preservation  or  marking  if  such  recog- 
nition is  believed  desirable  and  practicable.  Points  of  scenic  interest 
have  not  been  included  unless  there  is  a  definite  historical  connec- 
tion. 

As  a  general  rule,  if  the  site  is  public  property  or  is  administered 
by  an  established  organization,  or  if  it  is  already  marked,  the  rec- 
ommendation is  "status  quo,"  by  which  is  meant  that  no  change 
is  considered  necessary  at  this  time.  This  is  not  to  say,  however, 
that  preservation  or  administration  is  in  all  cases  as  effective  as  it 
should  be. 

Of  the  186  sites  reported  in  this  survey  three,  Fort  Leavenworth, 
Fort  Riley  and  Point  of  Rocks  in  Morton  county,  are  federal  prop- 
erty. Three  others — Shawnee  Methodist  Mission  near  Kansas  City, 
Fort  Larned  in  Pawnee  county,  and  the  Santa  Fe  trail  remains 
west  of  Dodge  City — have  been  designated  by  the  National  Park 
Service  as  worthy  of  further  study  and  possible  recognition  as  Na- 
tional Monuments,  and  this  survey  recommends  that  they  be  so 
recognized.  If  for  any  reason  the  National  Park  Service  does  not 
accept  Fort  Larned  and  the  Santa  Fe  trail  remains,  they  should  be 

(113) 


114  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

preserved  as  valued  historical  assets  by  the  state,  or  locally,  as 
parks  and  museums. 

Eighteen  sites,  including  Shawnee  Methodist  Mission,  are  now 
state  property  and  at  least  two  more  should  become  state  parks 
and  museums.  El  Quartelejo  in  Scott  County  State  Park,  the  site 
of  which  is  owned  by  the  Kansas  Society  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution,  is  an  outstanding  archaeological  attraction 
and  should  be  rebuilt  and  maintained.  Pottawatomie  Baptist  Mis- 
sion near  Topeka,  now  privately  owned,  for  reasons  stated  in  the 
report  should  be  taken  over  by  the  state. 

State  historical  markers  have  been  erected  for  45  sites  included 
in  this  report;  it  is  suggested  that  25  additional  sites  be  given  the 
same  recognition.  Forty-four  sites  have  been  marked  by  organi- 
zations or  individuals;  the  survey  suggests  that  52  others  be  sim- 
ilarly marked.  Fourteen  sites  are  now  preserved  and  maintained 
locally;  six  others  are  noted  as  sufficiently  important  to  warrant 
local  preservation  if  economically  feasible.  Several  buildings  cur- 
rently maintained  for  regular  use  are  not  included  in  this  count. 

Many  omissions  will  be  discovered  in  this  list.  However,  the 
Society  intends  to  continue  the  survey  as  part  of  its  regular  oper- 
ations, and  ultimately  will  examine  all  important  sites  and  struc- 
tures in  the  state.  Lacking  full-time  survey  personnel,  the  work 
must  be  done — as  it  has  been  during  the  past  two  years — by  staff 
members  whenever  time  can  be  spared  from  their  regular  duties, 
or  whenever  it  is  possible  to  combine  the  survey  with  other  ac- 
tivities. 

The  Society  is  grateful  to  the  many  friends  who  assisted  in  ob- 
taining information  for  the  survey,  and  will  appreciate  suggestions 
as  to  additional  sites  and  structures  which  should  be  included  in 
future  lists.  Thanks  are  due  also  to  the  Kansas  Industrial  Develop- 
ment Commission  for  seven  photographs,  and  to  the  Omaha  office 
of  the  National  Park  Service  for  six  photographs,  published  in  the 
picture  section  between  pp.  144,  145. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  115 

ALLEN  COUNTY 

1.  GEN.  FREDERICK  FUNSTON  HOME. 

History:  This  property  was  homesteaded  in  1867  by  Edward  H. 
Funston,  later  a  member  of  congress  from  Kansas,  1884- 
1894.  His  son,  Frederick  (1865-1917),  won  fame  as  colonel 
of  the  Twentieth  Kansas  regiment  in  the  Philippine  Insurrec- 
tion by  capturing  the  insurgent  leader  Aguinaldo,  was 
awarded  the  Congressional  Medal  of  Honor,  and  at  the  time 
of  his  death  was  a  major  general  in  the  U.  S.  army. 

Location  and  description:  A  two-story  frame  house  on  U.  S.  59 
about  five  miles  north  of  lola. 

Status:  The  Funston  home  was  presented  to  the  state  by  the 
general's  sister,  Ella  Funston  Eckdall,  and  her  husband,  and 
was  accepted  by  act  of  the  1955  legislature.  It  is  now  ad- 
ministered by  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society  as  a  mu- 
seum. A  state  historical  marker  stands  in  front  of  the  home. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  COUNTY  JAIL,  IOLA. 

History:  Built  in  1869  and  still  in  use  as  a  county  jail,  this  is  one 
of  the  oldest  public  buildings  in  Kansas  in  continuous  use. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  limestone  block  building 
at  204  North  Jefferson  St. 

Status:  Still  in  use  as  a  county  jail. 

Recommendations:  An  excellent  place  for  a  local  museum. 
Local  historical  marker. 

3.  STONEY  LONESOME  SCHOOLHOUSE. 

History:  Formerly  a  rural  school  at  which  Gen.  Frederick  Fun- 
ston was  a  teacher  in  1886. 

Location  and  description:  Fragmentary  remains  about  five  miles 
south  of  lola  on  U.  S.  59. 

Status:  On  privately  owned  land.  A  local  historical  marker  has 
been  erected  on  U.  S.  59  at  the  school  site. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 


116  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

ANDERSON  COUNTY 

1.   ARTHUR  CAPPER  HOME,  GARNETT. 

History:  Arthur  Capper,  distinguished  newspaperman  and  pub- 
lisher of  farm  journals,  governor  of  Kansas,  1915-1919,  and 
U.  S.  senator  from  Kansas,  1919-1949,  was  bora  in  this  house 
July  14,  1865. 

Location  and  description:  A  small  one-story  red  brick  structure 
at  Fifth  and  Cedar  Sts.  A  manufacturing  plant  has  been 
built  to  the  side  of  the  house  and  almost  touching  it. 

Status:  In  1956  the  Capper  Memorial  Museum  Association  was 
chartered  to  preserve  the  property. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

ATCHISON  COUNTY 

1.  AMELIA  EARHART  BIRTHPLACE,  ATCHISON. 

History:  Amelia  Earhart,  famous  aviatrix  and  first  woman  to 
fly  the  Atlantic  solo,  was  bom  in  this  house  and  spent  most 
of  her  childhood  here. 

Location  and  description:  A  two-story  frame  structure  with 
brick  addition  at  the  back,  located  at  223  North  Terrace. 

Status:  Privately  owned  and  occupied  as  a  residence. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

2.  BYRAM  HOTEL,  ATCHISON. 

History:  Opened  as  the  "Otis  House"  on  May  14,  1873,  and  still 
in  operation,  this  is  the  oldest  hotel  in  the  city.  It  was  origi- 
nally to  be  called  the  "Pomeroy"  in  honor  of  Sen.  S.  C.  Pome- 
roy,  but  the  senator  was  involved  in  an  election  scandal  early 
that  year  and  his  name  was  not  used. 

Location  and  description:  Brick,  stone  and  stucco  four-story 
structure,  located  at  202  Commercial  St. 

Status:  Privately  owned  and  operated  as  a  hotel. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

3.  ED  HOWE  HOME,  ATCHISON. 

History:  Edgar  Watson  Howe,  famous  writer,  editor  and  pub- 
lisher, built  this  home  in  1880.  He  also  owned  a  home, 
"Potato  Hill,"  outside  the  city. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  117 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  red  brick  house  at  1117 
North  Third  St. 

Status:  In  good  repair  and  occupied  as  a  residence  by  Adelaide 
Howe,  niece  of  Ed  Howe. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 

4.  JOHN  A.  MARTIN  HOUSE,  ATCHISON. 

History:  John  A.  Martin,  pioneer  Atchison  newspaperman,  built 
this  house  in  1871.  Martin  served  as  colonel  of  the  Eighth 
Kansas  infantry  in  the  Civil  War  and  as  governor  of  Kansas, 
1885-1889. 

Location  and  description:  A  two-story  red  brick  structure  at 
315  North  Terrace. 

Status:  Still  owned  by  members  of  the  Martin  family  and  oc- 
cupied as  a  residence. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

5.  OLD  PRIORY,  ST.  BENEDICT'S  COLLEGE,  ATCHISON. 

History:  The  Priory  was  the  first  building  at  the  college,  con- 
structed by  the  Benedictine  order  in  1859.  A  wing  was 
added  in  1861  and  a  church  was  begun  in  1866.  The  latter 
was  not  completed  until  after  the  turn  of  the  century. 

Location  and  description:  A  three-story  brick  structure  located 
on  the  St.  Benedict's  campus.  It  now  connects  the  church 
building  and  another  wing. 

Status:  The  building  is  still  in  use  by  the  college. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 


BARBER  COUNTY 

1.    CARRY  NATION  HOME,  MEDICINE  LODGE. 

History:  Carry  Nation  and  her  husband  David  moved  into  this 
house  in  the  late  1880's.  Mrs.  Nation  was  one  of  the  coun- 
try's most  militant  reformers  and  prohibitionists,  and  re- 
ceived national  attention  for  her  "barroom-smashing"  activi- 
ties. 

Location  and  description:  One-story  brick  house  at  the  comer  of 
Fowler  Ave.  and  Oak  St.,  on  U.  S.  160. 


118  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Status:  The  house  is  now  a  museum  and  is  open  to  the  public 
daily.  It  is  owned  and  operated  by  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union. 

Recommendations:    Status  quo. 

2.   MEDICINE  LODGE  PEACE  TREATY,  MEDICINE  LODGE. 

History:  In  October,  1867,  Kiowa,  Comanche,  Arapahoe,  Apache 
and  Cheyenne  Indians  signed  peace  treaties  with  the  U.  S. 
government  near  Medicine  Lodge.  Several  famous  chiefs 
and  military  men  were  present  and  the  council  drew  wide- 
spread interest. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  confluence  of  Elm  creek 
and  Medicine  Lodge  river. 

Status:  There  is  a  state  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  160,  just  east 
of  Medicine  Lodge,  and  there  is  a  monument  in  the  town 
commemorating  the  treaty. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

BARTON  COUNTY 

1.  FORT  ZARAH. 

History:  Fort  Zarah  was  a  frontier  army  post  on  the  Santa  Fe 
trail  and  was  in  use  from  1864  to  1869. 

Location  and  description:  Only  the  site  remains.  It  is  located 
two  miles  east  of  Great  Bend  on  U.  S.  56. 

Status:  Located  near  a  state  roadside  park.  A  state  historical 
marker  on  the  highway  calls  attention  to  the  site. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

2.  PAWNEE  ROCK. 

History:  A  famous  landmark  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail,  the  rock 
served  as  a  lookout  point  for  Indians  and  was  also  a  favorite 
ambush.  Later  the  area  at  the  base  was  popular  as  an 
emigrant  campground.  Much  of  the  top  was  stripped  off 
by  railroad  builders  and  pioneers,  and  the  rock  is  now  much 
smaller  than  it  was  originally. 

Location  and  description:  Large  rock  elevation,  just  north  of 
the  town  of  Pawnee  Rock  off  U.  S.  56. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  119 

Status:  The  remaining  rock  is  now  in  a  state  park.  A  shelter 
and  monument  are  on  the  summit,  and  there  is  a  state 
historical  marker  on  U.  S.  56  west  of  the  town  of  Pawnee 
Rock. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

BOURBON  COUNTY 

1.   OLD  FORT  SCOTT,  FORT  SCOTT. 

History:  Fort  Scott  was  established  in  1842  and  was  in  use 
most  of  the  time  until  1873.  It  was  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant early  posts  on  the  Western  frontier  and  in  Kansas  is 
second  only  to  Fort  Leavenworth  in  age.  During  the  Civil 
War  the  post  was  of  strategic  importance  to  the  Union 
and  played  an  important  part  in  preventing  Missouri  from 
joining  the  Confederacy. 

Location  and  description:  Several  buildings  of  the  old  fort  still 
survive — a  double  set  of  officers'  quarters,  half  of  a  double 
set  of  officers'  quarters,  the  bakery,  the  cavalry  stables,  and 
the  hospital  building — all  of  them  located  on  Carroll  Plaza. 

Status:  Several  of  the  old  buildings  are  owned  and  preserved 
by  the  city  of  Fort  Scott.  One  contains  a  museum  which  is 
administered  by  the  Business  and  Professional  Women's 
Club.  A  state  historical  marker  has  been  erected  on  U.  S.  69 
at  the  north  edge  of  Fort  Scott. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

BROWN  COUNTY 

1.   TORT  LEXINGTON"  AND  THE  LANE  TRAIL. 

History:  In  order  to  avoid  the  dangers  and  difficulties  often  en- 
countered by  Free-State  immigrants  traveling  through  Mis- 
souri to  Kansas,  James  H.  Lane  in  1856  opened  the  Lane 
trail.  Running  south  from  Iowa  through  Nebraska,  it 
crossed  western  Brown  county  where  Lane  and  his  "Northern 
Army"  founded  the  settlements  of  Plymouth  and  Lexington, 
neither  of  which  survived  for  long. 

Location  and  description:  Plymouth  was  located  on  Pony  creek, 
in  Sec.  15,  T  1  S,  R  15  E.  Lexington  was  about  three  miles 


120  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

southeast  of  Sabetha   and   about  two   miles   northwest   of 
Fairview. 

Status:  Privately  owned  farm  land. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  36  near 
Fairview. 

2.   KICKAPOO  PRESBYTERIAN  MISSION,  HORTON. 

History:  In  December,  1856,  a  Presbyterian  mission  and  school 
for  the  Kickapoo  Indians  was  established  on  what  is  now 
Horton  Heights.  It  passed  into  other  hands  in  1869,  and  in 
1871  was  abandoned  and  the  building  razed. 

Location  and  description:   Site  only,  in  Horton. 

Status:  One  of  the  least  publicized  Indian  missions  in  Kansas.  A 
local  historical  marker  has  been  erected. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 


BUTLER  COUNTY 

1.  FIRST  BUILDING  IN  AUGUSTA. 

History:  This  building  was  erected  in  1868  and  served  at  various 
times  as  a  store,  post  office,  school,  and  a  meeting  place  for 
the  Masonic  Lodge  and  Baptist  and  Methodist  congregations. 

Location  and  description:  One  and  one  half  story  log  and  frame 
structure  located  on  the  main  street  of  Augusta,  U.  S.  77. 

Status:  The  building  is  owned  and  operated  by  the  Augusta 
Historical  Society  as  a  museum. 

Recommendations:    Status  quo. 

2.  STAPLETON  No.  1  OIL  WELL,  EL  DORADO. 

History:  The  discovery  well  of  the  El  Dorado  oil  field,  known  as 
Stapleton  No.  1,  came  in  on  October  9,  1915.  It  was  drilled 
by  the  Wichita  Natural  Gas  company  and  opened  one  of  the 
richest  oil  fields  in  the  West. 

Location  and  description:  SEM,  Sec.  29,  T  25  S,  R  5  E,  on  the 
northwestern  outskirts  of  El  Dorado. 

Status:  A  marker  was  erected  near  the  site  of  the  well  in  1940 
and  the  land  on  which  it  stands  was  presented  to  the  Kansas 
State  Historical  Society  at  that  time. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  121 

CHASE  COUNTY 

1.    SAMUEL  N.  WOOD  HOME,  COTTONWOOD  FALLS. 

History:  This  house  was  built  in  the  1860's  by  Samuel  N.  Wood, 
Free-State  leader  and  pioneer  newspaper  publisher  (Cotton- 
wood  Falls,  Council  Grove  and  Lawrence)  who  remained 
active  in  Kansas  affairs  until  his  death  in  1891.  He  was 
murdered  during  the  county-seat  fight  in  Stevens  county. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  stone  house  located  in  the 
southeast  part  of  town. 

Status:  Privately  owned  and  occupied  as  a  residence. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

CHAUTAUQUA  COUNTY 
CHEROKEE  COUNTY 

1.   BAXTER  SPRINGS  MASSACRE,  BAXTER  SPRINGS. 

History:  On  October  6,  1863,  a  Union  military  force  under 
Gen.  James  Blunt  was  attacked  and  nearly  annihilated  by 
Confederate  guerrillas  under  William  Quantrill.  Another 
group  of  Union  soldiers  was  also  attacked  by  the  Con- 
federates in  the  same  vicinity.  A  number  of  the  victims  are 
buried  in  the  National  Cemetery  near  Baxter  Springs. 

Location  and  description:  Battle  sites  within  present  city  limits. 

Status:  A  state  historical  marker  telling  the  story  of  these  battles 
has  been  erected  on  U.  S.  66  at  Baxter  Springs. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

CHEYENNE  COUNTY 
CLARK  COUNTY 

1.   "LIVING  WATER  MARKER" — ST.  JACOB'S  WELL. 

History:  St.  Jacob's  Well  was  a  famous  watering  place  on  the 
Fort  Supply-Fort  Dodge  trail  which  was  used  during  pioneer 
days  in  western  Kansas  by  the  U.  S.  army,  cattlemen  and 
buffalo  hunters.  It  is  said  to  have  never  been  dry,  even 


122  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

during  years  of  extreme  drought.  About  one  half  mile  south 
was  a  marker  with  an  index  stone  on  top  pointing  to  the 
well. 

Location  and  description:  A  pile  of  stones  on  the  Fort  Supply- 
Fort  Dodge  trail,  west  of  Ashland  and  near  U.  S.  160.  Traces 
of  the  old  trail  are  still  in  evidence  about  ten  miles  west  of 
Ashland. 

Status:  On  privately  owned  farm  land. 

Recommendations:  Marker  should  be  rebuilt  and  a  state  his- 
torical marker  placed  on  U.  S.  160-283.  The  entire  area  of 
the  Great  Basin  is  rich  in  fossils  and  might  well  be  made  a 
state  park. 


CLAY  COUNTY 
CLOUD  COUNTY 

1.   BOSTON  CORBETT  HOMESTEAD. 

History:  Boston  Corbett,  Civil  War  soldier  and  slayer  of  John 
Wilkes  Booth,  Lincoln's  assassin,  settled  on  a  claim  in  Cloud 
county  in  the  fall  of  1878.  In  1887  he  was  appointed  as- 
sistant doorkeeper  of  the  Kansas  House  of  Representatives. 
During  the  session  he  went  berserk  and  was  committed  to 
the  Topeka  State  Hospital.  He  escaped  in  1888,  and  his 
whereabouts  after  that  time  were  never  established. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  WX,  NE&,  Sec.  12,  T  7  S, 
R  3  W,  about  four  miles  east  of  U.  S.  81. 

Status:  On  privately  owned  farm  land. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

COFFEY  COUNTY 
COMANCHE  COUNTY 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  123 

COWLEY  COUNTY 

1.    CHEROKEE  STRIP  OPENING,  ARKANSAS  CITY. 

History:  In  September,  1893,  thousands  of  persons  gathered 
in  and  around  Arkansas  City  prepared  to  make  the  "run" 
into  Oklahoma  territory  to  obtain  land. 

Location  and  description:    General  area  near  Arkansas  City. 

Status:  A  state  historical  marker  has  been  erected  on  U.  S.  77 
three  miles  south  of  Arkansas  City.  A  granite  marker  south 
of  the  city  on  the  same  highway  also  commemorates  the 
event. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

CRAWFORD  COUNTY 

1.  TOWNSHIP  HALL,  FARLINGTON. 

History:  Built  in  1873  for  use  as  a  township  hall,  it  is  still  used 
for  meetings. 

Location  and  description:    Clay  block  building  in  Farlington. 

Status:   In  good  repair. 

Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 

2.  FRANKLIN  FLATTER  HOME. 

History:  This  house  was  built  about  1880  by  Franklin  Playter, 
an  early  settler  of  Crawford  county,  and  was  the  center  of  a 
large  cattle-ranching  operation. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  stone  house  with  a  large 
cupola,  located  two  miles  southeast  of  Walnut. 

Status:  Privately  owned  and  occupied  as  a  residence. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

DECATUR  COUNTY 

1.   LAST  INDIAN  RAID  IN  KANSAS. 

History:  In  1878  Northern  Cheyennes,  led  by  Chief  Dull 
Knife,  left  their  Oklahoma  reservation  in  an  attempt  to  re- 
turn to  the  tribal  home  in  the  North.  They  were  harassed 
by  U.S.  troops  and  cowboys  and  in  turn  terrorized  resi- 


124  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

dents  of  several  western  Kansas  counties.  Forty  Kansas 
settlers  were  killed  on  their  farms,  19  of  them  on  Sappa 
creek  in  Decatur  county. 

Location  and  description:    General  area   along  Sappa  creek. 

Status:  The  bodies  of  several  of  the  murdered  settlers  are 
buried  in  a  cemetery  on  the  northern  city  limits  of  Oberlin, 
and  a  monument  to  their  memory  stands  in  the  cemetery. 
A  state  historical  marker  is  located  at  the  junction  of  U.  S. 
36  and  U.  S.  183. 

Recommendations:    Status  quo. 

DICKINSON  COUNTY 

1.  DWIGHT  D.  EISENHOWER  HOME,  ABILENE. 

History:  Boyhood  home  of  Dwight  D.  Eisenhower,  President 
of  the  United  States  and  famed  military  leader  in  World 
War  II. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  frame  house  at  201  South 
East  Fourth  St. 

Status:  The  home  is  maintained  by  the  Eisenhower  Foundation. 
Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

2.  DICKINSON  COUNTY  HIGH  SCHOOL,  CHAPMAN. 

History:  This  school  building  is  said  to  be  the  first  county 
high  school  in  the  United  States.  Construction  began  in 
1887  and  it  was  dedicated  September  3,  1889.  The  Hi-Y 
movement  was  organized  here  in  1889.  .  .- 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  stone  building. 

Status:  The  building  is  still  in  use  as  a  high  school.  Two  local 
markers  have  been  erected. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

DONIPHAN  COUNTY 

1.    IOWA,  SAC  AND  Fox  PRESBYTERIAN  MISSION. 

History:  The  Presbyterian  Church  established  a  log-cabin  mis- 
sion and  school  to  the  Iowa,  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  in  1837 
under  the  direction  of  Samuel  and  Eliza  Irvin.  A  three-story 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  125 

stone  and  brick  building  of  32  rooms  was  completed  in  1846. 
The  present  building  is  a  remaining  portion  of  the  original 
one. 

Location  and  description:  A  brick  building  located  two  miles 
east  and  a  little  north  of  Highland,  off  U.  S.  36. 

Status:  The  building  is  owned  by  the  state  and  a  museum  is 
under  the  direction  of  the  Northeast  Kansas  Historical  So- 
ciety. A  state  historical  marker  is  located  on  U.  S.  36,  just  east 
of  the  town. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.    IRVIN  HALL,  HIGHLAND  JUNIOR  COLLEGE,  HIGHLAND. 

History:  Highland  Junior  College  is  the  oldest  institution  of 
higher  learning  in  Kansas.  It  was  chartered  as  Highland 
University  on  February  9,  1858,  and  Irvin  Hall  was  com- 
pleted in  1859.  The  school  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  Presby- 
terian mission  to  the  Iowa,  Sac  and  Fox  Indians. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  brick  building  on  the 
Highland  campus  on  U.  S.  36. 

Status:  The  building  is  still  in  use  by  the  school  although  some 
alterations  have  been  made  since  it  was  built.  A  marker  has 
been  erected  on  the  campus. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

DOUGLAS  COUNTY 

1.  OLD  CASTLE  HALL,  BAKER  UNIVERSITY,  BALDWIN. 

History:  Baker  University  was  chartered  February  12,  1858,  and 
the  "old  castle"  was  its  first  building.  Baker  is  the  oldest 
four-year  college  in  Kansas. 

Location  and  description:  A  three-story  stone  building  located 
near  the  Baker  campus. 

Status:  Owned  by  the  university  and  operated  as  a  museum  by 
the  Old  Castle  Memorial  Association.  A  plaque  is  mounted 
on  the  front  of  the  building. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  BIG  SPRINGS. 

History:  Once  a  popular  watering  place  on  the  Oregon  trail 
between  Lawrence  and  Topeka,  the  springs  for  which  the 


126  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

town  was  originally  named  are  now  dry.  The  Free-State 
party  of  Kansas  held  a  policy-making  meeting  in  Big  Springs 
in  1855  and  the  first  United  Brethren  church  in  Kansas  was 
built  there  in  the  1850's. 

Location  and  description:  Unincorporated  village  on  U.  S.  40 — 

K-10,  between  Lawrence  and  Topeka. 
Status:  Some  remains  of  the  early  church  exist,  and  the  present 

organization,  which  has  a  church  across  the  highway  from 

the  original  site,  has  erected  a  marker.    No  marker  for  the 

town  and  its  territorial  status  exists. 

Recommendations:   State  historical  marker. 

3.  BATTLE  OF  BLACK  JACK. 

History:  One  of  the  more  important  skirmishes  between  Free- 
State  and  Proslavery  partisans,  this  incident  occurred  June  2, 
1856.  John  Brown  and  his  company  attacked  and  defeated 
a  Proslavery  group  led  by  Henry  C.  Pate. 

Location  and  description:  Battleground  was  three  miles  east 
and  one  fourth  mile  south  of  Baldwin,  off  U.  S.  50. 

Status:  Privately  owned  farm  land.  A  monument  commemorat- 
ing the  incident  stands  on  a  small  plot  of  state-owned  ground. 
A  state  historical  marker  has  been  erected  on  U.  S.  50  three 
miles  east  of  Baldwin. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

4.  'ToRT'Trrus. 

History:  During  the  territorial  troubles  Col.  H.  T.  Titus,  a  Pro- 
slavery  leader,  built  a  strong  log  house  which  soon  became 
a  Proslavery  rendezvous.  On  August  16,  1856,  Free-State 
forces  besieged  and  captured  the  building  and  its  defenders 
after  both  sides  suffered  several  wounded.  Following  the 
skirmish  the  building  was  burned. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  EM,  Sec.  10,  T  12  S,  R  18  E, 
about  two  miles  south  of  Lecompton,  off  U.  S.  40 — K-10. 

Status:  Privately  owned  farm  land. 
Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker. 

5.  FRANKLIN. 

History:  Franklin  was  a  Proslavery  settlement,  a  rival  of  Law- 
rence during  the  early  territorial  period  and  headquarters  for 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  127 

Southern  forces  during  border  difficulties  in  1856.  Two 
"battles"  of  Franklin  were  fought,  in  June  and  August,  1856. 
In  the  first,  Free-State  men  captured  a  quantity  of  arms, 
ammunition  and  provisions.  In  the  second,  they  captured 
the  cannon,  "Old  Sacramento,"  and  more  small  arms. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  Sec.  10,  T  13  S,  R  20  E, 
about  two  miles  east  of  Lawrence,  off  K-10.  The  town's 
cemetery  is  about  all  that  remains  of  old  Franklin. 

Status:  Privately  owned  farm  land. 
Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker. 

6.  Gov.  CHARLES  ROBINSON  HOUSE,  LAWRENCE. 

History:  Charles  Robinson,  first  governor  of  the  state  of  Kansas, 
built  this  house  in  1867.  His  will  bequeathed  it  and  the 
farm  on  which  it  stands  to  the  University  of  Kansas. 

Location  and  description:   Two-story  frame  house  about  three 

miles  northeast  of  Lawrence,  off  U.  S.  24-40. 
Status:  In  good  repair.    Property  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

7.  TRINITY  EPISCOPAL  PARISH  HOUSE,  LAWRENCE. 

History:  Erected  in  1858,  this  is  the  oldest  church  building  in 
Kansas,  with  the  exception  of  early  missions.  It  was  origi- 
nally the  church  but  was  converted  to  a  parish  house  upon 
the  completion  of  the  present  church  in  1871. 

Location  and  description:  One-story  limestone  English  Gothic 
structure,  1009  Vermont  St. 

Status:  Still  in  use  by  the  parish  and  in  good  repair.  There  is  a 
small  marker  on  the  building. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

8.  CONSTITUTION  HALL,  LECOMPTON. 

History:  Lecompton  was  a  territorial  capital  of  Kansas.  In  this 
building  the  Proslavery  constitution  of  1857  was  drafted. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  white  frame  structure,  three 
miles  north  of  U.  S.  40— K-10. 

Status:  The  building  is  owned  and  used  by  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  lodge 
of  Lecompton  and  is  in  reasonably  good  repair. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 


128  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

9.    LANE  UNIVERSITY  BUILDING,  LECOMPTON. 

History:  This  building  was  used  by  Lane  University,  a  school 
which  opened  in  1865  and  closed  in  1903  when  it  was  merged 
with  Campbell  College  in  Holton.  Although  the  building 
was  not  erected  until  the  early  1880's,  it  rests  on  part  of  the 
foundation  of  the  territorial  capitol,  begun  in  1856  but  never 
finished.  Dwight  D.  Eisenhower's  parents  met  as  students  at 
Lane  University  and  were  married  in  1885  in  Lecompton. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  stone  building. 

Status:  The  building  is  now  owned  by  the  local  school  board 
and  is  used  for  storage. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

EDWARDS  COUNTY 

1.    BATTLE  OF  COON  CREEK. 

History:  On  June  17,  1848,  a  small  body  of  U.  S.  troops  from 
Fort  Leavenworth,  en  route  to  Fort  Mann,  was  attacked  by  a 
large  band  of  Comanche  and  Apache  Indians  between  Coon 
creek  and  the  Arkansas  river  near  the  site  of  present  Kinsley. 
These  troops  were  among  the  first  in  the  army  to  be  equipped 
with  breech-loading  carbines,  which  could  be  loaded  and 
fired  five  times  per  minute.  The  Indians  were  bewildered 
by  the  rapid  fire  and  their  attack  was  repulsed. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  near  U.  S.  50  just  east  of 
Kinsley. 

St  at  us:  Privately  owned  land. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

ELK  COUNTY 

ELLIS  COUNTY 

1.   WALTER  P.  CHRYSLER  HOME,  ELLIS. 

History:  This  house  was  the  boyhood  home  of  automobile  manu- 
facturer Walter  Chrysler.  He  was  once  employed  in  the 
Union  Pacific  railroad  shops  in  Ellis. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  white  frame  house  on  U.  S. 
40. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  129 

Status:  The  house  is  open  as  a  museum,  sponsored  by  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Ellis. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  FORT  HAYS,  HAYS. 

History:  Fort  Hays  was  an  army  post  and  supply  depot  on  the 
Western  frontier,  1865-1889,  and  was  an  important  head- 
quarters during  the  Indian  wars.  Such  famous  names  as 
Hickok,  Cody,  Sheridan  and  Custer  are  associated  with  the 
history  of  the  fort. 

Location  and  description:  Two  limestone  structures,  the  original 
blockhouse  and  guardhouse,  located  in  Frontier  Historical 
Park,  near  junction  of  U.  S.  183  and  U.  S.  40. 

Status:  These  buildings  are  in  good  condition  and  are  located  in 
a  state  park  which  is  supervised  by  a  state  board  of  man- 
agers. A  museum  has  been  established  in  the  old  block- 
house and  a  state  historical  marker  has  been  erected  on 
U.  S.  40. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

3.  VICTORIA. 

History:  Victoria  was  established  in  1873  by  George  Grant,  a 
wealthy  Scottish  merchant.  Grant  sold  parts  of  his  69,000- 
acre  holdings  to  English  and  Scottish  colonists,  many  of  them 
younger  sons  of  aristocratic  families.  On  these  estates  they 
were  to  learn  the  arts  of  agriculture  and  stock-raising. 
Actually  most  of  their  time  was  devoted  to  cricket,  polo  and 
hunting.  Herzog,  a  Russian-German  colony  established  in 
1876  one  half  mile  north  of  Victoria,  gradually  merged  with 
the  English  colony,  and  in  1913  they  were  incorporated  under 
the  name  of  Victoria. 

Location  and  description:  The  original  townsite  was  in  the 
SWM,  Sec.  7,  T  14  S,  R  16  E. 

Status:  State  historical  marker  is  soon  to  be  erected  on  U.  S.  40. 
Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

4.  ST.  FIDELIS  CHURCH,  VICTORIA. 

History:  Designed  by  John  Comes  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and  Joseph 
Marshall  of  Topeka,  this  church  was  built  through  the  ef- 
forts of  the  parishioners,  most  of  them  German-Russian  emi- 

10—7716 


130  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

grants.     William   Jennings    Bryan   called   the   church   the 
"Cathedral  of  the  Prairies/'    It  was  dedicated  in  1911. 

Location  and  description:  Romanesque  limestone  structure  with 
twin  spires  141  feet  high. 

Status:  In  use  as  a  Roman  Catholic  church. 
Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

5.    GEORGE  GRANT  VILLA. 

History:  Built  about  1874  by  George  Grant,  founder  of  Victoria 
colony,  for  his  own  home. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  stone  house,  with  porch 
on  three  sides,  located  on  a  county  road  five  miles  south  and 
one  and  one  half  miles  east  of  Victoria,  in  Sec.  6,  T  15  S, 
R16E. 

Status:  In  excellent  condition,  privately  owned  and  occupied 
as  a  residence. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 


ELLSWORTH  COUNTY 

1.  WHITE  HOUSE  HOTEL,  ELLSWORTH. 

History:  The  hotel  was  built  in  1872  by  Arthur  Larkin  and  was 
first  named  the  Grand  Central  Hotel.  It  was  a  famous  West- 
ern hostelry  during  the  cattle  trail  days  and  its  register  boasted 
such  names  as  Wm.  F.  Cody  and  "Wild  Bill"  Hickok. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  stone,  brick  and  stucco 
building  on  North  Main  St.,  on  city  route  U.  S.  40.  ,  v 

Status:  The  hotel  is  still  in  operation. 
Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker. 

2.  FORT  HARKER,  KANOPOLJS. 

History:  Fort  Harker,  first  named  Fort  Ellsworth,  was  a  frontier 
army  post  and  an  important  base  of  operations  and  supplies 
during  the  Indian  wars,  1864-1873. 

Location  and  description:  Four  stone  buildings,  two  miles  south 
of  U.  S.  40. 

Status:  The  old  guardhouse  building  is  owned  by  the  city  of 
Kanopolis  and  is  leased  to  the  local  American  Legion  post 
for  museum  purposes.  The  other  three  buildings  are  former 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  131 

officers'  quarters  and  are  used  as  residences  by  private  own- 
ers.   All  the  buildings  are  in  a  good  state  of  preservation. 

Recommendations:  Directional  markers  and  a  state  historical 
marker  on  U.  S.  40  when  a  suitable  turnout  area  can  be  ob- 
tained. 

FINNEY  COUNTY 

1.    SANTA  FE  TRAIL  CROSSING;  RAVANNA. 

History:  One  of  the  Santa  Fe  trail  crossings  of  the  Arkansas 
river  was  just  west  of  present  Holcomb.  Ravanna,  a  Kansas 
ghost  town,  was  established  about  1881  some  eight  miles 
northwest  of  Kalvesta. 

Location  and  description:  The  site  of  Ravanna  is  seven  miles 
north  of  U.  S.  156. 

Status:  Markers  have  been  erected  by  the  Finney  County 
Historical  Society.  The  society  has  also  placed  a  marker  in 
Finnup  Park,  Garden  City,  commemorating  the  fact  that  the 
Arkansas  river  served  as  the  boundary  of  the  United  States, 
1803-1845,  and  has  marked  the  site  of  the  U.  S.  Land  Office, 
103  North  Main  St.,  in  Garden  City. 

Recommendations:    Status  quo. 

FORD  COUNTY 

1.    FORT  ATKINSON;  "THE  CACHES." 

History:  Fort  Atkinson  was  a  military  post  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail, 
1851-1854.  A  short-lived  post  called  Fort  Mann  had  been 
established  on  the  same  site  in  1847  but  was  gone  by  1850 
when  Col.  E.  V.  Sumner  encamped  there.  Camp  Mackay 
was  the  name  given  Sumner's  encampment  from  August, 
1850,  until  June,  1851,  when  Fort  Atkinson  was  actually 
built.  "The  Caches,"  first  used  by  a  pack  train  outfit  in  1822 
for  temporary  storage  of  supplies,  was  a  famous  landmark 
on  the  Santa  Fe  trail  near  these  military  posts. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  SW&,  Sec.  29,  T  26  S,  R 
25  W,  about  two  miles  west  of  Dodge  City  and  just  south 
of  U.  S.  50.  The  location  of  "The  Caches"  is  about  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  northwest  of  the  fort  site. 

Status:   Privately  owned  farm  land. 
Recommendations:   State  historical  marker. 


132  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

2.  FORT  DODGE. 

History:  Fort  Dodge  was  an  important  post  on  the  Indian 
frontier,  1865-1882. 

Location  and  description:  Group  of  stone  buildings,  four  miles 
southeast  of  Dodge  City  on  U.  S.  154. 

Status:  Two  of  the  original  adobe  structures  still  stand,  although 
they  have  been  veneered  with  stone.  The  commandant's 
quarters,  now  the  superintendent's  home,  and  another  build- 
ing, now  used  as  the  administration  building,  were  built 
in  1867  and  the  exteriors  have  not  been  altered.  There  are 
five  stone  buildings  which  cannot  be  definitely  dated  but 
remain  from  the  days  of  military  occupancy:  the  old  fort 
hospital,  now  "Pershing  Barracks,"  housing  residents;  the 
present  library  building,  presumed  to  be  the  old  fort  com- 
missary; and  three  small  stone  cottages.  The  old  jail  has 
been  moved  to  "Boot  Hill"  in  Dodge  City. 

Fort  Dodge  is  now  a  state  soldiers'  home  and  all  existing 
buildings  dating  from  army  days  are  still  in  use.  A  state 
historical  marker  has  been  erected  on  U.  S.  154,  four  miles 
southeast  of  Dodge  City. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

3.  SANTA  FE  TRAIL  REMAINS. 

History:  The  Santa  Fe  trail  was  the  most  important  highway 
to  the  West — from  the  Missouri  river  to  Santa  Fe,  N.  M. — 
before  the  era  of  the  railroads.  It  was  used  extensively  by 
traders  and  travelers  from  its  survey  by  the  federal  govern- 
ment in  1825  until  the  1870's. 

Location  and  description:  An  area  nine  miles  west  of  Dodge 
City,  just  off  U.  S.  50,  where  ruts  and  tracks  which  are  the 
most  prominent  and  extensive  remains  of  the  Santa  Fe  trail 
may  still  be  seen. 

Status:   Privately  owned. 

Recommendations:  This  area  is  one  of  three  historic  places 
in  Kansas — the  others  being  the  Shawnee  Methodist  Mission 
in  Johnson  county  and  Fort  Larned  in  Pawnee  county — 
which  have  been  recommended  by  the  National  Park  Serv- 
ice for  comprehensive  study  and  evaluation  with  a  view  to 
national  recognition  and  possible  designation  as  national 
monuments.  Every  co-operation  should  be  extended  to  the 
Park  Service  so  that  these  remains  may  be  preserved. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  133 

FRANKLIN  COUNTY 

1.  CHDPPEWA  INDIAN  CEMETERY. 

History:  This  is  a  tribal  cemetery  with  graves  dating  from  the 
1860's  and  1870's. 

Location  and  description:  Small  burial  ground,  six  miles  west 
of  Ottawa. 

Status:  The  cemetery  is  cared  for  to  some  extent  but  many 
of  the  grave  stories  are  in  poor  condition.  The  area  is  rela- 
tively easy  to  reach  and  ownership  is  still  vested  in  the 
Chippewa  tribe. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker,  with  directional 
markers  on  U.  S.  59. 

2.  OTTAWA  INDIAN  CEMETERY. 

History:  This  was  the  cemetery  of  the  Ottawa  Baptist  Indian 
mission  and  is  the  burial  place  of  "Tauy"  Jones  and  of  Jotham 
and  Eleanor  Meeker.  Meeker  was  a  missionary  to  the  Ot- 
tawas  and  Kansas'  first  printer.  There  are  other  graves, 
mostly  Indian,  including  that  of  Compehau,  Ottawa  chief. 

Location  and  description:  Small  burial  ground  three  miles  east 
and  a  short  distance  north  of  Ottawa. 

Status:  The  cemetery  is  in  poor  condition.  Many  of  the  stones 
have  been  badly  damaged  and  others  are  unreadable.  Al- 
though the  plot  is  easily  accessible  it  apparently  receives 
minimum  care,  for  weeds  and  grass  have  overrun  the  area. 
The  land  is  owned  by  Ottawa  University. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker,  with  directional 
markers  on  U.  S.  59  in  Ottawa. 

3.  POTTAWATOMDE  MASSACRE. 

History:  On  May  24,  1856,  three  days  after  the  Proslavery  sack 
of  Lawrence,  John  Brown  and  his  men  appeared  among  the 
settlements  near  Dutch  Henry's  crossing,  where  the  Cali- 
fornia road  crossed  Pottawatomie  creek  in  Franklin  county. 
They  called  out  five  Proslavery  men  and  killed  them.  "No 
other  act,"  wrote  D.  W.  Wilder,  "spread  such  consternation 
among  the  Ruffians,  or  contributed  so  powerfully  to  make 
Kansas  free." 


134  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Location  and  description:  "Dutch  Henry"  Sherman's  homestead 
was  the  NWK,  Sec.  34,  T  18  S,  R  21  E.  The  crossing  was 
in  this  quarter  section. 

Status:  Privately  owned  farm  land. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  169,  south 
of  Lane. 

4.  SELKVILLE. 

History:  Silkville  was  established  in  the  1870's  by  a  Frenchman, 
Ernest  Valeton  de  Boissiere.  As  the  name  indicates,  it  was 
planned  as  a  silk-producing  enterprise.  It  was  technically 
successful  and  silk  produced  here  won  first  prize  at  the 
Philadelphia  Centennial  Exposition  in  1876.  However,  the 
project  was  an  economic  failure  because  of  marketing  diffi- 
culties. A  dairy  farm  and  cheese  factory  attempted  later 
also  had  little  success. 

Location  and  description:  Group  of  stone  buildings  on  a  ranch 
southwest  of  Williamsburg,  on  U.  S.  50. 

Status:  The  buildings  are  in  private  hands  and  are  used  in 
ranching  operations. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  and  directional  signs 
on  U.  S.  50. 

5.  "TAUY"  JONES  HOUSE. 

History:  Home  of  John  Tecumseh  Jones,  who  was  a  Baptist 
minister  and  missionary,  a  member  of  the  original  Ottawa 
Town  Company  and  one  of  the  founders  of  Ottawa  University. 
The  house  was  built  about  1867  of  cut  limestone,  with  all 
joists  fitted  and  pegged.  The  interior  is  finished  in  walnut 
and  oak. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  stone  house  about  four 
and  one  half  miles  northeast  of  Ottawa. 

Status:  Now  in  use  as  a  farm  residence. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  135 

GEARY  COUNTY 

1.   WETZEL  CABIN. 

History:  The  cabin  was  originally  built  during  the  territorial 
period  as  the  home  of  the  Christian  F.  Wetzel  family.  It 
first  stood  on  Clark's  creek,  seven  miles  southeast  of  Junction 
City,  and  is  significant  because  an  early  Lutheran  missionary 
to  Kansas,  F.  W.  Lange,  made  his  home  in  the  cabin  and 
organized  the  first  Kansas  parish  of  the  Missouri  Synod  there. 

Location  and  description:  The  log  building  has  been  relocated 
at  the  junction  of  U.  S.  40  and  K-57,  two  and  one  half  miles 
east  of  Junction  City. 

Status:    Restored  by  the  Lutheran  Church,  Missouri  Synod. 
Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

GOVE  COUNTY 

1.  CARLYSLE  STAGE  STATION. 

History:  Stage  station  on  the  Smoky  Hill  trail,  used  by  the 
Butterfield  Overland  Dispatch  in  the  1860's. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  Sec.  15,  T  15  S,  R  30  W, 
north  of  Smoky  Hill  river,  35  miles  southeast  of  Grinnell. 

Status:  Cellar  holes  and  trail  ruts  still  visible  on  site.  Private 
pasture. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  40  covering 
this  and  the  other  three  Gove  county  stage  station  sites  de- 
scribed. 

2.  CHALK  BLUFFS  STAGE  STATION. 

History:  Stage  station  on  the  Smoky  Hill  trail;  scene  of  Indian 
fight. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  Sec.  13,  T  15  S,  R  29  W, 
north  of  Smoky  Hill  river,  east  of  K-23,  south  of  Gove. 

Status:  Cellar  holes  and  trench  still  visible  on  site.  On  pasture 
land  privately  owned. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  40  covering 
this  and  the  other  three  Gove  county  stage  station  sites  de- 
scribed. 


136  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

3.  GRINNELL  SPRINGS  STAGE  STATION. 

History:  Stage  station  on  the  Smoky  Hill  trail. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  SEH,  Sec.  23,  T  14  S, 
R  27  W,  22£  miles  southeast  of  U.  S.  40. 

Status:  Trail  ruts  and  rifle  pit  remains  still  visible  around  station 
site.  On  pasture  land  privately  owned. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  40  covering 
this  and  the  other  three  Gove  county  stage  station  sites  de- 
scribed. 

4.  MONUMENT  STATION. 

History:  Stage  station  and  military  post  on  the  Smoky  Hill  trail. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  SW&,  Sec.  33,  T  14  S, 
R  31  W,  25/2  miles  south  and  east  of  Oakley,  near  Monument 
Rocks. 

Status:  Cellar  holes,  ruins  of  walls,  trail  ruts  and  trenches  still 
visible  at  site.  Private  pasture  land. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  40  covering 
this  and  the  other  three  Gove  county  stage  station  sites  de- 
scribed. 


GRAHAM  COUNTY 

1.     NlCODEMUS. 

History:  This  interesting  little  town  was  settled  in  the  late 
1870's  by  "exodusters,"  Negroes  from  the  South  who  were 
encouraged  to  come  to  Kansas  following  the  Civil  War. 

Location  and  description:  A  hamlet,  virtually  abandoned,  12 
miles  east  of  Hill  City. 

Status:  Two  two-story  stone  buildings  and  a  stone  church  still 
remain  of  the  old  community.  A  few  small  residences  are 
occupied,  but  the  post  office  was  closed  in  1953. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  24. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  137 

GRANT  COUNTY 

1.   WAGON  BED  SPRINGS. 

History:  These  springs  were  famous  as  a  watering  place  and 
campground  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail.  Near  here  Jedediah 
Smith,  famous  scout  and  "mountain  man/'  was  killed  by 
Comanche  Indians  in  1831. 

Location  and  description:  A  draw  on  the  bank  of  the  Cimarron 
river,  about  five  miles  from  U.  S.  270,  on  a  pasture  road  south 
of  Ulysses. 

Status:  The  original  springs  no  longer  flow  in  the  draw.  There 
is  a  near-by  flow  in  the  bed  of  the  Cimarron  which  may 
come  from  the  same  source.  The  site  is  on  privately  owned 
land.  A  state  historical  marker  is  located  on  the  new,  re- 
routed U.  S.  270,  and  a  small  monument  to  Jedediah  Smith 
is  on  the  old  route. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

GRAY  COUNTY 

1.   CIMARRON  CROSSING. 

History:  Crossing  of  the  Arkansas  river  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail, 
where  the  "Dry  Route"  connected  with  the  main  trail. 

Location  and  description:  Crossings  at  this  point  varied  with 
river  conditions,  but  they  were  located  in  the  general  area 
of  the  towns  of  Cimarron  and  Ingalls. 

Status:  Marker  in  Cimarron  city  park  commemorates  one  of 
the  river  crossings. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

GREELEY  COUNTY 

1.   BARREL  SPRINGS,  JUMBO  SPRINGS,  AND  WILD  HORSE  CORRAL. 
History:  Watering  place  and  campground  for  early  settlers  and 
for  travelers  on  the  Fort  Lyons-Fort  Wallace  trail. 

Location  and  description:  Flowing  springs,  one  half  mile  apart, 
in  North  Colony  township  about  five  miles  north  of  K-96, 
near  Tribune.  There  are  canyons  and  some  timber. 


138  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Status:  On  privately  owned  pasture  land,  easily  reached  on  a 
gravel  road  except  for  about  one  half  mile  of  pasture  lane. 

Recommendations:  Might  be  suitable  for  a  locally-maintained 
park  and  picnic  ground. 

GREENWOOD  COUNTY 
HAMILTON  COUNTY 

1.   FORT  AUBREY. 

History:  Fort  Aubrey  was  a  temporary  U.  S.  army  post  on  the 
Indian  frontier,  1865-1866. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  in  Sec.  23,  T  24  S,  R  40  W, 
one  mile  south  of  U.  S.  50,  near  Syracuse. 

Status:  No  buildings  remain  at  the  site  but  faint  traces  of  rifle 
pits  and  trenches  may  still  be  seen.  The  site  is  on  private 
farm  land. 

Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  50. 

HARPER  COUNTY 

1.     RUNNYMEDE. 

History:  "Old"  Runnymede,  set  up  as  a  town  in  1887,  became 
a  typical  English  village  occupied  by  adventurous  younger 
sons  of  wealthy  English  families.  Although  these  young  men 
supposedly  were  to  learn  American  farming  methods  they 
devoted  most  of  their  attention  to  such  activities  as  polo, 
horse  racing,  and  riding  to  hounds,  and  the  colony  failed  to 
survive. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  two  miles  northeast  of  K-2 
at  Runnymede. 

Status:  Site  is  now  on  private  farm  land.  No  vestiges  of  the  old 
town  remain  except  a  headstone  at  the  grave  of  one  of  the 
colonists.  State  historical  marker  is  being  erected  on  K-2. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  139 

HARVEY  COUNTY 

1.    DAVID  L.  PAYNE  HOMESTEAD. 

History:  David  L.  Payne  originally  settled  in  Doniphan  county 
in  1858  and  was  active  in  the  political  affairs  of  northeast 
Kansas.  He  served  as  a  Kansas  volunteer  during  the  Civil 
War  and  in  1870  took  a  homestead  in  what  is  now  Harvey 
county.  Near  by  was  the  home  of  I.  N.  Lewis,  later  to  become 
famous  as  the  inventor  of  the  Lewis  machine  gun,  a  noted 
weapon  of  World  War  I.  About  1879  Payne  left  his  farm  for 
the  southern  Kansas  border,  where  he  played  a  significant 
role  in  promoting  the  settlement  of  Oklahoma. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  SEM,  Sec.  6,  T  23  S,  R  1  E, 
near  Newton. 

Status:   On  privately  owned  farm  land. 
Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker. 


HASKELL  COUNTY 

1.    SANTA  FE  TOWNSITE. 

History:  The  town  of  Santa  Fe,  established  in  1886,  was  for  33 
years  (1887-1920)  the  county  seat  of  Haskell  county.  The 
town  company  was  chartered  in  1886  and  a  post  office  was 
opened  in  1887.  For  some  years  Santa  Fe  had  a  sizeable 
population  but  it  was  by-passed  by  the  railroad  and  its  people 
eventually  moved  to  Sublette  and  Satanta.  In  1920  the 
county  offices  were  transferred  to  Sublette. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  at  the  junction  of  U.  S.  83 
and  U.  S.  160,  near  Sublette. 

Status:  No  buildings  remain.  Part  of  the  land  on  which  the 
town  stood  is  now  being  farmed. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  at  the  junction  of 
U.  S.  83-160. 

HODGEMAN  COUNTY 

1.   DUNCAN  CROSSING  OF  THE  PAWNEE  RIVER. 

History:  Crossing  of  the  Pawnee  on  the  old  Fort  Hays-Fort 
Dodge  trail.  The  Duncan  ranch  settlement,  dating  from 
1871,  was  the  first  in  the  county. 


140  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  11  miles  northeast  of  Jet- 
more  off  U.  S.  56. 

Status:  The  site  is  marked. 
Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

JACKSON  COUNTY 

1.    BATTLE  OF  THE  SPURS. 

History:  On  January  31,  1859,  John  Brown  and  about  20  fol- 
lowers were  confronted  by  a  posse  of  45  Proslavery  men  at 
the  Fuller  crossing  of  Straight  creek.  Brown  had  with  him 
several  slaves  whom  he  had  taken  from  their  Missouri  own- 
ers. The  Proslavery  group  had  dug  rifle  pits  at  the  crossing, 
but  nevertheless  retreated  in  panic  when  the  Free-State 
group  determinedly  crossed  the  ford.  Not  a  shot  was  fired 
by  either  side.  Richard  J.  Hinton,  noted  newspaper  cor- 
respondent of  the  period,  gave  the  name  "Battle  of  the  Spurs" 
to  the  affair,  believing  that  spurs  were  the  most  effective 
weapons  used. 

Location  and  description:  The  crossing  was  located  in  Sec.  10, 
T  6  S,  R  15  E,  four  miles  north  of  Holton  just  off  U.  S.  75. 
An  "underground  railway"  station  used  by  John  Brown  was 
located  two  miles  north  of  this  site  in  the  NW#  of  Sec.  3, 
T6S,R15E. 

Status:  Site  only,  on  privately  owned  farm  land. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  75  north  of 
Holton. 

JEFFERSON  COUNTY 

1.   JEFFERSON  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  OSKALOOSA. 

History:  This  is  the  oldest  courthouse  building  in  Kansas  still 
in  use.  Construction  began  in  1867  and  was  completed  in 
1868. 

Location  and  description:  A  two-story  brick  and  stone  building 
on  the  courthouse  square. 

Status:  Occupied  by  Jefferson  county  offices.  The  exterior  has 
undergone  little  alteration  but  some  remodeling  has  been 
done  on  the  inside. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  141 

2.  PIAZZEK  MILL,  VAT. LEY  FALLS. 

History:  This  mill  was  built  by  J.  M.  Piazzek  in  1878.  Piazzek 
came  to  Kansas  during  the  territorial  period  and  operated 
another  mill  prior  to  building  this  one.  It  is  an  excellent 
example  of  its  type,  widely  used  on  the  Midwest  frontier. 

Location  and  description:  Three-story  stone  building  located 
near  the  Delaware  river. 

Status:  The  building  is  in  reasonably  good  repair  and  has  a  good 
roof.  Old  machinery  and  burrs  are  still  in  the  building  and 
might  be  restored  to  working  order.  There  is  a  question  of 
ownership  involved  since  the  Piazzek  estate  is  not  yet  settled. 

Recommendations:  The  restoration  of  the  mill,  providing  the 
estate  is  settled  and  the  heirs  would  donate  the  property, 
would  be  an  excellent  local  project. 

3.  ST.  PAUL'S  LUTHERAN  CHURCH,  VALLEY  FALLS. 

History:  The  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  congregation,  organized  June 
14,  1857,  as  the  English  Lutheran  church  of  Grasshopper 
Falls,  is  reported  to  be  the  oldest  Lutheran  congregation  west 
of  the  Missouri  river.  The  original  church  building,  erected 
in  1857,  is  no  longer  used  by  St.  Paul's  but  is  still  standing. 

Location  and  description:   One-story  frame  structure. 

Status:  The  building  is  in  good  repair  and  is  currently  used  by 
the  St.  John's  Methodist  church. 

Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker. 

4.  BATTLE  OF  HICKORY  POINT. 

History:  This  skirmish  occurred  as  a  result  of  the  Proslavery 
sacking  of  Valley  Falls  in  September,  1856.  A  Free-State 
force  besieged  the  Proslavery  men  in  a  log  building  and 
many  shots  were  fired  by  both  sides  with  little  effect.  While 
the  incident  was  not  unusually  significant  it  was  one  of  many 
which  helped  give  the  name  "Bleeding  Kansas"  to  the 
territory. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  one  fourth  mile  southeast 
of  Dunavant. 

Status:  The  site  is  on  privately  owned  farm  land.  No  traces  of 
the  battle  remain.  A  state  historical  marker  is  in  place  on 
U.  S.  59. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 


142  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

5.    DANIEL  M.  BOONE  FARM. 

History:  In  1827  Daniel  Morgan  Boone,  son  of  the  great 
frontiersman,  came  to  what  is  now  Kansas  to  be  "farmer" 
for  the  Kaw  Indians.  He  settled  in  present  Jefferson  county, 
on  the  Kansas  river  about  seven  miles  northwest  of  Lawrence, 
and  remained  there  until  1835. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  near  Williamstown,  in 
SWE,  Sec.  29,  T  11  S,  R  19  E. 

Status:  Privately  owned  farm  land. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  24  near 
Williamstown. 


JEWELL  COUNTY 
JOHNSON  COUNTY 

1.  JUNCTION  OF  SANTA  FE  AND  OREGON  TRAILS. 

History:  At  this  point  two  famous  Western  highways  divided. 
Here  westbound  travelers  to  Oregon  and  northern  California 
followed  the  Oregon  trail  northwest  while  those  bound  for 
Colorado  and  the  Southwest  followed  the  Santa  Fe  trail 
across  Kansas. 

Location  and  description:  Historic  area,  present  Gardner. 

Status:  There  is  a  state  historical  marker  near  Gardner  on  U.  S. 
50  which  notes  the  trail  junction. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  LONE  ELM  CAMP  GROUND. 

History:  This  site  was  a  campground  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail,  the 
first  overnight  stop  out  of  Westport.  Here  the  routes  from 
Old  Franklin  and  Westport  met. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  Sec.  23,  T  14  S,  R  23  E,  off 
U.  S.  169  and  K-7. 

Status:  A  local  historical  marker  has  been  erected  by  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  143 

3.  SANGRO  HOUSE,  SHAWNEE. 

History:  This  is  reputed  to  be  the  oldest  building  in  Shawnee, 
erected  in  1824  on  the  trail  to  Gum  Springs.  Part  of  the 
building  was  burned  by  Quantrill  during  the  Civil  War. 

Location  and  description:  One-room  structure  made  of  hand- 
pressed  brick,  located  just  north  of  the  town  square. 

Status:  The  building  is  now  used  as  a  display  room  by  an 
electric  company.  The  original  walls,  window  and  door 
casings  are  still  preserved.  There  is  a  marker  on  the 
building. 

Recommendations:    Status  quo. 

4.  SHAWNEE  BAPTIST  MISSION. 

History:  The  Baptist  mission  to  the  Shawnee  Indians  was 
established  in  July,  1831,  through  the  efforts  of  Isaac  McCoy 
and  Johnston  Lykins.  It  was  to  this  mission  that  Jotham 
Meeker  brought  the  first  printing  press  used  in  what  is  now 
Kansas.  He  set  the  first  type  on  March  1,  1835,  and  on 
March  8  he  made  the  first  press  impression. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  NEM,  Sec.  5,  T  12  S,  R  25  E, 
just  north  of  U.  S.  50. 

Status:    On  privately  owned  property. 
Recommendations:    State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  50. 

5.  SHAWNEE  FRIENDS  MISSION. 

History:  On  this  site  in  1837  the  Society  of  Friends  opened  a 
mission  school  for  the  Shawnee  Indians  which  was  operated 
almost  continuously  until  1869.  The  main  building  stood 
until  1917. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  about  one  mile  from  the 
junction  of  K-10  and  U.  S.  50,  near  Shawnee. 

Status:  A  state  historical  marker  at  the  junction  of  K-10  and 
U.  S.  50  tells  the  mission  school's  story.  There  is  also  a 
marker  on  the  site  of  the  main  building. 

Recommendations:    Status  quo. 

6.  SHAWNEE  METHODIST  MISSION,  FAIRWAY. 

History:  The  mission  was  originally  established  in  1830  near 
present  Turner  and  moved  to  the  Fairway  site  in  1839. 


144  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

The  school  provided  instruction  in  English,  manual  arts  and 
agriculture  for  Indian  boys  and  girls.  During  the  years 
of  the  school's  operations  it  also  served  as  a  temporary 
territorial  capital  and  many  of  the  famous  personalities  of 
the  West  were  visitors  there.  The  school  was  discontinued 
in  1862  and  the  property  fell  into  private  ownership.  The 
present  acreage  and  buildings  were  acquired  by  the  state 
in  1927. 

Location  and  description:  Three  two-story  brick  buildings  on 
12  acres  of  landscaped  grounds  at  53rd  St.  and  Mission  Road. 

Status:  The  State  Historical  Society  as  trustee  for  the  state 
now  administers  the  property  and  maintains  museums.  The 
mission  is  one  block  north  of  U.  S.  50-69. 

Recommendations:  The  National  Parks  Advisory  Board  in  1936 
considered  Old  Shawnee  Mission  worthy  of  recognition  as 
a  national  historic  site.  It  is  one  of  three  sites  in  Kansas 
which  the  National  Park  Service  in  1956  recommended  for 
further  study  as  possible  national  monuments.  If  the  Park 
Service  should  want  to  take  title  to  the  property  and  oper- 
ate it  as  a  national  monument  it  undoubtedly  can  do  much 
more  for  the  promotion  of  the  mission  as  a  major  historic 
attraction  than  the  State  Historical  Society  is  able  to  do 
with  the  present  extremely  limited  appropriations.  Further, 
state  funds  which  are  now  used  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
mission  could  be  devoted  to  the  preservation  of  other  his- 
toric sites  in  Kansas  which  are  now  neglected,  should  such 
a  transfer  seem  feasible  from  all  viewpoints.  In  addition 
a  state  historical  marker  should  be  erected  on  U.  S.  50-69 
if  and  when  suitable  right  of  way  for  a  turnout  can  be  ob- 
tained. 

7.    SHAWNEE  METHODIST  MISSION  CEMETERY,  FAIRWAY. 

History:  This  is  the  burial  ground  for  the  old  mission  and  con- 
tains the  graves  of  some  of  the  pioneer  mission  people,  in- 
cluding the  Rev.  Thomas  Johnson,  founder  of  the  school. 

Location  and  description:  Small  cemetery  plot  located  a  short 
distance  from  the  mission  on  U.  S.  50-69. 

Status:  The  site  is  owned  by  the  state  and  administered  by  the 
State  Historical  Society.  It  is  well  marked. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 


Allen  county  jail/  tola. 


Gen.  Frederick  Funston  home/  near  lola. 

<:TVv 


Irvin  Hall,  Highland  Junior  College,  Highland. 


Constitution  Hall,  Lecompton. 


Lane  University,  Lecompton,  where  the  par- 
ents of  Dwiqht  D.  Eisenhower  attended  col- 


Remaining    portion   of   Iowa,   Sac   and   Fox 
Presbyterian    Mission    building    near    High- 


Old  Castle  Hall,  Baker 
University,  Baldwin. 


"Cathedral  of  the  Plains/' 
St.  Fidelis  Catholic  Church,  Victoria 


Fort  Marker  guardhouse,  Kanopolis. 


If! 

it  i     i      ..iriiinnnnniinnniinnnnnnnr 


Boyhood  home  of  Walter  Chrysler,  Ellis. 


!= 


I 


The  Planters'  House,  Leavenworth,  one  of  the 
finest  nineteenth  century  hotels  in  the  West. 


Point  of  Rocks,  a  Santa  Fe  trail  landmark  on 
the  Cimarron  river,  Morton  county. 


"Last  Chance"  Store,  Council  Grove,  on  the 
Santa  Fe  trail  through  Morris  county. 


Kaw  Methodist  Mission,  established  in  1851 
on  the  Kaw  reservation,  present  Council  Grove. 


Pottawatomie  Baptist  Mission  building,  just  west  of  Topeka. 


Aerial  view  of  Fort  Larned,  in  Pawnee  county. 


Cabin  of  Dr.  Brewster  Higley,  who  wrote 
the  words  to  "Home  on  the  Range/' 


El  Quartelejo  monument, 
Scott  County  State  Park. 


Brookville  Hotel,  Salina, 
savors  of  the  Old  West. 


Part  of  the  "Cowtown  Wichita' 
restoration  in  Riverside  Park. 


Birthplace  of  Damon 
Runyon,  Manhattan. 


Fort  Wallace  cemetery 
marker,  Wallace  county. 


First  Territorial  Capitol,  Fort  Riley. 


Pond  Creek  Stage  Station, 
Wallace  county. 


Cave  in  Battle  Canyon, 
Scott  county. 


Hollenberg  Ranch  Pony  Express  Station,  near 
Hanover,  Washington  county. 


••1 

fillllllfillKllIllll 


Moses  Grinter  house,  near  Muncie,  Wyandotte  county. 


Beecher  Bible  and  Rifle  Church,  Wabaunsee. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  145 

8.    WAGON  MASTER'S  HOUSE,  SHAWNEE. 

History:  This  house  was  built  in  the  1850's  by  Jack  and  Uriah 
Garrett  for  Dick  Williams,  a  wagon  boss  on  the  Santa  Fe 
trail. 

Location  and  description:  Stone  building,  K-10  and  Nieman 
Road. 

Status:  The  house  is  privately  owned  and  occupied.  The  orig- 
inal walls,  floors  and  windows  are  unaltered. 

Recommendations:    Local  historical  marker. 

KEARNY  COUNTY 

1.    CHOUTEAU'S  ISLAND. 

History:  In  1816  a  party  of  trappers  was  besieged  by  Pawnee 
Indians  on  this  island  in  the  Arkansas  river.  In  1825  it  was 
listed  as  a  turning  off  point  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail  for  the  dry 
route  to  the  Cimarron.  Four  years  later  Maj.  Bennet  Riley 
and  four  companies  of  U.  S.  infantry  camped  at  the  island 
and  spent  the  summer  fighting  Indians. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  five  miles  southwest  of  La- 
kin. 

Status:  Aerial  photos  show  what  is  presumed  to  be  the  area 
once  known  as  Chouteau's  Island,  although  the  changing  of 
the  river's  course  through  the  years  leaves  the  exact  spot  diffi- 
cult to  determine.  State  historical  marker  in  place  on  U.  S.  50. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

KINGMAN  COUNTY 
KIOWA  COUNTY 

1.   HAND-DUG  WELL,  GREENSBURG. 

History:  Construction  of  the  Greensburg  well  was  begun  in 
1887  and  completed  in  1888.  One  of  the  largest  hand-dug 
wells  in  the  world,  it  is  32  feet  in  diameter  and  109  feet  deep. 
It  supplied  water  to  the  Wichita  &  Western  railroad,  later 
incorporated  into  the  Santa  Fe  system,  until  the  line  discon- 
tinued service  in  1895,  and  to  the  city  until  1932. 

11—7716 


146  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Location  and  description:  On  U.  S.  54  in  Greensburg. 

Status:  In  good  repair,  and  operated  by  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce as  a  tourist  attraction. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

LABETTE  COUNTY 

1.  TRADING  POST  SITE,  OSWEGO. 

History:  In  the  early  1840's  John  Mathews  established  a  trading 
post  on  this  site. 

Location  and  description:  Corner  Fourth  and  Union  Sts. 

Status:  Site  only. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 

2.  BENDER  MOUNDS. 

History:  The  mounds  are  named  for  the  Bender  family — William, 
his  wife,  son  John  and  daughter  Kate.  Here  the  Benders 
perpetrated  several  murders.  It  has  never  been  proved 
that  the  Benders  were  ever  apprehended  nor  is  it  certain  that 
they  made  a  successful  escape. 

Location  and  description:  Small  hills  about  12  miles  west  of 
Parsons,  off  U.  S.  160. 

Status:  Site  only. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

LANE  COUNTY 

LEAVENWORTH  COUNTY 

1.   COVERED  BRIDGE. 

History:  This  is  the  only  covered  bridge  remaining  in  Kansas. 
Date  of  construction  is  uncertain,  but  the  bridge  probably 
was  built  in  the  1860's  or  1870's. 

Location  and  description:  Wood  and  steel  bridge  with  wooden 
cover  located  near  K-92  about  two  miles  northeast  of  Spring- 
dale. 

Status:  Maintained  and  preserved  by  the  State  Highway  De- 
partment. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  147 

2.  DAVID  J,  BREWER  HOUSE,  LEAVENWORTH. 

History:  This  house  was  once  the  home  of  David  J.  Brewer,  the 
first  Kansan  to  serve  on  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  (1889-1910). 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  frame  house  at  400  Fifth 
Ave. 

Status:  Privately  owned  and  used  as  a  residence. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 

3.  THOMAS  CARNEY  HOUSE,  LEAVENWORTH. 

History:  This  was  once  the  home  of  Thomas  Carney,  second  gov- 
ernor of  the  state  of  Kansas,  1863-1865. 

Location  and  description:  Large  two-story  brick  house,  now 
stuccoed,  at  411  Walnut  St. 

Status:  Owned  and  used  by  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of 
Leavenworth. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 

4.  MARK  DELAHAY  HOUSE,  LEAVENWORTH. 

History:  This  was  the  home  of  Mark  W.  Delahay,  pioneer  Free- 
State  newspaperman,  politician,  U.  S.  Surveyor  General  for 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  and  U.  S.  district  judge.  Delahay's 
wife  was  a  cousin  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  brick  house  at  231  Third 
Ave. 

Status:  Privately  owned  and  used  as  a  residence. 
Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 

5.  FRED  HARVEY  HOUSE,  LEAVENWORTH. 

History:  This  was  the  home  of  Fred  Harvey,  famed  for  his  rail- 
road restaurant  and  dining  car  food  service. 

Location  and  description:  Large  three-story  stone  house  at 
624  Olive  St. 

Status:  Owned  and  used  as  offices  by  the  Leavenworth  board 
of  education. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 


148  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

6.  PLANTERS*  HOTEL,  LEAVENWORTH. 

History:  This  was  once  one  of  the  most  popular  and  elegant 
hostelries  of  the  West.  It  was  opened  in  1856  and  was  orig- 
inally to  serve  only  Proslavery  patrons.  In  December,  1859, 
Abraham  Lincoln  made  a  campaign  speech  from  the  west 
steps  of  the  hotel. 

Location  and  description:  Four-story  brick  building  with  a 
large  two-story  porch  on  the  south  and  east  sides.  The  hotel 
is  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Shawnee  and  Main  Sts.  over- 
looking the  Missouri  river. 

Status:  The  hotel  is  now  used  as  an  apartment  house  and  is  de- 
teriorating rapidly.  There  is  a  plaque  on  the  west  wall  of  the 
building  commemorating  Lincoln's  visit. 

Recommendations:   Preservation  if  economically  possible. 

7.  RUSSELL,  MAJORS,  WADDELL  OFFICES,  LEAVENWORTH. 

History:  Russell,  Majors  and  Waddell  was  one  of  the  most 
famous  freighting  firms  in  U.  S.  history.  Its  general  offices 
were  located  in  Leavenworth  in  the  late  1850's  and  early 
1860's.  The  marshalling  yards  and  corrals  of  the  company, 
located  near  the  edge  of  the  present  city  limits,  represented 
an  investment  of  about  two  million  dollars  and  involved  thou- 
sands of  men,  oxen  and  wagons. 

Location  and  description:  The  offices  were  located  in  the  two- 
story  brick  building  still  standing  at  the  northwest  corner  of 
Fourth  and  Delaware  Sts. 

Status:  The  building  is  in  use  and  in  good  repair. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

8.  FORT  LEAVENWORTH. 

History:  This  is  the  oldest  military  post  west  of  the  Missouri 
river.  It  was  established  in  1827  by  Col.  Henry  Leavenworth 
and  troops  of  the  Third  U.  S.  infantry.  From  that  date  to  the 
present  the  post  has  been  one  of  the  most  important  installa- 
tions in  the  nation,  serving  as  a  vital  military  center  for  the 
Mexican  War,  the  Civil  War,  the  Indian  Wars  and  two  World 
Wars.  Fort  Leavenworth  is  the  home  of  the  army's  Com- 
mand and  General  Staff  School,  and  most  of  the  nation's  fore- 
most officers  have  been  stationed  at  the  post  at  some  time 
during  their  careers. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  149 

Location  and  description:  A  7,000-acre  military  reservation  near 
the  city  of  Leavenworth. 

Status:  Active  military  installation.  All  historic  buildings  and 
sites  on  the  reservation  are  being  preserved,  maintained  and 
marked.  A  state  historical  marker  has  been  placed  at  the 
main  entrance  to  the  post,  on  U.  S.  73. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

LINCOLN  COUNTY 

1.    INDIAN  RAIDS. 

History:  In  1864  Cheyenne  Indians  killed  four  buffalo  hunters 
near  present  Lincoln,  and  in  1868  three  women  were  cap- 
tured and  later  released,  half-dead.  In  1869  ten  persons 
were  killed  and  two  women  captured  on  the  Saline  river  and 
on  Spillman  creek. 

Location  and  description:  Several  sites  within  the  county,  one 
a  short  distance  south  of  K-18,  two  miles  east  of  Lincoln,  and 
another  northwest  of  the  same  point. 

Status:  There  is  a  state  historical  marker  on  K-18,  two  miles 
east  of  Lincoln,  and  a  monument  to  the  victims  of  1864  and 
1869  in  the  courthouse  square  in  Lincoln. 

Recommendations:    Status  quo. 

LINN  COUNTY 

1.   BATTLE  OF  MINE  CREEK. 

History:  The  battle  of  Mine  Creek,  October  25,  1864,  in  which 
about  25,000  troops  were  engaged,  was  the  largest  Civil  War 
battle  fought  in  Kansas.  Confederate  troops  were  led  by 
Gen.  Sterling  Price  and  the  Union  forces  were  under  Gen- 
erals Pleasonton,  Blunt  and  Curtis.  Price  was  retreating 
from  Kansas  City  when  he  was  engaged  by  the  Union  force, 
and  although  the  Rebel  army  was  not  destroyed  the  defeat 
was  decisive  enough  to  end  the  threat  of  a  Confederate  inva- 
sion of  Kansas. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  south  of  Pleasanton,  on 
U.  S.  69. 


150  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Status:  The  site  is  on  a  privately  owned  farm.  There  is  a  state 
historical  marker  on  U.  S.  69,  two  miles  south  of  Pleasanton. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

2.    MARAIS  DES  CYGNES  MASSACRE. 

History:  On  May  19,  1858,  a  band  of  Proslavery  Missourians 
captured  11  Free-State  men  and  lined  them  up  before  a 
firing  squad.  Five  were  killed,  five  were  wounded  and  one 
escaped.  This  slaughter,  one  of  the  most  brutal  incidents  in 
the  struggle  over  slavery  in  Kansas,  inflamed  the  North. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  about  four  miles  northeast 
of  Trading  Post,  off  U.  S.  69. 

Status:  The  site  and  an  early  building  are  preserved  in  a  state 
memorial  park.  A  monument  to  the  victims  is  in  the  Trading 
Post  cemetery.  A  state  historical  marker  stands  on  U.  S.  69 
at  the  north  edge  of  Trading  Post. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

LOGAN  COUNTY 

1.  FORKS  OF  THE  SMOKY  HILL  RIVER. 

History:  Coaches  and  wagons  on  the  Smoky  Hill  trail  had  to 
cross  both  forks  of  the  Smoky  Hill  river  west  of  Russell 
Springs.  This  was  a  favorite  place  for  Indians  to  ambush 
travelers  and  freighters. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  SEM,  Sec.  11,  T  13  S,  R  36 
W,  about  nine  miles  south  of  Winona  and  five  miles  north- 
west of  Russell  Springs. 

Status:  Site  in  pasture  land.  Remains  of  walls  and  cellar  holes 
can  still  be  seen. 

Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker. 

2.  GERMAN  FAMILY  MASSACRE. 

History:  At  this  point  on  the  Smoky  Hill  trail  four  daughters 
of  the  Germans  were  captured  by  Cheyenne  Indians  in 
1874,  and  others  of  the  family  were  killed. 

Location  and  description:  S%,  Sec.  26,  T13S,  R34W,  near 
Russell  Springs. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  151 

Status:   Site  is  on  privately  owned  land  and  trail  marks  are  in 

evidence. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

3.  HENSHAW'S  STAGE  STATION. 

History:  This  was  a  stage  station  on  the  Smoky  Hill  trail,  the 
first  stop  east  of  Fort  Wallace. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  NWM,  Sec.  14,  T 13  S, 
R  37  W,  near  McAllaster. 

Status:  Cellar  holes  still  visible.    In  pasture  land. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  for  this,  Russell 
Springs  and  Smoky  Hill  stage  stations,  should  be  located  on 
U.  S.  40.  Possibly  should  be  included  on  Wallace  county 
Pond  Creek  Station  marker. 

4.  MONUMENT  STATION. 

History:  This  was  a  station  on  the  Kansas  ( Union )  Pacific  rail- 
road just  after  construction  was  completed  in  Logan  county. 
In  a  draw  just  west  of  the  station  site  Wm.  F.  Cody  and  "Buf- 
falo Bill"  Comstock  had  a  buffalo  hunting  contest. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  Sec.  15,  T  11  S,  R  34  W,  two 
and  one  half  miles  west  of  Monument. 

Status:  Site  in  pasture  land.    Cellar  holes  still  visible. 
Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker. 

5.  RUSSELL  SPRINGS  STAGE  STATION. 

History:  This  was  a  stage  station  on  the  Smoky  Hill  trail.  It  was 
noted  for  the  large  springs  on  the  site. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  S£,  Sec.  22,  T  13  S,  R  35 
W,  near  Russell  Springs. 

Status:  Cellar  holes  near  spring  still  visible.    In  pasture  land. 

Recommendations:  Should  be  included  on  state  historical  marker 
as  noted  under  Henshaw's  Station. 

6.  SHERIDAN. 

History:  Sheridan  was  a  rip-roaring  end-of-track  town  on  the 
Kansas  (Union)  Pacific  railroad  for  about  18  months,  1868- 
1870.  It  was  for  a  time  a  large  settlement  which  supplied 
Fort  Wallace,  and  from  which  freighters  started  for  the 
Southwest. 


152  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Location  and  description:  Deserted  townsite,  Sec.  7,  T  12  S, 
R  36  W,  near  McAllaster. 

Status:  The  site  is  now  in  privately  owned  pasture  land.  Nothing 
remains  of  the  town. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

7.    SMOKY  HILL  STAGE  STATION. 

History:  Stage  station  on  Smoky  Hill  trail.  A  battle  with  Indians 
took  place  here  in  1866. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  S&,  SE£,  Sec.  32,  T  13  S, 
R  33  W,  20  miles  southwest  of  Oakley. 

Status:  Cellar  holes  and  circular  trench  still  visible.  In  cul- 
tivated field,  but  the  station  site  has  not  been  plowed. 

Recommendations:  Should  be  included  on  state  historical  marker 
as  noted  under  Henshaw's  Station. 

LYON  COUNTY 

1.  HARTFORD  COLLEGIATE  INSTITUTE  BUILDING,  HARTFORD. 
History:   Construction  of  the  building  began  in  1860  and  first 

classes  were  held  in  1862.  The  institute  was  to  serve  as  a 
branch  of  Baker  University,  under  the  control  of  the  Meth- 
odist church.  Through  the  years  the  building  has  served  also 
as  a  public  school,  church  and  pastor's  residence. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  stone  building  located  in 
the  town  of  Hartford. 

Status:  The  building  was  renovated  in  the  spring  of  1957.  The 
first  floor  is  to  be  used  for  community  activities.  The  second 
floor  will  house  a  museum. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  MICKEL  HOUSE. 

History:  Built  about  1856  by  W.  L.  Mickel,  who  laid  out  the 
town  of  Waterloo  in  1858,  the  Mickel  House  was  a  hotel  for 
many  years.  It  was  on  the  Fort  Leavenworth-Fort  Sill  gov- 
ernment trail  and  was  a  tavern  and  relay  station  for  stages. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  frame  house  built  of  native 
walnut,  four  miles  southwest  of  Miller,  17/2  miles  northeast 
of  Emporia. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  153 

Status:  House  is  privately  owned. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 

3.   WILLIAM  ALLEN  WHITE  HOME,  EMPORIA. 

History:  The  house  was  built  in  the  1880's  for  Judge  Almerin 
Gillett.  It  became  the  White  home  in  1900  and  is  known  as 
"Red  Rocks/'  White,  the  editor  of  the  Emporia  Gazette, 
gained  national  fame  for  his  writing  and  political  activity. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  house  of  Colorado  sand- 
stone with  Victorian-Gothic  gables  and  dormer  windows  at 
927  Exchange  St. 

Status:  House  is  owned  by  W.  L.  White,  son  of  W.  A.  White. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 

McPHERSON  COUNTY 

1.  CORONADO  HEIGHTS. 

History:  The  Spanish  explorer  Coronado  is  thought  to  have 
camped  here  while  on  his  search  for  Quivira  in  1541. 

Location  and  description:  The  "Heights"  are  the  southernmost 
of  a  series  of  rugged  buttes  rising  above  the  floor  of  the 
Smoky  Hill  valley,  three  miles  northwest  of  Lindsborg. 

Status:  A  road  leads  to  the  top  of  the  butte  and  a  park  and 
shelterhouse  have  been  constructed  there. 

Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  81. 

2.  KANSAS  INDIAN  TREATY  SITE  (DRY  TURKEY  CREEK). 

History:  In  1825  a  treaty  between  the  U.  S.  government  and  the 
Kansas  Indians  was  signed  here.  For  a  consideration  of  $800 
in  cash  and  merchandise  the  Kaws  promised  not  to  molest 
travelers  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  about  five  miles  southeast 
of  McPherson  on  U.  S.  81. 

Status:  Site  now  in  farm  land.  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S. 
81. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 


154  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

MARION  COUNTY 

1.   LOST  SPRINGS. 

History:  The  spring  was  a  watering  place  and  campground  on 
the  Santa  Fe  trail. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  about  two  and  one  half  miles 
west  of  the  village  of  Lost  Springs,  a  short  distance  off  U.  S. 
77-56. 

Status:  Privately  owned  farm  land.  Two  historical  markers  have 
been  erected  by  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

MARSHALL  COUNTY 

1.  ALCOVE  SPRINGS. 

History:  Alcove  Springs  was  a  famous  landmark  and  camping 
place  on  the  Oregon  trail.  The  ill-fated  Donner  party 
stopped  here  in  1846  and  "Grandma"  Sarah  Keyes,  a  mem- 
ber of  that  group,  is  buried  near  the  springs. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  about  seven  miles  south 
of  Marysville.  Sees.  31,  32,  R  7  E,  T  3  S. 

Status:  The  site  is  on  privately  owned  farm  land  and  the  springs 
were  not  flowing  during  the  summer  of  1956. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  36. 

2.  INDEPENDENCE  CROSSING. 

History:  Famous  ford  and  ferry  crossing  of  the  Big  Blue  river 
on  the  Oregon  trail. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  on  Big  Blue  river  about  five 
miles  southwest  of  Marysville. 

Status:  The  crossing  is  mentioned  on  the  state  historical  marker 
on  U.  S.  36,  Marysville. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

3.  LA.GRANGE  POST  OFFICE. 

History:  This  cabin  was  built  in  1857  by  E.  F.  Jones,  who  was 
postmaster  at  LaGrange  until  his  death  in  the  1880's.  It  was 
used  as  a  residence  until  the  early  1930's. 

Location  and  description:  One-story  log  building  with  loft,  just 
off  K-99,  eight  miles  south  of  Frankfort. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  155 

Status:   The  structure  stands  in  the  yard  of  a  farm  and  is  in  a 
reasonably  good  state  of  preservation. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 


MEADE  COUNTY 

1.    LONE  TREE  MASSACRE. 

History:  On  August  24,  1874,  a  band  of  Cheyennes  ambushed 
a  six-man  surveying  party  and  killed  them  all  after  a  running 
fight.  The  victims  were  buried  temporarily  near  a  solitary 
cottonwood  five  miles  south  of  the  state  historical  marker 
which  stands  on  U.  S.  54. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  southwest  of  Meade,  off  U.  S. 
54. 

Status:  Site  is  on  farm  land.  The  story  is  adequately  told  on 
the  historical  marker  near  Meade. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

MIAMI  COUNTY 

1.  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH,  OSAWATOMIE. 

History:  The  building  was  begun  in  1859,  completed  in  1860 
and  dedicated  in  1861.  The  congregation's  first  pastor  was 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Adair,  brother-in-law  of  the  famous  aboli- 
tionist John  Brown. 

Location  and  description:  Small  stone  structure  located  in  the 
city  of  Osawatomie. 

Status:  Now  privately  owned  and  used  as  a  hay  barn.  There 
is  a  marker  at  the  building. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

2.  JOHN  BROWN  MEMORIAL  PARK,  OSAWATOMIE. 

History:  The  battle  of  Osawatomie,  which  took  place  on  August 
30,  1856,  between  Free-State  forces  of  John  Brown  and  Pro- 
slavery  "Border  Ruffians,"  was  one  of  the  many  incidents 
which  occurred  in  the  territorial  struggles.  The  cabin,  al- 
though it  was  owned  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Adair,  served  as 
a  headquarters  for  John  Brown  during  much  of  his  Kansas 
stay.  It  originally  stood  about  one  and  one  half  miles  north- 
west of  Osawatomie. 


156  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Location  and  description:  A  park  of  some  20  acres.  It  includes 
the  site  of  the  battle  of  Osawatomie  and  contains  the  cabin 
of  Samuel  Adair  which  was  used  by  John  Brown. 

Status:  The  park  is  administered  by  a  local  board  and  receives 
assistance  from  the  state  for  its  operation.  The  cabin  is  en- 
closed in  a  shelter  and  is  well  preserved. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

MITCHELL  COUNTY 

1.   WACONDA  OR  GREAT  SPIRIT  SPRINGS. 

History:  An  Indian  legend  tells  of  Waconda,  a  beautiful  princess, 
who  fell  in  love  with  a  brave  from  another  tribe.  Prevented 
from  marriage  by  a  blood  feud,  the  warrior  embroiled  the 
tribes  in  battle.  During  the  fight  he  was  hit  by  an  arrow 
and  fell  into  the  spring.  Waconda,  grief-stricken,  plunged 
after  him.  Believing  her  soul  still  lived  in  the  spring,  tribes 
carried  their  sick  to  drink  the  waters  and  be  healed.  Victories 
were  celebrated  and  losses  were  mourned  at  the  spring,  and 
tokens  were  thrown  into  the  spring  for  the  Great  Spirit. 

Location  and  description:  A  mineral  pool,  about  50  feet  in  diam- 
eter, set  in  a  limestone  basin,  about  three  miles  east  of 
Cawker  City,  off  U.  S.  24. 

Status:  The  spring  is  on  privately  owned  land  and  a  health 
resort  is  located  there.  A  state  historical  marker  is  on  U.  S. 
24  east  of  Cawker  City.  Waconda  Springs  will  be  inundated 
if  and  when  the  Glen  Elder  dam  on  the  Solomon  river  is  com- 
pleted. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

MONTGOMERY  COUNTY 

1.     D ALTON  RAID,   COFFEYVILLE. 

History:  On  October  5,  1892,  the  last  great  gun  battle  in  Kansas 
between  outlaws  of  the  Old  West  and  the  forces  of  law  and 
order  took  place  in  downtown  Coffeyville.  In  an  attempted 
robbery  of  the  First  National  Bank  and  the  Condon  Bank, 
Bob  and  Grat  Dalton,  Bill  Powers  and  Dick  Broadwell  were 
killed  and  Emmett  Dalton  was  wounded.  Four  Coffeyville 
citizens  were  also  killed  and  three  others  wounded. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  157 

Location  and  description:   In  the  Plaza  area  of  Coffeyville. 

Status:  A  "Dalton  Defenders"  museum  featuring  relics  of  the 
raid  has  been  established  in  the  Plaza.  It  is  open  to  the 
public. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  CrvxL  WAR  BATTLE. 

History:  In  May,  1863,  a  party  of  about  20  Confederates,  nearly 
all  officers,  set  out  from  Missouri  to  recruit  troops  in  the  West. 
Several  miles  east  of  the  site  they  were  challenged  by  loyal 
Osage  Indians.  In  a  running  fight  two  Confederates  were 
killed  and  the  others  were  surrounded  on  a  gravel  bar  in  the 
Verdigris  river.  The  Osages  killed  and  cut  the  heads  off  all 
but  two  of  the  party.  These,  wounded,  hid  under  the  river 
bank  and  escaped. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  on  the  Verdigris  river,  about 
three  miles  north  and  one  mile  east  of  Independence. 

Status:  There  is  a  state  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  160  about  one 
mile  east  of  Independence. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

3.  DRUM  CREEK  TREATY. 

History:  In  1870  a  treaty  was  signed  between  the  U.  S.  govern- 
ment and  the  Osage  Indians  which  authorized  the  removal 
of  the  Osages  to  what  is  now  Oklahoma. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  on  Drum  creek,  four  miles 
southeast  of  Independence. 

Status:   The  site  is  on  private  land.    There  is  a  state  historical 

marker  on  U.  S.  160  about  one  mile  east  of  Independence. 
Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

MORRIS  COUNTY 

1.    COUNCIL  OAK,  COUNCIL  GROVE. 

History:  Near  this  oak  was  signed  the  1825  treaty  with  the  Osage 
Indians  which  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  Santa  Fe  trail. 

Location  and  description:  A  large  oak  tree,  two  blocks  east  of 
the  bridge,  on  Main  St.  (U.  S.  56). 


158  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Status:  The  tree,  which  stands  on  private  property,  is  marked. 
Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  CUSTER  ELM,  COUNCIL  GROVE. 

History:  Gen.  George  A.  Custer  and  the  Seventh  U.  S.  cavalry 
are  reported  to  have  camped  under  this  tree  in  1867. 

Location  and  description:  A  large  elm  tree  five  blocks  south  of 
Main  St.  on  K-13. 

Status:  The  tree  is  on  public  right  of  way  and  is  marked. 
Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

3.  HAYS  TAVERN,  COUNCIL  GROVE. 

History:  The  tavern  was  built  in  1857  by  Seth  Hays,  a  descendant 
of  Daniel  Boone. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  frame  building,  one  half 
block  west  of  the  bridge  on  Main  St.  (U.  S.  56). 

Status:  The  building,  privately  owned  and  still  operated  as  a 
restaurant,  is  marked. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

4.  KAW  METHODIST  MISSION,  COUNCIL  GROVE. 

History:  This  building  was  completed  in  1851  as  a  mission  and 
school  for  Kansas  Indian  children,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  The  Indian  school  was 
discontinued  in  1854  but  a  school  for  white  children  was  con- 
tinued in  the  building. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  stone  building  on  land- 
scaped grounds,  on  Mission  St.,  three  blocks  north  of  U.  S.  56. 

Status:  The  property  is  owned  by  the  state  and  administered  as 
a  museum  by  the  State  Historical  Society. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

5.  LAST  CHANCE  STORE,  COUNCIL  GROVE. 

History:  Built  in  1857,  this  store  was  the  traveler's  last  chance  on 
the  Santa  Fe  trail  to  secure  provisions  before  reaching  New 
Mexico. 

Location  and  description:  A  small  one-story  stone  building,  on 
West  Main  and  Chautauqua  Sts.  (U.  S.  56). 

Status:  The  building,  which  is  privately  owned,  is  marked. 
Recommendations:  An  excellent  location  for  a  local  museum. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  159 

6.  POST  OFFICE  OAK,  COUNCIL  GROVE. 

History:  A  cache  at  the  base  of  this  tree  served  as  a  post  office 
for  travelers  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail  from  1825  to  1847. 

Location  and  description:  A  large  oak  tree,  one  block  east  of  the 

bridge  on  Main  St.  (U.  S.  56). 

Status:  The  tree,  which  stands  on  private  property,  is  marked. 
Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

7.  DIAMOND  SPRINGS. 

History:  One  of  the  most  famous  watering  places  on  the  Santa 
Fe  trail. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  about  two  miles  south  on 
gravel  road  which  intersects  with  U.  S.  56  three  miles  west 
of  Wilsey. 

Status:  Site  is  now  in  privately  owned  pasture  land.  A  historical 
marker  has  been  erected  by  the  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution. 

Recommendations:    Status  quo. 

8.  KANSAS  INDIAN  AGENCY  BUILDING. 

History:  Following  a  treaty  signed  in  1859  by  the  Kaw  Indians 
and  the  federal  government,  the  Kaw  reservation  was  di- 
minished and  the  agency  was  moved  a  short  distance  south- 
east of  Council  Grove.  Several  substantial  buildings  were 
erected  by  the  government,  including  an  agency,  stables, 
storehouses  and  schools.  In  addition,  about  150  small  stone 
residences  were  constructed  for  the  Indians.  These  build- 
ings were  in  use  until  the  tribe's  removal  to  Oklahoma  in  1873. 

Location  and  description:  The  agency  building  is  a  two-story 
stone  structure  located  near  the  mouth  of  Big  John  creek 
about  four  miles  southeast  of  Council  Grove.  The  few  stone 
cabins  which  still  remain  are  scattered  over  the  surrounding 
area. 

Status:  The  agency  building  is  on  privately  owned  farm  land 
and  is  in  poor  repair. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  on  K-13.  The  build- 
ing might  be  restored  and  used  in  connection  with  a  local 
park  or  recreation  area. 


160  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

MORTON  COUNTY 

1.   POINT  OF  ROCKS. 

History:  Point  of  Rocks  was  a  famous  landmark  on  the  Santa  Fe 
trail  marking  the  crossing  of  the  Cimarron.  This  is  the  west- 
ernmost landmark  of  significance  on  the  trail  in  Kansas. 

Location  and  description:  Natural  landmark.  A  rocky  bluff 
rising  above  the  bed  of  the  Cimarron  river  near  Elkhart,  two 
miles  west  of  K-27. 

Status:  The  site  is  on  grazing  land  owned  by  the  U.  S.  govern- 
ment. 

Recommendations:   State  historical  marker  on  K-27. 

NEMAHA  COUNTY 
NEOSHO  COUNTY 

1.  MISSION  NEOSHO,  SHAW. 

History:  The  first  Indian  school  and  mission  in  present  Kansas 
was  established  here  in  1824  among  the  Great  Osages  who 
had  migrated  from  Missouri  about  1815.  It  was  abandoned 
after  five  years.  Near  here  on  September  29,  1865,  the 
Osages  signed  a  treaty  with  the  U.  S.  government  agreeing 
to  a  reduction  of  their  lands  in  Kansas. 

Location  and  description:  Sites  only,  at  and  near  the  town  of 
Shaw. 

Status:  The  story  of  the  mission  and  of  the  treaty  is  told  on  the 
present  state  historical  marker  at  Shaw,  three  and  one  half 
miles  west  of  U.  S.  59.  The  marker  will  be  relocated  on 
U.  S.  59  after  improvements  to  the  highway  are  completed. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  OSAGE  CATHOLIC  MISSION,  ST.  PAUL. 

History:  This  mission  was  established  in  1847  for  the  Osages 
on  the  Neosho  and  Verdigris  rivers.  A  manual  labor  school 
for  boys  and  a  department  for  girls  were  conducted  by 
Jesuit  brothers  and  the  Sisters  of  Loretto.  In  1848  the  first 
Catholic  church  in  southern  Kansas  was  built  here.  When 
the  Osages  moved  to  Indian  territory  in  1870  the  school  was 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  161 

continued  for  white  children.     A  town,  Osage  Mission,  or- 
ganized in  1867,  became  St.  Paul  in  1895. 

Location  and  description:   Site  only,  town  of  St.  Paul. 

Status:  The  story  of  the  mission  is  told  on  the  present  state 
historical  marker  on  K-57  at  the  east  edge  of  St.  Paul. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

NESS  COUNTY 

1.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  CARVER  HOMESTEAD. 

History:  George  Washington  Carver,  famous  Negro  scientist 
and  educator,  in  1886  filed  on  the  homestead  which  was  his 
residence  for  a  few  years. 

Location  and  description:  Farm  site,  SEM,  Sec.  4,  T  19  S,  R  26  W, 
near  Beeler. 

Status:  The  land  is  privately  owned.  The  Ness  County  His- 
torical Society  has  erected  a  marker  memorializing  Carver's 
residence  in  the  county. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  STONE  HOUSE,  NESS  CITY. 

History:  This  building  is  said  to  be  the  oldest  house  in  Ness 
City  and  perhaps  in  Ness  county. 

Location  and  description:  One-story  native  stone  and  brick  build- 
ing on  K-96,  downtown  Ness  City. 

Status:  The  property  is  owned  by  the  Ness  County  Historical 
Society  and  operated  as  a  museum. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

NORTON  COUNTY 
OSAGE  COUNTY 

1.     BURLINGAME. 

History:  Burlingame,  originally  named  Council  City,  was 
founded  in  November,  1854,  and  was  incorporated  under 
its  present  name  in  1858.  It  was  an  important  stop  on  the 
Santa  Fe  trail,  which  followed  the  present  main  street,  Santa 

12—7716 


162  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Fe  Ave.  The  town  takes  its  name  from  Anson  Burlingame, 
member  of  congress  from  Massachusetts  and  later  U.  S.  min- 
ister to  China,  a  strong  advocate  of  the  Free-State  cause  who 
is  best  known  today  as  the  author  of  the  Burlingame  treaty 
with  China. 

Location  and  description:  The  original  townsite  was  located  on 
Switzler  creek  at  the  Santa  Fe  trail  crossing. 

Status:  Incorporated  as  a  third  class  city. 
Recommendations:   State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  56. 


OSBORNE  COUNTY 
OTTAWA  COUNTY 
PAWNEE  COUNTY 

1.    FORT  LARNED. 

History:  Fort  Larned  was  one  of  the  most  important  posts  on 
the  Santa  Fe  trail  and  the  Indian  frontier,  1859-1878.  It  is 
described  by  the  National  Park  Service  as  "an  excellent  sur- 
viving example  of  a  frontier  military  post,  undoubtedly  the 
best  preserved  post  along  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail." 

Location  and  description:  Five  stone  buildings  on  the  Frizell 
ranch,  six  miles  west  of  Larned,  off  U.  S.  156. 

Status:  The  buildings  are  still  in  use  in  ranching  operations  and 
are  well  preserved.  There  is  a  marker  on  the  old  parade 
ground  and  also  a  state  historical  marker  on  the  highway. 
The  Fort  Larned  Historical  Society  maintains  a  museum  in 
one  of  the  buildings. 

Recommendations:  Fort  Larned  was  one  of  three  historic  sites 
in  Kansas  which  in  1956  were  recommended  by  the  National 
Park  Service  for  further  investigation  and  possible  designa- 
tion as  national  monuments.  If  it  could  be  arranged,  such 
permanent  designation  and  maintenance  of  the  old  fort  by 
the  Park  Service  would  be  highly  desirable. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  163 

PHILLIPS  COUNTY 

1.    CAMP  KIRWAN. 

History:  Camp  Kirwan  was  a  temporary  encampment  for  U.  S. 
troops  providing  escort  for  a  government  survey  party  in 
northwest  Kansas  and  southwest  Nebraska  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1865.  Troops  of  the  Twelfth  Tennessee  cavalry,  sta- 
tioned at  the  camp,  were  under  the  command  of  Lt.  Col. 
John  S.  Kirwan,  for  whom  the  post  was  named. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  about  one  and  one  half  miles 
southwest  of  Kirwin. 

Status:  Site  is  now  in  the  Kirwin  Dam  reservoir  area  and  is  inun- 
dated. There  is  a  local  marker  in  the  city  park  of  Kirwin. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

POTTAWATOMIE  COUNTY 

1.    INDIAN  AGENCY  BUILDING,  ST.  MARYS. 

History:  The  building  was  constructed  in  1862  as  part  of  the 
agency  for  the  Pottawatomie  Indians. 

Location  and  description:  Small  one-story  stone  building  located 
in  St.  Marys. 

Status:  On  private  land.  Building  is  mentioned  on  state  historical 
marker  for  St.  Marys. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

PRATT  COUNTY 

RAWLINS  COUNTY 

RENO  COUNTY 

1.    FIRST  SALT  WELL. 

History:  Salt  was  discovered  in  South  Hutchinson  on  September 
27,  1887,  by  Ben  Blanchard  who  was  drilling  a  deep  well 
hoping  to  strike  gas  or  oil.  The  finding  of  this  fabulous 
"vein  of  pure  salt"  led  to  the  development  at  Hutchinson 
of  one  of  the  state's  most  important  industries. 


164  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  in  the  South  Hutchinson 
area. 

Status:  A  marker  commemorating  the  discovery  was  placed  on 
K-17,  in  South  Hutchinson,  by  the  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution  in  1939. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

REPUBLIC  COUNTY 

1.   PIKE-PAWNEE  VILLAGE. 

History:  Said  to  be  the  site  of  the  Pawnee  Indian  village  where 
Zebulon  Pike  conferred  with  the  Pawnees  in  1806  and  per- 
suaded them  to  raise  the  U.  S.  flag  for  the  first  time  in 
present  Kansas. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  two  miles  southwest  of 
town  of  Republic. 

Status:  The  site,  owned  by  the  state,  has  a  monument,  marker 
and  fenced  park  plot.  There  is  a  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  36 
at  Scandia. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

RICE  COUNTY 

1.     CORONADO-QUIVIRA  SlTE. 

History:  In  the  summer  of  1541  the  Spanish  explorer  Coronado 
visited  present  Kansas  in  search  of  the  land  of  Quivira  and 
its  fabled  riches.  Quivira  is  believed  to  have  been  located 
in  what  is  now  the  central  part  of  the  state.  Father  Juan  de 
Padilla,  a  missionary  with  the  Coronado  expedition,  was 
killed  in  1542  by  the  Indians,  reputedly  the  first  Christian 
martyr  in  the  present  United  States. 

Location  and  description:  Coron ado's  exact  route  cannot  be 
traced  today,  but  the  presumption  is  that  he  reached  central 
Kansas.  The  site  of  what  is  believed  to  be  a  large  Quiviran 
Indian  village  is  located  in  Sec.  2,  T  20  S,  R  9  W,  four  miles 
west  of  Lyons.  A  large  cross  has  been  erected  near  this 
site  in  memory  of  Father  Padilla.  Other  Padilla  monuments 
stand  in  the  city  park  at  Herington  and  near  Council  Grove. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  165 

Status:  State  historical  markers  are  located  on  U.  S.  56  west  of 
Lyons,  and  on  U.  S.  56-77  near  Herington. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

RILEY  COUNTY 

1.  FIRST  TERRITORIAL  CAPITOL,  FORT  RILEY. 

History:  This  building  was  erected  in  1855  at  the  now  extinct 
town  of  Pawnee.  The  first  territorial  legislature  used  it  as 
a  meeting  place  July  2-6,  1855,  before  adjourning  to  the 
Shawnee  Methodist  Mission. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  stone  building  located  on 
the  Fort  Riley  military  reservation,  on  K-18. 

Status:  The  building  is  owned  by  the  state  and  is  operated  as 
a  museum  by  the  State  Historical  Society. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  FORT  RILEY. 

History:  Established  as  a  frontier  military  post  in  1853,  Fort 
Riley  has  remained  active  since  that  time.  It  was  the  home  of 
the  U.  S.  army  cavalry  school  and  for  some  time  was  the 
headquarters  of  the  famed  Seventh  U.  S.  cavalry.  Many  of 
the  nation's  noted  military  leaders  from  the  1850's  to  the 
present  have  served  at  the  post. 

Location  and  description:   Military  reservation,  53,000  acres. 

Status:  Active  military  installation.  A  state  historical  marker 
is  located  on  the  post,  on  K-18. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

3.  DAVID  A.  BUTTERFIELD  HOUSE,  MANHATTAN. 

History:  The  house  was  built  by  Butterfield  between  July  18, 
1857,  and  July  8,  1858.  Butterfield  became  famous  as  the 
operator  of  the  Butterfield  Overland  Dispatch  which  ran 
stages  along  the  Smoky  Hill  trail  to  Denver.  This  is  said 
to  be  the  oldest  house  still  standing  in  Manhattan. 

Location  and  description:   Stone  building,  307  Osage  St. 
Status:  Privately  owned. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 


166  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

4.  DAMON  RUNYON  BIRTHPLACE,  MANHATTAN. 

History:  Damon  Runyon,  author  and  journalist,  was  born  here 
on  October  3,  1880. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  frame  house,  400  Osage  St. 

Status:  The  house  is  privately  owned  and  used  as  a  residence. 
On  the  corner  of  the  lot  is  a  marker  stating  that  the  house 
was  Runyon's  birthplace. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

5.  ISAAC  GOODNOW  HOUSE,  MANHATTAN. 

History:  This  house  was  built  for  Isaac  T.  Goodnow,  pioneer 
settler,  in  1859.  Goodnow  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Blue- 
mont  College,  which  later  became  Kansas  State  College, 
and  was  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  1863- 
1867.  He  was  also  land  commissioner  of  the  Missouri,  Kansas 
and  Texas  railroad. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  stone  house  on  Claflin  Road. 
Status:  The  house  is  privately  owned  and  is  well  preserved. 
Recommendations:   Possibly  should  be  a  state-owned  museum. 

ROOKS  COUNTY 

RUSH  COUNTY 

RUSSELL  COUNTY 

1.  CARRIE  OSWALD  No.  1  OIL  WELL.  t  ; 
History:    Carrie  Oswald  No.  1  was  the  discovery  well  of  the 

Fairport  pool,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  famous  in  Kansas. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  16/2  miles  northwest  of  Rus- 
sell, near  Fairport. 

Status:  There  is  a  monument  at  the  site. 
Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  KIT'S  FORK  INDIAN  RAID. 

History:  In  May,  1869,  a  section  gang  working  on  the  Kansas 
Pacific  (now  Union  Pacific)  railroad  was  attacked  by  Plains 
Indians.  The  workers  fled  on  a  handcar  and  carried  on  a 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  167 

running  fight  with  the  Indians.  Two  men  were  killed  and 
four  were  wounded.  This  was  a  typical  incident  in  the 
struggle  of  the  Indians  to  prevent  the  railroads  from  build- 
ing through  their  lands. 

Location  and  description:   Site  only,  near  Russell,  off  U.  S.  40. 

Status:  A  state  historical  marker  is  now  being  made  (August, 
1957)  and  will  be  erected  in  the  near  future.  A  monument 
also  stands  in  the  city  cemetery,  a  memorial  to  the  railroad 
workers  who  died. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

SALINE  COUNTY 

1.  BROOKVILLE  HOTEL,  BROOKVILLE. 

History:  This  hotel  was  built  in  1870  and  is  said  to  be  the  oldest 
hotel  in  Kansas  operating  in  its  original  location  without  a 
change  of  service.  It  was  a  cafe  and  hostelry  during  the  cattle 
trail  days  and  its  register  contains  famous  names  of  the  Old 
West. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  frame  building,  one  block 
off  U.  S.  40.  (The  caption  for  the  photograph  of  the  hotel, 
on  page  13  of  the  picture  section  accompanying  this  article, 
incorrectly  reports  the  location  as  Salina. ) 

Status:  Owned  and  operated  privately;  well  preserved. 
Recommendations:    Status  quo. 

2.  INDIAN  BURIAL  PIT. 

History:  One  of  the  most  notable  archaeological  discoveries  in 
the  United  States,  the  pit  was  opened  in  1936.  It  contains 
more  than  140  skeletal  remains  of  prehistoric  Indians. 

Location  and  description:  Prehistoric  Indian  burial  pit  covered 
by  a  permanent  structure.  Four  miles  east  of  Salina  on 
U.  S.  40. 

Status:  Now  in  private  hands  and  open  to  the  public  with  an 
admission  charge.  There  is  a  state  historical  marker  on 
U.  S.  40. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 


168  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

SCOTT  COUNTY 

1.  BATTLE  CANYON. 

History:  Here  was  fought  the  last  battle  between  Indians  and 
U.  S.  troops  in  Kansas,  September  27,  1878.  Dull  Knife's 
band  of  Cheyenne  Indians  who  were  fleeing  to  the  north 
from  Indian  territory  engaged  in  a  skirmish  with  a  detach- 
ment of  troops  from  Fort  Dodge.  Lt.  Col.  William  Lewis, 
commanding  the  troops,  was  killed.  The  canyon  was  a 
natural  place  for  the  Indians  to  make  a  stand.  The  women 
and  children  were  hidden  in  a  cave  at  the  closed  end  of 
the  ravine. 

Location  and  description:  Natural  box  canyon  and  cave  approxi- 
mately one  and  one  half  miles  off  gravel  road  to  the  Scott 
County  State  Park. 

Status:  The  site  is  on  land  privately  owned  and  has  undergone 
little  alteration  through  the  years.  Rifle  pits  of  the  Cheyennes 
are  still  in  evidence,  ringed  with  stones,  and  the  cave  where 
the  women  and  children  were  hidden  is  still  there  although 
it  is  partially  filled  with  water.  This  site  is  in  broken 
country  which  possesses  a  great  deal  of  natural  beauty,  but 
the  pasture  road  leading  to  it  makes  access  difficult. 

Recommendations:  Should  be  improved  and  a  state  historical 
marker  erected. 

2.  EL  QUARTELEJO. 

History:  On  this  site,  in  the  17th  century,  stood  an  Indian 
pueblo.  It  is  believed  that  Indians  of  the  Southwest  migrated 
to  the  site  to  escape  Spanish  oppression  and  the  pueblo 
became  a  meeting  place  for  traders  in  the  early  18th  century. 

Location  and  description:  Site  area  is  located  in  Scott  County 
State  Park,  a  short  distance  off  a  main  park  road. 

Status:  The  site  was  excavated  several  years  ago  and  then  al- 
lowed to  drift  full  again.  The  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution  have  erected  a  monument  at  the  site  and  there  is 
a  state  historical  marker  north  of  Scott  City.  There  is  local 
interest  in  re-excavation. 

Recommendations:  Should  be  re-excavated,  rebuilt  if  possible, 
and  maintained  locally  or  by  the  state  as  a  historic  site. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  169 

3.    STEELE  HOUSE. 

History:  In  this  house  was  the  first  post  office  in  Scott  county. 
The  H.  L.  Steele  family  pioneered  in  the  county  and  owned 
the  land  where  the  state  park  is  now  located. 

Location  and  description:  Stone  building  in  Scott  County  State 
Park,  on  main  park  road.  Stone  barn  stands  across  the  road. 

Status:  The  house  is  under  the  supervision  of  the  Kansas  For- 
estry, Fish  &  Game  Commission  and  there  is  a  collection  of 
museum  items  in  the  house.  It  is  difficult  to  gain  admission 
although  it  is  intended  to  be  open  to  the  public.  The  property 
is  also  being  allowed  to  fall  into  a  state  of  disrepair. 

Recommendations:  Better  care  by  Forestry,  Fish  &  Game  Com- 
mission and  perhaps  county  historical  society  operation  of 
the  museum. 


SEDGWICK  COUNTY 

1.  INDIAN  TREATY  SITE. 

History:  In  1865  several  tribes  of  Plains  Indians  camped  on  the 
Little  Arkansas  river  to  confer  with  representatives  of  the 
federal  government.  The  whites  wanted  peace,  unmolested 
traffic  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail  and  the  limitation  of  Indian  terri- 
tory. The  Indians  asked  for  unrestricted  hunting  grounds 
and  reparation  for  the  Chivington  massacre  of  Black  Kettle's 
Cheyenne  band  on  Sand  creek,  in  Colorado.  The  treaties 
made  here  gave  the  Indians  reservations  south  of  the  Arkan- 
sas and  excluded  them  north  to  the  Platte. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  and  that  not  specific,  on  the 
Little  Arkansas  north  of  Wichita. 

Status:  There  is  a  state  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  81,  four  miles 
north  of  Wichita,  which  tells  the  story  of  the  treaties. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  COWTOWN  WICHITA. 

History:  This  is  a  project  for  the  re-creation  of  part  of  the  old 
cowtown  of  Wichita,  1869-1876.  Several  original  buildings 
have  been  moved  to  the  new  site  and  restored,  among  them 
the  Munger  house,  the  first  cabin  to  be  erected  in  present 
Wichita;  and  the  original  Presbyterian  church  and  parsonage. 


170  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Location  and  description:  Twenty-three  acres  in  the  Riverside 
section  of  Wichita,  north  of  U.  S.  54. 

Status:  Cowtown  Wichita  is  being  re-created  under  the  direction 
of  a  local  corporation,  assisted  by  the  city. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

SEWARD  COUNTY 
SHAWNEE  COUNTY 

1.  ARTHUR  CAPPER  HOUSE,  TOPEKA. 

History:  Built  in  1912,  this  house  was  the  personal  residence  of 
Arthur  Capper.  It  was  also  his  official  residence  during  the 
two  terms  he  served  the  state  as  governor,  1915-1919,  and 
was  used  for  the  same  purpose,  1919-1923,  by  Gov.  Henry  J. 
Allen. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  limestone  and  concrete 
house  built  in  the  style  of  an  Italian  villa,  1035  Topeka  Ave. 

Status:   Privately  owned. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 

2.  CHARLES  CURTIS  HOUSE,  TOPEKA. 

History:  This  home  was  once  the  property  of  Charles  Curtis, 
who  served  in  the  U.  S.  house  of  representatives  and  senate 
from  Kansas.  He  was  vice-president  of  the  U.  S.,  1929-1933. 

Location  and  description:  Three-story  red  brick  house  built  in 
an  ornate  Victorian  style,  1101  Topeka  Ave. 

Status:  The  property  is  now  privately  owned  and  used  as  an 
office  building  by  an  insurance  firm.  There  is  a  plaque  on 
the  building. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

3.  EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  TOPEKA. 

History:  The  mansion  was  built  in  1887  at  a  cost  of  $60,000  by 
Erastus  Bennett.  It  was  purchased  by  the  state  in  1901  as  an 
official  residence  for  the  state's  chief  executive,  and  all  gov- 
ernors since  that  time,  with  the  exception  of  Capper  and 
Allen,  have  lived  there. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  171 

Location  and  description:  Three-story  brick  home,  located  at 
801  Buchanan. 

Status:   Still  the  governor's  official  residence. 

Recommendations:  When  the  new  Executive  Mansion  is  occu- 
pied, this  building,  complete  with  furniture,  should  be  op- 
erated as  a  museum,  if  feasible,  or  if  sold  by  the  state,  it 
should  be  marked  by  a  historical  plaque  or  sign. 

4.  RICE  HALL,  TOPEKA. 

History:  Built  in  1872  and  occupied  in  1874,  this  building  has 
been  used  by  Washburn  University  as  a  dormitory,  for  class- 
rooms, and  as  a  dining  hall.  It  is  the  oldest  building  on  the 
campus.  The  school  was  founded  in  1865. 

Location  and  description:  Three-story  limestone  building  on 
the  Washburn  University  campus. 

Status:  The  building  currently  houses  classrooms,  offices  and 
laboratories. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 

5.  OLD  STONE  HOUSE. 

History:  This  house  is  reputed  to  be  one  of  the  oldest,  perhaps 
the  oldest,  in  the  county.  Estimates  of  the  date  of  its  con- 
struction range  from  the  1830's  through  the  1850's.  No  defi- 
nite date  of  construction  has  been  arrived  at  but  it  is  safe 
to  assume  that  it  was  as  early  as  the  1850's. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  limestone  structure  east 
of  Silver  Lake  on  U.  S.  24. 

Status:  The  house  is  now  a  private  residence  and  well  preserved. 
Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

6.  POTTAWATOMIE  BAPTIST  MISSION. 

History:  This  was  one  of  the  buildings  of  the  Baptist  Mission  to 
the  Pottawatomies,  built  in  1849  near  an  important  Oregon 
trail  crossing  of  the  Kansas  river.  The  mission  school,  estab- 
lished in  1848,  existed  here  until  1859  and  was  a  thriving 
institution.  The  mission  was  also  a  stopping  place  for 
travelers  on  the  trail  to  Fort  Riley  and  it  was  here  that  Gov. 
John  Geary  issued  the  first  official  Thanksgiving  proclama- 
tion in  1856. 


172  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  limestone  structure  about 
three  miles  west  of  Topeka,  just  north  of  U.  S.  40 — K-10. 

Status:  The  walls  of  the  mission  building  have  been  incorporated 
into  a  barn.  Barn  doors  and  a  modern  roof  have  been  added 
but  basically  the  building  has  not  been  greatly  altered. 

Recommendations:  Should  be  acquired  by  the  state  and  oper- 
ated by  the  State  Historical  Society  as  an  annex  to  its  down- 
town museum,  because  of  its  historic  importance,  and  the 
availability  of  an  abundance  of  parking  area  on  a  well- 
traveled  highway. 

SHERIDAN  COUNTY 

1.    COLONEL  SUMNER'S  CHEYENNE  CAMPAIGN. 

History:  During  the  summer  of  1857  Col.  E.  V.  Sumner,  com- 
mander at  Fort  Leavenworth,  was  engaged  in  a  campaign 
against  the  Cheyenne  Indians  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  To- 
ward the  end  of  July  Sumner's  force  engaged  a  large  body  of 
Indians  in  the  Solomon  river  valley.  A  running  fight  ensued 
in  which  the  Indians  were  routed.  Two  soldiers  were  killed 
and  nine  wounded,  including  Lt.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  who  later 
became  famous  as  a  Confederate  general. 

Location  and  description:  General  area  of  the  Solomon  valley, 
east  of  Hoxie. 

Status:  Private  farm  land. 

Recommendations:  This  incident  was  selected  in  1941  by  a  gov- 
ernor's committee  on  historic  sites  as  worthy  of  recognition, 
and  a  text  for  a  marker  was  prepared  by  the  State  Historical 
Society.  A  state  historical  marker  should  be  erected  on  U.  S. 
24  east  of  Hoxie. 

SHERMAN  COUNTY 

1.   KIDDER  MASSACRE. 

History:  In  June,  1867,  Lt.  Lyman  S.  Kidder,  with  ten  men  from 
the  Second  U.  S.  cavalry,  then  stationed  in  northeastern  Colo- 
rado, and  an  Indian  scout,  were  killed  by  a  hunting  party  of 
Cheyenne  and  Sioux  Indians  near  Beaver  creek  in  present 
Sherman  county.  Kidder  and  his  men  were  in  search  of 
Gen.  Geo.  A.  Custer,  to  whom  they  were  to  deliver  dispatches. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  173 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  about  23  miles  northeast  of 
Goodland,  near  the  Cheyenne  county  line. 

Status:  Privately  owned  land. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  24. 

SMITH  COUNTY 

1.   HOME  ON  THE  RANGE  CABIN. 

History:  This  cabin  was  once  the  home  of  Dr.  Brewster  Higley, 
pioneer  Kansas  physician,  who  wrote  the  words  to  "Home  on 
the  Range"  in  the  early  1870's. 

Location  and  description:  One-room  log  cabin,  in  Sec.  7,  T  2  S, 
R  14  W,  on  Beaver  creek,  about  17  miles  northwest  of  Smith 
Center,  off  K-8. 

Status:  On  privately  owned  farm  land.  The  cabin  was  restored 
and  dedicated  as  a  historical  memorial  to  Higley  in  1954 
and  is  open  daily.  The  site  is  indicated  by  directional  mark- 
ers on  U.  S.  36. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

STAFFORD  COUNTY 

STANTON  COUNTY 

STEVENS  COUNTY 

SUMNER  COUNTY 

1.   CmsHOLM  TRAIL. 

History:  The  original  Chisholm  trail,  as  followed  by  Jesse  Chis- 
holm  about  1865,  ran  from  Wichita  220  miles  south  into 
Indian  territory.  Later  the  trail  was  extended  north  to  Abilene 
and  became  famous  as  the  route  of  many  cattle  drives  from 
Texas. 

Location  and  description:  The  trail  crossed  the  Kansas-Okla- 
homa border  near  Caldwell,  Sumner  county.  Traces  may 
still  be  seen  in  some  localities. 


174  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Status:  A  state  historical  marker  has  been  erected  on  U.  S.  81, 
a  mile  south  of  Caldwell,  and  a  local  marker  is  in  a  roadside 
park  on  U.  S.  160,  about  six  miles  west  of  Wellington. 
Another  local  marker  is  located  on  a  county  road  one  mile 
east  of  Clearwater,  Sedgwick  county. 

Recommendations:   Status  quo. 

2.    FAIRBANKS  HOUSE,  CALDWELL. 

History:  This  building  housed  a  tavern  on  the  Chisholm  trail 
in  the  late  1860's  and  1870's. 

Location  and  description:  One-story  stone  building,  off  U.  S.  81. 
Status:  The  building  is  privately  owned. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker  or  plaque. 

THOMAS  COUNTY 
TREGO  COUNTY 

1.  CASTLE  ROCK  CREEK  STAGE  STATION. 

History:  This  was  a  stage  station  established  in  1865  on  the 
Smoky  Hill  trail. 

Location  and  description:  SWK,  Sec.  31,  T  13  S,  R  25  W,  one 
mile  east  of  Castle  Rock,  south  of  Collyer. 

Status:  A  farm  building  now  stands  on  the  main  station  site 
and  very  little  evidence  of  the  station  can  be  found. 

Recommendations:  This  site  and  Downer's  Station  should  be 
included  in  Cove  county  state  historical  marker. 

2.  DOWNER'S  STATION. 

History:  This  was  established  in  1865  as  a  stage  station  on  the 
Smoky  Hill  trail,  and  was  a  temporary  military  outpost. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  NWM,  Sec.  3,  T  14  S,  R  24  W, 
south  of  WaKeeney,  off  U.  S.  40. 

Status:  The  site  is  on  privately  owned  pasture  land.  Cellar 
holes  and  ruins  of  stone  wall  are  still  in  evidence. 

Recommendations:   See  Castle  Rock  Creek  Stage  Station. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  175 

WABAUNSEE  COUNTY 

1.    BEECHER  BIBLE  AND  RIFLE  CHURCH,  WABAUNSEE. 

History:  This  church  was  organized  in  1857  by  settlers  from 
New  England  and  the  building  was  dedicated  in  1862.  The 
church,  Congregationalist,  takes  its  name  from  the  "Beecher 
Bibles" — in  reality  Sharps  carbines — which  were  furnished 
Free-State  settlers  who  came  to  Kansas  to  combat  Proslavery 
sympathizers.  The  famous  abolitionist  preacher,  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  collected  money  for  the  arms  and  they  were  shipped 
to  Kansas  territory  in  boxes  labeled  "Bibles/' 

Location  and  description:  Stone  building  located  in  the  town  of 
Wabaunsee,  off  K-29. 

Status:  The  building  is  well  preserved  and  is  still  in  use  as  a 
Congregational  church. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  K-99  near  junction 
with  K-29.  Immediately  southeast  of  this  junction  and  over- 
looking a  beautiful  valley  is  Mount  Mitchell,  a  state  property 
which  could  be  made  a  park  and  scenic  drive. 

WALLACE  COUNTY 

1.    FORT  WALLACE  AND  CEMETERY. 

History:  Camp  Pond  Creek,  established  in  1865,  was  renamed 
Fort  Wallace  in  1866.  It  was  an  active  army  post  until  1882, 
and  for  some  years  was  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important 
on  the  Indian  frontier. 

Location  and  description:  Fort  site  about  two  miles  southeast  of 
Wallace.  Cemetery  plot  is  across  the  road  from  the  fort  site. 

Status:  The  site  is  on  privately  owned  land.  No  buildings  re- 
main but  foundations,  cellars  and  other  surface  indications  of 
the  post  are  evident.  The  cemetery  contains  a  monument 
to  military  dead.  These  bodies  were  later  removed  to  Fort 
Leavenworth.  The  remaining  graves  are  not  of  military  per- 
sonnel. A  state  historical  marker  is  located  on  U.  S.  40  at 
Wallace. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 


176  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

2.   POND  CREEK  STATION. 

History:  This  was  a  station  on  the  Smoky  Hill  trail  and  was  a 
temporary  military  post  in  1865  and  1866.  It  was  also  the 
first  county  seat. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  one  mile  west  of  Wallace, 
south  side  of  U.  S.  40. 

Status:  The  site  is  on  privately  owned  farm  land.  Cellar  holes 
and  remains  of  dirt  fortifications  are  still  visible.  The  stage 
tender's  building  and  coach  house  which  stood  on  this  site 
is  still  intact  and  is  now  located  on  the  Madigan  ranch,  ten 
miles  north  and  four  west  of  Wallace.  Bullet  holes  may  still 
be  seen  in  the  siding,  evidence  of  the  times  when  the  station 
was  under  Indian  attack. 

Recommendations:  State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  40  near  junc- 
tion with  K-27,  possibly  also  to  include  Logan  county  stage 
station  sites. 


WASHINGTON  COUNTY 

1.  HOLLENBERG  RANCH  PONY  EXPRESS  STATION. 

History:  This  is  said  to  be  the  only  original  unaltered  Pony  Ex- 
press station  still  standing.  It  was  built  originally  as  a  ranch 
house  in  1857  and  was  used  as  a  station  on  the  short-lived  but 
famous  Pony  Express  route  of  1860-1861. 

Location  and  description:  A  one-story  frame  structure  located 
about  one  mile  northeast  of  Hanover  off  K-15E. 

Status:  The  building  is  owned  by  the  state  and  contains  a  small 
pioneer  museum.  There  is  a  state  historical  marker  on  U.  S. 
36  near  the  junction  with  K-15E. 

Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  STAGE  STATION,  HADDAM. 

History:  This  house  is  said  to  have  been  built  in  the  latter  1850's 
for  use  as  a  stage  hotel. 

Location  and  description:  Three-story  stone  house  near  the  edge 
of  Haddam. 

Status:  Occupied  as  a  residence. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  177 

WICHITA  COUNTY 
WILSON  COUNTY 

1.  FIRST  COMMERCIAL  OIL  WELL,  NEODESHA. 

History:  The  first  oil  well  to  produce  in  commercial  quantities 
was  drilled  in  Neodesha  in  1892,  in  what  became  known  as 
the  Mid-Continent  field. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  west  edge  of  the  city  on  U.  S. 

75. 

Status:  There  is  a  marker  on  U.  S.  75  which  identifies  the  site. 
Recommendations:  Status  quo. 

2.  FORT  BELMONT. 

History:  Fort  Belmont  was  a  military  post  and  stagecoach  sta- 
tion in  the  early  1860's.  Hapo,  a  chief  of  the  Osage  Indians, 
is  reported  to  be  buried  near  here. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  two  miles  west  of  Buffalo, 
off  U.  S.  75. 

Status:   On  privately  owned  land. 
Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

WOODSON  COUNTY 
WYANDOTTE  COUNTY 

1.   FOUR  HOUSES  TRADING  POST,  BONNER  SPRINGS. 

History:  This  trading  post  was  established  by  Francis  and 
Cyprian  Choteau  in  1820.  The  four  buildings  were  built  of 
logs  and  faced  on  a  square.  The  post  was  active  as  late 
as  1826. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  within  the  present  city 
limits  of  Bonner  Springs. 

Status:  On  privately  owned  land. 

Recommendations:  A  state  historical  marker  might  be  erected 
on  K-32  at  Bonner  Springs. 

13—7716 


178  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

2.  HURON  CEMETERY,  KANSAS  CITY. 

History:  This  is  the  Wyandot  National  Cemetery  in  which 
Wyandot  Indians  were  buried  beginning  in  1844. 

Location  and  description:  Two-acre  plot  on  Minnesota  Ave., 
between  Sixth  and  Seventh  Sts.,  in  downtown  Kansas  City, 
Kan. 

Status:  Sale  of  the  property  by  the  Wyandot  tribe  was  author- 
ized by  congress  in  1956. 

Recommendations:  It  should  continue  to  be  preserved  as  a  his- 
toric Indian  cemetery. 

3.  QUINDARO,  KANSAS  CITY. 

History:  Quindaro  was  a  town  laid  out  in  1856  by  a  group  that 
included  Charles  Robinson,  Kansas'  first  state  governor.  The 
town  thrived  for  a  time  but  declined  after  the  Civil  War  and 
eventually  became  a  part  of  Kansas  City. 

Location  and  description:  The  site  of  Quindaro  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  the  Missouri  river;  on  the  east  by  Twelfth  St.; 
on  the  south  by  Parallel  Ave.;  on  the  west  by  North  Forty- 
second  St. 

Status:  Foundations  of  some  business  buildings  can  still  be  traced 
and  an  old  spring  house  and  a  few  stone  walls  still  stand. 

Recommendations:  Local  historical  marker. 

4.  Six  MILE  HOUSE,  KANSAS  CITY. 

History:  This  building  was  erected  in  1860  and  served  as  a 
tavern  on  the  Wyandotte-Leavenworth  road. 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  log  structure,  now  covered 
with  asbestos  siding,  located  at  4960  Leavenworth  Road.  This 
is  a  part  of  the  original  building. 

Status:  The  building  is  privately  owned  and  is  used  as  a  resi- 
dence. 

Recommendations:   Local  historical  marker. 

5.  MOSES  GRINTER  HOUSE,  MUNCIE. 

History:  This  house  was  built  by  Moses  Grinter,  operator  of  the 
first  ferry  on  the  Kansas  river  and  pioneer  Indian  trader.  He 
lived  in  a  cabin  near  the  ferry  site  from  1831  until  1857, 
when  the  present  house  was  constructed. 


HISTORIC  SITES  AND  STRUCTURES  179 

Location  and  description:  Two-story  brick  structure  at  1420 
South  Seventy-eighth  St.,  Muncie  (on  K-32). 

Status:  The  building  is  privately  owned  and  operated  as  a 
restaurant.  It  is  well  preserved. 

Recommendations:   State  historical  marker  on  U.  S.  40. 

6.  CYPRIAN  CHOUTEAU  TRADING  POST. 

History:  Cyprian  Chouteau  established  this  post  in  1827  and  it 
continued  in  operation  until  the  mid-1850's.  It  was  here 
that  John  C.  Fremont  completed  preparations  for  his  explor- 
ing trip  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1842. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  Sec.  11,  T  11  S,  R  24  E, 
north  of  present  Turner. 

Status:  On  privately  owned  land. 

Recommendations:  Include  on  state  historical  marker  for  Four 
Houses,  if  one  is  erected. 

7.  DELAWARE  BAPTIST  MISSION  (FIRST). 

History:  This  mission  was  established  in  1832  as  a  school  for 
Delaware  Indian  children.  It  declined  in  the  early  1840's 
and  by  1848  was  permanently  abandoned. 

Location  and  description:  Site  only,  SW&,  NEM,  Sec.  26,  T  11  S, 
R  23  E,  near  present  Edwardsville. 

Status:  On  privately  owned  land. 

Recommendations:  Possibly  a  state  historical  marker  for  all 
Delaware  missions  could  be  erected  on  U.  S.  40  near  junction 
with  K-107. 

8.  DELAWARE  BAPTIST  MISSION  (  SECOND  ) . 

History:  This  mission  was  established  in  1848  by  John  G.  Pratt 
as  a  revival  of  the  earlier  mission.  It  became  a  sizeable  insti- 
tution and  included  both  a  church  and  school.  Pratt  con- 
tinued to  work  among  the  Delawares  until  their  removal  to 
Indian  territory  in  1867-1868,  and  made  his  home  at  the 
location  until  his  death  in  1900. 

Location  and  description:    Site  only,  NW£,  Sec.  10,  T  11  S 
R23E. 

Status:  On  privately  owned  land. 


180  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Recommendations:  Include  on  state  historical  marker  for  Dela- 
ware missions  if  one  is  erected. 

9.  DELAWARE  METHODIST  MISSION. 

History:  This  mission  was  begun  in  1832  under  the  direction  of 
William  Johnson.  It  was  moved  to  a  new  location  in  1837 
and  continued  in  operation  until  1844. 

Location  and  description:  The  first  site  was  in  Sec.  3,  T  11  S, 
R  23  E;  the  second  in  the  EM,  NW&,  Sec.  20,  T  11  S,  R  24  E. 
Only  the  sites  remain. 

Status:  On  privately  owned  land. 

Recommendations:  Include  on  state  historical  marker  for  Dela- 
ware missions  if  one  is  erected. 

10.  WHITE  CHURCH  AND  DELAWARE  RURIAL  GROUND. 

History:  This  church  was  founded  in  1832  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  connection  with  the  mission  to 
the  Delawares.  The  present  building  is  the  third  at  approxi- 
mately the  same  site.  The  Delaware  burial  ground  adjoining 
the  church  is  believed  to  be  the  oldest  in  Wyandotte  county. 
Several  famous  Delaware  chiefs  are  buried  there. 

Location  and  description:  Site  is  located  one  mile  north  of  U.  S. 
24-40  at  White  Church. 

Status:  Present  church  building  is  in  use  as  a  community  church. 

Recommendations:  Include  on  state  historical  marker  for  Dela- 
ware missions  if  one  is  erected. 


A  Free-Stater's  "Letters  to  the  Editor" 

SAMUEL  N.  WOOD'S  LETTERS  TO  EASTERN  NEWSPAPERS,  1854 

Edited  by  ROBERT  W.  RICHMOND 

I.    INTRODUCTION 

SAMUEL  Newitt  Wood  is  perhaps  best  known  for  the  part  he 
played  in  the  Stevens  county  "war"  which  involved  the  towns 
of  Hugoton  and  Woodsdale  in  a  struggle  for  the  county  seat  and 
which  drew  to  a  close  with  the  murder  of  Wood  by  Jim  Brennan, 
June  23,  1891.  However,  this  fatal  participation  in  a  Kansas  county- 
seat  fight  was  only  the  final  chapter  in  a  long  and  turbulent  career 
which  included  newspaper  work,  politics,  ranching,  and  railroad 
promotion. 

Sam  Wood  was  born  December  30,  1825,  at  Mount  Gilead,  Ohio, 
and  completed  a  common  school  education.  Before  he  was  old 
enough  to  vote  he  was  involved  in  local  politics  and  in  1848  sup- 
ported Martin  Van  Buren,  a  Free-Soil  candidate,  for  the  presidency. 
Wood's  parents  were  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends  and  as  a 
result  he  was  brought  up  to  despise  slavery.  Because  of  his  strong 
feelings  on  the  subject  he  became  active  in  the  operation  of  the 
"underground  railroad"  through  Ohio  and  conducted  fleeing  South- 
ern Negroes  on  several  occasions. 

On  June  4,  1854,  Sam  Wood  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law 
and  two  days  later  was  on  his  way  to  the  newly-created  Kansas 
territory,  convinced  that  the  Kansas-Nebraska  act  was  wrong  and 
that  he  should  do  something  about  making  Kansas  a  free  state. 
With  his  wife  and  two  small  children  he  went  by  wagon  to  Cin- 
cinnati where  he  secured  steamboat  passage  to  Independence,  Mo. 
From  the  Missouri  border  the  family  again  traveled  by  wagon, 
this  time  to  a  point  about  four  miles  west  of  Lawrence  on  the 
"California  Road."  Here  Wood  settled  and  this  claim  was  to  be  his 
home  through  the  most  difficult  period  of  the  Proslavery  and  Free- 
State  controversy. 

Wood  was  immediately  involved  in  the  political  life  of  the  terri- 
tory and  he  was  not  hesitant  about  expressing  himself  regarding 
politics.  He  bought  into  the  Kansas  Tribune,  Lawrence,  which 
was  first  printed  by  John  Speer  in  the  fall  of  1854.  The  Tribune 
was  a  typical  frontier  newspaper  and  its  editorial  policy,  similar 

ROBERT  W.  RICHMOND,  state  archivist  of  Kansas,  is  a  member  of  the  staff  of  the  State 
Historical  Society. 

(181) 


182  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

to  that  of  other  early  Kansas  newspapers,  was  extremely  outspoken 
and  biased.  Such  a  policv  appealed  to  the  fiery  Ohioan  and  he 
later  (1859)  carried  it  on  in  his  own  newspapers  at  Cottonwood 
Falls  and  Council  Grove. 

In  November,  1855,  a  Free-Stater,  Charles  W.  Dow,  was  killed 
by  Franklin  N.  Coleman,  Proslaveryite,  near  Hickory  Point  in 
Douglas  county.  A  Free-State  group  held  a  meeting  on  November 
22  at  the  scene  of  the  murder  and  that  night  Samuel  Jones,  sheriff 
of  Douglas  county,  arrested  Jacob  Branson,  with  whom  Dow  had 
lived,  for  taking  part  in  the  assembly.  The  sheriff  and  his  posse 
started  for  Lecompton  with  their  prisoner  but  before  they  reached 
their  destination  they  were  met  by  an  armed  band  of  Free-State 
men  which  included  Sam  Wood.  Jones  lost  his  prisoner  to  the 
opposition  and  the  incident  led  to  what  has  been  known  as  the 
Wakarusa  War. 

Wood's  part  in  the  Branson  rescue  and  similar  incidents  made 
him  one  of  the  territory's  most  unpopular  citizens  in  the  eyes  of 
Proslavery  partisans.  Such  notoriety  did  not  bother  Wood.  In 
fact,  he  thrived  on  it  and  did  all  that  he  could  to  increase  his  un- 
popularity by  encouraging  Free-State  settlers  to  come  to  Kansas. 
This  he  accomplished  by  returning  on  several  occasions  to  the  East 
where  he  spoke  to  potential  settlers  and  by  writing  letters  to  Eastern 
newspapers. 

The  four  letters  that  follow  were  selected  from  newspapers  in 
the  files  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society  and  were  all  written 
by  Wood  during  the  first  year  of  his  residence  in  Kansas.  They 
are  excellent  examples  of  the  fervid  Free-State  messages  that  went 
to  the  East  during  the  early  territorial  years  and  vividly  express 
Wood's  opinions  of  the  Kansas  political  situation  and  also  give  some 
idea  of  what  life  was  like  on  the  Trans-Missouri  frontier  of  the 
1850's. 

II.    THE  LETTERS 

WESTPORT,  JACKSON  Co.,  Mo., 

June  28,  1854. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  National  Era: 

DEAR  SIR:  I  have  left  my  Ohio  home  and  friends,  and  have  come 
here,  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  myself  and  family  a  future  home 
in  this,  the  fairest  portion  of  God's  earth.  A  struggle  is  before  us. 
It  looks  as  though  the  inhabitants  of  this  county  think  that  they  can 
people,  or  dictate  who  shall  people,  the  whole  Kansas  Territory. 
They  in  the  start  flocked  into  the  Territory  by  hundreds.  Men 
would  take  perhaps  a  dozen  claims,  stick  their  stake,  mark  their 


FREE-STATER'S  LETTERS  183 

names,  get  up  a  little  meeting,  resolve  to  protect  each  other  and 
each  other's  claims.  They  also  resolved,  at  all  hazards,  that  Kansas 
belonged  to,  and  should  be  settled  exclusively  by,  slaveholders. 
After  this,  nine  out  of  every  ten  return  to  their  Missouri  homes, 
supposing  that  they  have  fixed,  beyond  the  possibility  of  repeal, 
the  institutions  of  Kansas  for  all  time  to  come.  Meetings  are  held 
in  Missouri,  where  lynching  is  publicly  recommended,  as  the  last 
resort,  to  drive  those  "white-livered  Abolitionists"  out  of  Kansas 
into  Nebraska,  which  they  condescendingly  say  is  "set  apart  for 
us/'  A  few  Northern  men  already  have  been  driven  from  the  Terri- 
tory; others  frightened  away.  A  few  slaveholders  already  have 
moved  in  with  their  slaves. 

The  Methodist  missionaries  sent  here  for  the  purpose  of  enlighten- 
ing and  Christianizing  the  poor  Indian,  have  their  slaves  to  do 
the  drudgery  of  the  missions;  thus,  while  they  are  enlightening  and 
Christianizing  one  class  of  heathens,  as  an  auxiliary  in  the  good 
cause,  they  are  grinding  down  and  blotting  out  the  very  souls  of 
other  heathens.  Indeed,  it  is  a  question  whether  they  Christianize 
or  heathenize  the  most.  Of  course,  the  influence  of  these  large 
mission  establishments  is  against  us.1 

At  Fort  Leavenworth,  the  United  States  officers  are  degrading 
themselves  and  their  calling,  by  going  with  the  South,  and  hooting 
at  Northern  men,  and  even  justifying  lynching  of  them,  for  no  other 
cause  than  that  they  are  Northern  men!  A  dark  picture,  truly;  but 
think  not  that  it  has  no  bright  side;  Northern  men  have  been  found 
who  could  not  be  scared;  settlements  have  been  commenced,  slave- 
holders have  become  frightened,  already,  we  hear — "they  will  not 
trust  their  slaves  there!"  I  have  just  made  a  trip  over  into  the 
Territory,  found  on  the  Indian  reserve  scores  of  families  from  Iowa, 
Illinois,  Indiana,  and  other  States,  and  still  they  come. 

Next  week  we  are  to  have  a  general  meeting  up  on  Kansas  river, 
where  hundreds  of  freemen  will  be  rallied;  a  fiat  will  then  go  forth 
that  will  sound  the  death  knell  to  Slavery,  in  Kansas,  at  least.2  All 
we  ask  is,  for  Northern  men,  and  Southern  men,  tired  of  Slavery, 
who  design  emigrating  here,  to  come  now!  Now  is  the  time  they 
can  suit  themselves  with  homes;  and,  above  all,  now,  or  soon,  this 
Slavery  question  must  be  met,  and  settled.  During  our  trip  over 
into  the  Territory,  we  saw  the  Baptist  missionary — a  pure  and  warm 

1.  Wood  was  referring  to  the  Shawnee  Methodist  Mission  of  which  Thomas  Johnson 
was  superintendent.     The  mission,  located  in  present  Fairway,  Johnson  county,  was  under 
the  direction  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  did  have  Negro  slaves. 

2.  No  record  can  be  found  establishing  the  fact  that  such  a  meeting  was  held  early 
in  July,  1854. 


184  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Anti-Slavery  man.3  We  also  took  dinner  at  the  Friends  or  Quaker 
mission;  found  the  superintendent,  Friend  Fayer,  sick,  but  were 
kindly  received  by  his  family,  and  Richard  Mendenhall,  their 
teacher,  and  his  amiable  wife — all  strong  Anti-Slavery  people,  to 
whom  we  are  indebted,  not  only  for  their  kindness  to  us,  but  for 
much  valuable  information.4  Say  to  freemen,  "Come  on,  secure  a 
home,  and  assist  in  this  great  struggle  between  Slavery  and  Free- 
dom!" 

Our  nearest  post  office  at  present  is  Westport,  Jackson  county, 
Missouri. 

Yours,  truly, 

SAMUEL  N.  WOOD  5 

WESTPORT,  JACKSON  Co.,  Mo., 

July  12,  1854. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  National  Era: 

Presuming  that  you,  as  well  as  your  numerous  readers,  would 
read  with  pleasure  a  line  from  this  far-off  Territory,  I  seat  myself 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  you  posted  on  Kansas  matters.  Since 
writing  to  you  last,  I  have  spent  about  ten  days  in  the  Territory, 
have  been  over  much  of  the  country  south  of  Kansas  river,  and 
must  say  that  I  have  viewed,  to  my  mind,  some  of  the  best  as  well 
as  most  beautiful  places  in  the  world.  Prairies  could  not  be  richer, 
nor  scarcely  better  watered;  it  is  true,  in  places,  timber  may  be 
scarce,  yet  limestone  exists  in  abundance,  enough  to  fence  in  the 
whole  country.  Stone-coal,  I  am  satisfied,  exists  in  abundance. 
The  want  of  timber  will  be  but  trifling,  even  where  it  does  not  exist. 

Emigrants  are  pouring  in  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  a  great 
majority  of  whom  are  non-slaveholders;  yet  great  ignorance  pre- 
vails among  them  on  the  Slavery  question.  Slaveholders  finding, 
with  all  their  threats  and  bullying,  that  Northern  men  could  riot  be 
scared  or  kept  out  of  the  Territory,  are  now  trying  to  control  the 
public  sentiment,  and  contend  that  we  have  no  right  to  exclude 
slave  property  from  the  Territory,  and  that  it  stands  in  precisely 
the  same  relation  as  other  property.  By  this  means,  they  are  gain- 
ing a  foothold  here,  which,  I  fear,  it  will  be  hard  to  rout  them  from. 

Would  some  one,  who  is  capable,  write  a  small  tract  showing 
the  true  relation  between  master  and  slave,  asserting  that  Slavery 

3.  Wood    probably   was    referring   to    Francis    Barker,    superintendent    of   the    Shawnee 
Baptist   Mission  school.      This  mission,  located   in  present  Johnson   county,  was   established 
in  1831  and  was  in  its  final  year  of  operation  when  Wood  visited  it. 

4.  "Friend    Fayer"    was    Davis    W.    Thayer,    superintendent    of    the    Shawnee    Friends 
Mission  which  was  also  located  in  present  Johnson  county.     Richard  Mendenhall,  mentioned 
here,  was   an  outspoken  foe  of  slavery   and  wrote  many  letters  to  the  East  upholding  the 
Free-State  cause. 

5.  Washington   (D.  C.)  National  Era,  July  20,  1854. 


FREE-STATER'S  LETTERS  185 

is  a  local  institution,  sustained  only  by  positive  law,  and  is  without 
foundation  in  common  or  natural  law,  consequently  cannot  exist  in 
Kansas  without  positive  enactment,  and  the  danger  of  letting  it  get 
a  foothold;  and  then  write  another,  giving  a  general  comparison 
of  the  slave  and  free  States,  together  with  the  expense  Slavery  is  to 
the  Government — let  these  two  tracts  be  circulated  over  the  Terri- 
tory, and  to  my  mind  the  work  is  done.  Will  not  some  of  our  Anti- 
Slavery-extension  friends  in  the  States  take  hold  of  this  matter,  and 
furnish  us  something  on  this  subject  at  once,  whilst  the  public  mind 
is  famishing  for  food  upon  this  subject? 

It  is  really  a  question  which  here  takes  precedence  of  all  others, 
and  will  our  friends  in  the  States  but  furnish  us  the  matter,  we  will 
distribute  it  broadcast  over  the  whole  Territory,  and  wake  up  a 
feeling  that  will  die  only  with  Slavery  itself. 

To  members  of  Congress  I  would  say,  all  the  matter  you  can 
possibly  send  me,  calculated  to  throw  light  on  Slavery,  shall  be 
faithfully  distributed  among  the  Kansas  settlers. 

To  emigrants  from  the  North  I  would  say,  after  you  get  into  the 
slave  States,  believe  nothing  you  may  hear  about  Kansas.  Every 
misrepresentation  imaginable  will  be  told,  to  discourage  you  from 
coming  here;  and  even  after  you  arrive,  find  Anti-Slavery  men,  as 
you  will  learn  nothing  of  the  Territory  by  inquiry. 

Yours  for  the  right,  S.  N.  WooD.6 

KANSAS,  Wednesday,  Aug.  2,  1854. 

Yours  of  July  14  is  just  received  by  the  hand  of  a  friend.  I  am 
fifty-five  miles  from  the  Post-Office,  in  what  I  deem  a  first-rate 
country — timber,  perhaps,  a  little  scarce.  But  I  have  not  time,  now, 
to  describe  the  country.  Some  will  get  sick  and  go  home,  yet 
hundreds  of  first  rate  families  are  staying.  Log  cabins  are  going  up 
in  every  direction.  If  your  wife  and  daughter  could  consent  to  live 
for  a  time  in  a  cabin  sixteen  feet  square,  and  do  without  a  thou- 
sand luxuries  and  many  necessities  which  you  enjoy  in  New- York, 
you  could  live  very  well.  Furniture  of  all  kinds  here  is  very  high. 
Did  I  live  even  in  New- York,  I  would  ship  all  necessary  articles  of 
household  goods,  but  no  unnecessary  ones.  Provisions  I  do  not 
think  are  high.  Corn  Meal  40  cents;  Oats  30  cents;  Wheat  $1  per 
bushel;  Flour  $3.50  per  100  Ibs.;  Bacon  about  6M  to  8%.7  Goods 
are  some  higher — I  speak  of  the  Westport  market. 

Now,  after  answering  many  questions  you  have  not  asked,  I  will 
just  say  that  I  believe  a  newspaper  establishment  here,  right  where 

6.  Ibid.,  July  27,  1854. 

7.  This  is  a  cent  per  pound  price  on  bacon. 


186  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

we  are,  would  be  a  paying  concern.  I  know  of  no  way  for  a  printer 
to  get  employment  now  but  to  establish  an  office  himself.  You,  of 
course,  would  know  the  expense  of  one  best.  I  suppose  $500  would 
fit  up  an  office  for  this  country.  I  have  to-day  talked  with  a  number 
of  settlers,  and  all  say  "Bring  along  a  Press"  yet  you  could  not 
look  for  pecuniary  help  here  now.  It  is  poor,  hardworking  men 
we  have  here  now. 

The  fare  from  New- York  to  Cincinnati,  I  believe,  is  $16;  from 
Cincinnati  by  steamboat  to  St.  Louis,  $9;  from  St.  Louis  to  Kansas  8 
the  best  landing  and  most  convenient  place  varies.  I  paid  $10,  $16, 
$9— $35;  wife  $35— $70  from  New-York.  Goods  from  New-York 
I  think  would  average  $2.50  per  100  Ibs.;  or  perhaps  you  could  come 
quicker  from  New- York  by  Chicago.  The  fare  from  Chicago  I 
suppose  to  be  about  the  same  as  to  Cincinnati;  from  Chicago  to 
Alton,  111.,  or  Rock  Island  about  $5;  from  Alton  or  Rock  Island  to 
St.  Louis,  about  $9.  There  is  also  a  railroad  building  from  Indian- 
apolis, Ind.,  to  St.  Louis.  If  it  was  finished  it  would  be  the  best 
way  to  come  from  New- York  via  Cleveland  through  Ohio  to  Indian- 
apolis, thence  to  St.  Louis.  You  might  ascertain  whether  the  road 
is  finished.  My  figures  via  Chicago  are  mere  guess-work. 

At  Kansas  you  are  sixty  miles  from  us,  and  about  eight  miles 
from  the  Quaker  Mission  among  the  Shawnee  Indians,  which  is  on 
the  road.  If  you  come,  write  to  me;  I  will  try  to  meet  you  at  the 
Mission,  or  arrange  with  them  to  bring  you  here.  Of  course  you 
can  share  our  cabin  until  better  provided  for.  You  say  you  are  an 
"Abolitionist."  Does  that  mean  a  Garrisonian,  a  Gerrit  Smithite, 
or  what?  9  As  to  myself,  I  am  an  Anti-Slavery  man,  and  could  now 
take  by  the  hand  an  "Abolitionist"  of  any  kind.  Any  other  queries 
I  will  with  great  pleasure  try  to  answer.  Send  me  a  number  or  two 
of  THE  TRIBUNE;  I  used  to  read  it  in  Ohio.  I  believe  it  is  conserva- 
tive, seeking  popularity.  But  enough. 

Yours  for  Freedom  the  world  over,  SAM'L  A.  WooD.10 

P.  S.  Kansas  will  be  free!  Thirty  Massachusetts  men  arrived 
yesterday.11 

8.  Present  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

9.  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  publisher  of  the  Boston  Liberator,  and  Gerrit  Smith,  New 
York  philanthropist,  were  both  active  in  the  movement  against  slavery.     However,  the  two 
were  opposed   in  theory.      Smith  believed  that  political   action  should  be  used   in  bringing 
about  reform  while  Garrison  thought  that  political  parties  could  never  succeed  in  securing 
emancipation  for  the  slaves  of  the  South. 

10.  New  York  Tribune,  August  15,  1854. 

11.  The    pioneer    party   of   the   Emigrant    Aid    Company    of   Massachusetts,    numbering 
29  men,  arrived  in  Kansas  City  on  July  29,  1854.     They  moved  into  the  territory  immedi- 
ately and  camped  on   Mount  Oread,  August   1,   1854. — Louise   Barry,   "The  Emigrant  Aid 
Company  Parties  of  1854,"  The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  Topeka,  v.  12  (May,  1943),  pp. 


FREE-STATER'S  LETTERS  187 

KANSAS  TERRITORY,  August  20,  1854. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  National  Era: 

Since  the  publication  of  my  former  letters  in  your  paper,  I  have 
received  hundreds  of  letters  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  inquiring 
about  Kansas.  Although  wishing  to  impart  all  the  information  in  my 
power,  yet  were  I  to  devote  all  my  time  to  letter-writing,  one-half 
at  least  would  go  unanswered.  A  few  put  me  under  personal  obli- 
gations, such  that  I  am  obliged  to  write  at  least  to  them.  Others, 
whose  letters  may  be  unanswered,  will  from  this  learn  the  reason 
why. 

One  wants  to  know  "if  the  lands  here  are  subject  to  pre-emption?" 
another,  if  we  "get  them  for  nothing,  or  how  to  pay  twenty-five  cents 
per  acre,  the  cost  of  survey,"  &c. — things  that  are  known  all  over 
the  States  weeks  before  we  can  possibly  know  them  here,  as  we 
are  fifty  miles  in  an  Indian  country,  and  the  same  distance  from 
Westport,  Missouri,  our  nearest  post  office.  Another  wants  to  know 
"what  kind  of  winters  we  have  here,  what  kind  of  summers,"  &c. 
forgetting  that  I  am  just  from  Ohio  and  have  not  resided  in  Kansas 
yet  three  weeks.  Another  wants  to  know  "if  we  have  the  ague  here, 
and  if  so,  whether  as  bad  as  in  Illinois,"  a  place  I  never  set  foot 
upon,  and  so  on  ad  infinitum. 

But  hundreds  of  questions  are  asked  which  are  all  right;  and, 
so  far  as  I  possibly  can,  I  wish  to  write  one  general  answer.  The 
lands  purchased  of  the  Indians  embrace  nearly  fifteen  millions  of 
acres;  of  this,  all  except  about  eight  hundred  thousand  acres  belong- 
ing to  the  Weas  south  of  Kansas  river,  and  the  Delawares  and 
lowas  north  of  said  river,  are  subject  to  pre-emption.  As  to  the 
Homestead  bill,  we  know  nothing  of  it  here,  whether  passed  or  not, 
or  whether  it  would  apply  to  the  Kansas  lands  or  not.12  I  think 
the  Shawnee  lands,  south  of  Kansas  river,  will  be  first  settled;  they 
appear  to  be  settling  fastest  between  Kansas  and  Wakarusa  rivers, 
on  the  California  road.13 

To  reach  here,  a  person  coming  by  the  Missouri  should  land  at 
Kansas,  cross  the  Shawnee  Reserve  thirty  miles,  to  Wakarusa  ferry,14 

12.  There  was  a  homestead  bill  under  discussion  in  congress  during  1854  but  the  Home- 
stead act  did  not  become  law  until  1862.   The  Pre-emption  act  of  1841,  in  effect  when  Kansas 
became  a  territory,  allowed  squatters  to  buy  their  claims,  prior  to  public  auction,  at  $1.25 
an   acre.      On   July   22,    1854,   congress    extended   the   pre-emption   privilege   to   settlers    on 
unsurveyed  public  lands  in  Kansas  to  which  Indian  rights  had  been  ceded.     For  a  complete 
study   of  the   land   question   in   the   territory   see  Paul   Wallace   Gates,   Fifty  Million  Acres: 
Conflicts  Over  Kansas  Land  Policy,  1854-1890   (Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  1954). 

13.  The  California  road  was  the  same  as  the  California-Oregon  trail  in  eastern  Kansas. 

14.  George  A.  Root,  "Ferries  in  Kansas,"  Pt.  13,  The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  v.  6 
(February,    1937),  pp.    16-19,   states  that  the  only  known  ferry  across  the  Wakarusa  was 
that  of  Charles  Bluejacket,  located  where  the  Oregon  trail  from  Westport  crossed  the  stream, 
Sec.  12,  T  13  S,  R  21  E.     According  to  Root  this  service  was  begun  early  in  1855  which 
would  be  a  year  later  than  Wood's  reference  but  it  is  possible  that  the  ferry  was  in  opera- 
tion during  the  summer  of  1854. 

There  was  another  crossing  of  the  stream  directly  south  of  Lawrence,  Sec.  19,  T  13  S, 
R  20  E,  but  no  record  has  been  found  of  a  ferry  in  use  there. 


188  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

and  you  come  to  the  promised  land.  As  to  holding  claims  here, 
I  refer  the  reader  to  the  Constitution  of  the  mutual  Settlers'  Associa- 
tion, which,  of  course,  you  will  publish.15  These  laws  will  be  re- 
spected, and  justice  administered  here  as  peaceably  as  in  the  States. 
Claims  are,  however,  frequently  sold  by  settlers. 

I  think  this  Territory  is  well  watered;  springs  exist  in  abundance; 
prairie  could  not  be  richer,  timber  may  be  scarce  in  places,  yet 
limestone  and  coal  exist  in  abundance.  Our  timber  consists  princi- 
pally of  walnut,  oak,  cotton  wood,  blue  ash,  &c.  Soil  of  all  kinds, 
from  clay  loam  to  rich,  sandy  soil;  good  clay,  for  brick  or  potter's 
ware,  can  now  be  found.  This  part  of  the  Territory  is  very  rolling. 
I  am  at  least  five  hundred  feet  above  Kansas  river,  and  only  three 
miles  from  it,  on  the  richest  of  soil.  A  pleasant  breeze  greets  us 
from  the  southwest;  to  inhale  a  draft  of  it  is  almost  equal  to  a  drink 
of  water.  I  am  satisfied  that  the  country  must  be  healthy,  much 
more  so  than  in  Ohio.  Possibly  some  may  have  the  ague  along 
the  river,  or  other  streams  on  the  low  lands.  I  think  no  difficulty 
would  be  experienced  in  securing  a  location  for  a  "colony  of  any 
size,"  where  water,  timber,  and  stone,  exist,  sufficient  for  all  pur- 
poses; yet,  to  secure  such  a  place  now,  emigrants  would  have  to 
go  further  west. 

The  Kansas  river  is  nearly  as  large  as  the  Missouri.  Steamboats 
have  been  up  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles,  to  Fort  Riley, 
and  I  think,  with  small  boats,  it  may  run  that  high  the  year  round.16 
There  are  good  water  privileges  in  the  Territory.  Horses,  oxen, 
cows,  and  in  fact  all  kinds  of  stock,  are  high — cows,  from  $25  to  $40; 
oxen,  from  $75  to  $100  per  yoke;  good  horses,  from  $100  to  $150 
per  head.  All  kinds  of  furniture  high — at  least  one-third  higher 
than  in  Ohio.  Bacon,  8M  cents  per  Ib.  Flour,  $3.50  per  100  Ibs. 
Store  goods  a  shade  higher  than  in  Ohio.  I  speak  of  the  Kansas 
market  in  Missouri. 

Notwithstanding  the  threats  and  browbeating  of  the  Missourians, 
the  greatest  proportion  of  the  settlers  here  are  Northern  people — 
nine-tenths  of  the  balance  honest  Southerners,  who  are  coming,  as 
they  say,  to  get  rid  of  slavery.  I  was  much  mistaken  in  the  character 

15.  On  August  12,  1854,  a  meeting  of  the  Actual  Settlers'  Association  was  held  at  the 
home  of  B.  W.  Miller  near  Lawrence  and  at  that  time  the  Wakarusa  Association  combined 
with  it.     The  new  organization  took  the  name  of  the  Mutual  Settlers'  Association  of  Kansas 
Territory  and  had  as  its  purpose  the  protection  of  the  claims  of  bona-fide  Free-State  settlers. 
S.  N.  Wood  was  one  of  the  most  active  members  of  the  group. — D.  W.  Wilder,  Annals  of 
Kansas,   1541-1885    (Topeka,   1886),   p.   48;   William   E.   Connelley,   Kansas  and  Kansans 
(Chicago,  New  York,  1918),  v.  1,  pp.  357-360. 

16.  Wood  was  not  alone  in  his  optimism  about  the  navigation  of  the  Kansas  river  but 
unfortunately  that  stream  did  not  live  up  to  expectations.     Generally  speaking,  the  attempts 
at  regularly  scheduled  navigation  were  unsuccessful  although  when  Wood  wrote  his  letter 
the  Excel,   a  little  stern-wheeler,  had  made  the  run  to  Fort  Riley. — Edgar  Langsdorf,  "A 
Review  of  Early  Navigation  on  the  Kansas  River,"  The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  v.   18 
(May,  1950),  pp.   140-145. 


FREE-STATER'S  LETTERS  189 

of  the  Missourians.  A  few  fanatics,  who  were  resolved  to  extend 
slavery  at  all  hazards,  seem  for  the  time  being  to  give  tone  to  the 
whole  people;  but  a  better  acquaintance  convinces  me  that  a  great 
majority  of  the  people  condemn  the  violent  resolutions  of  Westport 
and  other  places.  But  the  die  is  cast.  Westport  will  be  another 
Alton.17  Blood  is  in  her  heart.  Hundreds  will  shun  her;  and 
Kansas,  only  four  miles  further,18  will  reap  the  fruits  of  her  treason. 

"Do  you  apprehend  any  serious  difficulty  with  the  slaveholders?" 
is  frequently  asked.  I  answer,  no;  although  they  have  boasted  and 
threatened  much,  yet  they  are  not  fools,  and  well  know  the  shedding 
of  Northern  blood  to  sustain  slavery  here,  would  raise  a  storm  that 
would  end  only  with  slavery  itself.  Northern  men  need  not  fear; 
all  they  have  to  do,  is  to  be  true  to  themselves,  and  not,  coward-like, 
knuckle  to  the  demands  of  these  slaveholders,  and  padlock  their 
lips,  and  "wait  till  the  proper  time  to  meet  this  question."  Now 
is  the  proper  time — now  is  the  time  that  the  slaveholders  are  moving 
heaven  and  earth  to  establish  slavery  here;  and  now  is  the  time, 
like  men,  we  should  meet  them,  and  not,  like  cowards,  cry,  "Hush, 
be  quiet;  don't  agitate  the  question  now;  wait  till  we  are  stronger." 

One  explanation  is  necessary  here.  In  speaking  of  the  mission 
establishments,  in  my  last,  I  did  not  make  the  proper  distinction. 
My  remarks  were  true  as  to  Johnson's  mission;  but  since,  I  have 
become  acquainted  with  Dr.  Still,  a  true  man,  who  also  has  a 
mission  here.19 

One  word  to  newspapers  which  copy  my  articles.  Do  not  put 
words  into  my  mouth  which  I  never  utter.  Copy  exact  from  the 
Era,  or  not  at  all.  Much  injustice  was  done  me  in  former  articles 
by  a  portion  of  the  Eastern  press.  Besides,  those  copying  my  say- 
ings will  do  me  a  favor  by  complying  with  the  "courtesies  of  the 
press." 

One  word  to  emigrants.  Those  who  have  money  can  do  well 
here.  Lands  which  can  be  got  for  nothing  now,  by  paying  a  year 
hence  Government  price,  I  honestly  think  in  two  years  will  be 
worth  $25  to  $30  an  acre.  No  new  country  ever  settled  one-fiftieth 
part  as  fast  as  Kansas  is  now  settling.  Emigrants  are  arriving  in 

17.  Wood's    reference    to    Alton    was    in   regard   to   the   riots    that   took    place   in   that 
Illinois  city  in   1837,  when  the  Rev.  Elijah  P.  Loyejoy  was  murdered  and  his  newspaper 
plant  destroyed  on  November  7  because  of  his  antislavery  stand.     The  violence  and  bitter- 
ness in  St.  Louis  and  Alton  could  be  likened  to  the  Kansas-Missouri  border  difficulties. — See 
Theodore  C.  Pease,  The  Frontier  State,  1818-1848   (Springfield,  1918),  pp.  364-370. 

18.  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

19.  Dr.  Andrew  T.  Still  came  to  Kansas  in  1853  with  his  father,  a  Methodist  missionary, 
and  engaged  in  farming  and  the  practice  of  medicine.      He  served  in  the  territorial  legis- 
lature in  1857  and  with  several  volunteer  military  organizations  during  the  Civil  War.     His 
greatest  fame  was  gained  in  the  1870's  when  he  became  the  world's  first  osteopath.     The 
Stills  were  members  of  the  Northern  branch  of  the  Methodist  church. 


190  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

scores;  tents  are  stretched  all  over  the  prairie;  cabins  are  going  up 
in  all  directions.  Labor  is  plenty.  A  man,  though  poor,  if  he  can 
and  will  work,  can  do  well  here.  A  man  with  only  a  team  is  inde- 
pendent. But  to  those  who  have  no  means,  cant  nor  wont  work, 
Kansas  is  no  place  for  you. 

Emigrants  must  expect  to  meet  some  hardships.  We  have  no 
fine  houses  to  receive  you  in;  everything  is  inconvenient  yet;  settlers 
are  generally  of  the  right  kind,  with  pioneer  hearts.  Society  is  good; 
we  are  all  sociable,  accommodating,  and  the  person  who  now  has 
the  will,  and  meets  these  difficulties,  and  gets  his  choice  of  the  land, 
will  never  regret  it.  Were  I  in  Ohio  today,  with  my  knowledge  of 
Kansas,  I  should  lose  no  time  in  coming  here,  pitching  my  tent, 
building  a  cabin,  and  preparing  for  living.  Understand  me,  I  urge 
no  one  to  come;  for,  as  in  all  new  countries,  many  chicken-hearted 
ones  will  get  home-sick,  and  leave.  But  if  you  have  made  up  your 
minds,  and  are  coming,  now  is  the  time.  The  sooner  here,  the 
better  for  you. 

I  am,  truly,  yours,  SAMUEL  N.  WooD.20 

20.    Washington  (D.  C.)  National  Era,  September  7,  1854. 


Theatre  in  Kansas,  1858-1868:    Background 

For  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  Dramatic 

Company  to  Kansas,  1869 — Concluded 

JAMES  C.  MALIN 
VIII.  ATCHISON  THEATRE 

FOR  the  years  prior  to  1869  Atchison's  theatrical  history  was  re- 
markably simple  and  brief.  During  the  1850's  and  early  1860's 
halls  were  available  for  small  gatherings,  Holthaus  Hall  being  the 
principal  one.  On  September  22,  1860,  the  Freedoms  Champion  wel- 
comed the  near  completion  of  Pomeroy's  Hall  on  the  corner  of 
Kansas  avenue  and  Fourth  street.  "We  have  long  needed  such  a 
Hall  in  Atchison.  .  .  ."  The  specifications  given  were  45  by  86 
feet  with  an  18-foot  ceiling,  and  fitted  with  a  stage.  The  Turn- 
verein's  new  Turner  Hall  at  the  corner  of  Kansas  avenue  and  Sixth 
streets  was  opened  in  December,  1867.  It  was  a  brick  structure  40 
by  70  feet,  two  stories.  The  gymnasium  in  the  rear  was  40  by  40 
feet,  with  a  19-foot  ceiling,  and  front,  facing  the  avenue,  two  club 
rooms,  30  by  20  feet  and  22  and  20  feet.  The  main  entrance  was 
from  Kansas  avenue  to  the  public  hall  on  the  second  floor,  40  by  70 
by  16  feet,  which  was  not  completed  until  the  spring  of  1868.42 

The  major  focus  of  Atchison's  theatrical  history  was  Price  Hall, 
and  about  that  structure  tradition  became  much  confused.  In  1859 
John  M.  Price,  lawyer,  began  construction  on  a  three-story  brick 
building  on  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Main  streets.  The  ground  floor 
was  designed  for  stores,  the  second  floor  for  professional  offices,  and 
the  third  floor  for  a  public  hall  with  an  18-foot  ceiling.  The  dimen- 
sions of  the  building  were  given  as  45  by  100  feet.  It  was  begun  in 
June,  1859,  as  a  two-story  structure  but  March  3, 1860,  the  Champion 
reported  the  three-story  building  nearly  completed.  Periodically,  a 
similar  report  appeared  about  imminent  completion,  but  not  until 
October  6,  1860,  did  the  Champion  record  that  Price  had  moved  his 
law  office  into  his  own  building.  On  December  1  the  ground  floor 
was  reported  occupied.  The  reason  for  the  delay  in  completion 
appeared  in  the  Champion,  July  28,  1860,  when  the  builders  were 
said  no  longer  to  fear  that  it  would  collapse.  When  war  came  in 

DR.  JAMES  C.  MALIN,  associate  editor  of  The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  is  professor  of 
history  at  the  University  of  Kansas,  Lawrence,  and  is  author  of  several  books  relating  to 
Kansas  and  the  West. 

42.    Atchison  Daily  Champion,  December  19,  1867. 

(191) 


192  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

April,  1861,  and  Atchison  was  training  its  first  volunteer  regiment, 
two  companies  were  assigned  to  Price's  Hall  for  drill — Companies  A 
and  C.43 

Contrary  to  Atchison's  traditions,  no  evidence  has  been  found  that 
the  Price  Hall  was  finished  as  a  theatre.44  Structural  weakness  did 
persist  and  the  building  was  virtually  torn  down,  the  reconstruction 
being  completed  in  May,  1865,  celebrated  by  a  concert  and  grand 
ball,  May  16.  In  its  new  form  the  Price  building  was  70  by  100  feet, 
two  stories,  except  the  original  portion,  45  by  100  feet,  which  was 
three  stories,  the  third  story  again  being  a  public  hall  with  a  stage 
20  by  45  feet,  two  green  rooms,  and  a  balcony  10  by  45  feet.  But 
the  public  hall  was  not  equipped  for  theatrical  performances.  That 
the  floor  was  level  and  the  seats  movable  was  emphasized  by  the  an- 
nouncement for  the  opening  festivities.  After  the  concert  by  Paddy 
Walsh,  vocalist,  with  patriotic  and  sentimental  songs  and  dances,  the 
floor  was  cleared  for  the  ball.45 

The  conversion  of  the  Price  Hall  for  theatrical  production  took 
place  in  1866.  On  January  31,  the  Champion  reported  that: 

.  .  .  Price  ...  is  now  engaged  in  fitting  up  his  splendid  hall  with 
scenery,  drop  curtain,  &c.,  preparatory  to  the  advent  here  of  one  of  the  finest 
theatrical  companies  in  the  West.  He  has  leased  his  Hall  to  an  experienced 
manager,  and  as  soon  as  it  can  be  prepared,  a  Theatre  will  be  opened  in  our 
city,  and  kept  up  permanently.  This  news  will  be  received  with  satisfaction  by 
our  people.  .  .  . 

The  theatrical  company  in  question  was  that  of  C.  H.  Irving,  then 
of  St.  Joseph.  He  was  in  Atchison  to  inspect  the  preparations  the 
second  week  in  February,  and  in  addition  to  the  scenery  already 
constructed,  he  would  bring  "a  large  supply  with  him."  The  work 
was  being  done  by  James  C.  Breslaw  of  his  company,  a  scenic  artist 
who  had  "already  completed  two  elegantly  designed  and .  finely 
finished  drop  curtains,  and  is  now  engaged  in  painting  the  wings, 
side  scenes,  etc."  The  carpenter  work  was  being  done  by  a  local 
workman. 

On  February  14,  1866,  the  big  day  arrived: 

We  are  glad  to  announce  that  the  theatrical  company,  under  the  manage- 
ment of  C.  H.  Irving,  for  which  Price's  Hall  has  been  fitted  up,  has  arrived  and 
will  inaugurate  the  season  by  a  performance  to-night.  The  company  is  not  a 
second-class  traveling  troupe,  but  a  large  combination  of  talent  and  ability, 
which  has  been  playing  with  great  success  during  the  fall  and  winter  at  St. 
Joseph,  Mo.,  where  none  but  first  class  merit  can  attain  the  position  which  has 
been  .  .  .  awarded  them. 

43.  Freedom's   Champion,   Atchison,   June    11,   October   8,    1859,    March   3,   April   28, 
July  28,  August  4,  October  6,  December  1,  1860,  May  11,  18,  1861. 

44.  Atchison    Daily    Champion,    September    27.     1883,    editorial    and    description    of 
Price's  New  Opera  House;  Daily  Globe,  July  16,  1894. 

45.  Atchison  Daily  Champion,  April  14,  May  12,  14,  1865. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  193 

Note  should  be  taken  of  the  slighting  reference  made  to  travel- 
ing troupes — in  other  words,  the  innovation  which  the  conventional 
tradition  about  theatre  condemned  as  inferior  to  the  resident  theatre, 
the  established  standard  by  which  excellence  was  supposed  to  be 
measured.  The  first  bill  was  Tobin's  "great  drama/'  "The  Honey 
Moon,"  and  the  comedy,  "The  Spectre  Bridegroom."  But  the  vicis- 
situdes of  travel  intervened,  a  telegram  announced  that  on  account 
of  stormy  weather  train  connections  had  been  missed  and  the  show 
would  be  given  the  next  night,  sure.  This  was  Thursday,  and  the 
plays  for  the  remainder  of  the  week  were  "Lucretia  Borgia,"  and 
"Camille."  The  following  week  the  plays  were  "The  Ticket-of- 
Leave  Man,"  "Othello,"  "Ireland  as  It  Is,"  "Love's  Sacrifice,"  "Marco, 
the  Marble  Heart,"  and  "Macbeth."  The  leading  players  were  Fran- 
cis I.  Frayne,  and  Mrs.  J.  C.  (Melissa)  Breslaw.  The  season  closed 
with  the  show  of  March  10.  On  March  8,  the  night  of  Frayne's  bene- 
fit, the  play  was  "Romeo  and  Juliet,"  Melissa  Breslaw  appearing  as 
Juliet  to  Frayne's  Romeo.  The  audience  was  reported  to  have  been 
the  largest  of  the  season,  over  600  persons.46 

The  Irving  Company's  season  of  three  weeks  and  three  days  was 
not  exactly  permanent  theatre.  Apparently  the  company  broke  up 
then  or  soon  afterwards,  but  was  reorganized  with  some  new  talent 
during  the  following  month,  under  Frayne  and  Breslaw.  The  an- 
nouncement of  the  new  venture  appeared  in  the  Champion,  March 
20,  saying  that  part  of  the  actors  had  been  engaged,  and  Frayne  was 
going  to  St.  Louis  to  obtain  others.  The  opening  of  "The  Atchison 
Theatre,"  first  announced  for  Tuesday,  April  10,  occurred  April  11, 
1866.  The  roster  of  the  company,  nearly  complete  and  containing  17 
names,  was  published  in  the  theatre  advertisement  for  April  10, 
amended  later.  The  leading  parts  were  still  in  the  hands  of  Frayne 
and  Melissa  Breslaw.  George  and  Agnes  Burt  were  present  for 
comedy,  and,  but  not  least  in  importance,  there  was  Eliza  Logan 
Burt  at  the  ripe  age  of  five.  Another  acquaintance  of  Leavenworth 
days  was  Charles  F.  Walters,  but,  of  course,  without  Clara. 

The  management  promised  to  study  the  tastes  of  the  people  of 
Atchison  and  to  be  governed  accordingly  in  the  selection  of  plays — 
they  hoped  "to  instruct,  amuse  and  entertain.  .  .  ."  The  bills  were 
the  same  as  those  offered  by  the  preceding  company  and  by  the 
Leavenworth  Theatre.  C.  W.  Couldock  and  Eliza  starred  for  one 
week,  April  23-28.  The  season  closed  June  1.  Still,  the  thinking 
about  theatre  was  in  the  accepted  terms — "a  home  institution 

46.    Ibid.,  January  31,  February  8,  11,  14,  to  March  10,  1866. 
14—7716 


194  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

.    .     .     firmly  established."    Atchison  did  not  know  it,  but  all  that 
was  passed  and  already  a  new  order  was  imminent. 

But  whatever  the  fate  of  the  institutional  forms,  the  personal 
equation  was  still  present.  The  Champion  summarized  the  first 
three  performances  of  April  11-13,  1866,  at  one  sitting,  reporting 
for  the  first  "a  large  and  appreciative  audience."  The  players 
named  were  given  perfunctory  approval,  except  one  who  really 
touched  a  responsive  chord  in  the  reporter:  "Geo.  Burt  .  I  •  . 
convulsed  the  audience  with  laughter,  and  won  from  it  loud  and 
enthusiastic  applause.  Burt  is  an  old  Kansas  favorite,  and  will  be 
one  wherever  he  goes.  .  .  .  Altogether  the  performance  was  a 
brilliant  success."  The  second  play,  "The  Stranger,"  was  passed  over 
briefly,  and  the  third,  "Othello,"  likewise,  except  for  notice  of  "The 
first  appearance  of  the  Infant  Actress  and  Vocalist,  Eliza  Logan 
Burt,  Only  Five  Years  Old,  in  her  great  Comic  Song  in  character, 
'Get  Out  of  Mexico/  " 

On  April  30,  1866,  came  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  and  "for  the  first 
time  in  this  city."  This  seems  almost  incredible — such  isolation  of 
Atchison  from  Uncle  Tomism!  Afterwards,  the  Champion  reported 
"the  largest  and  most  appreciative  audience  ever  assembled  in  this 
city."  Accordingly,  the  show  was  repeated  May  1,  but  only  to  "a 
very  fair  audience."  Was  Atchison's  Uncle  Tomism  exhausted  in 
one  evening?  Probably  the  answer  lies  in  another  direction,  and 
that  enthusiasm  could  be  satisfied  to  even  better  advantage  with 
plays  of  more  general  interest.  Mrs.  Burt,  as  Topsy,  won  approval: 
"But  what  shall  we  say  of  that  child-wonder,  little  Eliza  Logan 
Burt,  in  her  character  of  Eva?  She  is  truly  an  infant  prodigy.  Her 
song  exhibited  fine  musical  genius  and  her  acting  would  have  done 
credit  to  anyone  of  thrice  her  age  and  experience.  For  a  child  of 
five  years  she  is  truly  wonderful,  and  will  some  day  make  a  star  in 
the  profession."  47  So  much  for  her  "Eva"  performance.  The  point 
was  that  she  had  her  place  on  the  bill  quite  regularly  for  a  song, 
and  apparently  her  appearance  meant  an  ovation,  whatever  the 
song.  The  young-unattached-male  dominated  audience  (wishfully 
dreaming)  could  not  resist  such  baby-girl  charms. 

On  May  29,  1866,  just  prior  to  the  close  of  the  season,  George 
Burt,  stage  manager  of  the  Atchison  Theatre,  had  a  benefit,  the 
play,  "the  fine  moral  drama  of  'Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room/     . 
Mr.  Burt  is  deservedly  popular  as  a  versatile,  talented  and  correct 
actor.     ...     As  a  comedian  he  has  few  equals  in  the  Western 

47.    Ibid.,  March  20,  April  5,  10,  to  June  1,  1866. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  195 

country."  The  newspaper  commentary  continued:  "The  play  .  .  . 
is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  moral  dramas  of  the  time.  Its 
characters  are  lifelike,  and  as  a  lesson  to  the  young,  it  is  without 
parallel."  4S 

The  next  theatrical  season,  1866-1867,  Price's  Hall  did  not  have  a 
resident  theatre,  or  a  pretense  of  one,  but  was  used  by  a  varied 
succession  of  entertainers.  In  May  Burt  and  Johnson's  (or  Johnson 
and  Burt)  Theatrical  Company  engaged  the  hall  for  two  weeks, 
coming  from  Lawrence,  Kansas  City,  and  other  places.  They 
missed  connections  to  play  Monday,  May  6,  but  met  their  engage- 
ment the  following  night  in  "The  Little  Barefoot."  Eliza  Logan 
Burt  took  part  in  both  the  feature  and  the  after  piece  and  sang  her 
favorite  song:  "I'm  Ninety-Five."  Clara  Burt  sang  a  popular  ballad. 
The  Champion  summed  up:  "Burt  and  his  family  are  well  known 
to  our  people  as  talented  and  versatile  performers.  .  .  ."  On 
Saturday  night,  May  11,  "the  wonderful  child-actress,  Eliza  Logan 
Burt,  has  a  benefit,  and  the  splendid  sensational  drama  of  the  'Rag 
Picker  of  Paris'  will  be  produced.  .  .  ."  This  was  to  have  been 
the  final  performance,  but  response  to  the  wishes  of  Atchison  people 
induced  them  to  stay  an  extra  day,  Monday,  as  a  benefit  for  Nellie 
Grover,  the  leading  lady.  The  plays  were  "The  Taming  of  the 
Shrew,"  and  the  "Little  Sentinel"— "This  is  the  most  attractive  bill 
ever  presented  to  the  theatre  goers  of  Atchison.  .  .  ." 

But  the  Champion  gave  the  impression  that  the  theatre-going 
public  would  not  be  satisfied.  On  Tuesday  the  company  consented 
to  present  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin."  Of  course,  "The  child  actress, 
Eliza  Logan  Burt,  appears  as  Eva,  in  which  character  she  stands  un- 
rivaled." The  company  was  so  short  handed  that  both  Burt  and 
Johnson  played  dual  roles,  and  little  Clara  Burt  was  cast  as  Eliza 
Harris.  Clara  must  have  been  somewhat  older  than  Eliza  Logan, 
but  no  clue  to  her  exact  age  has  been  found.  Wednesday  night, 
May  15,  the  solicitation  of  the  citizens  again  prevailed,  and  the  play 
was  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room."  The  winter  of  1868-1869  was  simi- 
larly irregular,  but  in  March,  1869,  Melissa  Breslaw  and  a  theatrical 
company  played  there  several  nights.  The  transition  from  the  at- 
tempt of  1866  at  a  resident  theatre  as  a  permanent  institution  to  the 
complete  traveling  troupe  was  in  the  making.  In  a  sense,  of  course, 
it  had  already  arrived,  but  such  companies  as  presented  themselves 
were  few  and  far  between.  Varied  types  of  entertainment  were 
available,  theatre  was  only  occasional. 

48.    Ibid.,  May  29,   1866. 


196  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

IX.    LAWRENCE  AND  TOPEKA  THEATRE 

Early  Lawrence  had  a  succession  of  halls  available  for  public 
gatherings,  but  no  place  that  could  properly  be  called  a  theatre. 
Prior  to  the  Quantrill  raid,  of  August  21,  1863,  Miller  Hall,  over  a 
business  building,  had  been  the  principal  meeting  place.  Miller  re- 
built during  the  winter  of  1863-1864,  the  hall  being  pressed  into 
service  even  before  the  structure  was  finished.49  Frazer's  Hall  super- 
ceded  it  for  public  entertainments,  and  was  located  on  Massachusetts 
street  next  door  to  the  Eldridge  Hotel  which  occupied  the  south- 
west corner  of  Massachusetts  and  Seventh  (Winthrop)  streets.  The 
hall  was  the  third  floor  of  a  business  building.  An  Alexander  Gard- 
ner photograph  of  Massachusetts  street  looking  south  from  this  in- 
tersection, taken  in  1867  and  reproduced  in  The  Kansas  Historical 
Quarterly,  Summer,  1954,  shows  this  building.  The  name  "Frazer 
Hair  appeared  clearly  in  the  original  photograph  but  lost  out  in  the 
reproduction.  The  Lord  Dramatic  Company  played  in  this  hall  in 
December,  1869,  and  January,  1870,  but  on  the  occasion  of  the  sec- 
ond of  these  visits  Lawrence  was  celebrating  the  dedication  of  a 
new  public  meeting  place,  Liberty  Hall,  in  Poole's  building  over  a 
pork-packing  establishment  and  retail  butcher  shop,  basement  and 
first  floor,  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Massachusetts  and  Seventh 
streets,  or  diagonally  across  from  the  Eldridge  Hotel.50  The  ap- 
parent affinity  of  a  place  of  public  entertainment  and  a  saloon  may 
be  easier  to  explain  than  association  of  such  gathering  places  with 
pork  packing.  Leavenworth's  old  Stockton  building  had  had  a  pork- 
packing  firm  in  the  basement,  and  a  saloon  on  the  ground  floor,  the 
theatre  occupying  the  second  floor.  In  Lawrence,  the  pork  business, 
but  not  the  saloon  business,  was  in  the  same  building  under  the 
principal  public  hall.  To  be  sure,  Lawrence  had  a  generous  supply 
of  saloons,  the  distinction  being  made  here  pertained  merely  to  loca- 
tion. In  1859  three  brewers  and  14  saloon  keepers  were  on  the  list 
of  registered  voters  in  Lawrence,  then  a  town  of  1,600  population, 
while  in  1870  there  were  25  saloons  in  a  town  of  8,000.51 

Lawrence  had  no  resident  dramatic  company.  Its  population  in 
1870  was  only  a  few  more  than  Leavenworth's  in  1860.  Topeka's 
mushroom  growth  from  a  village  of  less  than  800  in  1860  to  a  town 
of  nearly  6,000  in  1870  had  not  yet  provided  it  with  a  theatre  build- 

49.  Kansas  Daily  Tribune,  Lawrence,  January  17,  1864. 

50.  Lawrence  Daily  Tribune,  January  21,   1870;  Republican  Daily  Journal,  Lawrence, 
December  31,  1869,  January  16,  19,  30,  1870. 

51.  Otto    F.    Frederickson,    "The    Liquor    Question    in    Kansas    Before    Constitutional 
Prohibition"    (Typed    Ph.D.    thesis,    University    of   Kansas    Library,    1931),   pp.    163,    346 
347,  349. 


THEATOE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  197 

ing  or  a  resident  dramatic  company.  Even  the  largest  river  cities 
of  the  area,  Kansas  City,  St.  Joseph,  and  Leavenworth,  were  only 
partially  successful  in  their  resident  theatrical  enterprises.  The 
occasional  references  to  Leavenworth,  St.  Joseph,  and  Kansas  City 
theatre  companies  playing  in  Lawrence  and  Topeka  represent  only 
short  excursions  into  the  interior,  the  provincial  towns,  according 
to  the  outlook  of  the  river  cities.  In  1859  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Langrishe 
made  a  tour  of  the  interior,  giving  theatrical  entertainment  in  To- 
peka and  Junction  City,  but  this  appears  to  be  an  isolated  instance 
for  so  early  a  venture.52  The  Langrishes  had  been  closely  identified 
with  St.  Joseph  theatre  and  made  the  transition  from  resident  to 
traveling  theatre  proving  their  durability  through  the  1860's  and 
1870's.  The  Burts  had  given  theatrical  and  other  entertainment  to 
the  soldiers  in  Lawrence,  Topeka,  and  Fort  Riley  in  April  and  May, 
1862.53  Mrs.  Walters  had  taken  her  People's  Theatre  Company  to 
Lawrence  in  May,  1863.54  The  Leavenworth  Theatre  played  in 
Frazer  Hall,  March  18-24,  1867,  presenting  "Honey  Moon,"  "The 
Lady  of  Lyons,"  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room/'  "Richard  III,"  "Ingo- 
mar,"  and  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin."  Chaplin  and  Mrs.  Pennoyer 
played  the  leads  in  "Ingomar,"  while  J.  Z.  Little  played  "Richard  III," 
with  Burt  for  a  change  in  the  dignified  role  of  Lord  Mayor.  In  their 
traditional  character  of  fun  makers,  however,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burt 
portrayed  "Toodles."  The  Burt  children  did  their  turn  also.  On  the 
first  night  little  Eliza  sang  "I'm  Ninety-five,"  and  "was  rapturously 
encored,"  and  on  Thursday  night  "the  wonderful  little  Eliza — fairly 
brought  down  the  house  with  her  'Josiah  and  his  Sally.' "  55 

Entertainment  at  Lawrence,  except  for  the  occasional  theatrical 
performance,  was  generally  similar  to  other  towns,  and  included 
such  family  groups  as  the  Peak  Family  (Swiss  Bell  Ringers),  and 
the  Hutchinson  Family  (temperance),  but  with  a  greater  accent 
possibly  upon  lectures  and  music.  At  this  point  a  word  may  not  be 
out  of  place  about  lectures  and  lecturers  who  toured  the  West.  They 
represented  all  the  "isms"  that  plagued  that  era  elsewhere.  Dif- 
ficulty is  encountered  in  differentiating  legitimate  lecturers  provid- 
ing information  and  inspiration  from  misguided  enthusiasts  of 
various  descriptions,  and  charlatans  exploiting  "magic"  and  pseudo- 
psychic  phenomena.  A  study  of  this  problem  in  relation  to  public 

52.  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  December  1,  13,  1859. 

53.  Lawrence  Republican,  April  10,  17,  24,  1862;  Smoky  Hill  and  Republican  Union 
Junction  City,  May  1,  8,  1862;  Leavenworth  Daily  Times,  April  12,  May  7,  1862.     Addis 
had  carried  his  photographic  business  with  him. 

54.  Leavenworth   Daily   Conservative,    June    2,    1863.      Lawrence    newspapers    for    this 
period  are  not  available. 

55.  Kansas  Daily  Tribune,  Lawrence,   March  19-24,    1867. 


198  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

gullibility  would  be  well  worth  while.  The  emotional  tensions  of  the 
day,  especially  those  associated  with  the  sense  of  insecurity,  engen- 
dered by  the  conflict  about  science  and  religion,  and  the  disillusion- 
ments,  the  bereavements,  and  the  tragedies  occasioned  by  the  border 
troubles  and  the  American  Civil  War,  afforded  opportunities  for  the 
unscrupulous  which  they  did  not  ignore.  Pending  a  fuller  study 
of  the  problem,  the  present  writer  would  suggest  tentatively  that 
probably  Lawrence  was  peculiarly  victimized  in  this  respect. 

X.    SOCIAL  ROLE  OF  THEATRE 

In  the  history  of  the  human  race,  theatre  has  served  several  func- 
tions, and  with  time  and  change  in  social  structure  the  cultural  role 
of  that  institution  is  modified.  All  individuals  are  not  affected 
equally  and  some  not  at  all.  In  Leavenworth  the  Times,  June  20, 
1862,  suggested  two  possible  reasons  why  the  theatre  was  patronized 
liberally:  because  of  prosperity  when  people  felt  they  had  money 
to  spend,  and  of  depression  when  they  sought  forgetfulness  from 
their  troubles.  That  was  an  oversimplification,  certainly,  but  never- 
theless it  contained  an  element  of  truth.  Some,  no  doubt,  used 
theatre  merely  to  kill  time,  but  for  others  it  meant  something  else. 
Each  individual  finds  release  from  tensions  in  a  different  manner, 
even  going  on  a  drunk,  but  for  many  the  theatre  offered  a  temporary 
escape,  relaxation  without  unfavorable  side-effects.  Theatre  served 
for  them  as  a  sanatory  psychological  experience  which  contributed 
to  mental  health.  In  this  context  there  was  a  place  for  George  and 
Agnes  Burt  in  their  hilarious  rendition  of  "Toodles,"  and  for  Coul- 
dock  and  Chaplin  in  the  tragedies  "Hamlet,"  "Othello,"  and  "King 
Lear." 

XI.    THE  YEARS  1866-1869,  LOCAL  AND  NATIONAL      > 

The  years  following  immediately  upon  the  American  Civil  War 
constitute  a  period  of  unique  political  crises  in  the  United  States 
which  included  controversies  about  reconstruction  of  the  national 
government  and  of  the  South  in  accordance  with  the  military  victory 
of  nationalism  on  the  battlefield.  All  of  these  controversies,  besides 
being  political,  had  economic  and  social  consequences  in  a  compre- 
hensive sense;  the  impeachment  and  trial  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  post-war  deflation  of  a  fantastic  wartime  price 
structure,  national  debt  policies,  greenbacks  in  relation  to  monetary 
standards,  and  a  national  banking  system — these  and  many  others 
besides  were  all  transpiring  in  the  midst  of  phenomenal  mechaniza- 
tion of  society  and  economic  boom  associated  with  a  new  technologi- 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  199 

cal  system  based  upon  coal,  petroleum,  iron,  steel,  and  steam,  rail- 
road building,  and  corresponding  redistributions  of  population  and 
power  through  urbanization,  and  the  occupation  of  areas  hitherto 
less  developed  or  wholly  undeveloped  in  terms  of  these  new  tech- 
nologies. 

In  such  a  period  of  dislocations  and  reconstitutions  of  society,  in- 
dividual fortunes  were  highly  unstable;  they  might  be  made  or  lost, 
not  once  only  but  several  times  in  succession  in  the  most  unpre- 
dictable fashion,  or  fortune  might  always  elude  the  grasp  of  others, 
which  gave  a  peculiar  fascination  to  a  favorite  question  for  debate 
in  lyceums  and  schools:  Which  affords  the  greater  satisfaction, 
pursuit  or  possession?  There  was  no  post-war  panic  or  general  de- 
pression comparable  to  those  inaugurated  by  the  years  1837  and 
1857,  in  the  midst  of  phenomenal  expansion  of  the  economic  plant 
of  the  nation  there  was  no  general  prosperity  characterized  by  a 
sense  of  either  economic  or  social  well  being — rather  the  prevailing 
attitudes  were  those  of  stress  and  tension. 

Still  more  fundamental  to  the  state  of  society  were  the  impacts 
of  the  new  deference  to  scientific  method  and  to  science  as  they 
were  related  to  philosophy,  theology,  and  ethics.  The  scientific 
method  of  the  "higher  criticism"  applied  to  religious  records,  and 
the  implications  of  the  physical  and  biological  sciences  for  reinter- 
preting human  culture  challenged  prevailing  ideas  about  philosophy, 
religion,  ethics,  and  human  destiny.  Could  there  be  any  basis  of 
certainty  established  between  the  traditional  absolutes  and  the  new 
absolute  of  a  complete  relativism  derived  from  Herbert  Spencer, 
Charles  Darwin,  and  Thomas  H.  Huxley?  Sooner  or  later,  more 
and  more  people,  in  the  years  after  the  American  Civil  War,  had  to 
find  some  answer  to  these  disturbing  challenges  as  affecting  their 
private  lives,  and  their  hope  of  a  future  life.  If  life  did  not  have 
meaning,  What  then?  56 

Kansas  was  being  settled  and  resettled  by  populations  new  to  the 
area,  peoples  to  whom  the  grassland  West  was  a  strange  environ- 
ment. The  pre-Civil  War  occupants  remaining  were  overwhelmed 
by  the  numbers  of  this  influx  of  new  people,  the  most  of  whom 
did  not  remain  long  in  any  one  place  or  even  in  Kansas.  Yet, 
institutions  in  the  western  Missouri  and  the  eastern  Kansas  area, 
the  Missouri  river  elbow  region,  maintained  a  remarkable  continuity 
of  development  in  their  own  right  and  in  relation  to  the  changing 
national  scene.  Although  continuity  of  development  may  quite 

56.  These  aspects  of  the  Kansas  scene  will  be  treated  at  length  in  another  local  case 
study  centering  upon  Fort  Scott. 


200  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

properly  be  stressed,  it  was  in  fact  a  transformation,  or  a  series  of 
successive  transformations  not  only  in  the  local  area  in  question, 
but  in  American  society  as  a  whole — a  process  of  interrelations 
among  the  localities  as  foundations  and  the  nation  being  newly 
reconstructed. 

On  the  western  bank  of  the  Missouri  river,  Leavenworth  was 
a  city  most  developed  and  most  nearly  representative  in  reflection 
of  that  national  transformation.  But  at  the  same  time  it  contributed 
to  the  aggregate  which  made  up  the  national  whole  its  local  variant 
in  a  unique  setting.  As  a  local  case  study  it  puts  in  comprehensible 
terms  particulars  which  were  the  underpinnings  of  the  larger  na- 
tional transition.  Atchison,  Lawrence,  Topeka,  Emporia,  and  Junc- 
tion City,  each  in  its  own  way  as  newer  and  lesser  towns,  contributed 
their  unique  behavior  to  the  sum  total.  It  is  only  out  of  such  local 
foundations,  assembled  from  the  several  parts  of  the  United  States, 
that  the  historian  can  reconstruct  accurately  an  over-all  national 
history. 

XII.    RAILROAD  COMMUNICATION  AND  REORIENTATION 
OF  THE  MISSOURI  RIVER  TOWNS  AND  KANSAS 

During  the  decades  of  the  1850's  and  the  1860's  the  fact  is  con- 
spicuous that  the  Missouri  river  and  water  communication  influ- 
enced, if  they  did  not  actually  dominate,  not  only  the  orientation 
of  theatre  and  other  entertainment,  but  most  aspects  of  the  outlook 
and  activities  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Missouri  valley.  Until  well 
along  in  the  1860's  most  travel  necessary  to  entertainment  was 
dependent  upon  the  river  almost  as  literally  as  showboats.  What- 
ever the  theatrical  organization  and  practices  in  the  East  and  its 
large  cities,  in  order  to  provide  continuity  and  variety  along  the 
Missouri  river,  the  resident  dramatic  company  associated  with  the 
star  system  was  almost  a  necessity.  Such  a  combination  required 
the  least  possible  dependence  upon  mobility,  especially  during 
the  winter  months  when  the  river  was  closed  to  navigation.  Inci- 
dentally, theatre  was  peculiarly  a  summer  institution  outside  of 
the  largest  cities.  The  orientation  upon  New  Orleans  by  way  of 
Cincinnati  or  by  way  of  St.  Louis  was  based  upon  long  practice 
interwoven  with  the  multitude  of  familiar  connections  and  personal 
relations  attendant  upon  a  going  concern. 

Recruitment  of  actors  for  the  resident  companies  at  Leavenworth 
was  from  St.  Louis,  Louisville,  Cincinnati,  or  New  Orleans,  but 
especially  Cincinnati — the  Leonards,  George  Pardey,  Frank  Roche, 
Arnold,  J.  H.  Rogers.  When  the  Union  Theatre  broke  up  in  Jan- 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  201 

uary,  1864,  Chaplin,  Mrs.  Walters,  and  other  members  of  the 
company  went  to  Ben  DeBar's  St.  Charles  Theatre  in  New  Orleans. 

A  study  of  the  New  Orleans  Theatre  of  the  1850*5  and  1860's,  both 
before  and  after  the  American  Civil  War,  reveals  the  major  role 
of  that  city  in  relation  to  the  interior  river  cities,  extending  to  the 
Missouri  river  elbow  region  including  Leavenworth.  Ben  DeBar 
(1812-1878)  came  to  the  United  States  and  New  Orleans  by  way 
of  New  York  in  1835.  Between  that  date  and  1853  when  he  took 
over  the  management  of  the  St.  Charles  Theatre  in  New  Orleans 
he  had  been  in  both  New  York  and  New  Orleans.  In  1855  he 
bought  a  theatre  in  St.  Louis  to  which  he  gave  his  own  name.  Ex- 
cept for  the  Civil  War  period,  when  the  St.  Charles  was  closed,  he 
kept  both  going,  adding  in  1873  the  Wakefield  Opera  House  to 
his  holdings  in  St.  Louis. 

Many,  if  not  most,  of  the  stars  who  played  in  the  Leavenworth 
Theatre  as  related  in  this  essay,  played  at  the  St.  Charles  and  DeBar 
Theatres  in  New  Orleans  and  in  St.  Louis,  and  others.  Some  of 
them  should  be  named  in  order  to  make  the  point  concrete:  McKean 
Buchanan  and  Virginia,  Blanche  DeBar  (her  mother,  Clementine 
DeBar  had  married  one  of  the  Booth  family ) ,  C.  W.  Couldock  and 
daughter  Eliza,  Lotta  Crabtree,  Julia  Dean,  Kate  and  Susan  Denin, 
Mrs.  Mary  Gladstane,  Eliza  Logan,  the  Maddern  Sisters,  Emma  and 
Lizzie  (Lizzie  was  the  mother  of  Minnie  Maddern  Fiske),  and 
Cecile  Rush.  In  the  St.  Charles  stock  company  at  times  were  George 
D.  Chaplin,  Clara  Walters,  and  Mrs.  Pennoyer.  And  the  plays 
presented  on  the  stage  were  mostly  the  same  at  New  Orleans,  St. 
Louis,  and  Leavenworth,  so  far  as  conditions  permitted.  After 
the  Civil  War  interruption  at  the  St.  Charles  (DeBar  remained  in 
St.  Louis  and  operated  throughout  the  war)  the  old  system  was 
continued  substantially  as  prior  to  hostilities.57  Except  for  the 
physical  equipment  and  size  of  the  house,  a  theatregoer  might  not 
be  able  to  distinguish  which  of  the  three  cities  he  was  in:  New 
Orleans,  St.  Louis,  or  Leavenworth. 

57.  John  S.  Kendall,  The  Golden  Age  of  the  New  Orleans  Theatre  (Baton  Rouge, 
Louisiana  State  University  Press,  1952),  pp.  286-321,  495-552.  The  portion  of  the  book 
cited  reviews  the  main  features  of  DeBar's  career.  Kendall  spelled  C.  W.  Couldock's 
name  Couldrock.  C/.,  Dictionary  of  American  Biography,  v.  4,  pp.  466-467;  The  National 
Cyclopedia  of  American  Biography,  v.  2,  p.  346.  Kendall  misidentified  Mrs.  Walters,  or  the 
indexer  did,  as  all  references  to  her  are  collected  under  the  name  Mary  Walters.  Evidently 
her  career  was  not  known  to  Kendall.  In  other  respects  the  index  is  quite  inadequate. 

Other  books  of  some  importance  to  commercial  public  entertainment,  in  some  cases  only 
because  they  are  the  only  ones  on  the  particular  subject  available,  are  listed  here:  Philip 
Graham,  Showboats:  The  History  of  an  American  Institution  (Austin,  University  of  Texas 
Press,  1951 );  Philip  D.  Jordan,  Singing  Yankees:  The  Story  of  the  Crusading  Hutchinson 
Family  (Minneapolis,  University  of  Minnesota  Press,  1946);  Edward  Mammen,  The  Old 
Stock  Company  School  of  Acting:  A  Study  of  the  Boston  Museum  (Boston,  Published  by 
the  Trustees  of  the  Public  Library,  1945);  Carl  F.  Wittke,  Tambo  and  Bones:  A  History 
of  the  American  Minstrel  Stage  (Durham,  N.  C.,  Duke  University  Press,  1930). 


202  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Even  prior  to  the  Civil  War  the  railroads  were  changing  all  this, 
but  slowly,  because  of  the  momentum  of  the  "going  concern,"  and 
the  reluctance  to  abandon  old  and  accustomed  connections  for  new 
and  uncertain  methods  and  personalities.  Ben  DeBar  and  his 
enterprises  in  both  St.  Louis  and  New  Orleans,  continuing  after  the 
war  as  before,  were  telling  examples  of  persistence  of  old  associa- 
tions long  after  railroads  had  superceded  the  water  navigation  which 
had  originally  made  the  cities  and  his  theatrical  enterprises  in  the 
Mississippi  valley  possible. 

In  all  lines  of  business  the  intervention  of  the  railroad,  and  the 
new  orientations  it  provided  were  not  overlooked.  In  Atchison  the 
dry  goods  firm  of  A.  S.  Parker  ran  a  two-column  advertisement  in 
the  spring  of  1860  announcing  that  its  stock  of  spring  and  summer 
goods  had  arrived  by  railroad.  About  the  same  time  the  Western 
Stage  Company,  mail  contractors,  announced  that  because  of  the 
Atchison  and  St.  Joseph  railway,  connecting  with  Hannibal  and 
St.  Joseph  railroad  opened  in  1859,  nearly  12  hours  had  been  gained 
in  mail  arrivals.  A  new  stage  service  for  mail  and  passengers  was 
announced  from  Leavenworth  to  Topeka  and  Lawrence  making 
possible  travel  from  St.  Joseph  to  either  of  those  points  in  the  in- 
terior in  one  day.  The  river  cities  were  served  by  railroad  packets 
which  began  operations  with  the  breaking  of  the  ice.  The  first 
task  was  to  distribute  among  the  river  towns  the  goods  that  had 
accumulated  by  rail  for  river  points,  or  for  rail  shipment  east58 

The  Civil  War  in  Missouri  in  1861  interrupted  river  and  rail 
communication.  By  February,  1862,  railroad  connections  were  re- 
established to  Chicago  by  way  of  Palmyra,  Mo.,  and  Quincy,  111., 
and  stages  afforded  connections  with  railroad  terminals  along 
the  Missouri  river.59  With  the  opening  of  navigation  on  the  river 
in  1864  and  1865  traffic  moved  in  a  similar  pattern,  with  the  aid  of  a 
steamboat  plying  between  Weston  and  Kansas  City.60  The  Union 
Pacific,  Eastern  division,  finished  its  line  from  Kansas  City  to  Law- 
rence late  in  1864,  and  to  Fort  Riley  in  December,  1866.  The 
Leavenworth-Lawrence  branch  was  completed  in  May,  1866.  On 
the  Kansas  side  of  the  Missouri  river,  Kansas  City  was  connected 
with  Leavenworth  by  the  Missouri  River  railroad  in  July,  1866,  and 
Atchison,  September,  1869.  On  the  Missouri  side,  the  Missouri 
Valley  railroad  from  Kansas  City  to  St.  Joseph  was  completed  in 
December,  1868,  but  it  had  served  between  St.  Joseph  and  Weston 

58.  Atchison  Freedom's  Champion,  February  24,  March  10,  17,   1860. 

59.  Leavenworth   Daily  Conservative,   February   1,   1862. 

60.  Ibid.,  February  16,   1864;  Daily  Times,  February   18,  1865. 


THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:   1858-1868  203 

since  early  1864.  The  Pacific  railroad  from  St.  Louis  reached 
Kansas  City  in  September,  1865,  providing  the  second  rail  line  be- 
tween the  Mississippi  river  and  the  Missouri  river  towns  of  eastern 
Kansas.  The  first  bridge  across  the  Missouri  river  was  the  Hannibal 
and  St.  Joseph  railroad  bridge  serving  Kansas  City,  completed  in 
July,  1869.  The  river  was  bridged  at  Leavenworth  in  1872,  and  at 
Atchison  in  1875.  By  the  end  of  1869  the  Mississippi  river  was 
bridged  at  Quincy,  111.,  as  well  as  the  Missouri  at  Kansas  City,  af- 
fording through  rail  traffic  between  Kansas  City  and  Chicago  with- 
out ferries,  and  Leavenworth  was  tied  into  this  route  by  the  Missouri 
River  railroad — 24  hours  to  Chicago.61 

In  1856  Gabay's  Dramatic  Troupe,  a  complete  theatrical  company 
traveling  from  town  to  town  was  a  rare  thing  in  the  West.  By  1870 
a  revolution  had  occurred  that  was  made  possible  by  railroads.  The 
traveling  dramatic  troupe  had  gained  during  the  late  1860's  while 
resident  theatre  had  declined  or  had  been  eliminated.  In  Leaven- 
worth the  coming  of  the  James  A.  Lord  Dramatic  Company  in 
December,  1869,  not  only  provided  the  first  legitimate  theatrical 
entertainment  in  that  city  for  a  long  time,  but  it  was  a  sign  of  the 
completion  in  large  measure  of  the  reorientation  of  the  area  upon 
Chicago  by  means  of  rails.62 

61.  Leavenworth  Daily  Commercial,  October  17,   1869  ff.,  adv.;   Times  and  Conserva- 
tive, February  25,  1870;  Evening  Bulletin,  January  29,  1870. 

62.  For   a   study   of   Kansas   City   in  this    perspective,   see   James   C.    Malin,    Grassland 
Historical   Studies:   Natural   Resources    Utilization   in   a   Background   of   Science   and    Tech- 
nology, v.  1,  Geology  and  Geography  (Lawrence,  the  author,  1950),  Ch.  22,  "After  the  Civil 
War,"  especiaUy  pp.  324-338. 


Bypaths  of  Kansas  History 

A  KANSAS  BELLE  OF  1857 

Appreciation  of  the  delicately-turned  ankles  of  womankind,  no 
matter  where  or  in  what  generation,  evidently  has  been  universal. 
Prof.  James  C.  Carey  of  Kansas  State  College,  Manhattan,  a  twen- 
tieth-century connoisseur,  sends  in  the  following  article  which  he 
found  in  Harper's  Weekly,  New  York,  November  7,  1857. 

How  THE  LADIES  DRESS  IN  KANSAS. — A  Kansas  letter-writer,  who  recently 
came  down  the  Missouri  on  the  steamer  Omaha,  says:  "At  Atchison  we  took 
on  a  young  Kansas  belle,  whose  only  attendant  was  a  young  Missouri  blood. 
The  young  lady  was  apparently  dressed  in  the  latest  agony  and  style  of  fashion; 
the  chaste  straw  hat,  the  innumerable  flounces  and  wide-spreading  hoops  of 
her  gay  striped  silk  dress,  set  off  her  commanding  figure  very  gracefully.  Her 
stature  tall — as  Byron  says,  I  hate  a  dumpy  woman.  But  the  richest  scene  in 
relation  to  this  young  belle  was  behind  the  curtain,  and  is  to  come  yet.  At 
Leavenworth  our  fair  one  left  us,  and,  as  she  was  standing  on  the  bank,  'casting 
a  last,  long,  lingering  look*  back,  we  were  tempted  to  admire  her  delicately- 
turned  ankles — 'who  can  resist  a  nicely  laced  gaiter  or  a  peeping  ankle?* — when, 
behold!  she  hadn't  any  stockings  on!  I  am  unable  to  say  what  the  fashion  is 
in  Kansas — whether  it  is  fashionable  for  ladies  to  go  without  hose  or  not;  but 
certain  I  am  that  the  finest  dressed  one  whom  I  saw  in  the  territory  didn't 
use  the  article." 


WHEN  BUFFALO  WERE  PLENTIFUL 

From  the  Newton  Kansan,  December  26, 1872. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  about  two  thousand  buffalo  hunters  now  pur- 
suing game  in  western  Kansas,  and  that  they  average  bringing  down  about  fif- 
teen buffalo  daily.  One  man  near  Dodge  City  killed  100  in  a  day.  The  hides 
and  meat  bringing  him  a  handsome  sum  of  $300.  At  Dodge  City  the  hams 
are  worth  1%  to  2  cents  a  pound,  and  the  hides  from  $1.50  to  $2.50  a  piece. 
Notwithstanding  the  immense  business  which  is  being  done,  there  seem  to  be 
no  diminution  in  their  number,  and  trains  are  frequently  stopped  by  them. 


FASTIDIOUS  EARLY-DAY  DODGE  CITY 

From  the  Dodge  City  Times,  July  27,  1878. 

A  good  story  is  told  of  a  well  known  citizen  of  this  city,  whose  name  we 

suppress.     The  story  runs  in  this  wise.     He  went  into  's  saloon, 

took  a  seat,  threw  his  feet  on  the  table,  and  called  for  a  glass  of  beer,  a 
sandwich  and  some  Limberger  cheese,  which  was  promptly  placed  upon  the 

table  beside  his  feet.     He  called  to and  told  him  that  the  cheese 

was  of  no  account,  as  he  could  not  smell  it,  whereupon  the  proprietor  replied: 
"Damn  it,  take  your  feet  down  and  give  the  cheese  a  chance." 

(204) 


BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY  205 

THE  GREATEST  RACE  OF  THE  CENTURY 

Although  Oklahoma  has  only  this  year  arrived  at  its  50th  anni- 
versary of  statehood,  Kansas  has  looked  down  on  her  (from  across 
the  border,  that  is)  for  many  more  years  than  that. 

Most  of  the  Indian  tribes  formerly  residing  in  Kansas  were 
resettled  in  Oklahoma,  and  a  considerable  number  of  Kansans 
also  migrated  to  the  Sooner  state,  many  in  the  celebrated  opening 
of  the  Cherokee  Outlet  on  September  16,  1893.  This  strip  of  land 
150  by  59  miles,  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  southern  Kansas 
line,  was  literally  peopled  within  two  hours.  For  days  prospective 
settlers  lined  the  borders  of  the  Promised  Land  awaiting  the  noon- 
day signal  for  the  start.  The  crush  was  perhaps  heaviest  along 
the  southern  Kansas  boundary,  particularly  in  the  Arkansas  City 
and  Caldwell  areas. 

The  story  of  the  Cherokee  run  has  been  told  many  times.  Few 
eye-witness  accounts  are  more  vivid  than  that  written  from  Cald- 
well by  L.  R.  Elliott  and  printed  in  the  Manhattan  Nationalist, 
September  22,  1893.  It  is  republished  here  in  recognition  of 
Oklahoma's  birthday  anniversary  and  the  part  Kansans  had  in 
the  settlement  of  that  state. 

The  culmination  of  the  long-looked-for  event  of  the  year — perhaps  the 
event  of  the  century — came  at  noon  of  the  16th  of  September,  1893.  It  was 
like  that  of  a  decisive  battle.  The  hosts  had  gathered  awaiting  the  command 
that  should  start  the  contestants,  and  the  crack  of  a  carbine  repeated  along 
the  line  was  the  sign  that  the  contest  was  on.  The  great  army  moved,  many 
miles  long  as  it  was,  horsemen  and  infantry  and  supply  trains,  at  the  instant. 
Never  a  great  army  was  more  prompt  for  the  charge.  But  all  the  seemings 
of  an  army,  moving  to  the  battle-shock,  ended  at  the  moment  of  starting.  The 
line  was  broken  on  the  instant,  and  speed  and  endurance  were  the  test.  The 
swiftest  horse  took  his  man  to  the  front,  and  the  next  and  the  next  and  the 
next  in  speed,  took  positions  relatively  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and 
clouds  of  dust  obscured  the  lesser  objects  completely,  and  must  have  greatly 
annoyed  the  active  participants  in  the  early  part  of  the  race.  Later,  as  the 
mass  became  a  scattered  multitude,  the  dust  was  less  dense.  In  two  hours  that 
bald  and  parched  plain — the  Famous  Cherokee  Outlet — "The  Strip" — which 
has  for  many  months  been  the  cynosure  of  the  ten  thousands,  was  punctured 
with  claim  stakes  and  peopled  by  many  more  thousands  than  will  occupy  it 
six  months  hence.  It  was  our  privilege  to  witness  this  great  race  for  land 
and  lots,  and  we  wish  to  let  our  readers  see  it,  if  possible,  as  we  saw  it. 

Caldwell  was  probably  as  good  a  point  of  observation  as  could  be  found,  for 
it  was  a  central  one  along  the  line;  and,  because  of  its  accessibility,  was  the 
rallying  point  of  multitudes. 

We  were  early  on  the  ground,  and  had  a  chance  to  observe  the  many 
"outfits"  that  were  moving  from  their  camps  of  weary  waiting  to  the  borders 
of  the  promised  land.  Only  a  kodak  in  skillful  hands  could  depict  them 


206  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

faithfully.  A  noticeable  thing  in  almost  every  vehicle  was  the  barrel  or  keg 
of  water,  and  every  man  had  his  canteen  slung  on  his  back,  and  his  sharpened 
stick  with  a  flag  attached,  by  which  he  was  to  show  location.  The  demand 
for  canteens  was  enormous  here,  and  all  the  neighboring  towns  were  drawn 
on.  The  most  common  and  convenient  canteen  was  made  by  soldering 
together  at  the  edges  two  small  pressed  tin  pans  or  basins,  and  providing  the 
aperture  for  filling,  and  loops  for  the  strap  or  cord.  Sometimes  a  basin  and 
a  pie-tin  were  thus  joined  and  made  to  do  service.  Those  who  could,  filled 
their  canteens  with  coffee,  and  this  was  very  palatable  even  after  exposure 
to  the  hot  sun  for  hours. 

The  town  of  Caldwell  was  a  densely  populated  city,  and  every  department 
was  over-taxed.  The  lines  of  men  at  the  postoffice,  getting  their  last  batch 
of  mail,  stretched  far  out  into  the  street.  We  tried  in  vain  for  a  conveyance 
to  take  us  to  the  registering  booths  in  the  100-foot  border,  so  took  to  our 
never-failing  resource,  "shank's  horses." 

The  booth  was  two  miles  away  when  we  started,  but  it  took  fully  four 
miles  of  dusty  travel  to  reach  it.  The  woods  were,  as  had  been  the  streets 
of  the  city,  full  of  outfits,  or  of  the  debris  of  the  broken  camps,  and  the  ankle 
deep  dust  was  being  early  stirred,  where  once  was  vegetation.  The  ranch  men 
on  this  border  will  have  paid  dearly  for  their  proximity  to  the  Strip.  It  was 
no  use  for  them  to  complain,  the  horde  was  here,  and  it  came  to  stay,  like 
an  army  of  grasshoppers  till  ready  to  move  on. 

Fortunately  for  all  concerned,  a  merciful  Providence  had  given,  for  this  last 
morning  of  the  struggle,  the  lowest  temperature  of  the  month,  and  thus  saved 
from  suffering,  and  no  doubt  from  death,  not  a  few  of  the  worn  and  anxious 
people  and  their  poor  beasts. 

The  multitudes  seemed  moving  without  purpose,  so  various  were  their 
directions,  but  the  rallying  point  was  just  at  the  line,  where,  on  the  100  feet 
allotted  inside  the  border,  all  who  could  find  standing  room  for  team  or  horse 
or  self,  stood. 

The  booth  was  a  couple  of  white  square  tents  standing  at  right-angles  to 
each  other,  under  the  fly  of  which  were  rough  counters.  Behind  these  stood  sev- 
eral clerks,  two  at  a  time  on  actual  duty,  while  a  line  of  hundreds  of  applicants 
stretched  out  in  the  dust  from  this  attractive  corner.  We  fell  in  line,  at  the 
rear  where  a  man  was  giving  to  each,  as  he  came,  a  number,  supposed  to 
indicate  his  place  in  the  ranks.  Ours  read  "6-39."  There  were  four  persons 
at  this  time  in  "our"  squad,  each  received  a  consecutive  number,  the  "6" 
being  common  to  all.  "It  will  never  do  for  us  to  stand  in  that  line,"  we  said; 
so  three  stood  and  one  took  the  four  numbers,  and  soon,  with  a  fee,  and  a 
little  strategy,  the  squad  was  put  through  and  the  line  relieved  by  just  so 
much.  Our  certificate  read: 

F.    Certificate  that  must  be  held  by  party  desiring  to  occupy  or  enter 

upon  the  lands  opened  to  settlement  by  the  President's  Proclamation  of 

August  16,  1893,  for  the  purpose  of  settling  upon  a  TOWN  LOT. 
No.  11,577. 

General  Land  Office,  Sept.  16,  1893, 
Booth  in  T.  29  N.,  R.  4  W. 
This  certifies  that  L.  R.  Elliott  has  this  day  made  the  declaration 

before  me  required  by  the  President's  proclamation  of  August  19,  1893, 


BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY  207 

and  he  is,  therefore,  permitted  to  go  in  upon  the  lands  open  to  settlement 
by  said  proclamation  at  the  time  named  therein  for  the  purpose  of 
settling  upon  a  town  lot.  MELL  H.  HULL, 

Officer  in   charge. 

This  certificate  is  not  transferable.    The  holder  will  display  the  certifi- 
cate, if  demanded,  after  locating  on  claim. 

Officially  certified  so  we  could  get  aboard  the  cars  at  the  proper  time,  we 
were  at  liberty  to  move  about  among  the  masses.  From  the  elevated  posi- 
tion occupied  by  the  booth  we  could  see  the  city  of  Caldwell  in  the  distance, 
and  the  space  between,  alive  with  moving  objects,  and  canopied  with  dust. 
Several  traveled  roads  led  across  the  Strip  from  Kansas  to  Oklahoma  diverging 
here;  and,  necessarily,  the  teams  must  keep  [to]  these  roads.  This  caused  a 
massing  of  vehicles  at  the  points  where  these  roads  cross  the  line,  and  insured 
a  jam  and  no  doubt  some  trouble  at  the  start.  But  horsemen,  and  lighter 
vehicles  disregard  the  roads  and  stretch  along  for  miles  and  miles,  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  see.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  this  line  of  invaders  was 
more  or  less  dense  on  the  entire  length  of  the  Strip.  Think  then,  of  a  line 
of  eager  men  and  women  stretched  out  for  150  miles  due  east  and  west, 
fronting  south,  all  waiting  for  the  hour  of  noon.  On  the  south,  fifty-nine  miles 
away,  is  another  such  line,  ready  to  advance  northward  at  the  moment  when 
these  about  us  move  southward,  and  you  may  get  some  idea  of  the  situation. 

The  Rock  Island  track  enters  the  promised  land  through  a  deep  cut,  and  is 
fenced  on  both  sides  the  whole  distance  with  a  five-wire  fence.  The  company 
sent  out  a  caboose  and  a  force  of  men  and  sold  tickets  at  the  line.  This  was  a 
great  convenience.  Those  who  wanted  to  ride  had  a  chance  to  fall  in  line  and 
procure  tickets.  Somebody  from  the  top  of  the  caboose  called  out  so  no  one 
could  fail  to  understand.  "Pond  Creek  75  cents,  Enid  $1.25"  and  so  on.  "Get 
your  tickets,  or  you  can't  get  on  the  train."  From  a  good  position  we  looked 
on;  and  J.  C.  Bonnell,  who  always  has  just  the  right  equipment  at  hand,  caught 
Kodak  views  of  the  crowds  for  the  next  Western  Trail  and  the  Settler. 

As  tickets  were  procured  the  purchasers  passed  on  from  the  east  to  west 
side  of  the  track,  received  successive  numbers,  were  put  into  companies  under 
captains,  and  placed  in  position  along  the  track  ready,  each  company  to  board 
a  car  when  the  train  came  along.  The  train  was  made  up  of  Montgomery 
Palace  Cattle  Cars — 35  cars — and  it  was  loaded  with  5,200  persons  who  bought 
tickets,  and  several  hundreds  of  marshals  and  others,  and  officers  of  the  road. 
A  Palace  Cattle  Car  will  hold  a  host,  when  necessary.  The  second  car  in 
this  train  held  300  persons.  These  cars  proved  to  be  just  the  thing.  The  tops 
afforded  good  seats  for  sight-seeing,  and  the  side  doors  gave  easy  egress  to 
claim-takers.  We  held  a  standing  place  on  one  of  the  upper  decks,  and  com- 
manded a  wide  range  of  vision. 

The  train  was  propelled  by  two  engines  in  front  and  two  pushers  up  the 
grade.  All  was  at  high  pressure  in  the  way  of  excitement  as  the  hour  of 
twelve  approached,  and  comparison  of  watches  was  frequent.  The  crowds 
in  and  on  the  cars  were  not  less  excited  than  those  on  the  ground.  There  was 
a  lull  in  the  conversation  and  a  pause,  a  silence  as  high  noon  came,  broken  by 
the  sound  of  a  carbine,  and  instantly  supplemented  by  several  shots  along  the 
line.  The  flash  was  the  signal,  and  before  the  sound  came  the  trained  horses 
were  several  leaps  on  their  way,  and  before  the  engineers  could  communicate 


208  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

the  starting  signal  to  each  other,  and  get  the  train  under  way,  the  miles  of 
strippers  were  stripping  through  the  Strip. 

It  was  a  sight  never  to  be  forgotten  that  spread  out  over  the  miles  of 
landscape  east  and  west  and  south.  North  was  Kansas,  and  clouds  of  dust, 
and  vacated  camps. 

Two  of  the  wagon  roads  mentioned  heretofore,  ran  for  some  miles  nearly 
parallel  with  the  railroad,  one  on  either  side  of  the  track  not  far  away,  and 
along  these  many  vehicles  kept,  so  we  from  the  train  could  cheer  them,  and 
yell  comments  on  their  speed  and  endurance.  For  a  few  miles  there  was  a 
chaos  of  vehicles  and  horsemen,  but  the  best  horses  were  soon  far  ahead,  and 
looking  like  pigmies  in  the  distance.  A  double  spring  wagon  with  a  man  and 
woman,  at  our  left,  did  some  marvelous  driving,  and  a  similar  rig  at  the  right, 
with  two  men,  distanced  the  train  for  fully  fifteen  miles,  and  then  collapsed 
in  a  chuck-hole,  and  we  left  them  trying  to  repair  their  rig. 

Every  five  miles  the  train  slowed  up  or  stopped,  and  many  took  to  the 
prairie  for  claims.  It  was  not  necessary  for  the  train  to  stop.  Strippers  would 
pitch  out  the  bundle  and  roll  after  it  in  the  sand,  hastily  rush  for  the  wire 
fence  and  for  the  land  on  the  other  side  of  it.  It  was  a  very  amusing  sight. 
The  wire  fence,  built  by  the  Railroad  Company,  is  new,  and  has  five  well 
stretched  wires;  and  not  every  one  is  good  at  scaling  a  wire  fence,  even  when 
not  excited.  Many  a  bundle  was  lacerated  by  the  barbs,  and  many  a  garment 
rent.  The  stripper  could  not  stop  to  unhook  lest  the  other  fellow  should  get 
ahead,  so  he  would  yank  it  loose,  and  the  appearance  of  some  whose  coats 
caught  was  that  of  "strippers"  for  sure.  The  sachels  and  bundles  would  some- 
times burst  open  as  they  were  tumbled  from  the  train,  and  as  the  owner 
somersaulted  after  them  he  would  find  lunch  and  supplies  scattered  in  the 
sand.  Generally  the  victim  would  stop  and  gather  up  the  contents,  some  of 
which  were  not  intended  for  public  view,  but  sometimes  he  would  rush  on 
with  his  sharp  stick,  and  let  his  grub  take  the  chance  of  the  future.  Not  a 
few  left  their  hats  in  this  way,  and  one  man  went  through  the  fence  minus 
one  shoe,  but  he  didn't  stop  for  such  a  trifle.  It  was  what  the  boys  call 
"dead  loads  of  fun/' — for  those  that  looked  on.  How  the  poor  mortals  fared 
who  went  into  camp  for  the  night  with  such  a  reduced  equipment  was  not  so 
easy  to  see.  If  it  was  fun  for  us,  it  was  to  them,  as  it  was  to  the  frogs  when 
the  boys  stoned  them. 

Not  a  few  women,  young  and  old,  were  among  the  claim-seekers,  and  as 
a  rule  they  scaled  the  wire  fences  very  well.  One  woman  in  black,  with 
black  vail  and  fan  and  parasol,  and  leading  a  small  boy,  scaled  the  fence  with 
all  her  drapery  intact,  and  the  crowd  became  interested.  A  man  who  was 
more  active  began  to  stick  his  stake,  apparently  not  seeing  the  woman,  when 
the  crowd  on  the  train  set  up  a  yell  to  him  to  leave  that  claim,  and  he  yielded 
it  to  the  woman,  who  stuck  her  parasol  into  the  ground,  and  so  made  her  claim. 
It  was  all  right  for  the  man  to  give  it  up,  but  what  in  the  world  could  that 
woman  do  as  the  train  pulled  away  and  left  her  on  the  bald  prairie  with 
apparently  only  her  fan  and  parasol,  and  a  possible  bite  of  lunch  in  her  hand 
bag.  No  water  for  miles,  and  no  trains  to  take  her  away  to  water,  and  a  ten 
year  old  boy  to  suffer  with  her? 

As  we  have  said,  nearly  every  one  who  wanted  a  claim  had  supplies  of  water 
and  grub,  but  a  few  who  left  the  train,  seemingly  had  nothing  but  the  flag 


BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY  209 

stick,  with  which  to  show  location.  Such  men  will  have  claims  to  sell  in  an 
hour  or  two. 

Jack  rabbits,  and  coyotes,  and  no  end  of  prairie  dogs,  were  startled  by  the 
unusual  visit  to  their  realm.  The  rabbits  made  good  time,  as  did  the  coyotes, 
hastened  by  the  puffs  of  dust  raised  near  them  by  the  balls  that  didn't  hit 
them.  But  the  prairie  dogs,  amid  the  crack  of  pistol  shots,  took  no  further 
notice  than  to  give  their  short  tails  an  extra  shake.  It  takes  a  chance  shot  to 
strike  these  little  fellows  from  the  moving  train. 

A  most  interesting  sight,  was  that  of  an  antelope,  which,  roused  by  the 
intruders,  vainly  ran  hither  and  thither  only  to  be  met  by  strippers  which 
ever  way  it  turned.  This  was  at  the  point  where  the  fleet  horsemen  from 
the  south  met  those  from  the  north;  and  one  of  the  horsemen  took  after  the 
weary  and  frightened  antelope,  and  actually  lassooed  it  in  plain  view  of  the 
thousands  of  interested  ones  on  the  train.  A  shout  went  up  that  rolled  across 
the  prairie  in  a  great  volume.  It  was  a  rare  and  remarkable  sight,  and  one 
probably  never  before  observed  by  such  a  large  audience,  if,  indeed,  such  an 
act  was  ever  before  performed. 

The  exit  of  strippers  from  the  train  all  along  the  line,  had  seemingly  not 
reduced  the  number  on  board,  and  when  the  train  reached  Pond  Creek  station, 
twenty- two  miles  from  the  north  line  of  the  "strip,"  the  people  went  out  of 
it  like  flies  out  of  a  sugar  cask,  and  in  five  minutes  a  square  mile  of  the  prairie 
was  spotted  with  squatters  looking  like  flies  on  a  sticky  paper.  Oh!  it  was  fun 
to  see  that  swarm  go  through  that  wire  fence!  The  fleet  horses,  and  possibly 
some  "sooners"  from  the  brush,  were  ahead,  but  could  not  take  all  the  lots. 
A  large  number  of  women  were  among  the  company,  and  among  these  we 
noticed  one  who  hobbled  on  a  crutch.  A  friend  helped  her  through  the  fence, 
and  soon  she  was  leaning  on  her  crutch  with  a  satisfied  air  near  the  stake  of 
a  corner  lot.  And  it  was  noticeable  that  the  expression  of  satisfaction  on 
the  faces  of  the  women  was  much  more  marked  than  on  those  of  the  men. 
To  the  women  it  was,  evidently,  the  event  of  a  lifetime. 

Three  miles  south  of  Pond  Creek  is  the  rival  town  established  by  the 
government  for  the  Land  Office,  and  here  a  similar  exodus  of  town-lotters 
took  place,  and  then  the  cars  looked  as  a  man  feels  at  noon  without  having  had 
breakfast. 

At  Wild  Horse,  twelve  miles  south  of  Pond  Creek,  (and  about  midway  in 
the  Strip  north  and  south)  our  train  met  the  corresponding  train  from  Hen- 
nessey. Passengers  on  that  train  recited  a  similar  experience  with  ours,  except 
that  in  the  scramble  two  women  had  got  broken  bones  and  one  man  was  killed 
in  leaping  from  the  cars.  Our  train  moved  southward  and  developed,  as  it 
moved,  a  most  interesting  panorama.  At  first  were  the  scattered  settlers,  here 
and  there  in  the  distance  just  simply  holding  down  their  claims  and  resting; 
then  came  those  who  had  begun  to  look  up  their  lines  and  corners;  and  farther 
on,  even  some  attempt  at  improvement  had  begun.  Besides  these  fixtures 
in  the  landscape,  there  was  a  continuous  line  of  vehicles,  like  the  supply  train 
of  an  army,  moving  northward.  The  lightest  loads  and  best  teams  were  in 
the  lead,  and  the  less  favored  and  more  heavily  burdened  came  on  as  they 
could,  but  the  line  was  continuous  for  many  miles,  and  the  dust  rolled  over 
them,  and  all  were  of  one  color  of  grime.  The  white  and  the  black  had  all 
become  bronzed.  This  motley  train,  whose  makeup  was  indiscribable,  whose 

15-7718 


210  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

burdens  were  varied  and  miscellaneous,  was  the  rearward  of  the  runners 
bringing  on  the  supplies  and  the  household  goods  that  were  to  be  set  up  in 
cabin  or  cot  or  city  palace  in  this  Beulah  land. 

And  it  was  well  that  these  were  so  faithfully  coming  on,  for  supplies  are 
needed  at  the  front,  and  shelter  for  the  night  is  only  to  be  found  as  these 
burdened  vehicles  reach  the  lot  or  the  land  which  the  runner  for  the  family 
has  chosen.  There  is  the  lumber  for  the  cabin,  the  house  on  wheels  complete, 
the  "knocked-down"  structure,  ready  to  be  erected  on  the  claim;  the  tent  that 
will  do  service  till  something  better  can  be  provided.  These  "outfits"  are 
quite  a  contrast  to  those  that  stood  at  the  northern  border,  and  are  now 
following  their  swift  runners  from  the  north,  as  are  these  from  the  south  border. 
In  this  train  are  the  unmistakable  rigs  from  the  southland.  That  wagon  top 
shirred  in  the  middle  with  a  puckering  string,  is  from  Arkansas;  and  that 
strange  load  of  appliances  with  Uncle  Tom  for  a  driver,  rigged  with  rope 
harness  and  lines,  came  from  lower  Texas,  and  the  gate  of  the  skeleton  team 
indicates  that  Dinah  will  wait  a  long  time  for  the  supplies  on  the  claim  she 
has  taken. 

Passing  the  town-sites  of  Enid  and  its  duplicate  three  miles  away,  the 
prairie  was  even  more  populous  with  town-lotters  than  were  those  we  left 
behind.  A  big  run  had  been  made  from  the  south  line,  and  the  restive 
multitude  is  said  to  have  broken  away  from  the  duress  of  the  military,  and 
made  the  start  eleven  minutes  before  the  set  time.  But  it  was  just  as  well, 
since  all  on  the  south  line  had  an  equal  chance. 

The  Enid  townsite  had  a  large  percentage  of  colored  squatters,  and  among 
them  a  preponderance  of  women.  Indeed  the  colored  people  got  in  their  work 
mostly  from  the  south  line. 

From  Hennessey,  where  we  could  find  no  accommodation  for  the  night,  we 
took  the  first  train  northward  and  passed  the  populous  towns,  built  in  an  hour, 
whose  thousands  must  have  had  a  distressful  night  on  the  bare  earth,  then 
only  to  spend  the  Sabbath  following  in  hardly  less  discomfort  because  of 
President  Cleveland's  ill-timed  proclamation.  Sundry  lights,  gleaming  from 
the  prairie,  were  the  only  indication  in  the  darkness  that  a  large  city  was  at 
hand. 

It  was  our  good  fortune  that  we  got  a  seat.  That  train  of  four  cars  carried 
four  hundred  people  out  of  the  Strip.  To  say  that  we  were  tired  was  only  to 
hint  at  the  fact.  But  we  had  seen  the  run  for  location  in  the  Strip,  the  sight 
of  the  century — the  last,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  of  its  kind. 

L.  R.  E. 
[Manhattan.] 


Kansas  History  as  Published  in  the  Press 

On  October  3, 1886,  the  Rev.  John  A.  Bright  organized  what  is  now 
the  Excelsior  Lutheran  church  near  Ellsworth.  A  brief  history  of 
the  church  appeared  in  the  Ellsworth  Messenger,  September,  1956. 

The  Coffeyville  Daily  Journal  published  a  short  history  of  the 
Chetopa  Christian  church  September  28,  1956.  On  October  5  an 
article  by  Alice  Wade  appeared  in  the  Journal  on  incidents  of  the 
attempted  Coffeyville  bank  robbery  by  the  Daltons,  October  5, 1892, 
as  recalled  by  Mrs.  A.  L.  Severance. 

Late  in  1899  the  novelist,  William  Dean  Howells,  made  a  lecture 
tour  which  included  several  engagements  in  Kansas.  An  account  of 
the  tour  entitled  "The  Dean  in  Person:  Howells'  Lecture  Tour/'  by 
Harrison  T.  Meserole,  appeared  in  the  Autumn,  1956,  number  of 
Western  Humanities  Review,  Salt  Lake  City. 

American  Jewish  Archives,  Cincinnati,  included  in  its  issue  of 
October,  1956,  a  71-page  article  entitled  "Trail  Blazers  of  the  Trans- 
Mississippi  West."  The  two-page  section  devoted  to  Kansas  men- 
tioned several  of  the  state's  early  Jewish  settlers. 

Identification  of  the  principal  printed  items  that  chronicle  the 
origin  and  growth  of  Protestantism  in  Kansas  is  the  objective  of  Dr. 
Emory  Lindquist's  The  Protestant  Church  in  Kansas:  an  Annotated 
Bibliography  which  comprised  the  October,  1956,  number  of  The 
University  of  Wichita  Bulletin. 

"Who  Were  the  Pioneers?  What  Became  of  Them?"  was  the  title 
of  a  series  by  Charles  A.  Scott,  beginning  October  4,  1956,  in  the 
Westmoreland  Recorder.  Included  were  biographical  sketches  of 
Pottawatomie  county  pioneers. 

Argonia's  early  history  is  the  subject  of  a  series  of  articles  by 
Mrs.  Grace  Handy  which  began  appearing  in  the  Argonia  Argosy, 
October  11,  1956.  This  Sumner  county  town  was  incorporated  on 
Kansas  Day,  1885. 

A  sketch  of  the  Marion  Hill  Lutheran  church,  near  D wight,  was 
printed  in  the  Junction  City  Union,  October  12,  1956.  The  church 
was  organized  June  1,  1876,  with  61  charter  members.  Histories  of 
the  church  also  appeared  in  the  Council  Grove  Republican,  October 
17,  and  the  Alta  Vista  Journal,  October  18. 

(211) 


212  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Recent  articles  in  the  Chanute  Tribune  included:  a  biographical 
sketch  of  Octave  Chanute,  the  man  for  whom  the  town  of  Chanute 
was  named,  October  16,  1956;  and  Woodson  county  pioneer  life  as 
recalled  by  O.  C.  Rose  and  G.  C.  Jackson,  whose  parents  were  early 
settlers  in  the  county,  December  1. 

T.  C.  Briggs,  a  Kiowa  county  rancher,  was  the  subject  of  a  bio- 
graphical sketch  by  Mrs.  Fern  Eller  in  the  Kiowa  County  Signal, 
Greensburg,  October  18,  1956.  Briggs  came  to  the  county  in  1885 
when  he  was  ten  years  old. 

W.  F.  Elland  organized  the  Christian  church  of  Bucklin  in  1906 
according  to  a  history  of  the  church  printed  in  the  Bucklin  Banner, 
October  18,  1956.  The  first  church  building  was  completed  in  1909. 
The  article  appeared  in  the  Clark  County  Clipper,  Ashland,  October 
25. 

Beginning  October  18,  1956,  the  Turon  Press  has  been  publishing 
a  historical  series  by  Alfred  B.  Bradshaw  entitled  "When  the 
Prairies  Were  New — A  History  of  the  Lerado  Community."  Settle- 
ment of  the  Reno  county  community  started  in  1873. 

Goodland's  city  library  was  the  subject  of  a  historical  sketch  in  the 
Sherman  County  Herald,  Goodland,  October  25,  1956.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1908,  a  small  library  was  opened  as  the  result  of  efforts  by  Good- 
land  church  groups.  A  grant  from  Andrew  Carnegie  provided  a 
library  building  which  was  completed  in  1913. 

Two  anniversaries  were  celebrated  by  the  Fort  Scott  First  Meth- 
odist church,  November  1,  1956:  the  90th  anniversary  of  its  founding 
and  the  50th  of  the  cornerstone  laying  for  the  present  church  build- 
ing. Historical  notes  on  the  church  were  published  in  the  Fort  Scott 
Tribune,  November  1. 

The  Colby  Free  Press-Tribune,  November  5,  1956,  printed  a  his- 
tory of  Wesley  chapel,  near  Colby,  by  Mrs.  Ruth  Pence.  The  chapel 
was  dedicated  October  29, 1916. 

In  1903  a  Methodist  church  organization  was  effected  and  a  minis- 
ter assigned  at  Talmo,  Republic  county.  A  building  was  erected  in 
1906.  The  Belleville  Telescope  and  the  Concordia  Blade-Empire 
published  a  church  history  November  8,  1956. 

Haviland  was  incorporated  in  1906.  The  town  company  was 
formed  and  the  townsite  established  in  1886.  In  observance  of  the 
town's  double  anniversary,  a  special  edition  was  published  by  the 


KANSAS  HISTORY  IN  THE  PRESS  213 

Haviland  Journal,  November  8,  1956.     An  eight-page  section  re- 
viewed the  history  of  the  community. 

In  1920  Anna  VanLew  read  a  history  of  Axtell  at  an  old  settlers' 
reunion.  The  manuscript  was  recently  rediscovered  and  the  story 
printed  in  the  Axtell  Standard,  November  8, 15, 1956.  By  1871  Axtell 
was  "on  the  map,"  with  a  railroad  and  a  post  office. 

Reece  Ingle,  Cherokee,  Okla.,  narrated  his  personal  experiences  in 
making  the  Cherokee  Strip  "run,"  September  16,  1893,  staking,  filing, 
and  farming  his  claim,  and  living  in  a  dugout  for  six  years,  in  the 
Cunningham  Clipper,  November  8,  15,  29,  December  6,  13,  1956. 
Ingle  still  lives  on  his  claim. 

In  June,  1857,  D.  R.  Anthony,  I,  left  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  to  settle  in 
Kansas.  From  his  new  home  Anthony  wrote  frequent  letters  to  his 
father,  brother,  and  sister  in  Rochester.  Excerpts  from  the  letters 
were  published  in  the  Leavenworth  Times,  beginning  November  18, 
1956. 

A  history  of  the  Herington  Methodist  church,  by  Mrs.  F.  E.  Mun- 
sell,  was  published  in  the  Herington  Advertiser-Times,  November  22, 
1956.  Organization  of  the  church  was  effected  in  1884  and  the  first 
building  was  dedicated  in  1886. 

School  districts  22,  24,  50,  and  56,  Rawlins  county,  were  organized 
in  1885,  according  to  a  historical  sketch  by  Ray  Moore  in  the  Citizen- 
Patriot,  Atwood,  November  22,  1956.  The  sketch  was  given  as  an 
address  at  the  recent  dedication  of  the  new  school  building  in  these 
districts — now  consolidated  into  district  234. 

Bernard  H.  Lemert's  reminiscences  of  his  experiences  as  a  Western 
cattleman,  1879-1889,  are  related  in  an  article  called  "The  Round  Up 
of  Eighty-Four/'  Portions  of  this  story  appeared  in  the  Southwest 
Daily  Times,  Liberal,  November  23,  to  December  8,  1956. 

"Know  Your  Town"  is  the  title  of  a  series  on  the  history  of  Derby 
beginning  in  the  Derby  Star,  November  29,  1956.  First  settlers  in 
the  area  were  featured  in  the  first  article. 

A  "Highland  Park"  edition  of  the  Bulletin  of  the  Shawnee  County 
Historical  Society,  Topeka,  was  issued  in  December,  1956.  In- 
cluded are  biographical  sketches  of  many  prominent  Highland  Park 
families. 

"Living  Conditions— 1860  to  1956,"  an  article  by  Nellie  Oder 
Whiteside,  read  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Butler  County  Historical 


214  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Society,  began  to  appear  serially  in  the  El  Dorado  Free-Lance,  De- 
cember 13,  1956. 

"Wellsford — Once  a  Thriving,  Bustling  City,  Has  a  Colorful  and 
Exciting  History,"  by  Ecile  Hall,  was  published  in  the  Kiowa  County 
Signal,  Greensburg,  December  20,  1956,  and  in  the  Haviland  Jour- 
nal, January  3,  1957.  Included  in  the  history  of  this  Kiowa  county 
town  is  a  biographical  sketch  of  C.  E.  Anderson,  for  59  years  a  Wells- 
ford  merchant. 

Historical  articles  appearing  in  the  1957  number  of  Kansas  Maga- 
zine, Manhattan,  included:  "Noon  Doings  at  the  Sod  School,"  by 
Boyne  Grainger;  "When  Russian  Royalty  Hunted  American  Buf- 
falo," by  Lelia  Munsell;  "Earliest  Americans,"  by  L.  L.  Hodgdon; 
and  "A  Century  of  Kansas  Architecture,"  by  John  Cranston  Heintzel- 
man. 

"Missouri's  Struggle  for  Kansas — the  Story  of  a  Lost  Cause,"  an 
article  by  Bartlett  Boder,  was  included  in  the  Winter,  1957,  issue 
of  Museum  Graphic,  published  by  the  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  museum. 

An  article  by  Carl  G.  Klopfenstein,  "Westward  Ho:  Removal  of 
Ohio  Shawnees,  1832-1833,"  published  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Histori- 
cal and  Philosophical  Society  of  Ohio,  Cincinnati,  January,  1957, 
tells  of  the  migration  of  the  Shawnee  Indians  from  Ohio  to  present 
Kansas  in  the  1830's. 

As  a  background  for  Butler  county's  centennial  in  1957,  Clarence 
King  has  written  a  review  of  early  Butler  county  history  which  was 
published  in  the  Augusta  Gazette,  January  9,  10,  1957.  William 
Hildebrand  was  the  county's  first  permanent  resident,  arriving  in 
May,  1857,  and  settling  near  present  El  Dorado. 

Historical  articles  continue  to  appear  regularly  in  the  Hays  Daily 
News.  Included  recently  were:  "Union  Pacific's  1887  Prospectus 
Painted  Rosy  Picture  of  Country,"  January  20,  1957;  "Fast  Thinking 
Saves  Buffalo  Bill  [Cody]  on  Ride,"  January  27;  "Old  Stone  Depot 
at  Victoria  Served  as  Station,  Hotel,  Post  Office,  Club,"  and  "St. 
George's  Church  in  Victoria  Unique  in  Beauty  for  Its  Time  [1877]," 
February  3;  "Parties,  Indian  Killings,  Flood,  Mad  Dogs  Highlight 
1878  News,"  February  10;  "Englishman  [Robert  Cox]  Surprised  at 
Pleasant  Life  on  Kansas  Plains  at  Victoria  in  1877,"  February  17; 
"Dramas  Were  Risky  Business  With  Failure  Certain  Back  in  1874," 
February  24;  "Buffalo  Wallows  Near  Hays  Still  Show  Signs  of  King 
of  the  Prairie's  Reign,"  March  3;  "Copies  of  Old  Letters  Prove  Wild 
Bill  Hickok  Could  Write,"  and  "[Dave]  Morrow,  Purveyor  of  Prairie 


KANSAS  HISTORY  IN  THE  PRESS  215 

Dogs,  Calmly  Kills  Legendary  White  Buffalo,"  March  17;  "Old  Time 
Editor  [W.  A.  Montgomery]  Lauds  Industry,  Ingenuity,  and  Thrift 
of  German-Russian  Settlers,"  March  24;  "In  1877  Detroit  News- 
paperman Wrote  Wonderful  Things  of  Hays  City  Area,"  April  7; 
"Mrs.  [Amelia]  Huntington,  Real  Pioneer  Woman,  Helped  Improve 
Culture,  Beauty  of  Hays,"  April  14;  "Peach  Tree  Corner  in  Old 
Hays  Favored  as  Spot  for  Swapping  Ideas  and  Tales,"  April  21; 
and  "Cody  Shot  69  Buffalo  in  Only  Challenge  of  His  Title  as  'World 
Champion  Killer',"  by  Maurine  Bergland,  April  21. 

Articles  prepared  by  the  Lane  County  Historical  Society  from 
information  received  in  answer  to  questionnaires  sent  to  residents 
and  former  residents  of  Lane  county,  have  appeared  regularly  in 
the  Dighton  Herald,  beginning  January  23,  1957.  The  stories  are 
in  the  form  of  personal  reminiscences  and  family  histories. 

"90  Years  of  Ellsworth  and  Ellsworth  County  History,"  by  George 
Jelinek,  began  appearing  by  installments  in  the  Ellsworth  Messen- 
ger, January  24,  1957.  The  Ellsworth  townsite  was  laid  out  in 
January,  1867. 

Mrs.  Fred  Gerken's  history  of  the  Girard  Public  Library,  pre- 
sented at  a  library  board  dinner,  was  printed  in  the  Girard  Press, 
January  24,  1957.  Work  toward  a  library  for  Girard  was  started  in 
1898  by  the  Ladies'  Reading  Club.  Other  city  clubs  were  invited 
to  join  in  a  federation  which  was  successful  in  opening  a  library 
early  in  1899. 

In  1867  the  Frankfort  Town  Company  was  formed,  a  townsite 
purchased  and  laid  out,  and  the  first  houses  were  built,  according 
to  a  history  of  Frankfort  by  J.  M.  Lane  published  in  the  Frankfort 
Index,  January  31,  1957.  Frankfort  became  a  third  class  city  July 
24,  1875. 

An  article  in  the  Smith  County  Pioneer,  Smith  Center,  January 
31,  1957,  reviewed  the  history  of  Smith  county.  Gov.  James  M. 
Harvey  organized  the  county  February  1,  1872. 

Heritage  of  Kansas,  a  quarterly  publication  of  the  department  of 
English,  Kansas  State  Teachers  College,  Emporia,  made  its  first  ap- 
pearance in  February,  1957.  Articles  in  the  first  issue  were:  "Men 
Against  the  Frontier,"  by  Neil  Byer;  "The  Drouth  of  1860,"  by  J.  N. 
Holloway;  "At  Kawsmouth  Station,"  by  Henry  King;  "Emigrant  Life 
in  Kansas,"  by  Percy  G.  Ebbutt;  and  William  Allen  White's  "The 
Story  of  Aqua  Pura." 


216  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Among  historical  articles  appearing  the  past  few  months  in 
the  Clay  Center  Dispatch  were:  "Rivers,  Creeks  Once  Supplied 
Ice  for  Use  in  Summer  Here,"  by  L.  F.  Valentine,  February  2, 
1957;  "The  Beginning  of  the  Clay  Center  Schools,"  by  Mrs.  A.  R. 
Russell,  February  22;  a  description  of  Clay  Center  90  years  ago, 
written  30  years  ago  by  George  A.  Gray,  March  6;  and  "Our  Once- 
Forested  Country  Now  Has  Tree  Planting  Day,"  by  L.  F.  Valentine, 
March  30. 

The  Valley  Falls  Vindicator,  February  6,  1957,  printed  a  short 
history  of  the  Pony  Express.  Beginning  April  3,  1860,  the  express 
operated  for  about  17  months  on  the  route  between  St.  Joseph  and 
California. 

On  February  6,  1957,  the  Arkansas  City  Daily  Traveler  printed  an 
article  entitled  "Last  'Boomer'  Train  Left  Arkansas  City  74  Years 
Ago  This  Month."  In  February,  1883,  over  500  "boomers"  under 
Capt.  David  L.  Payne  set  out  from  Arkansas  City  intending  to 
settle  near  present  Oklahoma  City.  But  Payne  and  several  others 
were  arrested  by  federal  troops  and  the  plan  failed. 

A  biographical  sketch  of  Maj.  Andrew  Drumm  was  published  in 
the  Kiowa  News,  February  7,  1957.  Drumm  came  to  Kansas  in  the 
early  1870's,  settling  near  Caldwell.  Later  he  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  New  Kiowa. 

The  Jetmore  Republican,  in  conjunction  with  Jetmore's  75th  an- 
niversary, has  in  recent  months  published  a  group  of  historical 
articles  by  Margaret  Raser.  Included  were:  "Story  of  the  County 
Seat,"  February  7,  14,  1957;  "The  First  Houses  Built  in  Jetmore," 
March  7;  "Lives  of  Early  Settlers,"  March  14,  21;  "Early  Finances, 
From  1879-1882,"  March  28;  "The  Big  Blizzard  of  1886,"  April  4; 
and  "It  Happened  75  Years  Ago,"  May  2,  9. 

Elizabeth  Barnes'  column  "Historic  Johnson  County,"  has  con- 
tinued to  appear  regularly  in  the  Johnson  County  Herald,  Overland 
Park.  A  few  recent  subjects  were:  reminiscences  of  Fred  W. 
Stolte,  Jr.,  February  7,  1957;  Hotel  Olathe,  February  28,  March  7; 
and  the  Bishop  Miege  High  School,  March  14. 

A  new  feature  began  in  the  Hutchinson  News-Herald,  February 
8,  1957,  titled  "This  Was  Hutchinson."  It  is  a  series  of  pictures  of 
early  scenes  and  old  buildings  in  Hutchinson  with  brief  explana- 
tions. An  article  by  Ruby  Basye,  "Merry  Men  of  England  Wrote 
History  on  the  Prairies  of  Western  Kansas,"  appeared  in  the  News- 
Herald,  February  10.  On  April  21  a  20-page  special  section  was 


KANSAS  HISTORY  IN  THE  PRESS  217 

printed  by  the  newspaper,  now  called  the  News,  which  included 
items  of  its  own  history. 

Seventy  years  ago  pioneers  of  German  origin  began  arriving  in 
the  area  of  present  Bushton,  according  to  an  article  on  the  history 
of  Bushton  in  the  Bushton  News,  February  14,  1957.  Mentioned  in 
the  story  are  the  city  officers,  businesses,  schools,  churches,  and 
other  institutions. 

William  Errol  Enrau's  "The  History  of  Fort  Larned,  Kansas:  Its 
Relation  to  the  Santa  Fe  Trail  and  the  Plains  Indians"  began  appear- 
ing serially  in  The  Tiller  and  Toiler,  Larned,  February  19, 1957.  The 
history  will  also  be  printed  in  booklet  form.  A  revised  version  of 
the  story  is  scheduled  for  publication  in  The  Kansas  Historical 
Quarterly  late  in  1957. 

Stanton  county's  70th  anniversary  was  the  occasion  for  a  special 
38-page  edition  of  the  Johnson  Pioneer,  February  21, 1957.  Included 
were  articles  on  Stanton  county  people,  institutions,  and  organiza- 
tions. 

"Early  Creameries  Helped  Recovery  of  Central  Kansas  During 
1890's,"  an  11-column  article  by  Earl  W.  McDowell,  appeared  in 
the  Hillsboro  Star-Journal,  February  21,  1957.  The  establishment 
of  creameries  began  in  1889  in  several  towns,  just  as  "hard  times" 
appeared  in  Kansas.  This  new  market  did  much  to  "save  the  day 
for  the  farmers." 

Cherokee  county's  county-seat  war  between  Columbus  and  Baxter 
Springs,  was  reviewed  in  the  Columbus  Advocate,  February  28, 
1957.  Some  historical  information  about  Columbus  was  included 
in  the  Advocate,  April  12.  John  Appleby,  who  settled  at  present 
Columbus  in  1868,  is  credited  with  being  the  first  settler  in  the 
area.  The  Modern  Light,  Columbus,  has  continued  its  column  of 
historical  information,  "Do  You  Remember  When,"  which  included 
notes  on  the  Columbus-Baxter  Springs  fight,  March  21. 

Zebulon  Pike's  expedition  of  1806-1807  was  reviewed  in  an  article 
by  Dick  Blackburn,  the  first  installment  appearing  in  the  February 
28,  1957,  issue  of  the  Belleville  Telescope.  A  large  portion  of  the 
article  is  devoted  to  the  location  of  the  Pawnee  Indian  village  visited 
by  Pike  in  late  September,  1806. 

Histories  of  the  Beloit  Presbyterian  church  were  published  in 
the  Beloit  Gazette,  March  7,  1957,  and  in  the  Beloit  Call,  March  15. 
The  church  was  organized  in  1872  under  the  leadership  of  the  Rev. 
Charles  Higgins. 


218  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Historical  articles  in  the  March  7,  1957,  issue  of  the  Marysville 
Advocate  included  a  biographical  sketch  of  Joe  Carroll,  by  Mrs. 
Byron  E.  Guise,  and  an  article  on  early  Marysville  schools.  A  story 
in  the  Advocate,  May  9,  by  Gordon  S.  Hohn,  recalled  horse  racing 
in  Marysville  around  1906. 

"Indians,  Hostile  Whites  Pioneer  Perils,"  by  U.  S.  Grier,  was  pub- 
lished in  the  magazine  section  of  the  Wichita  Eagle,  March  10, 
1957.  The  article  is  comprised  largely  of  pioneer  experiences  of 
Grier's  father.  In  the  same  issue  of  the  Eagle  was  an  article  on 
Sedan  by  Velma  E.  Lowry.  The  town  was  founded  in  1868. 
"Everything  Goes  in  Wichita,"  was  the  signboard  greeting  to  visitors 
to  that  town  in  1877,  Lynne  Holt  said  in  an  article  on  early  Wichita 
in  the  Eagle  magazine,  May  12,  1957.  The  article  points  out  that 
Wichita  lived  up  to  the  promise. 

Joseph  Thoes  and  his  brother,  who  arrived  in  1855,  are  thought 
to  be  the  first  settlers  at  Alma.  A  series  on  the  history  of  Alma 
began  in  the  Alma  Signal-Enterprise,  March  14,  1957. 

Publication  of  "Gardner— Where  the  Trails  Divide,"  a  historical 
series  by  Virginia  L.  Johnson,  began  in  the  Gardner  News,  March 
14,  1957. 

Glasco  was  founded  in  1870  and  incorporated  in  1877,  Mrs. 
L.  W.  Sheets  reports  in  a  brief  history  of  the  community  printed  in 
the  Glasco  Sun,  March  14,  1957.  The  same  issue  of  the  Sun  in- 
cluded reminiscences  of  Theodore  D.  Palmer,  who  came  to  Glasco 
in  1878,  and  Estell  Arthur  Owens,  who  recalls  life  there  in  1912. 

Histories  of  Emporia's  colleges  have  recently  been  featured  in 
Emporia  newspapers.  Leon  Reynolds'  history  of  the  College  of 
Emporia  appeared  in  the  Emporia  Times,  March  21,  1957,  and  in 
the  Emporia  Gazette,  April  1.  A  history  of  Kansas  State  Teachers 
College,  by  Ralph  Daggett,  was  published  in  the  Gazette,  April  2, 
and  the  Times,  April  25  and  May  2.  The  College  of  Emporia  was 
founded  in  1882  and  Emporia  State  in  1865. 

The  historical  committee  of  the  Lebanon  Community  Develop- 
ment Association  has  prepared  a  brief  history  of  Lebanon  which 
appeared  in  the  Lebanon  Times,  March  28,  1957.  The  original  town 
was  established  about  two  and  a  half  miles  west  of  the  present  site 
in  1873.  The  move  to  the  new  location  was  made  in  1887. 

On  April  7,  1882,  a  meeting  was  called  in  the  Chautauqua  county 
courthouse  to  organize  the  Sedan  Baptist  church,  it  is  pointed  out 
in  histories  of  the  church  by  H.  E.  Floyd  in  the  Independence 


KANSAS  HISTORY  IN  THE  PRESS  219 

Reporter,  March  31,  1957,  and  Howard  Moore  in  the  Coffeyville 
Daily  Journal,  April  4.  The  first  pastor  was  the  Rev.  F.  M.  Walker, 
and  the  first  building  was  completed  in  1889. 

History  Today,  a  London  magazine,  published  "The  John  Brown 
Legend,"  by  Arnold  Whitridge,  in  its  issue  for  April,  1957.  Whit- 
ridge  says  the  legend  that  surrounds  the  name  of  John  Brown  was 
put  together  "out  of  most  unpromising  materials/* 

Simon  E.  Matson's  series,  "Early-Day  Events  in  Shaping  an 
Empire,"  a  history  of  the  St.  Francis  area,  first  printed  in  the  St. 
Francis  Herald,  June  14,  1956,  continues  to  appear  regularly. 

Articles  in  the  April,  1957,  number  of  the  Bulletin  of  the  Shawnee 
County  Historical  Society,  Topeka,  included:  "The  Story  of  My 
Life,"  by  Albe  Burge  Whiting;  "History  of  Potwin,"  by  Charlotte 
McLellan,  continued  from  the  July,  1955,  Bulletin;  "The  Forty- 
niners  and  the  Pottawatomie  Baptist  Mission,"  by  Lena  Baxter 
Schenck;  and  "1256  Western  Avenue  and  the  People  Who  Lived 
There,"  and  "Julia  Ward  Howe  Visits  Kansas,"  by  Lois  Johnson 
Cone. 

"Last  Major  Indian  Battle  in  Kansas  Fought  Near  Scott  County 
State  Park,"  is  the  title  of  a  full-page  article  in  the  News  Chronicle, 
Scott  City,  April  4,  1957.  The  article  reviews  the  Battle  of  Punished 
Woman  Creek  in  1878  and  events  leading  up  to  it.  The  troop  com- 
mander, Col.  William  H.  Lewis,  was  killed  in  this  action. 

Caldwell  is  designated  the  "Border  Queen"  cowtown  by  George 
Viele  in  an  article  published  in  the  Caldwell  Messenger,  April  11, 
15,  18,  25,  1957.  The  town  was  laid  out  in  1871,  incorporated  in 
1879,  and  became  a  cowtown  in  1880. 

The  Kansas  Chief,  Troy,  celebrated  its  100th  anniversary  with 
a  special  16-page  edition  April  11,  1957.  The  first  issue  of  the 
Chief  was  published  June  4,  1857,  in  White  Cloud  by  Sol.  Miller, 
its  founder.  Featured  in  the  special  edition  is  a  biographical  sketch 
of  Miller  which  includes  an  autobiography  first  published  in  1893. 
Among  other  articles  is  a  sketch  of  Henry  J.  Calnan,  Sr.,  publisher 
of  the  Chief,  1904-1919.  His  son,  Charles  C.  Calnan,  is  the  present 
publisher. 

A  biographical  sketch  of  Prudence  Crandall,  by  Lily  B.  Rozar, 
was  published  in  the  Independence  Reporter,  April  14,  1957.  Miss 
Crandall  is  credited  with  establishing  at  Canterbury,  Conn.,  in  the 
early  1830's,  the  country's  first  integrated  school.  In  the  1870's 
she  came  to  Elk  Falls,  Kan.,  where  she  died  and  is  buried. 


220  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Stories  on  the  opening  of  Indian  territory  for  settlement  and 
articles  on  the  history  of  Oklahoma  and  the  West,  by  Dr.  B.  B. 
Chapman  and  others,  were  included  in  the  Guthrie  (Okla.)  Daily 
Leaders  annual  *89er  edition  published  April  16,  1957. 

Wayne  A.  O'Connell  is  the  author  of  a  history  of  Chetopa  which 
appeared  in  the  Chetopa  Advance,  April  18,  25,  May  2,  1957;  the 
Oswego  Independent,  April  19,  26,  May  3;  Oswego  Democrat,  April 
19,  26,  May  3,  10,  24.  Chetopa's  history  began  in  1857  when  Dr. 
George  Lisle  and  several  companions  arrived  and  the  first  cabins 
were  built.  Chetopa  was  named  after  an  Osage  Indian  chief. 

A  story  by  Myra  Lockwood  Brown  on  Butler  county's  first  court- 
house was  printed  in  the  Butler  County  News,  El  Dorado,  April  18, 
1957.  The  building,  a  log  cabin,  is  believed  to  have  been  erected 
about  1867. 

Winding  Vale  school,  district  No.  20,  Jackson  county,  was  organ- 
ized April  26,  1862.  A  history  of  the  now-abandoned  school,  pre- 
pared by  M.  C.  Barrows,  appeared  in  the  Holton  Recorder,  May  2, 
1957. 

Southeast  Kansas  history  as  found  in  1903-1906  directories  of 
that  area,  by  Harold  O.  Taylor,  appeared  in  the  Pittsburg  Sun, 
May  5,  1957.  Advertising  in  the  directories  recall  business  firms  of 
the  period. 

An  article  by  M.  F.  Amrine  entitled  "The  Good  Old  Days,"  was 
published  in  the  Council  Grove  Republican  in  three  installments, 
May  6,  8,  13,  1957.  The  author  compares  life  in  Kansas  in  the 
1870's  and  1880's  to  life  at  present,  and  leaves  the  impression  that 
the  "good  old  days"  weren't  so  good. 

Oxford  school  history  was  featured  in  the  May  9,  1957,  number 
of  the  Oxford  Register.  The  Oxford  high  school  started  in  1896, 
the  grade  school  a  few  years  earlier. 

With  the  issue  of  May  15,  1957,  the  Hiawatha  Daily  World  pub- 
lished the  first  section  of  the  Centennial  World.  Section  two  was 
printed  June  11,  section  three  July  18,  others  appeared  later.  The 
special  editions  were  described  by  the  publishers:  "The  Centennial 
World  is  dedicated  to  a  review  of  the  historical  events  of  the  past 
century  and  a  recital  of  stories  that  relate  to  the  activities  of  the 
people  who  have  brought  this  wonderful,  modern  community  into 
being  from  the  raw  prairies/' 


Kansas  Historical  Notes 

The  82d  annual  meeting  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society 
will  be  held  at  Topeka  on  Tuesday,  October  15,  1957. 

Gov.  George  Docking  has  appointed  a  Kansas  centennial  com- 
mission to  formulate  plans  for  the  state's  100th  anniversary  in  1961. 
Maurice  Fager,  Topeka,  has  been  named  chairman  of  the  commis- 
sion. Other  members  are:  Barbara  Aldrich,  Atchison;  Howard 
Blanchard,  Garden  City;  Fred  Brinkerhoff,  Pittsburg;  Lynn  Brod- 
rick,  Topeka;  H.  E.  Bruce,  Horton;  Rolla  Clymer,  El  Dorado;  Dr. 
Elizabeth  Cochran,  Pittsburg;  Leila  Elliott,  Coffeyville;  Mrs.  Frank 
Haucke,  Council  Grove;  John  Helm,  Jr.,  Manhattan;  Henry  Jame- 
son, Abilene;  Walter  Keith,  Coffeyville;  Frank  W.  Kirk,  Parsons; 
Marion  Klema,  Salina;  Mrs.  Charles  Larkin,  Leavenworth;  Larry 
Miller,  Topeka;  Nyle  Miller,  Topeka;  John  Montgomery,  Junction 
City;  Jim  Reed,  Topeka;  T.  T.  Riordan,  Solomon;  Rev.  G.  Harold 
Roberts,  Atchison;  Sen.  Fayette  Rowe,  Columbus;  Homer  E.  Soco- 
lofsky,  Manhattan;  Mrs.  Alice  M.  Wade,  Coffeyville;  Lester  Weath- 
erwax,  Wichita;  and  Robert  Wells,  Garden  City. 

All  officers  of  the  Butler  County  Historical  Society  were  re-elected 
at  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  in  El  Dorado  January  14,  1957. 
They  include:  F.  H.  Cron,  president;  Charles  E.  Heilmann,  vice- 
president;  Mrs.  R.  C.  Loomis,  secretary;  and  Clifford  W.  Stone, 
treasurer. 

Angelo  Scott,  Tola,  was  re-elected  president  of  the  Allen  County 
Historical  Society  at  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  in  lola, 
February  5,  1957.  R.  L.  Thompson,  Jr.,  was  chosen  vice-president; 
Spencer  Card,  secretary;  and  Mary  Hankins,  treasurer. 

Chester  C.  Heizer  was  elected  president  of  the  Border  Queen 
Museum  Association  at  a  meeting  of  the  board  February  4,  1957, 
in  Caldwell.  Other  officers  chosen  were:  Walker  Young,  first  vice- 
president;  Don  Stallings,  second  vice-president;  Frederick  Thomp- 
son, secretary;  and  Harry  Jenista,  treasurer.  J.  E.  Turner  is  resident 
agent  of  the  organization. 

Rolla  A.  Clymer,  editor  and  publisher  of  the  El  Dorado  Times 
and  president  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society,  was  recipient 
of  the  William  Allen  White  award  for  journalistic  merit  February 
11,  1957. 

The  newly  organized  Ottawa  County  Historical  Society  met  in 
Minneapolis  February  16,  1957,  adopted  a  constitution,  and  named 

(221) 


222  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

a  board  of  directors.  In  addition  to  the  officers,  those  elected  to 
the  board  included:  Glen  Adee,  Rolla  Geisen,  and  Louis  Ballou.  At 
a  meeting  in  Minneapolis  April  27  the  society  heard  historical  talks 
by  Mrs.  Louis  Ballou,  Mrs.  Bert  Bourne,  B.  E.  Ferris,  Ray  Halber- 
stadt,  and  Mrs.  Claud  Childs. 

The  Lyon  County  Historical  Society  met  in  Emporia,  March  4, 
1957,  for  its  annual  business  meeting.  Officers  were  elected  as 
follows:  O.  W.  Mosher,  president;  Sam  Mellinger,  first  vice-presi- 
dent; Fannie  E.  Williams,  second  vice-president;  Lucile  Owen, 
secretary;  Warren  Morris,  treasurer;  and  Lucina  Jones,  Mrs.  F.  L. 
Gilson,  and  Mabel  Edwards,  historians. 

Dr.  Dudley  T.  Cornish  reviewed  his  book,  The  Sable  Arm,  the 
story  of  Negro  soldiers  in  the  Civil  War,  at  a  February  27,  1957, 
meeting  of  the  Crawford  County  Historical  Society  in  Pittsburg. 
At  a  meeting  on  April  26  Nyle  Miller,  secretary  of  the  Kansas  State 
Historical  Society,  showed  and  commented  on  colored  slides  of 
historic  places  and  structures  in  Kansas.  Dr.  G.  W.  Weede  is 
president  of  the  Crawford  county  society. 

All  officers  were  re-elected  at  a  meeting  of  the  Ford  Historical 
Society  March  8,  1957.  They  are:  Mrs.  Walter  Umbach,  president; 
Mrs.  Harold  Patterson,  vice-president;  Mrs.  Addie  Plattner,  secre- 
tary-treasurer; Kathleen  Emrie,  historian;  and  Mrs.  W.  P.  Warner, 
custodian. 

The  Riley  County  Historical  Society  opened  its  museum  in  new 
quarters  in  the  Manhattan  city  building  April  7,  1957.  It  was  re- 
ported that  450  persons  visited  the  museum  the  first  three  days. 

Dr.  S.  J.  Sackett,  of  Fort  Hays  Kansas  State  College,  spoke  to  a 
meeting  of  the  Lane  County  Historical  Society  in  Dighton,  April 
8,  1957,  on  Kansas  folklore. 

Herman  M.  Quinius  was  elected  president  of  the  Wichita  His- 
torical Museum  Association  at  a  meeting  April  11,  1957.  Owen 
McEwen,  retiring  president,  was  named  first  vice-president.  Other 
officers  elected  were:  Mrs.  Schuyler  Jones,  Jr.,  second  vice-presi- 
dent; Morris  Neff,  Jr.,  secretary;  Carl  Bitting,  treasurer;  and  Mrs. 
Frank  Slay,  curator.  Elected  to  the  board  of  trustees  were:  Brace 
Helfrich,  R.  T.  Aitchison,  Bitting,  Gene  Combs,  Bertha  Gardner, 
Mrs.  Harry  Overend,  Britt  Brown,  Bruce  Petrie,  Waldo  Toevs,  E.  L. 
Meader,  Mrs.  Frank  Grabendike,  and  Wilh'am  Quiring.  The  mu- 
seum was  opened  in  its  new  quarters  at  3751  E.  Douglas,  May  19. 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES  223 

Events  included  in  Chetopa's  100th  birthday  celebration  May  4, 
1957,  were  a  parade,  a  calf  show,  an  Indian  dance,  and  presentation 
to  the  city  of  a  plaque  by  George  F.  Lisle,  honoring  his  father,  Dr. 
George  Lisle,  founder  of  Chetopa. 

Fort  Larned,  established  in  1859  as  Camp  Alert,  was  opened  to 
the  public  as  a  museum  and  place  of  historical  interest  with  colorful 
ceremonies  May  19,  1957.  Events  included  a  sham  battle  between 
cavalrymen  and  Indians,  talks  by  political  and  military  leaders, 
including  Col.  Brice  C.  W.  Custer,  grand  nephew  of  Gen.  George  A. 
Custer,  a  parade  of  military  units,  unveiling  of  the  dedicatory 
plaque,  and  raising  of  the  flag.  To  handle  the  maintenance  and 
administration  of  the  museum  the  Fort  Larned  Historical  Society 
has  been  organized.  The  fort  is  the  property  of  Robert  Frizell. 

Much  of  the  history  of  printing  in  Topeka  is  included  in  a  64-page 
booklet  recently  published  as  a  75th  anniversary  souvenir  by  Topeka 
Typographical  Union  No.  121. 

"1857— Emporia— 1957,"  by  Roger  Triplett,  was  the  featured 
article  in  Emporia's  76-page  historical  booklet,  published  as  a  part 
of  the  city's  centennial  observance. 

A  36-page  pamphlet  entitled  Ottawa-Kansas  City  Tornado,  by 
Joseph  B.  Muecke,  published  by  the  Central  Press,  Topeka,  presents 
the  story  and  pictures  of  the  destructive  tornado  of  May  20,  1957. 

Through  the  'Years,  a  50-page  pamphlet  by  Mrs.  Cecil  Moore  and 
Joy  Fox,  edited  by  Chas.  A.  Knouse,  was  published  by  the  Greeley 
centennial  committee  in  connection  with  Greeley's  recent  centen- 
nial celebration.  The  townsite  was  selected  in  1856,  settlement  and 
building  began  the  following  year. 

On  August  14,  1886,  the  Methodist  church  of  Hugoton  was  or- 
ganized under  the  direction  of  the  Rev.  A.  P.  George.  The  history 
of  this  church  was  recently  published  in  a  10-page  pamphlet.  The 
Rev.  Charles  Brown  was  the  first  pastor. 

The  lives  of  two  chiefs  of  the  Osage  Indians,  Black  Dog  and  his 
son,  also  named  Black  Dog,  are  reviewed  in  Tillie  Karns  Newman's 
new  221-page  book,  The  Black  Dog  Trail,  published  by  the  Christo- 
pher Publishing  House,  Boston. 


224  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

B.  Smith  Haworth  is  the  author  of  a  recently  published  174-page 
history  of  Ottawa  University  entitled  Ottawa  University:  Its  History 
and  Its  Spirit.  The  first  classes  were  held  in  1866,  although  efforts 
to  start  the  school  had  begun  several  years  before.  The  book  was 
published  by  the  Allen  Press,  Lawrence. 

Earning  the  Right  to  Do  Fancywork  is  described  by  the  author, 
Kunigunde  Duncan  (Mrs.  Bliss  Isely),  as  an  informal  biography  of 
Mrs.  Ida  Eisenhower.  It  is  a  38-page  booklet  published  by  the 
University  of  Kansas  Press  in  1957. 


D 


THE 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL 
QUARTERLY 


Autumn  1957 


1 


Published  by 

Kansas  State  Historical  Society 

Topeka 


NYLE  H.  MILLER  KIRKE  MECHEM  JAMES  C.  MALIN 

Managing  Editor  Editor  Associate  Editor 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  LECOMPTON  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION:    An  Analysis  of  Its  Mem- 
bership  Robert  W.   Johannsen,  225 

With   picture  of   Gen.   John   Calhoun,   facing  p.   240,   and   photograph   of   portion   of 
first   page   of  the   Lecompton   constitution,   facing   p.    241. 

THE   ORIGINAL   LECOMPTON   CONSTITUTION   RETURNS   TO   KANSAS   AFTER 

100  YEARS 244 

THOMAS  BENTON  MURDOCH  AND  WILLIAM  ALLEN  WHITE 

Rolla  A.  Clymer,  248 

With  portraits  of  Thomas  Benton  Murdock  and  William  Allen  White,  facing  p.  256. 

THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED William  E.   Unrau,  257 

With  a  sketch  of  Fort  Larned  (1867)  and  a  photograph  (1886),  facing  p.  272,  and 
a  facsimile  of  first  page  of  The  Plains,  an   1865  Fort  Larned  newspaper,  facing 
p.  273. 
NOTES  ON  Two  KANSAS  IMPEACHMENTS:    Josiah  Hayes,  1874,  and  Theo- 

dosius  Botkin,  1891 Cortez  A.  M.  Ewing,  281 

TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:    The  James  A.  Lord  Chicago  Dramatic 
Company,  1869-1871.     (In  two  installments,  Part  One) 

James  C.  Malin,  298 

BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY 324 

KANSAS  HISTORY  AS  PUBLISHED  IN  THE  PRESS 326 

KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES 333 

The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly  is  published  four  times  a  year  by  the  Kansas 
State  Historical  Society,  120  W.  Tenth,  Topeka,  Kan.,  and  is  distributed  free  to 
members.  Correspondence  concerning  contributions  may  be  sent  to  the  manag- 
ing 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 

An  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  inspection  train 
near  the  end  of  track,  50  miles  west  of  Dodge  City,  in 
the  fall  of  1872. 

The  blurred  appearance  of  the  man  on  horseback  was 
caused  by  movement  of  his  mount  while  the  time  ex- 
posure was  being  made.  Perhaps  to  his  surprise,  the 
photographer  came  up  with  an  excellent  silhouette  of 
himself  and  camera. 


THE  KANSAS 
HISTORICAL  aUARTERLY 

Volume  XXIII  Autumn,  1957  .     Number  3 

The  Lecompton  Constitutional  Convention: 
An  Analysis  of  Its  Membership 

ROBERT  W.  JOHANNSEN 

DURING  the  latter  years  of  the  decade  preceding  the  Civil  War, 
the  town  of  Lecompton,  Kansas  territory,  received  a  notoriety 
that  completely  belied  its  humble  and  dusty  existence.  Its  name 
became  a  byword  in  political  controversy.  Spread  across  news- 
paper columns  from  coast  to  coast  and  hurled  forth  by  countless 
political  speakers,  the  town's  name  came  to  symbolize  one  of  the 
most  significant  developments  in  a  growing  sectional  conflict.  An 
already  declining  Presidential  administration  was  further  weakened, 
an  additional  gash  was  torn  in  a  great  national  political  party  and 
the  Union  itself  was  brought  closer  to  the  brink  of  destruction  by 
the  events  which  Lecompton  symbolized. 

On  December  8,  1857,  President  James  Buchanan,  in  his  first 
message  to  congress,  reviewed  in  calm  and  approving  tones  the 
recent  events  in  Kansas.  A  constitutional  convention  had  assembled 
and  had  drafted  a  state  constitution  that  promised  to  settle  all  the 
difficulties  for  which  Kansas  had  become  notorious.  That  the  consti- 
tution to  which  Buchanan  referred  did  not  settle  these  difficulties, 
but  on  the  contrary,  created  new  and  insurmountable  ones,  has  be- 
come one  of  the  grim  and  inescapable  facts  of  the  pre-Civil  War 
decade. 

On  the  following  day,  December  9,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  senator 
from  Illinois  and  author  of  the  act  which  created  Kansas  territory, 
exploded  in  a  three-hour  address  to  the  senate.  The  action  of  the 
convention  was,  he  charged,  "a  mockery  and  insult,"  "a  system  of 
trickery  and  jugglery,"  and  the  fight  was  on.  In  the  resulting  melee, 
the  Kansans  who  had  participated  in  the  convention,  innocent  of 
the  reactions  that  would  greet  their  efforts,  were  denounced  and 
maligned.  Few  groups  of  frontier  politicians  and  state  makers 
have  suffered  more  at  the  hands  of  their  contemporaries  and  later 

DR.  ROBERT  W.  JOHANNSEN,  associate  professor  of  history  at  the  University  of  Kansas, 
Lawrence,  is  currently  on  leave  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  Madison,  as  visiting  lecturer 
in  history. 

(225) 


226  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

historians  than  the  members  of  the  constitutional  convention  that 
assembled  in  Lecompton  one  hundred  years  ago. 

Lecompton,  Kansas  territory,  was  at  the  height  of  its  prosperity  in 
1857.  Laid  out  in  the  spring  of  1855  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Kansas  river  about  50  miles  above  its  confluence  with  the  Missouri 
river,  the  town  was  named  for  Judge  Samuel  D.  Lecompte,  one 
of  the  first  justices  on  the  territorial  supreme  court  and  member  of 
the  original  town  company.  In  August,  1855,  the  territorial  legis- 
lature designated  Lecompton  the  capital  of  the  territory,  and  for 
the  next  few  years  the  town  served  as  the  headquarters  for  the 
Proslavery  element  in  Kansas.  With  a  population  of  one  thousand 
or  more  in  1857,  the  town  boasted  a  half  dozen  dry  goods  stores, 
a  school,  four  churches,  three  hotels  (described  as  "roomy"  in  the 
local  press),  and  a  livery  stable,  besides  the  land  office,  the  sur- 
veyor-general's office,  the  capitol,  and  the  United  States  court. 
Lots  in  the  center  of  town  were  priced  from  $500  to  $1,000  each. 

The  local  newspaper  editor  reported  that  the  town  was  in  the 
throes  of  rapid  and  unrestrained  growth;  the  din  and  clatter  of  the 
hammer,  plane,  and  saw  prevented  quiet  concentration.  Lecomp- 
ton already  had  direct  stage  and  express  connections  with  all  parts 
of  the  territory  and  steamboats  plied  the  Kansas  river.  A  bridge 
soon  to  be  constructed  across  the  Kansas  river  would  put  the  town 
on  the  shortest  route  between  the  Missouri  and  the  High  Plains.1 
The  correspondent  of  an  Eastern  newspaper  more  realistically  ob- 
served that  Lecompton  was  "not  particularly  progressive,"  owing 
its  trade  "more  to  the  fact  that  it  is  the  seat  of  Government  than  to 
any  advantage  of  location."  2 

In  February,  1857,  the  Kansas  territorial  legislature  passed  a  bill 
providing  for  a  convention  to  frame  a  state  constitution,  to  meet 
in  Lecompton  on  the  first  Monday  of  the  following  September. 
Delegates  to  the  convention  were  to  be  apportioned  among  the 
counties  on  the  basis  of  a  special  census  of  voters  carried  out  by  the 
sheriffs  and  supervised  by  the  local  county  officials.  The  election  of 
delegates  was  scheduled  for  June.  The  bill  was  vetoed  by  Gov. 
John  W.  Geary  in  one  of  his  last  acts  in  office  but  was  promptly 
passed  over  his  veto.3 

1.  A.  T.  Andreas  and  W.  G.  Cutler,  History  of  the  State  of  Kansas   (Chicago,  1883), 
p.  351;  Lecompton  Union,  April  11,  1857. 

2.  New  York  Times,  June  6,  1857.     One  young  settler  of  antislavery  proclivities  described 
Lecompton,  "The  only  proslavery  town  in  Kansas  that  flourishes  is  Lecompton,  and  that  is 
built  up  entirely  by  the  patronage  of  Uncle  Sam.     The  only  business  places  besides  one  or 
two  stores  are  lawyers'   shops   and   grogshops — and  the  United  States  Land  Office." — John 
Everett  to  his  father,  September  18,  1857,  "Letters  of  John  and  Sarah  Everett,  1854-1864: 
Miami  County  Pioneers,"  The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  Topeka,  v.  8    (August,   1939), 
p.  285. 

3.  The  bill  calling  a  constitutional  convention  was  passed  in  response  to  the  decision 
of  the  voters  at  the  previous  territorial  election,  when  the  question  of  forming  a  state  consti- 
tution was  approved  by  a  decisive  majority.     The  free-soil  element  in  the  territory,  however, 
had  boycotted  this  election  and  did  not  vote. 


THE  LECOMPTON  CONVENTION  227 

The  bill  met  the  immediate  hostility  of  the  antislavery  group  in 
the  territory.  Governor  Geary  reflected  this  opposition  in  his  veto 
message.  Not  only  was  the  statehood  movement  premature,4  in 
his  opinion,  but  the  apparatus  for  taking  the  census  and  registering 
the  voters  was  faulty,  being  entirely  in  the  hands  of  county  officials 
appointed  by  the  Proslavery  legislature.  Finally,  he  maintained, 
the  failure  of  the  legislature  to  insist  on  the  submission  of  the  con- 
stitution to  a  popular  vote  constituted  a  breach  of  legislative  re- 
sponsibility. When  the  secretary  of  the  territory,  Frederick  P. 
Stan  ton,  issued  a  proclamation  in  May  setting  forth  the  apportion- 
ment of  delegates  to  the  convention,  further  cries  of  opposition  were 
heard  from  the  Free-State  camp.  The  census  for  the  apportionment 
of  delegates  to  the  convention  was  not  taken  in  many  of  the  interior 
counties,  where  Free-State  sentiment  was  strong.  Out  of  an  esti- 
mated 20,000  adult  males  in  Kansas,  only  slightly  more  than  9,000 
were  registered.  Since  the  population  of  the  territory  was  heaviest 
in  the  eastern  counties,  these  areas  secured  the  largest  number  of 
delegates.  Thirty-seven  out  of  the  60  delegates  were  to  be  elected 
from  counties  bordering  on  Missouri,  thus  assuring,  the  free-soilers 
maintained,  a  thoroughly  Proslavery  body.  T.  Dwight  Thacher, 
editor  of  the  Lawrence  Republican,  expressed  the  point  of  view  of 
the  antislavery  group  when  he  wrote, 

A  corrupt,  bogus  concern,  calling  itself  the  Legislature  of  Kansas,  but  in 
reality  a  creation  of  fraud  and  violence,  passes  an  act  over  the  Governor's  veto 
for  taking  a  census  and  registry,  and  holding  an  election  for  delegates  to  a 
constitutional  convention.  That  act  is  framed  with  cunning  malignity  for  the 
express  purpose  of  defrauding  the  great  mass  of  people  of  any  voice  in  making 
the  constitution.  .  .  .  Nearly  half  of  the  counties  of  the  Territory  are  left 
off  of  the  returns.  .  .  .  The  sixty  delegates  are  all  apportioned,  and  the 
Missouri  River  districts,  where  a  pro-slavery  victory  has  been  made  sure,  get 
thirty-seven  out  of  the  sixty. 

He  urged  all  Free-State  men  to  ignore  this  election  as  they  had 
previous  territorial  elections,  in  the  hope  that  "no  Congress  will  dare 
to  admit  Kansas  with  a  constitution  based  upon  a  representation  in 
which  half  the  Territory  had  no  part."  5  Thacher's  advice  was  en- 
dorsed by  a  convention  of  Free-State  men  at  Topeka  just  three  days 
before  election  day. 

4.  Much  was  made  of  the  "prematurity"  of  this  statehood  movement  in  the  arguments 
condemning  the   action   of  the  legislature.      Later   historians   have   reiterated   this   argument 
without  taking  into  consideration  the  fact  that  statehood  movements  had  been  organized  in 
territories  with  smaller  populations  and  that  the  free-soil  group  in  Kansas  had  already  written 
a  state  constitution  and  appealed  to  congress  for  admission  as  a  state. 

5.  Lawrence  Republican,  June  11,  1857.     The  editor  of  one  of  the  Proslavery  journals 
in  the  territory,  himself  a  candidate  for  the  convention,  admitted  that  the  census  was  faulty, 
but  maintained  that  the  fault  lay  with  the  Free-State  men  who  refused  to  co-operate  with 
the  census  takers. — Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leavenworth,  June  13,  1857. 


228  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

The  election  for  the  60  delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention 
was  thus  a  one-sided  affair.  The  Democratic  party  organizations  on 
the  county  level,  dominated  by  Proslavery  men,  nominated  candi- 
dates and  in  most  counties  these  tickets  were  unopposed.  In  some 
of  the  counties  independent  slates  were  presented  in  opposition  to 
the  Proslavery  tickets,  but  these  tickets,  if  they  did  not  fall  apart 
before  election  day,  secured  almost  no  votes.  In  Leaven  worth  and 
Douglas  counties,  for  example,  Free-State  Democrats  attempted 
without  success  to  oppose  the  Proslavery  leadership  in  the  regular 
party  organizations.6  Only  slightly  more  than  2,000  voters  partici- 
pated in  the  election,  less  than  one  fourth  the  total  number  of  voters 
registered  in  the  census  and  only  one  tenth  of  the  estimated  adult 
population;  the  Proslavery  tickets  were  in  all  cases  successful.7  The 
election  was  denounced  as  a  sham  by  the  Free-State  elements  in  the 
territory  but  the  men  elected  to  the  convention  approached  the  task 
of  constitution-making  with  seriousness  and  a  great  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility. The  one-sided  nature  of  the  election  caused  some 
feelings  of  apprehension  among  Proslavery  men  in  the  territory,8 
but  for  the  most  part  they  were  confident  of  the  election's  legality. 

The  members  of  the  constitutional  convention  gathered  in  Le- 
compton  during  the  first  week  in  September,  1857.  The  town  was 
transformed.  Not  only  delegates,  but  also  newspaper  correspond- 
ents and  interested  bystanders  taxed  the  facilities  of  the  community. 
The  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald,  dispatched  to  Le- 
compton  just  to  cover  the  convention,  described  the  scene: 
Although  the  Constitutional  Convention  .  .  .  has  brought  to  this  miserable 
little  town  a  large  number  of  people — some  of  them  of  the  most  excitable 
character — everything  goes  on  quietly  and  peaceably.  There  has  been  so  far 
no  disturbance.  .  .  .  There  are  two  small  inns  here,  not  capable  of  ac- 
commodating properly  one-fifth  of  the  number  of  people  that  are  registered  as 
guests.  But  the  most  is  made  of  every  apartment  in  these  houses.  As  many 
beds  and  cots  as  can  be  got  into  a  room  are  laid  down,  and  as  many  persons 
as  they  can  possibly  hold  are  squeezed  into  each  of  them.  But  still  many  lie 
about  the  bar  rooms  and  even  under  the  trees  and  it  is  customary  to  consign 
to  the  barn  such  as  are  not  otherwise  provided  for.  There  is  not  a  private 
habitation  in  the  town  large  enough  to  admit  of  renting  an  apartment.9 

6.  Lecompton  Union,  June   12,   1857;   Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leavenworth,  June   13, 
1857;  New  York  Times,  June  25,  1857. 

7.  The  lightness  of  the  vote  was  explained  by  one  Proslavery  editor:    "The  vote  is  small 
but  it  would  have  been  much  larger  if  our  friends  had  thought  there  was  any  show  for  the 
opposition  ticket.     They  knew  it  would  be  defeated,  and  hence  they  made  no  effort  to  bring 
their  friends  to  the  polls." — Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  June  20,  1857.     Sen.  William  Bigler  or 
Pennsylvania,  visiting  in   Kansas   during  the   election,   reported   that  many  voters   were   in- 
different to  the  election  of  delegates,   confident  that  they  would  be   able  to  vote  on  the 
ratification  or  rejection  of  the  constitution  that  resulted. — Clearfield   (Pa.)   Republican,  July 
21,   1857,  quoted  in  Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  August   15,   1857. 

8.  The   correspondent    of   the    St.    Louis    Missouri   Democrat   wrote,    "The   Pro-Slavery 
residents  are  greatly  discomfited,  and  declare  that  the  Free-State  men  are  a  'd — d  stubborn 
set  of  people',"  quoted  in  the  New  York  Times,  June  27,  1857. 

9.  New  York  Herald,  September  19,  1857. 


THE  LECOMPTON  CONVENTION  229 

The  delegates  opened  their  convention  in  a  simple  two-story  frame 
building  on  September  7  and  remained  in  session  for  four  days. 
After  electing  permanent  officers  and  choosing  a  slate  of  committees, 
they  adjourned  until  the  19th  of  October.  One  of  the  delegates,  a 
newspaper  editor,  explained  that  the  adjournment  had  been  carried 
to  give  the  committees  time  to  gather  and  examine  information  and 
to  save  the  members  money.  "No  rooms  could  be  obtained  at 
Lecompton,"  he  wrote,  "for  the  sitting  of  the  different  committees. 
With  all  these  disadvantages  it  could  not  be  expected  that  members 
were  willing  to  remain  there  and  pay  $14  per  week  for  board."  10 

The  comments  of  the  Free-State  press  in  the  territory  on  the 
adjournment  were  probably  closer  to  the  truth.  An  election  for 
territorial  delegate  to  congress  and  for  members  of  the  territorial 
legislature  was  scheduled  for  the  first  week  in  October.  The  newly- 
arrived  territorial  governor,  Robert  J.  Walker,  had  made  repeated 
assurances  that  this  election  would  be  a  fair  and  impartial  one.  As 
a  result,  the  Free-State  group,  meeting  in  a  convention  at  Grass- 
hopper Falls  in  late  August,  pledged  their  participation  in  the  elec- 
tion. With  the  prospect  that  the  October  election  would  be  the  first 
in  the  territory  in  which  all  parties  participated,  the  hopes  of  the 
Proslavery  element  for  continued  domination  in  the  territorial 
government  dimmed.  The  Lecompton  convention,  it  was  said,  had 
adjourned  until  after  the  results  of  the  election  should  be  known. 
Its  deliberations,  particularly  with  regard  to  the  submission  of  the 
constitution  to  the  electorate  for  ratification,  would  depend  upon 
the  political  complexion  of  the  territory  after  the  election.11 

The  election  resulted  in  a  Free-State  triumph.  Marcus  J.  Parrott, 
the  Free-State  candidate  for  delegate  to  congress,  won  over  his 
opponent,  former  Michigan  governor  Epaphroditus  Ransom,  by  a 
decisive  majority.  After  Governor  Walker  threw  out  the  election 
returns  from  two  voting  areas  as  being  fraudulent,  the  Free-State 
group  counted  majorities  in  both  houses  of  the  territorial  legislature. 
Thus  the  cause  of  the  Proslavery  Lecompton  constitutional  conven- 
tion was  lost  before  it  got  under  way.  The  delegates  became  aware 
that  no  constitution  which  they  could  produce  would  possibly  be 
endorsed  by  the  voters  and  some  feared  that  congress  might  reject 
their  constitution  if  it  were  not  submitted  to  the  electorate  for 
approval.  There  were  rumors  that  the  delegates  would  resign  their 
positions  and  abandon  the  statehood  movement.12  However,  the 

10.  Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leavenworth,  September  26,  1857. 

11.  Lawrence  Republican,  September  10,  17,  1857;  New  York  Herald,  September  22, 
1857. 

12.  Ibid.     A  mass  meeting  of  the  Free-State   supporters  was  held   in  Lecompton   on 
October  19  to  protest  against  the  reassembling  of  the  convention. 


230  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

dilemma  in  which  some  of  the  delegates  may  have  found  themselves 
as  they  reassembled  in  Lecompton  in  October  did  not  concern  them 
for  long.  Many  recognized  instead  a  new  urgency  in  their  labors; 
the  last  hope  for  establishing  slavery  in  Kansas  now  resided  in  the 
Lecompton  movement. 

The  members  of  the  Lecompton  convention  were  denounced  in 
1857  by  the  Free-State  supporters,  and  they  have  been  generally 
condemned  by  subsequent  generations  of  historians.  To  the  editor 
of  the  Lawrence  Republican,  the  convention  was  a  "plug-ugly"  or 
"felon"  convention  and  its  members  were  "lawless  malefactors."  l3 
A  meeting  of  Free-State  men  at  Big  Springs  in  late  November  de- 
nounced the  proceedings  of  the  convention  as  the  "sublimated 
essence  of  all  villainies"  and  the  authors  of  the  new  constitution  as 
"traitors  and  villains,  fit  only  for  the  association  of  robbers  and 
outlaws."  14  Preston  B.  Plumb,  editor  of  the  strongly  antislavery 
Kanzas  News,  of  Emporia,  described  the  convention  as  a  "conclave 
of  broken-down  political  hacks,  demagogues,  fire-eaters,  perjurers, 
ruffians,  ballot-box  stuff ers,  and  loafers."  Under  the  heading  "The 
Roll  of  Infamy"  he  listed  the  members  of  the  convention  and  for 
some  of  them  provided  brief  thumb-nail  sketches  in  the  most  un- 
complimentary language.15  William  Phillips,  the  correspondent  of 
Horace  Greeley's  New  York  Tribune,  emphasized  the  "grotesque" 
appearance  and  intemperate  drinking  habits  of  the  delegates.16  But 
the  peak  of  invective  came  from  the  pen  of  the  correspondent  for  a 
New  Hampshire  newspaper: 

A  more  incongruous  mass  of  heterogeneous  materials  than  this  said  Convention, 
it  has  never  been  my  lot  to  meet.  I  do  verily  believe  that  if  the  Messrs.  Fowler 
of  New  York  City  were  to  come  out  here  and  take  casts  of  the  heads  of  the 
delegates,  they  would  make  such  a  splendid  addition  to  their  phrenologic 
museum  of  "busts  of  distinguished  criminals"  as  could  be  procured  under  no 
other  circumstances.  The  low,  retreating  foreheads — the  red,  inflamed  eyes; 
the  bulging  development  of  animalism  at  the  back  of  the  cranium,  eclipsed 
everything  I  have  heretofore  seen  or  ever  again  hope  to  see.  You  might  rake 
the  purlieus  of  the  "Five  Points"  of  New  York  City  to  their  very  dregs,  but  you 
could  find  nothing  whose  characteristics  of  depravity  were  more  marked  than 
those  of  the  men  who  have  usurped  the  office  of  law-makers  of  the  people  of 
Kansas.  .  .  . 

Faces  so  much  like  snakes  you  could  hear  their  sibilant  hisses. 

Faces  like  trodden  worms,  beseeching  you  to  let  them  wriggle  to  their  holes. 

Faces  like  a  tormented  conscience,  livid  with  rage,  and  purple  with  the  pains 
of  hell. 

13.  Lawrence  Republican,  December  3,  10,  1857. 

14.  Ibid.,  December  10,  1857. 

15.  Kanzas  News,  Emporia,  November  21,  1857. 

16.  New  York  Tribune,  November  6,  19,  1857. 


THE  LECOMPTON  CONVENTION  231 

Faces  like  the  concentrated  essence  of  all  meanness  and  all  scoundrelism; 
faces  which  struck  a  chill  to  your  heart  like  death. 

Such  are  the  faces  of  some  of  those  who  are  to  draft  a  State  Constitution  for 
the  government  of  the  people  of  Kansas.17 

The  Proslavery  press  in  both  the  territory  and  the  South  devoted 
little  space  to  a  discussion  of  the  character  of  the  convention  mem- 
bership. To  this  element,  the  convention  was  a  regularly  constituted 
body,  legally  elected,  and  differing  but  little  from  other  such  bodies 
in  other  territories. 

Against  the  great  body  of  denunciation  emanating  from  the  Free- 
State  spokesmen,  the  description  of  the  convention  by  Samuel  G. 
Reid,  editor  of  the  Proslavery  Tecumseh  Note  Book  and  a  member 
of  that  body,  seemed  pitiful  and  ineffectual.  "Of  one  thing  we 
cannot  be  mistaken,"  Reid  wrote,  "rarely  have  so  able,  zealous,  and 
commanding  a  body  of  men,  young  and  old,  presided  over  the  or- 
ganization of  a  sovereign  State  of  the  American  Union."  But  Reid 
continued,  "The  rights  of  the  South  can,  shall,  and  must  be  main- 
tained." 18  John  Calhoun,  elected  president  of  the  convention, 
reiterated  these  sentiments  in  his  opening  address:  "I  think  that  the 
character  of  the  members  of  this  convention  over  which  I  have  the 
honor  to  preside,  ought  to  give  the  world  assurance  that  their  de- 
liberations will  result,  not  merely  in  the  settlement  of  difficulties 
here,  but  in  the  settlement  of  the  question  as  to  whether  this  Union 
shall  continue.  .  .  ." 19 

Some  of  the  venom  of  the  Free-State  men  fell  upon  the  town  of 
Lecompton.  As  the  center  of  Proslavery  influence  in  the  territory, 
the  community  had  never  enjoyed  a  high  degree  of  popularity  with 
the  antislavery  group.20  As  the  meeting  place  of  the  constitutional 
convention,  the  town  became  the  target  of  additional  verbal  abuse. 
The  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  who  seldom  failed  to 
mention  the  drinking  habits  of  the  Proslavery  men  in  his  dispatches, 
referred  to  Lecompton  as  "this  celebrated  whisky-drinking  capital" 
and  reported  that  on  election  day  "the  grog-shops  were  closed  in 
Lecompton,  which  well-nigh  amounted  to  a  total  abolition  of  the 
business  of  the  place  for  the  time  being."  21  Preston  Plumb's  Kanzas 

17.  Kansas  correspondence  of  the  Concord   (N.  H.)   Independent  Democrat,  quoted  in 
Lawrence  Republican,  October  8,  1857. 

18.  Tecumseh  Note  Book,  September   18,   1857. 

19.  Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leavenworth,  September  19,  1857. 

20.  The   New   York   Times  correspondent   wrote   of   Lecompton   in   May,    1857,   "Being 
recognized   throughout  the   Territory   as   the   rendezvous — the   point  d'appui   of  the   'Border 
Ruffians' — its  social  reputation  in  the  Free  State  towns  is  not  peculiarly  flattering.      So  far 
as  I  have  seen  it,  however,  I  feel  called  upon  to  say  that  a  more  friendly,  generous,  warm- 
hearted and  intelligent  people  than  that  of  this  same  Lecompton  I  have  not  met  since  my 
entrance  into  Kansas,"  June  6,  1857. 

21.  New  York  Tribune,  October  8,  15,  1857. 


232  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

New s  described  the  assembling  of  the  convention  delegates  in  Le- 
compton  after  the  adjournment: 

It's  the  meanest  town  that  ever  was  manufactured  for  a  speculation.  It's  one 
of  the  towns  we  read  of.  In  the  summer  time  it  is  overrun  with  rattlesnakes, 
most  of  the  fall  and  spring  by  mud,  and  by  loafers  and  land  sharks  all  seasons 
of  the  year.  ...  It  ought  to  be  good  for  the  Constitution  to  sit  and  hear 
them  [the  delegates],  for  I  declare  to  patience,  Job  couldn't  keep  from  laughing. 
.  />  .  They  have  been  here  just  ten  days  since  the  adjournment,  and  have 
done  so  near  nothing  that  I  can't  tell  the  difference.  The  first  four  days  were 
spent  without  a  quorum,  in  swearing  against  the  absentees,  making  big  mouths 
at  all  Governors  and  Secretaries,  and  drinking  all  the  whisky  they  could  get 
on  credit  or  in  treats  from  those  who  wanted  to  take  care  of  the  constitutions 
of  the  delegates  rather  than  the  constitution  of  the  future  State.22 

To  the  editor  of  the  Lawrence  Republican,  Lecompton  was  "the 
citadel  of  usurpers  of  the  rights  and  powers  of  a  harrassed  and  down- 
trodden people/'23 

Most  historians  of  the  pre-Civil  War  decade  have  shown  a  ten- 
dency to  continue  in  the  tradition  of  denunciation  established  by  the 
antislavery  press  in  the  1850's,  probably  because  the  most  complete, 
although  at  the  same  time  the  most  biased,  reports  of  the  convention 
proceedings  were  those  of  the  antislavery  newspaper  correspond- 
ents. In  1948  Roy  Franklin  Nichols,  in  his  Pulitzer  Prize  winning 
Disruption  of  American  Democracy,  dismissed  the  membership  of 
the  Lecompton  convention  with  the  comment  that  it  was 

composed  of  poor  material.  Its  members  were  largely  ignorant,  unstable, 
frontier  adventurers,  too  often  drunk.  Though  the  convention  officially  num- 
bered sixty,  a  large  part  were  irregular  in  attendance  and  inattentive  when 
present  .  .  .  the  manner  of  conducting  business  was  slovenly  in  the  ex- 
treme.24 

Two  years  later,  Allan  Nevins,  in  his  study  of  the  controversial  1850's, 
relied  heavily  on  the  New  York  Tribune  and  Plumb's  Kanzas  News 
for  his  descriptions  of  the  convention  members.  "Any  critic  of 
democracy,"  Nevins  maintained,  "who  wished  to  indict  its  American 
workings  would  have  done  well  to  attend  the  constitutional  con- 
vention which  sat  at  Lecompton  in  the  fall  of  1857."  By  far  the 
greater  majority  of  delegates,  according  to  Nevins,  were  "ignorant, 
semi-illiterate,  and  prejudiced  men."  25  In  1956  Nevins  wrote  that 
the  convention  delegates  were  "a  handful  of  ignorant,  reckless,  semi- 
drunken  settlers  .  .  .  led  by  a  few  desperadoes  of  politics 

22.  Kanzas  News,  Emporia,  November  7,  1857. 

23.  Lawrence  Republican,  December  10,  1857. 

24.  Roy  Franklin  Nichols,  The  Disruption  of  American  Democracy  (New  York,  1948), 
p.   121. 

25.  Allan  Nevins,  The  Emergence  of  Lincoln  (2  vols.,  New  York,  1950),  v.  1,  p.  229. 


THE  LECOMPTON  CONVENTION  233 

.  .  .  the  shabbiest  conclave  of  its  kind  ever  held  on  American 
soil."26 

What  were  these  delegates  to  the  Lecompton  convention  really 
like?  Was  the  vituperation  levelled  against  the  meeting  by  the 
antislavery  press  justified  by  the  character  of  the  members  them- 
selves? Was  this  convention  any  more  "shabby"  in  its  composition 
than  other  such  frontier  political  meetings?  The  answers  to  these 
questions  are  not  easily  available.  Many  of  the  men  who  sat  at 
Lecompton  in  the  fall  of  1857  have  slipped  into  almost  complete 
obscurity.  Most  of  them  left  Kansas  following  the  convention  when 
it  was  apparent  that  their  cause  had  been  lost.27 

One  eastern  newspaper  correspondent  who  attended  the  opening 
of  the  deliberations  in  September,  1857,  reported  that  the  Lecomp- 
ton convention  differed  but  little  from  similar  conventions  in  other 
parts  of  the  country: 

As  to  the  personnel  of  the  Convention,  I  have  nothing  unfavorable  to  say.  It 
differed  not  at  all  from  the  usual  construction  of  party  conventions  in  New  York 
and  elsewhere.  There  was  the  usual  supply  of  bores — men  who  will  talk, 
though  it  be  nonsense,  and  will  make  speeches  which  no  one  wants  to  hear, 
which  few  can  understand,  and  which  tax  the  ingenuity  of  the  reporter  to  shape 
into  correct  English.  There  were  also  pretentious  young  lawyers  innumerable, 
and  several  equally  pretentious  young  editors.  And  finally,  there  was  a  large 
proportion  of  farmers  and  country  shopkeepers,  (merchants  they  call  them- 
selves) few  of  whom  were  talkers,  while  some  of  them  were  practical  business 
men  and  not  unused  to  the  work  of  political  conventions.  It  was,  altogether, 
a  body  of  ordinary  respectability;  but  it  struck  me  as  being  one  little  qualified 
to  frame  an  organic  law  or  perform  a  work  of  such  immense  responsibility  and 
requiring  so  much  legal,  political,  and  historical  knowledge.  One  of  two  of  the 
delegates  only  appeared  to  me  to  be  so  qualified.  The  rest  might  do  very  well 
for  county  conventions  or  even  for  State  Legislature,  but  were  rather  out  of 
their  sphere  in  a  convention  to  frame  a  constitution.28 

An  examination  of  the  membership  of  the  convention  bears  out  this 
conclusion. 

Although  the  number  of  delegates  actually  participating  in  the 
proceedings  varied  from  time  to  time,  a  total  of  55  out  of  the  60 
elected  were  present  at  one  time  or  another.  Only  45  of  these 
signed  the  finished  constitution.  Five  of  the  elected  delegates  never 
appeared  in  Lecompton.  Like  most  frontier  political  conventions, 
the  Lecompton  convention  was  primarily  a  gathering  of  young  men. 

26.  Allan  Nevins,  "The  Needless  Conflict,"  American  Heritage,  New  York,  v.  7,  No.  5 
(August,  1956),  pp.  6,  88. 

27.  An  examination  of  the  1860  census  schedules  for  Kansas  has  revealed  that  41  out 
of  the  55  members  who  attended  the  deliberations  were  not  residing  in  Kansas  during  that 
year.     At  least  two  of  these  were  deceased  by  1860;  two  others  were  living  in  the  Colorado 
mining  country. 

i  ,28vNew  Yo,rk  Herald>  September  22,  1857.  The  reports  of  the  Herald  correspondent, 
although  more  objective  in  their  tone,  have  been  ignored  by  most  historians  in  favor  of  the 
fiery  antislavery  accounts  of  the  New  York  Tribune. 


234  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Thirty-seven  members  were  below  40  years  of  age  and  18  of  these 
were  in  their  20's;  only  nine  members  were  over  50.  The  youngest 
delegate  was  Batt.  Jones,  21  years  of  age,  representing  Johnson 
county,  although  residing  in  Westport,  Mo.  The  eldest  was  Dr. 
Blake  Little,  a  Fort  Scott  physician,  64  years  old.  The  delegates 
were  almost  wholly  from  slave  states.  Only  12  members  had  been 
born  in  free  states  and  only  six  had  resided  in  free  states  before 
migrating  to  Kansas.  More  delegates  had  been  born  in  Kentucky 
than  in  any  other  state;  Virginia,  Georgia,  and  Tennessee  followed 
in  that  order.  A  majority  of  the  members  originated  in  the  border 
region,  both  slave  and  free,  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys,  the 
area  that  contributed  the  most  to  the  peopling  of  the  West  and 
represented  a  stronghold  of  conservatism  during  the  sectional  con- 
flict.29 In  occupation,  there  were  more  farmers  in  the  convention 
than  any  other  group,  followed  by  lawyers,  merchants,  newspaper 
editors,  and  physicians.30 

Politically,  the  Lecompton  convention,  with  some  exceptions,  was 
a  conservative  body.  Thirty-four  of  its  members  were  Democrats 
and  seven  still  called  themselves  Whigs,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
Whig  party  by  1857  had  disappeared  as  a  political  force.  Twenty 
had  been  Whigs  before  their  arrival  in  Kansas.  The  remaining 
members  employed  such  labels  as  Proslavery,  State  Rights,  Ultra 
Southern  Rights,  Nullifier,  and  Ultra  Democrat  to  describe  their 
political  affiliations.31 

All  the  members  were  Proslavery  in  their  sympathies  and  at  least 
seven  of  them  were,  or  had  been,  slave  owners.32  One  of  these,  a 
Leavenworth  county  farmer  named  Jesse  Connell,  expressed  the 
views  of  the  majority  of  his  colleagues  when  he  argued  that  since 
slavery  already  existed  in  the  territory,  the  convention  should  "recog- 
nize the  institution  as  it  now  exists  and  throw  around  it  the  same 
safeguards  that  they  would  any  other  vested  property." 

Having  been  born  and  raised  in  Kentucky  [he  continued],  having  owned 
slaves  all  my  life,  unfortunately  for  me  perhaps,  I  have  always  considered  the 

29.  The  places   of  birth   of  the  convention  delegates   were   as  follows:     Kentucky   18, 
Virginia  7,  Georgia  6,  Tennessee  5,  Pennsylvania  4,  Missouri  2,  Ohio  2,  Alabama  2,  North 
Carolina  2,  Indiana  1,  Iowa  1,  Massachusetts  1,  New  York  1,  South  Carolina  1,  Illinois  1, 
and  Michigan  1.     Not  all  of  the  delegates  had  come  to  Kansas  directly  from  the  states  of 
their  births.     Thirty-eight  of  them  had  resided  in  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
Illinois  immediately  before  their  arrival  in  Kansas. 

30.  Farmers    21,    lawyers    11,    merchants    8,    newspaper    editors    6,    physicians    5,    and 
mechanic,  surveyor,  stone  mason,  and  carpenter,   1  each. 

31.  The  statistical  information  dealing  with  the  age,  birthplace,  residence  before  Kansas, 
occupation,  and  political  affiliation  of  each  of  the  members  has  in  large  part  been  drawn 
from  a  table  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  November  19,  1857.     This  table  was  based  on  writ- 
ten statements  from  each  of  the  delegates. 

32.  J.  H.  Barlow,  Jesse  Connell,  Rush  Elmore,  Blake  Little,  William  Mathews,  John  M. 
Wallace,  and  William  Walker. — Kansas  Historical  Collections,  v.  7    (1901-1902),  pp.  238- 
240,  v.    10    (1907-1908),  p.    184;   Kansas  Weekly  Herald,   Leavenworth,  June   13,    1857; 
"Kansas  Territorial  Census,  1855"   (manuscript  returns  in  Kansas  State  Historical  Society). 


THE  LECOMPTON  CONVENTION  235 

system  a  good  one  and  that  the  condition  of  the  slave  is  preferable  to  that  of 
the  free  negro.  I  should  always  be  opposed  to  the  admission  of  free  negroes 
into  the  Territory,  as  a  free  negro  population  is  conceded  to  be  worthless  by  all 
intelligent  and  thinking  men,  both  at  the  North  and  South.33 

The  antipathy  toward  the  free  Negro  in  Kansas  was  not  limited  to 
the  Proslavery  group  but  had  been  expressed  as  well  by  the  Free- 
State  men  in  their  earlier  Topeka  statehood  movement.  Not  only 
were  the  Proslavery  attitudes  of  Kansans  in  1857  justified  by  racial 
arguments  but  they  were  also  supported  by  an  appeal  to  economic 
considerations.  The  large  majority  of  the  Kansas  population,  wrote 
one  correspondent,  was  desirous  only  of  "promoting  their  individual 
wealth  and  the  general  prosperity  of  the  Territory.  If  they  were 
of  opinion  that  the  establishment  of  slavery  in  the  Territory  were 
more  calculated  to  produce  that  end,  there  would  be  undoubtedly 
a  large  majority  in  favor  thereof  without  any  reference  to  politics; 
and  vice  versa."34  This  notion  that  slavery  was  simply  a  matter 
of  "dollars  and  cents"  was  a  typical  frontier  attitude  toward  the 
institution.35 

Although  occupying  the  same  general  Proslavery  position,  the 
delegates  expressed  differing  opinions  regarding  the  advisability  of 
imposing  the  institution  on  Kansas  against  the  will  the  people, 
especially  after  the  October  elections  indicated  a  Free-State  ma- 
jority in  the  territory.  The  conservatism  of  the  convention  was 
ruffled  by  a  small  group  of  Proslavery  fanatics.  Three  Georgia-born 
delegates,  Lucius  Boling,  a  Lecompton  attorney  described  as  "the 
finest  looking  man  of  the  lot,  tall,  with  dark  hair  and  eyes,  and  con- 
siderable talent"; 86  Joshua  H.  Danforth,  correspondent  of  the 
Charleston  Mercury,  "a  dangerous  foe  and  a  devoted  partizan";  37 
and  Batt.  Jones,  who  was  in  correspondence  with  Ho  well  Cobb, 
Buchanan's  secretary  of  the  treasury,  during  the  sitting  of  the  con- 
vention,38 together  with  William  H.  Jenkins  of  South  Carolina,  led 
those  who  argued  that  Kansas  must  be  made  a  slave  state  at  all 
hazards.  Of  this  group,  the  correspondent  of  the  St.  Louis  Missouri 
Republican,  a  Democratic  newspaper,  wrote, 

They  are  as  fanatic  in  their  views  as  the  ultra  Massachusetts  abolitionists, 
and  equally  as  honest  in  avowing  their  purposes  and  objects,  that  they  would 
as  soon  see  the  Union  dissolved  as  not  see  Kansas  admitted  as  a  slave  State. 

33.  Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leavenworth,  June  13,  1857. 

34.  New  York  Herald,  September  19,  1857. 

35.  See  Robert  W.  Johannsen,  Frontier  Politics  and  the  Sectional  Conflict:  The  Pacific 
Northwest  on  the  Eve  of  the  Civil  War  (Seattle,  1955),  ch.  2. 

36.  Kanzas  News,  Emporia,  November  21,  1857. 

37.  Ibid. 

38.  Howell  Cobb  to  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  October  9,  1857,  Ulrich  B.  Phillips,  ed., 
The  Correspondence  of  Robert  Toombs,  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  and  Howell  Cobb,  Annual 
Report  of  the  American  Historical  Association  1911   (Washington,  1913),  v.  2,  p.  424. 


236  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

With  the  exception  of  Boiling  of  Douglas  (who  is  young  and  talented)  there 
is  not  a  leader  of  the  ultra  proslavery  interest  on  the  floor  of  the  Convention  who 
will  come  up  to  mediocrity.  They  are  a  burlesque,  in  my  opinion,  upon  South- 
ern statesmanship. 

Of  the  rest  of  the  delegates,  this  correspondent  reported,  "Much  the 
largest  portion  of  the  Convention  are  proslavery  in  sentiment,  but 
conservative  in  their  political  action  .  .  .  and,  I  think,  with  a 
single  exception,  they  have  all  or  most  of  the  talent  in  that  body."  39 
The  New  York  Herald  correspondent  supported  this  conclusion. 
By  1857,  he  reported,  the  conviction  was  growing  in  Kansas,  even 
among  the  Proslavery  men,  that  slavery  would  not  enhance  the  local 
economy.  From  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  delegates,  he 
wrote,  "you  would  find  that  most  of  them,  particularly  responsible 
settlers  and  property  holders,  while  they  had  'slave  State'  on  their 
lips  had  'free  State'  in  their  hearts/'  The  few  extremists,  he  con- 
tinued, "are  men  who  came  here  on  principle,  and  who  stand  ready 
to  vacate  Kansas  so  soon  as  that  principle  is  defeated."  40 

As  in  many  frontier  political  conventions,  the  members  of  the 
Lecompton  meeting  had  little  previous  political  experience,  and  for 
most  of  them,  service  in  the  convention  was  to  be  their  last  excursion 
into  local  politics.41  Seventeen  of  the  delegates  had  been,  or  were 
at  the  time,  either  members  of  the  Kansas  territorial  legislature,42 
or  officers  in  their  county  governments.43  A  large  proportion  of  them 
were  active  in  the  territorial  Democratic  party  organization.44 

Three  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  convention  were 
William  Walker,  John  Calhoun,  and  Rush  Elmore.  Walker,  a 
member  of  the  Wyandotte  Indian  nation,  had  resided  in  Kansas 

39.  Correspondence  of  the  St.  Louis  Missouri  Republican,  quoted  in  New  York  Herald, 
November   17,   1857. 

40.  New  York  Herald,  September  22,  1857.  .  ,r 

41.  There  are  some  exceptions,  Jesse  Connell,  a  life-long  slave  owner,  was   elected  to 
Kansas'  first  state  legislature;   James   Adkins  later  became  a  member  of  the   Missouri  state 
legislature;   Thomas  Jefferson  Key  was  elected  to  the  Arkansas  state  legislature;   and  Isaac 
Hascall  put  his  experience  in  the  Lecompton  convention  to  good  use  as  a  member  of  the 
Nebraska  constitutional  convention,  later  becoming  a  member  of  the  Nebraska  legislature. — 
Kansas  Historical  Collections,  v.   10   (1907-1908),  p.  238;  Atchison  Daily  Globe,  July   10, 
1909;  Wirt  Armistead  Gate,  ed.,  Two  Soldiers:    The  Campaign  Diaries  of  Thomas  J.  Key, 
C.S.A.,  and  Robert  J.  Campbell,  U.S.A.  (Chapel  Hill,  1948),  p.  4;  "Kansas  Biographical 
Scrapbooks,  H,"  v.  10,  pp.  167-172   (Kansas  State  Historical  Society). 

42.  James  Adkins,  Harrison  Butcher,   Cyrus  Dolman,  Lucian  Eastin,  William   Heiskell, 
William  Jenkins,  James  Kuykendall,  Blake  Little,  David  Lykins,  John  W.  Martin,  and  Hugh 
M.  Moore.— Kansas  Historical  Collections,  v.  10  (1907-1908),  pp.  170,  208;  Daniel  Webster 
Wilder,  The  Annals  of  Kansas,  1541-1885   (Topeka,  1886),  pp.  60,  61,  140,  149. 

43.  James  Adkins,  Alexander  Bayne,  Harrison  Butcher,  Cyrus  Dolman,  William  Heiskell, 
Samuel  Kookagee,  James  Kuykendall,  Claiborne  R.   Mobley,  John  S.  Randolph,  M.  Pierce 
Rively  and  Hiero  Wilson.     Kuykendall  had  been  sheriff  of  Platte  county,  Missouri,  for  four 
years  before  moving  to  Kansas. — Kansas  Historical  Collections,  v.  10  (1907-1908),  pp.  208, 
648;  Andreas  and  Cutler,  op.  cit.,  pp.  311,  422,  521,  941,  1071,  1304;  George  A.  Root, 
"Ferries   in  Kansas,"   Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  v.  2    (November,    1933),  p.   358;    "Col- 
lected Biography,  Clippings,"  v.  1,  p.  38   (Kansas  State  Historical  Society). 

44.  Nineteen  of  the  members  of  the  Lecompton  constitutional  convention  sat  as  dele- 
gates  in    a   convention    of   the    "National    Democratic"    party    of    Kansas    territory,    held   at 
Lecompton  during  the  summer  of  1857. — Kansas  National  Democrat,  Lecompton,  July  30, 
1857. 


THE  LECOMPTON  CONVENTION  237 

since  1843  when  his  tribe  was  removed  from  the  Ohio  valley  to  a 
small  reservation  at  the  confluence  of  the  Kansas  and  Missouri 
rivers.  Born  in  Michigan  and  educated  at  Kenyon  College  in  Ohio, 
Walker  had  owned  slaves  since  1847.  In  1853  he  was  elected  gov- 
ernor of  the  provisional  government  of  "Nebraska  territory,"  a  nebu- 
lous organization  promoted  by  certain  members  of  the  emigrant 
Indian  tribes  to  safeguard  their  interests  west  of  the  Missouri  river.45 
Although  to  the  Free-State  men,  Walker  was  "completely  broken 
down  by  intemperance,"  his  election  to  the  convention  was  a  source 
of  gratification  to  some  in  the  area.  One  editor  wrote, 

Aside  from  his  known  and  acknowledged  ability,  it  is  but  right  that  the  red 
men  should  have  one  of  their  own  race  in  the  convention  which  frames  the 
organic  law  for  the  State  of  Kansas.  They  have  a  deep  interest  in  the  results  of 
this  constitutional  movement,  and  need  a  representative  bound  to  them  by 
blood  as  well  as  by  friendship  ...  it  will  be  the  first  instance  in  our 
history  where  the  Indian  participated  in  enacting  the  fundamental  laws  of  a 
civilized  Stated 

John  Calhoun  was  the  most  controversial  of  the  members  of  the 
Lecompton  convention.  As  surveyor-general  of  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska territories,  with  headquarters  at  Lecompton,  Calhoun  had 
come  to  be  regarded  as  the  real  power  in  the  territorial  government. 
Although  a  New  Englander  by  birth,  he  had  spent  his  entire  life  in 
Illinois  where  he  became  a  close  personal  friend  of  both  Abraham 
Lincoln,  to  whom  he  taught  surveying,  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
whose  cause  he  served  in  local  Illinois  politics.  He  had  been  a 
member  of  the  Illinois  state  legislature,  mayor  of  Springfield  for 
three  terms  and  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  congress  before  he 
was  appointed  to  office  in  Kansas  territory  in  1854.  Calhoun  was 
elected  president  of  the  convention,  a  wise  choice  according  to  one 
correspondent  who  described  him  as  "a  discreet,  conservative  man 
.  .  .  a  gentleman  of  profound  talents,  and  broad,  liberal  and 
comprehensive  views."47  To  a  second  correspondent,  he  was  "a 
clever  democratic  manager,  a  shrewd  politician,  and  an  astute  and 
energetic  laborer  in  the  cause  of  conservative  democracy."48  He 
was  regarded  in  the  territory  as  a  champion  of  the  Proslavery  cause. 
"Born  and  raised  in  the  North,"  wrote  one  local  editor,  "his  sym- 
pathies are  all  with  the  South,  and  he  is  to-day  stronger  on  the 

45.  Kansas   Historical  Collections,  v.   9    (1905-1906),   p.   85.      See,  also,   William   E. 
Connelley,  The  Provisional  Government  of  Nebraska  Territory,  Proceedings  and  Collections  of 
the  Nebraska  State  Historical  Society  (Lincoln,  1899),  series  2,  v.  3. 

46.  Kanzas  News,  Emporia,  November  21,  1857;  Kansas  City   (Mo.)  Enterprise,  June 
13,  1857. 

47.  Correspondence  of  the  St.  Louis  Missouri  Republican,  quoted  in  New  York  Herald, 
November  17,  1857. 

48.  New  York  Times,  September  17,  1857. 


238  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

slavery  question  than  one  half  of  those  born  and  raised  in  the 
South." 49  For  the  same  reason,  the  Free-State  element  looked 
upon  Calhoun  with  contempt.  Preston  Plumb  described  him  as  "a 
choice  specimen  of  the  genus  homo  known  as  political  demagogue 
.  •  < .  .  his  principal  aim  has  been  to  advance  ruffianism,  annoy  the 
Free  State  men,  drink  bad  liquor  and  do  the  smallest  amount  of 
work  possible."  50  Much  of  the  criticism  of  the  Lecompton  con- 
vention was  heaped  on  Calhoun  and  his  reputation  and  career  was 
one  of  the  principal  casualties  of  the  Lecompton  movement. 

Rush  Elmore,  "a  keen  party  leader,  an  acute,  high-minded,  and 
well-disposed  Southern  Democrat," 51  was  conceded  even  by  the 
Free-State  press  to  be  a  man  of  outstanding  ability.  An  Alabaman 
by  birth,  Elmore  had  served  in  the  Mexican  War  and  practiced  law 
in  Montgomery  in  partnership  with  William  Lowndes  Yancey  before 
being  appointed  by  President  Pierce  to  the  supreme  court  of  Kan- 
sas territory.  He  moved  to  Kansas  shortly  after  his  appointment 
with  his  family  and  14  slaves,  becoming  one  of  the  original  pro- 
prietors of  the  town  of  Tecumseh  in  Shawnee  county.  Removed 
from  office  in  the  fall  of  1855  because  of  alleged  speculation  in 
Indian  lands,  Elmore  was  reappointed  to  the  supreme  court  by 
President  Buchanan,  and  remained  in  this  office  until  Kansas  was 
admitted  to  the  Union  as  a  state  in  January,  1861.  Even  Plumb 
admitted  that  he  was  "decidedly  the  most  talented  of  his  profession 
ever  appointed  to  office  in  Kanzas,"  although  he  hastily  added  that 
Elmore  was  nonetheless  "unscrupulous  and  designing  ...  a 
schemer  [whose]  physiognomy  expresses  a  mixture  of  cunning  and 
intellect,  vigor  and  weakness,  and  animal  passions,  restrained  by 
a  desire  to  appear  decent."  52 

One  of  the  most  important  positions  in  the  convention  was  the 
chairmanship  of  the  committee  on  slavery.  Not  only  was  this  com- 
mittee charged  with  the  responsibility  of  formulating  the  slavery 
provisions  of  the  constitution,  but  it  also  was  compelled  to  grapple 
with  the  submission  issue.  This  important  post  fell  to  Hugh  M. 
Moore,  a  young  native  of  Georgia  and  a  prominent  Leaven  worth 
attorney.  Moore,  in  addition  to  occupying  this  key  chairmanship, 

49.  Lecompton  Union,  November  20,   1856. 

50.  Kanzas  News,  Emporia,  November  21,  1857.     Allan  Nevins  has  accepted  the  Free- 
State  estimate  of  Calhoun,  describing  him  as  a  man  whose  "limited  moral  stamina  had  been 
weakened  by  whiskey,"  with  "florid  face,  swinish  eyes,  and  Bardolph  nose"  and  a  "drink- 
fogged  mind." — Emergence  of  Lincoln,  v.  1,  pp.  230-233.     For  a  brief  biographical  sketch 
of  Calhoun,  see  Dictionary  of  American  Biography,  v.  3,  pp.  410,  411. 

51.  New  York  Times,  September  17,  1857. 

52.  Kanzas  News,  Emporia,  November  21,   1857.     Elmore  remained  in  Kansas,  prac- 
ticing law  in  Topeka  until  his  death  in  1864.     Elmore's  career  is  described  in  John  Martin, 
"Biographical  Sketch  of  Judge  Rush  Elmore,"  Kansas  Historical  Collections,  v.   8    (1903- 
1904),  pp.  435,  436. 


THE  LECOMPTON  CONVENTION  239 

had  been  elected  vice-president  of  the  convention.  Calhoun,  El- 
more,  and  Moore  led  the  submissionist  forces  in  the  convention  and 
were  responsible,  more  than  any  others,  for  the  final  compromise  of 
the  submission  issue.53 

John  Calhoun  and  Rush  Elmore  were  not  the  only  federal  office 
holders  to  have  seats  in  the  Lecompton  convention.  Two  men  in 
the  Indian  service,  Harvey  Foreman  and  Daniel  Vanderslice,  were 
present  at  the  deliberations.  Foreman  had  been  employed  as  a 
farmer  for  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  in  northeastern  Kansas  since 
1844. 54  Daniel  Vanderslice,  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth  and  a  news- 
paper editor  in  Kentucky  before  he  moved  to  Kansas,  had  been 
appointed  Indian  agent  to  the  Iowa,  Sac,  and  Fox  Indians  by  Presi- 
dent Pierce  in  1853,  an  appointment  he  held  until  Lincoln  became 
President  in  1861. 55 

The  number  of  newspaper  editors  elected  to  the  Lecompton  con- 
stitutional convention  was  indicative  of  the  important  role  played 
by  the  press  in  frontier  politics.  Six  of  the  delegates  were  associated 
in  an  editorial  capacity  with  newspapers  in  the  area.  Perhaps  the 
best  known  was  Lucian  J.  Eastin,  who,  on  October  20,  1854,  became 
editor  of  the  Kansas  Weekly  Herald  which  had  been  established  in 
Leavenworth  on  September  15,  the  first  newspaper  in  Kansas  terri- 
tory. Eastin  had  a  long  journalistic  career  behind  him,  having 
edited  five  different  Missouri  newspapers  between  1834  and  1854. 
He  left  his  post  as  editor  of  the  St.  Joseph  ( Mo. )  Gazette  in  the  fall 
of  1854  and  crossed  the  river  into  the  newly-opened  Kansas  terri- 
tory. He  identified  himself  immediately  with  his  new  home,  helped 
to  locate  the  town  of  Easton  and  was  elected  to  the  first  territorial 
legislature.  Although  strongly  Proslavery  in  politics,  Eastin  never- 
theless commanded  the  respect  of  many  Kansans,  regardless  of  their 
political  sympathies.  The  Free-State  Kanzas  News  described  him 
as  "polite  and  polished,  compared  to  the  majority  of  his  colleagues," 
but  added  that  Eastin  was  nevertheless  "stout,  gross  looking  and 
careless  in  his  dress  and  appearance." 56  In  1859,  with  his  cause 
lost,  Eastin  returned  to  Missouri  where  he  edited  a  newspaper  in 
Chillicothe.  Much  less  respect  was  accorded  one  of  Eastin's  jour- 

53.  Of  Moore's  oratorical  style,  Plumb  wrote,  "Moore  dealt  much  in  metaphor,  saved 
the  Union  about  fifty  times  in  each  speech,  and  folded  the  starry  flag  around  him  so  often 
that  we  feel  sure  that  he  wore  that  much  abused  banner  all  to  pieces." — Kanzas  News, 
Emporia,  November  21,  1857. 

54.  Kansas   Historical   Collections,   v.    16    (1923-1925),    p.    729.      Foreman's    brother, 
John  W.  Foreman,  was  a  member  of  the  Free-State  Wyandotte  constitutional  convention  in 
1859. 

55.  Martha  B.  Caldwell,  ed.,  "Records  of  the  Squatter  Association  of  Whftehead  Dis- 
trict, Doniphan  County,"  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  v.  13   (February.  1944),  p.  21;  P.  L. 
Gray,  Gray's  Doniphan  County  History   (Bendena,  Kan.,  1905),  pp.  41-43. 

56.  Kanzas  News,  Emporia,  November  21,  1857.     For  Eastin's  biography,  see  Walter 
Bickford  Davis  and  Daniel  S.  Durrie,  An  Illustrated  History  of  Missouri  (St.  Louis,  1876), 
pp.  505,  506. 


240  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

nalistic  rivals  in  Leavenworth,  24-year-old  John  Dale  Henderson, 
editor  of  the  Leavenworth  Journal.  Little  is  known  of  Henderson, 
other  than  the  fact  that  he  aligned  himself  with  the  conservative 
group  in  the  convention  and  was  later,  in  December,  arrested  for 
falsifying  election  returns  from  a  Leavenworth  county  precinct.  By 
1860  he  had  moved  to  Denver  to  participate  in  the  gold  rush  there. 
To  hostile  Free-State  observers,  Henderson  was  a  "tall,  coarse  look- 
ing man,  [with  a]  light,  freckled  face,  and  features  on  which  de- 
votion to  whisky  and  licentious  habits  are  plainly  written/' 57 

Alfred  W.  Jones,  editor  of  the  Lecompton  Union  and  one  of  the 
delegates  from  Douglas  county,  had  arrived  in  Kansas  in  1855  at 
the  head  of  a  company  of  colonists  from  his  native  Virginia.  Only 
23  years  old,  he  described  himself  as  a  Proslavery  conservative. 
Jones  ended  his  connection  with  the  Union  before  the  convention 
met,  perhaps  to  take  up  the  practice  of  law,  and  left  Kansas  after 
the  defeat  of  the  Lecompton  constitution.  By  1868  Jones  had 
returned  to  the  East,  where  he  edited  a  New  Jersey  newspaper.58 
Samuel  Reid,  a  delegate  from  Shawnee  county,  edited  the  Pro- 
slavery  Tecumseh  Note  Book.  Twenty-four  years  old  and  an  Ala- 
baman by  birth,  Reid  also  mixed  the  legal  profession  with  his 
journalistic  career.  Thomas  Jefferson  Key  had  been  editor  of  a 
newspaper  in  Tuscumbia,  Ala.,  before  he  migrated  with  a  group 
of  colonists  to  Kansas  territory.  In  Kansas  he  established  the 
Doniphan  Constitutionalist,  a  militant  Proslavery  Democratic  paper. 
Key  soon  became  convinced  that  the  South  was  fighting  a  losing 
battle  in  Kansas;  his  own  presses  were  dumped  into  the  Missouri 
river  by  angry  free-soilers.  After  the  defeat  of  the  Lecompton 
movement,  he  moved  to  Arkansas,  where,  as  a  member  of  the 
Arkansas  state  legislature  in  1860,  he  voted  for  secession.  In  1862 
he  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army.59  G.  W.  McKown,  the  sixth 
journalist  in  the  convention,  was  one  of  two  delegates  listing  West- 
port,  Mo.,  as  a  home  address.  McKown  was  assistant  editor  of  the 
Kansas  City  (Mo.)  Star  of  Empire.™ 

The  Lecompton  constitutional  convention  was  not  composed  of 
recent  arrivals  in  Kansas  who  had  no  roots  in  the  territory  or  interest 

57.  Kansas  Historical  Collections,  v.  10   (1907-1908),  p.  198;  Kanzas  News,  Emporia, 
November  21,  1857. 

58.  Jones  was  responsible  for  the  preservation  of  the  engrossed  draft  of  the  Lecompton 
constitution.     After  his  return  to  New  Jersey,  he  presented  it  to  the  New  Brunswick  Historical 
Club.     The  club  in  turn  permitted  the  constitution  to  become  a  part  of  the  collections  of  the 
Rutgers  University  Library. — See  L.  Ethan  Ellis,  "The  Lecompton  Constitution,"  Journal  of 
the  Rutgers  University  Library,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  v.  3    (June,  1940),  pp.  57-61.     In 
September,    1957,   the    Lecompton    constitution    was    returned   to    Kansas    where    it    is    now 
preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society.      (See  pp.  244-247.) 

59.  See  Gate,  op.  cit.,  pp.  3,  4. 

60.  Kanzas  News,  Emporia,  November  21,   1857.     The  other  resident  of  Westport  in 
the  convention  was  Batt.  Jones. — Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leavenworth,  September  9,  1857. 


Gen.  John  Calhoun  (1806-1859),  president  of  the  Lecompton  consti- 
tutional convention,  was  a  nationally-known  Democrat  who  had  been 
state  surveyor  of  Illinois  and  mayor  of  Springfield.  He  came  to  Kansas 
in  1854  when  President  Pierce  appointed  him  surveyor  general  of  Kan- 
sas and  Nebraska. 


Q.  O 


THE  LECOMPTON  CONVENTION  241 

in  its  development.  The  stereotype  of  the  Missouri  "border  ruffian" 
invading  Kansas  for  the  sole  political  purpose  of  making  Kansas  a 
slave  state  cannot  be  applied  with  accuracy  to  the  membership  in 
the  Lecompton  body.  Most  of  the  delegates  had  resided  in  Kansas 
since  1855,  the  year  following  the  organization  of  the  territory.61  At 
least  seven  of  the  members  had  settled  in  Kansas  before  the  terri- 
torial government  was  organized  in  1854.  David  Lykins  established 
a  Baptist  mission  among  the  Wea  Indians  in  1840,  and  two  years 
later  Henry  Smith,  delegate  from  Brown  and  Nemaha  counties, 
settled  in  what  became  Johnson  county,  probably  being  connected 
in  some  way  with  the  Indian  service.  William  Walker  arrived  in 
1843  with  his  tribe,  and  in  the  same  year,  Hiero  T.  Wilson  became 
sutler  at  Fort  Scott  after  serving  nine  years  in  a  similar  capacity  at 
Fort  Gibson.  Harvey  Foreman  and  Daniel  Vanderslice  settled  in 
Kansas  in  1844  and  1853  respectively,  each  holding  appointments  in 
the  Indian  service.  M.  Pierce  Rively  operated  a  trading  post  near 
Fort  Leavenworth  in  1852.62 

Many  of  those  who  gathered  at  Lecompton  in  the  fall  of  1857 
played  leading  roles  in  the  economic  and  social  development  of 
Kansas  territory.  Ten  delegates  had  participated  in  the  establish- 
ment of  towns.  Wathena,  Richmond  (in  Nemaha  county),  Marys- 
ville,  Palmetto  (later  absorbed  by  Marysville),  Easton,  Tecumseh, 
Iowa  Point,  Paola,  and  Fort  Scott  were  founded  either  wholly  or  in 
part  by  members  of  the  Lecompton  convention.63  Two  of  the  dele- 
gates, Hiero  Wilson,  one  of  the  founders  of  Fort  Scott,  and  David 
Lykins  had  been  honored  by  the  territorial  legislature  when  counties 
were  organized  bearing  their  names.  Six  members  either  incorporated 
or  maintained  ferries  on  Kansas  streams  and  three  had  been  ap- 
pointed road  commissioners.64  When  the  territorial  legislature  au- 
thorized the  organization  of  the  Historical  and  Philosophical  So- 
ciety of  Kansas  Territory  in  1855,  four  of  the  incorporators  named 
in  the  act  were  men  who  later  sat  in  the  Lecompton  convention.65 
At  least  two  of  the  delegates,  John  W.  Randolph  and  William  S. 

61.  The   date   of   settlement   in   Kansas   of  the   members   of   the   convention   has   been 
difficult  to  ascertain.     Of  the  55  members  who  attended  the  deliberations,  at  least  31  had 
settled  in  Kansas  by  1855  and  at  least  20  of  these  were  living  in  Kansas  in  1854. 

62.  WUder,  Annals  of  Kansas,  1541-1885,  p.  33;  George  A.  Root,  "Ferries  in  Kansas," 
loc.  cit.,  v.  2  (August,  1933),  p.  274;  Kansas  Historical  Collections,  v.  7   (1901-1902),  p. 
47i;0^  ?    (1905-1906),  pp.   85,   569;  v.    10    (1907-1908),  p.  278;  v.   16    (1923-1925), 
p.  729;  Andreas  and  Cutler,  op.  cit.,  pp.  459,  1065. 

63.  Ibid.,  pp.  461,  494,  533,  881,  917,  942,  1071;  Root,  "Ferries  in  Kansas,"  loc.  cit., 
v.  2  (May,  1933),  p.  134. 

o%  %d"  VV2  (?Sfejiaiy'  1933)»  pp'  14'  19'  <May»  1933^'  P-  134'  (August,  1933), 
p.  278;  (November,  1933),  pp.  358,  359;  v.  3  (February,  1934),  pp.  22,  38. 

T  65-  William  Walker,  David  Lykins,  James  Kuykendall,  and  Lucian  J.  Eastin.— See 
James  C.  Mahn,  'Notes  on  the  Writing  of  General  Histories  of  Kansas,"  Kansas  Historical 
Quarterly,  v.  21  (Spring,  1955),  p.  339. 

17—23 


242  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Wells,  had  been  preachers;  David  Lykins  had  been  a  missionary 
among  the  emigrant  Indians.66 

Few  of  the  members  conformed  to  the  popular  conception  of  a 
"border  ruffian"  and  some  had  actually  suffered  violence  at  the 
hands  of  Free-State  individuals.  Batt.  Jones  and  G.  W.  McKown, 
the  two  delegates  from  Johnson  county  who  resided  in  Missouri, 
probably  came  closest  to  being  "border  ruffians/'  Batt.  Jones  had 
the  additional  distinction  of  being  an  election  judge  at  the  Oxford 
precinct  in  Johnson  county  during  the  October  territorial  elections 
where  over  a  thousand  fraudulent  votes  were  cast.  The  Kanzas 
News  described  the  21-year-old  Jones  as  "the  beau  ideal  of  a  bully 
.  .  .  Desperate  looking,  loud  voiced  and  reckless,  looks  a  char- 
acter that  we  should  not  desire  to  meet  on  a  dark  night  if  our  purse 
was  well  lined/' 67  Two  of  the  members,  James  Adkins  and  Jarrett 
Todd,  had  participated  in  the  organization  of  the  Platte  County 
(Missouri)  Self -Defensive  Association  in  July,  1854,  but  each  of 
them,  unlike  some  others  in  the  association,  settled  in  Kansas  shortly 
afterward  and  became  identified  with  their  new  homes.  John  W. 
Martin  was  captain  of  the  Kickapoo  rangers,  of  which  Adkins  was 
also  a  member,  a  band  of  men  organized  to  "protect"  Kansas  from 
abolition  influences.68 

An  examination  of  the  membership  of  the  Lecompton  constitu- 
tional convention  does  not  lend  credence  to  the  charge  of  the  Law- 
rence newspaper  editor  that  the  meeting  was  one  of  "plug-uglies" 
and  "felons"  nor  does  it  substantiate  the  conclusion  of  Allan  Nevins 
that  this  was  the  "shabbiest"  group  of  its  kind  in  all  of  American 
history.  At  the  same  time,  the  talent  and  ability  ascribed  to  the 
group  by  the  Southern  and  Proslavery  press  does  not  seem  justified. 
The  body  was,  as  the  New  York  Herald  correspondent  had  noted, 
one  of  "ordinary  respectability,"  differing  from  numerous  other 
frontier  political  conventions  only  in  the  one-sided  political  align- 
ment represented.69 

The  constitution  produced  by  the  convention  was  not  a  bad 
constitution.  Like  most  such  documents  of  the  period,  particularly 

66.  Kanzas  News,  Emporia,  November  21,  1857;  Wilder,  op.  cit.,  p.  33. 

67.  Kanzas  News,  Emporia,  November  21,  1957. 

68.  History  of  Clay  and  Platte  Counties,  Missouri   (St.  Louis,  1885),  p.  633;  Kanzas 
News,  Emporia,  November  21,  1857. 

69.  Three   constitutional  conventions  were  meeting  in  widely  separated  frontier   areas 
during  the  fall  months  of  1857.     Besides  the  Lecompton  convention,  meetings  were  in  ses- 
sion in  Oregon  territory  and  Minnesota  territory.     In  Minnesota  the  efforts  to  draft  a  state 
constitution  were  hampered  by  an  extreme  amount  of  partisan  rivalry  and  confusion,  the 
convention  itself  splitting  into  two  distinct  groups.     Lucian  Eastin,  a  member  of  the  Lecomp- 
ton meeting,  commented,  "From  news  received  from  Saint  Paul,  Minnesota,  we  learn  that 
they  are  having  a  most  novel  and  interesting  time  up  there.     It  seems  that  they  are  taking 
the  wind  out  of  our  sails." — Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leaven  worth,  August  1,  1857. 


THE  LECOMPTON  CONVENTION  243 

those  drawn  up  on  the  frontier,  it  was  a  "paste-pot"  constitution, 
embodying  elements  from  several  older  frames  of  government.  Only 
in  the  manner  of  submission  did  the  convention  deviate  from  sound 
practice.  In  their  attempt  to  extend  the  protection  of  the  new 
government  to  the  slave  property  already  in  Kansas,  the  convention 
delegates  denied  the  populace  an  opportunity  to  pass  on  the  con- 
stitution as  a  whole.  The  New  York  Times  commented,  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  deliberations,  "It  seems  to  be  generally  conceded 
that,  in  the  main,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  Slavery  clause,  the 
new  Constitution  of  Kansas  is  not  obnoxious  to  any  very  serious 
objection.  Its  provisions  are  substantially  such  as  are  embodied 
in  all  the  more  recent  Constitutions  of  the  other  States/*  70  Even  the 
provision  forbidding  the  amendment  of  the  constitution  before  the 
year  1864  had  precedent  in  the  action  of  the  Free-State  element  in 
Kansas.  The  Topeka  state  constitution,  drafted  by  this  group  in 
1855,  forbade  amendment  until  after  1865.71 

The  most  serious  indictment  of  the  Lecompton  convention  seems 
to  have  been  its  unrepresentative  character.  The  members  of  the 
convention,  as  the  October  elections  so  clearly  indicated,  did  not 
represent  the  true  sentiments  of  the  people  of  Kansas  territory. 
Yet  the  fact  that  the  convention  was  wholly  a  Proslavery  meeting 
cannot  be  blamed  on  the  Proslavery  members  who  were  elected. 
The  Free-State  faction  boycotted  the  election  of  delegates,  thereby 
insuring  a  one-sided  result.  Actually  there  was  no  alternative  for 
if  the  Free-State  leaders  had  agreed  to  participate  in  the  Lecompton 
movement,  it  would  have  meant  giving  up  their  own  premature, 
unrepresentative,  and  extra-legal  statehood  movement. 

The  attitude  of  historians  toward  the  convention  has  been  molded 
in  large  part  by  the  role  the  Lecompton  constitution  played  in  dis- 
rupting the  pattern  of  American  politics  and  in  heightening  sectional 
tension.  At  the  end  of  October,  1857,  the  editor  of  the  New  York 
Herald  wrote,  "We  await  the  issue  of  this  Kansas  pro-slavery  Con- 
vention. It  may  be,  as  we  expect,  a  fire-breathing  monster,  but 
it  may,  perhaps,  be  an  innocent  mouse."  72  Not  many  months  later 
when  President  Buchanan  urged  the  admission  of  Kansas  as  a 
slave  state  the  nation  became  aware  that  the  Lecompton  convention 
had  indeed  brought  forth  a  monster. 

70.  New  York  Times,  November  21,  1857. 

71.  See  James  C.   Malin,   "The  Topeka   Statehood   Movement   Reconsidered:    Origins," 
Territorial  Kansas:    Studies  Commemorating  the  Centennial   (Lawrence,  1954),  pp.  64,  65. 

72.  New  York  Herald,  October  30,  1857. 


The  Original  Lecompton  Constitution  Returns 
To  Kansas  After  100  Years 

THE  original  Lecompton  constitution,  historic  Proslavery  docu- 
ment of  Kansas  territory  which  inflamed  the  nation  100  years 
ago,  has  been  returned  to  the  area  of  its  origin.  In  September, 
1957,  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society  received  the  constitution 
as  a  gift  from  the  New  Brunswick  Historical  Club  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.  For  many  years  this  priceless  Kansas  item  has  been 
held  for  the  New  Jersey  organization  by  the  library  of  Rutgers  Uni- 
versity. Dr.  Richard  P.  McCormick  of  the  club  and  of  the  Rutgers 
history  department,  and  Donald  A.  Sinclair  of  the  library  were  in- 
strumental in  returning  it  to  Kansas. 

The  circumstances  of  the  constitution's  removal  to  the  Eastern 
seaboard  still  are  not  known.  On  October  29,  1875,  the  constitution 
was  presented  to  the  New  Brunswick  Historical  Club  by  Col.  Alfred 
W.  Jones,  then  of  Woodbridge,  N.  J.1  Jones,  one  of  the  members  of 
the  Lecompton  constitutional  convention,  was  a  delegate  from  Doug- 
las county.  Since  he  was  neither  president  nor  secretary  of  the  con- 
vention, it  can  only  be  surmised  why  the  constitution  remained  in 
his  possession  for  the  years  between  the  adjournment  of  the  conven- 
tion and  the  presentation  to  the  New  Brunswick  group. 

Jones  first  arrived  in  Kansas  in  1855  as  a  member  of  an  emigrant 
party  from  Virginia  and  on  May  3,  1856,  with  C.  A.  Paris,  began 
publication  of  the  Lecompton  Union.  He  continued  in  that  capacity 
for  nearly  a  year,  publishing  his  "valedictory"  in  the  April  11,  1857, 
number  of  the  newspaper.  He  remained  in  Lecompton  for  several 
months  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  but  it  cannot  be  estab- 
lished definitely  when  he  ceased  to  be  a  resident  of  the  town.  The 
advertisement  for  his  law  office  does  not  appear  in  the  Lecompton 
newspaper,  then  the  National  Democrat,  after  the  issue  of  January 
28,  1858,  but  it  is  possible  that  he  remained  in  the  territory  beyond 
that  date. 

Jones  was  one  of  the  more  conservative  members  of  the  Lecomp- 
ton convention — an  assemblage  which  contained  some  of  the  arch 
Proslaveryites  of  the  territory.  His  party  affiliation  was  given  as 
"Democrat"  rather  than  "Ultra  States  Rights"  or  "Proslavery"  but 

1.  Ethan  Ellis,  "The  Lecompton  Constitution,"  The  Journal  of  the  Rutgers  University 
Library,  v.  3  (June,  1940),  pp.  57-61. 

(244) 


ORIGINAL  LECOMPTON  CONSTITUTION  245 

even  so  he  came  in  for  his  share  of  criticism  from  the  rabid  Free- 
State  press. 

Preston  B.  Plumb,  editor  of  The  Kanzas  News,  Emporia,  in  the 
issue  of  November  21,  1857,  labelled  the  movement  "the  traitors' 
convention."  He  published  a  "Roll  of  Infamy/'  and  wrote  brief 
sketches  of  some  of  the  members.  While  Jones  was  not  as  roughly 
denounced  as  men  like  John  Calhoun,  president  of  the  convention, 
Plumb  did  write  the  following  paragraph  about  him: 

A.  W.  Jones,  of  Lecompton,  formerly  of  Virginia — a  lawyer,  ex-editor  of  the 
defunct  Union,  and  a  sound  National  Democrat.  Jones  is  good  looking,  twenty- 
three,  talented,  very  ambitious,  cunning  and  reserved.  A  pretty  good  speaker — 
his  aim  seemed  to  be  to  impress  upon  the  Free  State  reporters  who  were  pres- 
ent, the  fact  that  he  was  in  favor  of  submitting  the  whole  Constitution  to  the 
people  for  adoption  or  rejection.  In  reality  he  was  most  active  in  pushing 
through  the  dodge  submission,  being  the  secret  log-roller  of  that  party.  He  will 
be  heard  from  again. 

The  "dodge  submission"  mentioned  by  Plumb  was  the  provision 
that  the  constitution  be  submitted  to  a  popular  vote,  with  the  ballots 
marked  "Constitution  with  Slavery,"  and  "Constitution  with  no 
Slavery."  This  meant  that  the  people  were  not  to  be  allowed  to  vote 
on  the  constitution  itself.  Neither  would  a  victory  for  the  second 
alternative  mean  what  it  said,  for  only  the  extension  of  slavery  was 
to  be  prohibited.  Slave  property  already  in  Kansas  in  either  case 
was  not  to  be  interfered  with.  So  the  200  or  300  slaves  then  in  Kan- 
sas, and  their  descendants,  were  consigned  to  continued  servitude, 
no  matter  whether  Kansas  voted  for  or  against  slavery.2  No  wonder, 
then,  that  the  howls  which  arose  in  Kansas  reverberated  throughout 
the  nation  and  in  the  halls  of  congress.  This  furor,  coupled  with  the 
persistent  efforts  of  the  Buchanan  administration  to  persuade  Kan- 
sas to  accept  the  constitution,  explains  why  all  United  States  political 
histories  inevitably  mention  the  Lecompton  constitution. 

Jones  apparently  moved  to  Missouri  soon  after  the  close  of  the 
convention.  On  March  23,  1858,  at  Independence,  Mo.,  he  mar- 
ried Julia  Lawrence  of  that  city  where  he  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  law. 

On  May  18,  1861,  Jones  was  made  a  lieutenant  colonel  in  the 
Missouri  state  guard  on  Sterling  Price's  staff.  It  was  later  stated 
by  Jones'  political  supporters  in  New  Jersey  that  he  had  deserted 
the  Confederate  cause  in  October,  1861.  However,  Confederate 
records  show  that  he  was  still  with  the  Missouri  forces  in  December, 
1861,  and  probably  through  the  first  few  months  of  1862.  In 

2.    Ibid.,  p.  60. 


246  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

February,  1863,  he  was  in  Union  custody  and  was  investigated  by 
Gen.  B.  F.  Loan,  commanding  the  central  district  of  Missouri. 
Loan,  who  had  known  Jones  before  the  Civil  War,  decided  that  he 
no  longer  had  any  sympathy  with  the  "rebel  cause"  and  paroled 
him.3 

In  1868  he  appeared  as  an  editorial  partner  in  the  Middlesex 
County  Democrat,  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J.  In  November  of  that  same 
year  he  was  elected  to  the  New  Jersey  state  assembly  from  Mid- 
dlesex county.  In  April,  1876,  he  started  The  Independent  Hour, 
a  newspaper  at  Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  which  he  published  until  the 
summer  of  1879.4 

Jones,  in  his  letter  of  presentation  to  the  New  Brunswick  Histori- 
cal Club  which  accompanied  the  constitution,  did  not  explain  why 
the  document  was  in  his  possession.  He  addressed  the  club  on  the 
subject  of  the  constitutional  convention  and  its  aftermath  on  Novem- 
ber 4,  1875,  and  the  New  Brunswick  Daily  Fredonian  carried  a 
lengthy  article  about  his  speech  the  following  day. 

It  reported  that  Col.  Jones  was  a  "very  fine  orator,  and  his  speech 
.  .  .  was  an  excellent  production."  The  newspaper  went  on  to 
say  that  Jones  was  planning  to  deliver  the  speech  in  New  England, 
presumably  on  a  tour  of  some  sort,  and  the  reporter  felt  that  it  would 
not  offend  the  New  Englanders  because  it  did  not  have  any  of  the 
"hot-headed  Southern  in  it."  Although  the  Fredonian  reported  ex- 
tensively on  the  Kansas  situation  of  1857  and  mentioned  Brown, 
Lane,  Pomeroy,  Calhoun  and  numerous  other  prominent  names  of 
the  territorial  period  it  neglected  to  shed  further  light  on  Colonel 
Jones'  career  between  1858  and  1868. 

There  is  one  course  of  conjecture  which  might  explain  Jones'  pos- 
session of  the  manuscript.  Someone  possibly  had  to  take  the  con- 
stitution to  Washington,  D.  C.,  in  late  1857  or  early  1858  for  presen- 
tation to  President  Buchanan  and  the  Congress.  The  Lecompton 
National  Democrat  files  in  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society  are 
not  complete  but  the  issues  are  representative  of  December,  1857, 
and  January  and  February,  1858,  and  no  mention  is  made  in  them 
of  anyone  acting  as  a  courier  for  the  constitution.  Neither  does  the 
Congressional  Globe  list  any  Kansas  names  on  February  2,  1858, 
the  day  that  Buchanan  sent  the  constitution  to  Congress  for  con- 

3.  Information  about  Jones'  marriage  and  his  service  with  Price  and  the  Missouri  state 
guard  is  taken  from  a  letter  written  to  Robert  W.  Richmond,  state  archivist,  by  Donald  A. 
Sinclair  of  the  Rutgers  University  library,  September  20,  1957.     Sinclair  has  been  a  student 
of  Jones'  career  for  several  years  and  obtained  his  information  from  newspapers  and  Con- 
federate records  in  the  National  Archives. 

4.  Ellis,  loc.  cit.,  p.  61. 


ORIGINAL  LECOMPTON  CONSTITUTION  247 

sideration.  It  is  possible  that  Jones  was  the  messenger — or  one  of 
the  messengers — to  Washington  and  that  after  the  constitution's  re- 
jection he  retained  custody  of  the  document. 

The  constitution  is  written  on  eight  large  sheets  of  parchment 
each  of  which  are  approximately  23/2  by  27/2  inches.  The  ink  has 
faded  with  the  passage  of  a  century  but  the  writing  remains 
legible.  The  final  page  of  the  document  bears  the  signatures  of  the 
delegates  to  the  convention — including,  of  course,  that  of  Mr.  Jones. 


Thomas  Benton  Murdock  and 
William  Allen  White 

ROLLA  A.  CLYMER 

BUTLER  county,  in  its  long  history — some  say  100  years,  some 
say  90 — has  been  the  home  and  working  arena  of  numerous 
accomplished  newspaper  men  and  women. 

El  Dorado  has  had  its  full  share  of  these — and  it  is  significant 
that  the  most  eminent  were  writers,  gifted  ones  who  wafted  the 
glory  of  the  Walnut  valley  and  the  Kingdom  of  Butler  into  far 
places. 

Many  of  them  were  of  pioneer  persuasion.  None  of  them  ever 
knew  wealth  in  any  form.  Few  of  them  experienced  even  compe- 
tence or  comfort  in  worldly  affairs.  All  of  them  were  accustomed 
to  grinding  toil,  to  hardship  in  the  routine  of  their  vocation,  and 
even  to  personal  danger. 

But  all  of  them  were  filled  with  zeal  for  their  work,  and  sustained 
with  pride  in  the  products  of  their  art.  So  they  came  with  their 
few  fonts  of  type  and  their  hand  presses  and  other  rude  tools  of 
their  craft — and  helped  to  write  some  stirring  pages  of  Kansas 
history  that  shall  forever  shine  with  their  ardor  and  their  valiance. 

It  would  be  interesting,  perhaps  highly  valuable  in  an  historic 
sense,  for  someone,  some  day,  to  chronicle  carefully  the  lives  and 
works  of  these  competent  newspaper  folk,  who  made  valuable 
contribution  to  the  sturdy  progress  that  Butler  has  always  known. 

Today,  however,  we  are  concerned  with  only  two  of  them — 
but  those  two  among  the  most  noteworthy  of  all,  whose  lives  were 
singularly  bound  together  by  professional  ties  as  well  as  long-endur- 
ing and  affectionate  personal  relationship. 

The  elder  of  these  was  Thomas  Benton  Murdock,  a  figure  of 
marked  charm  and  character,  whose  color  still  gleams  after  the 
passage  of  many  years.  He  was  a  power  both  politically  and 
editorially  in  a  period  during  which  Kansas,  after  having  thrown 
off  its  sod-breaking  shackles,  was  seeking  to  blossom  into  the  full 
stature  of  statehood.  The  times  were  hard,  the  public  economy 
was  weak,  revolution  and  rebellion  against  established  custom  were 
in  the  air. 

ROLLA  A.  CLYMER,  of  El  Dorado,  the  1956-1957  president  of  the  Kansas  State  His- 
torical Society,  is  editor  of  the  El  Dorado  Times. 

This  paper  was  the  address  he  delivered  at  the  dedication  of  a  plaque  on  the  site  of 
the  historic  home  of  the  El  Dorado  Republican,  at  ceremonies  held  by  the  Eureka  Federal 
Savings  and  Loan  Assn.,  in  El  Dorado  on  March  17,  1957. 

(248) 


THOMAS  B.  MURDOCK  AND  W.  A.  WHITE  249 

Through  this  troubled  scene,  Mr.  Murdock  strode  with  calm  mien 
and  superb  assurance.  He  was  a  born  leader;  he  had  faith  in  him- 
self, and  a  way  with  people.  He  was  friendly  and  down  to  earth 
in  his  contacts,  and  was  made  to  be  esteemed  and  admired.  While 
he  had  enemies  who  worked  at  the  job,  few  hated  him  with  bitter 
intensity. 

He  was  a  handsome  man,  above  middle  height  and  built  thick- 
about  through  the  chest.  As  a  lowly  cub  around  the  office  of  the 
Emporia  Gazette,  I  remember  seeing  him  many  times.  He  had 
the  "full,  round,  ruddy  face  of  a  man  who  loved  good  living,  and 
the  soft  voice  of  one  who  persuaded  rather  than  commanded."  He 
was  always  faultlessly  dressed,  his  collar  flaring  out  to  points  and 
his  cravat  neatly  tied,  and  he  invariably  wore  a  flower  in  his  lapel. 

He  had  suffered  snow  blindness  during  his  army  campaigning 
in  the  Rockies,  and  this  affliction  bothered  him  all  the  rest  of  his 
life.  So  he  never  appeared  without  glasses — and  behind  these 
glasses  his  kindly  eyes  twinkled  with  a  canny  and  complete  under- 
standing of  human  kind. 

He  was  born  in  the  mountains  of  Virginia  in  1841.  His  parents 
could  not  endure  the  iniquity  of  slavery,  so  freed  their  slaves  and 
went  to  Ohio  in  1849.  After  some  wanderings,  they  came  to 
Kansas — to  Topeka — in  the  winter  of  1856-1857 — just  100  years  ago. 

They  kept  a  tavern — and  young  Benton  grew  up  in  the  company 
of  Jim  Lane,  A.  D.  Stevens,  and  other  famous  border  fighters. 
The  family  finally  settled  permanently  near  Emporia. 

When  the  Civil  War  broke  out,  Benton  enlisted  with  his  father 
and  brother,  Roland,  in  the  Ninth  Kansas  cavalry  but  was  dis- 
charged in  1863  because  of  illness.  Returning  from  the  army,  he 
learned  the  printing  trade  after  having  served  as  a  hod  carrier  and 
a  general  workman  around  Topeka  in  his  youth.  He  worked  in 
the  office  of  the  Emporia  News,  then  owned  by  P.  B.  Plumb — later 
a  famous  Kansas  senator — and  Jacob  Stotler.  His  brother,  Marshall, 
who  later  founded  the  Wichita  Eagle,  was  then  running  the  Bur- 
lingame  Chronicle. 

Benton  came  to  El  Dorado,  and  on  March  4,  1870,  founded  the 
Walnut  Valley  Times  with  J.  S.  Danford. 

His  first  wife  was  Frances  Crawford,  the  sweetheart  of  his  boy- 
hood, and  Mary  Alice  Murdock  (Pattison)  became  the  survivor  of 
their  marriage.  The  wife  and  mother  died  in  a  tragic  ending  after 
ten  years.  Mr.  Murdock  then  was  married  to  Marie  Antoinette 
Culbreth.  They  had  five  children,  but  only  Ellina  Murdock  Starke, 
who  died  several  years  ago,  survived  to  womanhood. 


250  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

From  the  first,  Mr.  Murdock  became  a  political  leader  in  this 
county.  In  1876,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  state  senate. 
There  he  served  with  many  of  the  distinguished  men  of  that  day 
both  in  the  house  and  the  senate.  In  1880  he  was  defeated  for  re- 
election, unfairly  he  thought,  so  sold  the  Times  to  Alvah  Shelden, 
moved  to  Topeka  and  became  connected  with  the  Daily  Common- 
wealth. 

But  the  lure  of  El  Dorado  still  held  him,  and  in  1883  he  returned 
to  this  town  and  founded  the  El  Dorado  Republican.  The  daily 
edition  followed  the  weekly  in  1884,  and  the  paper  at  once  took 
a  prominent  place  among  Kansas  publications. 

Thus,  Mr.  Murdock  established  in  this  town  the  two  papers 
which  comprise  the  roots  of  the  present  El  Dorado  Times,  as  that 
paper  came  into  being  by  merger  of  the  two  elder  ones  on  Decem- 
ber 1,  1919.  These  roots  go  back  to  the  early  date  of  1870. 

It  is  related  that  Mr.  Shelden  felt  aggrieved  when  Mr.  Murdock 
returned  to  start  the  Republican.  Mr.  Shelden  claimed  that  Mr. 
Murdock  had  made  a  promise  never  to  engage  in  the  newspaper 
business  in  El  Dorado,  after  selling  the  Walnut  Valley  Times. 
Whatever  the  truth  of  that  contention,  these  two  men — both  strong, 
able  leaders — were  bitter  enemies  all  the  rest  of  their  days. 

In  1888  Mr.  Murdock  was  again  elected  to  the  state  senate. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  committee  that  tried  Theodosius  Botkin 
and  canvassed  the  county-seat  troubles  of  western  Kansas.  He 
was  upset  by  the  Populist  and  Farmers'  Alliance  wave  in  1892, 
and  never  ran  for  office  again.  At  the  end  of  his  career  he  was 
named  state  fish  and  game  warden  by  Governor  Stubbs.  He  took 
office  on  July  5,  1909,  and  died  November  4  of  the  same  year. 

Volney  P.  Mooney's  History  of  Butler  County,  Kansas  praises 
Mr.  Murdock  in  warm  and  cordial  fashion.  The  late  Judge  Mooney 
wrote:  "He  was  a  public  man  all  the  time.  His  influence  on  the 
state  was  more  rather  than  less  because  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
not  in  office.  In  every  Republican  State  convention  for  forty 
years  Mr.  Murdock  has  been  a  power  of  the  first  class." 

That  power  and  influence  reached  its  zenith  when  he  was  in  the 
state  senate,  for  he  was  leader  among  the  forces  that  ruled  the 
roost  in  those  days.  That  was  a  period  in  which  all  public  officials, 
as  well  as  most  politicians  of  sorts,  rode  on  railroad  passes.  But 
Mr.  Murdock  warranted  much  more  than  a  pass;  he  had  a  private 
car — and  when  it  rolled  into  El  Dorado  and  stood  on  a  siding  while 
he  spent  a  day  or  two  at  home,  it  was  the  focus  of  monumental 
pride  and  interest. 


THOMAS  B.  MURDOCK  AND  W.  A.  WHITE  251 

W.  A.  White  said  impishly  in  his  Autobiography  that  even  after 
Mr.  Murdock  was  named  fish  and  game  warden,  he  still  had  his 
private  car — though  it  was  the  car  in  which  young  fish  were  de- 
livered from  the  state  hatchery  at  Pratt  to  various  points  around 
Kansas. 

Again  Judge  Mooney  testified:  "As  an  editor  he  was  equipped 
as  few  men  are  equipped — with  an  individual  style.  He  expressed 
something  more  than  an  idea.  He  reflected  an  ideal  plus  a  strong, 
unique  personality.  He  therefore  in  a  way  dramatized  whatever 

he  wrote — made  it  the  spoken  word  of  a  combatant  in  the  conflict. 
» 

William  Allen  White  is  also  on  record  as  saying:  ".  .  .  he 
taught  me  more  than  anyone  before  him  to  write  short  sentences, 
to  use  simple  common  words,  to  say  exactly  what  I  meant  in  the 
vernacular.  .  .  ." 

An  illuminating  aside  about  Mr.  Murdock  was  related  by  Mr. 
White,  also  in  the  Autobiography.  A  noted  criminal  lawyer  had 
made  an  eloquent  plea  in  a  court  trial,  and  White  had  written  a 
full  column  about  it.  Next  day,  the  lawyer  slipped  a  $5  bill  into 
White's  hand. 

Feeling  conscience  stricken  and  that  he  had  been  bribed  and 
corrupted,  the  young  reporter  went  to  Mr.  Murdock,  told  the  story 
and  asked,  "What  shall  I  do?" 

The  old  man  looked  at  me  quizzically  and  broke  out:  "Tried  to  bribe 
my  reporters,  eh?  The  damned  scoundrel!  Hasn't  he  got  any  moral  sense  left?" 
He  saw  the  bill  still  in  my  hand  and  said:  "Willie,  give  me  that  bill.  By 
Godfrey's  diamonds,  plowing  with  my  heifer,  eh?  I'll  show  him  he  can't 
buy  my  reporters."  And  slipping  the  bill  into  his  pocket,  he  gave  me  the 
funniest,  quizzicalest  and  chucklingest  smile,  and  added,  "Now  go  to  work." 
He  kept  the  bill! 

And  that  reminds  that  Murdock,  who  was  indifferent  to  business 
matters,  was  always  hard  up.  He  loved  his  fleshpots,  and  he  never 
lowered  his  standard  of  good  living,  but  he  had  to  borrow  from 
Peter  to  pay  Paul,  he  always  owed  the  banks — and  there  was  never 
enough  money  to  go  around.  His  managers,  like  Sumpter  Smith 
and  Earl  Forgy,  had  to  "steal"  money  out  and  carry  it  in  separate 
accounts  to  pay  paper  and  material  bills.  But  Mr.  Murdock  was 
serene  and  though  he  often  was  hagridden  for  lack  of  ready  cash, 
he  never  failed  to  carry  on  in  the  comfortable  way  of  life  he  set  for 
himself. 

Judge  Mooney  further  related  that  Murdock 

always  stood  by  the  home  folks.     Of  course  he  took  part  in  local  matters, 
and  having  taken  part  he  had  to  take  sides.     He  was  never  neutral  in  any 


252  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

important  contest  here  at  home.  But  he  always  fought  in  the  open,  and 
he  always  fought  fair.  He  never  abused  a  man.  He  attacked  causes,  move- 
ments, administrations  .  .  .  [but  not  the  personal  character  of  his  op- 
ponents]. He  had  no  newspaper  fights.  ...  He  had  no  office  black- 
list. .  .  Many  [a  county]  politician  ...  in  the  old  days  . 
fought  Mr.  Murdock  knowing  he  could  depend  upon  [him]  ...  to 
keep  to  the  issue,  to  be  silent  on  old  scores,  to  leave  personal  matters  out  of 
the  question. 

The  other  El  Dorado  and  Butler  county  editor  we  consider  today, 
of  course,  was  William  Allen  White. 

He  had  his  first  newspaper  training  in  this  town,  and  it  led  him 
into  a  career  that  reached  the  heights.  No  editor  in  the  history  of 
this  state — which  has  produced  outstanding  members  of  the  pro- 
fession at  all  its  ages — ever  attained  the  breadth  and  quality  of 
fame  that  came  to  him. 

Mr.  White  was  born  in  Emporia  on  February  10,  1868,  the  son 
of  Dr.  Allen  White  and  Mary  Hatten.  "Old  Doc"  White  was  an 
individualist — a  story  in  himself — a  vocal  Democrat  in  days  when 
members  of  that  party  were  almost  poison  in  Kansas,  and  variously 
a  doctor,  a  trader,  and  a  merchant.  Both  the  father  and  mother 
were  well  long  toward  middle  age  when  "Willie"  was  born. 

Shortly  after  "Willie's"  birth,  "Doc"  White,  who  was  always  rest- 
less, came  "down  the  Warnut"  southwest  from  Emporia  and  estab- 
lished a  store  in  what  was  then  the  straggling  village  of  El  Dorado. 
The  White  Autobiography  relates  this  incident: 

On  the  journey  I  came  within  an  ace  of  my  life.  It  was  spring.  The  creeks 
were  swollen.  We  were  traveling  by  spring  wagon.  We  were  crossing  a 
stream  and  missed  the  ford.  The  wagon  lurched.  I  was  wrapped  in  a  big, 
brown  shawl  and  was  thrown  into  the  swiftly  moving  spring  flood.  For  two 
or  three  seconds  I  floated,  and  in  those  seconds  I  was  rescued  by  the  driver 
of  the  team  and  went  on  my  way  rejoicing  in  my  deep,  infantile  sleep." 

From  the  age  of  two  until  he  finally  went  to  work  in  Kansas  City 
when  he  was  24  or  25,  barring  absences  while  he  was  off  at  college 
or  the  University,  Mr.  White  lived  in  this  town.  Thus,  he  spent 
nearly  a  third  of  his  life  in  the  beautiful  Valley  of  the  Walnut. 
Here  he  romped  and  rollicked  through  the  "Court  of  Boyville," 
drinking  deep  the  heady  bead  of  adventures  which  he  later  re- 
created in  a  book  by  that  name.  And  here  he  came  under  the  in- 
fluence of  "Bent"  Murdock. 

His  own  father  died  when  he  was  about  14  years  old.  The 
Whites  and  Murdocks  were  closely  akin  in  the  little  town.  Mur- 
dock was  the  elder  White's  best  friend.  Will  White,  seeing  the 
Murdocks  every  day  and  being  a  companion  to  their  little  crippled 


THOMAS  B.  MURDOCK  AND  W.  A.  WHITE  253 

daughter,  Alice,  was  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  member  of  the 
family.  And  so  White  wrote: 

He  [Murdock]  was  my  foster  father.  Because  my  father  held  him  as  his 
little  brother  Benjamin,  he  took  me  as  his  spiritual  child.  I  was  proud  of 
him,  grafted  him  into  the  wound  that  death  had  left  when  my  father  went, 
and  gave  him  a  son's  affection  and  respect  which  I  never  withheld. 

Again  White  wrote: 

Across  the  years,  he  stands  before  me,  looking  down  over  his  glittering  bi- 
focal glasses,  and  making  humorous  self-deprecating  noises,  not  words,  more 
than  grunts  but  less  than  giggles,  framed  by  funny  grimaces,  when  con- 
fronted with  some  shortcoming.  Then  he  turns  away  airily  sighing,  "Well — 
oh,  well — I  guess  we're  all  poor  sinners!"  and  shuffles  away. 

It  is  a  temptation  to  relate  a  number  of  Mr.  White's  joyous  expe- 
riences in  this  town  of  the  early  days — this  microcosm  of  Kansas 
pioneer  life,  which  was  decidedly  not  all  grief  and  affliction  but 
gilded  heavily  with  joy  and  good  cheer.  Yet  time  will  not  permit 
that  indulgence,  so  only  a  few  brief  high  lights  may  be  noted. 

White  learned  to  set  type  at  Emporia  during  his  college  days, 
and  his  first  newspaper  job  in  El  Dorado  was  under  T.  P.  Fulton 
of  the  El  Dorado  Democrat — another  intriguing  character. 

Then  later,  one  summer  between  school  terms,  he  went  to  work 
for  Mr.  Murdock  at  the  El  Dorado  Republican  for  what  he  called 
the  "princely"  salary  of  $8  a  week.  He  served  as  reporter,  general 
roustabout,  and  boss  of  the  carriers.  Still  later,  as  he  developed, 
he  drew  $18  a  week — when  Murdock  went  off  on  political  excur- 
sions and  put  him  in  charge  of  the  paper. 

He  tells  that  once,  when  he  was  home  for  the  summer,  the  "boys" 
took  him  on  a  raid  on  Sandifer's  melon  patch.  It  was  a  put-up  job. 
Just  as  the  young  vandals  began  their  melon  thumping,  one  of  the 
elder  Sandifers  started  blasting  with  his  shotgun.  White  said: 
"And  I,  who  in  childhood's  happy  hour  had  been  regarded  as  a  good 
second-class  runner  by  my  innocent  companions,  started  out,  fleet 
of  wing  as  Eden's  garden  bird.  Lord,  how  I  ran!" 

White  had  trouble  with  higher  mathematics  at  the  university, 
and  consequently  never  received  enough  credits  to  enable  him  to 
graduate.  But,  friends  of  that  period  have  reported,  he  spent 
more  time  with  books  than  he  did  in  classroom  work. 

When  he  finally  left  El  Dorado,  he  worked  a  year  or  two  for 
both  the  old  Journal  and  the  Star  in  Kansas  City — his  talent  con- 
stantly expressing  itself  and  a  mild  fame  growing  up  about  him. 
And  then,  in  1895,  he  bought  the  Emporia  Gazette  from  Billy 
Morgan — and  was  firmly  set  on  the  way  to  glory. 


254  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

This  chronicle  today  need  not  recount  the  steps  by  which  he 
rose.  All  of  you,  in  a  general  way,  and  some  in  particular  fashion, 
are  familiar  with  the  manner  in  which  he  increased  his  stature 
and  broadened  his  favor  with  God  and  man.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that 
in  his  middle  40's  a  scant  20  years  after  he  located  in  Emporia — 
he  was  a  figure  of  national  prominence. 

None  of  the  numerous  able  contemporaries  of  his  day  approached 
the  dimension  of  his  talent.  He  set  the  standard  for  professional 
competency,  as  well  as  a  wide  understanding  of  men  and  affairs, 
that  not  only  encompassed  the  Kansas,  but  the  American,  heart. 

Sometimes  we  hear  the  remark  that  someone  of  the  writing  craft 
hereabouts  is  "another  William  Allen  White/'  Nothing  could  be 
more  carelessly  said  nor  farther  from  the  truth.  In  his  day  he 
stood  supreme  among  the  writers  of  his  field  for  individual  color, 
for  clarity,  and  for  stirring  vigor  of  expression.  Ellery  Sedgwick 
has  said  of  him  that  he  was  "as  authentic  a  saint  as  ever  wrote 
American." 

He  gave  the  country  press  a  lustre  which  it  had  not  hitherto 
attained;  there  was  not  an  editorial  chair  in  the  country  which  he 
could  not  have  graced. 

He  was  hugely  gifted  by  talents  above  the  run  of  ordinary  men — 
and  wielded  dominance  in  three  fields  of  endeavor: 

In  newspaper  making, 

In  literary  accomplishment,  and 

In  the  arena  of  politics  and  government,  where  he  fought  more 
valiantly  for  causes  than  for  men. 

I  was  fortunate  to  be  in  his  employ  for  seven  years  at  an  im- 
pressive stage  of  my  life.  Not  only  did  he  influence  me  profoundly, 
but  he  gave  me  the  kindest  and  most  generous  personal  considera- 
tion. I  have  always  looked  upon  him  as  a  foster  father  of  my  own. 
It  was  at  his  urging  that  I  came  to  El  Dorado.  I  had  held  other 
plans  in  mind.  I  wanted  to  go  to  the  Kansas  City  Star — where  a 
job  had  been  offered  me. 

In  the  years  when  I  was  a  Gazette  reporter,  the  paper  was  small. 
What  gave  it  essential  and  outstanding  distinction  was  the  omni- 
presence of  Mr.  White  himself.  He  literally — to  employ  his  own 
expression — "ran  about  the  paper  in  his  shirt  sleeves."  It  was  not 
alone  the  daily  swing  and  sweep  of  his  powerful  editorials  that 
lifted  the  Gazette  from  the  ruck,  but  that  his  capable  hands  were 
busy  in  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  Gazette's  being. 

He  burst  in  every  morning  with  suggestions  for  timely  news 
stories,  which  usually  meant  that  the  town's  sacred  cows  were  in  for 


THOMAS  B.  MURDOCK  AND  W.  A.  WHITE  255 

another  distressing  series  of  shocks  and  outrages.  He  interpolated 
straight-away  news  copy  here  and  there  with  some  twist  of  his  own 
that  raised  ordinary  reporting  to  a  high  level.  Upon  occasion,  he  and 
Walt  Mason  would  collaborate  in  blocking  out  display  heads  in 
rhyme — the  main  line  and  decks  and  sub-decks  all  forming  a  true 
jingle.  I  have  never  seen  anyone  else  do  this. 

He  himself  worked  with  blazing  fury.  When  something  hot  was 
coming  off  the  griddle  of  his  nimble  mind,  his  flying  fingers  beat  a 
tattoo  on  his  old  double-keyboard  Smith-Premier  that  was  little 
short  of  plain  assault. 

Many  golden  memories  flood  back  from  those  years  around  the 
Gazette  office,  and  I  have  time  to  recount  only  one  or  two  of  them. 
His  comebacks  in  conversation  were  lightning  thrusts  of  wit. 

Once  I  hesitatingly  told  him  that  a  shady  politician,  who  thought 
he  was  running  for  congress  but  wasn't,  had  hinted  that  he  might 
take  me  to  Washington  as  his  private  secretary,  in  the  event  of  his 
election. 

Whereat,  Mr.  White  gave  vent  to  a  roaring,  gusty  laugh  as  he 
exclaimed:  "Boy,  all  you  private  secretaries  to  Joe  Boltz  ought  to 
get  together  and  hold  a  mass  meeting." 

Then  again,  I  mentioned  to  him  the  quick  and  fat  profit  a  cer- 
tain miserly  fellow  had  made  on  a  land  deal,  and  he  flashed  out 
with  a  grin:  "Well,  Rolla,  the  Lord  shows  how  little  he  thinks  of 
money  by  the  kind  of  folks  he  gives  it  to." 

During  the  years  after  I  left  his  employ,  he  wrote  me  a  total  of 
more  than  two  hundred  letters — messages  of  friendliness  and  wis- 
dom and  faith. 

Occasionally  he  would  drop  an  offhand  line  to  say  that  Joe 
Dobbins  might  be  good  material  for  attorney-general  or  lieutenant- 
governor,  and  that  I  might  profitably  look  into  his  qualifications. 
Then,  after  I  had  done  so  and  had  timidly  written  a  few  words  to 
the  effect  that  Joe  might  shed  glamor  on  the  state  service,  Mr. 
White  would  pick  up  my  remarks  in  his  column. 

Observing,  in  the  manner  of  one  making  a  great  discovery,  that 
"the  papers  around  the  state"  were  beginning  to  mention  Joe  Dob- 
bins, he  would  forge  ahead  in  slashing,  12-cylinder  fashion  to  boost 
the  candidate  he  had  already  hand-picked  and  launched  upon  his 
trail  to  the  stars. 

Thus,  all  the  way  and  in  many  phases,  his  life  was  shed  over 
mine  as  a  great  benediction.  Nothing  could  ever  come  to  me  in 
the  way  of  honor  or  riches  or  fame  that  would  outweigh  the  en- 
compassing friendship  which  he  so  bountifully  extended. 


256  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

One  of  his  contemporaries  has  said  of  him:  "He  may  not  have 
been  the  greatest  man  that  Kansas  has  ever  produced,  but  un- 
doubtedly he  was  the  Kansan  to  have  the  greatest  effect  upon  the 
country  as  a  whole." 

The  world  of  William  Allen  White  was  spun  from  out  his  heart — 
a  glowing,  gorgeous,  fervent  heart — which  keenly  perceived  all  the 
lust  and  cruelty  and  evil  with  which  this  earth  is  encrusted,  and 
yet — through  the  surpassing  richness  of  his  own  character — made 
of  it,  for  himself  and  others,  a  world  of  beauty  and  of  joyousness 
and  of  love. 

So,  my  friends,  I  have  tried  to  give  to  you  here  today  a  picture 
of  two  men  of  unusual  traits  and  sterling  achievements  whose 
lives  ran  partly  parallel  in  what  was  once  the  little  town  of 
El  Dorado.  They  lived  and  worked  and  complemented  each  other 
in  the  publication  of  a  newspaper  which  was  long  housed  in  a  build- 
ing, standing  upon  a  portion  of  the  ground  where  this  handsome, 
modern  edifice  has  now  been  reared. 

The  officers  and  directors  of  the  Eureka  Federal  Savings  and 
Loan  association,  I  believe,  have  performed  a  gracious  act  as  well 
as  one  helpful  historically,  by  having  installed  a  suitable  plaque 
which  commemorates  enduringly  the  names  and  fame  of  these  two 
gifted  men. 

For  myself,  I  have  always  felt  a  sense  of  unfitness  and  of  futility 
in  trying  to  carry  on  the  destinies  of  a  newspaper  which  grew 
partially  out  of  the  product  which  they  so  consummately  created. 

Today,  we  dedicate  that  plaque  and  its  stirring  memories,  not 
so  much  by  formal  words  of  expression,  as  by  the  abiding  gratitude 
and  admiration  that  moves  our  hearts. 


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The  Story  of  Fort  Larned 

WILLIAM  E.  UNRAU 

ONE  of  the  motives  that  prompted  the  government  to  construct 
a  fortification  at  the  confluence  of  Pawnee  creek  and  the  Arkan- 
sas river  was  to  provide  a  base  from  which  troops  might  protect 
Santa  Fe  trail  commerce  in  an  area  that  was  notorious  as  an  Indian 
rendezvous.  Equally  important  was  the  desire  for  a  more  centralized 
annuity  distribution  point  to  carry  out  the  government's  treaty  obli- 
gations to  the  Plains  Indians. 

In  the  years  1822-1843,  the  monetary  value  of  the  Santa  Fe  com- 
merce averaged  over  $130,000  per  year,  making  a  total  of  nearly 
$3,000,000  for  the  21  years.  The  last  year  before  the  Mexican  ports 
were  closed  ( 1843 )  saw  $450,000  worth  of  goods  being  shipped,  in- 
volving 250  wagons  and  350  men.  In  this  21-year  period,  however, 
only  three  official  military  escorts  were  provided.1 

The  acquisition  of  vast  new  stretches  of  territory  through  the 
Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  provided  an  added  impetus  to  traffic. 
The  trade  in  1859,  according  to  one  source,  had  risen  to  $10,000,000 
annually.  The  Missouri  Republican,  St.  Louis,  reported  that  be- 
tween March  1  and  July  31  2,300  men,  1,970  wagons,  840  horses, 
4,000  mules,  15,000  oxen,  73  carriages,  and  over  1,900  tons  of  freight 
left  Missouri  for  New  Mexico.  These  were  exclusive  of  the  gold 
seekers  who  "were  too  numerous  to  count."  2  With  such  a  volume, 
it  became  obvious  that  some  type  of  fortification  was  needed  be- 
tween Forts  Riley  and  Leavenworth  and  Forts  Bent  and  Union. 

As  white  settlements  became  more  numerous  in  Texas  during  the 
1840's,  depredations  by  Indians  increased.  The  belligerent  attitude 
of  the  people  of  Texas  forced  large  groups  of  Kiowa  and  Comanche 
Indians  to  relocate  farther  north,  especially  along  the  heavily 
traveled  Santa  Fe  trail.  William  Bent,  agent  for  the  Upper  Arkansas 
Indians,  in  a  letter  to  A.  M.  Robinson,  superintendent  of  Indian 
affairs  for  the  Central  Superintendency  at  St.  Louis,  reported  on 
October  5,  1859,  that  he  had  encountered  2,500  Kiowa  and  Co- 
manche warriors  at  the  mouth  of  Walnut  creek  (25  miles  east  of 

WILLIAM  E.  UNRAU,  formerly  social  science  instructor  at  the  Lewis  High  School,  is  an 
instructor  in  history  at  Bethany  College,  Lindsborg. 

1.    Hiram  Martin  Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade  of  the  Far  West   (New  York' 
Francis  P.  Harper,  1902),  v.  2,  pp.  588,  589  (quoting  the  figures  of  Josiah  Gregg). 

5ig  Busi 
L932),  E 

(257) 


Walker  Wyman,  "Freighting:    A  Big  Business  on  the  Santa  Fe  Trail."  The  Kansas 
Historical  Quarterly,  Topeka,  v.  1  (1931-1932),  p.  24. 


18—23 


258  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Pawnee  Fork ) .  Bent  also  stated  that  he  had  witnessed,  to  October 
of  1859,  60,000  white  people  along  the  trail.3 

A.  B.  Greenwood,  commissioner  of  Indian  affairs,  in  his  annual 
report  ( 1859 ) ,  enlarged  upon  the  critical  relations  between  Indians 
and  travelers  on  the  trail.  He  attributed  the  accelerated  traffic  to 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  the  Pike's  Peak  region,  and  his  report 
pointed  out  the  difficulty  the  Indians  were  having  to  maintain  their 
natural  subsistence.4 

The  location  of  Fort  Lamed  at  Pawnee  Fork  was  the  choice  of 
William  Bent.  In  his  appeal  for  military  protection,  he  stated, 

I  consider  it  essential  to  have  two  permanent  stations  for  troops,  one  at  the 
mouth  of  Pawnee  Fork,  and  one  at  Big  Timbers,  both  upon  the  Arkansas  River. 
.  .  .  To  control  them  [the  Indians],  it  is  essential  to  have  among  them  the 
perpetual  presence  of  a  controlling  military  force.5 

There  was  no  legal  barrier  to  the  establishment  of  a  permanent 
military  post  and  mail  escort  station.6  By  the  Treaty  of  Fort  Laramie 
of  1851  the  Cheyenne-Arapaho  reserve  came  as  far  east  as  the  101st 
meridian  and  the  eastern  Indian  reserve  line  was  approximately  the 
97th  meridian.7  The  area  where  Fort  Larned  was  to  be  located  was 
government  held  land,  being  free  from  any  binding  Indian  treaty. 

On  October  22,  1859,  Maj.  Henry  Wessels  arrived  at  Pawnee  Fork 
with  two  companies  of  United  States  infantry.  This  group  began 
the  actual  construction  of  "Camp  on  the  Pawnee  Fork,"  as  the  first 
Fort  Larned  was  named.  The  exact  location  of  this  installation  was 
at  the  base  of  Lookout  Hill  (now  known  as  Jenkins  Hill),  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Pawnee,  eight  miles  from  its  confluence  with  the 
Arkansas  river.8  Major  Wessels  was  aided  by  Company  K  of  the 
United  States  cavalry,  under  the  command  of  Capt.  George  H. 
Stewart.  This  company  had  been  busy  during  the  summer  patrol- 
ling the  region  between  Cow  creek  and  Fort  Union.9 

A  description  of  the  first  structures  of  "Camp  on  the  Pawnee 
Fork"  is  given  in  Capt.  Lambert  Wolfs  diary, 

3.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1859,  pp.  138,  139. 

4.  Ibid.,  pp.  20,  21. 

5.  Ibid.,  p.  138. 

6.  The  need  for  a  mail  escort  station  along  the  trail  appears  to  have  been  another  mo- 
tive for  the  building  of  Fort  Larned.     An  official  mail  route  survey  was  instigated  along  the 
Santa  Fe  trail,  the  route  being  selected  by  Jacob  Hall  with  L.  J.  Berry  as  official  surveyor. 
The  route,  as  designed  in  1858,  was  to  begin  at  Wyandotte  and  terminate  at  Pawnee  Fork. 
The  record  of  this  survey  to  October,  1859,  shows  that  at  this  date  the  farthest  penetration 
was  to  Durham,  roughly  halfway  to  Pawnee  Fork. — See  Twenty-Seventh  Biennial  Report  of 
the  Kansas  Historical  Society  (1928-1930),  p.  23. 

7.  James   C.   Malin,  "Indian  Policy  and  Westward   Expansion,"    University   of  Kansas 
Humanistic  Studies,  Lawrence,  v.  2  (1921),  facing  p.  103. 

8  George  A.  Root,  ed.,  "Extracts  From  the  Diary  of  Captain  Lambert  Bowman  Wolf," 
The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  Topeka,  v.  1  (1931-1932),  p.  204. 

9  Merrill  J.   Mattes,   ed..   "Patrolling  the   Santa  Fe  Trail:     Reminiscences   of   John   S. 
Kirwan,"  ibid.  (Winter,  1955),  pp.  583,  584. 


THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED  259 

October  23,  plans  are  made  for  the  horse  and  cattle  stable,  also  for  officers' 
and  company  quarters,  all  of  which  are  to  be  built  of  sod,  cut  with  spades  by 
members  of  our  company.  Our  stable  [probably  meaning  fortification]  is  to  be 
100  feet  square  .  .  .  wall  12  feet  high.  .  .  .10 

These  plans,  however,  apparently  were  deferred  for  several  months, 
since  as  late  as  July  22,  1860,  a  letter  from  Camp  Alert  ( as  the  in- 
stallation was  then  called ) ,  failed  to  note  anything  more  permanent 
than  tents  in  the  fort.11 

The  forces  of  Stewart  and  Wessels  remained  at  "Camp  on  the 
Pawnee  Fork"  until  November  27,  1859,  when  they  were  relieved 
by  a  detail  of  40  men  under  the  command  of  one  Lieutenant  Bell, 
whose  specific  instructions  were  to  act  as  a  construction  crew  for 
the  permanent  site.12  Some  time  during  the  period  from  October 
22,  1859,  until  the  midsummer  of  1860,  the  original  plans  to  con- 
struct a  permanent  sod  fort  were  carried  out  at  a  new  location  three 
miles  west.13  The  new  location  had  the  natural  advantage  of  being 
located  on  the  south  side  of  the  Pawnee,  with  a  big  bend  of  the 
creek  affording  a  natural  barrier  on  two  sides. 

Just  prior  to  the  completion  of  the  sod  buildings  and  earth  works, 
the  post  was  given  its  third  and  lasting  name,  Fort  Lamed.  On 
May  29,  1860,  pursuant  to  General  Order  No.  14,  the  post  was 
named  Fort  Larned,  in  honor  of  Col.  Benjamin  F.  Larned,  pay- 
master of  the  United  States  army.14  The  reservation  was  four  miles 
square,  but  the  official  survey  was  never  carried  out.15 

On  April  24,  1860,  Major  Wessels  left  Fort  Riley  to  return  to  the 
nearly  completed  fortification  with  160  men  who  had  been  based 
at  Fort  Riley.16  Some  of  these  recruits  left  immediately  on  a  cam- 
paign against  the  Kiowas  and  Comanches.17  Obviously  the  new 
commander  was  wasting  no  time  attempting  to  make  the  govern- 
ment's new  investment  pay  dividends. 

10.  Root  ".     .     .     Diary  of  Captain  Lambert  Bowman  Wolf,"  loc.  cit. 

11.  The  Daily  Times,  Leavenworth,  August  2,  1860. 

12.  Kansas  Historical  Collections,  Topeka,  v.  9  (1906),  p.  572. 

13.  "Statement  of  Theodore  Weichselbaum     .     .     .     ,"  ibid.,  v.  11    (1910),  pp.  562, 
563. 

14.  Frank  W.   Blackmar,   Kansas,  A   Cyclopedia  of   State   History     .  (Chicaeo- 
Standard  Publishing  Co.,  1912),  v.  1,  p.  663. 

15.  "Report  on  Barracks  and  Hospitals,"  Report  of  the  Surgeon  General,  1870    p    299 
According  to  General  Order  Number  22,  Headquarters,  Department  of  Missouri,  1867    16 
square  miles  were  "laid  out,"  the  exact  center  of  the  reservation  being  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  commanding  officer's  quarters  that  were  constructed  in  1867. — See  Larned  Eaele- 
Optic,  November  10,  1899. 

16.  Correspondence  of  John  Sedgwick,  Major-General   (De  Vinne  Press,   1903),  v.   2, 
p.  11. 

17.  Leavenworth  Daily  Times,  August  2,  1860. 


260  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

INDIAN  RELATIONS  AT  FORT  LARNED 

By  the  Treaty  of  Fort  Atkinson  (1853),  the  Kiowas  and  Co- 
manches  accepted  annuities  amounting  to  $18,000  a  year  for  a  ten- 
year  period,  the  distribution  point  for  these  annuities  to  be  at  Beaver 
creek  in  present-day  Oklahoma.18  Since  this  station  was  to  be  a 
temporary  one,  and  since  Bent  had  stated  in  his  October  5,  1859, 
report  that  the  Kiowas  and  Comanches  desired  an  annuity  distribu- 
tion station  on  the  Arkansas,  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  Fort 
Larned  was  an  official  Indian  post  as  early  as  1860.  To  support 
this  assumption  is  the  fact  that  Col.  Jesse  Leavenworth  at  Fort 
Larned  was  known  to  be  sending  reports  about  these  Indians  in 
1861.19 

Efforts  to  relocate  the  Southern  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  farther 
south  came  in  1860,  the  year  that  Fort  Larned  was  under  construc- 
tion. In  this  year  congress  authorized  the  negotiation  of  a  treaty 
to  take  place  at  Fort  Wise  20  on  the  Arkansas.  Initial  parleys  with 
several  Indian  chiefs  left  the  opinion  that  there  was  little  hope  that 
a  permanent  treaty  would  be  drawn  up.21  This  proved  false,  for  on 
February  18,  1861,  the  Fort  Wise  treaty  was  concluded  with  the 
Cheyenne  and  Arapaho  Indians  of  the  Upper  Arkansas.  The  treaty 
authorized  annual  payments  and  it  provided  for  a  new  reservation 
farther  south  that  would  initiate  these  Indians  to  an  agricultural 
economy.22 

Fort  Lyon  was  located  in  this  reservation  and  was  headquarters 
for  these  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes.  Great  difficulty  was  experi- 
enced in  keeping  the  Indians  confined  to  a  permanent  location,  as 
evidenced  by  the  report  of  a  large  group  of  Indians  camped  near 
Fort  Larned  on  August  5,  1862.23  Since  this  group  included  tribes 
of  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes,  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  Fort 
Larned  was  storing  and  handing  out  annuities  under  the  Fort  Wise 
treaty.  In  support  of  this  assumption  is  the  fact  that  Fort  Larned 
was  much  closer  to  Forts  Riley  and  Leavenworth,  the  general  supply 
depots  for  Indian  annuities,  and  as  such,  the  freight  to  Fort  Larned 
would  have  been  considerably  less  than  to  Fort  Lyon. 

18.  Charles  J.  Kappler,  Indian  Affairs:    Laws  and  Treaties   (Washington;  Government 
Printing  Office,  1903),  v.  2,  p.  446. 

19.  George  B.  Grinnell,  The  Fighting  Cheyennes   (New  York;  Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 
1915),  p.  121. 

20.  Named  for  the  governor  of  Virginia.     After  Virginia  seceded,  it  was  renamed  Fort 
Lyon  after  Nathaniel  Lyon,  Union  military  hero. 

21.  Congressional  Globe,  36th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  November  30,  1860,  appendix,  p.  26. 

22.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1863,  p.  617.     A  map  of  this  reser- 
vation is  found  in  "Map  of  the  Public  Lands,  States  and  Territories  From  the  Surveys  in  the 
General  Land  Office,  1864" — Ibid.,  1864. 

23     Joyce  Farlowe  and  Louise  Barry,  eds.,  "Vincent  B.  Osborne's   Civil  War  Experi- 
ences," Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  v.  20  (May,  1952),  p.  132. 


THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED  261 

With  the  establishment  of  Fort  Lamed,  the  roving  Indians  began, 
for  awhile,  to  respect  the  trail  commerce.  In  August,  1861,  Colonel 
Leavenworth,  reporting  from  Fort  Larned,  stated  that  the  Indians 
had  left  the  Santa  Fe  trail  area  and  that  there  was  no  apprehension 
of  any  hostilities  in  the  near  future.24  In  the  following  spring,  how- 
ever, Fort  Larned  very  nearly  became  directly  involved  in  the  Civil 
War.  In  May,  1862,  Gen.  Albert  Pike,  Confederate  officer  in  Texas, 
arranged  an  alliance  with  some  Kiowas  and  a  group  of  renegade 
Seminoles.  This  alliance  had  as  its  design  the  seizure  of  Forts 
Larned  and  Wise  by  these  Indians.  Nothing  came  of  this,  since 
as  soon  as  the  weather  permitted,  the  Indians  left  for  their  annual 
hunt.25 

In  June  of  the  same  year,  Fort  Larned's  small  garrison  was 
threatened  by  a  large  group  of  hostile  Indians.  Squadrons  B  and 
C  of  the  Second  Kansas  cavalry  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Whittenhall  were  sent  from  Fort  Riley  to  bolster  the  fort.26  A  group 
of  traders  had  induced  some  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  to  attempt 
the  seizure  of  their  annuities  before  they  were  to  be  issued.  This 
incident,  which  took  place  in  August,  1862,  was  thwarted  by  the 
ever  watchful  Colonel  Leavenworth.27 

As  more  white  people  came  to  the  area  along  the  Arkansas  river, 
the  buffalo  supply  diminished  immensely,  with  the  result  that  the 
Indians  resorted  to  looting  in  order  to  survive.  It  was  this  siutation 
that  brought  about  what  is  called  the  Nine  Mile  Ridge  massacre.28 
In  January,  1863,  a  wagon  train  that  was  preparing  to  bed  down  for 
the  night  was  surrounded  by  a  group  of  hungry  Indians  who  de- 
manded food  and  coffee.  In  the  excitement  that  followed,  a  team- 
ster wounded  one  of  the  Indians.  This  prompted  them  to  return 
before  daylight  and  massacre  all  the  teamsters,  excluding  one  who 
escaped  to  the  protection  of  Fort  Larned.29  In  that  same  year  a 
group  of  destitute  Kiowas,  under  the  guise  of  wanting  to  trade, 
ran  off  300  cattle  from  Fort  Larned.30 

The  deterioration  of  peaceful  relationships  between  the  Santa  Fe 
traders  and  the  Indians  in  the  early  1860's  was  furthered  by  the 

24.  Grinnell,  op.  cit.,  p.  121. 

25.  Ibid,  pp.  121,  122. 

26.  Official  Military  History  of  Kansas  Regiments     .     .     .      (Leavenworth;  W.  S.  Burke 
Company,  1870),  p.  69. 

27.  Grinnell,  op.  cit.,  p.  123. 

28.  Nine  Mile  ridge  is  located  approximately  75  miles  west  of  Fort  Larned,  near  the 
source  of  Pawnee  creek  in  present  eastern  Finney  county. 

29.  William  H.  Ryus,  The  Second  William  Perm — Treating  With  Indians  on  the  Santa 
Fe  Trail,  1860-1866  (Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Frank  Riley  Publishing  Co.,  c!913),  pp.  16-20. 

30.  James  F.  Meline,  Ttco  Thousand  Miles  on  Horseback  (New  York,  Kurd  and  Hough- 
ton,  1868  )f  pp.  291,  292. 


262  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

killing  of  an  Indian  chief  at  Fort  Larned.  In  August,  1863,  Little 
Heart,  en  route  from  his  Cheyenne  village  just  west  of  Fort  Larned 
to  the  fort  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  supplies,  was  shot  by  a 
sentry.  It  was  later  determined  that  Little  Heart  had  been  drunk 
and  that  he  had  attempted  to  ride  over  Isaac  Marrs,  the  sentry. 
Gifts  presented  to  this  Cheyenne  tribe  by  the  Indian  agent  at  the 
fort  to  compensate  for  the  killing  seemed  to  have  little  effect.31 

Conditions  precipitated  by  the  Civil  War  resulted  in  further  re- 
sponsibilities for  Fort  Larned.  On  January  25,  1863,  S.  G.  Colley, 
agent  for  the  Upper  Arkansas  was  visited  at  Fort  Larned  by  26 
chiefs  of  the  Caddo  Indian  confederacy.  These  chiefs  represented 
one  thousand  Indians  who  farmed  near  Fort  Cobb,  in  present  Okla- 
homa. They  told  Colley  that  they  had  been  abandoned  by  their 
agent,  a  man  by  the  Name  of  Leaper,  who  had  deserted  to  the 
Confederate  army.  Not  wanting  to  join  the  Confederate  army, 
these  Indians  drifted  north  to  seek  aid.  Being  very  destitute,  they 
were  befriended  by  the  authorities  at  Fort  Larned,  and  W.  P.  Doyle, 
commissioner  of  Indian  affairs,  forwarded  to  Colley  $5,000  to  help 
provide  for  them.32 

Since  these  Indians  had  been  accustomed  to  farming,  this  money 
was  used  to  set  up  a  farm  along  the  banks  of  Pawnee  creek.  Ac- 
cordingly, 2,000  acres  of  land  were  surveyed  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Pawnee;  this  site  was  chosen  over  a  Fort  Lyon  site  because  it 
was  the  opinion  that  more  water  would  be  available  for  irrigation 
purposes.  Corn  was  planted  the  following  spring,  and  here  was 
probably  the  first  instance  of  a  large  scale  irrigation  attempt  in  the 
Pawnee  valley,  an  area  that  today  is  noted  for  irrigated  farming.33 

This  farming  enterprise  of  the  Caddos  lasted  till  the  fall  of  1864, 
when  open  hostilities  broke  out  in  the  area.  By  October  4,  1864, 
250  acres  of  corn  had  been  planted  and  buildings  were  being  built. 
These  Caddos,  fearing  that  they  might  become  involved  in  the 
Indian  war,  drifted  to  the  southeast  and  finally  established  them- 
selves between  Cow  and  Crow  creeks.  They  left  all  their  crops, 
buildings,  and  equipment,  and  what  the  warring  Indians  did  not 
take  was  plundered  by  soldiers  from  Fort  Larned  and  freighters  on 
the  Santa  Fe  trail.34 

In  the  early  months  of  1864  conditions  between  the  whites  and 
the  Indians  became  progressively  worse,  with  the  result  that  a  gen- 
eral war  broke  out  on  the  Plains.  The  underlying  factor  appears  to 

31.  Grinnell,  op.  cit.,  p.  126. 

32.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1863,  pp.  253,  254. 

33.  Ibid.,  pp.  257-260. 

34.  Ibid.,  1864,  pp.  387,  388. 


THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED  263 

have  been  that  the  Indians,  due  to  the  encroachments  of  white 
settlers,  were  having  difficulty  finding  enough  game  to  live  on.  Also 
it  is  a  fact  that  most  of  the  military  posts  on  the  Plains,  due  to  the 
Civil  War,  were  not  adequately  garrisoned  35  and  that  a  good  per 
cent  of  these  meager  garrisons  did  not  appreciate  the  Indians*  pre- 
dicament. At  Fort  Lamed,  for  example,  the  soldiers  were  reported, 
on  January  28,  1864,  to  be  selling  whisky  to  the  Indians  and  de- 
moralizing their  women.36  The  Chivington  massacre  of  the  Chey- 
enne Indians  at  Sand  creek  in  November,  1864,  served  to  compound 
the  problem.  From  an  examination  of  the  documents  concerning 
this  incident,  it  appears  that  a  very  basic  factor  was  that  some 
Indians  were  openly  friendly  and  that  others  were  not,  but  that  it 
was,  in  many  cases,  difficult  to  determine  the  one  group  from  the 
other.37 

The  decision  was  made  by  the  War  Department  to  subdue  by 
force  the  Indians  who  were  guilty  of  depredations.  On  July  27, 
1864,  Gov.  John  Evans  of  Colorado  territory  ordered  all  friendly 
Indians  to  the  military  posts,  so  that  only  the  belligerent  ones  would 
remain  in  the  field.  He  ordered  the  Sioux  to  Fort  Laramie,  the 
Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes  of  the  Arkansas  to  Fort  Lyon,  the  Arap- 
ahoes  and  Cheyennes  of  the  Platte  to  Camp  Collins,  and  the  Kiowas 
and  Comanches  to  Fort  Larned.38 

In  the  summer  of  1864  large  numbers  of  horses  and  mules  were 
stolen  by  angry  Indians  who  found  that  ration  day  did  not  provide 
adequate  supplies.39  This  and  other  similar  events,  brought  about 
General  Field  Order  No.  2,  Headquarters,  Department  of  Kansas, 
July  31,  1864,  which  stated  that  stockades  or  abatis  enclosures  must 
be  provided  for  all  troops  and  stock  at  the  military  posts  of  the 
frontier.  These  same  orders  severely  reprimanded  Fort  Larned  for 
not  having  a  stone  blockhouse  or  enclosures  for  the  animals.40  Con- 
sequently, on  February  20,  1865,  Col.  James  H.  Ford  reported  the 
erection  of  a  stone  fortification.41 

During  the  Indian  war  of  1864,  Lt.  George  Eayre  used  Fort 
Larned  as  a  base  for  a  campaign  against  the  Cheyennes.  He  en- 
gaged the  Cheyennes  about  50  miles  northwest  of  Fort  Larned,  an 
encounter  that  Grinnell  thought  to  be  an  unprovoked  attack.  Soon 

35.  Ibid.,  p.  381. 

36.  Ibid.,  p.  389. 

37.  These  documents  are  found  in  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  26,  39th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  1866- 

38.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1864,  p.  362. 

39.  "A  Brush  With  the  Cheyennes,"  The  Trail,  Denver,  v.  2   (April,  1910),  p.  17. 

40.  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  26,  39th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  1866-1867,  p.  76. 

41.  Official  Records  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Armies,  Ser.  1,  v.  48,  pt.  1,  p.  923. 


264  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

after  the  battle,  Eayre  moved  his  force  to  Fort  Lamed.  The  fort 
was  under  the  command  of  Captain  Parmeter,  who  had  been 
warned  by  a  group  of  Kiowas  that  they  intended  to  run  off  Lieu- 
tenant Eayre's  horses.  Parmeter  was  reported  drunk,  and  while  the 
Indians  were  entertaining  the  fort's  garrison,  other  Indians  were 
stealing  240  horses  and  mules.  Subsequent  events  led  to  even  more 
strained  relations.42 

Col.  J.  M.  Chivington  campaigned  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Larned 
during  this  same  period.  On  July  26,  1864,  upon  his  return  to  Denver 
from  Fort  Larned,  he  reported  that  ten  men  had  been  killed  at  that 
post,  and  that  all  coaches  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail  were  given  an  escort 
of  between  ten  and  forty  men.43  In  October,  1864,  Gen.  James 
Blunt  and  Maj.  Scott  Anthony  met  a  group  of  Cheyennes  at  Walnut 
creek,  with  the  result  that  nine  Indians  were  killed.44 

The  Chivington  massacre  in  November  brought  an  official  opin- 
ion from  Fort  Larned,  as  voiced  by  J.  H.  Leavenworth,  Kiowa  and 
Comanche  agent,  January  9,  1865: 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  express  to  you  [addressed  to  the  commissioner  of 
Indian  affairs]  the  horror  with  which  I  view  this  transaction  [Chivington  mas- 
sacre]; it  has  destroyed  the  last  vestige  of  confidence  between  red  and  white 
man.  .  .  .  What  can  be  done?  Nothing;  unless  the  department  takes  the 
matter  up  in  earnest,  and  demands  that  the  parties  who  were  the  cause  of  this 
wicked  treatment  of  the  Indians  be  properly  dealt  with.45 

In  the  spring  of  1865  Colonel  Leavenworth  requested  the  govern- 
ment to  authorize  him  to  hold  a  peace  treaty  with  the  various  war- 
ring tribes.  At  the  same  time,  Gen.  J.  H.  Ford,  commander  of  the 
Upper  Arkansas  district,  was  marching  to  Fort  Larned  with  orders 
to  pay  no  attention  to  any  peace  movements.  Ford  was  overruled 
on  June  15,  1865,  when  President  Andrew  Johnson  authorized 
Leavenworth  to  go  ahead  with  his  treaty  plans.46  Six  tribes  of 
Kiowas,  one  tribe  of  Apaches,  eight  tribes  of  Comanches,  four 
tribes  of  Arapahoes,  and  five  tribes  of  Cheyennes  agreed  to  meet 
at  a  camp  on  Bluff  creek,  about  40  miles  south  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Little  Arkansas  47  in  October,  1865.48 


42.    Grinnell,  op.  cit.,  pp.  138-141.     Thi 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1864,  p.  383. 


This  incident  is  also  recorded  in  the  Report  of  the 


43.  Ibid.,  pp.  374,  375. 

44.  Grinnell,  op.  cit.,  pp.  155-157. 

45.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1865,  p.  571.     This  was  obviously  a 
statement  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Indian  agent  and  it  shows  the  disagreement  that  existed 
between  the  War  Department  and  the  Department  of  Indian  Affairs  as  related  to  the  Plains' 
Indian  problem  in  general. 

46.  Ibid.,  pp.  573-576. 

47.  Approximately  125  miles  southeast  of  Fort  Lamed. 

48.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1865,  pp.  278,  279. 


THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED  265 

At  this  treaty  conference,  Col.  Jesse  Leavenworth  was  retained 
as  Kiowa-Comanche  agent  at  Fort  Larned  and  an  official  Cheyenne, 
Arapaho,  and  Apache  agency  was  created  there,  with  Maj.  E.  W. 
Wynkoop  as  their  agent.49  This  brought  8,600  Indians  under  the 
control  of  Wynkoop.50  On  October  14,  1865,  the  Cheyennes  ac- 
cepted annuities  amounting  to  $56,000  for  a  period  of  40  years,51 
and  they  agreed  to  a  reservation  immediately  south  of  Fort  Larned. 
The  Apaches  broke  their  confederation  with  the  Kiowas  and  Co- 
manches  and  allied  themselves  with  these  Cheyennes  and  Arapa- 
hoes;  52  they  were  to  receive  $16,000  a  year  for  a  period  of  40 
years.53  The  Kiowas  and  Comanches  accepted  annuities  amount- 
ing to  $40,000  for  a  period  of  40  years,54  and  they  agreed  to  a  res- 
ervation which  was  to  be  located  south  of  the  Cimarron  river.55 
It  was  emphasized  that  these  reservations  were  not  to  be  con- 
sidered permanent,  since  in  the  future  all  Indians  were  to  be  re- 
moved from  the  state  of  Kansas. 

Continued  depredations  by  roving  bands  of  Cheyennes  in  1866 
and  early  1867  prompted  the  War  Department  to  plan  an  exten- 
sive campaign  to  chastise  the  so-called  dog  soldiers.  For  this  job 
the  department  chose  Gen.  Winfield  S.  Hancock,  a  hero  of  the 
Battle  of  Gettysburg.  Just  prior  to  marching  to  Fort  Larned,  he 
wrote  to  Agent  Wynkoop  that  he  was  able  to  chastise  any  tribes 
who  might  molest  people  traveling  across  the  Plains.56  The  general 
left  Fort  Harker  on  April  3,  1867,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Larned  on 
April  7.  His  force,  numbering  nearly  1,400  men,  included  four  com- 
panies of  the  7th  cavalry,  six  companies  of  infantry,  one  company 
of  the  37th  infantry  under  George  Custer  and  some  artillery.57 

At  the  suggestion  of  Agents  Wynkoop  and  Leavenworth,  Hancock 
was  induced  to  hold  a  council  with  the  Cheyenne  chiefs  on  April 
13,  about  20  miles  up  the  Pawnee,  near  the  Cheyenne  village. 
Nothing  came  of  this  council,  so,  on  the  following  day,  Hancock 
moved  within  a  mile  of  the  village,  where  he  met  the  dog  soldiers. 
Hancock's  understanding  was  that  the  Indians  were  to  remain,  but 
during  the  ensuing  night,  the  Cheyennes  quietly  slipped  away, 

49.  Ibid.,  pp.  710,  711. 

50.  Ibid.,  1868,  p.  514. 

51.  Ibid.,  1867,  p.  361. 

52.  Kappler,  op.  cit.,  p.  679. 

53.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1867,  p.  361. 

54.  Ibid. 

55.  Kappler,  op.  cit.,  pp.  683-685. 

56.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1868,  p.  497. 

57.  George  A.  Custer,  Wild  Life  on  the  Plains  (St.  Louis,  Royal  Publishing  Co.,  1891), 
pp.  39,  40. 


266  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

much  to  his  disgust.  General  Custer  was  sent  after  these  Indians, 
but  was  not  able  to  locate  them.  They  (the  Cheyennes)  crossed 
over  to  the  Smoky  Hill  river,  where  they  destroyed  some  stations  of 
the  Overland  Stage  Company.  When  notified  by  Custer  of  this 
action,  General  Hancock  ordered  the  whole  Indian  village  to  be 
burned  to  the  ground.58 

General  Hancock  had  great  difficulty  understanding  the  conduct 
of  these  Cheyenne  Indians,  when  he  found  out  later  that  they 
thought  he  was  planning  another  Sand  creek  massacre.  Agent 
Wynkoop  answered  by  saying,  "The  nation  knows,  and  I  know,  who 
General  Hancock  is  ...  but  the  Indians  .  .  .  had  no 
means  of  discriminating  between  him  and  Colonel  Chivington  or 
distinguishing  the  man  from  the  monster."  59  Wynkoop  also  showed 
the  true  character  of  General  Hancock  by  pointing  out  that  the 
general  had  ordered  the  killing  of  six  Cheyennes  at  Cimarron  cross- 
ing before  he  had  received  any  word  from  Custer  regarding  the 
Overland  Stage  depredations.60 

Before  leaving  the  plains  General  Hancock  had  a  council  with 
Satanta,  Kiowa  chief.  In  a  meeting  at  Fort  Larned,  it  became  ap- 
parent that  the  Civil  War  hero  was  no  match  for  the  Kiowa  chief. 
Hancock  was  so  impressed  with  Satanta's  peace  overtures  that  he 
presented  the  chief  with  a  coat  of  a  Union  major  general.  A  few 
days  later  Satanta  proudly  displayed  this  new  wearing  apparel  while 
stampeding  the  livestock  at  Fort  Dodge.61 

By  the  fall  of  1867  the  Indians  had  agreed  to  peace  councils  to 
be  held  on  Medicine  Lodge  creek.62  This  parley  was  to  solve 
permanently  the  Indian  problem  in  its  entirety.  A  preliminary 
council  was  held  at  Fort  Larned,  and  on  October  13, 1867,  the  peace 
commissioners  and  chiefs  left  Larned  for  Medicine  Lodge  creek. 
At  the  same  time  the  gifts  for  the  oncoming  treaties  were  being 
shipped  from  Fort  Larned  to  the  treaty  grounds,  a  task  that  took 
nearly  a  month.63 

Upon  the  completion  of  the  Medicine  Lodge  treaty  arrange- 
ments,64 it  became  obvious  that  the  Indians  were  not  quick  to  re- 
move themselves  to  their  new  homes.  As  late  as  July  4,  1868,  Gen. 

58.  William  E.  Connelley,  "The  Treaty  Held  At  Medicine  Lodge,"  Kansas  Historical 
Collections,  v.  17  (1926-1928),  pp.  601,  602. 

59.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1867,  p.  314. 

60.  Ibid.,  pp.  310-313. 

61.  Harper's  Magazine,  New  York,  v.  36  (February,  1868),  pp.  297,  298. 

62.  Located  near  present  Medicine  Lodge,  some  75  miles  south  of  Fort  Larned. 

63.  Grinnell,  op.  cit.,  pp.  263,  264. 

64.  Stipulations  of  the  Medicine  Lodge  treaty  are  found  in  Kappler,  op.  cit.,  pp.  754- 
764. 


THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED  267 

Alfred  Sully  had  to  detach  six  companies  of  cavalry  from  Ellis  Sta- 
tion to  Fort  Lamed  where  the  Kiowa  and  Comanches  were  holding 
up  Santa  Fe  freighters.65  The  Cheyennes  were  reported  to  have 
killed  16  men  at  Pawnee  Fork  in  September  of  the  same  year.66  Be- 
cause of  these  sporadic  depredations,  Agent  Wynkoop  was  in- 
structed to  withhold  all  issues  of  arms  until  the  Indians  had  con- 
fined themselves  to  their  new  reservation  as  outlined  in  the  treaties 
of  the  previous  year.  Just  after  this  order  was  issued,  the  Cheyennes 
raided  the  Kaw  settlements  near  Council  Grove  where  they  stole 
some  livestock.  Since  Wynkoop  was  not  aware  of  this  incident  and 
since  he  still  did  not  believe  that  any  of  the  Indians  of  his  agency 
would  deceive  him,  he  acted  contrary  to  his  orders  by  issuing  arms 
to  a  group  of  Cheyennes  who  argued  that  unless  they  were  issued 
arms  and  ammunition,  they  would  starve.  These  very  same  Indians, 
with  their  newly  acquired  weapons,  proceeded  to  the  Saline  and 
Solomon  where  they  killed  16  white  farmers  and  ravished  several 
women.67 

The  War  Department  acted  swiftly  after  these  depredations  were 
reported.  Lt.  Gen.  William  T.  Sherman  of  the  Department  of  Mis- 
souri, on  August  10, 1868,  issued  General  Order  No.  4,  which  stated, 
"W.  B.  Hazen,  Major  General,  United  States  Army  will  have  the 
supervision  of  all  issues  and  disbursements  to  said  Indians.  .  .  ."  68 

On  September  21,  1868,  Agents  Wynkoop  and  Leavenworth  were 
relieved  of  their  duties  at  Fort  Larned  and  on  September  25,  the 
Interior  Department  (Department  of  Indian  Affairs)  abandoned 
the  annuity  distribution  center  at  Fort  Larned.  Fort  Cobb,  in  the 
Indian  territory,  had  thus  inherited  the  functions  of  Fort  Larned 
with  respect  to  the  five  Indian  tribes.69  In  the  fall  of  1868,  General 
Custer  was  planning  his  winter  expedition  to  the  Washita  river 
and  the  outcome  of  this  campaign  served  to  remove  any  organized 
Indian  troubles  for  the  area  around  Fort  Larned. 

Troops  remained  at  Fort  Larned  to  as  late  as  1882,  but  these 
garrisons  saw  veiy  little  action.  In  the  early  1870's  Fort  Larned 
troops  were  used  to  subdue  the  Wichita  and  Osage  Indians  who 
were  revolting  against  railroad  construction,70  and  in  1874  three 
Fort  Larned  cavalrymen  were  wounded  in  a  battle  which  saw  five 

65.  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  1888,  p.  10. 

66.  Ibid.,  p.  5. 

67.  Ibid.,  pp.  3-12. 

68.  Ibid.,  p.  8. 

69.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1868,  pp.  536-538. 

70.  Topeka  Daily  Capital,  June  24,  1928. 


268  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Indians  killed.    These  Indians  had  scalped  a  man  south  of  Dodge 
City.71 

Ralph  Wallace,  manager  of  the  Larned  Tiller  and  Toiler,  stated 
that  newspaper  files  record  192  deaths  of  red  and  white  men  in  the 
vicinity  of  Fort  Larned  from  the  year  1859  to  1869.  In  addition  to 
this,  Wallace  stated  that  there  were  approximately  another  200 
wounded  cases  recorded,  bringing  the  total  casualties  to  nearly  400 
for  the  period  that  Fort  Larned  was  active  in  Indian  affairs.72 

LIFE  AT  FORT  LARNED  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 

It  will  be  remembered  that  early  as  February,  1865,  General  Ford 
had  erected  a  stone  blockhouse,  primarily  because  of  an  official 
reprimand  from  the  War  Department.  The  type  of  defenses  at 
Fort  Larned  prior  to  this  construction  were  described  as  "earthen- 
works  [that]  were  .  .  .  washed  away  by  the  constant  rains."  73 
Other  installations  were  described  as  tents,74  dugouts  covered  with 
thatch  and  sod,75  or  mud-houses.76 

There  may  have  been  some  who  entertained  the  idea  that  the 
treaty  at  the  camp  on  the  Little  Arkansas  in  the  fall  of  1865  had 
resolved  the  Indian  troubles,  but  surely  it  was  not  the  War  Depart- 
ment. Maj.  Gen.  John  Pope,  in  a  letter  dated  August  11,  1866,  to 
General  Sherman,  stated  that  he  was  sure  that  hostilities  would 
break  out  in  the  near  future.  He  went  on  to  say  that  he  would 
order  the  military  posts  on  the  frontier  to  be  placed  in  the  best 
possible  condition,  since  he  did  not  believe  the  Treaty  of  1865 
worth  the  paper  that  it  was  written  on.77 

Also  in  1866  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  in  a  letter  to  Secretary  of  War 
Stanton,  remarked  on  the  adverse  condition  of  the  frontier  military 
posts.  Explaining  the  great  need  for  more  suitable  barracks  and 
storehouses,  he  suggested  that  the  appropriations  needed  to  cor- 
rect the  situation  could  be  held  to  a  minimum  by  having  the  garri- 
sons of  each  fort  do  their  own  construction  work.78  Consequently, 
a  building  program  was  instigated  at  Fort  Larned,  beginning  in 
late  1866  and  ending  some  time  in  1868.  For  construction  materials, 

71.  Progress  in  Pawnee  County  ( 18th  anniversary  supplement  to  the  Larned  Tiller  and 
Tolier),  December,  1952. 

72.  Ibid. 

73.  Official  Records  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Armies,  loc.  cit. 

74.  George  A.  Root,  ed.,  "Reminiscences  of  William  Darnell,"  Kansas  Historical  Col- 
lections, v.  17  (1926-1928),  p.  510. 

75.  Larned  Chronoscope,  November  20,  1919. 

76.  Harper's  Weekly,  New  York,  v.  11  (June  8,  1867),  p.  357. 

77.  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  1866,  p.  30. 

78.  Ibid.,  pp.  17,  18. 


THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED  269 

pine  timbers  were  obtained  from  Michigan  and  sandstone  blocks 
were  quarried  from  near-by  Lookout  hill. 

The  building  of  barracks  probably  began  in  late  1866,  since  a 
drawing  made  in  June,  1867,  shows  one  division  completed.79  When 
finished,  the  two  barracks,  which  also  included  mess  rooms,  kitchens, 
orderly  rooms,  and  storage  space,  were  capable  of  accommodating 
four  companies.  The  space  allotted  each  company  was  40  feet 
square.  Both  of  these  buildings  were  ten  feet  high  and  they  were 
located  just  south  of  the  Pawnee  creek  bed,  facing  south  and  form- 
ing the  north  side  of  the  quadrangular  parade  grounds.80  These 
buildings  still  stand  today,  the  only  basic  change  being  the  addi- 
tion of  roofs  to  provide  for  hay  lofts  that  are  today  used  by  the 
Frizell  family  in  their  ranching  operations. 

The  dimensions  of  the  buildings  today  are,  west  barracks,  150 
feet  by  43  feet,  east  barracks,  172  feet  by  43  feet.  It  is  reasonable 
to  assume  that  these  dimensions  are  the  same  as  when  constructed, 
since  there  is  no  physical  evidence  that  the  masonry  has  been 
tampered  with. 

The  officers'  quarters,  probably  built  in  late  1867,  were  con- 
structed of  sandstone,  with  shingle  roofs  and  broad  porticos  in 
front.  They  were  located  on  the  west  side  of  the  quadrangle,  fac- 
ing east,  with  the  banks  of  the  Pawnee  forming  a  convenient  means 
of  protection  to  the  rear.  The  commanding  officer's  building  was 
the  middle  of  the  three  in  this  group.  It  had  four  rooms,  14  by  16 
feet  each,  a  kitchen  19  by  16  feet  and  servants'  quarters  upstairs.81 
This  building,  containing  the  original  sandstone  (although  re- 
modeled somewhat),  still  stands  today. 

The  other  two  buildings  for  officers  were  described  in  1870  as 
follows: 

Each  contains  four  sets  of  quarters.  They  are  traversed  by  two  halls  seven 
feet  wide,  each  hall  being  common  to  two  sets  of  quarters  so  that  each  building 
is  supposed  to  accommodate  two  captains  and  four  lieutenants.  The  captain's 
quarters  are  in  the  ends,  and  consist  of  two  rooms  (sixteen  by  fourteen  and 
one-half  feet  by  twelve  feet  high)  and  a  kitchen  (nineteen  by  ten  feet),  from 
which  opens  a  servants'  room.  The  two  rooms  communicate  by  folding  doors 
and  the  kitchen  opens  into  the  back  or  bedrooms.  Under  the  kitchen  is  a  cellar 
that  has  been  transformed  into  a  kitchen,  leaving  the  kitchen  proper  for  use  as 
a  dining  room.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  hall  two  lieutenants  live  in  one  room 
each,  without  kitchens.82 

79.  Harper's  Weekly,  v.  11  (June  8,  1867),  p.  357. 

80.  "Report  on  Barracks  and  Hospitals,"  Report  of  the  Surgeon  General,  1870,  pp.  299, 
300. 

81.  Ibid. 

82.  Ibid. 


270  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Additions  to  these  subalterns'  quarters  were  made  in  1870  to  pro- 
vide them  with  kitchens,  dining  rooms,  and  additional  room  for 
servants.83  Today,  excluding  repairs  and  modernization,  these  two 
buildings  are  practically  as  they  were  when  constructed  in  1867. 

The  hospital  at  Fort  Larned,  an  adobe  structure,  was  erected  in 
1860.  It  contained  four  rooms,  two  for  use  as  wards  with  four  beds 
in  each  ward.  In  1866  a  shingle  roof  was  added  and  in  1867  the 
bare  ground  floor  was  covered  with  planks;  the  ceiling  was  of 
canvas.84  The  medical  officers  made  repeated  requests  for  a  new, 
more  permanent  hospital.  The  following  excerpts  from  a  letter 
give  an  example  of  one  of  these  requests: 

FORT  LARNED 
October,  1868 
WAR  DEPARTMENT 
Washington  D.  C. 

Sm: 

I  have  the  honor  to  request  that  I  may  be  furnished  with  one  hospital  in 
good  order,  for  use  of  the  sick  at  this  post.  The  adobe  building  now  used  for 
this  purpose  is  about  worn  out,  and  in  a  condition  which  renders  it  liable  to  fall 
down  on  the  sick  at  every  storm  that  comes.  ...  It  was  custom  in  former 
times  to  look  after  the  comfort  of  the  sick  as  one  of  the  first  things  in  building 
a  post,  but  here  it  seems  to  have  been  left  to  the  last,  and,  finally,  by  some  over- 
sight, neglected  altogether.  ... 

Very  respectfull 
Your  obedient  servant, 

W.  H.  FORWOOD 
Brevet  Major  and 
Assistant  Surgeon85 

This  request  was  not  granted.  After  a  storm  in  1869  destroyed 
one  of  the  walls,  another  request  for  a  new  hosiptal  was  sent  to 
Washington,  but  this  was  turned  down  also.86 

By  1874  the  fort  had  become  less  important,  as  reflected  by  the 
smaller  garrisons  stationed  there.87  Since  a  substantial  part  of  the 
enlisted  men's  barracks  was  empty,  the  eastern  part  of  the  east  bar- 
racks was  converted  into  a  hospital.  This  new  hospital  had  two 
wards,  a  mess  room,  dispensary,  kitchen,  storeroom  and  attendants' 
rooms.  A  portico  was  added  to  the  front  to  give  it  a  more  attractive 
appearance.  The  old  adobe  hospital  (which  has  long  since  disap- 

83.  Ibid. 

84.  Ibid. 

85.  Ibid. 

86.  Kansas  City  (Mo.)  Star,  April  11,  1926. 

87.  Official  garrisons  of  Fort  Larned  are  found  in  Report  of  the  Adjutant  General.    The 
reports  begin  in  1867  and  end  in  1878. 


THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED  271 

peared)  was  converted  into  an  ordnance  shop,  with  the  cellar  as 
a  magazine.88 

The  blockhouse  erected  in  1865  was  a  hexagonal  building  located 
about  50  feet  southeast  of  the  southeastern  comer  of  the  parade 
grounds.  It  had  a  strategic  location,  since  it  protected  that  side  of 
the  fort  which  had  no  natural  means  of  protection.  This  block- 
house was  taken  down  some  time  after  1886,  since  a  photograph  of 
that  year  shows  it  intact. 

In  1866  the  commissary  building  was  constructed.89  Located  on 
the  eastern  end  of  the  south  side  of  the  parade  grounds,  this  build- 
ing today  measures  160  feet  by  28  feet  and  it  was  used  primarily  to 
house  the  livestock.  Just  west  of  the  commissary  building  is  lo- 
cated the  quartermaster  building,  constructed  in  1867.90  The 
measurements  of  this  building  are  158  feet  by  40  feet.  These  two 
buildings  guarded  the  south  side  of  the  quadrangular  fortification, 
the  side  that  faced  the  vast  open  prairie.  Both  were  constructed  of 
sandstone  blocks  nearly  two  feet  thick  and  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  south  wall  of  the  quarter-master  building  has  gun  slits, 
similar  to  openings  found  in  blockhouses. 

Other  buildings  constructed  during  the  years  1866-1868  were  a 
bakery  in  1868  91  and  a  utility  shop  which  was  used  by  the  black- 
smith, wheelwright,  and  harness  repairmen.  Both  of  these  build- 
ings, located  on  the  east  side  of  the  parade  grounds  and  forming  the 
final  side  of  the  quadrangle,  measure  84M  feet  by  30  feet  and  they 
also  were  constructed  of  sandstone.  They  are  still  standing  today. 

A  stone  sutler's  store  was  built  at  Fort  Lamed  in  1861  and  it  was 
termed  "the  first  stone  building  west  of  Fort  Riley."  92  There  was 
either  another  sutler's  store  built  the  following  year  or  an  addition 
to  the  existing  one,  since  John  K.  Wright  was  reported  to  have  built 
the  foundation  for  a  sutler's  store  in  1862.93  The  exact  location  of 
this  building  or  these  buildings  is  not  known. 

Other  civilian  buildings  at  Fort  Larned  included  a  saloon,94  a  dry 
goods  store,95  a  trading  post  operated  by  Dave  Butterfield,96  and  a 

88.  "Report  on  the  Hygiene  of  the  United  States  Army,"  Report  of  the  Surgeon  Gen- 
eral, 1875,  p.  272. 

89.  This  date  appears  on  a  concrete  block  on  the  north  wall. 

90.  This  date  appears  on  a  concrete  block  on  the  north  wall. 

91.  This  date  appears  on  a  concrete  block  on  the  west  wall. 

92.  Larned  Eagle-Optic,  November  3,  1899. 

93.  "Statement  of  Theodore  Weichselbaum,"  Collections  of  the  Kansas  Historical  So- 
ciety, v.  11  (1909-1910),  p.  567. 

94.  Larned  Chronoscope,  September  4,  1947. 

95.  The  Tiller  and  Toiler,  Lamed,  May  21,  1936. 

96.  Henry  M.  Stanley,  My  Early  Travels  and  Adventures  in  America  and  Asia   (New 
York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons),  v.  1  (1895),  p.  28. 


272  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

corral  and  some  additional  civilian  buildings  constructed  in  1872.97 
Regular  mail  service  to  Fort  Larned  was  begun  in  1863  and  as  a  re- 
sult a  stage  and  mail  building  was  erected  that  year.98  The  govern- 
ment put  up  a  power  sawmill  in  1861;  it  was  located  about  15  miles 
west  of  the  fort  on  the  banks  of  the  Pawnee.99 

Probably  the  pride  of  the  commander  of  Fort  Larned  was  a  100- 
foot  flagpole  that  was  erected  in  the  exact  center  of  the  parade 
grounds.  It  had  been  hauled  to  Fort  Larned  from  Fort  Leaven- 
worth  in  12-foot  sections  some  time  prior  to  June,  1867,  and  was 
reported  destroyed  by  lightning  in  1878.100 

The  water  supply  for  Fort  Larned  was  obtained  by  hauling  water 
from  Pawnee  creek  and  placing  it  in  huge  barrels  that  were  lo- 
cated in  the  yards  adjacent  to  the  barracks.  Wells  were  drilled 
down  to  40  feet,  but  the  water  was  too  sulphurous  for  human  con- 
sumption.101 The  great  importance  placed  on  the  water  supply  for 
a  military  post  is  exemplified  by  the  construction  of  a  tunnel  from 
the  fort  to  the  creek  bed,  probably  used  in  time  of  siege.102 

Whisky  consumption  seems  to  have  been  quite  prevalent  at  Fort 
Larned.  A  Santa  Fe  freighter  related  how  he  sold  a  barrel  of 
whisky  to  the  director  of  the  stage  station.  Since  whisky  was  con- 
sidered contraband  at  United  States  military  posts,  the  spirits  were 
smuggled  into  the  fort  under  a  load  of  hay.103  H.  T.  Ketcham,  who 
visited  Fort  Larned  in  April,  1864,  had  this  to  say  concerning  the 
morals  of  that  post,  "Dissipation,  licentiousness  and  venereal  dis- 
eases prevail  in  and  around  [the  fort]  to  an  astonishing  extent."  104 

Fort  Larned  experienced  a  mild  cholera  epidemic  in  the  summer 
of  1864.  It  was  brought  to  the  fort  by  the  38th  infantry,  en  route  to 
New  Mexico  territory.  The  commander  of  the  fort  knew  that  the 
detachment  carried  the  dreaded  disease,  but  contrary  to  the  request 
of  the  surgeon  general  he  allowed  the  men  to  stop  there.  The  first 
case  broke  out  on  July  6  and  the  victim  died  ten  hours  later.  Two 
more  cases  occurred  on  the  10th  and  llth;  one  died  in  six  hours  and 
the  other  recovered.105 

97.  Report  of  the  Surgeon  General,  1875,  p.  272. 

98.  Larned  Eagle-Optic,  November  10,  1899. 

99.  Ibid.,  November  3,  1899. 

100.  The  Tiller  and  Toiler,  Lamed,  October  23,  1947. 

101.  "Report  on  Barracks  and  Hospitals,"  op.  cit.,  p.  299. 

102  O  P  Byers  "When  Railroading  Outdid  the  Wild  West  Stories,"  Kansas  Historical 
Collections,' v.' 17  (1926-1928),  p.  339. 

103.  Charles  Raber,  "Personal  Recollections     .     .     .     ,"  ibid.,  v.  16  (1923-1925),  p. 
322. 

104.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1864,  p.  401. 

105.  "Report  on  Epidemic  Cholera  and  Yellow  Fever,"  Report  of  the  Surgeon  General, 
1868,  p.  46. 


VOL.1 


FORT  LARNED,  SATURDAY,  NOV.  25, 1865. 


NO.  1 


TMBr     F»  IL.  A.  I IV  S»  , 

rabi..h.d  every  Saturday  at  Ft  lan«4,  Ka., 

BY  T1IK  OFFICKRS  AXD  SOLDIERS 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  SEiLVffE, 

rr  ATI 0 It  KI)  OK  THE  KROHTIF. K. 


I?OKTBY. 


<Rd  bless  the  Wives. 

They  till  our  hives 
With  little  IK-.-S  an. I  honey  : 

They  case  life's  shock*. 

They  mend  our  socks. 
But— don't  they  spend  the 

When  .we  arc  sick. 

They  heal  us  quiek- 
That  in.  if  they  should  lore  lu  : 

If  not.  we  die. 

And  yet  they  cry.. 
And  place  tombstone  a  attove  us. 

Of  rogni'h  girl*. 

With  sunny  curl*. 
We  may  in  faney  dream  : 

Bat  wive*— true  wir«— 

Throughout  our  live*. 
Are  everything  they  seem. 


HiliUry. 

HK   FORTV-XlNTII    WlSCOXSIX  l.NFAVT- 

RY".— We  leant  that  .  ,.i,,|..mi,  -  I: .  C  and 
l>.  of  UK-  i:«ili  r. -in,,  ni.  have  IM-.-M  dis- 
rrr.-.!  an.)  paid.  -111.-  Colonel  of  the 
r> -.in,  n; .  C»>t.  S.turM.  FALLOWS,,  ha-  hud 
be  rji.t  of  Brigadier  General,  liy  brevet. 
o>nftT-l  MI-.II  him.  r..r;-.ill.ini  and  .Hi 
.•«  fit  s«THfS.  Who's  next? 


Capt.  3T.  V.  tt.  Hi  TCHLVSOX.  Co.  K. 

-fcSth   W  i-im-'in    Inl.iiilrx  .  Post  eiiiiiiii.inil 

ant  at  Fort  Zarah.  and  IJeut.  Wixcmn.i.. 

A.  V.«j.  M..  at  thai  Post,  came  up  to  tin- 
u«rt    wn    MoiHfay  last.    They  report  the 
[•>  -  ail  well  an»l  everything  lovely. 
j3U*coed  l.tr  -ji .  «  M  v-.  A.  Jt>u\~i\  . 

Co.  I.  **th  Ww-.)*».*in  In&ntrv.  ha-i  l«wn[< 


"Ohferalb 

01,  for  a  bom*  be>*l*  the  hilb-- 
Where  gladly  leap  tttr  tot 
Where  sunlight  dwell,  'mid  fclry  a>wer« 
WhkluMbom,  and  lmd  ' 


would  look  on  green  vale»  wide, 
'Mid  which  the  gay  wild  water*  hide. 
Oh  for  a  home  beside  the  Mills. 
Where  ever  glide  the  laughing  rills 
A    home    thru"*    bright    with    birds  and 

rtowj-n^- 
'Tin  there  Pd  live  life's  happy  Hours, 


How  we  SUrUd. 


i  no  purchase  niul  procitrcinciit  ot  our 
litll<-  paper  was  the  ri-sult  of  a  ooeial  <-oii- 
veiitionoii  the  evening  of  IKtliof  Octoln-r, 
when  a  number  of  us  were  enjoying  •  -our 


smoke 


on  after  i»up|>cr  nt  tlie  #ton- 


our  worthy  sutler.  A  subscription  paper 
was  immediately  started,  which,  up  to  the 
present  time  has  fully  realized  our  uio*t 
«an<ruinc  cx|x-ctations. 

The  following  is  our  subscription  list  : 
Col.  U.  II.  IVarsall.  $20.00 

Capt.  <'bas.  W.  Felker.  10.00 


Fir-t  Lieut.  8.  .1.  foiiklin,  R.Q.M.  10.00 
r     ' 


<r.  1'.  Dodds. 
John  F.  I  I.M],|.  . 
He 


in-  Bradlev.  Interpreter, 
nkO.  Craiie. 
.  \V.  Crane. 

•II.  Crane. 

.  J.  F.  llazleton, 


10.00 
10,00 
10.00 
10.00 
10.01) 

10.00 

5,00 
10.00 


.  witbi.  filtet-n.lay.,  -          . 

from  NOT.  fith.  t.>  ai.-».  r  to  the  chargt  ,rf  «-npi.  K.  Iteker. 

whbonl  leave,"  or  «and  di*-l<l»».  II.  JleKeever. 
H*  h»»  beet.  cwmnU-l 


Wi4«MD.4in.  bat 


10.01) 
10.00 

10.00 

Adj'i.  lo'.OO 
mr»-r  Capt.  CvnH  ilulehinsoii.  10.00 

l*t  Lieut.  Peter  Tnidell,  10.00 

1st  Lieut.  A.  B.  Cadv.  Adjutant.      10.00 
W.  A.«o»k.  Jr.. 


Waller   retigned.     DaU-  < 
Oct.  »tfc,  18«>. 

First  IJeotcnant  J.  *.  Driggs  from  2nd 
Lieutenant.  Co.  H.  vice  Peter  Trudeil 
promoted1. 

Second  Lieutenant  Chas.  Fowler  from 
1st  Serg't  vice  J.  S.  Drciggs  promoted  1st 
Lieutenant. 

l>.  Olin.  to  Captain  of  Co.   C, 


Second  TJeiitenant  Jonn  S.  Kendall  1st 
Lieutenant  «'o.  C.  vice  L.  1).  Olin  pro- 
moted. 


M..I.  BriggK 
Capt.  M.  V.  B.  Hutchinson. 
IJeut  Ilenrv  Felker. 
1st  Lieut.  Don  A.  Winchcll. 
l-i.  l.ieni.  W.  W.  Black. 


The  cost  of  press,  tvpe,  Ac 

otSt.  I,ouis.  Mo.'. 
Express  charges. 

Total, 


$300.  ( 


$23!),  aT. 
i.9.00 


$338,55 


By  the  alKive  it  will  be  seen  THE  PLAINS 
is  almost  a  solvent  Institution,  and  unlike 
many  Western  enterprises,  is  founded  on 
real  capital .  Our  thanks  are  due  to  Chaa . 


.IVim-i.al    /*•     Health/      First. Sarg  1 11ifoplulfisDan.es  to  be2d|        M  „  ...    ....„., 

.wfilchcWniiifobV'fai.  highest  milhorfty  in   Lfeutenf  Co.  r.  viro  Jolni  S.   Hcrrick  to'"; r^      ,     i      r      K:      V       T 
medical  Hdence.  hn*  t/ik,i>  a  stati-t  against  .     ,..  iJp,rtoTl:ult  Co.  K.  vice  Carver  rc-|lnrtr"   for  len<1'»?  hls  efforts  to  secure 
mnrrl«xl    pponl^    rt«1>i»tf    t.*etliw.    but  T^*.  s"d>   a    lieautiftil    little  Prew.    Also,  to 

itilnkx  thev  had  hHWr  slevp  111  adjoining  »fard.  Mes»rs.  M.  S.  Mepham  &  Bro..  of  81.  2d 

ItwivstlKit  KftwiMMid  qnwm  do      First  Sergi'iii    Peter  Miillingcr.  Co.  K,  | street.  St.  Louis,  through  whom  the  St. 
«ll  win-  should  other  robe  2ilLi«Trtenant  vitv  Herrick  promoted.  il_'oui-s  Tyjie  Foitudn-.   located  at  No.   9, 

lfii»*s  .liHinnd    «.l    Health    "ays*  .«».  T.ieut.Mi; 
•)•»»» to  gr^s.  Mr.    Hall.  .igiied. 


„   was  dispatched    rt-tleets    eredit    on  ihe 
enterprise  of  that  eompany. 


THE  FIRST  NEWSPAPER  OF  WESTERN  KANSAS 

The  first  page  of  The  Plains,  a  three-page  newspaper  published  at  Fort 
Larned  November  15,  1865.  There  was  no  fourth  page,  for  it  was  intended 
that  this  space  should  be  used  by  soldiers  for  letter  writing.  The  size  of  the 
original  page  is  approximately  8x10  inches. 


THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED  273 

Diarrhoea  was  a  common  malady  in  such  places  as  Fort  Larned, 
where  the  drinking  water  was  not  overly  sanitary.  The  official  treat- 
ment used  by  the  medical  officers  in  1868  was  described  as  follows, 
".  .  .  large  doses  of  calomel,  injections  of  starch,  strong  tea, 
brandy,  acetate  of  lead,  sinapisms,  frictions  and  ice  sucking/' 106 

In  the  late  fall  of  1865  a  printing  press  was  purchased  by  the  of- 
ficers, the  purpose  being  to  print  a  weekly  newspaper.  The  press 
was  ordered  from  St.  Louis,  at  a  price  of  $239.55.  First  subscription 
sales  brought  in  $300,  so  the  venture  started  on  a  sound  financial 
basis.  The  first  edition  was  published  on  November  25,  1865,  and 
a  short  editorial  stated  the  motive  for  printing  The  Plains,  as  the 
paper  was  called: 

We  are  running  a  paper  for  our  own  amusement — for  the  fun  of  the  thing. 
Thats  all — and  why  not,  pray  tell?  Why  not  run  a  paper  for  fun,  as  well  as 
play  cards  or  billiards,  or  go  to  a  saloon  or  a  horserace,  or  to  hear  Beecher 
preach,  all  for  fun?  107 

The  paper  was  to  be  published  every  Saturday  and  the  motto  on 
the  front  page  reflected  the  idea  of  manifest  destiny,  "Westward  the 
Star  of  Empire  Takes  Its  Way."  The  following  are  examples  of  want 
ads  that  appeared  in  the  first  edition: 

WANTED — At  this  office,  a  half  dozen  young  ladies  to  learn  printing  busi- 
ness. The  foreman  of  this  office  will  render  all  the  assistance  possible.  None 
but  good  looking  ones  need  apply. 

JOB  WORK — We  are  prepared  to  print  visites,  ball  tickets,  wedding  cards, 
bills  of  fare,  stage,  railroad  and  toll  tickets,  programmes,  posters  and  show  bills; 
in  short,  everything  in  the  line  of  letter  press  printing  from  a  primer  to  a  bible. 

It  is  not  known  how  long  this  paper  was  published,  but  since  later 
literature  concerning  Fort  Larned  makes  no  mention  of  The  Plains, 
it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  it  did  not  remain  in  publication  for 
long.  Considering  the  rapid  turnover  of  troops  at  Fort  Larned,  the 
founding  group  of  this  paper  may  have  left  soon  after  the  first  pub- 
lication, with  the  result  that  only  one  edition  may  have  been  pub- 
lished. 

Two  major  freighting  firms  monopolized  the  supplying  of  the 
military  posts  on  the  Plains.  They  were  Irwin,  Jackman  and  Com- 
pany and  Russell,  Majors  and  Waddell;  in  1860  they  loaded  863 
wagons  for  Forts  Larned,  Garland,  Wise,  and  Union.  The  distribu- 
tion of  annuities  to  the  government  posts  was  the  job  of  Bent  and 
Campbell,  who,  in  one  year,  sent  out  57  wagons.108  In  August,  1872, 

106.  Ibid. 

107.  The  Plains,  Fort  Larned,  November  25,  1865.     A  copy  of  this  first  edition  is  in 
the  possession  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society,  Topeka. 

108.  W.  D.  Wyman,  "Kansas  City,  Mo.,  A  Famous  Freighter  Capital,"  Kansas  Histori- 
cal Quarterly,  v.  6  (1937),  p.  11. 

19—23 


274  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  railroad  was  completed  to 
Larned  with  the  result  that  these  freighting  firms  handled  a  much 
smaller  volume  of  business.109 

During  the  1860's  very  few  of  the  frontier  military  posts  were  sup- 
plied with  decent  food.  Dishonest  contractors,  distance  from  the 
main  depots  and  the  Civil  War  brought  about  this  situation.  One 
report  in  1867  told  of  some  bacon  that  was  sent  to  the  frontier  after 
having  been  stored  in  dugouts  for  two  years.110  An  establishment 
such  as  Fort  Larned  could  easily  provide  fresh  meat  for  the  troops, 
since  large  herds  of  buffalo  roamed  that  vicinity.  Lt.  C.  A.  Camp- 
bell related  how  he  and  two  other  soldiers  brought  in,  at  one  time, 
52  buffalo  hind  quarters.  They  were  hung  to  dry  on  the  walls  of 
the  enlisted  men's  barracks.111  Albert  H.  Boyd  and  Al  and  George 
Cox,  pioneer  ranchers  near  Fort  Larned,  supplied  Forts  Larned, 
Hays,  and  Dodge  with  fresh  beef.112 

Fresh  vegetables  were  a  luxury.  The  Plains  stated  that,  "The 
arrival  of  a  train  loaded  with  antiscorbutics,  is  a  subject  of  con- 
gratulations for  everybody  .  .  ." 113  Potatoes  were  reported  to 
have  sold  for  $2.50  per  bushel  and  tomatoes  for  $1.00  per  peck. 
Gardens  were  attempted  by  the  soldiers  on  several  occasions,  but 
their  efforts  were  futile,  the  causes  of  failure  being,  ".  .  .  de- 
ficient rains,  intense  heat,  poor  soil,  grasshoppers  and  hailstorms." 114 

Frontier  posts  were  poorly  supplied  in  the  quartermaster  and 
commissary  stores  due  to  an  intricate  system  of  regulations  badly 
adapted  for  posts  many  miles  from  the  main  source  of  supply.  There 
seemed  also  to  exist  a  good  degree  of  corruption  in  these  depart- 
ments of  supply.115 

The  supply  of  hay  for  Fort  Larned  was  derived  from  native  fields 
that  existed  along  the  bottomlands.  Theodore  Weichselbaum,  who 
was  the  sutler  at  Fort  Larned,  arranged  a  contract  for  hay  in  1860. 
Hauling  from  south  of  the  Arkansas  river  in  wagons,  he  reported 
profits  of  $20.00  a  day  for  a  30-day  period.116 

The  sale  of  buffalo  robes  amounted  to  big  profits  for  the  traders. 
Bands  of  six  different  Indian  tribes  sold,  during  the  season  of  1863- 
1864,  15,000  robes  worth  nine  dollars  by  the  bale  wholesale  (the 

109.  Bradley,  loc.  cit.,  p.  25. 

110.  Raymond  Welty,  "Supplying  the  Frontier  Military  Post,"  Kansas  Historical  Quar- 
terly, v.  7  (1938),  p.  163. 

111.  The  Tiller  and  Toiler,  Larned,  September  27,  1923. 

112.  Ibid.,  October  23,  1947. 

113.  The  Plains,  November  25,  1865. 

114.  "Report  on  Barracks  and  Hospitals,  1870,"  loc.  cit.,  p.  300. 

115.  Welty,  op.  cit.,  p.  169  (citing  House  Ex.  Doc.  No.  20,  39th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  pp. 
5,  13,  14). 

116.  Weichselbaum,  loc.  cit.,  p.  568. 


THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARKED  275 

average  bale  contained  three  50-pound  robes).  The  Indians,  not 
able  to  realize  the  economic  value  of  these  goods,  traded  them  for 
trinkets  whose  value  amounted  to  75  cents  per  robe.117 

Society  of  the  Plains  centered  around  the  fort.  Capt.  Henry, 
Booth,  who  was  stationed  at  Fort  Larned,  described  the  full-dress 
dinner  parties  that  were  given  when  notables  visited  there.  The 
Indians  enjoyed  harrassing  the  guests  who  were  en  route  to  these 
celebrations.  On  one  occasion  some  prospective  party  goers  were 
obliged  to  toss  to  the  Indians  a  suitcase  containing  their  best  party 
clothes  in  order  to  divert  their  attention.118 

In  the  spring  of  1867,  when  General  Hancock's  force  was  at  Fort 
Larned,  the  life  of  a  soldier  stationed  there  seemed  to  follow  the 
military  code  to  a  strict  degree.  Henry  M.  Stanley,  who  visited  the 
fort  at  that  time,  described  it  as  follows: 

Fort  Lamed  ...  is  a  model  of  neatness.  Everything  is  carried  on  ac- 
cording to  the  strict  letter  of  the  military  code.  Guard  mounting,  inspection, 
and  dress  parade  are  announced  by  the  familiar  sounds  of  the  fife  and  drum, 
accompanied  by  all  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  military  form.  The  officers 
are  affable  with  their  equals  and  gracious  toward  their  subordinates. 119 

This,  it  should  be  remembered,  was  the  situation  when  notables 
visited  at  the  fort,  and  was  probably  the  exception,  rather  than  the 
rule.  At  any  rate,  it  is  quite  the  opposite  of  a  Fourth  of  July  (1863) 
celebration,  which  was  notable  for  the  drinking  of  "rot"  and  running 
of  foot  races.120 

Many  of  the  soldiers  kept  gamecocks  and  cockfighting  became  a 
very  popular  sport  before  the  area  came  under  local  civil  law.121 
Dave  Butterfield,  of  the  express  company,  not  only  entertained 
soldiers  with  "comical  pictures,"  but  on  one  occasion,  delighted 
Satanta,  the  Kiowa  chief,  with  "parlour  scenes." 122 

Horse  racing  seemed  to  be  one  of  the  most  popular  forms  of  enter- 
tainment not  only  for  the  soldiers,  but  for  the  Indians  as  well.  For 
the  race  track,  they  dug  ditches  about  four  feet  apart;  the  ditches, 
which  ran  parallel  to  one  another,  were  separated  by  a  sod  embank- 
ment. Betting  was  heavy:  The  Indians  would  put  up  ponies,  buffalo 
robes,  and  deer  skins  against  the  silver  dollars  of  the  soldiers.123 

In  1863  some  Comanches  and  Kiowas  from  Texas  brought  a  black 
stallion  to  Fort  Larned.  This  horse  was  considered  by  the  Indians 

117.  Meline,  op.  cit.,  p.  282. 

118.  The  Tiller  and  Toiler,  August  28,  1919  (Wheat  edition). 

119.  Stanley,  op.  cit.,  p.  28. 

120.  Letter  of  Capt.  A.  W.  Burton,  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  v.  7   (1938),  p.   100 

121.  The  Titter  and  Toiler,  March  4,  1943. 

122.  Stanley,  op.  cit.,  p.  61. 

123.  Ryus,  op.  cit.,  pp.  57,  58. 


276  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

to  be  the  best  race  horse  on  the  Plains.  People  from  as  far  as  300 
miles  came  to  witness  a  match  race,  which  also  included  a  barbecue 
for  the  several  thousand  spectators.  The  race  was  won  by  the 
Indians'  horse,  which  obliged  the  soldiers  to  pay  off  a  $300  purse. 
The  Indians,  in  the  joy  of  their  victory,  spent  the  money  buying 
candy,  canned  goods,  etc.,  from  the  sutler,  most  of  which  was  given 
away.  Some  soldiers  from  Fort  Riley  were  greatly  impressed  with 
the  performance  of  the  black  stallion  and  they  purchased  him  from 
the  Indians.124 

Among  unusual  incidents  at  the  fort  was  a  snowstorm  in  Decem- 
ber, 1863,  when  nearly  15  inches  of  snow  fell.  A  coach  en  route  from 
Santa  Fe  became  stranded  and  the  lives  of  its  passengers  were  saved 
when  the  soldiers  at  Larned  from  their  watchtower  spied  a  passenger 
attempting  to  get  to  the  fort  for  help.125  On  January  3,  1869,  a  fire 
broke  out  in  one  of  the  barns.  Thirty-nine  horses,  30  tons  of  hay, 
500  bushels  of  grain,  40  saddles,  and  6,000  rounds  of  ammunition 
were  destroyed.  Company  M  of  the  19th  Kansas  regiment,  under 
the  command  of  Capt.  Sargent  Moody,  discovered  the  fire  and  was 
credited  by  the  Manhattan  newspaper  for  bringing  this  near  dis- 
aster under  control.126 

THE  ABANDONMENT  OF  FORT  LARNED 

As  early  as  1870  it  became  apparent  that  it  was  only  a  matter  of 
time  before  Fort  Larned  would  be  abandoned.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  the  Indian  annuity  distribution  station  had  been  moved 
from  Fort  Larned  to  Fort  Cobb  in  the  fall  of  1868.  In  1870  a  re- 
port from  Fort  Larned  stated  that  commercial  traffic  on  the  Santa  Fe 
trail  was  practically  nonexistent,  due  to  the  completion  of  the  Kan- 
sas Pacific  railroad,  approximately  50  miles  north.127  The  Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  railroad,  which  reached  the  area  in  August, 
1872,  further  reduced  the  need  for  troops  on  the  trail,  although  they 
were  a  definite  asset  during  the  construction  of  the  road. 

In  1872  General  Sheridan  stated  that  due  to  lack  of  reports  of 
Indian  engagements  in  the  Fort  Larned  area,  the  fort  should  be 
abandoned.  He  went  on  to  say  that  the  buildings  there  were  frail 
and  temporary,  a  statement  that  was  obviously  in  error,  since  the 
buildings  today  are  considered  quite  substantial  for  their  age.128  In 
that  same  year  General  Pope  reported  that,  "Forts  Larned,  Dodge 

124.  Ibid.,  pp.  59,  60. 

125.  Kansas  Daily  Tribune,  Lawrence,  December  10,  1863. 

126.  Manhattan  Standard,  January  16,  1869. 

127.  "Report  on  Barracks  and  Hospitals,"  loc.  cit.,  p.  299. 

128.  Mrs.  F.  C.  Montgomery,  "Fort  Wallace  and  Its  Relation  to  the  Frontier,"  Kansas 
Historical  Collections,  v.  17  (1926-1928),  p.  250. 


THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED  277 

and  Lyon  are  substantial,  well  built  posts,  and  will  last  a  long 
time."  129 

As  a  result  of  General  Sheridan's  statement,  Governor  Harvey  of 
Kansas  made  an  official  appeal  to  keep  troops  at  Fort  Larned.  The 
people,  especially  the  workmen  constructing  the  railroad,  were  still 
in  need  of  protection  from  the  sporadic  raids  of  the  Indians.130  Con- 
sequently, the  military  garrisons  remained  there. 

During  the  winter  of  1873-1874  the  main  body  of  settlers  came 
into  the  area  to  establish  farms  on  land  that  had  been  granted  to  the 
Santa  Fe  railroad.  Many  of  these  people  were  destitute  that  first 
winter,  which  resulted  in  appeals  for  supplies  stored  at  Fort  Larned, 
which  were  refused.131 

On  October  3, 1878,  General  Pope's  report  to  the  War  Department 
stated  that  Forts  Larned,  Hays,  and  Lyon  were  no  longer  needed. 
He  explained  that  a  large  centralized  force  at  Fort  Wallace  would 
be  adequate  to  protect  the  settlements.132  The  garrisons  at  Fort 
Larned  were  removed  to  Fort  Dodge  on  October  28, 1878.133  Since 
an  act  of  congress  was  needed  to  dispose  of  this  military  property, 
the  government  left  a  small  detail  of  men  at  the  Fort,  under  the 
command  of  Lt.  John  A.  Payne.134 

The  military  cemetery  at  Fort  Larned  was  located  about  three 
eighths  of  a  mile  northwest  of  the  fort  buildings.  On  May  28,  1886, 
the  cemetery  was  officially  abandoned.135  This  cemetery  contained 
68  known  graves.  The  man  who  removed  these  bodies  to  the  Fort 
Leavenworth  Military  cemetery  received  ten  dollars  for  each  grave 
he  opened.  The  grave  pits  were  left  open  and  were  a  spectacle  for 
some  years.136 

Upon  the  evacuation  of  the  soldiers  from  Fort  Larned,  the  people 
in  that  vicinity  began  to  eye  the  bottom-land  reservation  as  ideal 
farmland.  As  a  result  a  bill  to  return  this  property  to  the  public 
domain  was  introduced  by  Sen.  Preston  B.  Plumb  of  Kansas.  The 
bill  was  signed  by  President  Arthur  on  August  4,  1882.  It  stated 
that  no  one  individual  should  be  allowed  to  purchase  more  than  one 
quarter  section,  and  provided  for  survey  and  appraisal.  Also  in- 
cluded was  a  clause  stating  that  the  section  containing  the  improve- 

129.  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  1872,  p.  48. 

130.  Marvin  H.  Garfield,  "The  Military  Post  as  a  Factor  in  The  Frontier  Defenses  of 
Kansas,"  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  v.  1   (1931-1932),  p.  54. 

131.  James  C.  Malin,  "J.  A.  Walker's  Early  History  of  Edwards  County,"  ibid.,  v.  9 
(1940),  pp.  266,  267. 

132.  Montgomery,  loc.  cit.,  p.  277. 

133.  Report  of  the  Adjutant  General,  1878,  p.  61. 

134.  The  Tiller  and  Toiler,  March  4,  1943. 

135.  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  v.  20  (1952-1953),  p.  171. 

136.  The  Tiller  and  Toiler,  February  1,  1951. 


278  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

ments  was  to  be  sold  at  auction  or  at  private  sale  as  deemed  best  by 
the  commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office.137 

Some  of  the  land  came  under  the  federal  land  grant  to  the  Atchi- 
son,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  railroad.  The  section  which  contained 
the  fort  improvements  was  sold  to  Sage  and  Jackson  representing  the 
Pawnee  Valley  Stock  Breeders  Association.138  This  sale  took  place 
on  March  13,  1884,  at  a  public  auction,  at  the  town  of  Lamed.  The 
final  bid  received  was  $11,056,  but  the  purchasers  defaulted  on  their 
payment,  after  which  the  property  was  sold  for  $4,000.  An  investi- 
gation was  ordered  by  the  General  Land  Office,  which  resulted  in 
causing  the  purchasers  to  make  an  additional  payment  of  $7,056 
dollars,  thus  making  good  the  amount  bid  at  the  sale.139 

A  portion  of  the  remaining  land  was  sold  by  direct  transaction  to 
the  General  Land  Office.  The  rest  was  sold  through  H.  M.  Bickel 
and  Henry  Booth,  who  were  appointed  land  receivers,  with  offices 
at  Lamed.140  The  sale  of  one  of  the  tracts  resulted  in  an  official  ap- 
peal to  the  General  Land  Office  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 
This  case  was  known  as  Cook  v.  Wilbur.  Cook's  contention  was  that 
Wilbur  was  not  entitled  to  his  property,  since  he  had  not  carried  out 
the  residence  requirement  of  the  pre-emption  law.  Wilbur's  appeal 
was  based  on  the  phrase  of  the  bill  of  August  4,  1882,  which  stated 
that  ownership  of  Fort  Lamed  land  could  be  obtained  by  following 
a  plan  "...  as  nearly  as  may  be  in  conformity  to  the  provisions 
of  the  pre-emption  laws  of  the  United  States.  .  .  ." 141  Wilbur 
lost  his  claim  to  this  piece  of  land  when  Commissioner  Vilas  upheld 
Cook's  contention.  Two  laws  were  cited  by  the  General  Land  Of- 
fice to  support  the  decision.  They  were  the  Osage  act  of  May  9, 
1872,  which  stated  that  pre-emption  laws  must  be  followed  ".  .  . 
in  every  respect  .  .  .  ," 142  and  Section  2283  of  the  Revised 
Statutes,  which  stated  that  any  land  settlement  must  accord  ".  .  * 
with  the  general  provisions  of  the  pre-emption  laws.  .  .  ." 143 

In  1902  E.  E.  Frizell  bought  the  Fort  Larned  ranch  from  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Fohrer  of  Illinois.  The  purchase  involved  approxi- 
mately 3,000  acres,  250  acres  in  cultivation,  the  rest  in  native  grass. 

137.  For  documents  concerning  the  Fort  Larned  bill,  see  Congressional  Record,   46th 
Cong.  1st  Sess.,  v.  9,  p.  63;  Congressional  Record,  47th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  v.  13,  pp.  55,  304, 
1081,  6696,  6697,  6762,  6800,  6998. 

138.  "Records"  of  the  register  of  deeds,  Pawnee  county,  Kansas. 

139.  "Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,"  Report  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  1884,  v.  1,  p.  28. 

140.  "Records"  of  the  register  of  deeds,  Pawnee  county,  Kansas. 

141.  Letter  of  Secretary  Vilas  to  Commissioner  Stockslayer,  March  31,   1888. — Deci- 
sions of  the  Department  of  the  Interior    .    .    .    Relating  to  the  Public  Lands,  v.  6,  pp.  600, 
601. 

142.  Ibid. 

143.  Ibid. 


THE  STORY  OF  FORT  LARNED  279 

In  1956  there  were  only  200  acres  in  grass,  the  rest  being  devoted 
to  irrigated  alfalfa  and  row  crop  production.  The  ranch  employed 
half  a  dozen  families  part  of  whom  resided  in  the  officer's  quarters. 
The  two  enlisted  men's  barracks  have  been  converted  into  a  huge 
barn.  The  buildings  on  the  east  side  (old  blacksmith  and  bakery) 
are  used  as  machine  shops,  and  the  commissary  and  quartermaster 
buildings  serve  as  barns  for  storing  grain,  hay,  etc.  The  quad- 
rangular parade  grounds  have  been  fenced  in  and  the  native  buffalo 
grass  still  grows  there. 

During  the  early  1900's  the  beautiful  ranch  along  the  Pawnee  be- 
came a  favorite  picnic  ground  for  the  people  in  that  vicinity.  Ac- 
cording to  Charles  Welch,  early  Pawnee  county  homesteader,  a 
Pennsylvania  picnic  was  an  annual  affair.  Barn  dances  were  fre- 
quent, and  in  one  instance  the  local  National  Guard  unit  held  a 
sham  battle  on  the  grounds.144 

As  time  went  by,  tourists  in  increasing  numbers  were  attracted  to 
this  historic  spot.  The  Frizell  family  erected  signs  to  welcome 
visitors,  and  the  Kansas  Historical  Society  and  the  State  Highway 
Commission  erected  a  historical  marker  just  north  of  the  fort  on 
United  States  Highway  56.  In  the  early  1950's  the  late  E.  D.  Frizell 
was  approached  by  various  organizations  who  discussed  with  him 
the  possibility  of  selling  the  fort  buildings  and  a  small  tract  of  land 
to  make  the  establishment  into  a  type  of  monument.  Frizell  stated 
that  he  would  be  glad  to  move  over  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  if  he 
were  provided  with  improvements  to  match  the  existing  ones. 

On  January  10,  1955,  Sen.  Frank  Carlson  introduced  a  bill  in  con- 
gress which  provided  for  an  investigation  and  report  on  making  Fort 
Larned  a  national  monument,  similar  to  Fort  Laramie  on  the  Oregon 
trail.145  Since  the  amount  of  money  needed  to  buy  and  restore  the 
fort  is  quite  large,  it  will  no  doubt  have  to  be  derived  from  some 
government  agency  or  philanthropic  group. 

On  October  6, 1955,  Merrill  J.  Mattes,  regional  historian  of  Region 
Two,  National  Park  Service,  Omaha,  made  an  official  tour  of  inspec- 
tion at  the  Fort  Larned  ranch.  He  was  impressed  with  the  good 
condition  of  the  original  buildings.  He  stated  that  factors  favorable 
to  designation  of  the  fort  as  a  monument  were  that  the  government 
has  established  no  national  monuments  along  the  Santa  Fe  trail  and 
that  the  fort  has  a  potential  attraction  for  tourists  because  of  the 
near-by  federal  highway.146 

144.  The  Titter  and  Totter,  February  1,  1951. 

145.  Concessional  Record,  84th  Cong.  1st  Sess.,  v.  101,  pt.  1,  p.  163. 

146.  The  TUler  and  Toiler,  October  7,  1955. 


280  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

On  January  19,  1956,  Rep.  Clifford  R.  Hope  received  a  memo- 
randum from  Conrad  L.  Wirth,  director  of  the  Department  of  In- 
terior's National  Park  Service,  stating  that  of  the  11  original  historic 
sites  chosen  in  Kansas  for  further  study,  Fort  Larned  was  one  of  the 
three  given  a  favorable  rating  and  that  further  examination  by  the 
federal  government  would  follow.147 

At  present  the  National  Park  Service  has  no  funds  for  the  pur- 
chase of  sites  as  expensive  as  Fort  Larned.  In  some  instances  con- 
gress has  appropriated  the  necessary  funds  for  such  a  project.  State 
legislatures  have  been  known  to  appropriate  the  necessary  money, 
as  for  example,  the  state  of  Wyoming,  which  purchased  214  acres 
of  land  and  the  buildings  at  Fort  Laramie  in  1927.148  It  should  be 
remembered,  however,  that  Western  state  legislatures  are  generally 
conservative  and  reluctant  to  authorize  the  expenditure  of  state 
funds  for  the  acquisition  of  historic  sites.  It  would  take  several 
times  as  much  money  to  purchase  Fort  Larned  as  it  took  to  pur- 
chase Fort  Laramie. 

In  February,  1957,  due  largely  to  the  work  of  Ralph  Wallace, 
Larned  newspaperman,  the  Fort  Larned  Historical  Society  was 
organized.  He  and  the  society  planned  a  formal  opening  of  Fort 
Larned  as  a  tourist  attraction,  which  was  held  May  19,  1957.  The 
United  States  Department  of  the  Interior  also  announced  another 
examination  of  the  property  soon.  As  a  result  of  these  movements, 
this  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  West  may  before  long 
be  suitably  commemorated. 

147.  "Correspondence  Number  L58-H,"   Conrad  L.  Wirth  to  Rep.   Clifford   R.   Hope, 
January  19,  1956. 

148.  David  L.  Hieb,  Fort  Laramie  (National  Park  Service  Series  No.  20,  Washington, 
Government  Printing  Office,  1954,  p.  33. 


Notes  on  Two  Kansas  Impeachments 

CORTEZ  A.  M.   EWING 

I.   JOSIAH  HAYES,  1874 

fourth  Kansas  impeachment  was  that  of  State  Treasurer 
-L  Josiah  Hayes  in  1874.  *  Hayes  was  elected  in  1872,  taking  office 
in  the  January  following.  The  financial  and  business  depression 
was  then  reaching  its  climax,  and  bank  failures  were  common 
throughout  the  country.  State  officials  were  concerned  over  the 
safety  of  state  funds,  especially  as  there  existed  a  strong  demand 
for  state  loans  from  bankers  who  sought  to  postpone  public  admis- 
sion of  the  insolvency  of  their  institutions.  It  was  obvious  that  a 
temporary  loan  might  be  lost  to  the  state  if  the  borrowing  banker 
was  not  able  to  stave  off  ruin. 

At  the  time  of  his  election,  Hayes  was  president  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Olathe.  He  retained  his  connections  with  that 
institution  after  his  induction  into  office.  During  the  year  and 
more  that  Hayes  was  state  treasurer,  he  was  continuously  in  poor 
health;  and  as  a  result,  the  care  and  management  of  the  state 
finances  devolved  upon  his  chief  clerk,  John  C.  Collins.  Before 
assuming  these  duties,  Collins  had  been  engaged  in  farming.  His 
conduct  of  the  treasury  was  not  featured  by  any  particular  business 
acumen,  nor  even  by  a  fairly  faithful  adherence  to  the  statutory 
regulations  relating  to  the  reception,  retention,  investment,  and  dis- 
bursement of  state  funds. 

In  all  fairness  to  Hayes  and  Collins,  some  of  the  unreasonable 
statutory  provisions  relating  to  the  state  treasury  should  be  men- 
tioned. In  the  first  place,  the  state  auditor,  secretary  of  state,  and 
governor  constituted  an  ex  officio  board  of  examiners,  and  were 
required  by  law  to  make  a  monthly  examination  of  the  condition  of 
the  treasurer's  office.2  The  statutory  intent  was  a  close  scrutiny  of 
public  accounts,  but  no  test  of  thoroughness  was  specified.  The 
legislators  were  apparently  convinced  that  frequent  examinations 
would  effectively  thwart  any  evil  or  irregular  designs  that  the  cus- 
todian of  the  public  funds  might  harbor.  But,  largely  on  account 
of  the  excessive  frequency  stipulated,  the  three  members  neglected 

DR.  CORTEZ  A.  M.  EWING  is  research  professor  of  government  at  the  University  of 
Oklahoma,  Norman. 

1.  The  first  three  were  of  Gov.  Charles  Robinson,  Secretary  of  State  John  W.  Robinson, 
and   State   Auditor   George   S.  Hillyer,  in    1862.      See  my   "Early    Kansas   Impeachments," 
Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  \.   1    (1932),  pp.   307-325. 

2.  The  General  Statutes  of  the  State  of  Kansas,  1868,  p.  982. 

(281) 


282  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

to  perform  their  function.  They  even  failed  to  act  in  a  perfunctory 
capacity.  Knowing  that  the  provisions  of  the  law  had  not  been 
complied  with  in  the  past,  Governor  Osborn  recommended  its  repeal 
in  1873,  but  the  bill  embodying  his  recommendations  failed  of 
adoption  in  the  senate.  This  bill  would  have  provided  for  semi- 
annual examinations. 

Instead  of  the  12  examinations  required  by  law,  only  two  were 
made  in  1873,  and  both  were  performed,  not  by  the  board,  but  by  a 
Topeka  grocer,  employed  for  that  purpose.  His  examinations 
were  of  a  perfunctory  nature.  In  fact,  he  was  a  most  agreeable 
examiner.  His  reports  were  colorless  documents,  not  intended  to 
embarrass  either  the  treasurer  or  the  board.  For  instance,  his  only 
evidence  of  one  ten-thousand-dollar  item  was  a  verbal  statement 
by  Collins  that  it  was  all  right;  whereupon,  through  courtesy,  it 
was  immediately  listed  as  cash  in  hand.3 

A  second  important  factor  that  rendered  administration  of  state 
finances  difficult  was  the  general  instability  of  banking  institutions. 
Large  Eastern  banks  were  dragged  down,  one  after  another,  in  an 
orgy  of  financial  failure.  The  state  of  Kansas  maintained  a  financial 
agency  in  New  York  for  the  payment  of  state  bond  coupons.  That 
agency  failed  also.  Moreover,  the  state  treasurer  could  not,  without 
grave  risk,  put  the  surplus  state  funds  out  on  time  or  call  loans. 
As  a  result,  most  tax  moneys  were  retained  in  the  vaults  of  the 
treasury. 

A  third  embarrassing  problem  with  which  Hayes  was  confronted 
was  the  retirement  of  issues  of  state  scrip.  In  1872  Congress 
appropriated  $336,817.37  for  the  payment  of  state  scrip  issued  to 
conduct  the  two  campaigns  of  1864,  one  against  Gen.  Sterling  Price 
and  the  other  against  insurrectionary  Indians.  This  scrip  was  issued 
to  pay  for  services,  supplies,  and  even  damages  resulting  from  these 
military  episodes.  In  paying  some  15,000  of  these  claims,  many 
irregularities  naturally  occurred.4  Duplicates  of  scrip  were  retired; 
individual  pieces  of  scrip  were  paid  without  indorsement  either 
of  the  person  to  whom  it  had  been  originally  issued  or  of  the  final 
payee;  some  payments  were  made  without  the  signature  of  the 
treasurer. 

In  the  early  autumn  of  1873  the  state  auditor,  D.  W.  Wilder,  was 
aware  that  the  irregularities  in  the  state  treasurer's  office  had  reached 

3.  Proceedings  of  the  Court  of  Impeachment  Sitting  for  the  Trial  of  Josiah  E.  Hayes, 
Treasurer    (Topeka,  1874),  p.  39.     Hereafter,  this  document  will  be  cited  as  Hayes  Im- 
peachment Proceedings. 

4.  An   itemized  record  of  these  payments  is  printed,   as   an  appendix,   in  Hayes  Im- 
peachment Proceedings,  pp.  140-352. 


NOTES  ON  Two  KANSAS  IMPEACHMENTS  283 

a  status  not  conducive  to  public  confidence.  Wilder  was  told  by 
Governor  Osbora  that  Hayes  would  resign.  However,  it  was  not 
yet  generally  known  that  Hayes  had  been  drawing  on  the  New 
York  funds  of  the  state  in  favor  of  Kansas  bankers.  Wilder  wanted 
to  conduct  an  examination  in  December,  1873,  without  giving 
prior  notice  to  Hayes  or  Collins,  but  the  governor  thought  the 
examination  should  be  deferred  until  January  1.  When  McFadden, 
the  groceryman  auditor,  attempted  to  make  the  inspection,  Hayes* 
"man  Friday,"  Collins,  begged  for  time,  saying  that  he  would  have 
to  do  a  little  work  on  the  records  so  as  to  bring  them  down  to  date. 
Wilder  favored  the  institution  of  legal  proceedings  against  Hayes, 
and  the  publication  of  McFadden's  report.  In  the  meantime  a 
newspaper  correspondent  picked  up  a  clue  concerning  the  treasury 
troubles  from  another  source.  The  silence  was  immediately  broken 
and  demands  for  the  impeachment  of  Hayes  became  insistent.  In 
his  annual  report  of  1873,  Wilder  demanded  a  legislative  investiga- 
tion of  Hayes*  official  conduct;  and  on  January  19,  1874,  a  resolution 
was  adopted  in  the  lower  house  providing  for  such  an  investigation. 
The  committee  on  state  affairs,  which  conducted  the  investiga- 
tion, reported  on  March  2,  after  having  examined  26  witnesses. 
The  majority  report,  signed  by  four  members,  recommended  the 
impeachment  of  Hayes  and  a  revision  of  the  laws  relating  to  the 
administration  of  the  treasury  office.  The  minority  report,  signed 
by  Eli  Gilbert,  stated  that  the  condition  of  the  treasurer's  office 
was  apparently  as  satisfactory  as  it  had  been  since  Kansas  was 
admitted  to  statehood.  Moreover,  Gilbert  charged  that  the  legis- 
lative investigation  had  been  conducted  to  the  plain  prejudice  of 
Hayes  and  that  it  had  failed  "to  bring  out  fully  and  completely  all 
the  facts  and  circumstances  connected  with  the  affairs  of  the 
Treasurer."  The  house  immediately  adopted  the  majority  report 
by  a  vote  of  74  to  20.  The  senate  was  notified  on  the  day  following 
and,  on  March  5,  the  articles  of  impeachment  were  formally  adopted 
in  the  house.  In  brief,  they  alleged: 

1.  That  Hayes,  despite  the  duty  to  receive  moneys  due  the 
treasury  in  either  gold  or  silver,  treasury  notes  of  the  United  States, 
or  national  bank  notes,  did  receive  and  accept  evidences  of  indebted- 
ness in  lieu  of  the  above  legal  tender;  and  specific  allegations  of  his 
misconduct  in  this  regard  were  set  forth  in  four  specifications; 

2.  That  he,  in  violation  of  law,  lent  state  moneys  to  certain 
parties,  corporations,  companies  and  individuals,  and  specific  alle- 
gations of  this  misdemeanor  were  set  forth  in  14  specifications; 


284  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

3.  That  he,  in  violation  of  law,  and  of  his  oath  of  office,  deposited 
state  moneys  with  certain  companies,  corporations,  and  individuals, 
and  specific  allegations  of  this  misdemeanor  were  set  forth  in  ten 
specifications; 

4.  That  he  did  not,  as  stipulated  by  law,  retain  in  the  state  treas- 
ury all  of  the  state  funds  until  proper  orders  came  for  their  dis- 
bursement; 

5.  That  he,  wrongfully  and  illegally,  contrived  to  conceal  the 
true  condition  of  the  treasury  from  McFadden,  who  had  been  duly 
selected  by  the  board  of  examiners  to  make  a  thorough  and  com- 
plete examination  of  the  treasury; 

6.  That  he,  in  deceiving  the  board  of  examiners,  presented  to 
McFadden  a  letter  which  falsely  stated  that  $50,000  was  then  in  a 
New  York  bank  subject  to  the  call  of  the  treasurer,  when  no  portion 
of  that  amount  was  ever  deposited  in  that  New  York  bank; 

7.  That  he  appropriated  the  sum  of  $10,000  to  his  own  use,  and 
that  he  refused  to  produce  the  same  upon  the  demand  of  McFadden; 

8.  That  he  willfully  neglected  to  perform  his  duties  as  state 
treasurer,  and  that  he  committed  his  duties  to  the  charge  of  John 
C.  Collins,  under  whose  care  there  had  been  gross  neglect  in  the 
discharge  of  those  duties;  and  specific  allegations  of  the  same  were 
set  forth  in  five  specifications; 

9.  That  he  had  failed  personally  to  examine  and  count  the  state 
funds  in  the  treasury,  and  that  he  had  failed  to  remove  Collins  of 
to  give  his  personal  attention  to  his  official  duties,  thereby  com- 
mitting a  misdemeanor; 

10.  That  he  had  paid  out  of  the  funds  appropriated  by  the  United 
States  Government  to  reimburse  those  who  rendered  service  in  the 
Indian  wars  of  1864,  and  that  these  payments  were  made  without 
authority  of  law; 

11.  That  scrip  issued  to  suppress  and  repulse  the  Price  invasion 
of  1864  was  retired  by  him  out  of  money  appropriated  by  the 
United  States  Government,  and  that  of  all  sums  paid  out,  he  spe- 
cifically paid  to  one  Alois  Thoman  and  others  the  sum  of  $4,000 
without  authority  of  law; 

12.  That  under  the  above  presumed  duty,  he  paid  out  $3,000 
without  having  signed  his  name  as  treasurer; 

13.  That  for  the  above,  he  paid  out  the  sum  of  $5,000  when  the 
names  of  the  payees  were  not  appearing  on  the  said  pieces  of  scrip 
which  were  retired.5 

5.    For  complete  and  official  text  of  the  articles,  see  Hayes  Impeachment  Proceedings, 
pp.  18-32. 


NOTES  ON  Two  KANSAS  IMPEACHMENTS  285 

The  impeachment  court  was  organized  on  March  5  and  6,  and 
the  managers  of  the  house  appeared  and  exhibited  the  articles  of 
impeachment  against  Hayes.  Formal  answer  to  the  charges  was 
presented  by  the  respondent.  The  managers  made  replication. 
Because  of  the  necessity  of  taking  depositions  of  banking  officials 
in  New  York  City,  the  impeachment  court  adjourned  till  May. 
When  the  court  met  on  May  12,  the  resignation  of  Hayes  was 
announced  by  the  board  of  managers.  The  attorney  general  ad- 
vised the  abandonment  of  the  impeachment.  The  board  of  mana- 
gers deemed  it  inadvisable  to  proceed  with  the  trial  merely  to  effect 
Hayes'  disqualification  for  future  office  holding.  Besides,  the  two 
officers  against  whom  impeachment  articles  had  been  sustained  in 
1862  were  not  disqualified  by  the  court,  so  further  prosecution  might 
result  in  no  alteration  of  the  existing  situation.6 

The  impeachment  court  adjourned  sine  die  on  May  13,  after 
wrangling  for  a  day  over  the  matter  of  printing  the  depositions 
taken  in  New  York  and  other  such  insignificant  evidence.  One 
enthusiastic  member  of  the  court  introduced  a  resolution  calling 
for  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  treasury  office  by  a  committee 
of  the  impeachment  court.  This  would,  incidentally,  have  repre- 
sented an  unusual  usurpation  of  authority  by  an  impeachment 
court,  if  it  had  been  adopted.  Such  court  is  constitutionally  man- 
dated to  try  impeachments,  and  when  that  has  been  done,  its  duties 
end.  If  the  court  member  had  realized  it,  the  investigation  which 
he  sought  could,  without  violating  the  constitution,  have  been 
effected  only  by  order  of  a  legislative  body.  The  action  of  the 
court  in  permitting  the  dismissal  of  the  impeachment  proceedings 
against  Hayes  was  in  conformity  with  the  preponderance  of  Amer- 
ican impeachment  precedents  that  are  at  point.  The  court's  duty 
is  to  try,  and  not  prosecute,  impeachments.  Only  a  few  examples 
of  the  refusal  to  dismiss  impeachments  after  the  resignation  of  the 
impeached  officers  are  extant  in  American  impeachment  history. 
Most  important  of  these  were  the  trials  of  Secretary  of  War  William 
W.  Belknap  and  Judge  Crum  (Montana). 

II.   JUDGE  THEODOSIUS  BOTKIN,  1891 

The  fifth  Kansas  impeachment  was  that  of  Theodosius  Botkin 
in  1891.  Botkin  was  judge  of  the  32d  judicial  district,  which  com- 
prised six  counties  in  the  extreme  southwestern  part  of  the  state. 

6.  In  the  cases  against  J.  W.  Robinson  and  George  S.  Hillyer  (1862),  each  was 
removed  from  office  but,  on  the  separate  motions  to  disqualify  them  for  future  office 
holding,  only  one  member  of  the  court  voted  to  disqualify. — See  Proceedings  in  the  Cases 
of  the  Impeachment  of  Charles  Robinson,  Governor;  John  W.  Robinson,  Secretary  of  State; 
George  S.  Hillyer,  Auditor  of  State,  of  Kansas,  (Lawrence,  1862)  pp.  349,  397. 


286  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Frontier  conditions  of  an  intensely  bold  and  mendacious  nature 
dominated  the  life  of  that  section  when  Botkin  was  appointed  by 
the  governor  in  1889.  In  the  following  year  he  was  duly  elected 
for  a  four-year  term.  Botkin's  appointment  was  purely  political. 
He  was  a  Republican,  and  had  performed  yeoman's  service  for  his 
party  during  the  period  immediately  preceding  his  selection. 

The  impeachment  remedy  is,  at  best,  a  complicated  political 
method  for  the  riddance  of  incompetent  or  corrupt  public  officers. 
If  it  had  been  employed  merely  for  that  purpose,  it  might  well 
have  remained  an  efficient  and  trustworthy  remedy.  That  it  did 
not  is  primarily  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  dominated  by  partisan 
politics. 

Like  many  other  states,  Kansas  experienced  particular  tumult 
from  1865  to  1895.  Agrarian  revolts  stirred  the  political  waters 
into  a  maelstrom.  The  Greenback  movement  was  more  than  a 
mere  gesture.  It  represented  a  political  attempt  to  solve  agricul- 
tural economic  ills.  When  it  spent  itself,  the  malcontents  discarded 
the  political  weapon  and  returned  to  an  economic  organization 
that  closely  resembled  the  powerful  Granger  movement  of  the  early 
1870's.  This  new  organization  was  known  as  the  Farmers'  Al- 
liance.7 Embracing  many  of  the  features  of  a  secret  fraternal  so- 
ciety, its  membership  increased  to  an  astounding  total.  Contempo- 
raneously, the  Knights  of  Labor  were  enrolling  urban  workers 
into  another  great  economic  organization.  Scheming  politicians 
dreamed  of  realizing  at  last  a  Farmer-Labor  party  which  would 
sweep  the  country  and  seize  from  the  great  corporate  interests 
the  destiny  of  the  country.  The  age  of  Popocracy  was  at  hand  in 
1890,  and  with  it  the  determination  among  the  farmers  of  the  West 
"to  raise  less  corn  and  more  hell." 

The  counties  comprising  the  32d  judicial  district  were  agricul- 
tural counties,  and  the  Alliance  was  well  organized  there.  In  the 
election  of  1890,  the  Democrats  practically  merged  with  the  Al- 
liancemen,  presaging  the  complete  assimilation  of  six  years  later. 
There  were,  it  should  be  noted,  four  important  factions  in  the  pre- 
impeachment  situation  in  Botkin's  district.  In  the  middle  1880's 
a  bitter  fight  had  arisen  over  the  location  of  the  county  seat  of 
Seward  county.  Partisans  of  Springfield  and  Fargo  Springs  be- 
labored one  another  with  all  manner  of  opprobrium.  When  Spring- 
field finally  emerged  victor,  the  inhabitants  of  Fargo  Springs  re- 
moved to  Arkalon,  and  there  was  every  indication  that  Springfield's 
victory  was  regarded  as  merely  temporary.  Judge  Botkin  had  be- 

7.    There  existed  both  southern  and  northern  branches  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance. 


NOTES  ON  Two  KANSAS  IMPEACHMENTS  287 

longed  to  the  Fargo  Springs  forces  during  the  fight  and,  as  a  re- 
sult, Springfieldians  never  forgave  him  even  though  he  established 
a  permanent  residence  in  their  town.  Added  to  this  issue  was  a 
bank  fight.  Two  banks  sought  the  patronage  of  Springfield.  The 
Adams  bank  supported  Botkin;  the  Kennard  bank  opposed  him. 
The  whole  community  took  sides  in  the  controversy.  A  third  fac- 
tor was  the  aforementioned  struggle  between  the  Alliance  and  the 
Republicans.  This  was  primarily  local  in  its  character,  and  was  ex- 
tremely personal.  Col.  Samuel  Wood,  an  experienced  Kansas  politi- 
cian, was  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Alliance.  The  Republi- 
can forces  followed  the  leadership  of  Botkin,  since  he  was  the  highest 
official  of  the  district.  The  fourth  issue  centered  about  the  person- 
ality of  Judge  Botkin. 

From  the  testimony  elicited  from  witnessess  during  the  subse- 
quent trial,  it  is  easy  to  gather  some  of  the  salient  features  of  Judge 
Botkin's  character.  He  was  domineering,  vindictive,  and  the  pos- 
sessor of  a  tremendous  capacity  for  indignation,  and  of  a  temper 
that  was  unpredictable.  His  knowledge  of  the  law  was  certainly  not 
particularly  noteworthy,  yet  it  could  scarcely  be  expected  that  a 
John  Marshall  would  have  been  riding  the  circuit  on  the  Kansas 
frontier.  Like  many  men  of  his  district,  he  indulged  an  appetite  for 
strong  liquor.  Yet  no  one,  except  his  personal  enemies,  seemed  to 
perceive  any  misbehavior  in  that  fact.  At  one  county  seat,  a  com- 
municating door  of  the  courtroom  opened  into  a  liquor  joint.  It  was, 
thus,  no  difficult  matter  for  a  judge  to  find  himself  swigging  a  social 
dram  with  attorneys,  jurors,  spectators,  or  even  litigants.  Both  the 
law  and  the  judicial  ermine  lost  much  of  their  traditional  majesty 
in  such  surroundings,  but  the  formal  judicial  process  was  only  a 
recent  innovation  in  that  section. 

Soon  after  Botkin's  election  in  November,  1890,  his  enemies 
began  to  gather  evidence  preparatory  to  his  removal  by  the  legis- 
lature. The  judge  and  his  supporters  collected  depositions  and 
signed  statements  that  testified,  favorably,  to  Botkin's  character, 
ability,  and  record  as  a  judicial  officer.  On  February  6,  1891,  a 
petition  was  presented  to  the  Kansas  house  of  representatives, 
praying  that  Botkin  be  removed  from  office  "for  unfitness,  im- 
morality, and  corruption  in  office."8  The  local  political  fight  of 
Seward  county  was  thereby  projected  into  the  larger  arena  of 
state  politics.  Such  is  the  usual  origin  of  state  impeachments,  and 
when  they  are  viewed  in  the  larger  perspective  they  appear  child- 

8.  Daily  Journal  of  the  Senate,  Trial  of  Theodosius  Botkin  ...  on  Impeachment 
by  the  House  .  .  .  J89J  (Topeka,  1891),  p.  5.  Hereafter  this  official  transcript  of 
proceedings  shall  be  cited  as  Botkin  Proceedings. 


288  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

ish  and  insignificant.  Moreover,  Kansas  politicians  were  by  no 
means  certain  as  to  the  ultimate  outcome  of  the  Alliance  bid  for 
political  power.  It  represented  a  threat  to  Republican  political 
hegemony.  To  oppose  it  unequivocally  might  mean  political 
decapitation.  For  that  reason,  trembling  before  the  torrent,  the 
lower  house,  on  February  27,  impeached  Botkin  of  high  misde- 
meanors in  office  and  specifically  charged  the  same  in  ten  formal 
articles  of  impeachment.  In  this  case  the  impeachment  was  voted 
in  the  house  through  the  adoption  of  the  articles  against  Botkin.0 
The  house  managers  presented  the  ten  articles  before  the  senate 
on  March  3.  In  brief,  they  alleged: 

1.  That  Judge  Theodosius  Botkin,  unmindful  of  the  high  duties 
of  his  office,  had  been  repeatedly  intoxicated  in  public  places  in 
his  district,  and  specific  indictments  of  such  public  intoxication 
were  charged  in  ten  specifications; 

2.  That  he,  unmindful  of  the  dignity  and  proprieties   of  his 
office,  had  during  terms  of  court  been  intoxicated,  and  this  charge 
was  set  forth  in  ten  specifications; 

3.  That  he  had,  while  sitting  on  the  bench  as  judge,  been  in- 
toxicated, and  express  indictment  of  the  same  was  set  forth  in 
four  specifications; 

4.  That  on  August  29,  1890,  he  was  publicly  intoxicated  on  the 
streets  of  Leoti,  and  while  thusly  intoxicated  he  engaged  in  a 
drunken  and  boisterous  quarrel,  thereby  bringing  his  office  into 
contempt,  ridicule,  and  disgrace; 

5.  That  despite  the  fact  of  the  state  prohibition  law,  Judge 
Botkin  has  frequently  repaired  to  places  where  liquor  was  sold 
in  violation  of  such  law,  to  the  great  scandal  of  all  good  citizens, 
and  specific  indictment  of  the  same  was  set  forth  in  three  specifi- 
cations; 

6.  That,  unmindful  of  the  prohibitory  law,  he  has  frequently  pur- 
chased liquor  in  violation  of  such  law,  and  specific  allegation  of  the 
same  was  set  forth  in  three  specifications; 

7.  That  during  his  term,  he  has  been  an  habitual  user  of  intoxi- 
cating liquor  to  the  extent  of  impairing  and  incapacitating  him  for 
a  clear-minded  discharge  of  his  judicial  functions  and  duties; 

8.  That  he,  on  January  10,  1891,  in  a  drug  store  which  sold  liquor 
in  violation  of  law,  cursed  and  swore  in  a  blasphemous  manner 
and  said  in  the  presence  of  others  that  "God  Almighty  was  a  God- 

9.  It    is    the    usual    procedure    for    an    investigating    committee    to    recommend    the 
adoption   of  an  impeachment  resolution  to  the  house;   thereafter,  if  impeachment  is  voted, 
the  committee  presents  specific  articles  for  adoption  by  the  house.     However,  in  this  case, 
the  two  steps  were  merged. 


NOTES  ON  Two  KANSAS  IMPEACHMENTS  289 

damned  fool,"  whereby  he  brought  his  office  to  contempt,  ridicule, 
and  disgrace; 

9.  That  he,  on  four  specific  occasions  set  forth  in  separate  speci- 
fications, was  guilty  of  "willfully,  maliciously,  oppressively,  par- 
tially and  illegally"  exercising  the  duties  of  his  office,  by  issuance 
of  fraudulent  warrants,  illegal  arrests,  and  failure  to  permit  filing 
of  exceptions; 

10.  That  he,  unlawfully  and  corruptly,  aided  and  abetted  officers 
and  others  to  boodle  the  city  of  Springfield  out  of  $5,897,  which 
illegal  expenditures  were  made  with  the  aid  of  Judge  Botkin  and 
his  receivership  order  and  his  subsequent  approval  of  such  items 
of  expenditure;  and  that  when  he  had  so  defrauded  the  city  out 
of  this  amount  he  dissolved  the  receivership  and  departed  from 
the  county.10 

After  the  upper  house  had  duly  organized  itself  into  a  high  court 
of  impeachment  and  had  adopted  rules  for  the  conduct  of  the  trial, 
the  respondent  appeared  and  demurred  to  each  and  every  article. 
In  the  discussion  upon  the  demurrer,  counsel  for  both  sides  pre- 
sented able  and  interesting  arguments  either  for  or  against  the 
articles  as  charging  impeachable  offenses.  The  Kansas  constitution 
specified  that  the  governor  and  other  named  officers  of  the  state, 
including  judges  of  the  district  courts,  "shall  be  impeached  for  mis- 
demeanors in  office."  Counsel  for  respondent  argued,  therefore, 
that  these  enumerated  officers  could  be  lawfully  impeached  only 
for  violation  of  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  state:  thus,  im- 
peachment would  lie  only  against  an  indictable  offense.  Moreover, 
in  relation  to  the  constitutional  provision  "in  office,"  respondent's 
counsel  contended  that  officers  could  be  impeached  only  for  acts 
done  under  color  of  office.  Under  this  interpretation,  none  of  the 
specific  charges  against  Botkin  relating  to  his  conduct  off  the 
bench  constituted  an  impeachable  offense. 

The  managers  replied  by  stating  that  "misdemeanor"  and  "crimes" 
were  synonymous  terms  within  the  meaning  of  the  constitution,  and 
that  they  were  so  defined  by  Blackstone.  Moreover,  impeachment 
being  a  civil  process,  the  term  "misdemeanor"  also  included  mis- 
conduct and  even  incompetency.  The  English  impeachment  had 
been  altered  to  fit  the  American  political  scene.  It  thereby  became 
the  instrument  of  the  citizenry  to  protect  itself  against  corrupt  or 
incompetent  officers.  Wherein  lies  protection  to  the  officer  against 
irregular  and  unjustifiable  removal;  it  lies  where  Chief  Justice 

10.    Botkin  Proceedings,  pp.  31-42. 
20—23 


290  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Marshall  once  said  it  lay  as  a  protection  to  corporations  against 
unreasonable  regulation — in  the  consciences  of  the  state  legislators. 
The  managers  argued  that  impeachable  offenses  were  not  necessarily 
indictable  offenses,  for  impeachment  was  a  civil  process.  If  it  were 
not,  then  the  demurrer  was  entirely  illegal,  and  the  respondent  was 
here  offering  his  demurrer  in  apparent  good  faith.  Heretofore, 
Kansas  impeachment  trials  had  not  included  the  use  of  the  demurrer. 
In  all  four  of  them,  the  respondents  had  proceeded  immediately  to 
make  answer  to  the  articles,  whereupon  the  managers  submitted 
that  the  answers  were  insufficient,  and,  under  joiners  of  that  nature, 
the  opening  arguments  were  begun. 

Both  the  prosecution  and  defense  supported  the  condonation 
principle  of  impeachment,  which  denies  that  an  officer  may  be 
impeached  for  acts  committed  prior  to  his  election  or  re-election 
by  popular  vote.  In  the  case  of  Judge  Botkin,  it  implied  that  he 
could  be  impeached  for  no  act  committed  by  him  during  his  term 
under  the  governor's  appointment  up  to  and  including  election  day 
in  November,  1890.  The  articles  of  impeachment  were  so  phrased 
as  not  to  include  allegations  of  impeachable  misdemeanors  before 
that  date,  except  in  the  charges  of  intoxication.  In  order  to  prove 
the  habitual  use  of  intoxicants,  proof  of  inebriations  prior  to  his 
election  were  admissible. 

Sen.  R.  R.  Hays,  a  member  of  the  impeachment  court,  presented 
an  interesting  question  as  to  the  authority  of  the  senate  court  to 
sustain  a  demurrer.  Was  not  the  house  of  representatives,  the 
impeaching  body,  the  sole  judge  of  what  constituted  an  impeach- 
able offense?  Was  not  the  senate  court  constitutionally  obligated 
to  try  all  impeachments?  On  what  authority  could  the  senate  court 
dismiss  a  single  article  when  they  were  specifically  charged  with 
the  duty  of  trying  all  impeachments?  Under  this  interpretation,  a 
demurrer  was  "an  innovation  and  an  anomaly  in  impeachment  pro- 
ceedings." n  The  attorney  general,  who,  in  Kansas,  is  empowered 
with  the  duty  of  aiding  the  board  of  managers,  declared  that  the 
impeachment  court  could  enter  a  plea  of  guilty  for  the  respondent, 
in  that  he  had  admitted  the  allegations.12 

The  respondent  withdrew  the  eighth  article  from  the  scope  of 
his  demurrer  before  the  argument  was  finished.  When  the  de- 

11.  Botkin  Proceedings,  p.  258. 

12.  Yet,    on   his   demurrer,   the   respondent    had   reserved   the  right   to    submit  further 
answers  to  the  articles.     Despite  the  logical  strength  of  Senator  Hays'  argument,  there  are 
numerous  examples  of  demurrers  being  interposed   and,   in  certain  cases,  sustained  by  the 
impeachment  court.     The  cases  of  Judge  William  Russell   (Texas,   1871)    and  of  Supreme 
Court  Commissioner  Chas.   Ruth    (Oklahoma,   1923)    are  examples  of  impeachments  being 
terminated  through  demurrers. 


NOTES  ON  Two  KANSAS  IMPEACHMENTS  291 

murrer  was  put  to  a  vote,  it  was  sustained  for  the  fourth,  fifth,  and 
sixth  articles.  TABLE  I  shows  how  the  individual  members  voted 
on  the  separate  articles.  Seven  articles  remained  for  further  dis- 
position. 

During  the  testimony-taking  stage  of  the  proceeding,  the  state 
called  49  witnesses  to  the  stand.  The  respondent  called  64.  During 
the  investigation  in  the  house,  Botkin  had  refused  to  call  a  single 
witness  when  the  committee  would  not  let  him  subpoena  an  un- 
limited number  from  his  remote  district.  In  the  trial  proper,  he 
subpoenaed  98  persons,  but  the  court,  on  several  occasions,  banned 
further  testimony  concerning  certain  specifications.  At  the  outset, 
the  court  had  limited  each  side  to  five  witnesses  per  specification, 
but  that  dispensation  was  not  strictly  adhered  to  during  the  trial. 
For  the  most  part,  this  feature  of  the  case  was  uninteresting.  The 
managers  put  witnesses  on  the  stand  who  testified  that  the  judge 
was  a  notorious  drunkard;  the  defense  produced  an  equal  number 
who  denied  that  they  had  ever  seen  him  under  the  influence  of 
intoxicants. 

The  final  arguments  were  long  and  spirited.  Most  generally 
impeachment  trials  peter  out  in  spirit  before  the  final  balloting. 
It  was  not  so  in  this  case.  The  lawyers  flung  the  lie  back  and 
forth  among  them  for  15  hours.  The  managers  were  fairer  in  their 
summary  of  the  evidence.  W.  P.  Hackney,  for  the  respondent, 
introduced  bold  partisanship  into  the  case;  it  was  merely  an  at- 
tempt of  the  "contemptible"  Alliance  to  dishonor  a  "faithful"  Re- 
publican. Concerning  the  Alliance,  he  said: 

It  is  a  small  outfit,  from  stem  to  stern.  Why,  the  first  thing  we  find  is,  they 
are  sneaking  around,  looking  through  windows  of  a  bank,  in  that  town  down 
there,  to  find  if  the  Judge  was  taking  a  drink.  Then  they  bring  these  witnesses 
on  the  stand  who  say  that  they  smelled  his  breath.  It  is  on  the  principle 
of  the  smelling  committee  appointed  to  investigate  the  Governor,  and  to  in- 
vestigate his  appointments,  and  to  investigate  the  Coffeyville  dynamite  matter; 
and  they  are  smelling  around,  and  are  yet,  in  this  case.  Their  infernal  olfac- 
tories are  ready  to  smell  everything.  That  is  the  cardinal  doctrine  of  the 
Alliance.  It  is  a  political  organization  of  outcasts  and  characterless  scoundrels, 
and  no  honest  man  can  get  in  to  deny  it.  That's  your  political  party.  .  .  . 
The  time  will  come  in  this  State  when  every  man  within  the  sound  of  my 
voice  will  know  that  this  infamous  political  side-show  is  more  damnable  than 
the  Jacobins  of  France.13 

From  the  beginning  of  the  trial,  members  of  the  court  were 
far  from  regular  in  their  attendance.  At  times  the  proceedings 
were  postponed  until  a  quorum  was  present.  The  attorney  general 

13.    Botkin  Proceedings,  p.  1320. 


292 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 


TABLE  I " 
VOTE  ON  DEMURRERS:    BOTKIN  IMPEACHMENT  TRIAL 


MEMBER 

Party 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

IX. 

X. 

T 
A. 

otal 

N. 

Bentley  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

3 

g 

Berry  

Rep. 

A 

A 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

5 

4 

Buchan  

Rep. 

Carroll  (Leavenworth)  . 

Dem. 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

3 

6 

Carroll  (Miami)  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

A 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

1 

8 

Elliston 

Rep 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

9 

Emery 

Ren 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

3 

g 

Forney 

Rep 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

g 

Gillett  

Rep. 

A 

A 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

5 

4 

Harkness    

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

2 

7 

Hays          

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

9 

Howard                 

Rep. 

A 

A 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

5 

4 

Rep 

Kelley  (Crawford)  

Rep. 

N 

A 

N 

N 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

3 

6 

Kelly  (McPherson)  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

3 

6 

Kimball  

Rep. 

A 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

3 

6 

King  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

9 

Kirkpatrick 

ReD 

Lockard 

Rep. 

A 

A 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

5 

4 

Long                         .   . 

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

9 

McTaggart 

Rep 

Martin 

Rep 

Mechern 

Rep. 

A 

A 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

5 

4 

Mohler.  .  .  , 

Rep. 

NOTES  ON  Two  KANSAS  IMPEACHMENTS  293 

VOTE  ON  DEMURRERS:    BOTKJN  IMPEACHMENT  TRIAL — Concluded 


MEMBER 

Party 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

IX. 

X. 

To 

tal 

A. 

N. 

Moody 

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N  . 

N 

N 

3 

6 

Murdock  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

3 

6 

Norton  

Rep. 

N 

A 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

4 

5 

Osborn              

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

9 

Rankin 

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

A 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

, 

8 

Richter 

Rep 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

3 

6 

Roe  

Rep. 

A 

A 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

5 

4 

Rush 

Rep. 

Schilling  

Rep. 

A 

A 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

5 

4 

Senior  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

3 

6 

Smith  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

9 

Tucker  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

N 

N 

N 

N 

1 

8 

Wheeler  

All'nce 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

2 

7 

Woodward  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

9 

Wright  

Rep. 

A 

A 

N 

A 

A 

A 

N 

N 

N 

5 

4 

Total  "A"s 

g 

10 

19 

22 

21 

81 

Total  "N"s  

23 

22 

32 

13 

10 

11 

32 

32 

32 

207 

-)- 

-j- 

4. 

Demurrers  Overruled  .  .  . 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

14.  Data  compiled  from  Botkin  Proceedings,  v.  1,  pp.  245-248.  "A"  means  a  vote  to 
sustain  the  demurrer;  and  "N"  means  to  overrule  the  demurrer.  The  record  shows  that 
Sen.  Hill  P.  Wilson  took  the  oath  but  failed  to  attend  any  of  the  sessions  of  the  impeachment 
court.  Sen.  Sydney  C.  Wheeler  was  listed  as  a  member  of  the  Alliance  party. 


294  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

practically  demanded  that  at  least  two  thirds,  27  members,  should 
be  in  constant  attendance,  arguing  that  that  was  the  number  re- 
quired to  sustain  the  articles.  The  court  did  not  regard  the  dicta- 
tion as  valid,  and  there  were  motions  presented  to  force  regular 
attendance  on  the  part  of  the  attorney  general.15 

On  May  5,  sixteen  days  after  the  trial  began,  the  court  adopted 
a  stringent  rule  requiring  that  30  members,  at  least,  be  in  attend- 
ance at  all  times.  If  that  number  were  not  present,  warrants  were 
to  be  issued  for  all  members  absent  without  leave  of  the  court.16 
Thereafter  the  attendance  was  perceptibly  higher.  On  May  14  a 
resolution  was  adopted  which  called  for  each  member  to  be  present 
at  the  final  balloting  and  declaring  that  no  member  would  be  ex- 
cused except  in  case  of  sickness.17 

At  the  close  of  the  final  arguments,  the  court  engaged  in  a  con- 
troversy as  to  whether  the  vote  should  be  taken  upon  each  of  the 
31  specifications  or  upon  each  of  the  seven  articles.  It  was  finally 
decided  to  vote  only  upon  the  separate  articles,  thereby  avoiding 
the  question  that  might  have  arisen  as  to  whether  votes  on  specifica- 
tions within  an  article  were  to  be  counted  cumulatively.  Thirty- 
five  members  voted  in  the  final  balloting.  Only  on  articles  nine  and 
ten  were  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  in  favor  of  sustaining  the 
charges,  and  the  18  total  that  each  of  these  articles  received  was 
nine  votes  short  of  the  necessary  two  thirds  majority.  On  the  three 
articles  charging  intoxication,  not  a  single  vote  was  cast  for  con- 
viction. TABLE  II  records  how  members  voted  on  each  article.  Fif- 
teen of  the  members  voted  unanimously  for  acquittal,  which  num- 
ber, in  itself,  was  sufficient  to  prevent  a  sustainment  of  any  article. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  recapitulate  the  various  factors  that  produced 
the  final  acquittal.  The  trial  soon  degenerated  into  a  wrangling 
partisan  scuffle.  One  court  member  was  led  to  declare  that  it  seemed 
that  no  one  was  on  trial  except  the  Republican  party.  Others  were 
acid  in  their  criticism  of  the  personalities  engaged  in  by  counsel  on 
both  sides.  The  whole  trial  was  extremely  tedious,  and  there  were 
constant  interruptions  and  objections  concerning  the  admissibility  of 
testimony.  Especially  in  regard  to  proving  Botkin  was  an  habitual 
drunkard,  the  burden  of  proof  was  upon  the  managers,  and  in  the 
face  of  a  mass  of  contradicting  evidence  the  charges  broke  down. 

15.  After  a  few  days,  the   attorney   general  ceased  to   attend   and  thereby  repudiated 
the  statutory  mandate  that  he  should  aid  the  state  in  impeachment  cases.     Presumably,  he 
discerned  the  rabid   partisan  character  into  which  the  trial   degenerated   and  was   desirous 
of  evading  partisan  criticism. 

16.  Botkin  Proceedings,  p.  527. 

17.  Ibid.,  p.  1142. 


NOTES  ON  Two  KANSAS  IMPEACHMENTS 


295 


TABLE  II  is 
FINAL  VOTE  IN  BOTKIN  IMPEACHMENT 


MEMBER 

Party 

II. 

III. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

T< 

>tal 

A. 

N. 

Bentley  

Rep. 

H 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Berry  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Buchan  

Rep. 

Carroll  (Leavenworth) 

Dem 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

E 

N 

5 

Carroll  (Miami)  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

2 

5 

Elliston  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

2 

5 

Emery     .            .   . 

Rep 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Forney 

Reo 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

2 

5 

Gillett  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

1 

g 

Harkness 

Rep 

N 

N 

N 

^ 

N 

^ 

j^ 

Hays 

Rep 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

A 

A 

4 

Howard  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

2 

5 

Johnson  

Rep. 

Kelley  (Crawford)  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Kelly  (McPherson)  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Kimball 

Rep 

N 

N 

N 

E 

E 

A 

A 

2 

3 

King  .... 

Rep 

N 

N 

N 

A 

N 

A 

A 

3 

4 

Kirkpatrick  

Rep. 

Lockard  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Long  

Reo 

N 

N 

N 

A 

N 

A 

A 

3 

McTaggart  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

A 

A 

4 

3 

Martin  

Rep. 

Mechem.  .. 

Reo. 

N 

N 

N 

W 

N 

N" 

N 

7 

296 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

FINAL  VOTE  ON  BOTKIN  IMPEACHMENT — Concluded 


MEMBER 

Party 

I. 

II. 

III. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

To 

tal 

A. 

N. 

Mohler 

Rep 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Moody 

Rep 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Murdock 

Reo 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Norton  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Osborn  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

N 

1 

6 

Rankin  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

A 

N 

A 

A 

3 

4 

Richter  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Roe  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Rush  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

A 

A 

4 

3 

Schilling  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Senior  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A' 

A 

2 

5 

Smith     

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

2 

5 

Tucker  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

2 

5 

Wheeler 

All'nop 

N 

N 

N 

3 

Woodward  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A 

A 

2 

5 

Wright  

Rep. 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

7 

Total"A"s  

0 

0 

0 

8 

4 

18 

18 

47 

Total"N"s  

35 

35 

35 

26 

30 

16 

17 

194 

18.  Data  compiled  from  Botfrt'n  Proceedings,  v.  2,  pp.  1380-1400.  "A"  means  a  vote 
to  sustain  the  article  of  impeachment  and,  is,  therefore,  a  vote  for  conviction;  "N"  is  a  vote 
for  acquittal;  "E"  represents  excused  from  voting;  and  blank  spaces  signify  that  the  members 
were  absent  and  unexcused. 


NOTES  ON  Two  KANSAS  IMPEACHMENTS  297 

A  curious  bit  of  irony  occurred  during  the  trial.  One  of  the  wit- 
nesses who  was  summoned  by  the  prosecution  to  prove  Botkin's  un- 
failing appetite  for  strong  drink  was  twice  arrested  for  drunkenness 
by  the  Topeka  police  during  the  trial.  In  regard  to  the  tenth  article, 
the  state  built  up  a  good  case  against  Botkin,  and  the  evidence  would 
seem  to  have  justified  a  conviction.  The  managers  even  traced 
money  to  Botkin,  but  he  did  not  take  the  stand,  and  his  attorney, 
Hackney,  who  had  given  him  the  $750,  testified  that  it  was  only  a 
loan  and  that  it  had  been  repaid.  No  documentary  proof  was 
offered  to  show  that  it  had  been. 

Thirty-seven  of  the  39  court  members  were  members  of  the  Re- 
publican party.  Botkin  was  a  Republican.  Moreover,  he  was  an 
old  soldier,  and  he  was  popular  with  the  veterans,  who,  at  this  time, 
provided  most  of  the  leaders  for  that  party.  To  sustain  the  im- 
peachment of  Botkin  would  have  represented  a  substantial  victory 
for  the  Populist  crusade,  and  the  Republican  party  could,  in  that 
threatening  period,  ill  afford  to  admit  corruption  within  its  own 
ranks.  To  anyone  reading  carefully  the  proceedings  and  the  con- 
temporary comments  on  the  trial,  there  comes  the  impression  that 
the  impeachment  was  unfortunately  transplanted  from  its  legitimate 
milieu — local  government — and  that  it  should  have  been  decided 
in  a  regular  court  of  law  rather  than  in  a  political  tribunal. 


Traveling  Theatre  in  Kansas: 

The  James  A.  Lord  Chicago  Dramatic  Company, 

1869-1871 

JAMES  C.  MALIN 
I.    INTRODUCTION:    TRAVELING  THEATRE 

JAMES  A.  Lord  and  Louie  Lord  first  appeared  on  the  Kansas 
scene  as  traveling  theatre  during  the  season  of  1869-1870.  The 
conditions  which  marked  their  coming  indicated  a  break  in  theat- 
rical traditions  which  were  crystallizing  in  the  area  during  the  late 
1860's.  The  decade  1858-1868,  dominated  for  the  most  part  by  the 
resident  theatre  combined  with  the  traveling  star  system,  has  been 
given  comparatively  detailed  historical  treatment  in  an  earlier 
essay.  The  basis  is  provided  in  this  manner  for  differentiating  this 
past  mode  of  operation  from  the  new  one,  the  complete  traveling 
theatrical  company  of  which  a  typical  case  is  the  Lord  Chicago 
Dramatic  Company,  the  subject  of  this  essay. 

On  their  first  tour  of  Kansas  the  Lord  Dramatic  Company  ar- 
rived by  rail  from  Chicago  through  Quincy,  111.,  and  St.  Joseph,  Mo., 
playing  in  towns  along  the  road.  In  Kansas  the  company  filled 
engagements  in  four  towns:  Atchison,  December  13-18  (six  days), 
Leavenworth,  December  20-28  ( seven  days ) ,  Lawrence,  December 
30,  1869-January  5,  1870  (six  days),  Topeka,  January  6-19  (11 
days  and  12  performances),  and  Lawrence  a  second  time,  Janu- 
ary 20-22,  1870  (three  days).  The  totals  were  35  plays  in  33 
working  days.  These  places  were  close  together,  the  most  popu- 
lous towns,  and  were  served  by  railroads,  considerations  that  were 
critical  in  keeping  expenses  in  line  with  receipts.  The  prices 
charged  were  50  cents  for  admission,  or  65  cents  for  reserved  seats. 

Information  about  these  theatrical  events  and  the  Lord  Company 
are  dependent  solely  upon  the  newspaper  files  of  the  towns  they 
visited.  Atchison,  unfortunately  for  the  historian,  has  only  one 
surviving  file,  the  Champion,  filling  only  one  dramatic  critic's  seat, 
and  he  was  not  threatre-minded.  Two  of  Leavenworth's  three  daily 
paper  files  survive  for  the  first  tour  and  all  three  for  the  second 

DR.  JAMES  C.  MALIN,  associate  editor  of  The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  is  professor  of 
history  at  the  University  of  Kansas,  Lawrence,  and  is  author  of  several  books  relating  to 
Kansas  and  the  West. 

(298) 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  299 

tour,  the  Times  and  Conservative,  the  Commercial,  and  the  Evening 
Bulletin.  Three,  or  even  two  commentators  rounded  out  perspec- 
tive. At  Lawrence  and  Topeka,  two  papers  each  afforded  some 
contrasts,  and  one  of  the  editors  in  each  case  demonstrated  a  more 
active  interest  than  his  rival.  At  Lawrence  they  were  the  Kansas 
Daily  Tribune,  and  the  Republican  Daily  Journal,  and  at  Topeka 
the  Kansas  Daily  State  Record,  and  the  Kansas  Daily  Common- 
wealth. 

The  nature  of  the  traveling  company  as  a  self-contained  organiza- 
tion had  best  be  described  with  due  regard  to  contrasts  with  the 
resident  theatre.  As  guest  stars  were  not  used,  the  company  was 
constructed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  include,  within  the  regular 
personnel,  pairs  of  first  and  second  leading  players  of  tragedy 
and  comedy.  One  pair  might  emphasize  tragedy  and  the  other 
comedy,  but  no  discussions  of  the  theoretical  aspects  of  player 
composition  of  such  companies  have  been  encountered.  In  case 
of  illness  of  either  of  the  leading  actors,  that  role  devolved  upon  the 
second.  Frequently  man-and-wife  teams  were  used,  but  so  often 
the  parties  to  these  pairs  were  not  of  equal  quality,  and  one  of  the 
team  had  to  be  content  with  minor  roles.  Always  a  company  must 
have  a  comedian, — better,  a  pair,  male  and  female.  The  Burts 
afforded  a  good  example  of  a  man-and-wife  team  in  this  category, 
but  more  frequently  the  man  who  was  most  successful  in  the  Lord 
Company  was  not  one  of  the  team.  If  his  quality  justified,  he  might 
be  cast  in  comedy  leading  roles.  Lord  assigned  Simon  to  play 
"Rip"  in  "Rip  Van  Winkle"  during  the  first  Kansas  tour.  A  child 
actor  was  desirable,  although  a  small  woman  was  used  on  occasion 
to  play  "Eva"  or  "Mary  Morgan"  or  other  child  roles.  Miss  Mann 
did  "Eva"  in  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  in  Leavenworth,  in  August, 
1862.  Addie  Corey  was  with  the  Lords  on  their  first  tours.  Plays 
employing  child  characters  were  peculiarly  conspicuous  during 
the  1850's  and  1860's. 

Other  than  the  classical  dramas,  most  of  the  plays  emphasized 
youthful  characters,  and  required  actors  accordingly.  A  complete 
company  must  have,  however,  members  suitable  for  playing  mature 
or  elderly  parts,  but  there  was  not  much  opportunity  for  older 
people.  So  strongly  was  the  theatre's  accent  upon  youth,  that  the 
historian  must  constantly  ask  the  question:  what  became  of  older 
actors?  Acting  careers  must  have  been  quite  short.  Altogether, 
these  specified  types,  plus  a  complement  of  minor  players,  made 
up  a  company  of  12  to  15  persons.  The  fact  that  this  kind  of  com- 


300  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

pany  traveled,  meant  that  they  met  new  audiences;  a  solution  of 
the  problem  of  variety  which  plagued  resident  companies. 

The  maintenance  of  family  life  in  the  traveling  theatre  was  virtu- 
ally impossible.  Yet,  there  were  examples  of  family  units  in  the 
business.  The  George  Burts  changed  from  the  earlier  regime  to 
the  traveling  troupe,  and  were  still  on  the  road  during  the  1870's. 
The  Plunketts,  likewise,  were  a  persistent  family,  Charles  and 
Carrie,  with  their  three  daughters,  Annie,  Blanche,  and  Clara.1 
Although  a  pursuit  of  the  history  of  such  family  groups  through  the 
second  generation  would  be  important  historically,  such  an  enter- 
prise is  beyond  the  scope  of  the  present  essay. 

The  earliest  examples  of  the  traveling  theatre  in  Kansas  were 
the  Gabay  Company  of  1856  about  which  little  information  has 
been  found,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Langrishe,  whose  trail  has  been 
crossed  for  some  two  decades.  During  the  winter  of  1859  the 
Langrishes  showed  at  Atchison,  Leavenworth,  Junction  City,  and 
Topeka,  when  the  only  transportation  available  was  the  stagecoach.2 
Their  demonstration  that  it  could  be  done  only  emphasized  how 
unusual  it  was.  During  the  mid-1860's,  the  occasional  traveling 
show  became  more  frequent,  but  not  prevalent. 

II.    LOUIE  LORD:    BIOGRAPHICAL  DATA 

The  personal  story  of  James  A.  and  Louie  Lord  has  been  told 
elsewhere,  except  for  some  additional  data  on  Mrs.  Lord's  early 
life.  The  Topeka  Commonwealth,  December  9,  1870,  published  a 
biographical  sketch,  and  the  only  one  found  thus  far.  Part  of  the 
data  given  was  corroborated  by  other  sources,  a  fact  that  tends  to 
encourage  confidence  in  the  unverified  portions.  According  to  this 
source  she  was  born  November  12,  1847,  at  LaPorte,  Ind.,  her 
parents  moving  to  Chicago  when  she  was  five: 

Her  ultimate  intention  was  to  become  a  teacher,  and,  having  prepared  herself 
for  that  profession,  she  was  about  entering  on  her  duties,  when  fate  threw 
in  her  path  a  young  soldier,  in  the  shape  of  J.  A.  Lord,  who  had  just  been 
sent  home  from  Vicksburg,  wounded  and  dying.  Cupid  ( mischievious  boy) 
thought  that  there  was  a  fine  chance  for  more  game.  He  took  aim,  and  sent 
his  arrow  through  two  devoted  hearts.  A  marriage  was  the  consequence; 
it  took  place  on  the  18th  day  of  October,  1864,  Dr.  Patterson,  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  church  of  Chicago,  officiating.  The  soldier  returned  to  his  pro- 
fession [theatre]  and  the  girlish  wife  followed  her  husband,  another  candidate 
for  histrionic  fame.  Her  first  appearance  on  the  stage  was  in  the  part  of 
"Minnie,"  in  the  play  of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  in  1865,  at  the  Metropolitan  Theater, 
Indianapolis,  Indiana,  under  the  management  of  W.  H.  Riley. 

1.  Wamego  Tribune,  February  18,  1879. 

2.  Daily    Times,    Leavenworth,    December    13,    1859;    Freedom's   Champion,    Atchison, 
December  17,  1859. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  301 

If  the  date  1847  was  correct,  Louie  was  married  at  17  and  made 
her  theatrical  debut  at  18.  Nothing  in  that  chronology  appears 
particularly  unusual.  This  account  would  have  her  entering  upon 
a  teaching  career  at  17,  and  according  to  another  account  she  was 
already  a  school  teacher  prior  to  her  marriage.  As  the  dates  of 
Lord's  discharge  from  the  Union  army  and  the  marriage  were  con- 
firmed by  the  probate  court  papers  filed  in  connection  with  the  set- 
tlement of  his  estate,  any  questioning  of  her  chronology  would  focus 
upon  the  birth  date.  A  17-year-old  school  teacher  was  not  impos- 
sible, but  relatively  unusual.  But  accepting  that  date  tentatively, 
Mrs.  Lord  was  one  month  past  22  when  she  first  appeared  in  Kansas; 
two  months  past  37  when  Mr.  Lord  died,  and  42  when  she  made  her 
last  recorded  tour  in  Kansas.  If  she  was  actually  present  at  Oberlin, 
Kan.,  in  1897,  she  was  50  years  of  age.  This  chronology  would  fix 
the  difference  in  age  between  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lord  at  18  years. 

But  returning  to  the  opening  of  her  theatrical  career,  1865-1869, 
the  Commonwealth  sketch  continued: 

Mrs.  Lord  became  a  general  favorite  with  the  public  and  her  friends;  and, 
possessing  the  sacred  "fire,"  obstacles  melted  like  ice  before  the  sun's  rays. 
Many  of  the  first  "stars"  of  this  country  and  England  admitted  that  they  had 
never  met  so  young  a  person  endowed  with  such  superior  talents  in  comedy 
and  tragedy,  possessing  such  pleasing  vocal  abilities.  She  seems  peculiarly 
fitted  by  nature  to  adorn  and  brighten  the  profession  she  has  chosen.  She  is 
a  lady  of  great  accomplishments.  Her  manners  are  easy,  graceful  and  engaging, 
and  she  makes  a  fine  appearance  on  the  stage.  Having  appeared  in  the  prin- 
cipal cities  with  success,  she  is  pronounced  by  all  to  be  worthy  of  the  plaudits 
of  the  most  intelligent.  One  of  the  most  flattering  engagements  was  tendered 
her,  being  no  less  than  three  hundred  nights,  to  support  "Vestvali,"  in  London, 
England;  but  previous  engagements  prevented  the  acceptance  of  the  offer. 

In  1869,  upon  arriving  in  Kansas  in  November,  James  A.  Lord 
was  probably  40  years  of  age  and  had  behind  him  14  years  of 
theatrical  experience,  less  the  term  of  his  military  service.  Louie 
Lord  had  four  years  on  the  stage  to  her  credit,  a  young  woman 
just  turned  22,  and  18  years  her  husband's  junior. 

III.   THE  FIRST  TOUR  OF  KANSAS,  1869-1870 
ATCHISON,  DECEMBER  13-18,  1869 

In  Atchison  the  troupe  was  advertised  merely  as  the  J.  A.  Lord 
Dramatic  Company.  No  background  was  provided  although  this 
was  their  first  appearance  in  the  area.  The  only  introductions  to 
the  theatre-going  public  were  the  commendations  of  the  St.  Joseph, 
Mo.,  press,  the  Gazette,  and  the  Herald,  both  of  which  were  en- 


302  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

thusiastic.    Possibly  the  recommendations  of  a  neighbor  were  the 
best  of  endorsements. 

The  plays  presented  at  Atchison,  in  Price's  Hall,  were  "The 
Hidden  Hand,"  "She  Stoops  to  Conquer,"  "The  Ticket-of-Leave 
Man,"  "The  Sea  of  Ice,"  "Rip  Van  Winkle,"  and  "Under  the  Gas- 
light." Louie  Lord  took  the  feminine  lead  in  each:  "Capitola," 
"Kate  Hardcastle,"  "May  Edwards,"  the  double  role  of  "Louise  De 
Lascours"  and  "Ogarita,  the  Wild  Flower  of  Mexico,"  "Gretchen," 
and  "Laura  Courtland."  The  male  lead  was  not  featured,  but  was 
played  by  Mr.  Lord,  except  in  "Rip  Van  Winkle,"  when  the  young 
comedian,  J.  A.  Simon,  was  billed  to  play  the  name  character.  Kan- 
sas theatre  patrons  were  to  hear  more  of  him  later  as  head  of  his  own 
company  for  some  two  decades.  The  Champion  pronounced  him 
"the  best  comedian  who  has  ever  visited  our  place.  .  .  ."  After 
Goldsmith's  "She  Stoops  to  Conquer,"  the  Champion  indicated 
that:  "Miss  Louie  Lord,  Mr.  Simon,  and  Mrs.  J.  A.  Lord  are  espe- 
cially deserving  of  praise.  .  .  ."  The  company  is  rapidly  grow- 
ing in  public  favor.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  best  troupe  that  has 
visited  our  city  for  a  long  time.  .  .  ."  In  view  of  the  theatre 
record  at  Atchison,  as  already  reviewed,  that  superlative  praise 
might  not  mean  much,  but  at  any  rate,  it  is  probably  the  best  the 
Champion  could  do  under  the  circumstances.  After  "The  Ticket- 
of-Leave  Man"  the  verdict  was  that  the  company  was  "growing 
more  and  more  popular."  The  Champion  was  John  A.  Martin's 
paper,  but  no  clue  is  available  about  who  wrote  the  dramatic 
criticism,  which  was  perfunctory.  Clearly,  the  man  responsible  for 
it  was  not  a  drama  enthusiast.  If  all  reporters  were  as  noncom- 
mittal comparatively  little  of  historical  reality  could  be  recovered.3 

LEAVENWORTH,  DECEMBER  20-28,  1869 

In  the  Kansas  metropolis,  Leavenworth,  the  Times  and  Conserva- 
tive exhibited  little  more  enthusiasm  for  theatre  than  the  Atchison 
Champion,  but  the  Commercial  dramatic  critic  was  in  an  exuberant, 
uninhibited  mood  and  possessed  a  flamboyant  vocabulary.  Dif- 
ferent also  from  the  Champion  was  the  fact  that  both  papers  recog- 
nized the  coming  of  the  Lord  Chicago  Dramatic  Company  as  a  re- 
sumption of  theatre  in  Leavenworth  after  a  long  absence.  The 
Times  and  Conservative  comment  was  a  sober  statement  of  fact: 
"We  are  glad  that  our  citizens  again  have  the  opportunity  of  seeing 
a  good  dramatic  troupe."  But  the  Commercial  knew  not  such  re- 

3.    Atchison  Daily  Champion  and  Press,  December  12.   14-19,   1869. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  303 

straint,  and  opened  a  long  Sunday  editorial  on  "The  Resurrection  of 
the  Drama'': 

For  weary  and  monotonous  months  the  Opera  House  has  been  closed, 
with  all  its  former  life,  bustle  and  animation  suspended.  To  the  vitalized 
portion  of  Leavenworth,  this  has  been  a  grievous  deprivation,  and  one  which 
they  have  loudly  lamented.  With  the  advent  of  Lord's  Dramatic  Troupe  of 
Chicago,  who  to-morrow  throw  open  the  portals  of  the  long  deserted  halls 
of  Thession,  the  revival  of  the  drama  will  be  effected.4 

Two  other  aspects  of  the  advent  of  the  Lords  were  newsworthy; 
they  were  completely  unknown  to  the  Missouri  river  elbow  region, 
and  they  came  from  Chicago  (not  St.  Louis,  New  Orleans,  or  Cin- 
cinnati), and  by  rail.  The  Atchison  Champion  had  commented 
that  the  Lords  "appeared  for  the  first  time  before  an  Atchison 
audience.  .  .  ."  and  quoted  plaudits  from  the  St.  Joseph  Gazette 
about  their  reception  at  that  place.  The  Times  and  Conservative 
was  no  more  explicit  in  saying:  "Lord's  Dramatic  Troupe  comes 
here  with  high  recommendations  from  all  the  places  they  have 
visited.  The  proprietor  is  a  gentleman  of  wealth  and  education, 
and  his  troupe  is  composed  of  artists  who  will  give  our  people  a 
pleasant  surprise."  But  the  Commercial  was  more  informing. 
George  Chaplin  was  with  a  traveling  theatrical  troupe  at  this  time 
as  a  star,  having  made  the  transition  in  part  from  the  resident 
theatre  to  the  new  mode  of  operation,  and  was  supposed  to  have 
played  in  Leavenworth.  Although  operating  with  the  newer  type 
of  organization,  had  Chaplin  resurrected  theatre  in  Leavenworth, 
the  event  would  have  represented  something  of  a  carry-over  from 
the  old  regime.  Under  the  heading  "Dramatic  Sensation,"  the 
Commercial  handled  the  situation  this  wise: 

The  habitues  of  the  theatre  in  Leavenworth,  although  disappointed  in  the 
non-fulfillment  of  Mr.  Chaplin's  engagement  are  nevertheless  to  be  favored 
with  choice  dramatic  entertainments  throughout  the  coming  week.  On  next 
Monday  night  [December  20]  a  company  from  McVicker's  theatre,  in  Chicago, 
will  open  at  the  Opera  House.  Both  in  Quincy  [Illinois],  St.  Joseph  and 
other  cities,  the  troupe  have  been  favored  with  splendid  audiences,  and  we 
hope  they  will  be  equally  favored  while  here.  A  lady  of  fashion  and  wealth 
from  Chicago,  under  the  stage  name  of  Louise  Lord,  is  the  star. 

In  the  editorial  "The  Resurrection  of  the  Drama"  from  which  the 
opening  paragraph  has  been  quoted,  the  Commercial  continued: 

Hailing  from  McVicker's,  Chicago,  and  playing  at  the  intermediate  cities, 
where  they  have  invariably  been  well  received  with  patronage  of  the  people, 
and  the  plaudits  of  the  press,  we  bespeak  for  them  and  their  merits  a  fair 
reception.  We  commend  them  to  the  attention  of  our  play-goers — not  because 

4.  Times  and  Conservative,  Leavenworth,  December  18,  1869;  Leavenworth  Daily 
Commercial,  December  19,  1869. 


304  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

we  can  "speak  by  the  card,"  but  for  the  simple  reason  of  their  apparent  popu- 
larity in  other  places,  as  on  their  route  hitherward.  Mr.  Lord,  is  a  gentleman 
of  standing  in  Chicago,  possessed  of  wealth,  and  only  induced  to  venture 
in  the  uncertain  enterprises  at  present  attendant  upon  the  legitimate  drama, 
because  of  his  wife's  (Louisa  Lord)  passion  for  the  same. 

Parenthetically,  this  is  not  the  first  time  a  wife  was  held  respon- 
sible for  her  husband's  actions,  and  in  that  matter  the  record  of  the 
Lords  would  indicate  that  the  editor  was  mistaken.  But  he  should 
be  commended  upon  another  point  inasmuch  as  this  was  the  only 
instance  found  in  which  Louie's  first  name  was  spelled  correctly — 
Louisa,  not  Louise.  More  important,  however,  is  that  in  all  the 
public  relations  of  this  first  tour  of  the  Lords  in  Kansas,  the  name 
of  the  city  of  Chicago  was  conspicuous.  No  one  was  permitted  to 
forget  that  windy  city.  As  early  as  1857  Chicago's  rise  in  a  decade 
from  a  village  of  5,000  to  a  city  of  almost  100,000  was  explained 
as  the  result  of  her  citizens'  continual  talk  about  Chicago,  and 
railroads.  They  were  still  "blowing." 

Except  that  "Rip  Van  Winkle"  was  omitted,  and  "Under  the 
Gaslight"  was  given  twice,  the  same  program  of  plays  was  given  in 
Leavenworth  as  in  Atchison.  The  company  was  induced  to  stay 
on  for  a  benefit  to  Mrs.  Lord  on  Tuesday,  December  28,  when 
"Lady  Audley's  Secret"  and  "Rip  Van  Winkle"  were  presented  as 
a  double  bill. 

The  Times  and  Conservative  report  on  "The  Hidden  Hand"  per- 
formance was  perfunctory  and  colorless:  "This  company  made 
their  debut  to  a  good  house  last  evening,  and  the  lively  sensation 
of  the  Hidden  Hand  was  brought  out  creditably."  In  contrast,  the 
Commercial  was  extravagant: 

The  Lord  Dramatic  Troupe  gave  an  initial  performance  at  the  Opera  House 
last  evening,  and  were  received  with  great  eclat  by  a  large  and  stylish  audience. 
As  they  came  unheralded  their  unmistakable  success  can  only  be  regarded  as 
a  testimonial  to  their  merits.  The  "Hidden  Hand,"  dramatized  from  Mrs. 
Southworth,  constituted  the  bill  of  the  evening,  prefaced  by  "Captain  Jinks" 
in  character,  by  little  Addie  Corey,  who  was  most  enthusiastically  received 
and  encored.  The  little  lady's  songs  will  certainly  render  themselves  popular 
with  all  ages.  The  Star,  Miss  Louie  Lord,  may  safely  felicitate  herself  on  her 
triumphant  debut.  She  is  a  beautiful  blonde,  possessing  fine  stage  presence, 
a  melodious  and  effective  voice  and  unmistakable  dramatic  abilities  of  high 
order.  To  the  sparkling  and  dashing  role  of  "Capitola"  she  emparted  all  of 
the  abandon  and  espieglerie  that  pertains  to  it,  and  was  deservedly  the  re- 
cipient of  much  applause  and  call  before  the  curtain.  As  she  is  certain  to 
prove  a  favorite  while  she  remains  with  us,  we  counsel  the  public  to  be  in 
attendance  to-night  to  see  her  in  a  congenial  character — that  of  "Kate  Hard- 
castle,"  in  "She  Stoops  to  Conquer." 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  305 

Mr.  Simon,  as  "Wool,"  divided  the  honors  fairly,  and  created  much  mirthful- 
ness.  He  introduced  several  hits  at  the  times,  which  were  readily  recognized 
and  applauded  by  the  audience.  Mr.  Lord  was  a  successful  "Old  Hurricane.* 

While  the  Times  and  Conservative,  December  22  and  23,  gave 
one  sentence  each  to  the  plays  of  the  preceding  night  and  used  the 
identical  phrase  "in  fine  style"  for  each,  the  Commercial  man  cumu- 
lated his  estimates  of  three  nights  in  superlatives,  if  not  rhapsody: 

Those  of  our  citizens  who  have  been  in  attendance  at  the  Opera  House  dur- 
ing the  past  week,  have  no  cause  to  regret  the  patronage  they  have  thus  ex- 
tended to  a  very  talented  and  meritorious  dramatic  company.  Strangers  to  this 
community,  and  our  theatre  goers,  they  won  much  regard  on  their  first  appear- 
ance, which  has  steadily  increased  on  each  subsequent  performance.  The  "fair 
one"  with  the  golden  locks,  Louie  Lord,  on  her  debut  fairly  established  her- 
self as  a  favorite  in  her  successful  assumption  of  "Capitola,"  which  she  sur- 
passed as  "Kate  Hardcastle;"  and  still  farther  perfected  in  the  "Ticket-of-Leave 
Man,"  last  evening,  as  "Mag  Edwards." 

As  acceptable  as  the  previous  performances  had  proven,  the  accomplish- 
ment arrived  at  in  the  "Ticket-of-Leave-Man"  far  transcended  the  precedent 
plays,  and  fully  demonstrated  the  talent  and  capacity  of  the  company,  all  of 
whom  are  worthy  of  unqualified  commendation.  Louie  Lord  as  "May  Ed- 
wards," was  subdued,  affectionate,  and  natural,  playing  the  character  feelingly 
and  effectively,  and  with  entire  satisfaction  to  the  numerous  auditory.  By  and 
by,  the  display  of  blonde  hair  which  she  afforded  in  "Jenny  Lind"  should  be 
more  frequently  seen,  as  its  beauty  would  greatly  delight  the  boys,  and  arouse 
the  ire  of  the  chignon  headed  ladies.  It  almost  rivaled  Godiva's  "rippled 
ringlets  to  her  knee,"  or  the  description  of  Miles  O'Reilley: 
"It  was  brown  with  a  golden  gloss,  Jeanette, 

It  was  finer  than  the  silk  of  the  floss,  my  pet; 
"Twas  a  beautiful  mist  falling  down  to  your  waist, 
"Twas  a  thing  to  be  braided,  and  jeweled,  and  kissed; 
"Twas  the  loveliest  thing  in  the  world,  my  pet." 

Mr.  Lord,  as  "Bob  Brierly  rendered  the  Yorkshire  lad,  with  peculiar  force 
and  effect,  and,  together  with  his  wife,  were  honored  with  a  call  before  the 
curtain.  Mr.  Simon,  as  "Melter  Moss"  the  jeer,  surpassed  all  of  his  previous 
assumptions.  The  other  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  company  are  entitled  to 
their  need  of  praise  for  the  painstaking  evinced. 

The  Commercial  was  so  deeply  impressed  by  "The  Sea  of  Ice" 
that  the  writer  regretted  that  "they  did  not  produce  it  on  their 
opening  night."  Again  Louie  Lord  received  a  curtain  call:  "She 
realized  all  of  the  tender,  truthful  and  affectionate,  that  pertains 
to  the  character"  of  "Ogarita."  Again:  "Last  night  the  wealth  of 
her  golden  hair  was  exhibited  to  the  delighted  audience.  Like 
the  fair  'Rosamond'  she  surpasses  her  mates,  and  deserves  the 
strongest  support  from  her  sisterhood." 

On  Christmas  Eve  the  play  was  "Under  the  Gaslight": 

21—23 


306  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

It  was  finely  executed  by  the  Chicago  Company  last  evening,  Louie  Lord 
surpassing  herself  in  her  quiet,  natural  effectiveness,  a  distinguishing  qualifi- 
cation, immeasurably  superior  to  the  demonstrative  style  so  much  in  vogue. 
As  in  "Ogarita,"  she  as  "Laura  Courtland,"  charmed  each  and  every  one 
in  the  audience.  It  is  in  roles  of  this  description  that  she  accomplishes  her 
finest  effects,  and  as  they  are  precisely  those  calculated  to  minister  to  the 
educated  taste  of  Leavenworth,  we  counsel  her  persistence  in  them  to  the 
neglect  of  all  "Lotta"  imitations. 

The  littlest  star  of  that  Christmas  Eve  was  the  child  actress  of 
the  company,  Addie  Corey: 

Little  "Peach  blossom"  created  a  sensation,  carrying  a  great  part  of  the  ap- 
plause in  her  favor.  "Addie  Coren"  is  a  little  wee  thing,  but  immense  in  her 
assumption  of  the  character.  We  know  nothing  that  will  so  interest  the  chil- 
dren, as  to  let  them  see  her  in  her  antics  tonight.  [The  play  was  being  re- 
peated.] Her  singing  of  the  "Merriest  Girl  that's  Out,"  was  loudly  applauded 
and  encored.  She  is  really  a  prodigy.  ...  Go  and  see  them  to-night — 
take  the  children. 

That  would  have  been,  as  the  article  was  headed,  "Gala  Christmas 
Night,"  and  closed  the  regular  engagement  of  the  company  at 
Leavenworth,  but  "the  furore"  created  by  "this  versatile  and  fas- 
cinating artiste  [Louie  Lord]"  brought  a  proposal  to  the  manager 
to  stay  over  "and  allow  our  citizens  to  testify  to  their  appreciation 
of  his  Company's  excellencies  in  a  testimonial  to  his  wife."  A 
double-bill  for  Tuesday  night,  after  two  days  of  rest,  was  the  result, 
and  next  day  the  report  ran: 

All  the  town  was  out  last  evening  to  testify  of  their  appreciation  of  the  stage 
gifts  and  graces  of  the  accomplished  artiste  Miss  Louie  Lord.  .  .  .  The 
house  was  literally  packed,  surpassing  any  audience  in  number  since  Lotta 
entranced  the  town.  As  Lady  Audley,  the  bewildering  blonde,  unscrupulous 
as  lovely — she  surpassed  herself,  and  added  one  more  laurel  to  her  Leaven- 
worth renown.  She  was  equally  successful  in  her  assumption  of  "Gretchen," 
in  Rip  Van  Winkle.  .  .  . 

Thus  did  theatre  return  to  Leavenworth,  though  only  for  a  memor- 
able Christmas  week,  to  be  followed  by  a  fairly  long  void.5 

LAWRENCE,  DECEMBER  30-jANUARY  5,  1870 

At  Lawrence  the  formal  advertisements  again  announced  "Lord's 
Chicago  Dramatic  Company"  to  the  public.  The  list  of  plays  pre- 
sented December  30,  1869,  to  January  4,  1870,  six  nights,  included 
the  first  four  on  the  Atchison  and  Leavenworth  lists,  but  introduced 
two  others:  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  and  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room." 
The  first  play  came  Thursday  night,  and  the  Tribune  noted  that  it 
was  the  company's  first  appearance  in  Lawrence,  quoting  Leaven- 

5.  Daily  Times  and  Conservative,  Leavenworth,  December  17-19,  21-25,  29,  1869; 
Leavenworth  Daily  Commercial,  December  17-19,  21-25,  28,  29,  1869. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  307 

worth's  appreciation.  Of  the  first  performance,  the  Tribune  re- 
ported: ".  .  .  Frazer's  Hall  was  filled  with  a  large  and  ap- 
preciative audience — much  larger,  in  fact,  than  we  had  anticipated, 
for  the  company  are  almost  entire  strangers  to  us." 

The  editor  admitted  that  they  compared  favorably  with  older 
companies  in  Eastern  cities:  "We  cannot  but  admire  Miss  Louie 
Lord.  She  is  perfectly  natural,  and  combines  ease  with  a  pleasant 
vivacity.  Her  singing  was  not  what  it  might  have  been,  for  she 
was  suffering  from  a  severe  cold."  The  editor  then  proceeded  to 
put  the  Leavenworth  papers  in  their  places:  "Miss  Lord  has  been 
on  the  stage  for  six  or  seven  years,  and  is  not  as  the  Leavenworth 
papers  made  her  out,  a  debutante."  The  New  Year's  Eve  audience 
suffered  from  social  competition.  The  third  night,  the  Tribune 
concluded,  was  the  best  performance  to  date.  Mr.  Simon,  the 
comedian,  was  given  more  space  than  the  star.  After  commending 
generally  the  performance  of  "The-Ticket-of-Leave  Man"  the  Trib- 
une turned  to  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin": 

Last  night  the  comedy  entitled  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  was  given  with  equal 
success.  After  having  seen  Miss  Louie  Lord  as  Capitola  in  The  Hidden  Hand, 
and  as  May  Edwards  in  the  Ticket-of-Leave-Man,  we  are  not  a  little  surprised 
to  see  with  what  perfection  she  effected  so  total  a  transformation  from  one 
character  to  another.  The  role  of  Topsy  is  a  difficult  one  to  take,  but  was 
perfectly  rendered  last  night.  Little  Addie  Corey  as  Eva,  performed  her  part 
well.  The  death  scene  was  very  affecting,  and  we  saw  more  than  one  hand- 
kerchief raised  to  wipe  away  a  tear. 

Likewise  the  Journal  pronounced  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  rendered 
"in  a  very  happy  manner.  Topsy  kept  the  house  in  an  uproar,  and 
little  Eva  (Addie  Corey)  drew  tears  from  many  eyes  as  she  affect- 
ingly  played  her  part.  This  is  a  play  which  requires  much  of  the 
ridiculous,  and  contains  much  that  is  affecting,  and  last  evening  it 
was  well  rendered.  .  .  ." 

The  fifth  play  was  "the  great  spectacular  drama,  'The  Sea  of 
Ice/  .  .  .  This  piece  is  one  of  the  specialties  of  the  troupe, 
and  every  effort  has  been  made  to  have  it  a  success.  Scenery  for 
this  play,  in  particular,  has  been  brought  here,  and  we  can  assure 
our  readers  that  it  will  be  put  upon  the  stage  in  better  shape  than 
anything  ever  played  here  before."  Afterwards,  the  same  paper 
related  that:  "The  play  .  .  .  was  one  requiring  special  and 
costly  scenery,  and  we  heard  predictions  during  the  day,  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  present  it  in  an  acceptable  manner,  on 
that  account.  But  .  .  .  when  the  magnificent  scene  in  which 
appears  the  rugged  ocean  of  ice,  opened  to  view,  all  doubts  were 


308  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

dispelled,  and  the  audience,  with  one  accord,  pronounced  it  per- 
fect." 

The  Journal  elaborated,  emphasizing  first  that  "universal  senti- 
ment" pronounced  the  troupe  "good  actors."  Second,  it  admitted 
that  "Heretofore,  theatrical  performances  have  been  but  poorly 
patronized  here.  .  .  ."  Having  made  that  confession,  however, 
the  writer  turned  it  into  a  compliment  to  the  Lord  company:  "the 
people  of  Lawrence  have  no  lack  of  appreciation  of  the  dramatic 
art,  as  has  been  seen  by  the  full  houses  which  have  greeted  this 
troupe.  The  fact  is,  this  is  the  first  time  we  have  ever  had  a  com- 
pany of  true  artists  in  the  city."  The  Tribune  confirmed  the  JournaTs 
enthusiasm  for  the  scenic  success:  It  "was  produced  with  a  pre- 
cision, exactness  and  effect  which  we  had  hardly  hoped  to  realize. 
There  was  nothing  wanting.  The  scene  of  the  breaking  up  of  the 
ice,  the  most  touching  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  important 
part  of  the  play,  was  perfect.  .  .  ." 

In  announcing  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room"  the  Tribune  ex- 
plained that:  "In  this  piece  the  horrid  and  baleful  effects  of  the  vice 
of  intemperance  are  fully  pictured  and  brought  out.  It  will  serve 
as  a  temperance  lecture,  but  the  lessons  in  morals  it  teaches  will 
create  a  deeper  impression  than  the  most  talented  lecturer  could 
hope  to  achieve."  Afterwards  the  only  comment  was  to  the  effect 
that  the  performance  was  a  success:  "The  play  was  brought  out  in 
the  force  which  it  requires.  .  .  ." 

The  Journals  advance  notice  of  the  play  asserted:  "It  has  been 
said  that  this  play  is  one  of  the  most  effective  temperance  argu- 
ments ever  presented  to  the  public."  Afterwards — "to  say  that  it 
was  good,  would  be  rendering  faint  praise  for  acting  so  nearly  per- 
fect. Mr.  Lord  as  'Joe  Morgan/  drew  tears  from  many  eyes,  by  his 
life  pictures  of  the  miseries  of  drunkenness;  and  J.  A.  Simon,  as 
'Sample  Switchell/  kept  the  house  convulsed  with  merriment  while 
upon  the  stage." 

If  the  press  reports  were  an  accurate  guide,  Simon  and  his  laugh- 
ter producing  qualities  were  really  the  major  features  of  the  week's 
theatre.  Of  course,  the  whole  company  was  praised,  but  more  even 
than  the  star,  Simon  was  given  personal  attention.  The  Journal 
expressed  what  it  deemed  the  general  wish:  "that  they  favor  us 
with  another  visit  this  winter."  Singular  also  was  another  Lawrence 
reaction;  a  stir  among  the  young  gentlemen  to  organize  a  Lawrence 
Dramatic  Association.  All  interest  were  invited  to  address  a  note 
in  care  of  the  Tribune  office.6  Could  it  be  possible  that  the  young 

6.  Kansas  Daily  Tribune,  Lawrence,  December  29-31,  1869,  January  1,  1870;  Repub- 
lican Daily  Journal,  Lawrence,  December  30,  31,  1869,  January  1,  3-6,  1870. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  309 

gentlemen  of  Lawrence  did  not  recognize  the  existence  and  ne- 
cessity of  young  women?  If  so,  then  Lawrence  was  indeed  the 
strangest  place  in  Kansas.  The  form  of  the  announcement  was 
significant  nevertheless  of  the  extent  to  which  1870  was,  according 
to  the  male  mind  most  everywhere,  a  man's  world,  and  all  therein 
belonged  to  the  male  of  the  species.  At  any  rate  he  would  have 
the  world  think  so  and  take  him  at  his  own  evaluation. 

TOPEKA,  JANUARY  6-19,  1870 

The  westernmost  stop  by  the  Lord  company  was  Topeka.  Chi- 
cago was  again  advertised  to  Kansas  people,  the  advertisements  in 
the  Record  reading  "Lord's  Dramatic  Co.  of  Chicago,"  and  in  the 
Commonwealth,  "Lord's  Chicago  Dramatic  Company," — "with  the 
young  and  versatile  actress,  Louie  Lord.  .  .  ." 

In  Topeka  an  11-day  season  brought  12  performances.  All  the 
plays  used  at  Atchison,  Leavenworth,  and  Lawrence  were  repre- 
sented, plus  "Don  Caesar  de  Bezan"  and  "The  Lady  of  Lyons." 
Furthermore,  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room"  was  offered  twice,  once 
at  a  matinee  for  women  and  children.  The  appearance  of  "Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin"  only  once,  while  "Ten  Nights"  was  demanded  a  sec- 
ond time  for  the  matinee,  may  provide  food  for  thought. 

When  "Rip  Van  Winkle"  was  performed,  with  Simon  in  the 
name  part,  the  Commonwealth's  verdict  was  that  this  is  "un- 
doubtedly his  character."  The  writer  emphasized  his  own  quali- 
fications for  dramatic  criticism  in  this  case:  he  had  seen  Joseph 
Jefferson  in  the  role,  and  Simon's  "Rip  .  .  .  could  not  have 
been  better  portrayed."  One  concession  was  made:  "the  only  dis- 
advantage the  troupe  labors  under  is  the  lack  of  scenery,  which 
cannot  be  remedied  here  at  the  present  time."  Also  the  Record 
reported  favorably  on  Simon  and  paid  its  compliments  to  the 
"Gretchen"  of  the  piece:  "We  have  never  seen  Mrs.  Lord  to  better 
advantage  than  as  the  sorely-tried  and  loud-voiced  wife  of  poor, 
foolish  'Rip.'" 

"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  came  fourth  in  the  series  and  without 
special  fan  fare,  the  Record  merely  closing  its  comment  on  the  per- 
formance of  "The-Ticket-of-Leave  Man"  to  a  "fair"  audience,  with 
the  bare  announcement:  "The  company  promise  a  rare  treat  next 
Monday  night,  when  they  will  bring  out  'Uncle  Tom's  Cabin.'" 
Afterwards  the  same  paper  reported: 

The  "popular  drama,"  as  it  is  generally  called,  .  .  .  proved  very  popular 
last  night.  Union  Hall  was  packed,  every  seat  was  filled,  and  many  persons 


310  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

stood  up  during  the  performance.  Among  the  audience  was  a  large  number 
of  children,  who  enjoyed  the  entertainment  hugely.  .  .  .  Miss  Louie  Lord 
was  a  very  amusing  "Topsy,"  throwing  a  world  of  "nigger"  into  the  delinea- 
tion. Mr.  Simon's  "Marks,"  with  his  everlasting  "Shake!"  was  well  done,  as 
is  customary  with  Mr.  Simon. 

The  Commonwealth's  short  comment  awarded  special  praise  to 
Addie  Corey's  "Eva"  and  as  for  the  company — "Seldom  have  we 
seen  acting  better  appreciated.  .  .  ." 

The  sixth  play  on  the  list  was  "The  excellent  play  of  'Ten  Nights 
in  a  Bar  Room'"  when  "little  Addie  sang  the  well  known  ballad, 
'Father,  come  home/  with  a  pathetic  tenderness  and  sweetness  we 
have  never  heard  equalled.  She  was  loudly  applauded  at  the  close 
of  each  verse.  The  play  from  first  to  last  gave  unalloyed  satis- 
faction." The  Commonwealth  was  more  restrained:  "This  very 
popular  play  was  well  rendered.  .  .  .  The  house  was,  as  usual 
since  Lord  came,  full.  Again  Addie  Corey  is  deserving  of  praise. 
The  other  characters  all  did  well."  Nothing  in  these  comments 
would  seem  to  prepare  the  reader  for  what  came  three  days  later 
when  a  matinee  performance  was  arranged.  That  story  belongs 
here  to  round  out  the  theme,  and  to  call  attention  by  contrast  with 
the  neglect  of  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin." 

In  announcing  the  Saturday  afternoon  matinee,  the  Record 
stated  that  it  was  done  by  the  Lord  troupe  "to  accommodate  ladies 
and  children  who  cannot  always  conveniently  attend  night  per- 
formances. ...  To  accommodate  the  little  folks,  the  admission 
fee  will  be  fixed  at  twenty  cents,  and  it  is  worth  many  times  that  to 
any  human  being,  big  or  little,  to  hear  Addie  Corey  sing  'Father 
Come  Home/"  The  Commonwealth  was  brief  and  to  the  point: 
"It  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  children  especially,  though  'children  of 
larger  growth'  will  find  it  worth  while  to  be  present."  This  per- 
formance of  Saturday  afternoon,  January  15,  1870,  was  noteworthy 
on  another  account.  The  village  of  Topeka  was  showing  signs  of 
"growing  up,"  or  emerging  as  a  city — supposedly,  this  was  the 
first  matinee  ever  given  there,  and  that  unique  fact  was  duly  noted, 
by  the  Commonwealth: 

The  first  matinee  ever  given  in  Topeka,  was  very  fully  attended  yesterday. 
"Ten  Nights  in  a  Barroom"  was  even  better  delivered  than  a  few  evenings  since. 
Before  the  last  act,  Mr.  Lord  came  before  the  audience.  His  remarks  were 
chiefly  to  the  children.  He  said  that  he  had  presented  the  piece  to  thousands 
of  people,  but  never  to  a  better  behaved,  more  appreciative  audience  than  the 
one  then  before  him.  He  warned  the  children  that  just  as  sure  as  they  followed 
the  practice  of  using  intoxicating  liquor,  just  so  sure  would  such  scenes  as 
they  had  seen  portrayed,  be  the  result. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  311 

The  Record's  report  likewise  emphasized  that: 

The  audience  which  filled  Union  Hall  .  .  .  was  compose^  of  the 
youngest  lot  of  play-goers  and  theatrical  critics  we  ever  remember  to  have 
seen  assembled. 

The  request  "down  in  front,"  was  quite  unnecessary,  for  the  front  seats  were 
filled  with  little  chaps  not  over  three  feet  high  to  begin  with.  The  play, 
"Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room,"  interested  the  children  immensely.  The  house 
was  deathly  still  during  the  solemn  scenes,  and  perfectly  uproarious  when  any- 
thing comical  was  on  the  stage.  Before  the  curtain  rose  for  the  last  scene, 
Mr.  Lord  made  a  neat  little  speech,  thanking  the  children  for  their  appreciation 
of  the  play,  and  explaining  its  moral.  Mr.  L.,  as  a  temperance  lecturer  to  chil- 
dren, was  an  unqualified  success. 

Another  play  in  the  series  at  Topeka  warrants  a  short  notice. 
"The  Sea  of  Ice,"  according  to  the  Record  was  "a  decided  hit."  It 
required  scenery  that  could  not  be  expected  to  be  found  in  the  con- 
ventional assortment  of  stage  equipment.  Shipment  of  much  of 
such  properties  was  prohibitive,  in  spite  of  the  recorded  three  rail- 
road cars  required  by  "The  Black  Crook."  When  Burt  had  launched 
the  Union  Theatre  in  Leavenworth,  in  1858,  he  doubled  or  rather 
tripled  as  manager,  actor,  and  scene  painter.  In  the  Addis  regime 
in  1862,  after  Burt  was  dismissed  by  Templeton,  O'Neil  doubled  as 
scene  painter.  When  "The  Sea  of  Ice"  was  presented  for  the  first 
time  in  Leavenworth  in  October,  1866,  no  mention  was  made  of 
how  the  special  scenery  and  mechanical  devices  were  produced. 
The  Lord  Company  had  been  presenting  "The  Sea  of  Ice"  on  this 
tour,  but  only  at  Lawrence  had  the  practical  question  of  scenery 
been  mentioned — "Scenery  for  the  play,  in  particular,  has  been 
brought  here.  .  .  ." 

At  Topeka  the  newspapers  presented  a  different  story.  According 
to  the  Record:  "The  scenic  effects  introduced  were  far  beyond  our 
expectations,  and  what  makes  the  matter  more  wonderful,  the 
scenes  were  painted,  and  the  whole  stage  machinery  gotten  up 
here.  The  first  scene  representing  the  deck  of  the  good  ship 
Urania,  was  excellent.  The  great  scene  of  the  play,  the  breaking 
up  of  the  ice,  was  infinitely  better  than  we  supposed  it  could 
possibly  be  made  in  Topeka."  7  The  Commonwealth  agreed  in  part, 
but  limited  the  extent  of  the  local  production:  "The  scenery  was 
excellent — the  scene  in  the  last  act  of  the  chamber  was  painted  in 
this  city  by  Harry  Gray  and  was  magnificently  done." 

The  Commonwealth  admitted  that:  "We  feared  that  the  com- 
pany .  .  .  would  not  sustain  its  reputation  .  .  .  but  after 

7.  There  was  no  explanation  whether  in  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  the  escape  of  Eliza  over 
the  breaking  ice  utilized  the  same  or  similar  devices. 


312  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

visiting  the  play,  we  must  say  we  never  saw  it  better  performed. 
J.  A.  Simon  played  his  part  well.  We  admired  the  splendid  posing 
of  Louie  Lord.  That  is  everything  in  the  presentation  of  pieces  of 
this  cast.  She  fil[l]ed  the  ear  with  her  words,  while  she  charmed 
the  eye  by  her  actions/'  The  Record  emphasized  that:  "She  played 
throughout  with  great  spirit  and  force.  Her  final  exposure  of  and 
triumph  over  the  villain,  Del  Monte,  was  a  fine  piece  of  acting. 
It  is  in  characters  like  these  requiring  great  physical  and  mental 
force;  in  portraying  the  stormier  passions  of  the  heart,  that  Mrs. 
Lord  has  appeared  while  here,  to  the  best  advantage." 

The  benefit  for  Louie  Lord  was  set  for  Saturday  night,  January 
15,  and  the  play — "that  old,  yet  always  new  and  interesting  play, 
the  'Lady  of  Lyons/  .  .  .  She  has  appeared  in  almost  every 
variety  of  character,  and  in  none  of  them  has  she  slighted  her  part. 
.  .  ."  On  account  of  an  Editorial  Association  Ball  Monday  night, 
January  17,  there  was  no  show,  but  the  season  was  to  close  Tuesday 
night  with  "Under  the  Gaslight."  The  public  was  assured  that: 
"The  celebrated  'Railroad  Scene'  will  be  produced,  also  the  'Pier 
Scene/  " 

After  the  event  the  Record  said  the  hall  "was  crammed"  and  that: 
"The  audience  was  the  largest  which  has  attended  any  of  the  per- 
formances." The  Commonwealth  insisted  that  the  company  had 
kept  this  play  back  and  had  "presented  their  best,  as  the  closing 
play,  in  this  city.  It  is  a  piece  most  difficult  to  faithfully  enact; 
yet  each  character  was,  (we  might  almost  say),  perfectly  repre- 
sented. We  were  very  anxious  about  their  success  in  running  the 
engine  upon  the  stage,  but  they  succeeded  admirably.  Other 
troupes  whom  we  have  seen  in  this  play  have  made  a  fizzle  with 
the  engine.  ..." 

But  this  proved  not  to  be  their  closing  show.  As  in  Lawrence 
they  stayed  over  another  day  and  revealed  "Lady  Audley's  Secret." 
— "Louie  Lord  was  a  perfect  success  ...  as  she  is  in  all  her 
parts."  Mr.  Lord  made  a  curtain  speech  complimenting  the  town 
and  expressing  the  hope  of  visiting  Topeka  again  the  next  season. 
His  generosity  in  yielding  the  hall  to  the  Editorial  Association  Ball 
paid  off  well  in  public  relations  as  the  press  made  amply  clear. 
After  commending  Lord,  the  Commonwealth  entered  into  the  rec- 
ord a  moral  verdict:  "in  no  play  that  he  has  presented  here,  has 
there  been  the  least  thing  that  could  offend  the  taste  of  the  most 
fastidious  of  hearers."  The  Record  volunteered  that:  "no  company 
has  ever  been  in  Topeka  that  gave  such  universal  satisfaction.  The 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  313 

whole  company  are  gentlemanly  and  ladylike,  and  they  try  their  best 
to  instruct  and  amuse,  and  do  so.8 

LAWRENCE,  SECOND  VISIT,  JANUARY  20-22,  1870 

When  the  Lord  Company  returned  to  Lawrence  January  20-22, 
1870,  for  a  second  visit  the  same  winter,  both  papers  greeted  them 
cordially;  this  time  on  the  basis  of  the  favorable  impressions  in  De- 
cember. The  three  plays  featured  were  "Lady  Audley's  Secret/' 
"Under  the  Gaslight,"  and  "The  Lady  of  Lyons."  The  Tribune  had 
asked  for  "Rip  Van  Winkle,"  but  that  request  was  not  honored. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  on  their  opening  night  Lawrence  was 
celebrating  the  dedication  and  naming  of  "Liberty  Hall"  in  the  Poole 
building,  a  good  audience  turned  out. 

On  account  of  an  instance  of  mistaken  identity,  the  Lord  Com- 
pany very  nearly  suffered  a  depletion  of  its  ranks  that  would  have 
stopped  their  Lawrence  appearances: 

It  seems  that  a  house  on  Pennsylvania  street  kept  as  a  mansion  of  pleasure 
.  .  .,  was  entered  in  broad  daylight  ...  by  two  men  and  robbed. 
.  .  .  A  colored  woman  who  has  been  doing  duty  as  a  servant  in  the  house, 
saw  the  parties  making  off  with  the  plunder,  and  at  once  sent  for  her  husband, 
who  was  at  work  near  by.  They  overtook  the  burglars,  and  recovered  the 
property.  ...  A  few  minutes  afterwards  two  members  of  the  dramatic 
company,  who  had  just  arrived  on  the  Topeka  train,  came  out  of  the  hotel, 
and  were  at  once  pointed  out  by  the  colored  man  as  the  thieves.  They  were 
accordingly  arrested  and  brought  before  Judge  Banks  for  examination.  .  .  , 
Meanwhile  the  whole  troupe,  and  the  janitor  at  Frazer's  Hall,  united  in  testi- 
fying that  they  had  been  constantly  on  duty  since  their  arrival,  at  the  hall, 
in  preparing  for  the  [evening]  play.  Of  course  they  were  at  once  discharged 
but  not  until  so  late  an  hour  as  almost  to  prevent  the  performance.  .  .  -. 

The  play  "Under  the  Gaslight"  was  staged  "with  a  force  and  skill 
which  we  were  not  prepared  to  see,"  because  the  effect  depended 
so  largely  upon  the  scenery.  Besides  this  verdict,  the  Tribune 
said  Louie  Lord  "was  splendid,"  and  Mr.  Simon  "could  hardly  be 
surpassed."  In  fact,  "He  was  decidedly  the  favorite  of  the  eve- 
ning." The  next  night  the  critic  agreed  that  the  presentation 
"placed  a  crown  on  the  already  brilliant  achievements  of  the 
troupe.  .  .  ."9 

So  far  as  Kansas  showings  were  concerned,  the  Lord  Company's 
excursion  into  Kansas  appears  to  have  been  a  success.  Evidently 
the  troupe  was  carrying  the  minimum  number  of  players,  if  not 

8.  Daily  Kansas  State  Record,  Topeka,  January  4,  7-9,   11,  16,   19,  20,  1870;  Kansas 
Daily  Commonwealth,  Topeka,  January  4,  5,  7,  8,  11,  16,  19,  20,  1870. 

9.  Lawrence  Daily  Tribune,  January  20-23,  1870:  Republican  Daily  Journal,  Lawrence 
January  18,  20,  22,  1870. 


314  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

actually  shorthanded.  If  the  newspaper  commentary  meant  any- 
thing in  the  way  of  independent  audience  judgment  upon  the  merits 
of  particular  members,  Mrs.  Lord  was  easily  the  favorite,  but 
Simon  would  seem  to  have  rated  a  close  rival  for  Mr.  Lord  for 
second  place,  and  possibly  he  should  be  granted  that  distinction. 
Jennie  Woltz  was  unquestionably  the  next  in  line,  although  her 
singing  rather  than  her  acting  was  the  basis  of  the  praise  accorded 
her.  The  commentary  upon  other  members  of  the  troupe  was  too 
vague  to  indicate  who  could  have  substituted  for  Mrs.  Lord  had  an 
emergency  occurred.  Depending  upon  the  role  required,  the 
chance  might  have  fallen  to  Miss  Woltz,  or  to  Mrs.  Graham.  The 
important  point,  however,  was  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Lord  did  not  miss 
a  night,  and  no  performance  was  cancelled  or  even  a  different  play 
substituted  at  the  last  minute  on  account  of  illness  of  a  key  member 
of  the  cast. 

IV.    INTERIM  REPORT  ON  THEATRE,  1870;  BETWEEN  SEASONS 

Too  narrow  a  focus  upon  the  Lord  Dramatic  Company  would  rob 
the  story  of  perspective  that  could  only  distort  the  representative 
character  of  that  organization,  and  thereby  do  a  disservice  alike  to 
the  Lords  and  to  theatrical  history  in  general.  As  Leavenworth 
was  the  only  Kansas  town  possessing  a  substantial  theatrical  history, 
it  must  serve  again  as  a  sample  of  what  was  being  done  in  the  older 
river  cities  of  the  Missouri  river  elbow  region.  Following  the 
visit  of  the  Lords  there  during  Christmas  week,  1869,  the  next 
newspaper-advertised  entertainment  in  the  Opera  House  was  the 
Skiff  and  Gaylord  Minstrels,  January  25-27,  1870.  On  January  29 
there  was  an  expose  of  the  Davenport  Brothers'  Spiritualist  frauds, 
followed  by  the  Fakir  of  Ava  in  Laing  Hall — legerdemain  and 
necromancy. 

The  first  theatre  in  the  new  year  was  Felix  Rogers  and  Jenny 
Willmore,  February  11,  12,  followed  by  a  return  visit  of  the  Skiff 
and  Gaylor  Minstrels.  A  vocal  quartet,  The  Original  Bakers,  came 
February  22,  and  The  Alleghanians,  Swiss  Bell  Ringers,  March  10, 
The  Peep  O'Day  Boys,  songs  and  dances,  March  25,  and  Blind  Tom, 
April  14-16.  The  only  series  of  real  theatre  performance  came  be- 
tween April  25  and  July  2,  or  late  spring  and  early  summer.  The 
Emerson  Minstrels  appeared  August  5  and  6,  the  Duprey  and 
Benedict  Minstrels,  September  26-28,  Leavenworth's  local  amateur 
minstrels,  October  4,  the  burnt-cork  monotony  being  broken  only  by 
the  Peak  Family,  Swiss  Bell  Ringers,  October  6  and  7.  But  the 
town  was  not  long  spared  another  burnt-cork  invasion,  Johnny 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  315 

Allen's  Sensation  Minstrels,  October  17  and  18.  For  more  than  a 
month  the  Opera  House  was  closed,  then  the  Lord  company  arrived 
in  Leaven  worth,  November  21,  for  a  prolonged  tour  of  Kansas. 

The  late  spring  and  early  summer  interval  within  this  miscellany 
had  a  significance  all  its  own.  The  season  of  the  year  ran  against 
the  current  of  the  new  dispensation  when  traveling  theatre  returned 
to  home  bases.  The  heat  of  summer,  the  seasonal  occupation  of  a 
predominantly  agricultural  area,  and  the  preferences  for  outdoor 
recreation  were  not  favorable  for  theatre.  Even  Leavenworth, 
Kansas  City,  and  St.  Joseph  were  not  yet  large  enough  to  support 
year  round  theatre.  The  summer  theatre  was  in  some  respects  a 
carryover  from  the  transition  of  river  transportation  when  naviga- 
tion was  closed  during  the  winter  months.  But  the  railroads  made 
summer  vacation  time  for  the  more  pretentious  forms  of  commercial 
entertainment.  If  any  was  offered,  it  was  of  the  lighter  sort. 

The  National  Theatre  was  a  relatively  new  organization  which 
had  been  put  together,  if  not  for  the  first  time,  certainly  in  its  1870 
version,  at  Fort  Scott  where  it  operated  at  McDonald  Hall,  January 
17  to  March  3,  as  a  resident  theatre  without  benefit  of  traveling  stars. 

The  girl  who  emerged  there  as  its  star  was  May  Preston  who  was 
still  present  when  the  Nationals  opened  in  Leavenworth,  April  25. 
She  played  during  the  first  four  nights.  The  replacement  of  May 
Preston,  Friday,  April  29,  by  Nellie  Johnson,  and  the  arrival  of 
another  new  girl,  Imogin  Kent,  both  from  Cincinnati  theatres,  just 
about  completed  an  entire  change  of  personnel  after  the  Fort  Scott 
run.  A  two-week  engagement  was  completed  at  Leavenworth 
May  7.  On  the  occasion  of  its  last  day  but  one  in  the  city,  the 
Commercial  pronounced  the  Nationals  "the  best  dramatic  enter- 
tainment .  .  .  for  a  long  time  past.  ...  As  a  travelling 
company,  the  Nationals  are  not  to  be  excelled.  We  are  given  to 
understand  that  Mr.  Bancroft  will  shortly  return  here,  he  having 
engaged  the  services  of  Mr.  G.  D.  Chaplin,  an  old  time  favorite 
of  Leavenworth  and  one  who  as  a  Tragedian  is  almost  unequalled." 

Next,  Kate  Benin,  a  familiar  name  to  Leavenworth  theatre  goers, 
came  for  two  weeks,  May  9-21,  "with  a  carefully  selected,  full, 
complete  and  powerful  DRAMATIC  COMPANY."  This  was  the  Mills 
Dramatic  Company,  traveling  theatre,  and  Kate  Denin  traveling 
star,  associated  only  for  a  short  engagement.  The  Collins  Dramatic 
Company  followed  for  five  days,  May  23-27;  Satsuma's  Royal  Japa- 
nese Troupe  came  Saturday  May  28,  remaining  through  June  2,  the 
Mills  Dramatic  Company  filling  in  the  last  two  days  of  the  week, 
June  3  and  4.  This  time  the  Mills  Company  was  without  Kate 


316  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Denin  or  other  traveling  star.  It  was  advertised  as  a  "full"  com- 
pany: "The  best  in  the  West."  The  local  critic  indulged  in  super- 
latives: "[the]  Troupe  is  the  best  which  has  ever  performed  in 
Leavenworth."  Its  Annie  Ward  was  pronounced  the  next  day  as 
"bewitching  as  usual."  On  Saturday  night  a  benefit  was  tendered 
her,  but  "that  charming  little  actress"  was  taken  ill  during  the 
afternoon  and  could  not  perform.  Nevertheless,  the  public  was 
assured  the  company  would  be  back  soon.  Legitimate  theatre 
was  interrupted  at  that  point  for  three  days  of  Arlington's  Minstrels 
of  Chicago. 

The  next  theatre  was  Leavenworth's  old  friends,  C.  W.  Couldock 
and  his  daughter  Eliza,  supported  by  none  other  than  the  Mills 
Dramatic  Company,  June  20-25.  The  plays  were  the  old  Couldock 
bill  of  fare— "Willow  Copse,"  "Chimney  Corner,"  "Louis  XI,"  "The 
Jew  of  Frankfort,"  "The  Porter's  Knot,"  and  a  second  showing  of 
"Chimney  Corner."  The  climax  of  the  summer  season,  however, 
was  the  last:  Post  and  Rogers'  Dramatic  "Star"  Combination,  with 
G.  D.  Chaplin  and  Louise  Sylvester,  supported  by  "a  full  and 
efficient  Company  from  De  Bar's  Opera  House,  St.  Louis."  The 
coming  of  Leavenworth's  theatrical  hero  whom  many  had  come  to 
appreciate  fully  only  after  he  was  gone,  had  been  announced  by 
the  Commercial,  June  3: 

George  D.  Chaplin,  a  man  who  'has  done  more  for  the  legitimate  drama  in 
Leavenworth  than  any  other  man  who  ever  honored  us  with  a  long  or 
short  stay,  is  positively  to  appear  at  the  Opera  House,  on  the  27th  inst,  re- 
maining one  week.  He  will  receive  an  ovation  that  will  convince  the  people 
who  allowed  the  drama  to  leave  us,  that  they  in  so  doing  lost  more  than  they 
appreciated.  Chaplin  will  have  a  warm  welcome  from  his  host  of  friends. 

This  was  the  third  announcement  found  which  assured  the  public 
that  Chaplin  would  visit  Leavenworth.  On  April  29,  the  Times  and 
Conservative  had  reported  his  movements : 

George  Chaplin  is  about  closing  his  engagement  with  DeBar,  at  St.  Louis, 
and  is  going  to  Boston  to  take  the  management  of  Selwyn's  Theatre.  He  is 
now  playing  a  star  engagement  at  Chicago.  He  will  be  at  liberty,  the  last 
of  May,  to  come  here.  He  has  hosts  of  friends  here  who  are  more  the  less 
true  because  he  had  bad  luck  here.  We  should  be  greatly  pleased  to  see 
George  Chaplin  once  more  on  the  Leavenworth  boards. 

The  above  story  is  not  easy  to  follow  or  unravel  except  that  Chaplin 
would  be  at  liberty  to  come  to  Leavenworth  the  last  of  May.  It  was 
about  a  week  later  that  Bancroft,  manager  of  the  Nationals  had 
given  assurance  that  Chaplin  would  appear  as  star  with  his  organ- 
ization. Now  on  June  3  he  was  announced  again,  without  the  sup- 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  317 

porting  company  being  named,  but  when  the  time  came,  June  27, 
he  was  with  the  Post  &  Rogers  Company. 

Again,  on  the  day  before  Chaplin  would  open,  the  Commercial 
paid  tribute: 

As  an  artist  of  the  first  class,  he  is  well  known  to  the  society  and  the  public 
of  this  place  who  have  been  delighted  before  by  his  dramatic  talent.  Leaven- 
worth  owes  much  to  Chaplin,  who  has  given  his  time  in  by  gone  years  to 
feeding  the  taste  for  the  higher  order  of  true  art.  Let  Chaplin  on  this  occasion, 
call  forth  the  fashion  and  sensibility  of  the  city. 

After  the  first  performance  the  Commercial  reported  upon  the 
"old  time  favorite"  in  "Enoch  Arden" — "he  achieved  the  success 
which  his  talent  always  commands  .  .  .,"  supported  by  Louise 
Sylvester,  "one  of  the  most  charming  of  actresses/'  In  spite  of 
Monday's  heat  maximum  of  96°,  "a  fashionable  audience  .  .  , 
gave  these  artists  a  worthy  greeting.  .  .  ."  Again  the  writer 
acknowledged  Leavenworth's  debt  to  Chaplin  and  for  a  reversal 
of  audience  response  insisted  that:  "Owing  to  the  continued  warm 
weather  and  the  presence  of  Mr.  Chaplin  at  the  Opera  House/' 
La  Rue's  Minstrels  at  Laing's  Hall  had  a  smaller  attendance  than 
on  the  preceding  Saturday. 

As  was  so  frequently  the  case,  the  Bulletin  provided  a  variant  in 
response: 

We  shall  never  forgive  Tennyson  for  his  concluding  plot  in  the  great  epic 
of  "Enoch  Arden."  The  idea  of  Enoch  returning  .  .  .  only  to  find  his 
beautiful  wife  and  his  children  gobbled  by  Philip  Ray,  and  to  go  dead  over 
the  sight,  is  too  sad.  The  whole-souled  reality  which  G.  E.  [D.]  Chaplin  threw 
into  the  character  of  "Enoch  Arden"  last  evening  will  not  soon  be  forgotten. 
.  .  .  The  applause  was  so  great  at  the  conclusion,  that  he  was  called  back 
to  the  stage,  where  he  made  an  impromptu  address,  which  was  cheered  like 
that  of  [Patrick]  Henry  before  the  Virginia  delegates. 

This  was  Louise  Sylvester's  first  appearance  before  a  Leaven- 
worth  audience,  but  she  did  so  well  the  Bulletin  critic  concluded 
her  success  was  assured.  Also,  in  the  afterpiece,  she  played  the  title 
role:  "Nan,  the  Good-for-Nothing,"  which  did  something  to  the 
dramatic  critic:  "Miss  Sylvester  .  .  .  leaves  nothing  more  to 
be  imagined  or  desired/' 

On  Tuesday  night,  in  the  "Lorelie,"  the  Commercial  reported  the 
audience  of  "a  very  fashionable  description,"  which  was  evidently 
a  euphemism  for  a  disappointingly  small  house:  "George  Chaplin 
seldom  appeared  to  a  better  advantage.  .  .  .  Miss  Sylvester  is 
also  a  charming  performer,  who  wins  the  hearts  of  her  audience  by 
her  natural  grace  and  cultivated  talent."  Wednesday  night  Chaplin 
played  his  favorite  role  "Elliott  Gray"  in  "Rosedale,"  and  in  spite 


318  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

of  the  heat  "pleased"  his  friends,  while  Miss  Sylvester,  "acquitted 
herself  admirably  .  .  .  but  they  should  have  had  a  larger 
audience."  The  Bulletin  was  more  outspoken:  Chaplin's  "broad 
nobility  of  conduct  instructs  everyone,  because  he  goes  right  to 
every  heart.  His  imposing  stature,  with  head  thrown  back,  is  the 
envy  of  such  as  have  an  eye  for  form."  And  no  one  could  justly 
argue  that  the  Bulletins  critic  was  lacking  in  "an  eye  for  form," 
but  the  form  was  feminine: 

She  is  not  only  about  the  comeliest  daughter  of  Eve  whom  we  have  ever 
clapped  eyes  upon,  but  is  likewise  one  of  the  most  gifted. — Young,  brilliant 
and  ambitious,  may  her  star  rise  very  high.  Her  features  are  finely  cut,  show- 
ing a  swift  thinker  and  a  piercing  observer.  Like  Absalom  in  the  king's  gate, 
she  steals  the  hearts  of  all  who  approach.  Rarely  does  nature  endow  one  with 
such  a  union  of  physical  and  mental  qualities.  Every  feature  is  full,  and 
the  head  is  moulded  with  queenly  beauty — hinting  a  possible  foundation  for 
that  "cube  of  human  faculty"  of  which  Hugo  has  written!  The  stage  can  no- 
where show  a  finer  ornament.  May  the  hemlock  never  spring  in  the  furrows 
of  her  life.  Such  a  queenly  one  has  a  mission  which,  if  cut  off,  leaves  all  dark. 

Right — the  Bulletin  boy  was  in  a  bad  way,  and  Louise  Sylvester 
had  appeared  only  three  nights,  halfway  through  the  week.  Thurs- 
day night  the  play  was  "Michael  Erie,  or  the  Maniac's  Oath,"  which 
was  greeted  by  "a  good  audience,  .  .  ."  Some  scenes  were 
said  to  have  been  enacted  with  good  effect:  "Let  every  one  see 
Chaplin  before  he  goes.  They  may  not  see  such  another  actor  for 
a  long  time."  The  thermometers  in  the  city  had  varied  from  102° 
to  106°  during  the  day.  On  Friday,  the  play  was  "Our  American 
Cousin,"  and  the  burlesque  "Pocahontas."  In  the  title  role  of  the 
latter  Louise  Sylvester  was  the  focus  of  the  Bulletins  attention: 

Her  fine,  original  sense  of  love's  ludicrous  phases  was  well  given.  Her  singing, 
dancing,  and  loving  were  polished  with  the  choicest  burlesque.  She  drew 
enough  applause  to  keep  her  heart  beeting  for  a  month.  Admiration  followed 
the  actress  everywhere,  like  the  eyes  of  a  servant  upon  his  master. 

On  Saturday  night  came  Louise  Sylvester's  benefit,  with  the 
largest  audience  of  the  week.  But  prior  to  the  event,  the  Bulletin 
rhapsodized  again  (and  Webster's  Dictionary  defines  rhapsody  as: 
"A  disconnected  series  of  sentences  or  statements  composed  under 
excitement,"  "confused,"  or  "an  estatic  or  highly  emotional  utter- 
ance. .  .  ."): 

It  is  courtesy  which  people  owe  the  fairest  of  their  kind;  for  what  is  life,  if 
it  is  not  sometimes  cheered  with  similies  which  fulfill  the  ideality  of  every 
mind?  The  stage  may  not,  indeed,  be  the  best  sphere  for  such  youthful  en- 
dowments as  Louise's.  Yet  it  throws  some  ray  on  every  life-path:  while 
many  of  the  daughters  of  fashion,  who  live  in  endless  plenty,  give  no  blessing 
on  life's  reality  and  paint  no  model  for  its  fulfillment. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  319 

The  critic  of  the  Bulletin  had  an  eye  only  for  Louise:  "The 
smartest,  prettiest,  and  most  Tailing'  gal  of  the  west  is  Lousie  [sic] ." 
According  to  him,  her  benefit  drew  the  largest  audience  of  the 
season.  The  Times  had  been  most  forthright  in  recording  small 
audiences.  The  ovation  predicted  for  Chaplin  did  not  materialize. 
If  anything,  the  response  was  the  reverse.  No  doubt  there  were 
still  many  people  in  Leavenworth  who  had  known  and  admired 
him  when  he  had  been  playing  at  the  old  Union  Theatre.  But  he 
had  left  Leavenworth  three  years  before,  the  turnover  of  popula- 
tion had  been  extensive,  and  Chaplin  was  history.  As  of  the  sum- 
mer of  1870,  more  were  absorbed  in  the  living  present,  especially 
such  as  the  Bulletins  dramatic  critic  when  the  live  present  was  em- 
bodied in  the  form  of  Louise  Sylvester.  He  continued  to  follow 
her  through  press  reports  to  Topeka  and  elsewhere:  "Louise  Syl- 
vester is  receiving  the  most  flattering  comments  ever  before  given 
to  any  woman  by  the  Kansas  press." 

Who  was  this  woman?  The  Topeka  Commonwealth  secured  the 
material  for  a  biographical  sketch,  according  to  which  she  was  born 
in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  March  29,  1851,  her  professional  career  beginning 
in  Pittsburgh  in  1864  as  a  child  actress  in  such  roles  as  "Eva"  in 
"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  and  "Mary  Morgan"  in  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar 
Room."  From  these  roles  she  found  a  place  in  the  ballet  and  finally 
her  chance  came  on  two  occasions  to  take  leading  roles  in  emer- 
gencies. From  Pittsburgh,  her  path  led  to  Albany,  New  Orleans, 
Cincinnati,  Cleveland,  and  then  during  the  summer  of  1869,  Topeka, 
followed  by  a  winter  in  Chicago  until  Christmas  and  then  De  Bar's 
Theatre  in  St.  Louis  from  which  she  came  to  Kansas  again. 

Notably,  she  had  never  played  in  New  York,  and  she  entered 
the  Mississippi  Valley  by  way  of  New  Orleans,  her  season  at  Chi- 
cago being  only  a  brief  side  trip  in  the  otherwise  familiar  pattern 
which  led  from  New  Orleans  along  the  river  towns  to  Kansas 
through  the  St.  Louis  gateway.  Thus,  if  the  birth  date  assigned 
her  was  real,  not  a  publicity  date,  she  was  19  years  of  age  with 
a  professional  career  since  she  was  "knee  high  to  a  trundle  bed."  10 
This  is  the  Louise  Sylvester  whom  Frank  Montgomery  had  remem- 
bered along  with  Louie  Lord,  so  vividly  in  1903. 

Several  important  conclusions  are  evident  from  this  interim  re- 
port on  Leavenworth  theatre  during  1870.  The  prevailing  form  of 
commercial  entertainment  in  Leavenworth's  principal  playhouse 

10.  The  Chaplin-Sylvester  episode  is  covered  by  the  Leavenworth  Daily  Commercial, 
June  3,  17,  26,  28,  30,  July  1,  3,  1870;  Daily  Bulletin,  June  16,  28,  30,  July  2,  5  13  1870- 
Times  and  Conservative  April  29,  June  26,  28-30,  July  1,  2,  1870.  Kansas  Daily  Common- 
wealth, Topeka,  July  9,  1870. 


320  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

was  Negro  (burnt-cork)  Minstrels;  and  similar  shows  occupied 
Laing's  Hall,  the  second  place  of  amusement.  The  miscellany  of 
other  entertainment  was  not  impressive  in  quality.  The  legitimate 
theatre  was  still  closely  allied  with  the  forms  and  traditions  of  the 
past  era  of  resident  theatre  and  river  navigation  with  its  river  and 
Southern  connections. 

The  transition  to  traveling  theatre  was  slow  indeed  in  being  com- 
pleted, although  railroads  had  already  displaced  steamboats  for 
most  passenger  travel.  Summer  theatre  was  only  one  evidence  of 
this  fact.  The  replacements  in  the  National  Theatre  were  from 
Cincinnati.  Kate  Denin,  Couldock,  Chaplin,  were  all  of  the  resi- 
dent theatre — star  tradition  associated  with  Leavenworth  history 
in  that  old  form. 

These  traveling  stars  were  dependent  no  longer  upon  resident 
theatres  of  the  several  cities  visited  for  support,  but  associated 
themselves  with  traveling  companies.  In  each  of  these  cases  just 
cited,  the  stars  were  evidently  not  integral  members  of  the  com- 
panies with  whom  they  were  playing,  but  appeared  essentially  as 
guest  stars  of  traveling  companies.  The  advertisements  read: 
"supported  by  a  full  and  complete  company,"  or  a  variant  of  such 
wording.  That  significant  separateness  was  emphasized  in  the 
cases  of  Kate  Denin,  Couldock,  and  Chaplin.  The  Mills  Company 
had  visited  Leavenworth  May  9-14  with  Kate  Denin  as  star,  June 
3  and  4  as  a  full  traveling  company,  without  a  star,  but  returned 
June  20  in  association  with  Couldock  and  daughter  as  stars.  Chap- 
lin had  been  referred  to  in  April  as  having  been  engaged  by  the 
National  Theatre,  but  came  with  the  Post  &  Rogers  "Star"  com- 
bination supported  by  "a  full  and  efficient  Company  from  De  Bar's 
Opera  House,  St.  Louis." 

The  traveling  company  was  still  referred  to  slightingly  by  the 
Commercial:  "As  a  traveling  company,  the  Nationals  are  not  to 
be  excelled."  The  full  acceptance  of  the  traveling  company,  a  self- 
contained  organization,  as  possessing  status  and  complete  pro- 
fessional respectability  had  not  yet  been  achieved  in  1870.  Pos- 
sibly, in  a  sense,  it  might  be  said  that  such  a  condition  was  never 
realized  because  the  velocity  of  change  introduced  too  soon  suc- 
cessive innovations  that  perpetuated  its  doubtful  position.  But  in 
the  course  of  transitions,  the  resident  theatre  and  the  star  systems 
were  eliminated  altogether  in  favor  of  something  different;  not  a 
single  new  form  but  several  innovations. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  321 

V.   THE  SECOND  TOUR  OF  KANSAS,  1870-1871 
INTRODUCTION:    ITINERARY,  PLAYS  PRESENTED  AND  FREQUENCY 

The  Lord  Dramatic  Company  made  its  second  excursion  into 
Kansas  during  the  winter  of  1870-1871,  beginning  at  Leavenworth, 
November  21,  and  ending  at  Atchison,  February  25,  a  few  days 
in  excess  of  three  months  of  continuous  performances,  or  80  show 
days  with  81  shows  performed.  This  was  much  longer  than  the 
preceding  season  of  33  show  days,  and  included  six  towns  instead 
of  four,  Emporia  and  Junction  City  being  added  to  the  circuit. 
A  route  sheet  for  the  season  would  appear  thus: 

Leavenworth,  November  21-26,  1870 6  days 

Lawrence,   November  28-December  3 6  days 

Topeka,  December  5-7,  9,  10 5  days 

Atchison,  December  12-17,  19,  20,  22-24 11  days 

Leavenworth,  December  26- January  7,  1871       12  days 

Topeka,  January  9-21 12  days 

Emporia,  January  23-28 6  days 

Junction  City,  January  31-February  4 5  days 

Topeka,    February    6-11 6  days 

Lawrence,   February   13-16,   18 5  days 

Leavenworth,   February  20-22 3  days 

Atchison,    February    23-25 3  days 

Leavenworth  and  Topeka,  the  largest  cities,  were  visited  three 
times  each,  Atchison  and  Lawrence,  twice  each,  and  Emporia  and 
Junction  City,  once  each.  Ranked  in  the  number  of  shows  per- 
formed, the  order  was:  Topeka  24,  Leavenworth  21,  Atchison  14, 
Lawrence  11,  Emporia  6,  and  Junction  City  5. 

In  the  1870-1871  season,  21  different  plays  were  presented  not 
counting  the  after  pieces,  while  in  the  preceding  season  only  11 
were  used.  Of  the  plays  on  the  second  season's  schedule,  15  were 
new  to  their  Kansas  production,  six  having  been  given  the  preced- 
ing year.  For  the  two  seasons  together,  a  total  of  26  different  major 
plays  were  staged. 

The  plays  produced  for  the  two  seasons  appear  in  alphabetical 
order  in  the  following  tables,  followed  by  their  frequency  numbers. 
Emporia  and  Junction  City  are  omitted  from  the  enumerations 
because  of  incompleteness  of  data.  Thus  frequency  numbers 
represent  the  same  four  large  towns  for  both  seasons. 

PLAYS  PRESENTED  1869-70  Frequency 

Don  Caesar  de  Bezan 1 

The  Hidden  Hand 4 

Lady  Audley's  Secret 3 

The  Lady  of  Lyons 2 

Rip  Van  Winkle 3 

22—23 


322  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

PLAYS  PRESENTED  1869-70 — Continued  Frequency 

The  Sea  of  Ice 4 

She  Stoops  to  Conquer 4 

Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room 3 

The   Ticket-of-Leave   Man 4 

Uncle  Tom's  Cabin 2 

Under  the  Gaslight 5 

35  performances  in  33  days 

PLAYS    PRESENTED    1870-1871    (OMITTING    EMPORIA   AND   JUNCTION    CITY), 
EXCLUDING  THOSE  REPEATED  FROM  PRECEDING  SEASON 

Frequency 

The  Child  Stealer 2 

Dora     6 

Fanchion,    the    Cricket 3 

Frou  Frou .     5 

The  Hunchback    4 

Ingomar   4 

Ireland  as  It  Is 4 

Marco,  the  Marble  Heart 3 

The    Mormons    5 

The  Octoroon   4 

Oliver  Twist   4 

Othello     1 

Our  American  Cousin 4 

Richard  III   4 

The    Serious    Family 3 

PLAYS    PRESENTED    1870-1871    (OMITTING    EMPORIA   AND   JUNCTION    CITY), 
REPEATED  FROM  THE  PRECEDING  SEASON 

Frequency 

Don  Caesar  de  Bezan 1 

The  Sea  of  Ice 2 

Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room 3 

The   Ticket-of-Leave   Man 1 

Uncle  Tom's  Cabin 3 

Under  the  Gaslight 4 

For  the  first  season,  the  plays,  "Under  the  Gaslight,"  and  for 
the  second  season,  "Dora,"  "Frou  Frou,"  and  "The  Mormons" 
were  leaders  in  frequency  of  production.  That  this  criterion  is 
not  necessarily  an  accurate  index  of  the  impact  of  a  play  upon  the 
public  would  seem  evident  from  the  review  already  presented  of 
the  first  season.  The  press  reactions  to  the  several  plays  during 
the  second  season  would  seem  to  confirm  that  conclusion.  For 
the  first  season,  the  impression  given  by  the  press  reports  would 
indicate  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room"  was  at  least  an  equal  to,  if 
not  entitled  to  priority  over,  "Under  the  Gaslight."  As  will  be 
seen  later,  opinion  on  the  second  season  was  more  widely  divided. 
The  score  of  four  for  so  many  plays  both  seasons  reflected  little 
more  than  the  fact  that  these  were  the  company's  choice  of  the 
fare  for  each  season  and  these  plays  were  staged  unless  there  were 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  323 

special  local  factors  that  suggested  a  variation.  The  Leavenworth 
Bulletin,  November  21,  1870,  noted  particularly  the  change  the 
second  season  and  made  the  introduction  of  new  plays  a  point  of 
special  commendation. 

During  the  first  time  around  the  circuit  of  four  major  Kansas 
towns,  the  four  plays  presented  in  all  places  were  "Dora,"  "Richard 
III,"  "Frou  Frou,"  and  "The  Mormons."  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  and 
"Our  American  Cousin"  made  up  the  remainder  of  the  week's  bill 
of  six  plays  which  inaugurated  the  Kansas  tour.  At  Lawrence, 
"Ireland  as  It  Is"  was  substituted  for  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin."  Why 
in  Lawrence,  with  its  antislavery-abolition  tradition,  an  Irish  piece 
was  substituted  for  the  old  Negro  classic  was  not  explained,  nor 
commented  upon,  but  Mr.  Lord  usually  had  sound  reasons  for 
his  planning.  At  Topeka  the  Lawrence  bill  was  continued  except 
"Our  American  Cousin"  was  dropped  out  because  of  a  five-night 
week.  The  Atchison  engagement  was  a  two-week  run,  the  first 
week  using  the  Topeka  five  and  "The  Serious  Family."  "Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin"  found  its  place  in  the  second  week's  bill. 

Topeka  saw  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  on  the  second  round  of  the 
circuit.  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room,"  which  had  been  quite  popu- 
lar apparently  the  previous  year,  was  not  introduced  until  the  third 
round  ( second  for  Lawrence  and  Atchison )  when  the  basic  bill  had 
been  "Ingomar,"  "The  Hunchback,"  and  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar 
Room."  Because  Topeka  and  Lawrence  had  six-day  runs,  three 
other  pieces  were  added  to  this  solid  core  of  three.  Thus  it  was  the 
second  round,  or  second  week,  in  the  case  of  Atchison,  where  the 
greatest  variability  of  offerings  occurred.  Lord  was  wary  of  repeat 
performances,  even  on  different  rounds  of  the  circuit,  usually  declin- 
ing even  when  urged  by  his  patrons.  The  few  times  he  relented,  the 
house  was  small.  The  theatre-going  public  was  apparently  not  large 
enough  to  draw  a  second  full  house  of  new  listeners,  and  two  few 
second-nighters  actually  attended.  A  new  play  would  draw  good 
houses. 

Upon  first  appearance  in  Kansas,  during  the  season  1869-1870, 
the  press  had  recognized  the  untried  character  of  the  company — 
they  must  be  taken  upon  recommendation  until  they  had  proved 
themselves.  This  second  the  Lord  company  of  some  15  persons, 
some  old  and  some  new,  was  greeted  in  the  four  towns  of  their 
previous  visit  as  old  friends.11 

11.  Leavenworth  Daily  Times,  November  20,  Leavenworth  Daily  Commercial,  November 
20,  Leavenworth  Bulletin,  November  21,  1870;  Lawrence  Republican  Daily  Journal,  Novem- 
ber 26,  Kansas  Daily  Tribune,  November  26,  1870;  Topeka  Kansas  Daily  Commonwealth, 
December  6,  Daily  Kansas  State  Record,  December  6,  1870;  Atchison  Daily  Champion  6- 
Press,  December  10,  1870. 

(Part  Two,  the  Final  Installment  of  This  Article,  Will  Appear  in 
the  Winter,  1957,  Issue.) 


Bypaths  of  Kansas  History 

To  YOUR  DICTIONARIES! 

From  the  Western  Kansas  Express,  Manhattan,  July  6,  1861. 

FOUND,  on  the  third  inst.,  in  the  City  Hall  over  our  office,  a  ladies  silk  reticule 
with  green  ribbon  strings,  which  the  owner  can  have  by  calling  at  our  office 
and  kissing  the  Editor  and  Printers. 


Lo,  THE  BRAVE  INDIANS 

From  the  Junction  City  Weekly  Union,  May  16,  1868. 

A  few  days  after  the  recent  attack  by  Indians  on  the  construction  train 
[in  present  Gove  county]  west  of  Coyote,  our  Railroad  friends  tell  us  that 
the  Indians  attempted  to  capture  the  locomotive  alive.  They  took  a  large 
quantity  of  telegraph  wire,  and  doubling  it  several  times,  stretched  it  across 
the  track,  an  Indian  or  two  holding  each  end.  They  didn't  want  to  shoot 
the  thing  lest  they  might  injure  it,  and  hence  this  strategy.  Of  course  the 
locomotive,  under  full  head  of  steam,  was  captured  in  this  way.  The  noble 
red  man  is  an  imitative  cuss — if  he  wasn't  he  wouldn't  be  as  mean  as  he  is. 
They  can  now  enjoy  their  special  train  about  the  country,  meeting  peace 
commissioners,  and  sling  on  as  much  style  as  a  one-horse  lieutenant  of  militia. 
About  two  days  after  they  burned  the  cars,  we  understand  an  officer  at  Hays 
telegraphed  the  Superintendent  to  send  him  a  locomotive  and  a  special  car, 
that  he  might  go  out  and  see  what  the  Indians  had  done.  Considering  the 
number  of  horses  and  ambulances  Uncle  Sam  furnishes,  this  may  be  considered 
a  superb  specimen  of  cheek. 


FREEDOM  OF  THE  PRESS 

From  The  Nationalist,  Manhattan,  October  25,  1872. 

THEATRICAL  TROUPE. — Mrs.  Millie  Willard,  "a  star  actress,"  tore  Lucretia 
Borgia  to  tatters  at  Bluemont  Hall,  last  Friday  evening.  The  next  night  she 
"went  for  Leah,"  in  some  other  play.  She  has  voice  enough  for  a  whole  troupe. 
Five  minutes  sufficiently  filled  the  editorial  ear. 


FREEDOM  OF  THE  BAR 

From  the  Ellis  County  Star,  Hays  City,  June  22,  1876. 

The  following  scene  in  a  Dodge  court  room,  as  described  by  the  Times, 
in  which  our  boys  figure  conspicuously,  we  consider  too  rich  to  with-hold 
from  our  readers. 

"State  vs.  Charley  Beeson,  shooting  with  intent  to  kill  N.  R.  Gilbert,  prose- 
cuting witness;  W.  N.  Morphy  and  E.  F.  Colborn,  attorneys  for  defendant. 
Prosecuting  witness  failed  to  appear,  and  defendant  was  released,  on  payment 
of  costs.  In  discussing  the  case  Mr.  Colborn  made  a  remark  reflecting  upon 

(324) 


BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY  325 

the  dignity  of  the  Court,  which  His  Honor  rebuked  by  leaning  over  the 
bench  and  remarking  with  great  severity  of  manner:  "I  will  permit  no  puppy 
to  run  this  Court!"  The  attorney  retorted  by  vaguely  alluding  to  His  Honor 
as  being  himself  a  relative  of  a  certain  variety  of  canine.  The  Judge,  with 
his  characteristic  dignity,  ruled  that  his  position  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  in 
Ford  county  entitled  him  to  the  common  courtesy  due  from  one  gentleman 
to  another.  Mr.  Colborn  inquired  if  common  courtesy  permitted  a  Judge  on 
the  bench  to  call  an  attorney  a  pup.  His  Honor  explained  that  he  did  not 
refer  to  him  in  particular,  but  to  all  puppies  in  general.  Mr.  C  then  stated 
that  he  was  an  authorized  attorney,  and  appeared  before  the  Court  in  be- 
half of  his  client.  The  Court  suggested  that  he  would  do  well  to  go  back  to  his 
old  business.  The  lawyer  inquired  what  his  old  business  was.  His  Honor 
commenced  to  state  that  he  had  grave  suspicions  that  he  was  an  ex-bull- 
whacker,  when  Mrs.  Mclntosh,  the  Squire's  estimable  lady,  who  did  not  seem 
to  take  a  proper  pride  in  the  able  and  masterly  manner  in  which  the  Judge 
was  getting  away  with  the  young  attorney,  peremptorily  ordered  him  to  "shut 
up!"  In  the  temporary  lull  that  followed  Mr.  C.  fervently  thanked  God  that 
there  was  another  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  the  county  who  would  give  a  lawyer 
the  same  rights  accorded  a  "yaller  dog"  in  Court.  The  Court  very  appropriately 

remarked:    "You  and  your  d d  Justice  may  go  to  h 1  for  all  I  care. 

I  don't  want  the  d d  office!" 

"At  this  juncture  County  Attorney  Sell  and  W.  N.  Morphy  interfered,  and 
the  argument  closed." 


AN  EDITOR  MUST  LIVE 

From  The  Times,  Clay  Center,  November  7,  1889. 

If  there  are  any  who  desire  to  take  the  Clipper  have  not  the  money  to  pay 
we  will  send  the  paper  one  year  for  four  bushels  of  potatoes,  or  twenty-four 
head  of  cabbage,  or  one  bushel  of  sweet  potatoes,  or  fourteen  pounds  of  fresh 
pork,  or  eight  chickens,  or  five  bushels  of  corn,  or  six  bushels  of  oats,  or  three 
bushels  of  onions,  or  two  bushels  of  apples,  or  ten  pounds  of  butter,  or  eight 
dozen  eggs. — Haddam  Clipper. 

The  editor  of  the  Minneapolis  Messenger — $2  per  year  in  advance — author- 
izes us  to  make  the  following  additions:  One  cord  moist  elm  wood;  two  pairs 
of  jeans  pants,  not  much  worn;  six  straw  hats,  for  May  delivery;  one  overcoat, 
sleeves  intact,  tails  bifurcated;  six  dozen  good  eggs;  two  undershirts,  heavy, 
immediate  delivery,  any  color,  red  preferred  (if  red,  well  read);  three  pairs 
one-legged  drawers,  or  two  pairs  two-legged  drawers,  men's;  six  pairs  winter 
socks,  delivered  in  installments,  one  pair  the  first  of  each  month;  one  extension- 
ribbed  umbrella,  delivered  each  time  it  rains;  two  snow-shoes,  one  male  and 
one  female. 


Kansas  History  as  Published  in  the  Press 

With  the  issue  of  March  14,  1957,  the  Alma  Signal-Enterprise  be- 
gan publishing  a  history  of  Wabaunsee  county.  The  series  is  gen- 
erously illustrated  with  pictures  of  people,  buildings,  and  other 
things  connected  with  the  county's  early  history.  Organization 
of  the  county  was  in  1859. 

Historical  articles  of  interest  to  Kansans  in  the  Kansas  City  ( Mo. ) 
Star  in  recent  months  included:  "Beauty  of  the  Kansas  Prairie  in 
Spring  Gave  Olathe  Its  Name,"  by  Stan  Chapman,  March  28,  1957; 
some  history  of  the  Strawberry  Hill  section  of  Kansas  City,  Kan., 
where  homes  are  being  removed  to  make  way  for  new  roads,  by 
Joseph  A.  Lastelic,  June  9;  and  "The  Fourth  Was  Celebrated  Eagerly 
by  Territorial  Towns  of  Kansas,"  by  Lelia  Munsell,  July  4.  Among 
articles  in  the  Kansas  City  (Mo.)  Times  were:  "Joys  of  the  Pawpaw 
Season  Won  Praise  From  a  Famous  Kansan  [William  Allen  White]," 
by  Jennie  Small  Owen,  November  21,  1956;  "William  Allen  White 
Sang  of  Spring  and  Redbud  Trees  in  Kansas,"  by  Jennie  Small  Owen, 
April  6,  1957;  "A  Doctor  [George  Lisle]  With  Varied  Talents  Led 
Ohioans  in  Founding  Kansas  Town  [Chetopa],"  by  Sallie  Shaffer, 
April  18;  "A  Wife,  Children  and  Governess  [Frank  Houts  Family] 
Rode  the  Rugged  Chisholm  Trail,"  by  Bev  Bunce,  May  31;  "There's 
Much  in  a  Name  for  a  Kansas  County  [Montgomery]  and  a  General 
[Richard  M.  Montgomery],"  June  23;  "At  90,  Survivor  [Mrs.  Julia 
Brooks]  Returns  to  Scene  of  Kansas  Massacre  and  Capture,"  by 
Ruth  Jackson,  July  2;  "With  Rifles  and  Bibles,  Lovers  of  Freedom 
Founded  Wabaunsee,"  by  Mary  S.  Koch,  August  21;  "A  Literary 
Gem  Resulted  From  Trip  of  'Henry  [Allen]  and  Me  [William  Allen 
White]/"  by  John  Edward  Hicks,  August  22;  and  "New  Study  of 
Bat  Masterson  Cuts  Down  Number  of  His  Gun  Notches,"  a  review 
of  Richard  O'Connor's  Bat  Masterson,  by  John  Edward  Hicks, 
September  6. 

"Trolley  Through  the  Countryside,"  the  story  of  the  Strang  Line, 
the  interurban  which  operated  for  many  years  between  Olathe  and 
Kansas  City,  by  Allison  Chandler,  was  published  in  The  Johnson 
County  Democrat,  Olathe,  May  2-August  22,  1957. 

On  May  16,  1957,  the  Atchison  Daily  Globe  printed  a  history  of 
the  Atchison  First  Christian  church  by  the  Rev.  Harold  Roberts. 
The  church  was  organized  in  December,  1869.  A  short  history  of 

(326) 


KANSAS  HISTORY  IN  THE  PRESS  327 

Muscotah  under  the  title  "Muscotah  Given  Name  by  Indian  Trader," 
appeared  in  the  Globe,  June  9. 

"Some  of  the  History  of  Old  Irving"  appeared  in  the  May  16, 1957, 
issue  of  the  Blue  Rapids  Times.  The  town,  named  for  Washington 
Irving,  was  established  in  1860. 

Historical  material  from  Through  the  Years,  Greeley's  centennial 
booklet,  by  Mrs.  Cecil  Moore  and  Joy  Fox,  was  published  in  the 
Osawatomie  Graphic-News,  May  16, 1957. 

Histories  of  Jetmore,  other  settlements  in  the  area,  and  Hodgeman 
county  institutions  and  businesses  were  included  in  the  18-page  75th 
anniversary  edition  of  the  Jetmore  Republican  published  May  16, 
1957.  The  plat  of  Jetmore  was  filed  March  25,  1882,  by  Elizabeth 
and  T.  S.  Haun.  Historical  articles  in  other  recent  numbers  of  the 
Republican  included:  "Pioneer  Account  of  Old  Hodgeman,"  by 
Abbie  Ruff  Sidebottom,  and  "History  of  the  [Edgar]  Frusher  Fam- 
ily," by  Louisa  Stairrett  and  Grace  Strachan,  May  23;  "A  History  of 
the  [John]  Glunt  Family,"  June  6;  "History  of  the  A.  E.  Myers  Fam- 
ily," by  A.  J.  Myers,  June  27;  and  "History  of  the  J.  A.  Baldrey  Fam- 
ily," by  Zella  Baldrey  Hubbell,  July  25. 

The  Hartford  Times  published  a  24-page  centennial  edition  May 
17,  1957.  Hartford's  history  started  early  in  1857  when  Harvey  D. 
Rice,  A.  K.  Hawkes,  and  others  chose  the  townsite.  The  following 
year  the  town  was  laid  out  and  in  1859  building  began. 

Historical  articles  in  the  Clay  Center  Dispatch  in  recent  months 
included:  a  history  of  Immanuel  Lutheran  church  of  Washington 
county,  May  20,  1957;  "First  School  District  in  County  Organized 
on  March  8,  1864,"  by  L.  F.  Valentine,  May  25;  and  "In  1870's 
Deweyville  [Clay  county]  Looked  as  if  It  Might  Become  Town,"  by 
L.  F.  Valentine,  June  22. 

Americus'  early  history  was  the  subject  of  a  three-column  article 
in  the  Emporia  Gazette,  May  28,  1957.  The  town's  beginning  dates 
from  the  autumn  of  1857  when  a  town  company  was  formed  and  the 
townsite  located  and  surveyed.  Settlers  had  been  in  the  area  as 
early  as  1855. 

The  "Haymeadow  Massacre,"  an  incident  in  the  Stevens  county 
county-seat  fight,  was  reviewed  in  the  Hutchinson  News,  May  29, 
1957.  On  June  16  the  News  printed  an  article  by  Ruby  Basye  giving 
some  Dodge  City  history  and  describing  the  Boot  Hill  and  Beeson 
museums  at  Dodge  City. 


328  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Muscotah's  history  was  the  subject  of  an  article  in  the  Horton 
Headlight,  May  30, 1957.  On  July  18  the  Headlight  printed  a  history 
of  Hiawatha.  An  article  on  Brown  county's  first  school,  the  Presby- 
terian Kickapoo  Indian  Mission,  established  in  1856,  appeared  Au- 
gust 5. 

In  the  early  1880's  P.  B.  Lewis  established  the  Randolph  Echo, 
the  town's  first  newspaper,  according  to  a  history  of  newspapers  and 
printing  in  Randolph  published  in  the  Blue  Valley  News,  Randolph, 
May  30,  1957.  The  News  which  was  discontinued  with  this  issue, 
was  a  casualty  to  the  Turtle  Creek  dam  now  under  construction. 

Stories  by  C.  H.  Tade  about  the  early  days  in  the  Collier  Flats 
area,  Comanche  county,  appeared  in  the  Protection  Post,  May  31, 
June  21,  28,  and  July  19,  1957. 

James  C.  Malin,  associate  editor  of  The  Kansas  Historical  Quar- 
terly, is  author  of  an  article  entitled  "On  the  Nature  of  Local  His- 
tory," in  the  Wisconsin  Magazine  of  History,  Madison,  Summer, 
1957.  Dr.  Malin  concludes  "Local  history  ...  is  vital  to  sound 
history  at  any  level.  .  .  .  The  best  way  to  raise  the  public  esti- 
mate of  it  is  to  produce  good  local  history  and  to  give  it  the  tangible 
support  it  deserves  by  publishing,  buying,  and  reading  it.  ... 

Minutes  of  Nebraska  Presbytery,  1849-1851,  and  Presbytery  of 
Highland,  1857-1858,  Presbyterian  Church,  U.  S.  A.,  were  printed 
in  the  Journal  of  the  Presbyterian  Historical  Society,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
June,  1957.  The  minutes  show  that  Nebraska  Presbytery  was  or- 
ganized December  1, 1849,  and  discontinued  in  1851.  Highland  was 
established  May  21,  1857,  within  Kansas  territory. 

Emporia's  centennial  has  been  the  occasion  for  the  publication  of 
historical  articles  and  editions  by  the  town's  newspapers.  The  June 
6,  1957,  issue  of  the  Emporia  Gazette  included  two  pages  of  The 
Kanzas  News,  June  6,  1857,  the  first  issue  of  Emporia's  first  news- 
paper. Also  in  the  Gazette,  June  6,  were  an  article  on  the  News 
and  its  publisher,  Preston  B.  Plumb,  and  a  history  of  Emporia's  First 
Methodist  church,  which  has  reached  its  100th  year.  Other  Gazette 
articles  included:  a  biographical  sketch  of  Mrs.  Lilly  Forman,  a 
Kansas  pioneer,  June  16;  "Welsh  Have  Left  Impact  on  County,"  June 
27;  and  "As  Resident  of  Area  for  99  Years,  She  [Mrs.  Ruffin  Fowler] 
Recalls  Most  of  Town's  Historic  Events,"  June  29.  On  June  13  the 
Emporia  Times  published  a  history  of  Emporia  High  School,  which 
had  its  beginning  in  1876  with  13  students.  A  special  edition,  featur- 
ing Emporia  history,  was  published  June  27  by  the  Times. 


KANSAS  HISTORY  IN  THE  PRESS  329 

A  brief  history  of  the  Chisholm  trail,  by  Will  Brown,  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Cedar  Vale  Messenger,  June  6,  1957.  Included  are 
directions  to  portions  of  the  trail  that  are  still  visible.  On  June  20 
the  Messenger  printed  a  story  by  Brown  on  the  sod  house. 

Included  in  the  Winfield  Courier,  June  8,  1957,  was  a  history  of 
the  First  Christian  church  of  Winfield.  The  church  was  organized 
in  1872  and  A.  F.  Womack  was  the  first  pastor. 

Will  Hixon's  life  and  reminiscences  are  the  subjects  of  an  article 
by  Faith  McConnell  in  the  Independence  Reporter,  June  9,  1957. 
Hixon  has  lived  near  present  Altoona  since  1867  when  he  was  six 
years  of  age. 

Montgomery  county  was  named  for  Gen.  Richard  Montgomery, 
Revolutionary  War  hero.  A  biographical  sketch  of  Montgomery,  by 
Wilma  Schweitzer,  appeared  in  the  Independence  Daily  Reporter, 
June  9,  1957.  A  plaque  bearing  his  name  was  recently  placed  in 
the  Montgomery  county  courthouse. 

Articles  of  historical  interest  have  continued  to  appear  in  the  Hays 
Daily  News  the  past  several  months:  "No  Brides  Who  Braved 
Rugged  Life  at  Fort  Hays  Were  More  Fascinating  Than  Lovely 
Wife  of  [General]  Custer,"  June  16,  1957;  "Custer's  Island  Really 
Buzzard's,  Story  in  Old  Hays  Paper  Shows,"  June  26;  "Fourth  of  July 
Celebrations  Last  for  Whole  Day  With  Dancing,  Speaking  and  Can- 
nons Back  in  1870's,"  June  30;  "Life  on  Kansas  Plains  Was  Lonely, 
Austere  During  Pioneer  Days  of  1870's,"  by  S.  F.  Miller,  June  30; 
"Mrs.  Buffalo  Bill  [Cody]  Writes  Hilarious  Story  of  Husband  and 
His  Red  Flannel  Jockey  Suit,"  July  7;  "County  Took  Staggering  Loss 
in  Blaze  That  Destroyed  3-Story  Courthouse  in  '95,"  July  14;  "Sad 
Tale  of  Buffalo  Jo  [Joseph  H.  North]  Is  Highlighted  by  Example  of 
Western  Justice/'  July  21;  "Ignorance  Concerning  Indian  Traits 
Made  Hancock's  War  in  Western  Kansas  Futile,"  by  Howard 
Raynesford,  August  4;  and  a  second  article  by  Raynesford  entitled 
"Custer's  Concern  for  Fort  Wallace  Troops  Brought  Court  Martial 
in  Hancock's  War,"  August  11. 

St.  Paul's  Lutheran  church,  Valley  Falls,  was  established  in  June, 
1857,  it  is  reported  in  a  history  of  the  church  in  the  Valley  Falls 
Vindicator,  June  19,  1957.  The  Rev.  J.  B.  McAfee  organized  the 
congregation  and  erected  the  first  building. 

Some  of  Spring  Hill's  history  is  told  in  articles  by  Mrs.  Nina  Dal- 
zell  and  Margaret  Ann  Westhoff  in  the  Spring  Hill  New  Era,  June 


330  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

20,  27,  1957.    Also  on  the  27th  the  New  Era  printed  a  biographical 
sketch  of  Frank  R.  Morrison  who  settled  near  Spring  Hill  in  1864. 

Biographical  material  on  John  Larrick  and  some  of  his  reminis- 
cences of  Kansas  in  the  1870's  and  1880's  appeared  in  the  Concordia 
Blade-Empire,  June  21, 1957.  Larrick,  now  87,  grew  up  near  Logan. 

The  Sherman  County  Herald,  Goodland,  published  special  edi- 
tions June  27  and  July  4,  1957,  in  observance  of  Goodland's  70th 
anniversary.  The  Goodland  Daily  News  also  honored  the  occasion 
by  publishing  a  number  of  historical  articles,  including:  "Accounts 
of  County  Seat  Battle  Between  Eustis,  Goodland  Vary,"  June  30, 
1957;  and  "Papers  Preceding  Daily  News  Have  Long  History  in 
Sherman  Co./'  July  1. 

On  September  11, 1874,  four  daughters  of  the  John  German  family 
were  taken  captive  and  the  parents,  two  other  daughters,  and  a  son 
were  slain  near  present  Russell  Springs  by  Cheyenne  Indians.  The 
story  of  this  incident  is  told  in  the  Oakley  Graphic,  June  27,  1957, 
and  the  Gove  County  Republican  Gazette,  Gove,  July  4.  Mrs. 
Sophia  German  Feldman,  one  of  the  captives,  has  told  of  the  expe- 
rience in  The  Westerners  Brand  Book,  New  York,  1957.  A  monu- 
ment marking  the  graves  of  those  who  lost  their  lives  was  dedicated 
July  4  in  the  Fort  Wallace  cemetery. 

Cleardale's  history,  prepared  by  Mrs.  D.  G.  Heeney,  was  pub- 
lished in  the  South  Haven  New  Era,  June  27  and  July  4,  1957.  The 
Cleardale  post  office  was  opened  in  1872  and  discontinued  in  1887. 

On  July  4, 1957,  a  history  of  the  Altamont  Baptist  church  appeared 
in  the  Altamont  Journal,  the  Edna  Sun,  and  the  Times- Journal, 
Mound  Valley.  The  congregation  was  organized  in  1882.  C.  T. 
Daniel  was  the  first  pastor. 

"Early  Ellsworth  County  History"  is  the  title  of  a  series  which 
began  appearing  in  the  Ellsworth  Reporter,  July  11,  1957.  The 
county  was  organized  in  1867.  On  August  8  and  15  the  Reporter 
published  part  of  the  diary  of  the  late  Ira  E.  Lloyd  relating  to  life  in 
Ellsworth  in  1873. 

St.  Paul's  Lutheran  church  at  Fairview  was  organized  in  July, 
1882,  it  is  reported  in  articles  on  the  history  of  the  church  in  the 
Fairview  Enterprise,  June  11, 18, 1957,  and  the  Daily  World,  July  12. 
The  Rev.  C.  H.  Becker  was  the  first  pastor. 


KANSAS  HISTORY  IN  THE  PRESS  331 

The  Coffeyville  Daily  Journal  published  a  history  of  the  Bethel 
African  Methodist  church  of  Coffeyville,  July  12,  1957.  It  was 
founded  in  1879. 

Biographical  information  on  Daniel  Stine,  one  of  Augusta's  earliest 
pioneers,  by  Stella  B.  Haines  and  Mrs.  Hazel  Robinson,  a  grand- 
daughter of  Stine,  appeared  in  the  Augusta  Daily  Gazette,  July  17 
and  August  7,  1957. 

Beginning  July  18,  1957,  a  history  of  Madison  by  Lura  Pettyjohn 
and  Christine  Jardinier,  has  appeared  in  the  Madison  News. 

A  five-column  history  of  Blue  Mound,  written  by  L.  R.  Simpson 
and  read  at  the  Blue  Mound  July  4  celebration,  was  published  in 
the  Mound  City  Republic,  July  18,  1957.  While  there  was  a  Blue 
Mound  post  office  as  early  as  1854,  building  of  the  town  did  not 
begin  until  1882. 

Bartley  Yost's  reminiscences  of  the  early  days  in  the  Downs  area 
appeared  in  the  Downs  News  6-  Times,  July  25,  1957. 

A  28-page  centennial  supplement  was  published  by  the  Eudora 
News,  July  25,  1957.  In  1856  a  group  of  Germans  organized  an  as- 
sociation at  Chicago  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  settlement  in  the 
West.  The  site  of  present  Eudora  was  chosen  and  the  first  group 
arrived  to  settle  in  April,  1857.  A  history  of  the  Eudora  Methodist 
church,  compiled  by  Mrs.  Ray  Long,  Mrs.  Phoebe  Westheffer,  and 
Mrs.  Bonnie  Davis,  was  printed  in  the  News,  August  8. 

Pittsburgh  First  Baptist  church  was  founded  August  3,  1872,  as 
the  Eden  church,  according  to  a  history  of  the  institution  in  the 
Pittsburg  Headlight,  July  31,  1957.  It  was  the  first  chartered  re- 
ligious body  in  Pittsburg. 

Buffalo:  Lord  of  the  Plains  was  the  general  title  of  the  August, 
1957,  number  of  Heritage  of  Kansas,  Emporia.  Articles  included: 
"Buffalo:  Lord  of  the  Plains/'  by  Neil  Byer;  "Buffalo  Served  Pio- 
neers," by  S.  H.  Jones;  "The  Buffalo,"  from  The  Overland  Stage  to 
California  by  Frank  A.  Root  and  William  E.  Connelley;  and  "Gen- 
eral Sheridan  Hunts  the  Buffalo,"  from  Sheridan's  Troopers  on  the 
Border  by  De  B.  R.  Keim. 

The  first  in  a  series  of  articles  on  the  history  of  Robinson,  by  Mrs. 
Myrta  Martindale,  was  printed  in  the  Robinson  Index,  August  1, 
1957. 


332  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Biographical  material  on  Mrs.  Lena  Greene,  Arkansas  City,  and 
her  brother,  the  late  Maj.  Gordon  William  ["Pawnee  Bill"]  Lille,  ap- 
peared in  an  article  by  Dorothy  Shirley  published  in  the  Arkansas 
City  Daily  Traveler,  August  5,  1957. 

Wallace  county  history,  including  a  story  on  Fort  Wallace,  was 
featured  in  the  44-page  growth-and-progress  edition  published  by 
The  Western  Times,  Sharon  Springs,  August  8,  1957.  The  edition 
commemorated  the  arrival  of  railroad  surveyors  in  the  area  in  1867, 
which  marked  the  beginning  of  the  development  of  the  county. 

A  22-page  St.  Benedict's  centennial  section  was  published  by  the 
Atchison  Daily  Globe,  August  11,  1957.  Among  the  historical  ar- 
ticles were:  "The  Saddle  Padre — a  Father  to  Five  States,"  "Ministry 
to  'Bleeding  Kansas'  Begun  in  1857,"  and  "Monks  of  1857 — Steam- 
boat to  Doniphan." 

Early  history  of  Kansas  and  Norton  county,  compiled  by  Mrs. 
Amy  Lathrop,  appeared  in  the  Norton  Daily  Telegram,  August  21, 
1957.  The  county  was  organized  in  1872. 


Kansas  Historical  Notes 

Wichita's  "Cowtown"  project  is  growing.  Improvements  now  in- 
clude a  church,  jail,  the  Munger  house,  drugstore,  Santa  Fe  depot, 
railroad  handcar  and  boxcar,  and  schoolhouse.  The  church,  jail, 
and  Munger  house  are  original  buildings;  the  others  replicas. 

Mrs.  E.  G.  Peterson  was  re-elected  president  of  the  Edwards 
County  Historical  Society  at  a  meeting  in  Kinsley,  May  13,  1957. 
Other  officers  chosen  were:  Lavina  Trotter,  first  vice-president; 
Harry  Offerle,  second  vice-president;  Mrs.  Leonard  Miller,  third 
vice-president;  Mrs.  Elsie  Jenkins,  secretary;  Cecil  Mathews,  treas- 
urer; and  Mrs.  Mary  Vang  and  Mrs.  Myrtle  H.  Richardson,  his- 
torians. 

Hartford  celebrated  its  centennial  May  17-19,  1957,  with  a  talent 
show  and  a  parade  high-lighting  the  program.  Mrs.  A.  S.  Bernheisel 
was  crowned  queen  of  the  centennial. 

An  organization  to  re-create  early-day  Abilene  as  a  tourist  attrac- 
tion and  business  promotion,  called  Old  Abilene  Town  Co.,  was 
formed  May  20,  1957.  Directors  and  officers  were  chosen.  The 
officers  are:  Henry  B.  Jameson,  president;  William  Guilfoyle,  R.  R. 
Biggs,  Charles  Krenger,  C.  A.  Case,  O.  B.  Landes,  and  G.  E.  Duck- 
wall,  vice-presidents;  Don  StefPes,  secretary;  and  Charles  Stapf, 
treasurer.  Guilfoyle  was  named  legal  counsel  for  the  corporation. 

Jetmore  celebrated  its  75th  anniversary  May  30,  31,  June  1,  1957, 
with  picnics,  square  dances,  a  parade,  a  horse  show,  and  a  historical 
pageant  portraying  the  history  of  the  area.  The  pageant  was  written 
and  directed  by  Judge  Lorin  T.  Peters  of  Ness  City. 

On  June  1, 1957,  Americus  observed  its  centennial  with  a  program 
which  included  a  parade,  a  dance,  and  the  re-enactment  of  one  of  the 
important  events  in  the  town's  history,  the  stealing  of  the  county 
records  from  Americus  by  a  group  of  Emporia  men  in  1860. 

All  officers  of  the  Hodgeman  County  Historical  Society  were  re- 
elected  at  a  meeting  in  Jetmore,  June  15,  1957.  They  included: 
L.  W.  Hubbell,  president;  Mrs.  Leigh  Newport,  vice-president;  Earl 
Harlan,  secretary;  and  Mrs.  C.  W.  Teed,  treasurer. 

Muscotah  observed  its  100th  birthday  June  21,  22,  1957,  with  a 
two-day  celebration  high-lighted  by  a  parade  and  the  honoring  of 
the  community's  oldest  citizens. 

(333) 


334  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Hanover's  annual  "Days  of  '49"  celebration  was  held  July  22-24, 
1957,  commemorating,  this  year,  the  100th  anniversary  of  the  build- 
ing of  the  Hollenberg  pony  express  station.  The  three-day  program 
featured  two  parades. 

Emporia's  centennial  celebration,  featuring  a  parade  and  "The 
Emporia  Centurama,"  a  pageant  telling  the  area's  history,  was  held 
June  29-July  6, 1957. 

Ellsworth's  90th-year  celebration  began  August  13,  1957,  with  an 
old  settlers'  day,  and  extended  through  August  18  with  parades, 
dances,  a  4-H  fair,  rodeos,  and  other  events. 

All  officers  of  the  Chase  County  Historical  Society  were  re-elected 
at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  society  in  Cottonwood  Falls,  Septem- 
ber 7, 1957.  They  include:  Paul  B.  Wood,  president;  Henry  Rogler, 
vice-president;  Clint  A.  Baldwin,  secretary;  George  T.  Dawson, 
treasurer;  and  Mrs.  Ruth  Conner,  chief  historian. 

J.  Wallace  Higgins,  III,  is  author  of  a  recently  issued,  43-page 
booklet  entitled  The  Orient  Road — A  History  of  the  Kansas  City, 
Mexico  and  Orient  Railroad.  The  booklet  is  a  reprint  from  Bulletin 
95,  Railway  and  Locomotive  Historical  Society,  Boston,  October, 
1956. 

Biographical  sketches  of  Abner  Yates,  Swan  Johnson,  John  George 
Hilbert,  Peter  Knott,  and  other  Woodson  county  men,  and  some  of 
the  history  of  Yates  Center,  are  included  in  a  recently  published 
59-page  booklet  by  Fannie  Johnson  Landes  entitled  Silent  Men. 

Campbell  Brothers  Great  Consolidated  Shows — The  Story  of  the 
Second  Largest  Circus  in  the  World,  a  24-page  booklet  by  Levi 
Bloyd  was  published  in  1957.  The  Campbell  brothers  were  Kansas 
pioneers,  the  family  settling  at  Haddam  in  1878. 

The  First  One  Hundred  Years — a  History  of  the  City  of  Hartford, 
Kansas,  1857-1957  is  the  title  of  a  26-page  pamphlet  published  as 
a  part  of  Hartford's  centennial  celebration,  May  17-19,  1957.  A  cen- 
tennial edition  of  the  Hartford  High  School  alumni  directory  was 
also  published  which  included  histories  of  the  town  and  high  school. 

Americus'  history  is  summarized  in  a  32-page  pamphlet  entitled 
Americus  Centennial — Yesterday  and  Today,  issued  as  a  part  of  the 
town's  centennial  observance,  June  1,  1957. 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES  335 

Muscotah  published  a  41-page  souvenir  booklet  in  connection 
with  its  centennial  celebration,  June  21,  22,  1957.  The  booklet  is 
largely  made  up  of  biographical  sketches  of  residents  and  former 
residents  of  the  Muscotah  area. 

Olathe  published  a  55-page  historical  album  entitled  Olathe,  "The 
City  Beautiful"  as  a  souvenir  of  the  town's  centennial  observance, 
September  1-7,  1957. 

De  Soto,  Kansas  Is  100  'Years  Old,  1857-1957  was  the  title  of  a  64- 
page  recently  published  history  of  De  Soto  by  Dot  Ashlock-Long- 
streth,  commemorating  the  completion  of  the  town's  first  century. 

Topeka— Guide  to  the  Capital  City  of  Kansas  is  the  title  of  a  32- 
page  pamphlet  giving  historical  facts  and  other  information  about 
Topeka.  It  was  published  recently  by  the  Junior  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. 

A  new  one-volume  417-page,  general  history  of  Kansas,  bearing 
the  title  Kansas — A  History  of  the  Jayhawk  State,  by  William  E. 
Zornow,  was  published  in  August,  1957,  by  the  University  of  Okla- 
homa Press,  Norman.  The  author  states  that  the  book  "is  intended 
merely  as  a  general  survey  which  traces  some  of  the  pertinent  de- 
velopments in  the  political,  economic,  social,  and  intellectual  life  of 
Kansas." 

Kansas  Monks  is  the  title  of  a  362-page  book  by  Peter  Beckman, 
O.  S.  B.,  published  in  1957  by  the  Abbey  Student  Press,  Atchison. 
The  work  is  a  history  of  St.  Benedict's  Abbey  which  was  founded  in 
1857. 

The  American  Heritage  Book  of  Great  Historic  Places  is  a  376- 
page,  highly-illustrated  volume  published  recently  by  the  American 
Heritage  Publishing  Co.  The  book  tells  the  stories  behind  many  of 
the  most  significant  of  America's  historic  places.  A  28-page  section 
is  devoted  to  the  Great  Plains,  including  Kansas. 

In  1905  Thomas  Henry  Tibbies  wrote  the  story  of  his  life,  includ- 
ing his  experiences  many  years  before  while  living,  hunting,  fighting 
with  the  Indians  of  the  Plains.  Recently  this  manuscript  has  been 
edited  and  published  by  Doubleday  &  Co.,  Garden  City,  N.  Y.,  in 
a  336-page  volume  entitled  Buckskin  and  Blanket  Days. 

In  connection  with  cases  before  the  Indian  Claims  Commission, 
appraisals  of  certain  Indian  lands  in  Kansas  have  been  made  in  the 


336  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

last  few  years  by  William  G.  Murray.  His  detailed  reports  contain 
much  historical  information,  particularly  relating  to  physical  fea- 
tures of  the  tracts,  land  markets,  and  population  movements.  The 
appraisals  include:  Pottawatomie  tracts  in  Iowa  and  Kansas,  1846; 
Miami  tract  in  Kansas,  1854;  and  Shawnee  tract  in  Kansas,  1854. 
Copies  of  the  reports,  in  booklet  form,  were  recently  presented  to 
the  State  Historical  Society. 


n 


THE 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL 
QUARTERLY 


Winter  1957 


Published  by 

Kansas  State  Historical  Society 

Topeka 


NYLE  H.  MILLER  KIRKE  MECHEM  JAMES  C.  MALIN 

Managing  Editor  Editor  Associate  Editor 


CONTENTS 


AN  ARMY  HOSPITAL:    From  Dragoons  to  Rough  Riders — 

Fort  Riley,  1853-1903 George  E.  Omer,  Jr.,  337 

With  photographs  of  the  hospitals  of  Fort  Riley  in  1854,  1865  and  1889; 
main  post  dispensary,  1889;  hospital  ambulance,  1900;  the  medical  de- 
tachments of  1870  and  1900,  and  portraits  of  Medical  Officers  Joseph 
K.  Barnes,  James  Simons,  William  A.  Hammond  and  Bernard  J.  D. 
Irwin,  between  pp.  352,  353. 

A  KANSAS  REVIVAL  OF  1872 Willam  E.  Berger,  368 

THE  KIOWA  AND  COMANCHE  CAMPAIGN  OF   1860  AS  RECORDED  IN  THE 
PERSONAL  DIARY  OF  LT.  J.  E.  B.  STUART.  .Edited  by  W.  Stitt  Robinson,  382 

TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS:    The  James  A.  Lord  Chicago  Dramatic 
Company,    1869-1871 — Concluded James  C.  Malin,  401 

BYPATHS  OF  KANSAS  HISTORY 439 

KANSAS  HISTORY  AS  PUBLISHED  IN  THE  PRESS 441 

KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES 445 

ERRATA  AND  ADDENDA,  VOLUME  XXIII 448 

INDEX  TO  VOLUME  XXIII 449 

The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly  is  published  four  times  a  year  by  the  Kansas 
State  Historical  Society,  120  W.  Tenth,  Topeka,  Kan.,  and  is  distributed  free  to 
members.  Correspondence  concerning  contributions  may  be  sent  to  the  manag- 
ing 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  hospital  ward  at  Fort  Riley,  1900.  From 
J.  J.  Pennell  and  C.  S.  McGirr,  Picturesque 
Fort  Riley  (Junction  City,  1900). 


THE  KANSAS         ,:  ^ 
HISTORICAL  aUARTERLY 

Volume  XXIII  Winter,  1957  Number  4 

An  Army  Hospital:  From  Dragoons  to  Rough  Riders 
—Fort  Riley,  1853-1903 

GEORGE  E.  OMER,  JR. 
EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

Although  this  article  deals  with  the  medical  history  of  Fort  Riley, 
Kansas,  it  is  a  vivid  picture  of  army  life  on  the  frontier.  Cholera, 
surgery  without  anesthesia,  alcoholics  on  a  whisky  ration  of  three 
quarts  a  day — these  were  some  of  the  problems  faced  by  the  army 
physician.  Of  the  medical  officers  who  served  at  Riley,  seven  became 
surgeons  general  of  the  army.  The  first  Congressional  Medal  of 
Honor  went  to  a  doctor  who  served  there.  The  first  president  of  the 
association  of  military  surgeons  of  the  United  States  was  a  Fort  Riley 
post  surgeon,  who  later  became  president  of  the  American  Medical 
Association.  Of  special  interest — and  value — are  the  biographical 
sketches,  many  of  men  who  became  famous  in  the  annals  of  army 
medicine. 

I.   THE  TEMPORARY  HOSPITAL 

nrVHE  Westward  expansion  of  the  youthful  United  States  burst 
J-  into  the  territory  of  Missouri  following  the  War  of  1812.  The 
early  explorers  into  the  Indian  country  (which  included  present  Kan- 
sas )  followed  the  prehistoric  river  routes  both  southwest  and  north- 
west to  establish  trade.  The  first  successful  commercial  trip  to  Santa 
Fe  was  made  along  the  Arkansas  river  in  1821  by  Capt.  William 
Becknell  from  Franklin,  Mo.  In  1822  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur 
Company  was  organized  at  St.  Louis  and  extended  its  business  into 
the  valleys  of  the  Missouri  and  Platte  rivers.  John  C.  Fremont's 
Oregon  expedition  camped  at  the  junction  of  the  Republican  and 
Smoky  Hill  rivers  in  1843.  He  reported  great  numbers  of  elk, 
antelope,  buffalo,  and  Indians  in  the  vicinity  where  Fort  Riley 
would  be  established  in  one  short  decade. 

MAJ.  GEORGE  E.  OMER,  JR.,  MC,  is  chief  of  surgery,  U.  S.  Army  Hospital,  Fort  Riley. 

(337) 


23—1378 


338  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

The  Indians  resented  the  invasion  of  their  lands.  Their  resistance 
was  so  successful  that  in  the  spring  of  1829,  Maj.  Bennet  Riley  was 
ordered  to  take  four  companies  of  the  Sixth  infantry  from  Fort 
Leavenworth  and  accompany  a  trading  caravan  to  Santa  Fe.  This 
was  the  first  military  escort  of  a  wagon  train.  The  traders  were 
protected  by  the  soldiers  until  the  train  crossed  the  Arkansas  river, 
since  the  territory  south  of  the  river  was  Mexico.  The  Mormon 
migration  in  1847  and  the  gold  rush  of  1849  greatly  increased  the 
travel  over  all  the  trails.  The  first  overland  mail  and  stage  route 
was  established  in  1849  as  a  monthly  service  across  present  Kansas 
from  Independence,  Mo.,  to  Santa  Fe,  with  Council  Grove  as  the 
only  town  down  the  775-mile  trail.  This  westward  migration  was 
patrolled  and  protected  by  the  army,  which  was  so  thin-spread  that 
in  1859  there  were  only  three  regiments  of  cavalry,  and  these  horse 
units  were  still  being  called  dragoons  or  mounted  riflemen. 

Col.  Thomas  T.  Fauntleroy,  commanding  the  First  dragoons  at 
Fort  Leavenworth,  urged  the  establishment  of  a  military  station 
at  the  junction  of  the  Smoky  Hill  and  Republican  rivers  as  an  outpost 
for  more  efficient  defense  of  the  Oregon  and  Santa  Fe  trails.  A 
board  of  four  officers,  including  Brev.  Maj.  Edmund  A.  Ogden, 
who  was  quartermaster  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  was  appointed  to 
locate  the  new  post  near  the  fork  of  the  Pawnee  (Kansas)  river. 
The  board  and  a  detachment  of  First  dragoons  established  a  camp 
at  the  present  site  of  Fort  Riley.  The  new  station  was  first  called 
Camp  Center  because  it  was  believed  that  its  location  was  close 
to  the  geographical  center  of  the  United  States. 

In  May,  1853,  Capt.  Charles  S.  Lovell  commanded  a  second 
expedition  and  established  the  first  post  of  temporary  buildings  with 
Companies  B,  F,  and  H  of  the  Sixth  infantry,  in  accordance  with 
Order  No.  9,  Headquarters  Sixth  Military  District,  Jefferson  Bar- 
racks, Mo. 

The  only  muster  and  pay  roll  of  the  medical  department  issued 
from  Camp  Center  listed  Joseph  K.  Barnes  as  surgeon  and  Ann 
McCarrol  as  the  hospital  matron.  This  first  surgeon  in  charge  of 
the  Fort  Riley  hospital  became  Surgeon  General  of  the  Army  in 
1864  and  held  the  position  until  1882.  He  was  born  in  Philadelphia 
in  1817  and  graduated  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  Medical 
School  in  1838.  He  joined  the  army  as  an  assistant  surgeon  in  1840 
and  was  a  brilliant  brigade  medical  officer  in  the  Mexican  war. 
After  his  tour  at  Fort  Riley,  he  was  assigned  to  duty  in  Washington 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:   DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  339 

and  was  promoted  to  medical  inspector,  with  the  rank  of  colonel 
in  1863. 

Barnes  received  the  first  major  general  rank  (brevet)  awarded  to 
the  senior  medical  officer  of  the  army  when  he  became  surgeon 
general  in  1864.  While  he  was  surgeon  general  he  succeeded  in 
removing  hospital  food  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  commissary 
department;  he  placed  the  medical  department  in  charge  of  ambu- 
lances instead  of  the  quartermaster  corps;  and  generally  succeeded 
in  bringing  the  military  hospitals,  as  well  as  the  transportation  of 
the  wounded,  under  the  control  of  medical  officers.  Barnes'  friendly 
relation  with  Secretary  of  War  Stanton  fostered  the  establishment 
of  the  army  medical  museum  and  library,  better  known  today  as  the 
Armed  Forces  Institute  of  Pathology  and  The  National  Library  of 
Medicine.  He  had  prepared  and  published  the  Medical  and  Surgi- 
cal History  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  an  important  contribution 
that  is  still  used  for  reference  work.  Doctor  Barnes  dressed  Secre- 
tary of  State  Seward's  wounds  on  the  night  of  April  14,  1865,  and 
was  in  attendance  at  President  Lincoln's  deathbed.  He  also  at- 
tended President  Garfield  after  he  had  been  shot  by  an  assassin. 
He  died  in  1883,  only  one  year  after  retirement  from  office. 

To  return  to  the  fort.  War  Department  General  Order  No.  17, 
dated  June  27,  1853,  permanently  changed  the  name  of  Camp 
Center  to  Fort  Riley  in  honor  of  Maj.  Gen.  Bennet  Riley.  Riley, 
who  commanded  the  first  wagon  train  escort  over  the  Santa  Fe  trail, 
was  born  in  Alexandria,  Va.,  in  1787.  He  entered  the  army  as  an 
ensign  of  rifles  when  he  was  16  years  of  age.  He  succeeded  Col. 
Henry  Leavenworth  in  command  of  Fort  Leavenworth,  and  became 
a  colonel  in  the  First  infantry  on  January  31,  1850.  He  was  pro- 
moted to  major  general  for  his  gallant  conduct  in  the  Mexican  war 
under  Gen.  Winfield  Scott.  In  1847  Bennet  Riley  acted  as  the  last 
territorial  governor  of  California.  He  died  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  on 
June  9,  1853.  Thus  Fort  Riley  was  named  for  an  infantry  officer 
who  never  saw  the  post. 

The  army  appropriated  $65,000  for  the  erection  of  temporary 
buildings  at  the  new  post.  Supplies  were  moved  to  the  station  by 
steamboat  and  overland  freight  wagons.  The  Excel,  a  small 
steamer,  made  several  supply  trips  up  the  Kansas  river  from. 
Weston,  Mo.  River  navigation  was  extremely  difficult  and  finally 
one  steamboat  was  so  firmly  grounded  that  she  was  abandoned. 
Mule  teams  from  Fort  Leavenworth  were  substituted  as  the  primary 


340  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

method  of  transportation.  This  military  road  had  started  as  an 
Indian  trail  and  extended  west  from  Fort  Leavenworth  to  Fort 
Riley.  The  firm  of  Russell,  Majors,  and  Waddell  established  an 
extensive  outfitting  base  at  Leavenworth  for  this  freighting  trade 
and  later  inaugurated  the  Pony  Express.  Much  of  the  food  for 
the  men  and  animals  at  Fort  Riley  was  purchased  from  the  nearest 
settlement,  Saint  Mary's  mission,  42  miles  east  along  the  military 
road. 

When  the  temporary  post  was  being  built  the  construction  crews 
selected  a  parade-size  field  on  a  flat  ledge  of  rimrock  north  of  the 
Kansas  river  and  above  the  marshy  flat  of  Whiskey  Lake.  One  of 
the  buildings  was  the  hospital,  located  on  the  present-day  lower 
parade  ground  between  Patton  Hall  and  the  Administration  build- 
ing. The  locks,  hinges,  and  hasps  on  the  one-story  hospital  were 
hand-forged  at  the  building  site  from  scrap  metal,  wheel  rims,  old 
sabers,  and  plow  shares.  Pine  and  oak  were  used  for  lumber  and 
the  building  boasted  the  luxury  of  a  veranda  along  its  front  or  north 
wall. 

In  December,  1853,  Asst.  Surg.  Aquila  Talbot  Ridgely  was  the 
doctor  in  charge  of  the  temporary  hospital  and  T.  W.  Simson  was 
the  acting  hospital  steward.  The  hospital  staff  included  three  male 
soldier  attendants,  one  soldier  cook,  and  the  hospital  matron,  Ann 
McCarrol.  Surgeon  Ridgely  was  born  in  Maryland  and  resigned 
June  23,  1861,  to  join  the  Confederate  forces  as  a  surgeon. 

In  May,  1354,  Kansas  was  organized  as  a  territory.  There  were 
no  white  settlements  in  the  new  territory  except  at  Forts  Leaven- 
worth, Scott,  and  Riley,  in  addition  to  the  Indian  missions  and  agen- 
cies. On  October  4,  Andrew  H.  Reeder,  of  Pennsylvania,  arrived 
as  territorial  governor.  He  set  up  his  office  at  Fort  Leavenworth. 
On  April  16,  1855,  Reeder  issued  a  proclamation  requesting  that  the 
first  territorial  legislature  meet  at  the  new  town  of  Pawnee,  which 
was  located  at  the  present  site  of  Camp  Whitside  and  the  canton- 
ment hospital  on  the  Fort  Riley  reservation. 

The  Pawnee  Town  Site  Association  had  been  organized  Septem- 
ber 27,  1854.  The  association  consisted  of  Major  Montgomery, 
Second  infantry,  commanding  officer  of  Fort  Riley,  13  other  army 
officers,  five  civil  territorial  officers,  and  five  civilians.  The  army 
officers  included  Surg.  Madison  Mills,  Asst.  Surg.  William  A.  Ham- 
mond, and  Asst.  Surg.  James  Simons.  In  July,  1855,  after  Reeder's 
proclamation,  a  resurvey  of  the  boundaries  of  the  Fort  Riley  military 
reservation  was  ordered  by  Jefferson  Davis,  the  Secretary  of  War. 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:   DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  341 

The  new  survey  found  that  the  reservation  included  the  new  town 
of  Pawnee  and  the  settlement  was  removed  from  the  reservation. 
Major  Montgomery,  for  granting  the  land  to  the  Pawnee  Town 
Association,  was  court-martialed  and  dismissed  from  the  army  on 
December  8,  1855.  The  trial  was  held  at  Fort  Leavenworth  with 
Robert  E.  Lee  among  the  members  of  the  court-martial  board. 

II.    CHOLERA  EPIDEMIC 

In  the  summer  of  1855  all  troops  at  Fort  Riley  had  left  for  cam- 
paigns against  the  Indians,  so  that  of  the  military  there  was  left 
only  Asst.  Surg.  James  Simons,  John  A.  Charters,  a  private  of  Sixth 
infantry  acting  as  hospital  steward,  and  Chaplain  Clarkson.  The 
hospital  steward  combined  the  duties  of  druggist,  medical  clerk, 
and  storekeeper  as  well  as  assistant  to  the  surgeon.  Asst.  Surg. 
James  Simons  had  been  the  physician  in  charge  of  the  hospital 
since  April,  1854.  The  hospital  stewards  had  been  Cpl.  Jacob 
Hommes  and  Private  Charters  of  the  Sixth  infantry.  Margaret  O.  D. 
Donnall  was  the  hospital  matron. 

Maj.  Edmund  A.  Ogden  returned  from  Fort  Leavenworth  to 
command  the  station  and  supervise  the  permanent  construction  of 
Fort  Riley.  The  actual  construction  crews  were  civilians  undei  the 
supervision  of  a  Mr.  Sawyer,  the  architect  and  general  superintend- 
ent. Ogden  was  appointed  to  the  United  States  Military  Academy 
in  1827  and  served  in  many  posts  throughout  his  brief  career.  He 
participated  in  the  Seminole  war,  the  occupation  of  Texas  from  1845 
to  1846  and  in  the  Mexican  war  from  1846  to  1847.  He  began 
construction  at  Riley  during  the  first  week  of  July,  1855. 

Tragedy  struck  during  the  night  of  August  1  when  cholera  rap- 
idly developed  into  an  epidemic.  Without  the  healing  aid  of  20th 
century  intravenous  therapy,  the  bacillus  of  cholera  produces  a 
usually  fatal  diarrhea.  Patients  soon  filled  the  temporary  hospital 
and  created  a  mountainous  problem  of  nursing,  washing  bedding, 
and  cleaning  the  patients.  The  camp  was  filled  with  panic  when 
it  was  discovered  that  Major  Ogden  was  ill.  A  rider  was  sent  to 
Fort  Leavenworth  with  a  letter  requesting  medical  help.  Sawyer 
appointed  men  to  act  as  nurses  and  promised  extra  pay,  but  only 
a  few  wanted  to  work  at  the  hospital  where  the  dead  were  being 
coffined  and  carried  out  by  burial  parties  while  new  patients  took 
their  places.  The  heroic  effort  required  to  attend  the  men  in  the 
agonies  of  the  fatal  disease  proved  too  much  for  Asst.  Surg.  James 
Simons,  and  his  mental  breakdown  was  complete  after  Major 


342  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Ogden  died  on  the  third.  In  desperation  he  deserted  the  hospital 
and  his  patients,  collected  his  family  and  fled  east  to  Saint  Mary's 
mission  during  the  night. 

On  August  4,  hope  came  on  horseback  from  Dyer's  bridge,  19 
miles  east  on  the  military  road  near  present-day  Manhattan.  Dr. 
Samuel  Whitehorn,  recently  from  Michigan,  had  heard  of  the  epi- 
demic while  at  Dyer's  bridge  and  came  to  offer  his  services  to  the 
hospital  steward.  He  was  youthful  in  appearance  and  manner,  and 
for  fear  of  doubts  of  his  being  really  a  doctor,  he  showed  the  stew- 
ard his  diploma  and  other  testimonials  from  his  patients  at  Dyer's 
bridge.  Doctor  Whitehorn's  presence  renewed  confidence,  and  a 
spoonful  of  brandy  or  port  wine  by  the  physician's  order  gave 
relief  from  anxiety  if  not  death.  In  addition,  Whitehorn  ordered 
barrels  of  pine  tar  to  be  burned  at  the  open  windows  of  the  hos- 
pital. If  this  served  no  other  purpose,  it  counteracted  the  offensive 
odors. 

Relief  came  on  August  6,  1855,  when  a  four-mule  government 
ambulance  arrived  from  Fort  Leavenworth  with  Lt.  Eugene  Carr 
and  Dr.  Samuel  Phillips,  a  contract  physician.  While  Carr  received 
an  account  of  the  situation  from  Sawyer,  Phillips  proceeded  at  once 
to  the  hospital  for  consultation  with  Doctor  Whitehorn.  With  good 
nursing  and  encouragement,  each  day  brought  fewer  cases  and  the 
epidemic  was  broken.  Dr.  Samuel  Phillips  volunteered  for  his 
relief  duty  to  Gen.  E.  V.  Sumner,  then  commanding  Fort  Leaven- 
worth.  General  Sumner  had  asked  each  of  the  many  physicians 
practicing  in  the  city  of  Leavenworth  but  all  had  declined  the 
service  except  Phillips.  Doctor  Phillips  was  paid  less  than  $40  for 
his  hazardous  tour  of  duty. 

Maj.  John  Sedgwick,  artillery,  came  to  Fort  Riley  in  October, 
1855,  to  investigate  the  cholera  epidemic  and  especially  Asst.  Surg. 
James  Simon's  conduct.  The  doctor  was  court-martialed  and  dis- 
missed from  army  service  on  January  15,  1856,  for  his  failure.  How- 
ever, he  was  reinstated  on  October  24  of  the  same  year  and  was 
breveted  a  colonel  on  March  13,  1865,  for  faithful  and  meritorious 
service  during  the  Civil  War. 

Somewhere  between  75  and  100  persons  died  in  the  cholera  epi- 
demic of  1855  and  were  buried  in  the  present  cemetery.  Lead  lin- 
ings from  tea  caddies  were  procured  from  the  commissary  to  make 
an  airtight  coffin  for  Major  Ogden.  However,  wooden  headboards 
were  used  to  mark  the  graves  and  the  headboards  were  subse- 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:   DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  343 

quently  destroyed  in  a  prairie  fire  set  by  Indians.  Today,  a  grassy 
area  is  set  aside  in  the  post  cemetery  with  a  few  stones  set  at  random 
to  indicate  the  resting  place  of  the  victims. 

III.    THE  FIRST  PERMANENT  HOSPITAL 

Asst.  Surg.  William  A.  Hammond  was  recalled  from  the  troops 
in  the  field  and  took  charge  of  the  hospital  on  August  31,  1855.  His 
staff  included  Mary  Miller,  who  was  paid  $6.00  a  month  as  the 
hospital  matron.  Hammond  was  born  in  Annapolis,  Md.,  in  1828 
and  received  his  degree  in  medicine  from  New  York  University  in 
1848.  He  had  been  on  active  army  duty  for  five  years  when  he  first 
came  to  Fort  Riley  in  1854.  His  controversial  personality  often 
brought  him  personal  problems.  He  owned  slaves  at  Fort  Riley 
but  quickly  joined  the  Union  forces  when  war  came.  He  witnessed 
the  marriage  ceremony  of  one  of  his  subordinates,  Cpl.  Robert  Al- 
lender,  after  the  post  commander,  Major  Montgomery,  had  refused 
permission  for  the  wedding.  For  this  escapade  Surgeon  Hammond 
was  promptly  placed  in  arrest  but  was  afterward  released.  In  spite 
of  these  idiosyncrasies,  Hammond  brought  to  his  frontier  medical 
duties  the  unbounded  energy  and  practical  foresight  that  charac- 
terized his  future  achievements.  In  the  summer  of  1855  he  served 
as  medical  director  of  a  large  force  operating  against  the  Sioux 
Indians  and  was  medical  officer  with  an  expedition  which  located 
a  road  to  Bridger's  pass  in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

After  this  field  trip  he  remained  the  chief  surgeon  at  the  Fort 
Riley  hospital  until  December,  1856.  Perhaps  his  experiences  in 
Kansas  were  the  basis  for  his  future  sweeping  improvement  of  the 
army  medical  service  when  he  achieved  high  position.  After  com- 
pleting his  Fort  Riley  tour  and  ten  years  at  frontier  stations,  he 
resigned  from  the  army  to  teach  anatomy  and  physiology  at  the 
University  of  Maryland,  but  re-entered  the  service  within  two 
years  because  of  the  outbreak  of  war.  When  the  United  States 
Sanitary  Commission  was  formed  in  1861  as  an  advisory  body  to 
the  army  medical  bureau,  the  members  sponsored  a  new  surgeon 
general.  Hammond  was  chosen,  and  he  received  the  first  general 
officer  rank  ever  awarded  to  the  senior  medical  officer  in  the  army. 
He  worked  to  produce  great  improvements  in  battlefield  evacuation 
of  the  wounded,  hospital  administration,  and  medical  supplies.  One 
little  known  contribution  was  his  action  in  removing  calomel  and 
tartar  emetic  from  the  medical  supply  table,  thus  removing  items 


344  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

having  as  long  and  as  worthless  a  medical  history  as  venesection. 
Other  practical  improvements  included  such  minor  items  as  the 
provision  of  hospital  clothing  for  patients. 

As  a  result  of  quarrels  with  Secretary  of  War  Stanton,  Hammond 
was  suspended  as  surgeon  general  in  1863  and  charged  with  irregu- 
larities in  contracts.  He  appealed  to  President  Lincoln  to  be 
restored  to  his  position  or  be  tried  by  court-martial.  After  a  session 
prolonged  for  many  months,  a  military  court  found  him  guilty  and 
sentenced  him  to  dismissal.  Hammond  soon  established  himself 
as  a  leading  physician  in  New  York  City,  and  was  a  pioneer  in  the 
practice  and  teaching  of  neurology,  holding  the  professorship  of 
nervous  and  mental  diseases  at  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College 
and  subsequently  at  New  York  University.  He  wrote  numerous 
medical  articles,  and  co-operated  in  the  founding  and  editing  of 
the  New  York  Medical  Journal  and  the  Journal  of  Nervous  and 
Mental  Diseases.  In  1878  his  military  dismissal  case  was  reviewed 
and  the  verdict  of  the  court-martial  was  reversed,  with  Hammond 
being  honorably  retired  from  the  army.  He  died  in  1900. 

As  stated,  Hammond  left  Riley  in  December,  1856.  The  first 
permanent  post  hospital  had  been  finished  in  the  fall  of  1855. 
Slightly  southeast  of  the  new  building  was  the  old  temporary  hos- 
pital which  had  been  used  during  the  cholera  epidemic.  The  old 
temporary  hospital  was  converted  into  quarters  for  the  hospital 
steward.  The  new  permanent  hospital  was  constructed  of  native 
limestone  with  a  wooden  veranda  on  two  sides  and  surrounded  by 
a  wooden  picket  fence.  The  north  hospital  section  contained  the 
surgeon's  offices  and  was  two  stories  high,  with  a  long  one-story 
wing  extending  to  the  south.  The  first  permanent  hospital  in  1855 
was  later  remodeled  and  is  now  the  Administration  building .  ( 30 ) 
on  the  lower  parade  ground. 

In  October,  1855,  six  companies  of  the  Second  dragoons  arrived 
at  Fort  Riley  from  Texas  under  the  command  of  Lt.  Col.  Philip  St. 
George  Cooke.  The  Second  dragoons  later  were  called  the  Second 
cavalry  and  the  history  of  the  regiment  is  closely  connected  with 
the  post  of  Fort  Riley  and  the  cavalry  school.  Asst.  Surg.  Robert 
Southgate  arrived  with  the  Second  dragoons  and  assisted  Surgeon 
Hammond  at  the  post  hospital.  Pvt.  Charles  Harling,  Second  dra- 
goons, was  also  added  to  the  hospital  staff  as  an  acting  hospital 
steward. 

In  December,  1856,  Asst.  Surg.  Richard  H.  Coolidge  became  the 
post  surgeon  at  Fort  Riley.  His  sanitary  report  in  June,  1857,  in- 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:   DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  345 

eluded  a  discussion  of  the  topography  of  the  post,  a  record  of  the 
weather,  and  the  chief  causes  of  sickness : 

Intemperance  has  been  the  fruitful  cause  of  both  diseases  and  injuries.  The 
extent  to  which  this  vice  prevailed  may  in  part  be  inferred  from  the  number 
of  cases  of  delirium  tremens  reported.  During  the  year  previous  to  my  joining 
this  station,  say  from  October  1,  1855,  to  September  30,  1856,  six  cases  of 
delirium  tremens  are  reported,  the  average  strength  of  the  command  being  392. 
From  October  1,  1856,  to  June  30,  1857,  nine  months,  there  occurred  sixteen 
cases  in  a  command  averaging  335.  From  the  statements  of  convalescents  and 
from  other  sources,  I  am  satisfied  that  three  quarts  of  whisky  was  the  cus- 
tomary daily  allowance  of  quite  a  number  of  men;  one  quart,  as  they  expressed 
it,  being  required  "to  set  them  up  before  breakfast."  It  appeared  to  me  that 
larger  quantities  of  opium  were  necessary  in  the  treatment  of  these  excessive 
drinkers  than  in  ordinary  cases  of  delirium  tremens. 

Four  cases  of  scorbutus  are  reported  in  March,  and  others  occurred  among 
the  hired  men  of  the  quartermaster's  department.  Scarlatina  and  variola, 
which  have  prevailed  to  a  very  considerable  extent  in  some  of  the  eastern 
cities,  have  also  appeared  here.  The  vaccine  virus  for  which  I  applied  on  the 
18th  of  February  did  not  arrive  until  the  8th  of  May.  I  had  fortunately 
obtained  from  Surgeon  Abadie,  at  St.  Louis,  through  Surgeon  Cuyler,  at  Fort 
Leavenworth,  part  of  a  crust  of  vaccine  virus,  with  which  and  its  proceeds 
all  the  command  who  required  protection  were  vaccinated.  The  first  case  of 
scarlatina  occurred  on  the  23rd  of  May  in  the  person  of  a  Dragoon.  So  far 
as  I  could  learn,  no  case  had  previously  occurred  in  this  vicinity.  The  disease 
was  severe  from  the  beginning,  attended  with  much  cerebral  disturbance,  and 
an  extremely  sore  mouth  and  throat.  He  had  passed  the  febrile  stage,  and  the 
period  of  desquamation  was  nearly  complete,  when  he  escaped  from  his  ward 
one  cool  morning  soon  after  daylight,  and  ran  unclothed  to  the  company  gardens. 
Dropsy  of  the  abdomen  and  anasarca  supervened — the  left  thigh  being  the  first 
to  swell — which  finally  terminated  in  death.  Hospital  Steward  Drennan,  who 
had  been  exposed  to  the  first  case,  was  the  next  person  attacked,  and  though 
for  a  time  dangerously  ill,  he  now  has  recovered.  Several  children  at  the 
post  have  sickened  with  this  disease,  and  it  is  still  occurring  among  them. 

The  surgical  cases  occurring  up  to  the  date  of  my  special  report  of 
February  16,  1857,  are  sufficiently  noted  therein,  and  I  have  only  to  add  .in 
regard  to  one  of  those  cases,  that  of  gangrene  of  the  feet  requiring  amputa- 
tion of  both  legs,  that  it  terminated  favorable.  A  small  party  of  emigrants  were 
attacked  on  the  7th  of  June,  about  eighty  miles  from  this  post,  by  a  band  of 
Cheyennes.  Four  men  were  killed,  two  wounded,  and  one  young  woman 
severely  wounded  in  the  back  and  side.  They  made  their  way  on  foot  to 
the  nearest  settlements,  having  been  six  days  without  food.  The  wounded 
were  conveyed  from  their  first  place  of  refuge  to  this  post,  and  have  since 
been  attended  by  myself. 

Surgeon  Coolidge  also  reported  on  the  long-continued  drought, 
the  condition  of  the  crops,  the  mean  difference  between  the  ther- 
mometer and  hygrometer,  and  rainfall  compared  with  previous 
years.  Coolidge  was  born  in  New  York  state.  He  was  appointed 


346  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

as  assistant  surgeon  on  August  16,  1841,  and  became  a  major  sur- 
geon June  26, 1860.  He  was  breveted  a  lieutenant  colonel  on  March 
13,  1865,  and  died  January  23,  1866. 

Maj.  Surg.  Thomas  C.  Madison  became  post  surgeon  of  Fort  Riley 
in  April,  1858.  He  was  assisted  by  Hospital  Steward  Henry  Lamp, 
who  was  the  first  actual  hospital  steward  assigned  to  Fort  Riley, 
since  all  previous  stewards  were  enlisted  men  from  line  units  acting 
in  the  capacity  of  steward.  The  hospital  staff  was  completed  by 
two  male  enlisted  cooks,  four  male  enlisted  nurses,  and  two  matrons 
— Mary  Nash  and  Hannah  Frame.  Madison  was  born  in  Virginia 
and  was  appointed  an  assistant  surgeon  February  27,  1840.  He  was 
promoted  to  major  surgeon  August  29,  1856.  He  resigned  from  fed- 
eral service  August  17,  1861,  and  was  a  surgeon  for  the  Confederacy 
from  1861  to  1865.  He  died  November  7,  1866. 

In  August,  1860,  Maj.  Surg.  Madison  Mills  was  in  charge  of  the 
fort  hospital.  He  had  previously  been  associated  with  Fort  Riley 
as  a  member  of  the  Pawnee  Town  Site  Association.  He  joined  the 
army  as  an  assistant  surgeon  April  1,  1834,  and  was  promoted  to 
major  surgeon  February  16,  1847.  He  was  breveted  lieutenant 
colonel  and  colonel  on  November  29,  1864,  for  meritorious  service 
at  the  siege  of  Vicksburg.  He  was  promoted  to  brigadier  general 
on  March  13,  1865.  Mills  died  April  28,  1873. 

Surgeon  Mills  made  the  periodic  weather  summaries,  considered 
so  important  at  that  time  as  an  influencing  factor  on  disease.  A 
system  of  observations  and  reports  of  weather  was  made  by  the 
surgeons  at  all  military  stations,  and  was  the  only  weather  service 
of  the  United  States  for  more  than  half  a  century.  This  medical 
service  resulted  finally  in  the  creation  of  a  signal  corps  in  the  army 
in  1863,  with  Surg.  Albert  J.  Meyer  as  the  first  chief  of  corps. 
Meteorological  work  was  given  to  the  weather  bureau  in  1890. 

IV.    THE  CIVIL  WAR 

Fort  Riley  was  a  child  of  the  frontier  and  the  post  was  neglected 
by  Washington  from  the  time  the  permanent  buildings  were  con- 
structed until  the  end  of  the  Civil  War.  To  protect  the  communica- 
tion-transportation routes  and  the  Western  settlements  from  Indian 
attack,  the  garrison  was  composed  of  varied  volunteer  cavalry  units 
that  included  the  llth  and  15th  Kansas,  the  7th  Iowa,  and  the  2d 
Colorado. 

Asst.  Surg.  Fred  P.  Drew  was  the  post  surgeon  from  August, 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:  DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  347 

1861,  until  his  death  at  Fort  Riley  on  March  20,  1864.  He  was  born 
in  Waterbury,  Vt,  1829,  and  retained  an  interest  in  collecting  fauna 
all  his  life.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  in  Washington  probably 
owes  its  collection  of  early  Kansas  fauna  to  Doctor  Drew.  Among  his 
papers  was  a  bill  for  three  lizards,  one  frog,  one  tortoise,  one  beaver, 
and  two  nests  of  eggs  which  he  collected,  boxed,  and  shipped  to 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  December,  1862.  His  hospital  staff 
included  Essex  Camp  as  hospital  steward,  Elford  E.  Lee  as  ward- 
master,  and  Mary  Lee  as  hospital  matron. 

The  military  physicians  had  a  rural  practice  which  extended 
beyond  Fort  Riley  for  a  radius  of  50  miles.  The  doctor  used  fitted 
saddle  bags  to  carry  his  drugs  or  a  medical  chest  was  placed  in  his 
mule-drawn  ambulance  wagon.  Some  items  indicative  of  the 
pharmacopedia  of  the  mid-19th  century  would  include:  alum,  as  a 
gargle  for  sore  throat;  balsam  copaiva,  used  for  gonorrhea;  blister 
plaster,  for  application  to  stop  pains  about  the  lungs;  spirit  of 
camphor,  used  in  typhus  fever;  flax  seed,  made  into  a  tea  useful 
in  lung  fever;  quinine,  for  intermittent  fevers;  opium,  for  pain; 
tartaric  acid,  used  as  a  beverage  in  scurvy.  Among  the  instruments 
and  utensils  were  included  lancets,  penis  syringes,  cylster  syringes 
( enema ) ,  gum  elastic  catheter,  bougies,  tooth  pliers,  curved  needles 
and  waxed  thread.  Some  physicians  had  a  cylinder  stethoscope. 
Leeches  were  still  carried  and  blood  letting  was  often  practiced. 
To  practice  medicine  with  this  medical  armament  the  Fort  Riley 
surgeon  was  paid  $80.00  a  month. 

In  June,  1864,  Jeremiah  Sabin  signed  the  report  of  sick  and 
wounded  as  "Citizen  (Contract)  Surgeon."  Doctor  Sabin  had  been 
recruited  from  the  Fort  Riley  region  and  continued  as  a  contract 
physician  for  a  year.  He  was  a  note  of  continuity  during  that  time 
along  with  Hospital  Stewards  Essex  Camp  and  E.  Norris  Stearns. 
Military  physicians  came  and  left,  including:  Acting  Asst.  Surg. 
Irving  J.  Pollock  in  October,  1864,  Asst.  Surg.  George  S.  Akin  in 
December,  1864,  Asst.  Surg.  Thomas  B.  Harbison  in  February, 
1865,  and  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  W.  C.  Finlaw  in  August,  1865. 

In  the  midst  and  in  spite  of  this  confusion,  the  hospital  continued 
to  function,  as  announced  in  a  newspaper  story  of  February  4,  1865: 

E.  Norris  Stearns,  Hospital  Steward,  arrived  on  the  20th  from  Leavenworth, 
with  a  bountiful  supply  of  Sanitary  stores,  consisting  of  Canned-fruits,  Dried- 
apples;  Pickles;  Codfish;  Cordials;  Clothing;  and  other  good  things  for  our 
sick — Received  through  the  hands  of  Mr.  Brown,  Agent  for  the  Western  Sanitary 
Commission. 


348  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

V.   THE  INDIAN-FIGHTING  MEDICS 

During  the  days  of  Indian  uprisings  on  the  frontier,  Fort  Riley 
grew  in  stature  from  a  supply  base  for  summer  campaigns  to  the 
formal  status  of  the  cavalry  and  light  artillery  school. 

The  Second  cavalry  was  the  first  regular  army  unit  to  return  to 
Fort  Riley  from  the  Civil  War.  The  army  was  again  thinly  spread 
and  overworked,  as  indicated  by  the  stations  occupied  by  the 
Second  cavalry:  regimental  headquarters,  band,  and  Company  E 
at  Fort  Riley;  Companies  A  and  B  at  Fort  Kearny,  Neb.;  Company 
C  at  Fort  Hays;  Company  D  at  Fort  Lyon,  Colo.;  Company  F 
at  Fort  Ellsworth  (Harker);  Companies  G  and  I  at  Fort  Leaven- 
worth;  Company  H  at  Pond  Creek  (Fort  Wallace);  Company  K 
at  Fort  Dodge;  Company  L  at  Fort  Larned;  and  Company  M  at 
Fort  Aubrey. 

The  Seventh  cavalry  was  organized  at  Fort  Riley  in  September, 
1866,  under  an  act  of  congress  of  July  28,  1866.  Andrew  J.  Smith, 
a  veteran  of  the  Mexican  and  Civil  wars,  was  colonel,  and  George 
A.  Custer  was  its  lieutenant-colonel.  (It  was  this  year  that  the 
Union  Pacific  railroad  reached  the  fort.) 

The  post  surgeon  and  probably  the  first  regimental  surgeon  for 
the  Seventh  cavalry  was  Brev.  Lt.  Col.  and  Surg.  Bernard  John 
Dowling  Irwin.  Irwin  had  been  post  surgeon  since  April,  1866,  and 
for  the  fighting  "Garry  Owens"  a  more  distinguished  fighting  medi- 
cal officer  could  not  have  been  selected  than  the  first  winner  of  the 
Congressional  Medal  of  Honor. 

Irwin  was  born  in  Ireland  June  24,  1830.  He  was  educated  by 
private  tutors,  at  the  University  of  New  York,  the  Castleton  Ver- 
mont Medical  College,  and  received  his  doctor  of  medicine  in  1852 
from  the  New  York  Medical  College.  His  military  interest  led  him 
to  be  a  private  in  the  Seventh  regiment  of  the  New  York  National 
Guard  from  1848  to  1851  and  he  was  commissioned  as  first  lieu- 
tenant assistant  surgeon  on  August  28,  1856.  He  was  promptly 
ordered  to  frontier  service  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  At  this 
point  the  following  account  written  by  Irwin  will  give  a  vivid  de- 
scription of  this  individual,  his  skill,  endurance,  and  bravery: 

On  the  16th  of  September,  1858,  I  was  requested  to  visit  one  of  the  sta- 
tions of  the  Southern  Overland  Mail  Company,  where  a  number  of  men  were 
reported  to  have  been  dangerously  wounded.  I  set  out  at  once,  and  arrived 
at  the  place  early  the  next  morning,  after  a  smart  ride  of  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  miles,  but  found  that  three  of  the  four  wounded  men  had  already  died. 
The  history  of  the  survivor,  Silas  St.  John,  a  strong  robust,  healthy  young  man 
of  twenty-four,  a  native  of  New  York  City,  was  as  follows:  He,  with  three 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:   DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  349 

Americans  and  three  Mexican  boys,  was  engaged  in  keeping  the  mail  station. 
On  the  evening  of  the  eighth,  one  of  the  latter  was  placed  on  guard,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  party  retired  to  rest  for  the  night;  about  midnight  the 
Mexicans  arose,  and  with  axes  and  a  large  hammer  attempted  to  murder  their 
sleeping  companions.  St.  John  awoke,  and  hearing  blows  given,  was  in  the 
act  of  springing  from  his  bed  when  he  received  a  terrible  blow  from  an  axe, 
which  almost  severed  his  left  arm  from  his  body,  followed  quickly  by  another 
that  cut  the  fleshy  part  of  the  same  arm  in  a  shocking  manner;  this  was  suc- 
ceeded by  another  stroke  that  cut  through  the  anterior  external  portion  of  the 
right  thigh,  a  short  distance  below  the  joint.  By  this  time  he  succeeded  in 
grasping  his  pistol,  and  having  fired  at  the  desperate  assassins,  they  fled  and 
were  seen  no  more. 

One  of  the  unfortunate  victims  who  slept  outside  of  the  door  of  the  rude 
shed  never  awoke;  another,  with  his  face  and  head  frightfully  chopped  and 
mangled,  lived  in  great  agony  until  the  evening  of  the  next  day;  while  a  third, 
whose  head  was  almost  cloven  in  two,  the  brain  continually  oozing  from  the 
shattered  skull,  lingered  until  the  sixth  day,  during  which  time  his  frenzied 
craving  for  water  to  quench  his  burning  thirst  was  of  the  most  heart-rending 
character.  On  the  evening  of  the  next  day  the  mail  stage  came  by  and  found 
St.  John,  the  only  survivor  of  his  party,  alone  in  a  rude  hovel  in  the  wilderness, 
without  food  or  water,  unable  to  move;  his  wounds  undressed,  stiffened,  and 
full  of  loathsome  magots;  his  companions  had  died  one  by  one  a  horrible 
death,  and  lastly,  to  add  to  the  horrors  of  his  suffering,  the  hungry  wolves 
and  ravens  came  and  banquetted  upon  the  putrefying  corpse  of  one  of  his 
dead  companions  which  lay  but  a  few  feet  from  his  desolate  bed.  The  mental 
and  physical  sufferings  which  he  endured  are  marvelous  to  think  of.  Yet  he 
never  complained  nor  flinched  for  a  moment.  Calm  and  resigned,  he  bore 
his  torments  with  the  fortitude  of  a  martyr. 

After  administering  to  his  immediate  wants,  one  of  the  mail  party  was  left 
with  him,  and  remained  until  my  arrival  on  the  seventeenth,  at  which  time  his 
condition  was  as  follows;  he  was  weak  and  pallid  from  loss  of  blood,  [lack  of] 
sleep  and  constant  mental  and  physical  suffering;  his  disposition  was  cheerful, 
and  he  evinced  much  pleasure  at  the  prospect  of  having  his  wounds  attended  to. 
A  deep,  incised  wound,  about  eight  inches  in  length,  extending  from  the  point 
of  the  acromion  process,  passing  inwards,  downwards,  and  backwards,  laid 
open  the  shoulder-joint,  passed  through  the  external  portion  of  the  head  of  the 
numerous,  and  thence  downward,  splintering  the  bone  through  about  four 
inches  of  its  course.  The  wound  in  the  thigh  proved  to  be  only  a  severe  lesion 
of  the  soft  parts,  about  eight  inches  long  and  three  deep. 

After  a  careful  examination,  I  saw  it  would  be  impossible  to  make  any 
effort  to  save  the  arm;  I  therefore  determined  to  remove  it  at  once.  The 
patient  was  informed  of  the  necessity  for  the  operation,  and  his  permission  was 
accorded  almost  cheerfully.  The  only  assistance  that  I  could  command  was 
from  three  of  the  men  forming  my  escort.  Having  made  a  kind  of  bed  of  some 
bags  of  corn,  the  patient  was  placed  on  it.  One  of  the  men  having  been 
instructed  how  to  compress  the  axillary  artery,  and  the  other  assistants  prop- 
erly disposed  of,  I  removed  the  limb  as  follows:  the  patient  lying  on  his  back, 
with  the  shoulder  elevated,  I  placed  myself  on  the  outside,  and  grasping  the 
arm,  I  passed  the  catling  through  the  original  wound,  thence  inwards  behind  the 


350  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

fractured  point  of  the  humerus,  and  downwards,  forming  a  large  flap  from 
the  anterior  and  inner  aspect  of  the  arm,  which  made  up  for  the  deficiency 
caused  by  the  character  of  the  wound,  which  left  the  superior-posterior  aspect 
of  the  joint  entirely  devoid  of  muscular  tissue.  With  the  aid  of  a  scalpel,  the 
remaining  portion  of  the  head  and  neck  of  the  humerus  was  removed  from 
the  glenoid  cavity,  the  granulated  surface  of  the  old  wound  revivified,  and  the 
arteries  tied  as  quickly  as  possible,  after  which  the  edges  of  the  wound  were 
brought  together  and  retained  by  interrupted  sutures  and  some  bands  of 
adhesive  plaster.  Cold-water  dressing  was  applied,  with  a  light  bandage 
suitable  to  the  part. 

The  wound  in  the  lower  limb  was  dressed  by  inverting  the  large  fleshy  flap, 
and  retaining  it  in  its  normal  position  by  several  interrupted  sutures.  Cold- 
water  dressing  and  the  maintenance  of  the  thigh  in  a  semi-flexed  position 
were  the  only  requisites  here.  Forty  drops  of  tincture  of  opium  were  admin- 
istered, and  the  patient  placed  in  as  comfortable  a  bed  as  the  meagre  circum- 
stances of  the  place  would  permit.  Chloroform  was  not  at  hand  to  be  given, 
and  the  only  stimulus  obtainable  was  a  few  drachms  of  essence  of  ginger.  The 
celerity  with  which  the  operation  was  performed,  and  the  fortitude  and  ex- 
cellent disposition  of  the  patient,  saved  him  from  everything  like  protracted 
suffering.  In  the  evening,  the  tincture  of  opium  was  repeated,  and  proper 
directions  having  been  given  for  the  dressing  of  his  wounds,  I  left  him,  having 
previously  sent  for  some  wine,  brandy,  and  other  nourishment.  Of  the 
former,  8  ounces,  and  the  latter,  6  ounces,  were  allowed  him  daily. 

During  the  night  of  the  twenty-third  he  arrived  at  the  fort,  having  trav- 
elled in  a  common  wagon  sixty  miles  over  a  rough  road  during  the  two  preced- 
ing days;  and,  as  he  was  weak  and  fatigued,  half  a  grain  of  sulphate  of 
morphia  was  given  him,  and  he  was  placed  in  a  comfortable  bed.  Next  morn- 
ing I  examined  his  wounds,  and  found  that  the  lesion  at  the  shoulder  had 
united  by  first  intention,  save  at  a  point  where  the  ligatures  protruded.  The 
wound  in  the  thigh  had  partly  opened.  Proper  dressings  were  applied,  gen- 
erous diet  given,  and  the  patient  continued  to  convalesce  without  an  untoward 
symptom.  Most  of  the  ligatures  came  away  between  the  ninth  and  twelfth 
days,  and  on  the  fifteenth  the  last,  that  from  the  axillary  artery.  Occasionally 
he  suffered  from  frightful  dreams,  and  imaginary  pain  in  the  lost  arm.  Whilst 
recovering,  he  had  two  attacks  of  quotidian  intermittent  fever,  which  readily 
yielded  to  quinine.  On  the  twenty-fourth  day  after  the  operation  he  was 
walking  about,  and  in  less  than  six  weeks  he  started  for  the  Eastern  States, 
restored  to  perfect  health. 

On  February  13  and  14,  1861,  Irwin  commanded  detachments 
from  Companies  C  and  H,  Seventh  infantry,  in  engagement  with 
the  Chiricahua  Indians  near  Apache  Pass,  Ariz.,  and  was  awarded 
the  Congressional  Medal  of  Honor  for  "Distinguished  gallantry  in 
action."  He  was  promoted  to  captain  and  assistant  surgeon  on 
August  28,  1861,  and  was  advanced  to  major  and  surgeon  on  Sep- 
tember 16,  1862.  During  the  Civil  War  he  served  as  medical 
inspector  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:   DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  351 

and  was  medical  director  of  the  Army  of  the  Southwest.  In  addi- 
tion, he  was  superintendent  of  the  Army  General  Hospital  at 
Memphis,  Tenn.  After  his  extended  tour  in  Kansas,  Surgeon  Irwin 
was  chief  medical  officer  of  the  U.  S.  Military  Academy  from  1873 
to  1878  and  medical  director  of  the  Department  of  Arizona  from 
1882  to  1886.  He  was  promoted  to  lieutenant  colonel  and  assistant 
medical  purveyor  on  September  16,  1885,  and  to  colonel  on  August 
28,  1890.  He  was  vice-president  of  the  founding  group  of  the 
Association  of  Military  Surgeons  of  the  United  States  in  1891.  In 
1894  he  was  a  delegate  to  represent  the  Medical  Department,  U.  S. 
army,  at  the  llth  International  Medical  Congress,  Rome,  Italy, 
March-April,  1894.  On  June  28,  1894,  he  was  retired  and  advanced 
to  the  rank  of  brigadier  general.  He  died  December  15,  1917.  The 
new  250-bed  permanent  army  hospital  at  Fort  Riley  is  to  be  dedi- 
cated in  honor  of  this  "Fighting  Doctor." 

Hospital  Steward  Louis  O.  Faringhy  began  a  long  tour  at  Fort 
Riley  that  extended  from  1866  to  1873.  His  son,  George  Faringhy, 
is  quoted  in  Pride's  book  on  hospital  episodes: 

Quinine  was  given  for  colds  and  was  always  prescribed.  A  shot  of  good  whiskey 
was  always  given  to  follow  the  dose,  as  capsules  were  unknown.  Whiskey  was 
cheap.  You  could  buy  it  in  the  Commissary  and  an  enlisted  man  could  get 
it  if  he  had  the  wherewithal.  But  he  could  easily  get  a  cold  and  the  steward 
would  give  him  a  dose  of  quinine  and  a  good  chaser  for  nothing,  so  who 
would  want  to  suffer?  J  [unction]  C[ity]  was  a  tough  burg  and  Abilene  worse, 
with  horsethieves  were  all  over  the  land.  [Mr.  Faringhy]  once  took  up  a 
man  in  J  [unction]  C[ity]  who  had  received  a  bullet  in  his  hip.  He  extracted 
the  bullet,  kept  the  man  in  the  hospital  until  he  was  entirely  recovered,  then 
one  night  this  man  repaid  the  kindness  ...  by  stealing  his  mare  and  colt 
and  also  two  black  horses  from  Chaplain  Reynolds. 

George  Faringhy  is  also  authority  for  the  fact  that  the  ground 
just  north  of  the  hospital  (Administration  building  30)  was  the 
burial  ground  for  arms  and  legs  amputated  in  surgery.  "The  limb 
was  simply  wrapped  in  a  towel  or  sheet,  a  spade  made  a  hole 
and  without  ceremony  the  interment  was  made/' 

In  addition  to  Hospital  Steward  Faringhy,  the  hospital  staff 
included  Ellen  Faringhy  as  matron.  This  pattern  of  husband  and 
wife  was  often  repeated  at  frontier  hospitals  as  a  means  of  main- 
taining a  higher  caliber  of  medical  attendants.  In  1866  the  hospital 
steward  was  paid  $33  a  month,  while  the  matron  drew  $14  each 
pay  day. 

During  the  summer  of  1867  cholera  again  broke  out  in  Kansas 
and  visited  many  of  the  frontier  posts.  George  Faringhy  states: 


352  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

This  epidemic  caused  a  stampede  and  everyone  left  the  buildings  and  went 
into  tents  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Post.  My  father  [Hospital  Steward  Louis 
O.  Faringhy]  took  care  of  the  soldiers  who  were  brought  to  the  hospital. 
There  were  many  cases  out  of  which  79  died  and  are  buried  in  rows  near  the 
north  wall  of  the  cemetery.  A  detail  of  prisoners  under  a  sentry  dug  the 
graves.  In  those  days  prisoners  wore  shackles  and  some  carried  a  ball  and 
chain.  Father  put  the  dead  in  their  coffins,  which  were  made  at  the  Quarter- 
master's carpenter  shop,  mostly  of  black  walnut,  and  drove  the  mules,  hooked 
to  an  ambulance,  to  the  cemetery  where  prisoners  lowered  the  coffin  and 
covered  it  up.  Chaplain  Reynolds,  who  came  to  Fort  Riley  in  1865, 
conducted  the  services. 

The  news  of  the  epidemic  caused  General  Custer  to  desert  his 
command  at  Fort  Wallace  and  hurry  to  his  wife  who  was  still  in 
quarters  at  Fort  Riley. 

Another  medical  officer  at  the  hospital  in  1866  was  Brev.  Maj. 
and  Asst.  Surg.  William  Henry  Forwood,  who  signed  the  report 
of  sick  and  wounded  for  the  Seventh  cavalry  in  November,  1866, 
and  reported  12  cases  of  cholera  during  the  past  sixty  days.  W.  H. 
Forwood  was  a  brilliant  surgeon  and  was  the  third  surgeon  general 
of  the  army  that  served  at  Fort  Riley.  He  was  born  at  Brandywine 
Hundred,  Del.,  on  September  5,  1838.  He  was  educated  at  Crozier 
Academy,  Chester,  Pa.,  and  received  his  M.  D.  from  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania  in  1861.  Forwood  was  appointed  an  assistant 
surgeon  on  August  5,  1861.  He  was  severely  wounded  in  battle 
in  October,  1863,  and  removed  from  field  duty. 

During  1864  and  1865  Forwood  commanded  Whitehall  General 
Hospital  of  two  thousand  beds.  He  was  breveted  captain  and  major 
on  March  13,  1865,  for  faithful  and  meritorious  services  during  the 
Civil  War.  He  then  had  several  years  of  frontier  duty  and  was  the 
surgeon  and  naturalist  for  Sheridan's  exploring  expeditions  from 
1880  to  1882.  He  became  lieutenant  colonel  and  deputy  surgeon 
general  on  June  15,  1891,  and  colonel  and  assistant  surgeon  general 
on  May  3,  1897.  Meanwhile,  he  had  served  on  various  army  boards 
and  in  teaching  positions.  Forwood  built  Montauk  Hospital  in 
1898.  He  was  the  second  president  of  the  army  medical  school 
from  1901  to  1902.  He  was  promoted  to  brigadier  general  and  the 
position  of  surgeon  general  on  June  8,  1902.  He  retired  September 
7,  1902,  and  became  professor  of  surgical  pathology  at  Georgetown 
Medical  College.  He  died  May  11,  1915. 

The  medical  staff  in  1866  included  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  B.  E. 
Dodson  in  addition  to  Brev.  Lt.  Col.  and  Surg.  B.  J.  D.  Irwin  and 
Brev.  Maj.  and  Asst.  Surg.  W.  H.  Forwood.  In  spite  of  the  fact 


EARLY  HOSPITALS  AT  FORT  RILEY 

Upper:  Original  temporary  hospital,  about  1854. 

Cenfer:   First  permanent  hospital,  about  1865.    Now  the  Fort  Riley  museum. 

Lower:  Second  permanent  hospital,  1889.    Now  part  of  post  headquarters. 


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Part  of  the  medical  detachment  at  the  Fort  Riley 
hospital  about  1870. 


The  Fort  Riley  medical  detachment  in  1900. 


FORT  RILEY  MEDICAL  OFFICERS 


Joseph  K.  Barnes 
(1817-1883) 

The    first    post   surgeon,    who    also    was   the 

first    senior    medical    officer    to    become    a 

major  general. 


James  Simons 


The    physician    who    deserted     his    medical 

post  during  the  disastrous  cholera  epidemic 

of  August,  1855. 


William  A.  Hammond 
(1828-1900) 

A  controversial  figure  who  made  sweep- 
ing improvements  in  the  army  medical  serv- 
ice while  serving  as  U.  S.  surgeon  general. 


Bernard  J.  D.  Irwin 
(1830-1917) 

The    first    recipient    of    the    Congressional 

Medal  of  Honor,  for  whom  the  new  hospital 

at  Fort  Riley  has  been  named. 


(The  above  photos  courtesy  the  National  Archives  and  the  Armed 
Forces  Medical  Library.) 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:  DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  353 

that  physicians  had  been  awarded  military  rank  since  1847,  they 
retained  their  older  method  of  medical  rating  as  well,  and  were 
usually  addressed  by  their  professional  title.  The  medical  rating 
was  given  only  after  examination  and  demonstrated  efficiency  and 
included:  assistant  surgeon  (first  lieutenant  and  captain)  surgeon 
(major  and  lieutenant  colonel),  and  then  more  specific  titles  such 
as  assistant  surgeon  general,  medical  inspector  or  medical  purveyor 
( colonel  and  brigadier  general ) .  The  military  rank  did  not  always 
correspond  with  the  medical  rating;  as  demonstrated  by  Major, 
but  Assistant  Surgeon,  Forwood  and  Lieutenant  Dodson  who  was 
only  "acting"  as  an  assistant  surgeon.  Of  course,  the  military  title 
determined  the  pay  grade  and  a  brevet  military  rank  was  more 
desirable  than  an  acting  medical  rating.  Other  titles,  such  as  post 
surgeon  and  surgeon  general,  were  due  to  the  military  position  held 
by  the  physician  and  still  survive  in  present  day  army  vocabulary. 

Brev.  Maj.  and  Asst.  Surg.  George  Miller  Sternberg,  a  brilliant 
bacteriologist,  epidemiologist,  and  surgeon  general  of  the  army, 
was  post  surgeon  at  Fort  Riley  from  August,  1867,  until  October, 
1870.  Doctor  Sternberg  was  born  on  June  8,  1838,  at  Hartwick 
Seminary,  Otsego  county,  N.  Y.,  the  son  of  a  Lutheran  clergyman. 
He  was  educated  at  Hartwick  Seminary,  Buffalo  University  and 
the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  (Columbia  University) 
where  he  received  his  M.  D.  in  1860.  With  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  War,  he  was  appointed  assistant  surgeon.  Joining  his  com- 
mand, he  was  captured  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  but  escaped  to 
participate  in  the  battles  of  Gaines's  Mill,  Malvern  Hill,  and  Harri- 
son's Landing.  He  contracted  typhoid  fever  at  Harrison's  Landing 
and  the  remainder  of  his  war-time  duty  was  spent  in  military  hos- 
pitals at  Portsmouth  Grove,  R.  I.,  and  Cleveland,  Ohio.  He 
received  brevet  commissions  of  captain  and  major  during  the  war 
and  commanded  the  hospital  in  Cleveland  at  the  end  of  hostilities. 

Just  before  his  appointment  as  post  surgeon  at  Fort  Riley,  Stern- 
berg's  first  wife,  Louisa  Russell,  died  from  cholera  at  Fort  Harker 
(Ellsworth).  On  August  28,  1869,  a  Junction  City  newspaper  ac- 
count suggested  that  the  bachelor  would  begin  married  life  again: 

Surgeon  George  M.  Sternberg  and  Assistant  Surgeon  Leonard  Y.  Loring 
have  charge  of  the  Sanitary  Department  and  no  better  commendation  can 
be  extended  these  gentlemen  than  the  simple  statement  that  they  have  nothing 
to  do.  By  the  way,  we  are  informed  that  Doctor  Sternberg  is  shortly  to 
receive  a  leave  of  30  days  for  the  purpose  of  taking  a  trip  east.  We  hope  soon 
to  see  him  back  at  Riley  in  possession  of  the  prize  he  so  richly  deserves. 


24—1378 


354  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

The  result  was  marriage  to  Martha  L.  Pattison,  who  wrote  a  delight- 
ful biography  of  Sternberg  that  included  a  masterful  description 
of  frontier  life  in  Kansas.  The  varied  and  unhurried  life  of  an  army 
physician  as  described  by  Martha  Sternberg  is  beyond  the  experi- 
ence of  the  modern,  scientific,  efficient,  and  overworked  military 
surgeon. 

Doctor  Sternberg  indulged  himself  in  developing  inventions  while 
at  Fort  Riley.  Impressed  with  the  desirability  of  maintaining  an 
even  temperature  in  hospital  wards,  he  patented  an  automatic 
heat  regulator  based  on  a  thermometer  that  made  and  broke  an 
electric  circuit.  The  regulator  won  a  prize  at  the  American  Institute 
and  had  wide  use.  He  also  perfected  an  anemometer  and  a  fruit 
drier  while  serving  as  post  surgeon.  In  April,  1870,  Doctor  Stern- 
berg prepared  a  report  on  the  climate  at  Fort  Riley,  which  was 
published  in  the  local  paper.  However,  all  was  not  luxury,  since 
in  1868  and  1869,  Surgeon  Sternberg  took  part  in  several  expeditions 
against  hostile  Cheyennes  along  the  upper  Arkansas  river  in  Indian 
territory  and  western  Kansas. 

After  leaving  Fort  Riley  and  during  service  at  Fort  Barrancas, 
Fla.,  Sternberg  was  stricken  with  yellow  fever.  Later  he  published 
two  medical  articles  that  gave  him  a  definite  status  as  an  authority 
on  yellow  fever.  In  1879  he  was  ordered  to  Washington  and  de- 
tailed for  duty  with  the  Havana  Yellow  Fever  Commission.  In 
1881  simultaneously  with  Louis  Pasteur,  he  announced  his  discovery 
of  the  pneumococcus.  In  the  United  States  he  was  the  first  to 
demonstrate  the  plasmodium  of  malaria  (1885),  and  the  bacilli  of 
tuberculosis  and  typhoid  fever  ( 1886 ) .  His  interest  in  bacteriology 
naturally  led  to  an  interest  in  disinfection,  and  with  Sternberg  and 
Koch  scientific  disinfection  had  its  beginning.  His  essay:  "Disin- 
fection and  Individual  Prophylaxis  Against  Infectious  Diseases" 
(1886),  received  the  Lomb  prize  and  was  translated  into  several 
foreign  languages.  Major  Sternberg  was  breveted  a  lieutenant 
colonel  on  February  27,  1890,  for  gallant  service  in  performance  of 
professional  duty  under  fire  in  action  against  Indians  at  Clearwater, 
Idaho,  on  July  12,  1877.  On  May  30,  1893,  he  was  made  surgeon 
general  of  the  army  with  the  rank  of  brigadier  general.  He  was 
surgeon  general  nine  years  and  during  that  time  the  army  nurse 
corps  and  the  army  dental  corps  were  organized. 

The  army  medical  school  was  founded  in  1893  by  Sternberg  for 
indoctrinating  newly  appointed  medical  officers  in  military  medical 
practice.  He  created  the  Tuberculosis  Hospital  at  Fort  Bayard, 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:   DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  355 

N.  Mex.  Sternberg  supervised  the  expansion  of  the  army  and  the 
establishment  of  several  general  hospitals  during  the  Spanish- 
American  war.  His  own  early  difficulties  in  acquiring  knowledge 
led  to  a  liberal-minded  policy  in  the  establishment  of  laboratories 
in  the  larger  military  hospitals  where  medical  officers  could  engage 
in  scientific  research.  In  1898  he  established  the  Typhoid  Fever 
Board  and  in  1900,  the  Yellow  Fever  Commission  headed  by  Maj. 
and  Surg.  Walter  Reed.  Doctor  Sternberg  published  several 
books  including:  Malaria  and  Malarial  Diseases  (1889),  Manual  of 
Bacteriology  (1892),  Immunity  and  Serum  Therapy  (1895),  and 
Infection  and  Immunity  (1904).  He  died  in  Washington  on  No- 
vember 3,  1915. 

From  October,  1870,  until  August,  1871,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Surg. 
Leonard  Young  Loring  served  at  Fort  Riley  as  post  surgeon.  Loring 
was  born  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  on  February  1,  1844.  He  was  appointed 
first  lieutenant  and  assistant  surgeon  on  May  14,  1867,  and  promoted 
to  captain  and  assistant  surgeon  on  May  14,  1870.  His  first  assign- 
ment was  Downer's  Station  (in  present  Trego  county),  where  he 
was  post  surgeon  from  June,  1867,  until  June,  1868.  He  became 
assistant  to  Sternberg  until  1870  and  then  served  as  post  surgeon. 
After  duty  at  Fort  Riley,  Loring  was  in  the  field  in  western  Kansas 
with  the  Sixth  cavalry  until  February,  1872.  He  returned  to  serve 
at  Fort  Hays,  Camp  Supply,  Indian  territory,  and  Fort  Dodge,  from 
1878  until  1882.  Doctor  Loring  was  promoted  to  major  and  surgeon 
October  9, 1888,  and  was  retired  in  1908. 

From  August,  1871,  until  October,  1873,  Brev.  Col.  and  Surg, 
Bernard  J.  D.  Irwin  returned  as  Post  Surgeon.  He  was  assisted  by 
First  Lt.  and  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  W.  O.  Taylor,  who  came  to  Fort 
Riley  when  the  Third  infantry  replaced  the  Sixth  cavalry  in  1873. 

In  1872  the  hospital  was  remodeled  to  some  extent  by  making  a 
single  dormitory,  or  hospital  ward,  of  the  main  part  of  the  building. 
The  dining  room  and  kitchen  were  in  the  south  wing.  Water  for 
the  hospital  was  obtained  from  a  cistern  which  was  just  east  of  the 
center  of  the  main  building,  in  the  center  of  the  rectangle  between 
the  two  wings.  This  cistern  and  pump  remained  there  until  the 
drive  was  paved  after  the  turn  of  the  century.  The  hospital  staff 
included  Hospital  Steward  Louis  O.  Faringhy  and  hospital  matrons 
Ellen  Faringhy  and  Kathryn  Burns.  There  were  two  enlisted  men 
who  were  rated  as  nurses  and  one  enlisted  cook. 

From  October,  1873,  until  April,  1877,  Brev.  Maj.  and  Asst.  Surg. 
William  Elkanah  Waters  was  post  surgeon.  He  was  assisted  by 


356  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Acting  Asst.  Surgs.  M.  M.  Shearer,  L.  Hall,  A.  L.  Fitch,  and  W.  S. 
Tremaine.  Surg.  B.  J.  D.  Irwin  had  left  for  duty  at  West  Point  and 
had  taken  Hospital  Steward  L.  O.  Faringhy  with  him.  Hospital 
Steward  John  M.  McKenzie  came  to  Fort  Riley  from  West  Point 
and  Clara  McKenzie  became  hospital  matron.  In  December,  1877, 
the  muster  and  pay  roll  of  the  medical  department  had  a  new  and 
first  entry  of  "Hospital  Steward  per  Warrant"  when  Thomas  Hills 
reported  for  duty.  Surgeon  Waters  retired  in  November,  1897. 

In  April,  1877,  Lt.  Col.  and  Surg.  Charles  Carroll  Gray  became 
post  surgeon  as  the  19th  infantry  was  relieved  at  Fort  Riley  by  the 
23d  infantry.  Doctor  Gray  was  born  in  New  York  and  retired  in 
January,  1879,  at  the  completion  of  his  tour  of  duty  at  Fort  Riley. 
Asst.  Surg.  H.  S.  Kilbourne  was  also  at  the  hospital  and  signed  the 
report  of  sick  and  wounded  in  June,  1878. 

From  February,  1879,  until  March,  1883,  Maj.  and  Surg.  Henry 
Remsen  Tilton  was  post  surgeon.  Doctor  Tilton  had  just  returned 
from  frontier  duty  and  had  demonstrated  fearless  gallantry  in  action 
against  Indians  at  Bear  Paw  Mountain  on  September  30,  1877.  He 
was  awarded  the  Congressional  Medal  of  Honor  on  March  22,  1895, 
for  this  action.  Tilton  was  born  in  New  Jersey  and  was  appointed 
as  assistant  surgeon  on  August  26,  1861,  and  promoted  to  major 
and  surgeon  in  June,  1876.  After  his  tour  of  duty  at  Fort  Riley,  he 
went  to  Detroit  and  was  promoted  to  lieutenant  colonel  and  deputy 
surgeon  general  in  August,  1893. 

Hospital  Steward  Louis  O.  Faringhy  transferred  from  West  Point 
to  Fort  Riley  on  April  23,  1879,  to  replace  Hospital  Steward  Joseph 
Meredith.  Faringhy  was  discharged  from  the  army  on  September  8, 
1881.  In  1883  Charles  Hoffmeier  was  the  hospital  steward,  with  his 
wife,  Mary  Hoffmeier,  serving  as  hospital  matron. 

Fort  Riley  was  linked  by  telephone  with  the  outside  world  for 
the  first  time  in  the  spring  of  1883. 

From  March,  1883,  until  June,  1885,  Maj.  and  Surg.  Albert  Hart- 
suff  was  the  post  surgeon.  Doctor  Hartsuff  was  born  in  New  York 
on  February  4,  1837,  and  received  his  M.  D.  from  the  Castleton 
Medical  College  of  Vermont.  He  was  appointed  an  assistant  sur- 
geon on  August  5,  1861,  and  was  breveted  captain  and  major  for 
services  during  the  war  and  for  services  during  the  cholera  epidemic 
in  New  Orleans  in  1866.  Hartsuff  became  a  lieutenant  colonel  and 
deputy  surgeon  general  on  December  4,  1892,  and  was  promoted 
to  colonel  and  assistant  surgeon  general  on  April  28,  1900.  He 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:  DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  357 

retired  in  1Q01,  but  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  brigadier  general 
on  April  23,  1904.  He  died  in  1908. 

First  Lt.  and  Asst.  Surg.  C.  C.  Goddard  was  assistant  to  Surgeon 
Hartsuff.  In  addition,  First  Lt.  and  Asst.  Surg.  A.  C.  Van  Doryn  was 
assigned  to  Fort  Riley  in  June,  1884. 

An  effort  was  made  by  Congress  in  1884  to  sell  the  reservation 
of  Fort  Riley,  since  the  post  was  garrisoned  by  very  few  troops  and 
the  frontier  had  moved  on.  However,  Gen.  Philip  H.  Sheridan 
stated  in  his  annual  report  that  it  was  his  intention  to  enlarge  the 
post  and  make  it  the  headquarters  of  the  cavalry. 

From  June,  1885,  until  March,  1887,  Maj.  and  Surg.  Samuel 
Miller  Horton  was  hospital  commander  and  post  surgeon.  Doctor 
Horton  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  was  appointed  an  assistant 
surgeon  on  August  26,  1861.  He  received  a  brevet  major  rank  in 
1865  and  was  promoted  to  lieutenant  colonel  and  deputy  surgeon 
general  in  December,  1893.  He  retired  in  June,  1894. 

In  addition  to  First  Lt.  and  Asst.  Surg.  C.  C.  Goddard,  the  medical 
staff  included  First  Lt.  and  Asst.  Surg.  R.  R.  Ball,  who  was  assigned 
in  1886. 

Through  the  efforts  of  General  Sheridan  and  others,  congress 
passed  a  law  in  1887  providing  the  sum  of  $200,000  for  construction 
at  Fort  Riley,  to  provide  facilities  for  a  school  of  instruction  for 
cavalry  and  light  artillery.  The  school  was  established  by  Gen. 
Order  No.  9,  Headquarters  of  the  Army,  February  9,  1887. 

VI.    THE  SECOND  PERMANENT  HOSPITAL 

In  March,  1887,  a  board  of  officers  headed  by  Lt.  Col.  and  Surg. 
A.  A.  Woodhull  was  appointed  to  investigate  and  report  upon  the 
sanitary  conditions  of  the  post,  upon  the  water  supply  and  sewer- 
age, and  to  make  such  recommendations  as  might  be  deemed 
necessary  for  a  considerable  increase  of  the  garrison. 

Surgeon  Woodhull  had  been  detailed  for  the  board  from  his 
position  of  instructor  in  military  hygiene  at  the  infantry  and  cavalry 
school  at  Fort  Leavenworth.  He  was  born  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  on 
April  13,  1837,  the  son  of  a  physician,  and  prepared  at  Lawrence- 
ville  School  for  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  where  he  received  the 
degree  of  A.  B.  in  1856  and  that  of  M.  A.  in  1859.  In  1859  he  was 
also  graduated  from  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  During  the  two  years  following  his  graduation,  he 
practiced  medicine,  first  in  Leavenworth,  and  later  at  Eudora. 


358  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

With  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  he  was  active  in  recruiting  a 
troop  of  mounted  rifles  for  the  Kansas  militia,  in  which  he  was 
commissioned  a  lieutenant.  Before  the  unit  was  mustered  into  the 
federal  service,  Woodhull  received  an  appointment  to  the  medical 
corps  of  the  regular  army,  on  September  19,  1861.  At  the  close 
of  the  war,  he  was  breveted  a  lieutenant  colonel.  He  had  duty 
tours  in  the  Army  Medical  Museum,  the  office  of  the  surgeon  gen- 
eral, command  of  the  Army  and  Navy  Hospital  at  Hot  Springs, 
Ark.,  and  in  1899  he  was  chief  surgeon  of  the  Department  of  the 
Pacific  at  Manila.  He  was  retired  in  1901  but  in  1904  was  advanced 
to  the  grade  of  brigadier  general  on  the  retired  list.  After  his 
retirement  he  was  a  lecturer  at  Princeton  University.  He  died 
October  18,  1921. 

From  March,  1887,  until  July,  1889,  Maj.  and  Surg.  Dallas  Bache 
was  the  post  surgeon.  Doctor  Bache  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
was  appointed  an  assistant  surgeon  on  May  28,  1861.  He  was 
breveted  captain  and  major  in  1865,  rated  surgeon  in  1867,  pro- 
moted to  lieutenant  colonel  and  surgeon  in  1890,  and  became  colonel 
and  assistant  surgeon  general  in  1895.  He  died  in  1902. 

Early  in  February,  1888,  a  board  of  officers  consisting  of  Col. 
James  W.  Forsyth,  Maj.  and  Surg.  Dallas  Bache,  two  cavalry  officers 
and  one  quartermaster  officer  met  to  determine  a  site  for  a  new 
hospital.  The  location  selected  was  north  of  the  main  post,  on  a 
level  shelf  with  rimrock  behind  and  the  Kaw  valley  spread  in  front. 
In  April,  1888,  the  contract  was  let  after  Gen.  Philip  Sheridan 
recommended  an  appropriation  of  $300,000.  The  north  wing  of 
the  hospital  was  completed  in  1888.  The  building  was  built  of 
native  limestone,  as  were  the  rest  of  the  post  buildings. 

The  new  hospital  was  far  from  the  center  of  the  post,  so  a  dis- 
pensary was  built  north  of  the  old  hospital  in  1889  and  continued 
to  function  as  a  medical  building  until  1924,  when  it  was  occupied 
as  officers'  quarters.  In  1890  a  dead  house  was  built  behind  the 
new  hospital.  A  laundry  for  the  hospital  was  constructed  beside 
the  dead  house  in  1891,  and  quarters  for  the  hospital  steward  were 
built  on  the  west  side  of  the  new  hospital  in  1891. 

The  old  hospital  had  been  in  use  since  1855.  The  structure  was 
extensively  modified  and  a  clock  tower  added  in  1890,  whereupon 
the  building  became  the  cavalry  administration  building  and  post 
headquarters. 

Serving  on  the  same  board  with  the  post  commander  was  fruitful 
for  Surgeon  Bache,  for  in  1891  he  was  married  to  Bessie  Forsyth, 
daughter  of  Col.  James  W.  Forsyth. 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:   DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  359 

First  Lt.  and  Asst.  Surg.  R.  R.  Ball  and  Capt.  and  Asst.~Surg. 
Richardo  Barnett  completed  the  medical  staff  of  the  hospital.  Bar- 
nett  left  for  duty  at  Fort  Lewis,  Colorado,  in  August,  1888. 

From  July,  1889,  until  October,  1892,  John  Van  Rennselaer  Hoff 
was  post  surgeon.  Hoff  was  born  at  Mt.  Morris,  N.  Y.,  on  April 
11,  1848,  the  son  of  Col.  Alexander  H.  Hoff.  He  received  his  A.  B. 
degree  in  1871  and  the  M.  A.  degree  in  1874  from  Union  University, 
and  his  M.  D.  from  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  1874. 
From  1874  until  1879  he  served  at  posts  on  the  Western  frontier  in 
Nebraska  and  Wyoming.  In  1882  he  was  post  surgeon  at  Alcatraz 
Island,  and  then  relieved  Surg.  George  M.  Sternberg  at  Fort  Mason 
in  1884.  In  1886  Hoff  took  a  year's  leave  abroad  and  studied  at 
the  University  of  Vienna.  On  return  to  the  United  States,  he 
organized  the  first  detachment  of  the  newly-authorized  hospital 
corps  at  Fort  Reno,  Indian  territory,  and  then  became  post  surgeon 
at  Fort  Riley.  He  organized  the  first  company  of  instruction  for 
the  hospital  corps  and  wrote  the  first  drill  regulations  for  those 
units  while  at  Fort  Riley. 

In  November,  1890,  Hoff  took  the  field  with  eight  troops  of  the 
Seventh  cavalry  and  participated  in  the  last  battle  of  the  Indian 
wars.  His  gallantry  was  noted  in  Gen.  Order  No.  100:  "Major 
John  Van  R.  Hoff,  Surgeon,  U.  S.  Army,  for  conspicuous  bravery 
and  coolness  under  fire  in  caring  for  the  wounded  in  action  against 
hostile  Sioux  Indians,  at  Wounded  Knee  Creek,  South  Dakota."  As 
evidence  that  service  on  the  frontier  at  that  time  was  not  a  sinecure, 
it  should  be  noted  that  immediately  on  his  return  to  Fort  Riley 
from  this  battle  he  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  Florence,  Kan.,  to 
care  for  troopers  of  the  Seventh  cavalry  who  had  been  injured  in  a 
railroad  accident  at  that  point.  On  June  15,  1891,  Hoff  was 
promoted  to  major  and  surgeon.  In  1892  the  cavalry  and  light 
artillery  school  was  officially  established  by  War  Department  Gen. 
Order  No.  17,  although  academic  work  did  not  begin  until  1893. 
In  that  year  Hoff  was  transferred,  and  subsequent  tours  included 
the  position  of  chief  surgeon  in  Third  Army  Corps,  Department  of 
Puerto  Rico,  U.  S.  Forces  in  China,  Department  of  The  Lakes, 
Department  of  the  Missouri,  Department  of  the  Philippines,  and 
Department  of  the  East.  In  addition,  Hoff  found  opportunity  to 
be  an  instructor  in  ophthalmology  at  the  University  of  California, 
a  professor  at  the  Army  Medical  School,  Instructor  at  the  General 
Staff  College,  and  professor  of  military  sanitation  at  the  University 
of  Nebraska. 


360  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Hoff  was  an  observer  in  the  Russo-Japanese  war.  For  several 
years  he  was  editor  of  The  Military  Surgeon  and  was  the  third  pres- 
ident of  the  Association  of  Military  Surgeons  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant  colonel  of  volunteers  in  May, 
1898,  and  promoted  to  colonel  and  assistant  surgeon  general  in 
1905.  He  retired  April  11,  1912,  but  was  assigned  to  active  duty 
in  the  office  of  the  surgeon  general  in  1916.  Hoff  was  a  recognized 
pioneer  in  the  military  science  of  army  field  medicine.  While  at 
Fort  Riley,  Hoff's  medical  and  teaching  staff  included  First  Lts.  and 
Asst.  Surgs.  Benjamin  Brooke,  Joseph  Taylor  Clarke,  Henry  C. 
Fisher,  James  Denver  Glennan,  Merritte  Weber  Ireland,  Frank 
Royer  Keefer,  and  Francis  Anderson  Winter.  Doctor  Hoff  died  in 
1920. 

Merritte  W.  Ireland  was  born  in  Columbia  City,  Ind.,  May  31, 
1867,  the  son  of  a  country  doctor.  He  graduated  from  the  Detroit 
College  of  Medicine  in  1890  and  entered  the  army  in  1891.  After 
his  tour  of  duty  at  Fort  Riley,  other  early  assignments  included 
tours  in  Cuba  and  the  Philippines  during  the  Spanish-American 
war.  In  1911  he  was  promoted  to  lieutenant  colonel  and  was  in 
command  of  the  hospital  at  Fort  Sam  Houston  when  Gen.  Frederick 
Funston  suffered  his  fatal  heart  attack  in  San  Antonio.  General 
Pershing  requested  Ireland  as  a  member  of  his  staff  and  he  was 
promoted  to  colonel  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  for  France.  He 
was  promoted  to  major  general  in  August,  1918,  and  served  as 
surgeon  general  of  the  army  until  May,  1931.  Doctor  Ireland  was 
a  strong  supporter  of  the  ancillary  corps  within  the  Medical  De- 
partment, and  recommended  the  establishment  of  the  Medical 
Service  Corps  27  years  before  it  was  accomplished.  He  died  in 
1952.  The  recently  completed  500-bed  army  hospital  at  Fort  Knox, 
Ky.,  is  named  in  his  honor. 

There  is  a  historical  footnote  in  the  fact  that  when  John  Van  R. 
Hoff  was  given  a  free  chance  to  develop  the  hospital  corps  while 
at  Fort  Riley,  his  superior  medical  officer  and  the  chief  surgeon  of 
the  Department  of  the  Misouri  was  the  old  Seventh  cavalry  surgeon, 
Bernard  John  Dowling  Irwin.  Some  three  decades  later,  Army 
Surgeon  General  Ireland's  top  staff  included  Brig.  Gens.  James  D. 
Glennan,  Henry  C.  Fisher,  and  Francis  A.  Winter.  It  might  have 
been  a  coincidence  that  this  group  of  general  medical  officers 
served  together  at  Fort  Riley,  and  the  influence  of  Col.  John  Van 
R.  Hoff  may  not  be  evident  in  their  careers;  but  why  was  the  re- 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:   DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  361 

tired  Doctor  Hoff  called  to  active  duty  in  the  office  of  the  surgeon 
general  while  this  group  headed  the  army  medical  corps? 

From  October,  1892,  until  December,  1896,  Henry  Stuart  Turrill 
was  the  post  surgeon.  While  at  Riley  Doctor  Turrill  was  promoted 
to  major  in  1893  and  then  became  a  lieutenant  colonel  and  chief 
surgeon  in  1898.  He  became  interested  in  medical  supply,  and 
the  Reports  of  the  Surgeon  General  for  1904  and  1905  list  him  as 
the  commander  of  the  New  York  Medical  Supply  Depot,  the  pre- 
cursor of  the  Armed  Services  Medical  Procurement  Agency. 

On  January  9,  1893,  the  cavalry  and  light  artillery  school  was 
formally  opened  with  a  lecture  on  hippology  by  Dr.  Daniel  LeMay, 
veterinary  surgeon,  Seventh  cavalry.  The  school  commandant  was 
Col.  James  W.  Forsyth,  the  school  surgeon  was  Maj.  Henry  S. 
Turrill,  assisted  by  First  Lts.  and  Asst.  Surgs.  Madison  M.  Brewer, 
James  M.  Kennedy,  and  Paul  F.  Straub. 

Six  years  later,  on  December  21, 1899,  Paul  F.  Straub  was  surgeon 
on  Alos,  Zambales,  Luzon,  Philippine  Islands.  On  that  date  his 
bravery  resulted  in  the  last  Congressional  Medal  of  Honor  that 
has  been  awarded  to  an  army  physician.  "Surgeon  Straub  voluntarily 
exposed  himself  to  a  hot  fire  from  the  enemy  in  repelling  with 
pistol  fire  an  insurgent  attack  and  at  great  risk  of  his  own  life  went 
under  fire  to  the  rescue  of  a  wounded  officer  and  carried  him  to  a 
place  of  safety/' 

By  1896  the  company  of  instruction  of  the  hospital  corps  was 
graduating  two  classes  of  enlisted  men  each  year.  School  instruc- 
tors and  Assistant  Surgeons  Brewer,  Kennedy,  and  Straub  had  been 
replaced  by  Capt.  and  Asst.  Surg.  Jefferson  Poindexter  and  First 
Lts.  and  Asst.  Surgs.  William  W.  Quinton  and  Thomas  U.  Raymond. 

VII.    THE  SPANISH  WARS 

From  December,  1896,  through  1898,  the  post  surgeon  was  Capt. 
and  Asst.  Surg.  Junius  L.  Powell.  Captain  Powell  was  promoted 
to  major  in  1897.  The  hospital  steward  was  Oscar  F.  Temple  while 
Sarah  Steward  was  the  hospital  matron. 

Capt.  and  Asst.  Surg.  Ashton  Bryant  Heyl  arrived  in  1896.  In 
1897  the  canteen  had  become  the  post  exchange  and  was  located  in 
Waters  Hall.  Capt.  A.  B.  Heyl  of  the  medical  department  was  the 
first  officer  in  charge.  Doctor  Heyl  left  Fort  Riley  in  April,  1898, 
and  was  assigned  to  the  First  cavalry  at  Tampa,  Fla.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  Cuban  battles,  then  resigned  from  the  army  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1900. 


362  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Following  Surgeon  Heyl,  a  series  of  medical  officers  came  to 
Fort  Riley  for  a  few  months,  only  to  leave  for  Cuba.  The  hospital 
corps  school  of  instruction  was  an  activity  only  on  paper,  since  the 
medical  faculty  were  on  detached  service  at  Mobile,  Tampa,  or 
Cuba.  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  Jose  M.  Delgado  joined  the  First  cavalry 
and  Henry  A.  Webber  left  for  Fort  Tampa,  Fla.  Capt.  and  Asst. 
Surg.  Benjamin  L.  Ten  Eyck  departed  for  Fort  Tampa,  Fla.  Even 
Maj.  and  Surg.  J.  L.  Powell,  the  post  surgeon,  left  Fort  Riley  in 
June,  1898,  for  detached  service  at  Mobile,  Ala.  W.  F.  Pride  stated 
in  his  history  that  in  April,  1898,  all  the  officers  had  left  the  post 
except  Chaplain  Barry,  who  was  in  command,  and  a  contract 
surgeon  named  Powell.  In  August,  1898,  Acting  Asst.  Surgs.  R.  M. 
Geddings,  Charles  D.  Camp,  and  F.  A.  E.  Disney  were  at  Fort 
Riley,  but  all  were  in  Cuba  by  October. 

The  hospital  returned  to  normal  when  from  September,  1899, 
until  September,  1901,  Capt.  and  Asst.  Surg.  Charles  Edward  Wood- 
ruff was  post  surgeon.  Woodruff  was  born  in  Philadelphia  on 
October  2,  1860.  He  was  graduated  from  the  U.  S.  Naval  Academy 
in  1883  and  received  his  M.  D.  from  Jefferson  Medical  College  in 
1886.  He  was  an  assistant  surgeon  in  the  navy  from  1886  to  1887, 
then  became  an  army  surgeon.  He  was  promoted  to  major  when 
he  finished  his  tour  of  duty  at  Fort  Riley,  and  became  chief  surgeon 
of  the  Philippine  Department.  He  was  the  author  of  the  book: 
The  Effects  of  Tropical  Light  on  White  Men.  He  retired  in  1913 
and  died  in  1915. 

In  September,  1901,  Maj.  and  Surg.  Paul  Shillock  became  post 
surgeon.  The  hospital  staff  consisted  of  Assistant  Surgeons  Poey 
and  Winn,  Hospital  Steward  August  Nickel,  and  Caroline  Neilson 
as  matron. 

In  1902  the  uniform  of  the  hospital  corps  was  changed.  The 
emerald  green  color  prescribed  for  stripes  and  chevrons  was  changed 
to  maroon  and  white.  The  caduceus  was  substituted  for  the  maltese 
cross  for  cap  and  collar  ornaments. 

Also  in  1902,  the  first  maneuvers  of  any  magnitude  in  the  United 
States  were  held  from  September  20  to  October  8,  at  Fort  Riley. 
The  troops  were  encamped  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  present 
cantonment  hospital.  The  area  was  named  Camp  Root  for  Elihu 
Root,  Secretary  of  War.  The  chief  surgeon  of  the  maneuver  divi- 
sion was  Lt.  Col.  and  Dep.  Surg.  Gen.  John  Van  R.  Hoff.  General 
Order  No.  11  from  Camp  Root  also  list  Maj.  and  Surg.  Henry  P. 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:   DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  363 

Birmingham,  Lt.  and  Asst.  Surg.  P.  C.  Field,  and  Contract  Surg. 
Joseph  Pinquard.  The  equipment  for  a  field  hospital  and  ambu- 
lance company  was  evaluated  in  great  detail  in  1902,  and  the  third 
field  hospital  and  ambulance  company  No.  3  were  the  first  modern 
units  so  organized  and  utilized. 

In  1903  Hoff  again  served  as  chief  surgeon  for  similar  maneuvers 
at  Camp  Sanger  at  Fort  Riley.  He  discussed  supply,  packing  units, 
and  transportation  problems  in  detail  in  his  paper  quoted  in  the 
Annual  Report  of  the  Surgeon  General  in  1903.  Doctor  Hoff  was 
very  critical  of  the  existing  policy  of  allowing  the  quartermaster 
department  to  maintain  transportation  items  such  as  ambulances 
and  mules.  Army  physicians  mentioned  in  Hoff's  report  include: 
H.  L.  Gilchrist,  E.  F,  Gardner,  E.  B.  Frick,  F.  P.  Reynolds,  and 
F.  A.  Winter. 

A  medical  board  was  called  at  Fort  Riley  in  the  fall  of  1903 
because  of  an  outbreak  of  typhoid  fever.  The  members  were  Lt. 
Cols.  J.  V.  R.  Hoff  and  E.  F.  Gardner,  with  Majs.  E.  B.  Frick  and 
Paul  Shillock,  the  post  surgeon.  The  findings  were  that  typhoid 
fever  had  been  endemic  in  the  Kaw  valley  since  the  June  floods  and 
did  not  originate  in  the  maneuver  camp. 

The  year  1903  marked  the  end  of  the  first  50  years  of  medical 
service  at  Fort  Riley.  Three  post  hospitals  had  been  occupied  and 
the  reservation  had  been  utilized  for  the  first  maneuver  trial  of  a 
modern  field  hospital  and  ambulance  company.  The  first  company 
of  instruction  for  the  hospital  corps  had  been  organized  and  devel- 
oped into  an  example  for  future  army  medical  schools.  But  the 
surgeons  who  served  in  the  days  of  individual  medicine  provide 
the  most  history-full  accounts.  Of  the  22  post  surgeons,  seven  be- 
came general  officers  and  three  became  army  surgeon  general.  In 
addition,  two  other  medical  officers  who  served  at  Fort  Riley  also 
became  surgeon  general.  Among  these  five  surgeons  general  was 
the  first  medical  officer  to  receive  the  rank  of  brigadier  general  and 
the  first  to  obtain  the  present  rank  of  major  general. 

Three  physicians  were  awarded  the  Congressional  Medal  of 
Honor,  including  the  first  one  won  in  the  entire  army  and  the  last 
one  that  has  been  awarded  to  an  army  physician.  Six  general 
hospitals  in  World  War  II  were  named  in  honor  of  doctors  who  had 
served  at  Fort  Riley.  A  graduate  of  the  U.  S.  Naval  Academy  was 
a  post  surgeon  and  one  doctor  deserted  his  hospital  post  during  a 
cholera  epidemic  with  resulting  courts-martial  and  dismissal  from 


364  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

the  service.  The  first  president  of  the  association  of  military  sur- 
geons of  the  United  States  was  a  Fort  Riley  post  surgeon,  who  also 
became  president  of  the  American  Medical  Association.  Two  sur- 
geons resigned  to  join  the  Confederacy.  Only  one  doctor  died 
during  his  tour  of  duty  at  Fort  Riley.  But  most  important,  in  that 
varied  group  was  a  sprinkling  of  men  with  vision — who  developed 
efficient  techniques  for  field  medicine  and  maintained  superlative 
curiosity  for  scientific  investigation  in  the  midst  of  mediocre  stimu- 
lation fostered  by  isolation,  routine,  and  military  apathy. 

(Part  Two,  the  Final  Installment  of  This  Hospital  History, 

"From  Horses  to  Helicopters— Fort  Riley,  1904-1957," 

Will  Appear  in  the  Spring,  1958,  Issue.) 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:  DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  365 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

I.    THE  TEMPORARY  HOSPITAL 

The  Military  Surgeon,  v.  43  (1918),  p.  247. 

Margaret  Whittemore,  Historic  Kansas  (Lawrence,  University  of  Kansas  Press, 

1954),  pp.  51,  56,  155. 
W.  F.  Pride,  History  of  Fort  Riley  (Topeka,  Capper  Publications,  1926),  pp. 

45,  50,  100,  108. 

Highway  marker,  Kansas  State  Historical  Society,  Fort  Riley  Reservation. 
J.  K.  Herr,  The  Story  of  the  U.  S.  Cavalry,  (1775-1942)  (Boston,  Little,  Brown, 

and  Company,  1953),  p.  116. 

R.  E.  Schmilski,  "Fort  Riley,  1852  to  1855"  (A  term  paper,  Kansas  State  Col- 
lege, Manhattan). 

Fort  Riley,  Its  Historic  Past,  1853-1953  (The  Army  General  School),  p.  12. 
The  Muster  and  Pay  Roll  of  the  Medical  Department,  Including  Stewards, 

Wardmasters,  Cooks,  Nurses,  and  Matrons  (printed  by  C.  Alexander),  in 

archives  division  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical  Society. 
"The  National  Library  of  Medicine,"  U.  S.  Armed  Forces  Medical  Journal, 

Washington,  v.  7,  No.  11   (November,  1956),  p.  1692. 
C.  C.  Howes,  This  Place  Called  Kansas   (Norman,  University  of  Oklahoma 

Press,  1952),  p.  189. 
Margaret  Leech,  Reveille  in  Washington,  1860-1865  (New  York,  Harper  and 

Brothers,  1941),  pp.  431,  442. 
M.  W.  Ireland,  "The  Medical  Corps  of  the  Army  and  Scientific  Medicine," 

U.  S.  Armed  Forces  Medical  Journal,  v.  5,  No.  12  (December,  1954),  pp. 

1785-1801. 

II.    CHOLERA  EPIDEMIC 

Percival  G.  Lowe,  Five  Years  a  Dragoon,  1849-1854  (Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Frank- 
lin Hudson  Publishing  Co.,  1906),  pp.  192,  212. 
Pride,  op.  cit.,  pp.  66,  74,  75,  77,  78,  81,  83,  93,  103. 
Fort  Riley,  Its  Historic  Past     .     .     .,  p.  13. 
Schmilski,  op.  cit. 

III.    THE  FIRST  PERMANENT  HOSPITAL 

F.  B.  Heitman,  Historical  Register  and  Dictionary  of  the  United  States  Army 
(Washington,  Government  Printing  Office,  1903). 

The  Muster  and  Pay  Roll  of  the  Medical  Department     .     .     .,  loc.  cit. 

Asst.  Surg.  R.  H.  Coolidge,  Reports  on  the  Sickness  and  Mortality  Among  the 
Troops  in  the  Middle  Division,  June,  1857  (Army  Medical  Bulletin,  Wash- 
ington, v.  unknown,  pp.  96-98). 

J.  I.  Lambert,  One  Hundred  Years  With  the  Second  Cavalry  (Topeka,  Capper 
Printing  Co.,  1939),  p.  45. 

J.  P.  Cooney,  "Some  Notes  on  the  Historical  Development  of  the  Medical 
Service  Corps,"  U.  S.  Armed  Forces  Medical  Journal,  v.  8,  No.  2  ( February, 
1957),  pp.  254-263. 

Ireland,  op.  cit. 


366  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

The  Army  Almanac  (Washington,  U.  S.  Government  Printing  Office,  1950), 
p.  94. 

C.  E.  Corey,  "Slavery  in  Kansas,"  Kansas  Historical  Collections,  Topeka,  v. 
7  (1901-1902),  p.  241. 

Pride,  op.  cit.,  pp.  89,  169. 

Schmilski,  op.  cit. 

W.  A.  Ganoe,  The  History  of  the  United  States  Army  (New  York,  D.  Apple- 
ton  and  Co.,  1924),  p.  496. 

"Army  Surgeon  Generals,"  The  Army  Medical  Bulletin,  Washington,  v.  un- 
known, pp.  42-46. 

Leech,  op.  cit.,  p.  442. 

IV.    THE  CIVIL  WAR 

The  Junction  City  Republic,  June  25,  1953  (centennial  edition). 

The  Junction  City  Daily  Union,  June  24,  1953  (centennial  edition). 

The  Muster  and  Pay  Roll  of  the  Medical  Department     .     .     .,  loc.  cit. 

"Report  of  Sick  and  Wounded,"  February,  1864,  Fred  P.  Drew. 

Clifford  Merrill  Drury,  "Marcus  Whitman,  M.  D.,  Pioneer  and  Martyr,"  selec- 
tions from  personal  correspondence  from  Walt  Disney  Productions,  Janu- 
ary 30,  1957. 

"Report  of  Sick  and  Wounded,"  September,  November,  1864,  Jeremiah  Sabin. 

Ibid.,  January,  1866,  W.  C.  Finlaw. 

V.    THE  INDIAN-FIGHTING  MEDICS 

Lambert,  op.  cit.,  p.  94,  and  chapter  on  Fort  Riley. 

Fort  Riley,  Its  Historic  Past,  1853-1953,  p.  4. 

Fairfax  Downey,  Indian-Fighting  Army  (New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 

1941,  p.  70. 
Edward  M.  Coffman,  "Army  Life  on  the  Frontier,  1865-1898,"  Military  Affairs, 

Washington,  v.  20  (1956),  pp.  193-202. 
Herr,  op.  cit.,  pp.  89,  161. 
The  Medal  of  Honor  (Washington,  U.  S.  Government  Printing  Office,  1948), 

pp.  206,  375. 
Martha  L.  Sternberg,  George  Miller  Sternberg,  a  Biography  ( Chicago,  American 

Medical  Association,  1920),  pp.  16-19. 

Obituary  of  George  M.  Sternberg,  Washington  (D.  C.)  Evening  Star,  Novem- 
ber 3,  1915. 

Heitman,  op.  cit.,  v.  1,  pp.  543,  642,  921,  962. 
Thomas  H.  S.  Hamersly,  Complete  Army  and  Navy  Register  of  the  United  States 

(New  York,  Thomas  H.  S.  Hamersly,  1880),  p.  639. 
Who  Was  Who  in  America  (Chicago,  A.  N.  Marquis  Co.,  1943),  v.  1  (1897- 

1942),  p.  1179. 
William  H.  Powell,  Records  of  Living  Officers  of  the  United  States  Army 

(Philadelphia,  L.  R.  Hamersly  and  Co.,  1890). 
"Report  of  Sick  and  Wounded,"  Army  Medical  Department:    G.  M.  Sternberg, 

November,  1867;  W.  C.  Finlaw,  1866;  W.  H.  Forwood,  1866;  W.  E.  Waters, 

1876;  L.  Hall,  1876;  A.  L.  Fitch,  1876. 
Wheeler  Preston,  American  Biographies  (New  York,  Harper's,  1940),  p.  968. 


ARMY  HOSPITAL:   DRAGOONS  TO  ROUGH  RIDERS  367 

Dictionary  of  American  Biography,  v.  17,  p.  492. 

Pride,  op.  cit.,  pp.  134,  146,  153,  156,  157,  164,  167,  168,  171-174,  177,  180, 

185. 

The  Muster  and  Pay  Roll  of  the  Medical  Department     .     .     .,  loc.  cit. 
The  Army  Almanac,  p.  90. 
Ganoe,  op.  cit.,  p.  496. 
Junction  City  Republic,  June  25,  1953. 
Maj.  Mark  M.  Boatner,  III,  Military  Customs  and  Traditions  ( New  York,  David 

McKay  Company,  Inc.,  1956),  pp.  94,  95. 
George  Worthington  Adams,  Doctors  in  Blue   (New  York,  Henry  Schuman, 

1952),  pp.  34,  37,  42,  76,  82,  85,  105,  150,  152,  180. 

VI.    THE  SECOND  PERMANENT  HOSPITAL, 

James  Robb  Church,  editorial,  The  Military  Surgeon,  Washington,  v.  46  ( 1920), 

pp.  204-207. 

The  Muster  and  Pay  Roll  of  the  Medical  Department     .     .     .,  loc.  cit. 
Cooney,  loc.  cit.,  pp.  254-263. 

Who  Was  Who  in  America,  v.  1,  pp.  400,  574,  1367. 
National  Cyclopaedia  of  American  Biography,  v.  A,  p.  220. 
The  Medal  of  Honor,  pp.  107,  111,  116,  127,  145,  157,  191,  184,  206,  220,  223, 

235,  246. 

Heitman,  op.  cit.,  v.  1,  pp.  534,  587. 
Report  of  the  Surgeon  General,  1904,  p.  29 
Ibid.,  1905,  p.  148 

Pride,  op.  cit.,  pp.  194,  196,  203,  205,  210,  211,  217,  218,  220,  223. 
Dictionary  of  American  Biography,  v.  20,  p.  492. 

VII.    THE  SPANISH  WARS 

The  Muster  and  Pay  Roll  of  the  Medical  Department     .     .     .,  loc.  cit. 

Pride,  op.  cit.,  p.  233. 

Report  of  the  Surgeon  General,  1904,  pp.  42-48,  77. 

Ibid.,  1902,  p.  40. 

Who  Was  Who  in  America,  v.  1,  p.  1377. 

C.  D.  Rhodes,  ed.,  The  Santiago  Campaign  (Richmond,  Va.,  Williams  Printing 

Co.,  1927),  pp.  207-221;  226-245, 
General  Order  11,  Headquarters  Maneuver  Division,  October  4,  1902,  Maj.  Gen. 

John  C.  Bates,  commanding. 


A  Kansas  Revival  of  1872 

WILLIAM  E.  BERGER 

"TN  all  places  of  business  yesterday,  the  only  topic  of  conversation 
-L  was  religion.  To  such  an  extent  was  the  interest,  that  we  ob- 
tained local  items  with  great  difficulty." 1  The  Topeka  reporter 
who  wrote  this  could  have  written  the  same  about  Leavenworth, 
Lawrence,  Atchison,  Fort  Scott  and  a  score  of  other  Kansas  com- 
munities during  the  winter  and  spring  of  1872.  From  January  to 
May  a  revival  swept  Kansas  which  competed  successfully  for  space 
in  the  newspapers  with  such  items  as  the  Grant  scandals,  the  "lib- 
eral Republican"  movement,  the  meeting  of  the  state  legislature, 
and  the  progress  of  railroad  construction  across  the  Plains.  On  sev- 
eral occasions  it  made  the  front  page,  which,  almost  without  excep- 
tion in  those  days,  was  reserved  for  national  and  international  news. 
The  central  figure  in  the  revival  was  the  Rev.  Edward  Payson 
Hammond,  an  internationally-known  evangelist.  Hammond  was 
born  in  Ellington,  Conn.,  in  1831.  He  was  graduated  from  Williams 
College  in  1858  and  then  studied  for  two  years  at  Union  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  in  New  York.  This  was  followed  by  a  year  at  the  Free 
Church  Theological  Seminary  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  It  was  during 
the  year  in  Scotland  that  his  evangelistic  abilities  were  first  discov- 
ered. He  was  ordained  an  evangelist  by  the  Presbytery  of  New 
York,  Third,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  ( U.  S.  A. )  in  January, 
1863.  Following  his  marriage  in  1866,  he  and  his  bride  spent  nearly 
two  years  abroad  visiting  and  conducting  meetings  in  Italy,  Egypt, 
Palestine,  France,  and  England.  From  the  time  he  returned  to  the 
United  States  until  he  arrived  in  Kansas  in  January,  1872,  he  had 
conducted  meetings  in  many  of  the  larger  cities  of  the  country. 

Hammond  was  described  by  the  editor  of  the  Leavenworth 
Times  as  being  a  "'Muscular  Christian';  he  is  rather  short,  'thick 
set',  and  squarely  built,  has  a  very  powerful  voice,  looks  and  talks 
like  a  well-fed  Englishman,  and  might  very  readily  be  taken  for  the 
original  of  the  wood-cut  pictures  in  the  illustrated  papers  of  Jim 
Fisk."2  One  of  Hammond's  admirers  resented  the  comparison 
of  the  beloved  evangelist  to  Fisk.  The  editor  was  informed  "that 
such  comparisons  are  not  at  all  pleasant  to  the  ears  of  the  great 

DR.  WILLIAM  E.  BERGER  is  professor  of  history  at  the  College  of  Emporia. 

1.  Kansas  Daily  Commonwealth,  Topeka,  March  21,  1872. 

2.  Leavenworth  Daily  Times,  January  27,  1872. 

(368) 


KANSAS  REVIVAL  OF  1872  369 

many  admirers  of  Mr.  Hammond  in  this  city.  We  hope  he  will  be 
more  choice  in  his  comparisons  hereafter."3  To  this  chastisement 
the  editor's  only  comment  was  that  Fisk's  friends  hadn't  been  heard 
from  yet.  The  same  editor  later  confessed  a  liking  for  Hammond, 
in  spite  of  describing  him  as  being  "as  full  of  life  ...  as  George 
Francis  Train,  as  indomitable  as  Andy  Johnson,  and  as  persistent 
as  a  insurance  agent."  4 

An  account  of  the  Lawrence  revival  contained  several  interesting 
descriptive  passages: 

He  is  of  a  class  of  men  who,  while  their  labors  relate  almost  exclusively  to 
another  world,  enjoy  a  hearty  laugh  and  a  good  dinner  in  this.  ...  He 
has  a  mobile  and  expressive  countenance,  capable  of  instantaneous  changes 
of  expression,  depicting  all  the  varying  emotions  of  the  human  soul,  a  bright 
smile,  and  a  wonderfully  sympathetic  voice.  .  .  .  One  secret  of  Mr.  Ham- 
mond's power,  we  think,  with  the  masses  of  men  not  allied  to  him  in  belief, 
is  the  absence  of  anything  like  professional  severity  in  his  demeanor.  He  adopts 
the  clerical  suit  of  black,  and  the  white  neckcloth,  but  further  than  that  has 
little  to  mark  him  for  a  clergyman.5 

Hammond  spent  more  than  three  months  in  Kansas.  He  arrived 
at  Leavenworth  on  January  21,  1872,  from  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  where 
he  had  been  conducting  meetings.  He  remained  in  Leavenworth 
until  February  16.  Subsequent  engagements  took  him  to  Lawrence 
from  February  16  to  March  8;  Topeka  from  March  8  to  March  28; 
Atchison  from  March  31  to  April  12;  and  Fort  Scott  from  April  13 
to  May  2.  Following  the  Fort  Scott  meetings  he  spent  less  than 
a  week  in  Paola  and  Ottawa,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  east. 

Every  evangelist  has  certain  techniques  which  are  used  exten- 
sively and  Hammond  was  no  exception.  He  began  his  work  in  each 
city  by  holding  several,  usually  three  or  four,  children's  meetings. 
These  sessions  were  designed  especially  for  children  and  youth  who 
would  be  accompanied  by  their  parents.  At  the  first  children's  meet- 
ing in  Lawrence,  there  were  "at  least  five  hundred  of  the  children, 
and  altogether,  by  actual  count,  there  were  1,994  persons  in  at- 
tendance." 6  This  was  probably  typical  of  the  ratio  between  chil- 
dren and  adults  at  most  of  the  children's  meetings. 

At  the  first  meeting  Hammond  would  explain  in  simple  terms  the 
plan  of  salvation  and  the  necessity  for  everyone,  including  children, 
to  accept  it.  At  the  second  and  subsequent  meetings,  the  children 
were  asked  to  repeat  short  sayings  and  prayers  which  were  enter- 

3.  Ibid.,  January  30,  1872. 

4.  Ibid.,  February  15,  1872. 

5.  A  Brief  Account  of  ihe  Great  Revival  in  Lawrence,  Kansas  (Lawrence,  1872),  p.  4. 

6.  Ibid.,  p.  5. 

25—1378 


370  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

taining  as  well  as  educational.  At  the  second  children's  meeting 
in  Topeka  "at  the  close  of  his  sermon,  he  stationed  several  ministers 
at  the  foot  of  the  platform  to  examine  the  children  who  thought 
they  were  converted,  and  then  pass  them  up  on  the  stage."  7 

The  validity  of  child  conversions  was  questioned  by  some  of  the 
adults.  In  an  age  when  conversion  was  regarded  as  strictly  an 
adult  concern,  this  is  not  surprising.  Hammond,  however,  remained 
firm  in  his  belief  in  the  value  of  work  among  young  children  and 
was  supported  by  the  local  ministers  who  worked  with  him  in  the 
meetings.  Six  of  the  Lawrence  clergymen  testified  at  the  morning 
prayer  meeting  on  February  21  that  they  were  convinced  that  child 
conversions  were  as  genuine  and  lasting  as  those  of  adults.  The 
Reverend  Mr.  Cordley  of  the  Congregational  Church  told  of  his 
own  experience  in  which  he  said  that  when  "he  was  ten  years  old 
he  had  just  as  clear  an  idea  of  sin  and  the  necessity  of  repentance 
as  he  had  now."8  Dr.  F.  S.  McCabe,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  Topeka,  who  was  visiting  and  observing  the  Lawrence 
meetings  in  view  of  asking  Hammond  to  come  to  Topeka,  sup- 
ported the  statement  of  his  fellow  clergymen.  He  told  the  same 
congregation  that  he  had  examined  some  of  the  children  himself 
and  was  perfectly  satisfied.  "Yesterday  he  asked  a  lad  'why  he 
loved  Jesus?'  'Because/  said  the  boy,  lie  died  to  save  me/  What 
synod,  association  or  conference  could  say  more?"  9  At  Fort  Scott 
two  boys  from  Atchison  and  one  from  Topeka  took  the  platform  at 
the  first  children's  meeting  to  tell  of  their  conversion  during  the 
meetings  held  in  their  cities. 

The  task  of  convincing  parents  that  the  conversion  of  their  chil- 
dren was  either  desirable  or  conducive  to  good  conduct  was  not 
easy.  The  Reverend  Mr.  Cordley  answered  the  objection  of  at 
least  one  parent  who  said  he  would  be  convinced  about  the  con- 
version of  children  when  his  own  began  to  show  some  religion 
around  home.  "We  do  not  expect  children,"  Cordley  replied,  "to 
become  perfect,  full-grown  Christians  at  once.  This  is  the  work 
of  a  lifetime.  But  their  conversion  affords  a  starting  point,  a  basis 
to  build  on."  10 

The  Leavenworth  Times  reported  a  rather  far-fetched  story  which 
was  said  to  be  only  one  of  a  dozen  such  being  told  in  Leavenworth : 

7.  Spring  Showers:    A  Brief  Account  of  the  Great  Revival  in  Topeka,  Kansas  (Topeka, 
1872),  p.   14. 

8.  Brief  Account,  Lawrence,  p.  8. 

9.  Ibid.,  pp.  8,  9. 

10.  Ibid.,  p.   11. 


KANSAS  REVIVAL  OF  1872  371 

It  appears  that  people  become  sinners  at  a  very  early  age  in  this  part  of  the 
country.  We  heard  of  one  yesterday  only  two  and  a  half  years  old,  who  be- 
coming convinced  that  he  was  a  great  sinner,  and  had  been  all  his  life,  con- 
cluded to  have  prayers  in  the  family  thereafter.  His  father,  being  a  very  bigoted 
and  over  bearing  man  objected  and,  told  him  that  if  he  must  have  prayers  it 
could  not  be  in  that  house;  and  so  the  brave  little  Christian  went  upstairs  to 
pack  his  trunk.11 

The  most  popular  part  of  the  meetings  was  the  song  service 
which  was  a  novel  feature  of  revivals  in  1872.  The  evening  meet- 
ings would  open  with  hymn  singing  which  might  last  as  long  as  30 
minutes.  Hymns  would  also  be  interspersed  between  prayers  and 
personal  testimonies  during  the  remainder  of  the  service.  Hammond 
had  compiled  a  hymn  book  called  New  Praises  of  Jesus  which  was 
used  at  his  meetings.  It  contained  a  large  number  of  new  hymns 
with  lively  tunes.  The  favorite  hymn  was  "Jesus  °f  Nazareth  Pas- 
seth  By"  which  was  sung  to  the  tune  of  "Sweet  Hour  of  Prayer." 
The  words  of  the  first  verse  were 

What  means  this  eager,  anxious  throng, 

Pressing  our  busy  streets  along? 

Voices,  in  accents  hushed,  reply, 

"Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by." 

The  daily  schedule  of  meetings  began  with  a  morning  prayer 
service  at  9  o'clock.  Weather  permitting,  a  late  morning  street  meet- 
ing at  one  of  the  main  intersections  rounded  out  the  morning  activi- 
ties. The  evening  service  began  at  either  7  or  7:30  o'clock.  On 
Sunday  an  afternoon  meeting  was  held. 

In  addition  to  a  sermon,  usually  by  Hammond,  the  time  in  the 
meetings  was  given  to  testimonials  by  lay  people  who  would  relate 
their  experiences  in  finding  Christ  and  urge  others  to  follow  their 
example.  Until  such  time  as  a  corps  of  converts  could  be  obtained 
in  a  city,  Hammond  would  utilize  the  converts  from  his  previous 
meetings.  Thus,  the  congregations  at  the  early  meetings  in  Law- 
rence heard  the  Leaven  worth  converts  speak  of  their  experiences. 
At  Topeka  the  Lawrence  people  were  used  until  sufficient  numbers 
of  local  converts  were  obtained.  For  the  benefit  of  those  from 
Lawrence  who  wished  to  attend  the  Topeka  meetings,  the  Kansas 
Pacific  railroad  offered  three-day  excursion  tickets  at  two  dollars. 
In  order  to  take  advantage  of  the  excursion  rate,  purchasers  were 
"provided  with  a  certificate  from  Rev.  Mr.  Cordley  in  order  to 
show  that  the  excursionist  is  activated  by  a  religious  motive."  12 

11.  Leavenworth  Times,  February   13,   1872. 

12.  Daily  Kansas  Tribune,  Lawrence,  March  17,  1872. 


372  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

The  evening  meetings  had  no  formal  closing.  After  the  sermon 
and  speaking,  the  congregation  would  gather  in  small  groups  and 
talk  of  things  religious.  This  gave  the  converted  an  opportunity  to 
talk  to  the  nonconverted  personally  and  help  them  overcome  their 
fears  and  doubts  about  being  forgiven  for  their  past  life  and  their 
ability  to  lead  a  new  one.  This  period,  known  as  an  "inquiry  meet- 
ing," would  often  last  as  long  as  an  hour  with  people  leaving  the 
church  or  hall  as  they  desired. 

There  was  more  to  the  revival  than  holding  meetings.  Other  work 
needed  to  be  done.  Saloons  and  houses  of  prostitution  were  visited 
by  eager  workers  in  hope  of  leading  both  the  operators  and 
patrons  from  their  life  of  sin.  Although  there  is  little  evidence  that 
these  labors  produced  the  desired  results,  the  operators,  for  the 
most  part,  did  not  seem  to  mind  the  intrusion.  Children  were 
organized  into  evangelistic  teams  in  Atchison  to  sing  in  the  saloons. 
On  the  afternoon  of  April  6,  the  children,  divided  into  two  groups, 
visited  all  the  saloons  on  Commercial  street.  A  few  of  the  proprie- 
tors refused  them  admission  but  most  of  them  let  them  sing  and 
depart  in  peace.  Not  all  of  the  work  in  the  saloons  was  without 
incident. 

The  Kansas  Daily  Commonwealth,  Topeka,  of  March  23  gave 
an  account  of  a  fight  which  took  place  in  front  of  Mr.  Pauley's  saloon 
at  Kansas  and  Fifth  the  preceding  afternoon.  The  Rev.  E.  O.  Tay- 
lor, with  others,  entered  the  saloon  hoping  to  hold  a  meeting. 
Pauley  asked  them  to  leave  and  the  meeting  was  held  in  the  street  in 
front.  As  Taylor  was  speaking,  Jim  Kelley,  identified  only  as  an 
Irishman,  shouted,  "It  is  a  d — -d  lie."  At  this  point,  Dick  Brown, 
an  engineer  for  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  railroad,  chal- 
lenged Kelley  to  a  fight  at  the  conclusion  of  the  meeting.  The 
fight  took  place  and  the  two,  along  with  Jim's  brother,  Pat,  were 
hailed  into  court.  They  were  found  guilty  by  the  judge  with  Jim 
Kelley  drawing  a  fine  of  ten  dollars  and  costs,  and  the  other  two 
five  dollars  and  costs  each.  Taylors  defender  did  not  go  unre- 
warded. After  the  trial,  Att.  Gen.  Archibald  Williams,  Jacob  Smith, 
and  several  other  prominent  citizens  stepped  forward  and  paid 
Brown's  fine. 

Closely  allied  with  the  campaign  against  the  saloons  was  the 
anti-gambling  crusade.  One  meeting  in  each  town  was  devoted 
to  the  gamblers.  This  was  always  announced  several  days  in  ad- 
vance and  proved  to  be  a  popular  meeting.  In  Lawrence  it  drew 
the  largest  audience  of  the  revival.  In  Topeka  the  Christians  were 


KANSAS  REVIVAL  OF  1872  373 

asked  to  leave  Union  Hall  and  go  to  the  Presbyterian  and  Congre- 
gational churches  to  make  room  for  the  unconverted.  The  text 
of  the  sermon  for  the  gamblers  was  Romans  6:23 — "For  the  wages  of 
sin  is  death,  but  the  free  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  in  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord." 

Hammond  also  visited  the  jails  and,  while  at  Leavenworth,  made 
several  visits  to  the  state  penitentiary  in  Lansing. 

Hammond  made  the  claim  that  he  never  came  into  a  city  except 
by  invitation  from  the  local  clergymen  and  churches.  Such  was 
the  case  in  Kansas.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  had  more  invitations 
than  he  was  able  to  accept.  In  all  cases  he  was  fully  backed  and 
supported  by  the  pastors  of  the  evangelical  churches.  They  usually 
held  several  meetings  in  the  week  preceding  Hammond's  arrival 
and  the  meetings  continued  several  weeks  after  his  departure. 
The  meetings  in  Topeka  lasted  four  weeks  after  Hammond  left 
and  about  the  same  length  of  time  in  Lawrence.  In  the  other  cities 
the  meetings  were  continued  from  two  to  three  weeks. 

As  could  be  expected  the  revival  drew  opposition.  Most  of  it 
came  from  the  groups  which  were  theologically  opposed  to  the 
co-operating  churches.  Hammond  often  berated  the  Unitarians, 
Universalists,  and  other  groups  known  generally  as  "free  thinkers." 
As  a  result  their  spokesmen  in  the  various  cities  held  meetings  of 
their  own  and  issued  challenges  to  Hammond  or  a  representative 
of  his  to  debate  questions  of  religion. 

The  first  challenge  to  Hammond  came  toward  the  close  of  his 
Leavenworth  meetings.  The  Times  of  Sunday,  February  11,  1872, 
carried  a  letter  from  I.  J.  Stine,  a  local  book  agent,  in  which  he  at- 
tacked the  revival  as  being  bigoted  and  narrowminded  and  listed 
a  number  of  propositions  which  he  would  be  willing  to  debate  with 
any  representative  of  the  revival  group.  This  challenge  was  ignored 
but  Stine  did  not  weary  easily.  He  appeared  later  at  Atchison  and 
Fort  Scott  while  the  revival  was  in  full  progress  in  those  cities.  Only 
at  Fort  Scott  did  Stine  appear  before  the  final  days  of  Hammond's 
meetings.  More  will  be  said  of  the  Fort  Scott  encounter  later. 

A  vocal  exchange  was  touched  off  in  Lawrence  during  the  last 
week  of  Hammond's  appearance  when  he  delivered  a  sermon  on  the 
Trinity  aimed  at  the  Unitarians  and  Universalists.  The  following 
Sunday  (March  3),  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Brooks,  pastor  of  the  Universalist 
church  in  Lawrence,  devoted  his  sermon  to  a  defense  of  the  prin- 
ciples espoused  by  the  Universalists.  A  series  of  weekly  meetings, 
held  on  Friday  evening,  which  lasted  through  March  and  April 


374  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

followed.  Brooks  took  a  live-and-let-live  attitude  toward  the  re- 
vival. At  his  meeting  on  April  5  he  told  the  congregation  that  he 
was  immune  to  those  who  attacked  his  faith.  Even  if  his  faith  was 
not  the  best,  he  knew  it  was  the  best  for  him.  He  illustrated  the 
point  by  saying  that  an  oak,  even  if  transplanted  in  better  soil,  is 
likely  to  die. 

The  Unitarians  sponsored  a  series  of  lectures  by  Mrs.  M.  J.  Wil- 
coxson  which  began  on  April  7,  1872.  This  was  a  month  after  Ham- 
mond had  left  Lawrence  but  the  revival  meetings  were  still  being 
carried  on  by  the  local  pastors.  In  her  first  address,  which  was  on 
the  subject  "Religious  Revivals,"  she  gave  her  reasons  for  the  en- 
thusiasm shown  by  the  revivalists. 

[She]  accounted  for  the  remarkable  enthusiasm  of  the  revival  by  the  fact  that 
some  men  have  certain  psychological  powers  by  which  they  lead  people  away 
from  the  calm  use  of  their  own  reasoning  and  common  sense.  If  each  person 
was  educated  in  his  religious  principles  so  as  to  be  well  founded,  such  a  man  as 
Hammond  could  not  lead  them  into  these  excitements.13 

Opposition  to  the  "excitements"  as  the  basis  of  the  revival  was 
echoed  by  every  speaker  who  spoke  against  it.  Hammond  and  the 
revivalists,  on  the  other  hand,  constantly  denied  this  to  be  the  case. 
They  maintained  that  excitement  or  emotionalism  was  not  encour- 
aged and  had  no  place  in  the  revival  meetings.  To  them,  the  op- 
ponents of  the  revival  could  not  distinguish  between  emotionalism 
and  enthusiasm.  Mrs.  Wilcoxson  continued  her  lectures  through 
April  and  the  first  two  Sundays  in  May. 

A  different  line  of  attack  was  taken  by  a  person  who  wrote  an 
open  letter  to  the  Kansas  Daily  Tribune  published  on  April  9,  1872, 
and  signed  "Third  Story  Front."  The  revival  was  attacked  on  sev- 
eral points.  First,  that  it  was  like  a  pendulum.  Morals,  it  was 
stated,  will  swing  as  low  in  reaction  as  they  go  high  in  response 
to  religious  fervor.  Second,  that  the  revival  was  more  commercial 
than  religious.  Some  persons,  it  was  charged,  were  converted  be- 
cause "it  will  help  your  business,  you  know."  Hammond's  own 
commercial  interest  was  questioned  because  he  sold  his  books  dur- 
ing the  revival  meetings.  Third,  that  the  revival  was  divisive.  It 
tended  to  divide  the  community  into  two  groups  while  religion 
should  be  a  uniting  force.  Fourth,  the  inquiry  meetings  only 
served  the  purpose  of  bringing  together  young  men  and  young 
women  for  doubtful  purposes.  The  revivalists  countered  by  saying 
that  the  assumptions  of  "Third  Story  Front"  were  totally  false. 

13.    Ibid.,  April  9,  1872. 


KANSAS  REVIVAL  OF  1872  375 

It  was  in  Topeka  that  the  opposition  was  most  active.  Unlike  the 
other  cities  in  which  Hammond  appeared,  his  adversaries  did  not 
wait  for  his  arrival  or,  as  in  some  cases,  his  departure.  By  mid- 
February  a  debate  was  in  the  offing  between  Elder  D.  P.  Hall  of 
Olathe,  a  Christadelphian,  and  Dr.  T.  B.  Taylor,  the  leader  of  the 
Spiritualist  Society  of  Topeka.  The  proposition  to  be  debated  was 
"Resolved:  That  modern  Spiritualism  is  taught  in  the  Bible  and, 
as  opposed  to  materialism,  is  true."  The  question  was  to  be  affirmed 
by  Taylor  and  negated  by  Hall.  All  arrangements  for  the  debate 
were  completed  by  February  15  except  for  the  time.  For  some  un- 
disclosed reason  the  debate  did  not  begin  for  another  two  months. 
The  first  discussion  took  place  on  April  15  with  nightly  meetings 
held  for  a  week  following.  During  this  two  months  interim  Hall 
dropped  out  of  sight  but  Taylor  and  the  spiritualists  were  active  in 
other  areas. 

The  first  encounter  between  the  spiritualists  and  the  revivalists 
arose  over  a  resolution  adopted  at  a  mass  meeting  on  February  25 
preparatory  to  Hammond's  expected  arrival  in  Topeka  on  March  1. 
The  meeting  passed  a  resolution  requesting  the  board  of  education 
to  dismiss  the  afternoon  session  of  school  on  the  days  when  Ham- 
mond would  hold  children's  meetings.  The  first  written  protests  were 
carried  in  the  Commonwealth  on  February  28.  On  that  day  two 
letters  appeared,  one  of  which  was  signed  by  "Philo,"  who  iden- 
tified himself  only  as  a  spiritualist,  and  the  other  by  Theodore  Mills, 
a  leader  in  the  Topeka  Spiritualist  Society.  "Philo's"  protest  was 
brief.  He  wrote,  in  part,  "I  protest  against  the  interruption  of  our 
common  schools  for  the  furtherance,  supposed  or  real,  of  any  other 
interest  whatever."  14 

Mills,  who  wrote  several  other  protest  letters  in  the  days  follow- 
ing, was  not  quite  as  firm  as  "Philo."  He  did  not  approve  of  a  gen- 
eral dismissal  but  was  willing  to  have  those  children  dismissed  who 
brought  requests  from  their  parents  that  they  be  excused  to  attend 
the  revival.  He  opposed  a  general  dismissal  of  school  because  a 
large  number  of  people  had  no  confidence  in  this  type  of  meeting 
and  did  not  want  their  children  to  miss  a  single  recitation. 

The  day  following  Mills'  first  letter  came  the  announcement  that 
Hammond  would  postpone  his  arrival  in  Topeka  one  week  because 
of  physical  exhaustion.  Mills  took  this  opportunity  not  only  to 
further  his  stand  on  the  school  problem  but  to  question  Hammond's 
sincerity.  He  wrote: 

14.    Kansas  Daily  Commonwealth,  February  28,  1872. 


376  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

The  reason  why  Mr.  H[ammond]  does  not  visit  Topeka  now,  is  for  the  lack 
of  funds;  for  Mec  [possibly  the  Reverend  Mr.  McCabe]  and  Samuel  Dolman 
.  .  .  must  remember  that,  so  far  as  Mr.  Hammond  is  concerned  it  is  "purely 
a  matter  of  business."  So  if  the  brethren  of  Topeka  don't  lay  down  the  "pew- 
ter," the  Rev.  Mr.  H.  will  not  visit  us  and  the  poor  little  children  will  have  to 
go  unconverted,  and  go  to  h — 1  at  last,  and  all  this  for  the  lack  of  a  little  of 
that  which  Mr.  H's  bible  calls  "filthy  lucre,"  the  love  of  which  is  said  to  be  "the 
root  of  all  evil,"  as  to  let  the  dear  children  of  Topeka  go  to  the  bad  place  for 
lack  of  "his  revival?"  15 

The  board  of  education  granted  the  request  of  the  revivalists  and 
only  a  morning  session  of  school  was  held  for  about  two  weeks. 

It  was  T.  B.  Taylor,  rather  than  Mills,  who  led  the  attack  against 
the  revival.  Taylor  announced  that  on  Sunday  evening,  March  3, 
he  would  answer  the  Rev.  D.  P.  Mitchell  of  the  Methodist  church 
who  had  previously  spoken  against  spiritualism.  "The  public/'  the 
announcement  read,  "that  has  been  induced  to  believe  that  Spiritu- 
alism is  such  a  monstrosity,  and  Spiritualists  such  monsters,  as  Mr. 
Mitchell  has  pronounced  them,  are  cordially  invited  to  attend.  Mr. 
Mitchell,  in  person  or  by  proxy,  is  also  invited/' 16 

Taylor  apparently  had  asked  permission  to  speak  at  one  of  the 
revival  meetings  and  had  been  denied.  Toward  the  end  of  Ham- 
mond's stay  in  Topeka,  Taylor  wrote  him  an  open  letter.  He  began 
by  explaining  that  it  was  necessary  to  "take  this  method  of  speaking 
to  you  and  to  others  who  are  not  permitted  to  hear  me  in  the  meet- 
ings in  consequence  of  this  ostracism — in  consequence  of  this  in- 
fringement of  one  of  the  dearest  of  American  human  rights,  the 
liberty  of  speech." 17 

He  continued  by  relating  briefly  three  conversion  experiences  of 
his  own.  He  had  been  a  Methodist  clergyman  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century  until  he  had  been  banned  from  the  church  a  year  pre- 
viously for  ideas  expressed  in  lectures  on  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  Taylor  volunteered  to  be  a  guinea  pig  by  attending  the 
meetings  and  following  Hammond's  instructions  to  see  if  he  could  be 
forced  to  change  his  mind. 

Taylor  closed  his  letter  by  attacking  three  basic  theological  be- 
liefs of  the  revivalists.  He  stated  that  he  did  not  believe  in  a  per- 
sonal God  but  rather  that  "God  is  a  spirit";  that  Jesus  was  not  God 
but  that  he  manifested  the  God-spirit  in  all  of  his  deeds;  and,  that 
the  doctrine  of  vicarious  atonement  was  a  logical  and  theological 

15.  Ibid.,  March  1,  1872. 

16.  Ibid.,  March  3,  1872. 

17.  Ibid.,  March  21,  1872. 


KANSAS  REVIVAL  OF  1872  377 

paradox  because  no  one  can  substitute  or  suffer  for  the  sins  of 
another. 

The  testimony  of  R.  N.  Collingsworth  at  one  of  the  revival  meet- 
ings in  which  he  blamed  all  of  his  past  sinful  deeds  on  spiritualism 
served  as  the  occasion  for  another  Taylor  letter.  He  wrote: 

If  Mr.  C.,  or  anyone  else,  has  ruined  the  character  of  an  unsuspecting  girl, 
and  had  thus  thrown  her  out  of  society  as  an  outcast  upon  the  heartless  world, 
then  he  must  hunt  up  such  and  do  all  in  his  power,  by  his  money  and  otherwise, 
to  bring  her  back  to  society  and  friends  again;  that  if  he  has  "taken  anything 
wrongfully  he  must  restore  it  with  interest."  But  no,  no,  that  is  too  costly 
.  .  .  for  Mr.  C.  and  a  great  many  others.  They  must  seek  to  lay  all  these 
shameful  crimes  on  some  one  else,  who  is  innocent.  And  this  is  the  beautiful 
theology  that  Mr.  Hammond  and  all  the  rest  of  these  zealous  souls  are  teaching. 

But  rather  let  them  "bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance"  and  think  not 
to  say,  "Jesus  has  died  for  my  sins  and  I  will  go  scott  free." 

They  expect  to  live  as  they  list,  say  a  prayer,  make  a  profession,  say  they 
"love  Jesus,"  and  go  into  heaven  on  a  white  horse  with  a  great  flourish  of 
trumpets;  but  instead,  they  will  hear,  ringing  in  their  ears,  these  awful  words, 
"Be  not  deceived;  God  is  not  mocked:  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall 
he  also  reap."  18 

The  verbal  blast  by  Taylor  was  not  the  end  of  this  incident.  The 
day  following  the  appearance  of  the  letter,  Collingsworth  chanced 
upon  Taylor  on  Kansas  avenue  where  he  administered  a  beating, 
by  the  use  of  his  cane,  which  required  Taylor  to  seek  medical  assist- 
ance. 

The  practice  of  the  revivalists  in  praying  for  the  conversion  of 
specifically  named  persons  brought  forth  at  least  one  letter  to  the 
editor  in  each  city  conducting  revival  meetings.  E.  E.  Barnum  of 
Topeka  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Commonwealth  which  was  typical. 
Barnum  attended  the  meeting  in  which  he  was  the  particular  object 
of  prayer.  "I  was  made  the  subject,"  he  wrote,  "of  public  exhibition 
and  scurrilous  attack,  which  was  utterly  uncalled  for,  and  without 
justification."  19  In  the  same  letter,  he  also  wrote: 

The  spirit  manifested  by  these  revivalists  in  condemning  as  "heretics"  and 
"vile  sinners"  all  those  who  chance  to  disagree  with  them  in  matters  pertaining 
to  religion,  is  identical  with  that  which  in  all  ages  of  the  world  has  pursued 
and  put  to  the  tortures  of  the  inquisition  honest  men  and  women  who  con- 
scientiously differed  from  them  in  their  interpretation  of  religious  faith.20 

The  revival  meetings  had  competition  from  a  phrenologist  who 
delivered  a  series  of  lectures  at  Costa's  Opera  House  midway 

18.  Ibid.,  March  24,  1872. 

19.  Ibid.,  March  23,  1872. 

20.  Idem. 


378  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

through  Hammond's  stay  in  Topeka.  The  lecturer,  Prof.  O.  S. 
Fowler,  delivered  a  speech  on  "Love,  Courtship  and  Matrimony" 
on  the  evening  of  March  15.  This  was  followed  the  next  day  by 
an  afternoon  lecture  to  ladies  only  on  "Female  Health  and  Beauty 
Restored"  and  an  evening  discussion  to  gentlemen  only  on  "Man- 
hood: Its  Strength,  Impairment,  and  Restoration."  These  lectures 
had  little  effect,  if  any,  on  the  attendance  at  the  revival  meetings. 

The  attacks  on  Hammond's  character  did  not  end  with  his  de- 
parture. At  the  revival  meeting  on  Sunday  evening,  April  7,  Mr. 
Hunter,  an  employee  in  the  AT&SF  railroad  shops,  reported  that 
three  men  in  the  shops  had  accused  Hammond  of  all  sorts  of  crimes 
and  that  they  could  prove  their  accusations  by  evidence  from  people 
in  Peoria,  111.  Hunter  had  written  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  and  received 
a  reply  which  probably  was  not  satisfactory  to  either  side.  Inger- 
soll wrote: 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Hammond  conducted  what  is  generally  called  a  "revival"  at 
this  place  [Peoria]  some  two  or  three  years  ago.  I  know  nothing  for  or  against 
his  character.  I  have  regarded  him  as  a  kind  of  fanatic  whose  intentions  might 
be  good  enough,  but  whose  lack  of  real  sound  sense  was  fearful.  I  never  saw 
the  man,  and  have  never  heard  much  about  him  one  way  or  the  other.  From 
what  I  have  seen  in  the  papers,  I  am  satisfied  the  man  is  responsible  for  his 
actions,  but  is  entirely  carried  away  by  his  unfortunate  belief  in  the  gospel. 
He  acts  in  my  judgment  as  any  real  Christian  ought  to  act.  He  is  doing  what 
he  can  to  help  people  out  of  hell.  If  there  is  danger  of  eternal  punishment 
being  inflicted  upon  sinners,  every  honest  Christian  should  give  his  whole  life  to 
the  business  of  rescuing  souls  from  such  terrible  fate.  Mr.  Hammond  acts  out 
his  doctrine  and  of  course  acts  like  a  crazy  man.  No  man  of  decent  heart  can 
believe  in  the  doctrine  of  eternal  punishment  without  becoming  insane.21 

In  comparison  to  his  stay  in  Topeka,  Hammond  must  have  felt 
that  Atchison  was  rather  dull.  The  opponents  of  the  revival  were 
relatively  inactive.  It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  whether  there  was  no 
active  organized  opposition  or  whether  the  community  was  indif- 
ferent to  the  revival.  The  latter  is  probably  nearer  the  truth  since 
in  the  cities,  such  as  Lawrence  and  Topeka,  where  the  revivals 
were  regarded  as  more  successful,  the  opposition  was  more  active. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  children's  groups  organized  in 
Atchison  for  the  purpose  of  singing  in  the  saloons.  William  H. 
Irwin,  who  reported  the  meetings  for  the  papers  in  Atchison  and 
Fort  Scott,  reported  the  following  incident  which  occurred  on  the 
afternoon  of  April  6: 

Several  boys  followed  the  little  Christians,  and  abused  them,  hit  them  with 
sticks,  insulted  them  in  many  ways,  but  the  little  fellows  can  afford  to  be  per- 

21.    Ibid.,  April  9,  1872. 


KANSAS  REVIVAL  OF  1872  379 

secuted  for  the  sake  of  the  dear  Jesus,  and  can  claim  the  promise:  "blessed 
are  they  which  are  persecuted  for  righteousness  sake,  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven."22 

Toward  the  end  of  Hammond's  stay  in  Atchison,  Stine  appeared 
to  deliver  his  series  of  lectures  and  issue  his  challenge  to  debate 
as  he  had  done  in  Leavenworth.  This  time  the  challenge  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  Reverend  Mr.  Van  Wagner  of  the  Congregational 
church.  He  attended  Stine's  lecture  on  April  12  prepared  to  present 
the  revival  cause.  Stine  spoke  for  two  hours  and  then  refused  to 
give  the  platform  to  Van  Wagner.  The  audience  insisted  that  both 
sides  be  heard.  Stine  not  only  gave  up  the  platform  but  left  the 
hall  without  hearing  Van  Wagner's  presentation.  To  the  revivalists 
it  was  a  great  triumph.  Van  Wagner  wrote  in  the  Champion: 

It  is  well  known  that  this  man  Stine  was  sent  for  to  counteract  the  revival, 
and  that  he  is  in  the  habit,  wherever  he  goes,  of  challenging  the  clergy,  par- 
ticularly, and  calling  us  a  set  of  hypocrites,  knaves  and  cowards,  and  declaring 
that  we  dare  not  meet  him,  nor  discuss  the  various  questions  of  belief  and  dis- 
belief. .  .  . 

The  arguments  and  positions  are  the  same  substantially,  by  all  infidel  lec- 
turers. It  is  only  Hume,  Volney,  Voltaire,  Shaftsbury,  Paine,  and  later  still, 
Strauss  and  Renan  over  again,  all  of  whom  have  been  met  and  vanquished  from 
the  field.  The  latest  foe  of  infidel  thought  is  Darwinism,  and  Darwinism  is 
nothing  but  the  old  doctrine  of  Pythagorus  .  .  ",  pushed  with  scientific  in- 
vestigation. It  is  merely  the  development  theory  of  Combe  and  modern 
spiritualists.  .  .  .  And  even  if  it  were  true  that  man  is  only  an  improved 
monkey,  it  would  not  disprove  the  existence  of  God  nor  the  sacred  record.23 

Stine  appeared  in  Fort  Scott  a  few  days  after  Hammond's  arrival 
having  been  requested  by  some  of  the  citizens  to  give  his  lectures. 
Upon  his  arrival  the  Monitor  observed  that  "Tree  Religion*  and 
Christianity  are  about  to  lock  horns  for  a  struggle  in  this  city.  We 
opine  that  the  meek  and  lowly  Nazarine  will  come  off  victor."  24 

"The  Great  Imposture;  or,  the  True  and  Untrue  in  Christianity" 
and  "God  and  Man"  were  the  titles  of  the  two  lectures  Stine 
delivered  wherever  he  appeared.  These  were  presented  to  crowded 
audiences  in  McDonald  Hall  at  Fort  Scott  on  the  evenings  of  April 
19  and  April  20.  He  delivered  a  third  lecture  on  Sunday  evening, 
April  21,  which  was  to  be  his  last.  His  followers  asked  him  to 
remain  a  while  longer  which  he  consented  to  do.  On  the  evening 
of  April  23  he  preached  from  the  text  used  by  Hammond  on  the 
previous  day. 

22.  Atchison  Daily  Champion,  April  7,   1872. 

23.  Ibid.,  April   19,  1872. 

24.  Fort  Scott  Daily  Monitor,  April  18,  1872. 


380  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Following  his  usual  course,  Stine  attempted  to  arrange  a  debate 
with  one  of  the  local  clergymen.  He  wrote  the  following  note  to 
the  Reverend  Mr.  McCarthy: 

Yesterday  morning  [April  21],  if  I  did  not  misunderstand  you,  you  publicaly 
announced  your  ability  and  readiness  to  defend  and  debate  the  general  prin- 
ciples of  the  Christian  religion. 

Was  your  language  meant  as  a  challenge  to  discussion?  If  so,  will  you  be 
kind  enough  to  name  a  time  and  place,  when  and  where,  during  the  present 
week,  I  can  have  the  privilege  of  meeting  you,  in  open  and  fair  debate  on  the 
general  question,  "Is  Christianity  true?"  2{S 

McCarthy  followed  the  Old  Testament  injunction  and  refused  to 
descend  to  the  plains  of  Ono.  V.  W.  Sunderlin,  who  delivered  the 
letter  to  McCarthy  for  Stine,  reported  that  the  "above  letter  was 
presented  by  me  to  the  gentleman  addressed,  with  a  request  to 
reply  over  his  signature.  As  no  such  reply  could  be  obtained,  I 
wish  only  to  state  that  fact."  26 

Stine  made  another  attempt  to  stir  a  debate  during  a  street 
meeting  in  front  of  the  Wilder  House.  The  meeting  was  conducted 
by  the  Reverend  Mr.  Paulson,  a  presiding  elder  of  the  Methodist 
church.  William  H.  Irwin  reported  the  incident: 

The  remarks  were  good,  instructive  and  kind,  all  was  quiet  until  he  [Paulson] 
made  some  allusion  to  Tom.  Paine,  when  a  poor,  lost,  blind  sinner,  by  the 
name  of  Stine  .  .  .  openly  and  shamefully  disturbed  the  religious  meet- 
ing by  calling  the  Rev.  Mr.  Paulson  a  liar.  This  is  in  keeping  with  his 
teaching.27 

Paulson,  like  McCarthy,  wasn't  interested  in  descending  to  the  plains 
from  his  well  fortified  heights. 

The  Fort  Scott  revival  was  held  in  a  large  tent.  During  the  last 
days  of  the  meetings  a  nuisance  was  caused  by  "a  large  number  of 
obnoxious  individuals  who,  it  seems,  take  a  great  delight  in  ob- 
structing the  passage  in  and  out  of  the  tent  by  their  persons  and 
whiskey  fumes,  mixed  with  tobacco  smoke  and  other  than  gentle- 
manly deportment."  2S  It  was  hoped  that  the  local  police  would 
correct  the  situation. 

It  is  difficult  to  evaluate  the  effect  of  a  revival  meeting.  There 
can  be  no  doubt,  while  the  revival  was  in  progress,  that  most  people 
were  amazed  at  its  success.  A  report  in  the  Atchison  Daily  Cham- 
pion was  typical: 

25.  Ibid.,  April  23,  1872. 

26.  Idem. 

27.  Ibid.,  April  24,  1872. 

28.  Ibid.,  May  8,  1872. 


KANSAS  REVIVAL  OF  1872  381 

The  fruits  of  the  revival  were  seen  on  the  Sabbath,  in  the  increased  attend- 
ance, at  all  the  various  churches  and  Sabbath  Schools,  notwithstanding  the 
inclemency  of  the  weather.  We  can  but  believe  that  from  this  time  the  history 
of  Atchison,  in  this  respect  is  to  be  changed,  and  that  our  churches,  instead 
of  being  thinly  attended,  and  struggling  for  existence,  are  to  become  stronger, 
and  a  power  in  our  city  that  will  be  felt  in  all  directions.29 

The  revivalists  worked  with  vigor  and  enthusiasm.  From  the 
centers  of  the  revival,  clergymen  and  laymen  traveled  to  the  sur- 
rounding towns  and  villages  to  spread  the  fruits  of  the  revival  as 
widely  as  possible.  It  was  not  unusual  for  entire  families  to  travel 
as  far  as  a  hundred  miles  to  attend  the  meetings  for  a  day  or  two. 
Statistically,  the  revival  was  a  success.  It  is  impossible  to  deter- 
mine the  exact  number  of  conversions.  In  round  numbers,  the 
following  were  generally  accepted. 

Leavenworth  500 

Lawrence  1,000 

Topeka  600 

Atchison  300 

Fort  Scott  400  30 

The  number  who  joined  the  local  churches  during  the  revival  was 
only  about  half  this  number.  Most  of  the  newspapers  carried  a 
statement  attributed  to  Hammond  that  he  regarded  the  Lawrence 
revival  as  his  most  successful  to  that  time  except  for  the  one  held 
in  Dunfries,  Scotland. 

There  were  always  those  ready  to  scoff.  A  Lawrence  convert  was 
jailed  in  Kansas  City  for  drunkedness.  "He  told  several  persons 
that  his  visit  to  Kansas  City  was  to  escape  the  importunity  of  the 
revival  people  in  Lawrence,  and  to  enjoy  a  quiet  drunk."  31 

References  to  the  revival  were  carried  frequently  in  the  papers 
for  several  months.  As  for  the  long  range  effect  of  Hammond's 
visit  to  Kansas,  the  following  is  probably  a  good  summary: 

In  general  it  may  be  said  that  there  has  been  no  time  of  wide-spread 
religious  interest  when  the  foundations  of  society  were  stirred  to  their  depths, 
such  as  has  sometimes  been  seen  in  different  ages  and  portions  of  the  church. 
But  Kansas  has  by  no  means  been  left  unblessed.32 

29.  Atchison  Daily  Champion,  April  16,  1872. 

30.  Fort  Scott  Monitor,  May  18,  1872. 

31.  Kansas  Daily  Tribune,  April  14,  1872. 

32.  The   Rev.   Timothy  Hill,  Historical   Sketch  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kansas 
(Topeka,  1877),  pp.  22,  23. 


The  Kiowa  and  Comanche  Campaign  of  1860 

as  Recorded  in  the  Personal  Diary  of 

Lt.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart 

Edited  by  W.  STITT  ROBINSON 
I.    INTRODUCTION 

THE  duties  of  the  United  States  army  on  the  frontier  were  many 
and  varied  during  the  decade  preceding  the  Civil  War.  There 
were  both  military  and  nonmilitary  services  to  perform.  The  mili- 
tary involved  primarily  campaigns  against  hostile  nomadic  Indians, 
campaigns  which  were  on  the  whole  limited  to  minor  skirmishes 
and  which  can  hardly  be  classified  as  wars.  Nonmilitary  duties  in- 
volved the  army  as  policeman  rather  than  soldier  and  as  the  builder 
of  forts  which  ringed  the  frontier  area.  Both  military  and  non- 
military  services  were  vital  parts  of  the  mission  of  the  army  on  the 
eve  of  the  Civil  War. 

Greatest  attention  in  the  writing  of  American  military  history 
has  been  devoted  to  the  fighting  role.1  Even  with  this  emphasis, 
the  story  is  not  complete  as  evidenced  by  the  lack  of  printed  material 
concerning  some  of  the  campaigns  on  the  frontier.  The  diary  repro- 
duced here  has  only  recently  come  to  light  and  supplies  new  and 
detailed  information  on  the  Kiowa  and  Comanche  campaign  of 
I860.2  The  record  was  kept  by  Lt.  James  Ewell  Brown  Stuart  who 
is  best  known  to  history  as  "JeD>"  the  dashing  cavalry  leader  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy.  The  military  units  included  Companies 
F,  G,  H,  and  K  of  the  First  regiment  of  cavalry  with  some  attention 
to  the  two  attached  companies  of  the  Second  dragoons,  Companies 
C  and  K.  As  an  appropriate  background  to  the  diary  of  the  1860 
campaign,  a  brief  resume  will  be  given  of  Stuart's  early  military 
career  which  involved  mainly  his  service  with  the  First  cavalry. 

DR.  W.  STITT  ROBINSON,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Virginia  at  Charlottes- 
ville,  is  associate  professor  of  history  at  the  University  of  Kansas,  Lawrence. 

The  author  acknowledges  the  aid  of  a  research  grant  from  the  General  Research  Fund 
of  the  University  of  Kansas  for  investigation  at  the  National  Archives,  Washington,  D.  C., 
of  materials  relating  to  this  publication. 

1.  Francis  Paul  Prucha's  Broadax  and  Bayonet:    The  Role  of  the  United  States  Army  in 
the  Development  of  the  Northwest,  1815-1860    (Madison,  Wis.,   1953)    is  a  recent  study 
that  concentrates  on  the  nonmilitary  services  of  the  army. 

2.  Brief  accounts   of  the  campaign  are  given  in  George  A.  Root,   ed.,  "Extracts  From 
Diary  of   Captain   Lambert  Bowman  Wolf,"   The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  v.    1    (May, 
1932),    pp.    206-210,    and    in    Merrill    J.    Mattes,    ed.,    "Patrolling    the    Santa    Fe    Trail: 
Reminiscences  of  John  S.  Kirwan,"  ibid.,  v.  21    (Winter,   1955),  pp.   585,  586. 

(382) 


KlOWA  AND  COMANCHE  CAMPAIGN  383 

A  Virginian  by  birth,  Stuart  received  an  appointment  to  the 
United  States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  and  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1854.  His  first  assignment  as  an  officer  was  with  the 
regiment  of  mounted  rifles  under  the  command  of  Maj.  J.  S.  Simon- 
son,  who  was  then  carrying  out  orders  for  both  military  and  non- 
military  services  along  the  Texas  frontier  from  Fort  Mclntosh  near 
Laredo  to  Fort  Davis  and  El  Paso.3  Federal  troops  were  responsible 
for  protecting  the  area  from  Indian  raids,  securing  the  emigrant 
routes,  fortifying  the  Mexican  border,  supporting  the  enforcement 
of  revenue  laws,  and  curbing  the  activity  of  bandits  and  murderers.4 
Stuart's  service  in  Texas  was  cut  short  by  his  appointment  to  the 
First  regiment  of  cavalry  which  along  with  the  Second  cavalry  was 
organized  in  March,  1855,  by  act  of  congress  to  expand  the  number 
of  mounted  troops  in  the  army.  Command  of  the  First  cavalry  was 
assigned  to  Col.  Edwin  V.  Sumner  and  Lt.  Col.  Joseph  E.  Johnston. 

Stuart  reported  in  June,  1855,  to  Colonel  Sumner  at  Jefferson 
Barracks  in  Missouri  where  the  regiment  was  being  organized,  and 
before  the  end  of  the  month  the  unit  moved  on  to  Fort  Leaven- 
worth  in  Kansas.  Colonel  Sumner  assumed  command  of  the  post 
and  appointed  Stuart  to  his  staff  as  regimental  quartermaster  and 
as  assistant  commissary  of  subsistence  of  the  post.5  While  organi- 
zation was  still  under  way,  orders  were  issued  for  the  First  cavalry 
to  participate  in  the  campaign  against  the  Sioux  Indians  in  August 
and  September,  1855.  The  major  skirmish  of  the  expedition  in- 
volved Bvt.  Brig.  Gen.  William  S.  Harney  and  Lt.  Col.  Philip  St. 
George  Cooke  of  the  Second  dragoons  in  an  attack  on  the  Sioux 
on  Blue  Water  creek  near  Ash  Hollow  along  the  North  Platte  river 
in  Nebraska  territory.6  But  for  the  First  cavalry,  the  venture  was 
little  more  than  an  exercise  in  organization  and  an  orientation  to 
the  Plains,  for  on  the  march  to  Fort  Kearny  and  beyond  toward  Fort 
Laramie,  no  Sioux  were  encountered.7 

Upon  return  from  the  Sioux  campaign,  Lieutenant  Stuart  com- 
pleted plans  for  his  marriage  to  Flora  Cooke,  daughter  of  Lt.  Col. 
P.  S.  G.  Cooke  of  Virginia,  plans  which  had  been  tentatively  made 

3.  "Regimental  Returns,"  Regiment  Mounted  Rifles,  February  and  March,    1855,   Na- 
tional Archives. 

4.  Averam    B.    Bender,    The   March    of   Empire:     Frontier   Defense   in    the    Southwest, 
1848-1860   (Lawrence,  1952),  pp.  34-36. 

5.  "Post  Returns,"  Fort  Leavenworth,  July,  1855;  "Regimental  Returns,"  First  cavalry, 
August,   1855.     Both  in  National  Archives. 

6.  "Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,"  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  1,  34th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.  (1855- 
1856),  v.  2,  pt.  2,  pp.  49-51;  ibid.,  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  58,  34th  Cong.,  3d  Sess.    (1856- 
1857). 

7.  "Regimental  Returns,"  First  cavalry,  September  and  October,  1855,  National  Archives. 


384  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

after  a  whirlwind  courtship  following  their  first  meeting  at  Fort 
Leavenworth.  The  event  was  solemnized  on  November  14  at  Fort 
Riley  where  Lieutenant  Colonel  Cooke  was  stationed  with  the 
Second  dragoons.8 

The  increased  tensions  of  the  Kansas  struggle  in  late  1855  and 
1856  resulted  in  the  call  for  military  personnel  for  a  wide  variety 
of  assignments,  more  as  policemen  than  as  soldiers.  Commanders 
of  federal  troops  were  ordered  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  assist 
the  territorial  governor  in  enforcing  the  law  and  maintaining  the 
peace.  While  many  of  the  assignments  were  common  for  normal 
frontier  conditions,  the  number  increased  for  such  missions  as  the 
following:  preventing  bloodshed  between  Proslavery  and  Free- 
State  factions;  guarding  the  polls  and  land  sale  offices;  stopping  the 
raids  of  freebooters  and  bandits;  providing  military  escorts  for  the 
mail,  for  Indian  agents  delivering  annuities  to  the  tribes,  and  for 
visiting  or  local  officials;  and  prohibiting  white  encroachment  upon 
the  land  reserves  of  friendly  semisedentary  Indians.  Calls  were 
made  upon  the  First  cavalry  for  all  these  tasks.9 

Preoccupied  during  1856  with  these  problems,  the  First  cavalry 
was  not  able  until  1857  to  undertake  a  campaign  against  the  Chey- 
enne Indians.  Although  signers  of  the  treaty  at  Fort  Laramie  in 
1851,10  the  Cheyenne  had  been  guilty  of  raiding  Western  trails 
and  murdering  whites.  The  purpose  of  the  campaign,  therefore, 
was  to  punish  the  tribe  for  depredations  and  at  the  same  time  so 
to  overawe  them  by  a  show  of  force  that  peace  would  be  main- 
tained. Two  moving  columns  led  by  Col.  E.  V.  Sumner  and  Maj. 
John  Sedgwick  were  employed  from  May  until  August,  the  major 
encounter  with  the  Cheyenne  occurring  on  July  29  on  Solomon's 
fork  of  the  Smoky  Hill  river.11  Lieutenant  Stuart  began  the  expedi- 
tion as  regimental  quartermaster  officer,  but  was  relieved  during 
the  campaign  by  Colonel  Sumner  because  of  a  difference  of  opinion 
over  the  question  of  signatures  for  responsibility  of  government 
property.12  Continuing  as  a  company  officer,  Stuart  was  in  the 
thick  of  the  fight  with  the  Cheyenne  on  July  29;  and  while  attempt- 

8.  Letter  of  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  November  25,  1855,  Confederate  Museum,  Richmond,  Va. 

9.  Examples  of  these  assignments  are  given  in  my  essay  on  "The  Role  of  the  Military 
in  Territorial  Kansas,"  Territorial  Kansas:    Studies  Commemorating  the  Centennial  (Univer- 
sity of  Kansas  Social  Science  Studies,  Lawrence,  1954),  pp.  84-98. 

10.  Charles  J.   Kappler,  ed.,  Indian  Affairs,  Laws  and  Treaties    (Sen.  Doc.   No.   452, 
57th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.),  v.  2,  pp.  440-442. 

11.  "Governor    Walker's    Administration,"    Collections    of   the    Kansas    State   Historical 
Society,  Topeka,  v.  5,  pp.  299-301. 

12.  F.  J.  Porter  to  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  August  11,  1857,  "Letters  Sent,"  Department  of  the 
West,  National  Archives;  "Regimental  Returns,"  First  cavalry,  June,  1857,  National  Archives. 


KlOWA  AND  COMANCHE  CAMPAIGN  385 

ing  to  save  a  fellow  officer,  he  was  wounded  in  the  chest  by  a  pistol 
shot  of  an  attacking  Indian.13 

Further  expeditions  against  the  Cheyenne  were  prevented  by  the 
order  for  federal  troops  to  join  the  forces  being  organized  in  1857 
for  the  Utah  campaign.  The  Mormons  were  reported  to  be  in  re- 
bellion against  the  United  States;  and  only  two  U.  S.  officials,  both 
being  Indian  agents,  remained  in  Utah.  Alfred  Cumming  was 
appointed  as  new  governor  of  Utah  territory,  and  orders  were  issued 
to  organize  some  2,500  troops  at  Fort  Leavenworth  to  accompany 
the  governor  and  other  new  officials  to  the  Mormon  country.14 
Companies  of  the  First  cavalry  were  assigned  to  various  columns 
that  were  to  march  at  designated  intervals.  Stuart  was  a  member 
of  the  column  under  Major  Sedgwick  and  served  as  quartermaster 
officer  of  the  expedition.  However,  agreements  worked  out  by 
negotiators  in  the  Mormon  country  ended  the  campaign  without 
fighting;  and  Stuart's  column,  not  leaving  Fort  Riley  until  May  29, 
1858,  went  beyond  Fort  Laramie  only  as  far  as  the  Valley  of  the 
Sweetwater  in  present  Wyoming  before  returning  to  Fort  Riley 
on  August  29.15 

Following  a  winter  in  quarters  at  Fort  Riley,  the  First  cavalry 
received  assignments  for  field  duty  for  the  summer  of  1859  to 
protect  the  emigrant  route  along  the  Arkansas  river.  Stuart  ob- 
tained a  six  months'  leave  and  returned  to  Virginia.  While  on  leave 
he  completed  his  invention  for  a  sabre  attachment  devised  in 
Kansas.  By  means  of  "a  stout  brass  hook"  Stuart  made  it  possible 
for  the  mounted  soldier  to  leave  his  sabre  on  the  pommel  of  the 
saddle  when  dismounting  to  fight;  when  remounting,  he  could 
easily  return  the  sabre  to  his  belt.  Stuart  patented  the  invention 
(patent  number  25684  dated  October  4,  1859)  16  and  he  was  suc- 
cessful in  selling  to  the  United  States  government  the  right  to  use 
the  improvement  for  mounted  troops.17 

While  in  Washington  on  October  17  waiting  outside  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  War  for  a  conference  about  his  invention,  Stuart 

13.  H.  B.  McClellan,  The  Life  and  Campaigns  of  Major-General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  (Boston 
and  New  York,   1885),  pp.  20-22. 

14.  LeRoy  R.  Hafen  and  Francis  Marion  Young,  Fort  Laramie  and  the  Paseant  of  the 
West,   1834-1890    (Glendale,    1938),  pp.   284-299? 

15.  Summary   of  the  marches   of  the   regiment,    "Regimental   Returns,"   First    cavalry 
1858,   National  Archives;   "Muster  Rolls,"   Company  G,  First  cavalry,   Tune-August     1858* 
National  Archives. 


n.  1*6-r^heJ  Patent   max  be  ^^d  in   "Records   of  the   War  Department,"   Office  of  the 
Chief  of  Ordnance,  Ordnance  Special  File,  Inventions  Section,  National  Archives. 

eo1^    R?2ei?r  f.°r  ^6ASale.  fa  "*  sPecial  files  of  to*  Ordnance  Department,  Record  Group 
loo,  .box  4o,  National  Archives. 


26—1378 


386  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

was  asked  to  deliver  a  message  to  Lt.  Col.  Robert  E.  Lee  across 
the  Potomac  at  his  Arlington  home.  Learning  that  the  mission 
involved  quelling  the  uprising  at  Harpers  Ferry,  Stuart  volunteered 
his  services  and  accompanied  Lee  as  his  aide  to  the  scene  where 
John  Brown  was  captured  on  October  18.  Writing  to  his  mother 
on  January  31,  1860,  after  returning  to  Fort  Riley,  Stuart  stated 
that  one  of  his  greatest  services  was  the  recognition  from  his  experi- 
ence in  Kansas,  that  the  insurgent  leader  Smith  was  actually  "Old 
Brown." ]8 

Back  in  Fort  Riley,  Stuart  rejoined  the  regiment  and  assumed 
command  of  Company  G  on  December  15,  1859,  until  Capt.  Wil- 
liam S.  Walker  returned  from  leave.19  Orders  from  army  head- 
quarters were  received  in  March  to  begin  preparations  for  a 
campaign  against  the  Kiowa  and  Comanche  Indians.  These  two 
tribes  along  with  the  Apaches  had  signed  the  treaty  in  1853  at 
Fort  Atkinson  on  the  Arkansas  river  (near  present  Dodge  City). 
The  agreement  was  made  to  maintain  "Peace,  friendship,  and  amity" 
with  the  United  States  and  to  preserve  peace  among  the  signatory 
Indian  tribes.  The  right  was  provided  for  the  United  States  to 
build  roads  or  highways  and  military  or  other  posts  in  territories 
occupied  by  the  Indians.  The  three  tribes  also  promised  "to  make 
restitution  or  satisfaction  for  any  injuries  done  by  any  band  or  any 
individuals  of  their  respective  tribes  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States"  legally  residing  in  or  traveling  through  their  territories,  and 
not  to  molest  them  in  any  way  but  rather  to  aid  them  if  possible. 
In  return  the  United  States  was  to  pay  $18,000  annually  in  annuities 
for  ten  years  and  to  protect  the  tribes  from  depredations  by  people 
of  the  United  States.  Violation  of  the  treaty,  it  was  agreed,  could 
result  in  the  withholding  of  annuities;  and  if  at  a  later  date  it 
seemed  desirable  to  establish  farms  among  the  Indians,  the  United 
States  could  use  the  annuities  for  that  purpose.20 

By  1857  the  Kiowas  and  Comanches  were  reported  in  large 
numbers  for  extended  periods  of  time  on  the  Arkansas  river,  and 
by  1859  were  residing  permanently  in  the  area  between  the  Cana- 
dian and  Arkansas  rivers.21  Indian  Agent  Robert  Miller  (or  Millar) 
met  the  Comanches,  Kiowas,  and  other  tribes  on  July  19,  1858,  at 

18.  The  original  of  this  letter  is  owned  by  Stuart  B.  Campbell  of  Wythevffle,  Va.     Most 
of  it  has  been  reproduced  in  substance  in  McClellan,  op.  cit.,  pp.  29,  30. 

19.  "Muster  Rolls,"  Company  G,  First  cavalry,  October,  1859,  to  April,  1860,  National 
Archives. 

20.  Kappler,  op.  cit.,  v.  2,  pp.  445-447. 

21.  "Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,"  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  2,   36th  Cong.,   1st 
Sess.   (1859-1860),  v.  1,  p.  506. 


KlOWA  AND  COMANCHE  CAMPAIGN  387 

Pawnee  Fork  and  found  the  Comanches  unwilling  to  treat  with 
the  United  States,  threatening  to  annul  the  treaty  of  1853.  The 
Kiowas  were  more  amenable,  but  parties  from  both  tribes  had  been 
guilty  of  attacking  and  robbing  two  Mexican  trains  in  sight  of  the 
agent's  camp.  Miller  found  both  Kiowas  and  Comanches  arrogant 
and  confident  of  their  superiority  over  U.  S.  forces,  an  opinion  held 
by  them,  he  thought,  because  of  their  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  size 
and  resources  of  the  United  States.  In  his  report  to  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs,  he  concluded  that  "Nothing  short  of  a 
thorough  chastisement,  which  they  so  richly  deserve,  will  bring 
these  people  to  their  proper  senses."22 

A  few  weeks  later  Colonel  Sumner  en  route  from  Fort  Kearny 
to  the  Arkansas  river  met  a  band  of  Kiowas  under  Little  Mountain, 
one  of  the  leaders  with  whom  Miller  had  conferred.  Sumner  found 
the  leaders  of  the  Kiowas  desirous  of  peace,  although  they  indi- 
cated great  "difficulty  in  restraining  their  turbulent  young  men." 
Pledges  were  made  to  Sumner  to  exert  every  effort  to  keep  the  young 
braves  off  the  warpath.23 

The  Kiowas  and  Comanches  were  "encountered"  the  following 
year  on  September  16,  1859,  at  the  mouth  of  Walnut  creek  by  Agent 
W.  W.  Bent,  who  reported  their  number  as  2,500  warriors.  As  to 
conduct,  they  appeared  peaceable  in  the  presence  of  federal  troops; 
but  when  troops  returned  to  Fort  Riley,  Agent  Bent  stated  that 
they  "assumed  a  threatening  attitude,  which  resembles  the  prelude 
of  predatory  attacks  upon  the  unprotected  whites"  along  the  Santa 
Fe  road.  Bent  was  convinced  that  a  "smothered  passion  for  revenge 
agitates  these  Indians";  and  he  recommended  the  establishment  of 
two  additional  military  forts  along  the  Arkansas  river  to  provide  the 
"perpetual  presence  of  a  controlling  military  force."  Because  of  the 
pressure  of  white  settlement,  he  foresaw  a  war  of  extinction  unless 
the  federal  government  provided  for  the  reduction  of  the  nomadic 
tribes  to  an  agricultural  and  pastoral  way  of  life.24 

Orders  from  army  headquarters  of  March  10, 1860,  ordered  "active 
operations"  against  the  hostile  Comanches  and  Kiowas  with  instruc- 
tions to  hold  no  intercourse  with  them  until  punishment  had  been 
inflicted  by  military  attack.  Columns  of  troops,  operating  inde- 
pendently, were  organized  to  begin  the  march  in  May.  Six  com- 

22.  Ibid.,  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  1,  35th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.   (1858-1859),  v.  1,  pt.  1,  pp, 
448-452. 

23.  "Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,"  House  Ex.  Doc.  No.  2,  35th  Cong.,  2d  Sess. 
(1858-1859),  v.  2,  pt.  2,  p.  425. 

24.  "Report  of  the   Secretary  of  the  Interior,"  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  2,  36th  Cong.,   1st 
Sess.  (1859-1860),  v.  1,  pp.  506,  507. 


388  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

panics  of  the  First  cavalry  (A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  and  I)  were  dispatched 
under  Capt.  S.  D.  Sturgis.  The  other  four  companies  of  the  regi- 
ment (F,  G,  H,  and  K)  along  with  Companies  C  and  K  of  the 
Second  dragoons  were  assigned  to  the  column  commanded  by  Maj. 
John  Sedgwick.25  Writing  to  his  sister  in  April  about  the  command 
appointment,  Sedgwick  stated  that  "I  have  no  desire  for  it,  but  if 
I  have  it  I  shall  do  my  best  to  bring  it  to  a  successful  issue."  2G 

Special  instructions  of  May  9  were  forwarded  to  Major  Sedgwick 
from  Colonel  Sumner  at  headquarters  of  the  Department  of  the 
West  in  St.  Louis.  Drawing  upon  his  varied  experience  as  an  Indian 
fighter,  Sumner  advised  that  in  order  to  be  able  to  pursue,  overtake, 
and  attack  the  enemy,  it  was  necessary  to  leave  the  wagon  train  at 
Pawnee  Fork  and  to  make  the  expedition  from  there  with  supplies 
conveyed  by  pack  mules  and  beef  cattle  on  foot.  In  pursuing  Indians 
traveling  with  their  families,  a  "steady  determined  march"  would 
overtake  them  and  when  closely  pressed,  the  warriors  would  sepa- 
rate themselves  to  protect  the  families.  This,  according  to  Sumner, 
was  an  excellent  time  to  strike  them;  and  in  case  the  Comanches 
and  Kiowas  should  unite  to  pose  a  strong  threat,  efforts  should  be 
made  to  turn  their  flanks  for  "Indians  can  never  stand  that."  One 
further  suggestion  from  Sumner  reflected  the  problem  of  the 
military  in  distinguishing  friendly  from  hostile  Indians  and  the 
tendency  of  Federal  troops  to  make  little  or  no  distinction  within 
one  tribe  when  punitive  expeditions  were  under  way.  When 
"proffers  of  peace  and  disclaimers  of  all  connection  with  the  hostiles" 
approach  you,  stated  Sumner,  it  is  impossible  to  make  distinctions; 
therefore,  "whenever  Comanches  or  Kiowas  are  found  they  must 
give  the  character  to  the  whole  party."  27 

Lieutenant  Stuart  accompanied  Major  Sedgwick's  column  as  a 
company  officer  in  Company  G,  and  he  was  appointed  journalist 
of  the  expedition.  In  addition  to  keeping  an  official  record  of 
events,28  he  recorded  a  more  informal  and  personal  impression  of 
the  expedition  in  a  "Daily  Miniature  Diary  for  1860"  which  had 
been  printed  by  the  New  York  concern  of  Kiggins  and  Kellogg. 
There  are  gaps  in  the  personal  diary,  mainly  in  July.  But  it  is 

25.  Sumner  to  Sedgwick,  May  9,  1860,  "Letters  Sent,"  Department  of  the  West,  Na- 
tional Archives;  "Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,"  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  1,  36th  Cong.,  2d 
Sess.    (1860-1861),  v.  2,  pp.  19-22. 

26.  John    Sedgwick,    Correspondence    of   John    Sedgwick,    Major-General    (New    York, 
1903),  v.  2,  pp.  10,  11. 

27.  Sumner  to  Sedgwick,  May  9,  1860,  loc.  eft. 

28.  A  copy  of  the  official  journal  kept  by  Lt.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  is  in  the  Coe  Collection, 
Yale  University  library;  microfilm  copies  are  in  the  libraries  of  the  University  of  Kansas  and 
the  Kansas  Historical  Society. 


KlOWA  AND  COMANCHE  CAMPAIGN  389 

valuable  for  giving  new  information  of  the  1860  expedition  and  the 
terrain  over  which  it  was  made,  as  well  as  affording  some  insight 
to  the  personal  reaction  of  Stuart  and  other  military  personnel  to 
the  events  of  the  campaign. 

The  Stuart  diary  presented  here  is  a  literal  transcription  from 
photographic  reproductions  of  the  diary  in  the  possession  of  the 
Alderman  Library  of  the  University  of  Virginia  and  is  reproduced 
with  the  permission  of  that  institution.  Raised  letters  in  the  manu- 
script have  been  uniformly  lowered  and  deletions  by  the  diarist 
have  been  omitted.  All  other  changes  have  been  indicated  by  the 
usual  square  brackets. 

Stuart's  references  to  the  streams  of  western  Kansas  are  of  con- 
siderable interest  since  history  has  recorded  1860  as  a  year  of 
Great  Drought  for  Kansas  and  adjacent  Plains  area. 

II.    THE  DIARY,  MAY  15-AucusT  15,  1860 

MAY,  TUESDAY,  15,  1860.  Left  Fort  Riley  on  Kiowa  campaign, 
take  route  up  Smoky  Hill  for  Pawnee  Fork  of  Arkansas,  camped 
first  night  on  chapman's  creek,  comd.  composed  of  cos  F  G  H  &  K 
1st.  cav.  under  Maj  Sedgwick.29  We  expect  a  5  mos  arduous 
campaign  principally  with  packmules  having  our  grand  depot  at 
Pawnee  Fork.  Walker  30  &  I  mess  together  the  2d  Lt  absent  I 
like  co  duty  far  better  than  staff.  Detailed  in  camp  to  get  wagons 
over  chapman's  creek.  Hard  work.  Some  ladies  came  to  cr  from 
Fort  R[iley]  but  could  nt  cross 

MAY,  WEDNESDAY,  16,  1860.  I  am  the  Journalist  of  the  Expedi- 
tion, continue  up  Smoky  Hill  16.  miles  camp  just  beyond  Sand 
creek  &  spring,  on  bank  of  Smoky  Hill.  Water  of  this  stream  salt — 
banks  boggy,  passed  settlements  all  the  way —  farm  houses  with 
wells  and  springs.  Rock  Sp  and  a  cluster  called  7  springs  opposite 
Kansas  Falls.31  Soil  very  rich  in  Smoky  Hill  bottom  Miles  16 

29.  John  Sedgwick,  a  graduate  of  the  military  academy  at  West  Point  in   1837,  was 
assigned  to  the  First  cavalry  as  a  major  in  March,  1855.     During  the  Civil  War  he  remained 
with  the  Union  and  attained  the  rank  of  major  general  before  being  killed  on  May  9,  1864, 
at  the  battle  of  Spotsylvania,  Va. — George  W.  Cullum,  Biographical  Register  of  the  Officers 
and  Graduates  of  the   U.   S.   Military  Academy    (New  York,    1879),  v.    1,   pp.   533,   534; 
Francis  B.  Heitman,  Historical  Register  and  Dictionary  of  the  United  States  Army   (Wash- 
ington,  1903),  v.  1,  p.  872. 

30.  William   Stephen  Walker  served  as  a  first  lieutenant  in  the  Mexican  war  and  in 
March,  1855,  was  assigned  as  captain  to  the  First  cavalry  in  command  of  Company  G.     He 
resigned  from  the  U.  S.  army  in  May,   1861,  and  served  as  brigadier  general  in  the  army 
of  the   Southern   Confederacy. — Heitman,   op.    cit.,  v.    1,   p.   997;   Thomas   H.   S.   Hamersly, 
Complete  Army  and  Navy  Register  of  the  United  States  of  America    (New  York,   1888), 
p.  837. 

31.  -Kansas  Falls  was  located  on  the  Smoky  Hill  river  six  miles  west  of  Junction  City. 
It  was  organized  in  September,  1857,  and  incorporated  by  the  territorial  legislature  in  1858. 
— George  A.  Root,  "Ferries  in  Kansas,"   The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  v.   4    (February, 
1935),  p.  17.     Its  location  was  marked  on  "New  Map  of  Kansas  and  the  Gold  Mines"  by 
O.  B.  Gunn  (Wyandotte,  K.  T.,  1859),  and  "Map  of  Kansas  and  the  Gold  Mines"  by  O.  B. 
Gunn  and  D.  T.  Mitchell  (Lawrence,  1866). 


390  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

MAY,  THURSDAY,  17,  1860.  Crossed  Solomons  Fork  at  Ferry— 
8  miles  farther  camped  on  Saline  Fork  days  march.  13.  miles — 
Smoky  Hill  Fork  all  day  in  sight  to  our  left,  solomons  Fork  has 
good  water  st  Cloud  32  on  east  bank  thriving  settlement —  caught 
a  fine  cat  in  Saline  water  of  saline  salt 

MAY,  FRIDAY,  18, 1860.  Passed  up  Saline  to  Ferry  two  miles  above 
During  delay  here  I  caught  another  fine  cat.  Advanced  4  miles 
through  town  on  Smoky  Hill  called  Salina —  thriving  place.  Houses 
weather  boarded  with  clapboards —  belongs  principally  to  one 
Phillips 33  of  Laurence  [Lawrence]  K.  T.  Much  corn  raised  in 
vicinity.  This  is  the  last  settlement.  2  miles  crossed  Dry  cr.  with 
water  (?)  in  it.  1/2  miles  pond  to  right.  2/2  miles  to  camp  on 
Spring  creek 

MAY,  SATURDAY,  19,  1860.  Country  from  here  west  barren  & 
unproductive,  passed  up  Spring  creek  and  its  tributaries  through 
country  broken  &  hilly  camp  on  clear  creek —  days  march, 
miles —  clear  creek  is  tributary  to  Smoky  Hill 

MAY,  SUNDAY,  20,  1860.  Pass  at  1/2  miles  from  camp  fine  Spring 
in  ravine  to  left  of  road,  peculiar  formation  supposed  to  be  a 
buffalo  lick,  come  in  sight  of  Smoky  Hill  in  front  5  miles  from 
camp  cross  Smoky  Hill  at  Bryans  bridge  34  of  which  only  founda- 
tion is  left  at  rocky  bottom  ford,  camp  on  south  bank  Jo.  Taylor's  35 
horse  Roderick  took  French  Leave  of  camp  to  day —  not  recovered. 

MAY,  MONDAY,  21,  1860.  Passed  several  creeks  where  water 
was  expected  now  all  dry.  passed  in  afternoon  to  our  left  immense 
lake  thought  at  first  to  be  the  Arkansas —  but  found  to  be  lake 
of  good  water —  in  centre  of  a  very  large  basin  of  parched  soil 
passed  through  myriads  of  buffalo  lassooed  a  calf  at  head  of 
column.  &  put  it  in  wagon,  at  42  miles  strike  Walnut  creek,  having 
passed  3  tributaries  of  cow  cr.  all  now  dry. 

MAY,  TUESDAY,  22,  1860.    spent  to-day  in  camp  resting  after  the 

32.  St.  Cloud  was  a  small  settlement  on  the  left  bank  of  Solomon's  fork.     Its  location 
was  also  marked  on  the  two  maps  listed  in  Footnote  31. 

33.  William    Addison   Phillips,    a   native   of   Scotland,    emigrated   to   the   United    States 
about   1838  and  in   1855  came  to  Kansas  as  a  correspondent   of  the  New  York   Tribune. 
Active    as    an    antislavery    journalist    and    politician,    he    also,    along    with    four    associates, 
founded  the  town  of  Salina  in   1858   and  later  served  in  the  United  States  congress  as  a 
representative  from  Kansas. — Dictionary  of  American  Biography,  v.  14,  pp.  548,  549. 

34.  Lt.  Francis  T.  Bryan,  Corps  of  Topographical  Engineers,  arranged  in  1855  for  the 
construction  of  bridges  along  the  Santa  Fe  trail  at  crossings  of  Solomon's  fork,  the  Saline, 
and  Smoky  Hill  rivers.      Contract  for  construction  was  awarded  to  J.  O.   Sawyer,   and  the 
bridges  were  accepted  by  Bryan  for  the  United  States  government. — W.  Turrentine  Jackson, 
"The  Army  Engineers  as  Road  Surveyors  and  Builders  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  1854-1858," 
The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  v.  17   (February,  1949),  pp.  40-44. 

35.  Joseph  Hancock  Taylor  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point  in   1856  and  was  assigned 
to  the  First  cavalry.     He  later  reached  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  United  States  army. — 
Cullum,  op.  cit.,  v.  2,  pp.  436,  437;  Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.  947. 


KlOWA  AND  COMANCHE  CAMPAIGN  391 

long  march  yesterday  caught  a  small  cat.  Thunder  storm  in  after- 
noon—  very  refreshing  shower. 

MAY,  WEDNESDAY,  23,  1860.  At  12  miles  march  to-day  strike 
Santa  Fe  route  at  Pawnee  rock.  Many  wagons  on  route  to  Santa  Fe 
&  Pike's  Peak —  6  miles  on  Santa  Fe  road  bring  us  to  Ash  creek — 
a  ranch —  and  here  turning  to  right  7  miles  farther  reach  Pawnee 
Fork  cross  it  at  Bell's  bridge.  Substantial  structure  built  by  Bell  D. 
&  mail  agent.  Camp  Alert 36  on  west  bank  and  above.  Called  on 
Maj  Wessells.37  comd.  camped  just  below  bridge. 

MAY,  THURSDAY,  24,  1860.  Moved  camp  to-day  5  miles  lower 
down,  to  Arkansas  for  better  grass.  Went  up  to  Camp  Alert  & 
dined  with  Maj  Wessells  Lt  W.  F.  Lee  38  &  lady  treated  me  with 
marked  kindness  also  Maj  W  &  wife.  I  gave  the  calf  to  Maj  W's 
boys.  Visited  camp  of  2d.  Drags.  Squadron  under  Capt  Steele.39 
Cos  C  &  K.  Armstrong  40  &  Sol  Williams  41  with  it.  In  afternoon 
got  odometer  Lt  Lee  Mrs  L  &  Mrs  Wessells  went  down  to  camp 
in  Wing's  ambulance.  The  young  officers  rather  on  frolic.  Arm- 
strongs horse  in  leaping  pole  in  Newby's  42  hands  shyed  &  knocked 
N.  senseless.  I  serenaded  ladies  at  night. 

MAY,  FRIDAY,  25,  1860.  Pack  mules  &  saddles  distributed  this 
morning  generally  gentle —  the  day  was  consumed  in  adjusting 
saddles  &  packing  experimentally.  Walker  went  to  Camp  Alert 
to-day —  six  miles  off. 

MAY,  SATURDAY,  26,  1860.  To-day  Maj  Sedgwick  determined  to 
sent  a  party  of  30  men,  south  of  Arkansas  to  reconnoitre  &  if 
expedient  attack  the  enemy  if  there,  a  smoke  having  been  seen 

36.  Camp  Alert  was  established  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail  about  six  miles  west  of  present 
Larned.     The  camp  was  renamed  Fort  Lamed  in  honor  of  Col.  B.  F.  Lamed. 

37.  Henry  Walton  Wessells  was  a  graduate  of  the  military  academy  at  West  Point  in 
1833  and  was  assigned  to  the  Second  infantry.     He  served  in  the  Mexican  war  and  in  1860 
was  still  a  member  of  the  Second  infantry  with  the  rank  of  brevet  major.      He  remained 
with  the  Union  and  later  attained  the  rank  of  brigadier  general. — Cullum,  op.  cit.,  v.   1, 
p.  437;  Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.   1019. 

38.  William  Fitzhugh  Lee,  of  Virginia,  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Second  infantry.     He 
resigned  from  the  U.  S.  army  in  April,  1861,  and  served  as  a  captain  in  the  Confederate 
army  before  being  fatally  wounded  at  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run  in  July,  1861. — Heitman, 
op.  cit.,  p.  626. 

39.  William  Steele  was  a  graduate  of  the  U.  S.  Military  Academy  in   1840  and  was 
assigned  to  the  Second  dragoons  in  which  he  was  serving  as  captain  in  1860.     He  resigned 
his  commission  in  May,  1861,  and  served  as  brigadier  general  in  the  Confederate  army. — 
Cullum,  op.  cit.,  v.  1,  p.  613;  Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.  919. 

40.  Francis  C.  Armstrong  was  a  first  lieutenant  of  the  Second  dragoons  in  1860.     He 
resigned  from   the  Union   army  in  August,    1861,   and  served  as  brigadier   general  in  the 
Confederacy. — Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.  169;  Hamersly,  op.  cit.,  p.  265. 

41.  Solomon  Williams  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point  in  1858  and  was  assigned  to  the 
Second  dragoons.     Having  resigned  his  commission  in  May,   1861,  he  served  as  colonel  in 
the  Confederate  army  before  being  killed  in  action  at  Beverly  Ford,  Va.,  in  June,  1863. — 
Cullum,  op.  cit.,  v.  2,  p.  472;  Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.  1042. 

42.  Edward   W.    B.    Newby    served    in   the    Mexican    war    and    in    March,    1855,    was 
assigned  to  the  First  cavalry  as  captain.     He  retired  from  the  U.   S.  army  in  September, 
1863,  with  the  rank  of  major. — Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.  744;  Hamersly,  op.  cit.t  p.  661. 


392  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

the  night  previous  I  go  in  command  also  Jo  Taylor  &  Sol  Wil- 
liams, go  S.  E.  25  miles  &  arrive  at  Otter  cr.43  at  9  P.  M.  no 
Indians,  camp  without  cooking,  having  2  days  rations  on  our 
horses —  suffered  some  from  cold. 

MAY,  SUNDAY,  27,  1860.  Continued  at  4.30  AM  up  creek  N.  E. 
for  32  miles  halting  2  hours  at  noon  to  graze  &  rest —  then  left 
creek  &  went  nearly  due  north  reach  20  miles  to  the  Arkansas 
just  before  sun  down.  &  camped.  Having  a  fine  roast  of  buffalo 
on  sticks  Saw  no  trace  to  day  of  Indians.  Otter  creek  has  no 
timber,  good  grass,  thousands  of  buffalo  Saw  also  antelope,  duck, 
curlew,  plover,  snipe,  sand  hill  cranes  otter  &  muskrat  to  say  nothing 
of  prairie  dogs.  &  such  ilk. 

MAY,  MONDAY,  28,  1860.  Proceeded  at  4.30  AM  up  Arkansas- 
south  bank  over  waste  of  barren  sand  hills  full  of  gofer  holes  & 
recrossed  river  opposite  camp  days  march  25.  Whole  march  102 
miles  in  48  hours.  Men  &  horses  in  fine  condition.  Find  letters 
&  package  from  wife.  Bless  her  heart.  Who  with  my  experience 
could  live  without  a  wife,  heightening  every  joy,  lightening  every 
sorrow.  Mrs.  Ruff  44  in  camp  near  here  visit  her.  She  is  en  route 
to  M. 

MAY,  TUESDAY,  29,  1860.  Camp  at  Pawnee  Fork.  Saw  D  W 
Scott.  Sent  letter  to  wife  by  Mrs.  Ruff.  &  list  of  Distances. 

MAY,  WEDNESDAY,  30,  1860.    In  camp  reading  "what  will  he  do 
with  it"  45    Officer  of  the  Day.    Dine  with  Lee  at  Fort. 
["]Be  joyous  at  forebodings  of  evil  but  tremble  at  day-dream  of 
happiness/' 

MAY,  THURSDAY,  31,  1860.  In  camp  preparing  for  departure  to- 
morrow on  pack  mules.  Bayard 46  &  Merrill 47  arrived  about  11 
at  night  in  the  outward  bound  mail. 

JUNE,  FRIDAY,  1,  1860.  Marched  about  8.  o'clock  up  Arkansas. 
Reed,  letters  of  mail,  1  from  wife —  no  news  Camp  on  Arkansas. 

43.  Present  Rattlesnake  creek  in  Stafford  county. 

44.  Probably  the  wife  of  Charles  F.  Ruff,  graduate  of  the  U.   S.  Military  Academy  in 
1838.     Ruff  was  stationed  in  New  Mexico  in  1860  and  participated  in  the  Comanche  expe- 
dition as  a  major  in  the  Mounted  Rifles. — Cullum,  op.  cit.,  v.  1,  pp.  570,  571. 

45.  A   novel  by  the  English  writer   Edward   George   Earle  Lytton,   Bulwer-Lytton,    1st 
Baron  Lytton   (1803-1873).     The  work  was  originally  published  in  Blackwood's  Edinburgh 
(Scot.)  Magazine  in  1857  and  1858. 

46.  George  Dashiell  Bayard  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point  in  1856  and  was  assigned 
to  the  First  cavaky.     On  the   1860  expedition  against  the  Kiowas  and  Comanches,  he  re- 
ceived  a  severe  arrow  wound   in  the  face  on  July   11.      During  the   Civil  War  he   served 
as   brigadier   general   in   the   Union   army   before   being   fatally   wounded    at   the   battle    of 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  in  December,  1862. — Cullum,  op.  cit.,  v.  2,  p.  425;  Heitman,  op.  cit., 
p.  200. 

47.  Lewis   Merrill  was   a   graduate  of  the  IT.   S.   Military   Academy   in   1855   and   was 
assigned  to  the   Second   dragoons.      He  served   in   the   Kiowa   and   Comanche   campaign   in 
1860  as  a  second  lieutenant  and  later  attained  the  rank  of  brevet  brigadier  general  in  the 
United  States  army. — Cullum,  op.  cit.,  v.  2,  pp.  406,  407;  Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.  705. 


KlOWA  AND  COMANCHE  CAMPAIGN  393 

[blank]  miles  beyond  crossing  of  coon  cr.  several  of  the  ladies 
go  out  as  far  as  coon  creek  in  Capt  Hayden's  ambulance.  I  never 
commenced  a  march  with  more  buoyant  feelings.  Everything 
smiles  auspiciously  notwithstanding  Friday  Scott  came  this  far 
with  us  &  took  back  our  last  dispatches  for  home.  I  gave  Gaffner 
a  strong  recommendation  for  wagon  mr  at  Pawnee,  days  march 
15.33/100  miles 

JUNE,  SATURDAY,  2,  1860.  Marched  up  Arkansas  &  camped  on  its 
bank  Bayard  has  dubbed  Merrill  "Gig  Lamps/'  a  very  appropriate 
soubriquet,  taken  from  Verdant  green.48  Merrill  is  mounted  on  a 
mule  wears  spectacles  &  a  citizen's  dress!  20.  20/100  miles 

JUNE,  SUNDAY,  3,  1860.  March  up  River  along  Santa  Fe  road. 
Coon  creek  is  very  little  to  our  north.  Camp  about  18  miles  farther 
5  [?]  miles  above  Jackson's  Island.  Bright  Sabbath  day.  A  few 
Arrappahoe  lodges  on  river  in  sight.  In  afternoon  their  chief  came 
in  bearing  aloft  on  a  pole  the  stars  and  stripes  which  he  rightly 
conjectured  was  the  surest  passport  through  our  lines.  He  was 
dressed  in  a  dressing  gown  and  wore  a[n]  Infantry  Cap  18  43/100 
miles 

JUNE,  MONDAY,  4,  1860.  Forded  the  Arkansas  &  without  difficulty 
sending  back  all  the  wagons  but  a  Light  ammunition  wagon  & 
sick  ambulance 49  at  3/2  miles  reach  Mulberry  cr.  which  empties 
into  Arkansas  a  few  miles  below  our  camp.  %  mile  above  cross 
its  dry  bed.  Cross  near  waters  of  Nuscatunga  R 50  &  camp,  plenty 
of  timber  &  water  grass  in  timber.  S.  17  45/100  miles 

JUNE,  TUESDAY,  5,  1860.  Travelled  down  the  dry  bed  of  stream, 
15  miles  &  camped  in  wide  valley  groves  of  cottonwood.  Last 
year  this  valley  must  have  been  thronged  with  Indians  Camped 
at  holes  of  water,  grass  tolerable,  water  unpleasant  &  boggy  to 
the  taste.  Citric  acid  corrects  it  sufficiently  Bayard  caught  some 
fine  perch  here.  S.  E.  15  miles 

JUNE,  WEDNESDAY,  6,  1860.     March  East  3  miles  then  S.  E.     at 

48.  The  reference  is  to  the  writing  of  Cuthbert  Bede,  pseudonym  for  Edward  Bradley 
(1827-1889):     The  Adventures  of  Mr.  Verdant  Green,  an  Oxford  Freshman   (1853);   The 
Further  Adventures  of  Mr.   Verdant  Green,  an  Oxford  Under-Graduate     .     .     .      (1854); 
and  Mr.  Verdant  Green  Married  and  Done  /or     ...      (1857). 

49.  The    ambulance    as    used   by   the    army    at   this    time   was    a   four-wheeled   vehicle 
similar  to  a  wagon.     In  the   1857  Cheyenne  expedition  after  part  of  the  ambulance  had 
broken  down,  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  was  transported  on  the  "sick  wagon"  which  he  described  as 
"the  two  hind  wheels  of  the  ambulance,  with  a  tongue  attached,  the  cushions  being  fastened 
on  the  spring." — McCleUan,  op.  cit.,  pp.  21,  22. 

50.  It  is  obvious  that  there  was  a  lack  of  exact  knowledge  of  streams  on  maps  being 
used  by  the  military  at  this  time.     On  the  map  of  "Kansas,  Texas,  and  Indian  Territory, 
With  Parts  of  Colorado  and  New  Mexico"  issued  by  the  Engineer  Office  of  the  U.  S.  army, 
division  of  the  Missouri,  1868,  Crooked  creek  flows  into  the  Nescutunga  river  which  then 
becomes  the  Little  Arkansas  river    (present   Salt  fork  of  the   Arkansas).      Crooked   creek, 
as  is  now  known,  flows  into  the  Cimarron  river.     A  map  containing  the  errors  of  the  1868 
sketch  was  probably  being  used  by  the  expedition  of  1860. 


394  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

5  miles  from  last  camp  a  tributary  running  S  W  joins  the  one  we 
follow,  &  after  junction  their  course  is  nearly  South.51  Camp  on 
it.  water  scarce  wood  plenty,  grass  sufficient  for  a  squadron 
only.  E  &  S.  E.  14  68/100 

JUNE,  THURSDAY,  7,  1860.  Leaving  valley  of  streams  Cross 
S  W  8  miles  to  another  which  must  be  the  main  Nuscatonga  now 
dry —  pools  deep  &  clear  of  fresh  water  full  of  fish  in  a  beautiful 
grove  of  timber.  Quail  &  deer  abound  here,  birds  singing  at 
the  greatest  rate.  Some  horse  shoes  gems  of  Civilization  found 
here,  fine  grass.  Then  S  for  12  miles  then  S.  E  to  camp  on  small 
tributary  of  Cimaron  Cimarone  is  here  dry —  water  in  tributary 
stagnant  grass  very  bad  water  &  soil  worse  S  W  &  S.  &  S.  E. 
25.  42/100 

JUNE,  FRIDAY,  8,  1860.  Crossed  dry  bed  of  Cimaron  &  going 
south  1/2  miles  crossed  distinct  wagon  trail,  probably  Col  Johnstons 
1857  outward  route52  days  march  over  very  rough  &  broken 
country,  find  dry  bed  of  stream  with  holes  of  water  impregnated 
with  salts,  incrustations  on  ground  of  Gypsum.  Scarcely  any  grass. 
Soil  red  &  barren,  this  is  probably  the  Red  Fork  of  Cimaron.53 
S  10.  17/100  miles 

JUNE,  SATURDAY,  9,  1860.  Cross  directly  South  for  7  miles, 
country  intersected  by  deep  &  rugged  ravines  with  a  few  clumps 
of  cedar  &  cottonwood.  Two  streams  in  full  view,  cross  the  first 
above  their  junction.  It  is  the  north  Fork  of  Canadian  the  other 
Middle  R.  Both  well-timbered.  4  bear  &  several  deer  &  buffalo 
killed,  water  slightly  salt  but  clear  Grass  better  than  since  left 
Arkansas.  Col  J's  return  trail  found  near  camp.  S  &  S.  E.  9.  91/100 

JUNE,  SUNDAY,  10,  1860.  Ly  by  in  camp  on  north  Fork  of 
Canadian.54  just  above  junction  with  it.  majority  of  officers  are 
inclined  to  make  scout  towards  Antelopes  Hills  on  Main  Canadian. 
But  Maj  S.  is  going  up  the  north  Fork  of  Canadian  but  will  take 
Middle  River  as  we  afterwards  ascertain 

51.  Probably  Bluff   (or  Buff)  creek  and  its  tributaries  in  present  Clark  and  Comanche 
counties. 

52.  The  reference  is  to  the   1857  route  of  Lt.   Col.   Joseph  E.   Johnston   in   command 
of  the   surveying  party  for  marking  the   southern   boundary  of   Kansas   from    May  through 
October.      Johnston's   private   journal   is   in   Nyle   H.    Miller,    ed.,    "Surveying   the    Southern 
Boundary  Line  of  Kansas,"   The  Kansas  Historical   Quarterly,  v.    1    (February,    1932),   pp. 
104-139.     Other  journals  on  the  expedition  may  be  found  in  ibid.,  v.  6  (November,  1937), 

gp.    339-377,    and   in   Ralph   P.   Bieber,   ed.,   Frontier   Life   in  the  Army,   1854-1861,   by 
ugene  Bandel  (Glendale,  1932),  pp.  121-211. 

53.  Probably  Buffalo  creek  and  its  tributaries  in  present  Harper  county,  Oklahoma. 

54.  The  camp  was  on  Middle  river  rather  than  the  North  fork  of  the  Canadian.     See 
diary  entry  for  June  13.      Middle  river  is  now  identified  as  Wolf  creek  which  flows  from 
Texas   into   Oklahoma   and   empties   into   the   North   Canadian   river   in   Woodward   county, 
Oklahoma. 


KlOWA  AND  COMANCHE  CAMPAIGN  395 

JUNE,  MONDAY,  11,  1860.  Marched  up  what  we  believed  to  be 
north  Fork  of  Canadian  (Middle  River)  at  10  miles  enter  a  very 
extensive  bottom  of  fine  grass.  Remains  of  Indian  camps  passed. 
Timber  &  grass  fine,  water  good.  Camp  on  south  bank  S.  S.  W. 
26.  81/100 

JUNE,  TUESDAY,  12,  1860.  Continued  the  march.  This  stream 
abounds  in  bear  deer  &  turkey.  Cross  &  recross  several  times 
finally  camp  on  north  bank,  after  reaching  camp  we  were  so 
fortunate  &  [as]  to  find  a  surveying  party  Boundary  commission, 
one  of  whom  Mr  Weyss  55  was  with  Col  Johnston  in  57.  We  get 
a  copy  of  Col  J's  map  find  that  we  are  in  Middle  fork  or  River, 
main  Canadian  dry.  No  Indians,  our  Long  is  100°.  Lat  36°.  16' 
W  S  W  17.  miles 

JUNE,  WEDNESDAY,  13,  1860.  To-day  we  left  the  Boundary  party 
who  follow  up  100°degree  of  Longitude,  we  continue  up  Middle 
R.  our  camp  on  10th.  was  on  north  Fork  now  about  30  miles 
north  of  us.  This  stream  gives  indications  of  continuing  very  little 
farther  up.  West  21.  70/100 

JUNE,  THURSDAY,  14,  1860.  up  Middle  River.  Timber  scarcer. 
Bluffs  bolder  &  valley  narrows.  Passed  remains  of  Indian  camp 
2  months  old.  abrupt  cedar  bluffs,  water  now  in  detached  holes 
banks  very  steep  &  high.  Evidence  of  great  freshet  on  the  banks 
early  in  spring.  Camp  the  last  time  on  Middle  R.  a  very  romantic 
&  picturesque  camp,  bird  serenade  at  night  also  thunderstorm — 
West  13.  50/100 

JUNE,  FRIDAY,  15, 1860.  Struck  across  from  Middle  River  5°  [15°?] 
west  of  north  to  north  Fork  of  Canadian.  34  miles  about  10  AM 
a  large  herd  of  mustangs  to  the  N.  W.  are  pronounced  by  the 
Delawares  56  Kiowas.  We  make  preparations  for  battle —  march- 
ing by  squadrons  in  two  columns  All  are  eager  for  the  fray  Dra- 
goons too  far  behind  to  join  us.  But  Armstrong  co  trotted  up. 
Steele  was  ordered  to  remain  behind  with  the  pack  mules,  we 
were  sadly  fooled.  This  ended  mustang  battle,  north  24  75/100 

55.  John   E.   Weyss  was    surveyor  with   the   party  for  the   southern   boundary  line   of 
Kansas  in  1857  and  was  a  member  of  the  Texas  and  United  States  Boundary  Commission 
in   1860.     For  a  map  of  the  survey  and  a  discussion  of  the  Texas  boundary,  see  Marcus 
Baker,  The  Northwest  Boundary  of  Texas  (Bulletin  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
No.  194,  Washington,  1902). 

56.  Colonel   Sumner  requested  permission  for  use  of   12   Delaware   Indians   as   guides 
for   Major   Sedgwick's  command,  but   Secretary  of   War  J.   B.   Floyd   approved   the   request 
only  for  six. — Sumner  to  Headquarters  of  the  Army,  April   16,   1860,  "Letters  Received," 
A.  G.  O.,  National  Archives.      Stuart's  personal  diary  lists  six  Delawares  by  the  following 
names:    Fall  Leaf,  Sarcoxie,  John  Williams,  Bascom,  Wilson,  and  Bullit. 


396  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

JUNE,  SATURDAY,  16,  1860.  Went  up  north  bank  of  stream  Camp 
on  N.  Fork  Canadian  57  march  19.  Finished  the  Disowned  58 

JUNE,  SUNDAY,  17,  1860.  Camp  on  north  Fork  of  Canadian, 
march  14.  miles. 

JUNE,  MONDAY,  18,  1860.  Marched  up  N.  F.  Canadian  19.  miles 
&  camped  on  good  grass  no  fuel. 

JUNE,  TUESDAY,  19,  1860.  Lay  by  to-day,  took  bath  ponds  full 
of  cat  &  sunfish.  fish  for  every  meal.  Dr.  Madison's  mustang 
potatoes  [?] 

JUNE,  WEDNESDAY,  20,  1860.  Lie  [?]  by  to  reconnoitre  for  water 
volunteered  to  go  on  march  with  2  men  to  see  if  water  is  40  miles 
ahead,  start  at  5  am.  find  water  at  40  miles  at  2/2  P.  M.  rest 
1/2  hours  &  starting  back  reached  camp  at  1M  at  night,  slept  1/2 
hours  and  marched  at  5  am  back  with  command  over  the  40  miles. 
Walker  characterizes  my  reconnaisance  as  very  successful  &  cred- 
itable service. 

JUNE,  THURSDAY,  21,  1860.  Arrived  at  camp  4.10  P  M.  I  have 
marched  120  miles  in  35  hours  during  all  which  time  I  have  slept 
but  1/2  hours. 

JUNE,  FRIDAY,  22,  1860.  March  n.  n.  W.  by  compass  cross 
Santa  Fe  road  about  20  miles,  &  reach  Cimaron  at  Aubrey's  cross- 
ing.59 Finish  letter  to  wife,  to  send  by  Express  to  Pawnee  Fork 
tomorrow.  Express  sent  for  provisions. 

JUNE,  SATURDAY,  23,  1860.  Went  up  stream  4  miles  &  camped 
on  better  grass.  Lay  by  remainder  of  day. 

JUNE,  SUNDAY,  24,  1860.  Lay  by  till  4  P.  M.  March  on  Aubreys 
trail  N.  E.  till  lOJI  A  M  [P.  M.]  Halt  picket  out  on  prairie.  Saddle 
up  &  resume  march  early —  without  breakfast  on  25th.  Reach 
Bear  river  (two  Butte)  River,  whole  march  45  miles  Last  night 
Walker  at  Sedgwick.  Water  of  Bear  river  plenty  &  good  in  large 
pools.  Reuben  killed  2  ducks  at  one  shot. 

57.  The  march  of  Major  Sedgwick's   column  from   Middle  river  to  the  North  fork  of 
the  Canadian  is  shown  on  the  map  of  the  Texas  boundary  in  Baker,  op.  cit.,  facing  p.  11, 
and  also  on  the  map  of  "Kansas,  Texas,  and  Indian  Territory,  With  Parts  of  Colorado  and 
New  Mexico"  issued  by  the  Engineer  Office  of  the  U.   S.   army,  Military  Division  of  the 
Missouri,  1868. 

58.  Another  novel  by  Edward  Bulwer-Lytton  published  in  1828-1829.     As  an  explana- 
tion of  the  Disowned,  Bulwer-Lytton  stated  in  1832  that  out  of  his  study  of  metaphysics 
and  ethics  "grew  the  character  of  Algernon  Mordaunt     ...      as  a  type  of  the  Heroism 
of  Christian  Philosophy — an  union  of   love  and  knowledge  placed  in  the  midst  of  sorrow, 
and  laboring  on   through  the   pilgrimage   of  life,   strong   in  the   fortitude  that   comes   from 
belief  in  heaven." — The  Complete  Works  of  Edward  Bulwer-Lytton  (New  York,  n.  d.),  v.  2. 

59.  Aubrey's  crossing  of  the  Cimarron  river  was  in  present  Cimarron  county,  Oklahoma. 
Aubrey's    crossing    and    Aubrey's    trail   were    named   for    Francis    X.    Aubrey    (also    spelled 
Aubry),  a  Santa  Fe  trader.     In  an  effort  to  shorten  the  Santa  Fe  trail,  he  selected  a  route 
that   left   the   trail   near    Cold   Springs   in   Cimarron   county,   Oklahoma,    and   ran   northeast 
across  the  Cimarron  river,  along  Bear  creek,  and  then  to  the  Arkansas  river  at  Fort  Aubrey 
near  the  boundary  line  of  present  Hamilton  and  Kearny  counties,  Kansas. 


KlOWA  AND  COMANCHE  CAMPAIGN  397 

JUNE,  MONDAY,  25,  1860.  See  preceding  page.  Found  Otis60 
here,  who  had  been  sent  forward  to  reconnoitre  for  water. 

JUNE,  TUESDAY,  26,  1860.  Fine  antelope  killed  by  Johnny  Wil- 
liams ( Delaware ) .  I  got  the  antlers — a  superb  pair. — to  present  to 
P  W  H  of  N  C.  Lay  by  till  about  4  P.  M.  when  saddling  up  we 
go  down  Bear  river  about  18  miles  &  find  water  &  large  cottonwoods. 
about  10  P.  M.  camp  by  moonlight,  take  cold  lunch  &  to-bed. 

JUNE,  WEDNESDAY,  27,  1860.  Lay  by  till  P.  M.  Loll  in  the  shade 
of  the  gigantic  cottonwoods.  all  day.  At  4  P.  M.  saddle  up  & 
march  on  aubrey's  trail  21  miles,  picket  out  about  10  P  M  on 
roadside,  &  with  cold  lunch  to-bed.  N  E  21  miles 

JUNE,  THURSDAY,  28,  1860.  At  first  dawn  saddle  up  &  continue 
march  warming  some  cold  coffee  we  brought  in  a  canteen,  & 
after  15  miles  march  N.  E.  reach  the  long  wished  for  arkansas. 
How  comparative  all  our  joys  are.  That  stream  upon  which  I  have 
heaped  so  much  abuse,  appears  now — lovely  &  most  welcome  to 
view.  Fall  Leafs  rifle  burst  today  mangling  his  face  a  good  deal. 
I  crossed  with  Mel.61  &  Lorn  62  to  a  train  no  news  no  nothing 
N  E  15  miles 

JUNE,  FRIDAY,  29,  1860.  Yesterday  the  same  Arrapahoe  visited 
us,  now  on  his  way  to  Bents  Fort63  with  one  of  Bents  trains  on 
the  other  side.  Crossed  to  north  bank  of  arkansas  &  camped, 
aubreys  crossing.64  a  very  extensive  bottom —  many  islands  with 
brushwood  in  the  river.  And  some  large  trees  on  an  island  above. 

June,  SATURDAY,  30,  1860.  Muster  at  8  A  M —  Horses  &  mules 
inspected.  G  has  best  horses  but  worst  mules.  Our  ration  period 
expires  to-day. 

JULY,  SUNDAY,  1,  1860.    In  camp.    Col.  St.  Vrain  65  the  old  trader 

60.  Elmer  Otis  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point  in  1853  and  was  assigned  to  the  First 
cavalry  in  March,  1855.     He  later  attained  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  U.  S.  army. — -Cullum, 
op.  cit.,  v.  2,  p.  358;  Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.  762. 

61.  Probably  James  B.  Mclntyre,  West  Point  graduate  of  1853.     Assigned  to  the  First 
cavalry  in  March,   1855,  he  was  serving   as  regimental   quartermaster   officer  in    1860   and 
later  served  as  brevet  lieutenant  colonel  before  his  death  at  Fort  Lamed  in  1867. — Cullum, 
op.  cit.,  v.  2,  pp.  364,  365;  Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.  669. 

62.  Lunsford  Lindsay  Lomax  was  a  graduate  of  the  U.  S.  Military  Academy  in  1856 
and  was  assigned  to  the  First  cavalry.     He  resigned  his  commission  in  April,   1861,   and 
served  as  a  major  general  in  the  Confederate  army. — Cullum,  op.  cit.,  v.  2,  pp.  430,  431; 
Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.  639. 

63.  The  reference  is  to  Bent's  New  Fort  which  was  built  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Arkansas  river  in  the  area  of  the  Big  Timbers  near  present  Prowers,  Colo.,  in  1853  by  Col. 
William  Bent.     The  New  Fort  was  located  about  38  miles  downstream  from   Bent's   Old 
Fort.      William  Bent  leased  the  New   Fort  to  the  War   Department   in    1859    and   in  the 
following  year  additional  fortifications  were  built  and  it  was  named  Fort  Wise    (later  Fort 
Lyon).      In    1860   William   Bent  was   still   active   in   the   Indian   trade. — See   George   Bird 
Grinnell,  "Bent's  Old  Fort  and  Its  Builders,"  in  Collections  of  the  Kansas  State  Historical 
Society,  v.   15   (1919-1922),  pp.  28-91. 

64.  Aubrey's  crossing  of  the  Arkansas  river  was  at  Fort  Aubrey. — See  Footnote  59. 

65.  The  reference  may  be  to  Ceran  St.  Vrain  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  Indian 
trade  with  the  Bents  and  was  still  active  in  1860. — Grinnell,  loc.  cit.t  pp.  81  and  passim. 


398  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

passed  in  ambulance  P.  M.  Says  our  supply  train  left  Pawnee  Fork 
on  28th,  &  ought  to  be  here  tomorrow.  Pegram  66  has  passed  en 
route  to  New  Mexico.  Kiowas  reported  to  be  on  cow  creek  & 
south  Platte  Randall  &  Reuben  kill  six  ducks. 

JULY,  MONDAY,  2,  1860.    In  camp 

JULY,  SATURDAY,  7,  1860.  Marched  up  Arkansas  &  camped  just 
below  Big  Timbers.  20.  00/100  miles 

JULY,  SUNDAY,  8,  1860.  Contind  march  up  River  passing  Boon 
of  Mo  &  several  other  Pike's  Peak  trains.  Scattered  trees  continua- 
tion of  Big  Timbers,  soil  sandy  &  poor  grass  good  in  bottoms. 
22.  40/100 

AUGUST,  WEDNESDAY,  1,  1860.  Left  at  6  A  M  on  scout  Merrill 
&  36  men  Fall  Leaf  Wms.  &  Wilson—  at  8&  AM  reached 
tribfutary]  to  Smoky  Hill.  Signs —  halt  half  hour —  march  at 
9  AM  10°  E  of  N,  halt  at  dry  bed  half  way  to  skin  anteelope — 
pack  it  and  at  11.20  reach  another  creek  same  signs,  go  down 
it  at  12.20 

AUGUST,  SUNDAY,  5,  1860.  Crossed  northward  and  taking  ridge 
several  miles  from  river  marched  generally  East  parallel  to  gen'l 
course  of  river.  No  grass  buffalos  have  devoured  all —  timber 
at  intervals  water  in  bed  in  holes.  Emigrant  road  coincides  gen- 
erally with  our  course —  no  grass  arr.  2.20  P.  M.  feed  on 
cottonwood  24/2  miles  [profile  sketch  included] 

AUGUST,  MONDAY,  6,  1860.  Gen  course  East  coinciding  with  Emi- 
grant road,  crossed  many  ravines  springs  of  del.  water  oozing 
from  banks  &  sinking  immediately  no  grass.  Camp  on  Smoky 
Hill  march  20.95  miles  I  killed  fine  antelope  buck,  at  spring 
named  antelope  spring,  no  grass  fed  horses  on  cottonwood  & 
elm  &  grape  vine,  ar  12.20  [profile  sketch  included] 

AUGUST,  FRIDAY,  10,  1860.  Travelled  S.  W.  from  Sarcoxie  spring 
&  after  12  miles  came  to  walnut  cr.  halted  &  grazed,  then  crossed 
S.  W.  the  Santa  Fe  road  and  camped  on  arkansas.  Here  we  met 
Sedgwick's  guides  who  informed  us  that  Sedgwick  had  preceded 
us  several  days  at  Fort  Larned  and  that  the  Expedtn.  was  broken 
up —  4  cos  of  cav  ordered  to  Bent's  Fort  to  winter  &  build  post. 
Startling  news.  2  cos  2d  Drags  to  take  post  at  Fort  Larned.  Wms 

66.  John  Pegram  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point  in  1854  and  was  assigned  to  the  First 
dragoons.  In  March,  1855,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Second  dragoons  where  he  was 
serving  as  first  lieutenant  in  1860.  He  resigned  his  commission  in  May,  1861,  and  became 
a  major  general  in  the  Confederate  army.  He  was  killed  in  February,  1865,  at  the  battle 
of  Hatchers  Run,  Va. — Cullum,  op.  cit.,  v.  2,  p.  374;  Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.  780. 


KlOWA  AND  COMANCHE  CAMPAIGN  399 

&  I  left  camp  about  sundown  &  went  up  to  Larned  18  miles  that 
night.  Lee  told  me  I  had  a  fine  son.67 

AUGUST,  SATURDAY,  11,  1860.  Steele's  command  came  in  about 
11  a.  m.  Mclntyre  is  going  in  to  Riley  for  co  property.  I  apply 
for  7  days  leave  to  go  with  him.  granted.  We  are  to  leave 
tomorrow,  with  6  wagons  &  4  sergts.  Every  body  is  blue  &  dis- 
gusted. 

AUGUST,  SUNDAY,  12,  1860.  Start  for  Fort  Riley.  Go  by  Larned— 
take  in  my  two  mules.  They  follow.  I  ride  my  roan  Kiowa,  leaving 
Beppo[?]  with  Lee  at  Larned.  camp  on  Walnut  creek. 

AUGUST,  MONDAY,  13,  1860.  Travelled  pretty  briskly  reaching 
the  Smoky  Hill  &  camp. 

AUGUST,  TUESDAY,  14,  1860.  Marched  beyond  crossing  of  Saline. 
Left  the  train  late  in  afternoon  on  our  ponies  to  make  Riley  tomor- 
row. About  dark  reach  Solomon's  Fork  where  Col  Crittenden  68 
with  an  encampment  of  20  or  30  families  &  700 [?]  recruits  horses 
&c.  for  New  Mexico.  Spent  the  night  there.  Saw  Dr.  Webster, 
Forney,  McNally,  Kelly,  Moore  [?],  I.  N.  McRane  [?],  Wheeler  of 
N.  Y.  [?],  Gibbs,  Lane,  Whitall. 

AUGUST,  WEDNESDAY,  15,  1860.  Early  this  morning  left  Grit's 
camp  &  after  40  miles  jog  arrived  with  joyous  tramp  at  our  own 
doors  at  Fort  Riley,  taking  our  families  completely  by  surprise. 
This  page  need  not  be  filled  out. 

III.    EPILOGUE 

Stuart's  personal  diary  falls  silent  during  most  of  July  except  for 
the  few  entries  printed  here.  During  this  time  the  command  con- 
tinued the  march  up  the  Arkansas  river  as  indicated  for  July  8 
and  went  a  little  beyond  Bent's  New  Fort  near  present  Prowers, 
Colo.  The  return  march  was  then  made  along  the  Arkansas  to 
the  vicinity  of  present  Garden  City  where  a  turn  was  made  to 
the  northeast  with  three  companies  proceeding  along  the  Smoky 
Hill  river,  the  other  three  along  Walnut  creek.  Stuart  marched 
with  the  Smoky  Hill  group  which  continued  to  present  Ellsworth 

67.  James  Ewell  Brown  Stuart,  Jr.     There  is  some  evidence  that  the  son  was  originally 
named  for  his  grandfather,  Col.  Philip  St.  George  Cooke,  but  the  name  was  changed  when 
the   grandfather  did   not  resign  from   the   U.   S.   army   to   join   the   Confederacy. — John   W. 
Thomason,  Jr.,  Jeb  Stuart   (New  York,  1941);  see,  also,  Bingham  Duncan,  ed.,  Letters  of 
General  J.  E.  B.   Stuart  to  His  Wife,  1861    (Emory   University  Publications,  Sources  and 
Reprints,  Ser.  1,  Atlanta,  1943),  pp.  21,  23,  26,  27. 

68.  George   Bibb   Crittenden,    a   West   Point    graduate   of    1832,   was   serving    as   lieu- 
tenant colonel  in  the  Mounted  Rifles  in  1860.     He  resigned  from  the  U.  S.  army  in  June, 
1861,  and  served  as  major  general  in  the  Confederacy. — Cullum,  op.  cit.,  v.  1,  pp.  409,  410; 
Heitman,  op.  cit.,  p.  338. 


400  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

county  before  turning  back  to  the  southwest  to  join  the  remainder 
of  the  command  about  18  miles  south  of  Fort  Larned.69  From 
there  Stuart  returned  to  Fort  Riley. 

By  August  11  when  orders  were  received  to  break  up  the  expe- 
dition, Sedgwick's  column  had  marched  1,404  miles.  The  only 
skirmish  for  the  command  involved  Lieutenant  Stuart  and  a  detach- 
ment of  20  men  who  pursued  a  small  body  of  Kiowas  near  Bent's 
New  Fort  on  July  11  and  combined  with  forces  under  Capt.  William 
Steele  to  kill  two  warriors  and  take  prisoner  16  women  and  chil- 
dren.70 

In  the  same  campaign  the  column  of  six  companies  of  the  First 
cavalry  under  Capt.  S.  D.  Sturgis  encountered  a  large  group  of 
Kiowas  and  Comanches  along  the  Republican  fork  on  August  6. 
Reporting  on  all  of  the  summer's  expedition,  Sturgis  claimed  29 
of  the  enemy  killed.71 

These  skirmishes  of  1860  along  with  the  appearance  in  force 
of  U.  S.  troops  on  the  Plains  contributed  to  the  restoration  of  peace 
with  the  Kiowas  and  Comanches  and  to  the  security  of  the  emi- 
grant route.  Indian  Commissioner  William  P.  Dole  reported  in 
November,  1861,  that  recently  the  two  tribes  had  "manifested  a 
disposition"  to  resume  friendly  relations  with  the  U.  S.  government 
and  to  be  "restored  to  its  confidence."  72 

69.  "Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,"  Sen.  Ex.   Doc.  No.  1,  36th  Cong.,   2d 
Sess.    (1860-1861),  v.  2,  p.  18. 

70.  Ibid.,  pp.  15-17. 

71.  Ibid.,  pp.  19-22. 

72.  Ibid.,  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  1,  37th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.  (1861-1862),  v.  1,  pt.  1,  p.  634. 


Traveling  Theatre  in  Kansas:   The  James  A. 

Lord  Chicago  Dramatic  Company, 

1869-1871— Concluded 

JAMES  C.  MALIN 

VI.    BASES  OF  DRAMATIC  CRITICISM,  1870-1871 
LEAVENWORTH 

LONG  since  it  should  have  become  apparent  to  the  reader  that 
a  critic's  commentary  upon  theatre  was  a  highly  uncertain  com- 
modity. Always  there  is  question  about  how  much  credence  can 
be  given  to  the  press  notices.  Custom  provided  general  practices 
about  complimentary  tickets  for  the  press,  and  advertising,  formal 
and  "puffs"  in  the  locals,  and  so  long  as  both  parties  played  the 
game,  all  went  well.  But,  on  occasion  these  relations  became 
snarled.  Some  theatre  troupes  did  not  place  formal  advertisements 
in  the  papers,  but  depended  primarily  upon  handbills  and  locals. 
J.  A.  Lord  was  usually  quite  successful  in  his  press  relations,  but 
there  were  occasions  when  even  his  well  managed  system  went 
wrong.  The  Leavenworth  Times  revealed  a  rift  in  February,  1871, 
in  which  Lord  may  not  have  been  at  fault. 

Having  opened  on  Monday  night  in  "Ingomar,"  the  Times  critic 
introduced  himself  on  Tuesday  morning,  February  21,  with  the  fol- 
lowing: 

We  would  like  to  have  our  readers  understand,  at  the  outset,  that  we  shall 
not  enter  into  a  criticism  of  the  different  plays  presented  by  this  company 
during  their  engagement  here.  We  know  and  can  appreciate  the  difficulties 
attendant  upon  the  management  of  a  troupe  organized  as  this  one  is.  In  the 
one  fact  of  the  organization  not  being  permanently  located,  rests  a  great  share 
of  the  trouble  of  keeping  it  up  to  that  point  of  excellence  which  we  know  is  the 
aim  of  that  true  knight  of  the  buskin,  Mr.  J.  A.  Lord.  .  .  .  Mr.  Lord  we 
have  seen  upon  the  opera  stage  in  Chicago,  the  same  careful  and  studious  actor 
as  he  appears  to  us  here.  In  refusing  to  criticise  the  company,  which  is  our 
right,  we  do  so,  therefore,  solely  for  the  encouragement  of  what  we  deem  an 
excellent  company.  .  .  .  the  best  troupe  of  theatrical  performers  which  has 
visited  this  place  in  a  long  time  is  the  verdict  of  the  public. 

No  clue  has  been  found  about  what  really  was  "biting"  the  boy, 

DR.  JAMES  C.  MALIN,  associate  editor  of  The  Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  is  professor 
of  history  at  the  University  of  Kansas,  Lawrence,  and  is  author  of  several  books  relating 
to  Kansas  and  the  West. 

(401) 
27—1378 


402  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

but  something  further  and  more  intangible  occurred  Wednesday 
night  which  was  noticed  in  the  criticism  of  the  Times,  February  24, 
Friday: 

Notwithstanding  the  discourtesy  shown  toward  the  employes  of  the  TIMES 
office  on  Wednesday  evening,  we  have  a  kindly  word  to  say  to  Mr.  Lord, 
.  .  ,  .  [and  his  company].  We  can  hardly  reconcile  the  discourtesy  com- 
plained of  with  the  handsome  acknowledgements  made  by  the  management 
in  the  words  of  farewell  spoken  to  the  audience.  .  .  .  The  forbearance  of 
the  press  of  this  city  in  noticing  shortcomings  and  the  hearty  support  extended 
were  acknowledged  in  pointed  language.  We  hold  that  the  least  worthy  of 
the  many  good  theatrical  notices  given,  was  worth  more  than  all  the  paltry  ad- 
missions asked  for.  Having  said  this  much  we  will  now  proceed  to  the  more 
cheerful  task  of  saying  the  kindly  word  we  had  set  out  to  say  and  which  is 
uppermost  in  our  thoughts.  .  .  • 

The  first  critique  by  the  Times  man  was  a  peculiar,  patronizing, 
snob  performance  by  which  the  scribe  sought  to  impress  his  readers 
— and  he  did,  but  with  his  own  bad  taste.  He  revealed  himself 
also  in  his  insistence  that  the  weaknesses  of  the  Lord  company 
stemmed  from  "not  being  permanently  located,"  in  other  words 
from  being  a  traveling  not  a  resident  theatre.  In  this  respect  he 
was  out  of  touch  with  the  times,  or  unrealistic  about  the  world  in 
which  he  lived,  and  did  not  recognize  that  the  choice  was  not  be- 
tween these  two  forms  of  organization,  but  between  traveling 
theatre  or  no  theatre.  Otherwise,  as  pertains  to  the  merits  of  the 
controversy,  the  data  are  too  incomplete  to  permit  a  conclusion. 

A  second  shortcoming  in  press  reports  of  theatrical  performance 
was  a  too-great  reliance  of  many  editors  upon  news  handouts  from 
the  advance  agent  of  the  companies.  A  particularly  effective  phras- 
ing or  sentiment  by  some  early  critic  might  thus  become  the  model 
for  other  papers  for  weeks  or  months  thereafter.  By  following  the 
itinerary  of  a  traveling  company  these  similarities  or  even  identical 
eulogies  can  be  spotted,  and  recognized  for  what  they  were.  Still, 
although  following  precedent  they  might  be  sincere.  More  difficult 
for  the  historian  to  deal  with,  however,  was  the  possibility  that  the 
theatrical  criticism  was  written  by  the  manager  of  the  company. 
Lord  was  charged  with  this  practice,  particularly  during  the  winter 
of  1877-1878,  when  difficulties  between  Seymour  and  Lord  became 
a  matter  of  public  record.  But  where  a  town  had  more  than  one 
paper  the  individuality  of  the  critics  rounds  out  perspective,  but 
contributes  problems  of  interpretation,  their  variety  and  often  con- 
tradiction adding  zest  to  the  task  of  the  historian. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  403 

Ward  Burlingame  told  one  story  on  himself  that  may  have  had 
more  than  one  counterpart.  He  claimed  that  at  Leavenworth  he 
attended  a  rehearsal  of  "Othello/*  wrote  his  story  of  the  evening's 
performance,  had  it  set  in  type,  and  went  to  bed.  A  sudden  storm 
caused  the  show  to  be  cancelled,  but  his  story  appeared  neverthe- 
less in  the  morning  paper.1 

The  Leavenworth  press  of  1870  afforded  some  specific  guidance 
in  matters  of  dramatic  criticism  for  the  season  of  1870-1871,  although 
not  always  conclusively.  The  sober  local  of  the  Times,  November 
18,  in  announcing  the  opening  of  the  theatrical  season  by  the  Lords, 
was  indicative  of  a  predisposition  favorable  to  any  really  acceptable 
performance:  "as  we  have  had  very  little  of  the  theatrical  of  late, 
they  will  be  likely  to  draw  large  audiences."  Similarly,  the  report 
after  the  second  night  was  prefaced  by  the  statement:  "for  the 
first  time  in  'many  moons'  a  Leavenworth  audience  has  witnessed 
talent  worthy  of  their  commendations." 

During  the  spring  of  1870  the  Commercial,  May  1,  had  been  quite 
candid  in  admitting  limitations  upon  its  qualifications  to  pronounce 
judgment  on  the  National  Theatre:  "Although  in  a  business  point 
of  view  we  are  metropolitan,  we  must  in  all  candor  admit,  that  so 
far  as  high  order  of  art  or  superior  culture  is  concerned,  we  are 
only  provincial,  and  especially  in  regard  to  the  mimic  art."  Later, 
during  the  Couldock  week,  June  20-25,  the  same  paper  was  apolo- 
getic, June  23,  about  the  small  audiences:  "It  reflects  but  little  credit 
upon  the  Dramatic  taste  of  Leavenworth  that  acknowledged  art  is 
so  poorly  patronized."  The  season  being  late  June,  ice  cream  socials 
had  been  popular  among  the  churches  and  at  the  moment  attention 
was  being  directed  toward  the  success  of  the  music  festival  of  the 
South  Leavenworth  Musical  Association  to  be  held  at  the  Fifth 
avenue  chapel  followed  by  fresh  raspberries  and  ice  cream.  This 
is  the  type  of  competition  with  theatre  that  inspired  the  next  re- 
marks, including  the  bad  pun: 

It  is  said  that  the  cream  of  society  in  this  city  affect  a  different  style,  and  that 
the  mode  is  to  frequent  assemblies  where  fruits  in  conjunction  with  cream,  can 
be  discussed,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  consumers,  who  have  also  the 
consolation  of  knowing  that  they  thereby  much  advance  the  cause  of  religion,  in 
whose  aid  the  feast  is  generally  given. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  however,  it  is  especially  worthy  of  regard,  that  while 
talent  cannot  "draw"  on  the  stage,  brass  and  extravagance  does. 

1.  Atchison  Daily  Champion,  February  20,  1879,  reminiscences  of  "Early  Kansas  "  by 
Ward  Burlingame,  "Atchison  County  Clippings"  (Kansas  State  Historical  Society),  v.  1, 
p.  216. 


404  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

The  counterfeit  negroes'  [burnt  cork]  grotesque  and  somewhat  vulgar  antics, 
will  always  create  a  furor  of  enthusiasm  and  a  corresponding  influx  to  the  ex- 
chequer of  the  company,  while  real  Dramatic  talent  plays  to  empty  benches. 
If  you  want  a  crowd  bring  along  your  Circus  and  "Numidian  Lion."  There 
is  no  such  place  as  Numidia  and  your  lion  may  be  a  downcast  beast,  but  he  has 
got  a  mane  and  can  pass,  as  lions  go.  Let  us  all  then  give  in  our  checks,  and 
be  thankful  that  we  have  seen  the  lion. 

But  the  press  of  Leavenworth  was  not  unanimous  in  these  evalua- 
tions of  Leaven  worth's  aesthetic  standards.  Lest  the  picture  of  that 
city  appear  too  negative,  although  in  the  minority  of  one  against 
two,  the  Bulletins  view,  December  2,  is  presented  last  because  it  is 
positive.  The  occasion  was  the  coming  of  Annie  Tiffany  who  was 
to  appear  December  6,  7,  1870,  before  Leavenworth's  sophisticated 
audiences: 

The  theatre-goers  who  compose  the  Leavenworth  amusement  loving  public  are 
cold,  critical  and  indifferent.  It  weighs  nothing  here  for  Fort  Scott  or  Kansas 
City  to  eulogize,  and  foreign  reporters  to  exhaust  rhetoric  in  describing  the 
charms  of  a  particular  "star."  Leavenworth  has  been  more  highly  favored  with 
the  presence  of  prominent  actors  and  actresses  than  neighboring  cities  on  the 
river.  Our  people  have  listened  to  Booth,  Forrest,  Jefferson,  Owens,  Mrs. 
Hosmer,  Lotta,  Laura  Keene,  Siddons  and  many  others.  In  truth,  the  best  talent 
of  the  country  has  appeared  on  the  boards  of  the  Opera  House. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  document  the  whole  of  his  list  of  stars, 
and  it  is  not  worth  the  effort.  The  main  point  of  his  contention,  how- 
ever, was  obviously  in  error;  that  Leavenworth  occupied  a  favored 
position  on  the  river  or  was  on  such  terms  of  familiarity  with  the 
great  as  to  be  conditioned  artistically  to  their  excellence  as  a  cri- 
terion of  taste  in  theatre. 

LAWRENCE 

At  Lawrence  the  tone  of  dramatic  criticism  was  in  a  markedly 
different  key.  With  some  variation  in  wording,  the  Journal  re- 
peated its  dictum  of  the  previous  year:  "Lawrence  people,  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  are  more  partial  to  the  concert  and  lecture  than  the 
drama.  .  .  ."  The  paper  avoided  an  expression  of  editorial 
opinion,  employing  various  circumlocutions:  "Those  who  delight 
in  the  drama  and  comedy  will  have  a  rare  chance  ..."  or  "The 
audience  being  judges,  the  acting  last  night  was  a  success,"— or 
"Mr.  Lord's  troupe  is  certainly  popular  with  the  large  class  that 
attends."  Undoubtedly,  the  editor  was  not  among  those  citizens  of 
Lawrence  who  delighted  in  or  attended  the  theatre  except  as  duty 
required.  These  were  Lawrence's  revelations  of  herself,  and  ap- 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  405 

parently  the  box  office  confirmed  the  town's  lukewarmness  about 
the  drama.  The  Lord  company  limited  Lawrence  to  two  short  visits 
that  winter,  or  a  total  of  11  nights  compared  with  Topeka's  23, 
Leaven  worth's  21,  and  Atchison's  14. 

TOPEKA 

The  Topeka  Commonwealth,  January  14,  1871,  adopted  an  air  of 
humility,  which  might  be  described  as  that  of  a  country  boy  who 
was  aware  of  his  limitations  within  the  sacred  precincts  of  the 
sophisticated  city,  but  nevertheless  held  himself  firmly  to  his  own 
ideals : 

We  have  not  traveled  the  continent,  except  in  imagination,  (like  most  of  those 
who  boast  of  their  travels),  and,  consequently,  we  must  not  be  expected  to 
entertain  strong  disgust  for  every  dramatic  troupe  which  comes  to  Topeka. 
We  are  unsophisticated  enough  to  think  that  good  acting  consists  in  fidelity  to 
nature,  and  when  a  character  is  rendered  in  perfect  accordance  with  nature, 
it  is  as  well  rendered  as  it  could  be  by  one  who  has  just  returned  from  "a  two 
years  tour  in  Europe."  Hence,  our  more  cultivated  and  more  extensively  trav- 
eled readers  will  please  excuse  us  if  we  say  that  Mr.  Lord  has  placed  before 
our  citizens  some  of  the  very  best  plays,  and  that  all  the  characters  have  been 
well  rendered.  One  thing  is  noticeable  about  the  troupe,  and  that  is  that 
nothing  unchaste  has  yet  occurred  upon  the  stage  under  Mr.  Lord's  manage- 
ment. 

ATCHISON 

At  Atchison  the  visit  of  the  Lord  Company  of  two  weeks,  De- 
cember 12-24, 1870,  was  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  Corinthian 
Hall,  the  city's  new  temple  of  entertainment.  Louie  Lord  opened 
Corinthian  Hall  in  "Dora"  and  ten  other  major  roles  over  the  sea- 
son, and  thereby  became  a  legend  in  Atchison,  or  it  may  have  been 
that  Corinthian  Hall  became  a  legend,  to  which  Eugene  Field  con- 
tributed at  a  later  date  by  his  poem  "Corinthian  Hall."  John  A. 
Martin's  Champion  &  Press,  the  only  surviving  newspaper  of  that 
date  in  Atchison,  was  peculiarly  noncommunicative  about  the  infor- 
mation the  historian  would  most  desire  concerning  either  Corinthian 
Hall  or  the  reception  given  the  Lords  upon  that  memorable  occa- 
sion which  should  have  accounted  adequately  for  the  form  in  which 
the  legend  developed. 

EMPORIA:    CHURCH  VERSUS  THEATRE 

At  Emporia  the  reaction  toward  theatre  in  general  and  the  Lord 
Dramatic  Company  in  particular  was  the  most  remarkable  of 
any  town  during  their  first  tours  of  the  troupe  in  Kansas.  The  Lords 


406  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

were  advertised  to  open  a  week's  engagement  there  on  Monday, 
January  23,  with  the  dramatized  version  of  Tennyson's  "Dora."  The 
new  public  hall,  on  the  third  floor  over  a  business  establishment, 
had  been  opened  with  a  dance  on  Friday  night,  January  19.  The 
Topeka  correspondent  of  the  News  wrote  that:  "The  duett  singing 
by  Mrs.  Lord  and  [Miss  Woltz]  is  as  fine  as  I  have  heard  in  many 
a  day.  The  excellent  manner  in  which  they  put  upon  the  boards 
several  of  the  leading  American  plays  is  attracting  large  and  intelli- 
gent audiences  nightly."  All  this  was  set  forth  before  the  Emporia 
public  in  Friday's  issue  of  the  weekly  News,  January  20.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Kelley,  minister  of  the  Methodist  church,  called  a  general  meet- 
ing at  the  church  for  Sunday  afternoon  at  3  P.  M.  "to  listen  to  a 
free  discussion  upon  the  subject  of  amusements."  The  exchange  of 
views  on  that  memorable  afternoon  was  reported  in  the  News, 
January  27,  1871,  apparently  quite  fully  and  fairly.  In  view  of  the 
fact  that  this  is  the  only  occasion  found  when  such  an  examination 
of  current  thought  was  made  a  matter  of  record,  it  has  been  repro- 
duced almost  complete,  along  with  an  editorial.  The  report  read: 
The  intention  of  the  pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  Kelley,  in  appointing  this  meeting  was 
to  obtain  from  the  members  of  his  church  and  such  others  as  chose  to  par- 
ticipate, an  expression  of  sentiment  as  to  what  was  the  duty  of  Christians  as 
regards  amusements,  especially  as  to  whether  they  ought  to  countenance  those 
popular  ones,  the  dance  and  the  drama. 

Among  the  several  speakers  was  a  Mr.  Detwiler,  temperance  lec- 
turer: 

As  regards  the  dance  it  was  his  rule  to  explain  to  his  children  that,  so  far  as  the 
act  of  dancing  was  concerned,  which  is  nothing  more  than  the  regulation  of 
the  movement  of  the  body  to  music,  there  was  nothing  harmful  in  it,  but  that 
the  tendency  of  dancing,  and  the  associations  that  are  inseparable  from,  it,  as 
it  is  universally  conducted  are  irreconcilable  with  Christian  godliness  and 
destruction  [ive?]  of  sound  morality.  Several  other  speakers,  among  whom  was 
the  minister  himself,  followed  Mr.  Detwiler,  all  of  whom  maintained  substan- 
tially the  same  position  regarding  both  the  dance  and  the  drama  as  that 
enumerated  by  the  first  speaker  respecting  the  dance,  with  the  exception,  per- 
haps, of  Mr.  Cunningham.  This  gentleman  believed  in  making  a  proper  use  of 
all  good  things.  He  had  no  sympathy  with  long  faced  Christianity.  There  was 
no  more  impropriety  for  a  Christian  to  laugh  with  the  utmost  heartiness,  or 
listen  to  the  representation,  by  competent  dramatists,  of  a  finely  written  story 
or  poem  than  for  him  to  do  any  other  harmless  thing.  Conscience  should  be 
the  judge.  If  he  could  honestly  invoke  the  blessing  of  God  in  attending  the 
theatre,  or  in  doing  anything  else,  he  was  justified  in  doing  so.  He  did  not 
believe  it  was  his  duty  because  some  man  was  a  bad  man  that  he  should  on 
that  account  be  debarred  from  hearing  him  render  a  beautiful  poem  in  a  fault- 
less manner.  Upon  this  principle  he  would  be  compelled  to  destroy  most  of 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  407 

his  library,  for  the  best  of  books  are  sometimes  written  by  men  whose  lives  were 
not  at  all  exemplary. 

Mr.  Jay  thought  that  the  proper  rendition  of  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room" 
would  reclaim  ten  intemperate  men  to  one  reclaimed  by  ever  so  good  a  tem- 
perance lecture,  with  which  sentiment  Mr.  Detwiler  agreed.  Mr.  Kelley  tho't 
that  the  tendency  of  both  the  theatre  and  the  dance  was  demoralizing,  and  that 
so  long  as  this  was  the  case  good  men  should  not  countenance  them.  He  didn't 
believe  it  possible  to  correct  this  tendency,  .  .  .  [He  cited  a  man  who 
attempted  to  run  a  theatre  on  correct  principles  and  failed — success  was  possi- 
ble only  by  yielding  to  depraved  tastes.]  He  believed  all  good  persons  should 
refrain  from  giving  them  any  support  whatever.  After  a  few  remarks  by  other 
speakers  the  meeting  adjourned. 

The  authorship  of  the  following  editorial  cannot  be  determined, 
but  Jacob  Stotler  and  W.  W.  Williams  were  the  editors,  and  H.  W. 
McCune  was  local  editor.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  discussion  as 
reported  was  limited  for  all  practical  purposes  to  the  single  ques- 
tion of  theatre  the  editorial  was  confined  to  that  single  subject: 

The  theatre  is  harmful  when  it  degrades  instead  of  elevates;  when  it  excites 
the  mind  without  instructing  it;  when  it  appeals  only  to  the  lower  faculties  of 
our  being  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  their  strong  but  sinful  appetites,  instead 
of  administering  food  to  our  higher  faculties,  in  order  to  awaken  and  quicken 
the  best  emotions  of  our  nature  as  well  as  to  increase  our  store  of  useful  knowl- 
edge and  to  cultivate  the  best  powers  of  our  mind.  That  the  drama  has  been 
too  frequently  in  the  past — and  is  to  a  great  extent  yet — the  instrument  of  evil 
instead  of  good,  all  will  admit;  but  that  it  is  universally,  and  without  excep- 
tion, bad  and  only  bad  and  cannot  admit  of  any  reform,  and  should,  therefore, 
be  unequivocally  condemned  and  spit  upon  by  all  good,  Christian  men,  is  to 
be  strenuously  and  bravely  denied.  The  object  of  the  drama  is  to  represent 
on  the  stage  in  a  manner  that  is  true  to  life  and  nature  the  grave  or  humorous 
actions  of  characters  who  figure  in  the  composition  of  some  gifted  author.  To 
say  that  this  object  cannot  be  accomplished  so  as  to  interest,  amuse  and  instruct 
without  at  the  same  time  pandering  to  the  depraved  tastes  of  those  who  are  fond 
of  the  obscene  and  indecent  is  to  admit  that  men  can  never  be  made  to  love  the 
good  and  the  beautiful,  can  never  cherish  what  is  chaste,  pure  and  elevating. 
It  is  asserting  the  doctrine  of  human  depravity  in  its  broadest  and  most  un- 
qualified sense,  denying  all  faith  in  moral  progression.  And  to  attempt  to  prove 
the  truth  of  this  assumtion  by  asserting  that  all  theaters  are  demoralizing  in 
their  influence,  that  there  is  not  a  single  one  in  existence  whose  aim  and  ten- 
dency are  to  make  men  better  and  wiser,  is  simply  to  demonstrate  one's  bigotry, 
and  ignorance.  The  history  of  the  stage,  it  is  true,  is  not  what  we  could  wish 
it  to  be;  but  neither  is  that  of  the  church.  But  as  the  latter  has  been  gradually 
loosening  the  bands  of  superstition,  bigotry  and  narrowmindedness,  so  the 
theater  year  by  year  has  been  rising  out  of  the  meshes  of  obscenity,  vice  and 
vulgarity  into  an  atmosphere  of  unexceptionable  purity  and  decency.  That 
there  are  theaters  extant  that  are  corrupt,  vile,  obscene  and  indecent  is  no  sound 
reason  for  withdrawing  patronage  from  those  that  are  really  moral  and  ele- 
vating in  their  tendency;  no  sounder  reason,  in  fact,  than  to  say  that  becaus  ? 


408  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

there  are  Christian  denominations  whose  creed  is  narrow  and  whose  practices  are 
not  conformable  with  the  teachings  of  the  Great  Master,  we  should  therefore 
have  nothing  to  do  with  Christianity  and  no  fellowship  with  Christians.  There 
was  a  time  when  the  church  cried  out  with  an  alarming  voice  against  the  pro- 
gress of  science,  believing  that  the  light  it  feebly  emitted  in  those  early  days 
emanated  from  the  God  of  darkness  himself,  and  was  intended  to  overthrow 
Christian [itjy  and  submerge  the  world  in  endless  darkness;  but  now  the  church 
looks  upon  science  as  the  hand  maid  of  Christianity.  Every  additional  ray  of 
light  that  emanates  from  the  world  of  nature  dispels  one  more  wave  of  darkness 
that  covers  man's  mysterious  relation  to  his  Maker.  So  also  is  the  prejudice 
that  good  men  have  heretofore  hoarded  against  the  drama  giving  way  to  an 
acknowledgment  of  its  benign  influence  and  elevating  character.  No  intelli- 
gent man  has  the  right  to  say  to  another  intelligent  man  that  every  theater  is 
demoralizing,  and  that  it  will  degrade  and  corrupt  him  if  he  patronizes  it.  We 
know  that  we  have  been  benefitted  by  the  drama — benefitted  intellectually  and 
morally.  We  have  listened  to  Chas.  Kean's  impersonation  of  Shakespeare's 
characters  and  never  before  properly  understood  and  appreciated  the  writings 
of  that  greatest  of  poets.  We  have  had  the  best  and  kindliest  emotions  of  our 
nature  quickened  into  unwonted  activity  by  listening  to  the  faultless  rendition 
of  some  of  finely  written  composition,  in  which  the  best  qualities  of  the  human 
heart  were  strikingly  exemplified.  And  as  there  are  no  pleasures  as  agreeabl 
and  rapturous  as  those  of  the  imagination,  and  as  the  drama  is  calculated  to 
most  effectively  awaken  them,  we  have  experienced  some  of  our  most  pleasur- 
able emotions  in  the  theatre  room.  The  drama  has  its  place  along  with  other 
arts.  It  has  not  reached  its  highest  state  of  perfection,  neither  has  any  instru- 
mentality of  mere  human  invention.  But  it  has  done  a  good  work  in  the  past. 
It  has  been  at  times  the  only  instructor  of  the  people.  It  has  often  fallen  into 
abuses,  and  under  the  government  of  bad  men,  it  has  sometimes  been  devoted 
to  bad  purposes  and  used  for  bad  ends.  But  it  was  one  of  the  earliest  aids  by 
which  men  advanced  from  barbarism  to  civilization,  and  without  it,  and  its 
kindred  arts,  culture  and  taste  would  be  unknown.  Let  its  excesses  be  watched 
and  confronted,  just  as  all  other  excesses  should  be;  but  do  not  strangle  it  be- 
cause, like  everything  else,  it  is  not  wholly  faultless. 

This  was  indeed  a  forthright  defense  of  the  theatre,  but  there 
should  be  no  begging  of  the  question — this  editorial  position  and 
the  absolute  repudiation  of  the  theatre  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kelley  were 
irreconcilable. 

On  the  face  of  it  the  community  should  have  been  split  wide  open, 
but  the  data  are  too  meagre  to  justify  a  conclusion  that  the  question 
was  taken  so  seriously.  Reporting  as  of  Thursday  afternoon,  the 
News  local  said  the  play  "Ireland  as  It  Is"  drew  the  largest  audience 
Wednesday  night  of  the  three  thus  far  and  all  reserved  seats  for 
Thursday  night's  "Our  American  Cousin"  were  already  sold.  The 
Topeka  Commonwealth's  Emporia  correspondent  wrote  on  the 
closing  Saturday  night  that  the  engagement  was  "highly  success- 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  409 

fill,"  and  "Notwithstanding  the  supposed  opposition  of  this  com- 
munity to  everything  in  the  nature  of  theatrical  exhibitions,  Ban- 
croft Hall  was  crowded  every  night/'  The  following  week,  Mrs. 
Mary  A.  Livermore  lectured  on  woman  suffrage  at  Bancroft  Hall 
to  a  small  audience.  The  News  explained  its  views  of  the  reasons: 
the  Lord  Dramatic  Company  had  just  closed  a  week's  engagement; 
and  the  unpopularity  of  the  subject;  but  whether  or  not  one  agreed 
with  her,  it  was  the  best  lecture  of  the  season:  "It  was  better  than 
a  whole  week  of  theatrical  performances/'  This  suggests  that  possi- 
bly even  the  editors  of  the  News  were  split  on  the  relative  influence 
for  good  between  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room"  and  the  temperance 
lecture. 

VII.    THE  PERSONAL  EQUATION 

VERSATILITY  OF  MRS.  LORD 

Because  of  the  great  bulk  of  materials  available  about  this  long 
season  in  Kansas,  1870-1871,  a  procedure  must  be  devised  different 
from  that  employed  for  reviewing  the  first  tour  in  Kansas.  First 
to  be  traced  is  the  emphasis  upon  the  versatility  of  Louie  Lord's 
talents — the  company's  formal  advertisements  always  used  the  word 
"versatile."  After  playing  "Gilberte"  in  "Frou  Frou,"  and  "Dora" 
in  the  play  of  that  name,  the  Leavenworth  Times,  November  23, 
1870,  noted  that  "two  characters  could  scarcely  be  more  at  vari- 
ance. Her  success  in  both  stamps  her  as  an  actress  of  very  superior 
talent  and  versatility."  Then  November  26,  after  "Topsy,"  the  same 
paper  insisted:  "We  never  saw  the  character  more  finely  rendered, 
and  can  hardly  imagine  how  her  acting  in  the  part  could  be  im- 
proved upon.  She  is  as  much  at  home  in  Topsy  as  in  'Frou  Frou,' 
and  plays  both  surperbly."  Again,  January  5,  1871,  the  Times 
printed  a  critique  from  die  Joliet  (111.)  Republican  which  reiter- 
ated: "it  was  hard  to  believe  that  she  who  charmed  all  with  her 
beautiful  conception  of  GILBERTE,  could  have  been  the  mad  cap 
Topsy  of  the  night  before.  Truly  Louie  Lord  is  the  most  versatile 
Artist  who  has  ever  visited  our  city."  Of  course,  this  was  a  company 
handout  in  Leavenworth,  but  the  theme  was  effectively  stated. 
On  February  24,  after  registering  complaint  about  alleged  mistreat- 
ment of  Times  employees,  the  editor  asserted:  "Louie  Lord  in  the 
full  scope  of  her  versatile  talents  is  certainly  not  excelled  in  the 
West.  .  .  ." 

The  critic  of  the  Leavenworth  Commercial,  November  26,  1870, 
responded  in  a  manner  similar  to  the  Times  writer:  "Mrs.  Lord 


410  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

possesses  a  variety  of  talent  seldom,  if  ever,  embodied  in  any  one 
person  now  on  the  American  Stage.  .  .  ."  Following  a  pres- 
entation of  "Marco/'  on  December  31  the  same  paper  neatly  com- 
plimented both  Mrs.  Lord  and  her  rendition:  "Reflective  of  so  much 
and  varied  grace,  the  infatuation  of  'Raphael'  did  not  seem  sur- 
prising to  the  audience.  .  .  ." 

After  the  fourth  play  of  the  first  visit,  and  relative  to  "Topsy"  in 
"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  the  Leavenworth  Bulletin,  November  25, 
1870,  concluded:  "If  any  doubts  were  heretofore  entertained  as 
to  the  versatility  of  Louie  Lord  they  were  happily  removed  by  the 
very  versatile,  clever  and  animated  representation  of  that  character 
last  night."  On  January  5,  1871,  the  Bulletin  also  reprinted  the 
Joliet  Republicans  verdict,  obviously  provided  by  the  management. 

At  Lawrence  the  matter  of  versatility  was  not  raised  by  either 
paper  during  the  first  visit,  but  the  day  before  the  second  visit,  the 
Tribune,  February  12,  1871,  wrote:  "Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lord  are  thor- 
oughly read,  and  are  acknowledged  first-class  actors.  Louie  Lord, 
especially,  is  very  versatile.  She  has  a  peculiar  aptness  in  assuming 
almost  any  character,  and  is  a  sincere  and  faithful  worker.  .  .  . 
We  expect  a  great  deal  of  Louie,  and  we  are  sure  we  will  not  be 
disappointed."  If  this  was  the  work  of  the  advance  agent  Park 
Smith,  it  was  well  disguised.  At  Atchison,  the  only  reference  to 
versatility  came  on  December  17,  1870,  when  the  Champion  was 
evidently  following  closely  the  advertising  copy,  but  making  a 
specific  current  application:  "The  occasion  being  a  complimentary 
benefit  to  that  excellent,  versatile  and  popular  actress,  Mrs.  Lord, 
Corinthian  Hall  was  crowded.  .  .  ." 

The  Topeka  papers  were  the  most  generous  in  their  variations 
on  the  theme  of  versatility.  In  announcing  the  first  benefit  of  the 
season  for  Mrs.  Lord,  the  Daily  Record,  December  9,  1870,  put 
its  comments  in  perspective:  "Mrs.  Lord  has,  in  the  two  engage- 
ments which  the  Lord  troupe  has  played  here,  appeared  in  every 
line  of  feminine  character  known  to  the  stage.  She  has  been  a 
negro  girl,  an  Irish  girl,  a  Yankee  girl,  an  Indian  girl,  and  all  sorts 
of  a  girl,  and  has  in  every  part  she  has  undertaken  shown  genuine 
ability."  In  "Frou  Frou,"  for  the  benefit,  she  was  to  play  "Gilberte," 
a  French  girl.  After  the  first  night  of  this  engagement,  the  Com- 
monwealth, December  6,  1870,  emphasized:  "This  is  the  second 
visit  of  this  troupe  to  our  city.  .  .  .  The  characters  . 
rendered  by  Mrs.  Louie  Lord  were  immense,  the  best  we  ever 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  411 

saw.  Mrs.  Lord  is  certainly  a  lady  of  rare  and  versatile  talent,  sel- 
dom embodied  in  one  person/'  This  wording  was  similar  to  the 
Leavenworth  Times  notice  of  November  26. 

Upon  their  return  to  Topeka  in  January,  1871,  the  Daily  Record, 
January  14,  was  duly  impressed  by  "The  Marble  Heart"  perform- 
ance: "Mrs.  Lord  displayed,  as  'Mademoiselle  Marco/  that  versa- 
tility of  talent  which  has  made  her  so  popular  here.  It  appears  to 
make  little  difference  to  the  lady  what  line  of  character  she  is  called 
upon  to  play,  whether  it  is  the  screaming  'Yankee  Gal/  or  some 
roaring  farce  or  the  heroine  of  a  dramatic  romance  like  the  'Marble 
Heart/  she  always  does  her  best,  and  that  is  always  acceptable." 

The  Commonwealth,  January  12,  showed  more  warmth  in  its 
praise:  "That  beautiful  and  graceful  lady,  Mrs.  Louie  Lord,  ap- 
peared as  Florence  Trenchard  ['Our  American  Cousin'],  and  the 
ease  with  which  she  entered  into  the  character  she  represented 
so  well  in  this  comedy,  after  having  seen  her  in  the  sad,  sad  condi- 
tion of  the  Octoroon,  last  evening,  astonished  us  with  the  versatility 
of  her  talents."  The  Commonwealth,  January  15,  1871,  charac- 
terized Mrs.  Lord's  "Nancy  Sikes"  in  "Oliver  Twist"  as  "another 
illustration  of  that  versatility  of  talent  for  which  she  is  so  justly 
famous."  And  of  "The  Child  Stealer,"  five  days  later,  it  specified 
that  Mrs.  Lord  "almost  surpassed  herself  in  her  magic  transitions 
from  the  miserable  child  thief  to  the  repentant  mother;  from  the 
humble  mendicant  at  a  noble's  door  to  the  heroic  mother  vis  a  vis 
with  a  long  lost  daughter;  from  the  lying,  poverty  stricken  parent 
to  the  atoning,  victorious  mother.  The  'Mother  and  Daughter'  in 
in  the  last  act  was  truly  a  most  affecting  scene." 

MRS.  LORD,  ACTRESS 

Evaluations  of  the  quality  and  effectiveness  of  Mrs.  Lord's  acting 
included  many  that  indicated  originality  rather  than  stereotype, 
although  there  was  necessarily  much  of  the  latter.  After  the  open- 
ing play  the  Leavenworth  Times,  November  22,  1870,  reported: 
"Leavenworth  amusement  seekers  had  a  sensation  ...  in  'Frou 
Frou,'  as  presented  by  one  of  the  most  charming  and  brilliant  young 
actresses  ever  seen  on  the  Opera  House  boards.  We  can't  describe 
her,  but  can  only  say  that  her  like  has  not  been  here — since  the  last 
visit  by  herself.  The  way  she  represents  that  wild,  giddy,  naughty, 
fascinating  'Frou  Frou/  is  indescribable,  and  must  be  seen  to  be 
appreciated."  The  following  day,  after  "Dora,"  the  Times  assumed 
a  sophisticated  attitude: 


412  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

She  is  already  a  favorite  with  our  people — and  we  think  that  past  experience 
shows  that  to  win  the  hearty  support  of  Leavenworth  theatre  goers  is  not  an 
easy  exploit.  Whether  or  not  they  are  more  faithfully  critical  than  other  people 
we  do  not  claim  to  be  able  to  decide,  but  many  a  bankrupt  manager  can  give 
sorrowful  testimony  to  the  fact  that  they  do  not  lavish  their  smiles  upon  every- 
body. Therefore  we  may  say  that  Mrs.  Lord  is  to  be  congratulated  upon  her 
success — richly  merited,  no  one  will  deny. 

Prior  to  her  benefit  in  "Marco"  the  Times,  December  30,  insisted  that 
Mrs.  Lord  had  "established  herself  as  a  favorite  on  her  first  visit/' 
and  the  next  day  reported  that  "as  the  marble-hearted  'Marco/ 
[she]  was  airily  and  coquetishly  fas [c] mating  and  abundantly  jus- 
tified the  uncontrollable  passion  of  'Raphael.'  The  statue  [shadow] 
dance  in  the  opening  was  very  effective. 

On  December  28  the  Commercial  reminded  readers: 

On  former  occasions  we  have  taken  great  pleasure  in  calling  attention  to  Miss 
Lord's  beauty  and  talented  dramatic  impersonations,  and,  as  we  clearly  discern 
an  immense  improvement  in  her  stage  accomplishments,  we  unqualifiedly 
endorse  her  as  the  head  of  all  female  stars  now  traveling  in  the  West.  Simply 
and  unaffectedly  natural  in  style,  she  readily  wins  her  way  to  the  good  will 
and  appreciation  of  her  delighted  audiences. 

And,  in  "Fanchon,"  the  next  day's  paper  reported:  "The  rendition 
.  .  .  by  the  fascinating  Louie  Lord,  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
histrionic  accomplishments  of  the  Leavenworth  stage."  Two  days 
later:  "The  stony-hearted  'Marco*  was  played  by  Miss  Lord  with 
a  degree  of  elegance  and  grace  seldom  seen  on  any  stage.  .  .  ." 
On  February  22,  1871,  the  Commercial  resorted  to  a  device  used  in 
dealing  with  Louie  Lord  by  this  paper  before,  and  frequently  by 
others:  "Louie  Lord,  we  need  scarcely  say,  did  her  part  [in  the 
'Hunchback']  with  her  usual  care  and  skill."  In  bidding  the  Lords 
farewell  at  the  end  of  their  third  engagement  of  the  winter,  the 
Bulletin,  February  23,  paid  tribute:  "LouiE  LORD  is  deserving  of 
special  distinction.  She  is  an  accomplished  lady,  and  many  of  her 
impersonations  deserve  to  take  equal  rank  with  the  renditions  of  the 
best  actresses  of  the  Atlantic  cities." 

In  writing  about  Louie  Lord  the  Lawrence  Tribune  exercised  for 
the  most  part  its  usual  restraint  or  disinterestedness  in  theatre  as 
the  case  may  be.  Mostly  the  comment  focused  upon  the  company 
as  a  whole.  On  November  29, 1870,  after  the  first  show,  the  Tribune 
conceded:  "Mrs.  Louise  Lord  has  a  natural  talent  for  the  stage, 
that  has  been  improved  by  study  and  practice  until  she  is  thor- 
oughly proficient  in  her  profession.  The  rendering  of  'Ireland  as 
It  Is/  last  night,  was  perfect.  .  .  ."  On  the  second  and  last  visit 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  413 

the  Tribune,  February  11,  1871,  predicted:  "Louie  Lord  will,  no 
doubt,  be  as  much  appreciated  as  ever."  Three  days  later  the 
critic  grudgingly,  it  seemed,  wrote:  "Louie  Lord  as  Zoe,  the  octo- 
roon, displayed  that  talent  which  we  have  heretofore  been  obliged 
to  acknowledge.  She  has  a  charming  ease  and  grace,  and  at  times, 
when  the  text  requires  it,  all  the  fire  and  spirit  which  intense  emo- 
tion and  great  passion  give.  The  character  suited  her  well  and  she 
did  full  justice  to  it."  On  February  15,  the  critic  himself  appeared 
in  a  more  mellow  mood  which  revealed  some  personal  feeling  in 
the  matter:  "Louie  Lord  as  Laura  Courtland  ['Under  the  Gaslight'] 
came  fully  up  to  our  expectation,  as  a  matter  of  course  she  always 
does."  After  "Ingomar,  the  Barbarian,"  the  Tribune,  February  17, 
1871,  again  exhibited  some  enthusiasm:  "Mrs.  Louie  Lord,  in  the 
character  of  the  Greek  maiden  [Parthenia],  elicited  repeated  ap- 
plause. We  have  no  need  of  testifying  further  to  the  merit  of  Mrs. 
Lord,  in  Lawrence  she  is  sufficiently  well  known  and  appreciated. 
Last  evening  she  called  forth  more  admiration  than  ever;  so  correct 
was  the  role  rendered  that  we  thought  ourselves  in  the  wilds  of 
Greece." 

Upon  their  first  return  to  Topeka  the  winter  of  1870-1871,  the 
Record,  for  some  reason,  did  not  single  out  Mrs.  Lord  for  much 
special  comment,  but  the  Commonwealth  made  up  for  any  appar- 
ent neglect  on  the  part  of  its  rival:  "The  rendering  of  Dora,  by 
Louie  Lord,  would  pass  the  severest  criticism.  She  is  evidently  a 
lady  of  no  ordinary  talent,  and  deservedly  receives  the  applause 
of  the  lovers  of  fine  acting."  Two  days  later,  December  9,  1870, 
the  Commonwealth  recorded  that:  "Mrs.  Lord's  acting  in  our  city, 
has  elicited  the  warmest  encomiums  from  dramatic  critics.  .  .  ." 
After  her  benefit  the  paper,  December  10,  became  most  enthusiastic 
about  the  company  as  a  whole  for  the  presentation  of  "Frou  Frou," 
but  particularly  about  the  star:  "Mrs.  Lord  is  certainly  the  most 
natural  actress  now  on  the  American  stage.  She  carries  the  audience 
with  her  throughout,  and  the  universal  sentiment,  last  evening, 
seemed  to  be,  "Thou  art  an  actress,  born  such,  not  made.' " 

On  the  second  visit  of  the  winter  to  Topeka,  in  spite  of  the  bitter 
cold  of  January,  1871,  the  Record  thawed  out  to  the  point  of  be- 
coming a  warm  and  vocal  admirer  of  Mrs.  Lord:  her  "Nancy  Sikes," 
in  "Oliver  Twist"  "was  a  powerful  piece  of  acting.  .  .  ."  This 
was  printed  January  15  and  two  days  later  the  Record  approved 
"Mrs.  Lord's  idea  of  Tanchion'  ...  as  being  the  correct  one. 
She  throws  more  dignity  into  the  character  and  rants  less  than  is 


414  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

usual  with  ladies  who  essay  the  part."  After  playing  "Ogarita"  in 
the  "Sea  of  Ice"  the  Record  recorded,  January  21,  that:  "Mrs.  Lord 
was  called  out,  an  honor  never  accorded  her,  or,  we  believe,  any 
other  actress  in  Topeka  before." 

During  this  two-week  run  in  Topeka,  Mrs.  Lord  took  two  bene- 
fits, both  of  which  thrilled  the  Commonwealth  critic  who,  January 
14,  1871,  wrote  of  "Marco,  the  Marble  Heart":  "all  were  delighted. 
Mrs.  Louie  Lord  was,  of  course,  the  star  of  the  evening. 
Her  personation  of  'Madamoiselle  Marco'  was  perfect.  It  is  useless 
for  us  to  attempt  to  praise  her,  or  the  performance  throughout. 
Just  let  our  readers  take  down  their  musty  Webster's  unabridged, 
and  commit  the  pretty  superlatives  therein,  to  memory,  and  consider 
us  as  using  them  all."  One  week  later  the  play  was  "The  Sea  of  Ice": 
The  citizens  of  Topeka  have  never  before,  perhaps,  had  the  opportunity  of  wit- 
nessing so  fine  acting.  Indeed  the  performance  of  the  piece  is  rarely  excelled 
in  our  largest  cities.  Mrs.  Lord  sustained  herself  splendidly  throughout  the 
piece,  but  in  the  Arctic  Scene  in  the  2nd  act  and  all  through  the  5th  act,  she 
was  certainly  superb.  We  mean  no  fulsome  adulation  when  we  say  Mrs.  Ferren 
[author]  never  saw  the  day  when  she  need  be  ashamed  of  the  manner  in  which 
Mrs.  Lord  acquitted  herself  last  night.  .  .  . 

After  the  close  of  the  performance,  the  audience  absolutely  refused  to  leave 
until  Mrs.  Lord  had  appeared  before  the  curtain. 

At  Atchison,  superlatives  were  employed  as  generously  as  else- 
where although  not  the  whole  of  the  unabridged  dictionary:  "No 
actress  who  has  heretofore  visited  Atchison  has  attained  so  high 
a  place  in  the  estimation  of  our  people  as  Louie  Lord.  Natural 
gracefulness  and  most  delicate  culture  lend  a  charm  to  every  char- 
acter she  undertakes,  and  win  the  attention  and  esteem  of  her 
audience." 

MR.  LORD,  ACTOR 

Early  in  J.  A.  Lord's  theatrical  career  it  was  said  he  came  to 
realize  that  he  did  not  have  the  power  to  fascinate,  and  so  devoted 
himself  assiduously  to  the  promotion  of  the  career  of  his  wife 
Louie,  of  whom  the  Topeka  Commonwealth  had  said  at  one  time 
that  she  possessed  "the  sacred  'fire/"  and  at  another  time:  "Thou 
art  an  actress,  born  such,  not  made."  The  record  of  these  winter 
months  1870-1871  is  so  complete  that  it  does  invite  a  testing  of  the 
exact  quality  of  the  public  responses  to  Mr.  Lord  as  an  actor.  The 
Leavenworth  Times,  November  22,  commented  on  him  as  "Henry 
Sartarys,"  husband  of  "Frou  Frou":  "admirably  fitted  for  the  part, 
in  many  gifts  of  nature,  as  well  as  by  brilliant  acquirements  in  the 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  415 

dramatic  art,  which  have  seldom  been  witnessed  here."  The  follow- 
ing day,  after  the  presentation  of  "Dora,  or  the  Farmer's  Will,"  the 
Times  said: 

Mr.  J.  A.  Lord  as  "Farmer  Allen,"  won  his  full  share  of  the  applause,  and  proved 
himself  at  home  in  his  character.  In  fact  we  are  inclined  to  think  it  his  favorite 
character,  and  we  doubt  if  he  is  excelled  in  it.  The  audience  was  at  times  held 
spell-bound,  and  at  many  points  the  drop  of  a  pin  could  have  been  heard  in  the 
house,  as  deathlike  was  the  stillness.  Mr.  Lord  is  an  actor  of  unusual  power. 

"Richard  III,"  came  the  third  night,  with  Lord  in  the  title  role, 
"played  with  spirit  and  appreciation." 

On  the  second  of  the  season's  visits  to  Leavenworth,  the  Times 
singled  out  in  its  report  on  "The  Octoroon"  only  Mrs.  Lord  and  John 
Toohey  for  special  mention.  Later,  "Mr.  Lowe  [Lord]  as  Raphael 
the  infatuated  sculptor  [in  'Marco,  the  Marble  Heart'],  added  to  his 
previously  awarded  laurels."  In  "Oliver  Twist":  "J.  A.  Lord  acted 
the  character  of  Bill  Sykes  to  perfection."  No  comment  on  Lord's 
acting  resulted  from  the  third  run  in  Leavenworth. 

The  Commercial's  comments  on  Lord,  the  actor,  in  the  same  three 
series  of  plays  opened:  "Mr.  J.  A.  Lord  as  Farmer  Allen,  rendered 
the  part  thoroughly  and  was  very  effective  in  the  tableaux  in  which 
he  takes  so  great  a  prominence." — "Mr.  Lord,  as  the  humped-backed 
King,  was  exceedingly  effective  and  rendered  the  part  with  great 
power.  The  tent  scene  was  quite  emotional  and  the  passions  which 
filled  the  breast  of  the  despairing  monarch  were  faithfully  por- 
trayed." In  the  second  series  of  plays,  after  "The  Sea  of  Ice"  and 
"The  Octoroon"  the  comment  directed  at  the  manager  personally 
was  "Miss  Lord  is  admirably  supported  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Lord,  as  lead- 
ing man,  and  a  numerous  and  talented  company."  After  the  "Marble 
Heart"  eulogy  of  Louie  Lord,  the  Commercial  had  only  this  to  say 
of  the  others:  "Both  Mr.  Lord's  'Raphael/  and  Mr.  Herbert's  'Volage' 
were  worthy  of  special  attention."  In  "The  Child  Stealer":  "J.  A. 
Lord  plays  his  specialties  skilfully."  In  the  "Hunchback"  during 
the  third  series,  the  critic  wrote:  "J.  A.  Lord,  John  Toohey  and 
Horace  Herbert  were  well  up  in  their  parts." 

The  Leavenworth  Bulletins  verdict  on  the  leading  man  in  "Dora" 
was:  "Mr.  Lord's  personation  of  the  old  farmer  was  the  most  cor- 
rect and  natural  rendition  we  have  witnessed  for  some  time.  The 
audience  completely  lost  sight  of  the  urbane  manager,  in  the  harsh 
and  determined  conduct  of  the  self-willed  farmer."  When  the 
cast  of  "Our  American  Cousin"  was  announced  with  Lord  as  "Asa 
Trenchard,"  the  Bulletin  would  have  been  pleased  "to  see  Toohey 


416  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

impersonate  the  'Yankee  Cousin/  .  .  ."  During  the  third  series 
of  plays,  the  Bulletin  was  not  unappreciative  of  Mr.  Lord,  but  its 
personal  compliments  were  directed  to  other  aspects  of  his  activities. 

As  has  been  seen  already  the  Lawrence  papers  were  sparing  in 
their  theatrical  news  in  any  case,  but  particularly  as  applied  to  Mr. 
Lord  as  actor.  His  "Richard  III"  was  commended  by  the  Tribune, 
and  he  was  considered  equal  to  the  requirements  for  the  role  of 
"McClusky"  in  "The  Mormons,"  as  well  as  for  "Bill  Sykes"  in  "Oliver 
Twist." 

In  Topeka  for  the  first  series  of  plays  each  of  the  papers  really 
specified  Mr.  Lord  for  particular  notice  only  twice.  Both  recog- 
nized his  "Richard  III"  which  is  reserved  for  review  under  plays. 
The  Record  cited  his  "Dan  O'Carlan"  in  "Ireland  as  It  Is"  as  played 
"with  his  wonted  power.  .  .  ."  The  Commonwealth  selected 
his  Farmer  Allen  role  in  "Dora":  "the  part  of  the  old  man  was 
admirably  personated  and  powerfully  rendered.  .  .  ." 

During  the  two-week  long  second  visit  to  Topeka  in  January,  1871, 
the  Record  conceded  to  Mr.  Lord  "a  dashing  'Captain  Murphy  Ma- 
guire,'  and  Mrs.  Lord  a  sprightly  'Mrs.  Delmaine/  "  Toohey  was  given 
the  best  notice  in  connection  with  that  play,  "The  Serious  Family." 
In  the  "Marble  Heart,"  "Mr.  Lord  played  the  poor  sculptor  to  perfec- 
tion, and  that  always  careful  gentlemanly  actor  Mr.  Herbert  was  un- 
exceptional as  usual."  So  often  Mr.  Lord  was  given  about  the  same 
recognition  as  the  secondary  members  of  the  company.  In  "Oliver 
Twist"  the  Record  said:  "Mr.  Lord  as  the  ruffian,  Bill  Sykes,  was 
excellent.  The  murderous  look  of  the  villain  as  he  enters  to  murder 
the  helpless  girl,  and  his  horror  stricken  face  as  he  covers  the  dead 
body  with  a  blanket  to  shut  out  from  his  eyes  the  horrid  sight,  was 
wonderful." 

The  Commonwealth  was  more  generous  than  the  Record  in  rec- 
ognizing Lord,  the  actor:  "'Our  American  Cousin,  Asa  Trenchard' 
was  extremely  well  rendered  by  Mr.  Lord.  He  entered  fully  into 
the  character  ...  of  a  free  and  easy  American,  posted  on  all 
the  outlandish  lingo  used  on  this  side  of  the  'pond/  This  was  one 
of  the  most  difficult  characters  in  the  play  and  its  admirable  rendi- 
tion showed  the  artist's  skill."  In  "Oliver  Twist"  "  'Bill  Sykes'  was 
well  rendered  by  Mr.  Lord."  In  reviewing  "The  Child  Stealer" — 
"We  must  not  omit  to  mention  that  Mr.  Lord  pleased  his  numerous 
friends  last  night  better  than  ever  before."  As  the  third  series, 
coming  in  February,  1871,  involved  other  issues  it  will  be  deferred 
to  the  section  on  Mr.  Lord  as  manager.  Also  the  Atchison  reaction 
is  handled  under  plays  and  management. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  417 

OTHER  PERSONNEL  AND  Music 

Other  than  Mrs.  Lord,  and  Mr.  Lord  as  manager,  six  principal 
members  of  the  company  received  recognition  by  name  from  the 
critics;  probably  in  this  order:    John  T.  Toohey,  Jennie  Woltz,  Mr. 
Lord,  Horace  Herbert  ( Herbert  and  Miss  Reynolds  of  the  company 
were  married  at  Junction  City),  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  L.  L.  Graham. 
Toohey  was  the  comedian,  and  in  some  plays  received  praise  equal 
if  not  greater  than  Mrs.  Lord  herself,  certainly  more  than  Mr.  Lord 
as  actor.     Yet  he  did  not  elicit  the  enthusiasms  associated  with 
Simons  the  previous  season.    Jennie  Woltz  occupied  a  unique  niche 
in  the  company  organization  also  that  drew  attention  to  her;  pri- 
marily her  music,  but  her  improved  skill  as  an  actress  was  the  sub- 
ject of  favorable  comment.     In  "Othello,"  Mrs.   Graham  played 
"Desdemona"  and  Mrs.  Lord  "Emelia."    In  "Ingomar,"  Mr.  Graham 
played  "Pagan  the  Jew"  or  the  miser,  a  role  so  important  that  the 
play  was  sometimes  referred  to  as  "Pagan  the  Jew."    In  other  plays 
Herbert  was  second  only  to  Mr.  Lord  in  assignment  to  male  leads. 
The  Topeka  Record,  January  17,  1871,  paid  the  company  a  com- 
pliment that  contained  more,  much  more,  than  face  value:    "There 
was  not  a  break  or  wait  or  stumble  of  any  sort  from  the  first  to  last. 
Mr.  Lord  has  a  fine  company  in  one  respect,  they  never  get  sick  or 
sulky,  or  if  they  do  the  public  never  discovers  it.    We  have  no  time 
to  particularize,  and  only  say  that  all  did  well."    All  that  was  true, 
no  doubt,  but  in  composition  the  assignment  of  roles  makes  clear 
that  the  troupe  was  not  assembled  according  to  such  a  formula  as 
was  illustrated  by  the  Mills  Company,  but  with  a  view  to  having  a 
corps  of  people  competent  to  carry  major  parts  if  necessary.     In 
spite  of  the  unusually  severe  Kansas  weather,  however,  and  com- 
plaints on  occasion  that  the  heating  of  the  theatre  was  not  adequate 
to  keep  the  audience  comfortable,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lord  were  not  ill, 
and  no  substitutions  or  cancellations  took  place.    All  these  things 
taken  together  would  suggest  that  the  rather  even  handed  treatment 
of  these  members  of  the  company  by  the  critics  was  generally 
sound.    Except  for  the  substitution  of  Toohey  for  Simon  these  mem- 
bers of  the  company  had  continued  from  the  previous  year. 

The  extent  to  which  music  and  the  dance  contributed  to  the  over- 
all success  of  the  Lord  Company  is  difficult  to  evaluate.  Louie 
Lord's  singing  and  dancing  were  included  in  the  advertising  of  her 
accomplishments.  For  example,  the  roles  of  Topsy  and  of  Fanchon 
(the  shadow  dance)  called  for  dancing.  Two  of  the  duets  sung 

28—1378 


418  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

by  Mrs.  Lord  and  Jennie  Woltz  were  mentioned  by  name:  "The 
Wild  Thyme"  and  "A  Sigh  in  the  Heart."  Only  one  of  Mrs.  Lord's 
solos  was  advertised  by  name,  "Par  Excellence,"  in  connection  with 
"Our  American  Cousin."  The  Commonwealth,  January  12,  1871, 
punned  that  her  singing  was  "par  excellence." 

Miss  Woltz  sang  quite  regularly  an  "operatic  gem,"  titles  not 
given.  A  few  of  her  songs,  introduced  into  plays,  were  listed.  Dur- 
ing the  1869-1870  tour  she  sang  "Like  the  Gloom  of  Night  Return- 
ing," in  connection  with  "Under  the  Gaslight,"  and  "Five  O'Clock 
in  the  Morning,"  Parepa  Rosa's  song,  in  connection  with  the  "Hidden 
Hand"  performance  at  Topeka.  During  the  second  tour  in  Kansas, 
two  other  titles  were  mentioned:  "Those  Evening  Bells,"  and  "Song 
of  the  Kiss,"  both  in  Topeka,  December  10,  1870,  and  January  14, 
1871.  Of  course,  the  "low  comedy"  man  as  well  as  the  child  actress 
were  expected  to  provide  both  songs  and  dances.  But  so  far  as 
serious  music  was  concerned,  only  Mrs.  Lord  and  Miss  Woltz,  espe- 
cially Miss  Woltz,  undertook  that  responsibility. 

VIII.    RECEPTION  GIVEN  INDIVIDUAL  PLAYS 

The  tabulation  of  frequency  of  presentation  puts  the  play  "Dora" 
in  the  lead  with  six  showings.  The  repeat  performances  were  on 
different  visits  to  Leavenworth  and  Topeka.  As  a  play  "Dora"  did 
not  induce  the  reporters  to  comment.  Possibly  the  prestige  of 
Tennyson  was  such  that  the  play  was  taken  for  granted.  The 
dramatization  of  the  poem  used  was  that  of  Charles  Reade. 

Of  the  plays  presented  on  the  Lord  tour  of  1870-1871,  "Frou 
Frou"  was  the  newest  and  after  "Dora"  shared  with  "The  Mormons" 
the  rank  of  being  presented  most  frequently.  Adapted  in  1870  from 
a  new  French  play  by  Henri  Meilhac  and  Ludovic  Halevy  (1869), 
Augustin  Daly  had  written  and  produced  it  in  New  York  within  the 
year  of  Lord's  use  of  it  during  this  season.2  The  Leavenworth  Daily 
Times,  November  20,  called  it  a  "sensational  melodrama  ...  as 
Frenchy  as  if  it  just  escaped  from  Paris  in  a  balloon.  .  .  .  Ele- 
gant new  scenery,  by  one  of  Chicago's  most  gifted  scenic  painters, 
will  accompany  the  production  of  the  piece  here,  and  our  people 
can  enjoy  its  beauties  and  sensations  as  well  at  our  Opera  House  as 
at  McVicker's  or  Niblo's  Garden."  Afterwards  the  Times  reported 
"a  sensation,"  but  focused  upon  praise  of  Louie  Lord  the  actress 
rather  than  the  play.  The  Commercial  had  nothing  particular  to 

2.  Arthur  H.  Quinn,  A  History  of  the  American  Drama  From  the  Civil  War  to  the 
Present  Day  (New  York,  1936),  v.  1,  pp.  23,  24. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  419 

say  about  the  play,  but  the  Bulletin,  November  21,  reported  that 
"Mr.  Lord  assures  us  that  he  has  all  the  necessary  effects  for  pro- 
ducing the  piece  in  a  thorough  manner.  .  .  ."  Afterwards  the 
same  paper  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  was  the  first  time 
the  play  had  been  acted  in  Leavenworth,  and  except  for  "the  inex- 
perience of  the  [local]  Orchestra  in  the  music  of  the  play"  the  pro- 
duction "passed  off  smoothly.  .  .  ."  But  about  the  play  itself: 
"Frou  Frou  is  certainly  a  remarkable  piece.  It  is  fascinating,  but 
hardly  pleasing.  There  is  considerable  blood  and  excitement  in 
the  piece,  and  several  unnatural  situations."  Gilberte,  a  giddy 
young  thing,  married  a  serious  husband,  had  a  lover  whom  her  hus- 
band met  in  a  duel.  Finally,  Gilberte  returned  to  her  husband  and 
died  in  his  arms : 

The  play  would  be  thoroughly  "Frenchy"  if  a  suicide  had  been  introduced.  We 
knew  it  wasn't  American,  as  soon  as  the  leading  man  declined  the  Carlsruhe 
mission.  If  it  had  been  the  English  mission  we  could  have  forgiven  him,  and 
still  thought  the  piece  natural.  Some  theatre-goers  love  tragedy.  They  adore 
it  while  they  weep,  and  many  at  the  Opera  House  last  night  would  have  ap- 
plauded the  wholesale  murder  of  all  the  actors  on  the  stage,  in  play,  and  have 
been  gratified  at  the  complete  massacre  of  the  Orchestra  in  reality. 

Upon  the  second  visit  of  the  Lord  Company  to  Leavenworth,  the 
Bulletin  explained  that  those  who  had  been  "charmed"  by  Louie 
Lord's  "Gilberte"  appealed  to  Mr.  Lord  for  a  repeat  performance. 
The  request  was  granted  for  January  5,  1871,  the  Bulletin  comment- 
ing that:  "The  piece  generally  gets  its  patronage  from  people  of 
culture,  or  at  least,  people  of  a  better  taste,  than  crowd  theatre 
rooms  to  witness  the  'Sea  of  Ice/  and  'Under  the  Gaslight  "  Ap- 
parently this  rationalization  in  advance  was  needed,  because  the 
report  on  the  following  day  admitted  only  "a  very  fair  audience  con- 
vened at  the  Opera  House,"  although  the  play  was  received  with 
"satisfaction."  Leavenworth  was  the  only  Kansas  town  where  Lord 
gave  a  repeat  performance  of  "Frou  Frou." 

At  Lawrence  "Frou  Frou"  was  presented  upon  the  first  visit  of 
the  season,  but  neither  newspaper  commented  upon  the  play.  Yet 
the  formal  advertisement  of  the  show  pointed  out  that  this  was  its 
first  production  in  the  city.  At  Topeka  the  Record  suggested  that 
"the  novelty  alone  .  .  .  ought  to  attract  an  immense  audience." 
The  following  day  the  report  was  that:  "  'Frou  Frou'  was  received 
with  intense  interest.  The  play  will  henceforth  be  a  favorite. 
.  .  ."  The  Commonwealth  was  more  demonstrative:  "The  most 
elegant  and  recherche  dramatic  entertainment  ever  presented  in 


420  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Topeka,  came  off  at  Union  Hall  last  night.  .  .  .  Most  elegant 
stage  dress  and  the  best  of  acting  was  the  order  of  the  evening." 

"The  Mormons"  was  given  at  each  of  the  four  towns  on  the  first 
round,  and  repeated  at  Leavenworth  on  the  second.  The  Commer- 
cial, November  26,  27,  1870,  termed  it  "the  best  comedy  now  out," 
"which  drew  the  largest  crowd  .  .  .  seen  there  for  many  a  day." 
The  Bulletin  was  virtually  silent  on  the  subject,  but  the  Times  said 
all  seats  were  filled  and  some  people  stood  up.  It  was  more  fre- 
quently applauded  than  any  previous  piece  of  the  season.  "The 
old  Opera  House  has  seldom  had  a  more  delighted  audience." 
Upon  the  repeat  performance  the  Commercial,  January  3,  1871, 
reported  only  "a  fine  audience"  was  presented  with  "the  excellent 
comedy  the  'Mormons/  .  .  ." 

At  Lawrence  the  Journal,  December  3,  1870,  revealed  clearly  its 
hostility  toward  the  Mormons  by  saying  about  the  play  in  prospect: 
"They  will  undoubtedly  be  taken  off  as  they  deserve  to-night.  This 
is  certainly  sensational  enough  for  any  and  all.  .  .  .  The  'En- 
dowment Ceremonies'  and  a  secret  marriage  will  be  enacted."  The 
following  day  there  was  no  further  comment.  The  Tribunes  part- 
ing reference  was:  "Louie  Lord  was  particularly  attractive,  and 
gave  us  an  amusing  and  clear  insight  into  the  domestic  life  of  a 
Mormon  family." 

The  Topeka  Record,  December  10, 1870,  assured  its  readers:  "To- 
night will  be  devoted  to  fun  exclusively,  two  side-splitting  farces 
being  on  the  bill,  viz:  'The  Mormons/  and  'Turn  Him  Out/  "  After- 
wards the  same  paper  pronounced  the  play  "a  queer  mixture  of 
tragedy  and  comedy,  and  it  is  difficult  to  tell  whether  fire  or  blood 
is  die  leading  ingredient — there  is  certainly  plenty  of  both.  The 
play  was  well  received  and  would  doubtless  bear  repetition  here/' 
The  Commonwealth  was  more  direct: 

Another  tremendous  gathering  greeted  the  fifth  and  last  appearance  of  this 
troupe  last  night. 

The  infernal  system  of  polygamy,  as  practiced  in  Salt  Lake  City,  was  ex- 
hibited in  glowing  colors.  Mrs.  Louie  Lord's  address  to  the  women's  conven- 
tion was  received  with  thunders  of  applause.  The  Danites  were  completely 
outwitted  and  h — 11  was  to  pay. 

Atchison's  response  to  "The  Mormons"  was  similar  to  that  of  To- 
peka and  fully  as  outspoken.  The  Champion,  December  18,  1870, 
recorded  a  crowded  Corinthian  Hall  and  "the  audience  was  de- 
lighted with  the  excellent  rendition.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Lord  sustained 
the  characters  of  Chattirena  and  Sergeant  M'Judgin  in  admirable 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  421 

style.     Mr.  Lord  was  loudly  applauded  for  his  faultless  impersona- 
tion of  'Whiskey  Jake/  " 

The  fourth  play  to  be  considered  was  another  that  was  presented 
in  the  four  cities  on  the  first  time  around — Shakespeare's  "Richard 
III."  This  was  the  Lord's  first  Shakespeare  production  in  Kansas. 
The  Leavenworth  Times,  November  23,  24,  1870,  had  little  to  say 
but  to  repeat  that  it  "was  given  to  a  full  house  and  was  played  with 
spirit  and  appreciation."  The  Commercial  was  slightly  more  spe- 
cific: Mr.  Lord  "was  exceedingly  effective  and  rendered  the  part 
with  great  power.  The  tent  scene  was  quite  emotional  and  the 
passions  which  filled  the  breast  of  the  despairing  monarch  were 
faithfully  portrayed."  The  Bulletin  had  misgivings  before  hand: 
To-night  the  great  Shakespearian  tragedy  "Richard  III,"  will  be  placed  on  the 
stage,  and  it  yet  remains  with  our  people  to  see  what  the  company  can  do  with 
a  play  of  this  magnitude.  Richard  is  a  famous  part  and  a  difficult  one  to  render. 
Practice  and  study  are  necessary  for  a  proper  rendition  of  the  character  together 
with  a  correct  appreciation  of  the  genius  of  the  author.  Many  actors  who  have 
gained  recognition  and  won  deserved  applause  in  minor  pieces,  have  failed 
in  representing  the  characters  of  the  great  author,  Shakespeare.  The  history 
of  the  drama  is  strewn  with  such  wrecks.  We  are  assured  that  the  play  has 
been  produced  by  this  Company  in  other  cities,  and  been  pronounced  a 
gratifying  success  by  the  critics.  At  least  we  hope  to  see  the  effort  witnessed 
by  one  of  the  largest  audiences  that  ever  assembled  in  the  Opera  House. 

After  that  introduction  to  both  the  Bard  of  Avon  and  to  the  mid- 
19th  century  competence  to  produce  his  plays,  it  is  disconcerting 
to  have  no  report  from  the  same  hand  after  the  event. 

The  Lawrence  reception  of  "Richard  III"  was  recorded  in  the 
papers  for  November  30  and  December  1,  1870,  the  Tribune  an- 
nouncing the  play  '"with  appropriate  scenery.  .  .  ."  After  the 
event,  both  papers  undertook  to  discuss  it  briefly,  something  that 
they  seldom  accorded  theatre.  They  agreed  that  the  audience  was 
good,  the  Tribune  going  even  a  bit  further: 

Last  night  this  star  company  produced  Richard  III  to  a  large  and  apprecia- 
tive audience,  the  leading  character  being  sustained  by  the  popular  head  of  the 
company.  Mr.  Lord  rarely  gives  a  "Shakespearian  night"  to  audiences  which 
favor  his  company  in  the  far  West,  for  the  reason  that  lighter  theatricals  are 
generally  more  to  the  taste  of  frontier  theater-goers.  Last  night,  however,  he 
entertained  his  patrons  with  one  of  the  most  difficult  impersonations  in  the  whole 
range  of  acting.  Richard — the  gross,  brutal,  bloodthirsty,  ambitious,  villainous 
tyrant  and  usurper — was  a  part  very  hard  to  sustain  under  the  difficulties  that 
exist  here  for  want  of  scenery,  mechanical  effects,  etc.  Lord  flung  much  spirit, 
taste  and  force  into  this  part,  and  won  much  approbation  for  his  painstaking. 
He  was  well  sustained  and  made  a  better  Richard  than  we  have  had  in  Kansas 
since  Wilkes  Booth. 


422  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

The  Journal  exercised  customary  diffidence  in  matters  theatrical 
by  not  expressing  any  editorial  verdict  on  the  performance  confining 
itself  to  straight  reporting:  "The  rendering  of  such  a  play  requires 
more  than  ordinary  talent.  The  audience  being  judges,  the  acting 
last  night  was  a  success."  This  was  the  occasion  for  the  second  ad- 
mission about  Lawrence,  however,  which  may  convey  a  polite  doubt 
about  the  competence  of  "the  audience  being  judges" — "Lawrence 
people,  as  a  general  rule,  are  more  partial  to  the  concert  and  lecture 
than  the  drama;  yet  Mr.  Lord's  troupe  is  certainly  popular  with  the 
large  class  that  attends." 

At  Topeka  the  Record,  December  7,  1870,  introduced  the  bill  for 
the  evening  with  one  sentence:  "To-night,  for  the  first  time  in  To- 
peka, will  be  presented  the  great  drama  of  "Richard  III/  "  The  fol- 
lowing day  the  theme  was  elaborated: 

Last  night  witnessed  the  first  presentation  of  "Richard  III"  in  this  city,  and 
we  believe  the  first  performance  of  any  of  Shakespeare's  dramas.  We  confess 
that  we  had  misgivings  as  to  success  of  the  venture,  but  were  agreeably  disap- 
pointed. The  audience  was  the  largest  which  has  greeted  the  Lord  troupe 
since  their  arrival,  and  the  play  was  excellently  given  throughout.  Mr.  Lord's 
"Richard"  was  a  fine  rendition  improving  with  each  successive  act.  The  "ghost 
scene"  was  especially  fine,  as  was  the  combat  with  Richmond.  Mrs.  Lord's 
"Queen  Elizabeth"  was  meritorious.  The  scene  in  which  the  Queen  parts  with 
her  children  brought  tears  to  many  eyes. 

The  Commonwealth  dramatic  critic  reported  the  "Richard  III" 
performance  in  his  unsophisticated,  wide-eyed,  "country  boy"  out- 
look, which  he  expounded  so  candidly  a  few  weeks  later: 

Our  astonishment  was  greater  than  our  pleasure  at  the  rendering  of  Richard, 
III,  by  this  troupe  last  evening.  Although  the  concert  of  the  Musical  Union 
drew  many  away,  Union  Hall  was  full,  and  the  acting  was  superb.  This  pres- 
entation of  Shakespeare's  Richard  the  Third,  is  entitled  to  more  than  ordinary 
notice. 

Mr.  Lord  was  seriously  questioned  by  dramatic  critics  as  to  his  ability  to 
present  this  drama,  but  with  all  his  natural  modesty,  he  was  confident,  that 
success  was  certain. 

If  Shakespeare  "was  himself  again"  his  most  imaginary  conceptions  of  that 
blood-stained,  traitorous  villain,  would  have  been  stamped  with  the  living  reality 
by  the  acting  of  Mr.  Lord.  This  is  not  a  drama  that  requires  magnificent  and 
gorgeous  scenery,  therefore  the  acting  is  brought  out  in  bold  relief.  Never 
before,  in  Topeka's  long  history,  was  such  magnificent  stage  dress  presented  to 
the  admiring  audience. 

Mrs.  Louie  Lord,  as  Queen  Elizabeth,  exhibited  all  those  womanly  traits  of 
wife,  widow  and  mother. 

There  was  no  boisterous  demonstration  by  the  audience,  but  every  one 
seemed  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  rendering  of  this  most  difficult  drama. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  423 

The  identity  of  the  Commonwealth's  dramatic  critic  is  not  avail- 
able, but  quite  possibly  S.  S.  Prouty  himself,  at  that  time  one  of  the 
editors,  wrote  the  more  extensive  notices.  The  old  Free-State  radi- 
cal had  acquired  a  reputation  of  sorts  for  scholarship,  and  always 
he  had  more  than  a  passive,  although  at  times  a  somewhat  preten- 
tious, interest  in  the  aesthetic  aspects  of  existence.  Thus,  in  view 
of  the  style  of  some  of  his  identified  writing,  and  his  known  range 
of  interests,  the  dramatic  criticism  relating  to  the  Lord  Company 
may  well  have  been  his.  But,  confessed  unsophisticate  that  he  was, 
his  comments  made  sense.  He  disagreed  with  the  Lawrence  Tri- 
bune about  the  importance  of  scenery  and  mechanical  devices  of 
the  stage  which  that  paper  thought  were  imperative.  Instead,  the 
Commonwealth  discounted  them  summarily — the  nature  of  the 
play  itself  threw  the  responsibility  upon  the  actor. 

The  second  play  to  be  presented  from  the  stage  of  the  new  Corin- 
thian Hall  in  Atchison,  December  13,  1870,  was  "Richard  III,"  and 
possibly  the  glamor  of  the  new  playhouse  was  a  greater  stimulant 
to  the  Champion  critic  than  the  play: 

To-night,  that  sublime  tragedy,  "Richard  III,"  will  be  presented  and  as 
the  Company  are  prepared  to  present  it  in  better  style  than  it  has  ever  been 
presented  in  our  city,  the  Hall  should  be  crowded.  Louie  Lord  will  appear  as 
Queen  Elizabeth,  and  J.  A.  Lord  as  Richard  III,  supported  by  the  best  stock 
company  that  has  ever  visited  the  State. 

Corinthian  Hall  is  capable  of  seating  about  800  persons,  and  is  the  finest 
in  the  West.  It  is  elegantly  finished,  neatly  arranged,  and  comfortably  seated. 
The  ceilings  and  walls  are  frescoed  in  exquisite  style,  and  the  stage  scenery 
is  rarely  beautiful,  varied,  and  attractive.  Withal,  Corinthian  Hall  is  an  insti- 
tution our  citizens  may  well  be  proud  of  and  should  patronize. 

Go  to-night  and  see  the  matchless  tragedy,  Richard  III,  and  the  most  elegant 
hall  in  the  West. 

The  Champion  next  day  reported  that:  "Corinthian  Hall  was 
crowded  ...  by  an  intelligent  and  appreciative  audience/* 
and  the  play  "was  produced  in  fine  style,  with  costumes  and 
scenery." 

Mr.  Lord  sustained  the  character  of  Richard  well,  and  elicited  loud  ap- 
plause by  his  careful  and  faithful  rendition  of  his  difficult  character.  Mrs. 
Lord,  as  Queen  Elizabeth,  was  true  to  the  great  author's  conception  of  the 
character.  Her  acting  was  superb.  It  is  very  rare  that  a  more  finished  per- 
formance on  the  stage  is  seen  than  was  her  rendition  of  Queen  Elizabeth  last 
night. 

In  featuring  Mrs.  Lord  as  Queen  Elizabeth,  the  Topeka  and  Atchi- 
son writers  were  following  the  precedent  set  by  Lord's  formal  ad- 


424  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

vertisements  in  the  newspapers:  "J.  A-  Lord's  Chicago  Dramatic 
Co.  /  at  Corinthian  Hall  /  First  /  Shakespearian  Night  /  in  Atchi- 
son  /  Louie  Lord,  /  In  her  classic  rendition  of  /  'Queen  Elizabeth!'  / 
Richard  III  /  or  the  Battle  of  Bosworth  Field."  With  appropriate 
modification  as  to  place,  this  was  the  standard  form.  The  actor 
who  was  to  fill  the  role  of  King  Richard  was  not  specified,  but  dur- 
ing this  season  it  was  always  Mr.  Lord  himself.  Already,  Mr.  Lord 
had  clearly  dedicated  himself  to  the  promotion  of  the  career  of 
his  girl-wife  Louie,  "an  actress,  born  such,  not  made."  How  much 
did  he  modify  the  text  by  omission  or  rearrangement,  if  any,  to 
justify  billing  Louie  as  star  in  "Richard  III?"  If  only  a  prompt 
book  for  that  season  were  available!  If  the  play  was  presented  as 
written,  was  her  prominence  in  it  nothing  more  than  his  devoted 
glorification  of  her,  or  did  sheer  artistry  and  the  power  to  fascinate 
which  she  possessed,  and  he  lacked,  justify  featuring  her  Queen 
Elizabeth?  No  one  in  Kansas  commented  on  this  peculiarity,  yet 
the  Topeka  and  Atchison  papers  accepted  tacitly  her  right  to  such 
distinction.  "Richard  III"  is  usually  viewed  as  virtually  a  one-man 
show,  the  play  and  the  cast  serving  as  little  more  than  the  setting 
and  foils  for  the  hunchback  king's  monologue. 

The  reception  given  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  is  always  a  puzzle.  At 
Leavenworth  the  Times,  November  24,  1870,  in  announcing  that: 
"Louie  Lord  will  play  Topsy"  continued:  "that  alone  will  be  suffi- 
cient attraction  to  fill  the  house  from  pit  to  dome.  This  play  is  full 
of  points  and  effects  and  the  Lord  Troupe  is  so  constituted  that  every 
part  will  be  properly  filled.  It  is  a  good  play  for  Thanksgiving 
night,  and  will  form  a  fitting  close  of  the  day's  festivities."  Before 
"a  large  audience,"  the  same  paper  reported, 

Louie  Lord  as  "Topsy"  won  another  marked  victory  over  the  people  of 
Leavenworth.  We  never  saw  the  character  more  finely  rendered,  and  can 
hardly  imagine  how  her  acting  in  the  part  could  be  improved  upon.  She  is 
as  much  at  home  in  Topsy  as  in  "Frou  Frou,"  and  plays  both  superbly.  The 
piece  was  well  played  throughout,  Mr.  Lord  eliciting  great  applause  as  "Legree." 
People  who  said  that  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  was  "played  out"  came  away  .  .  *'. 
enthusiastic  in  their  praise  of  "Topsy,"  and  in  fact  the  whole  piece. 

The  Leavenworth  Commercial  announced  "  'Uncle  Tom's  Cabin/ 
which  for  fun  and  humor  cannot  be  exceeded.  Miss  Louie  Lord  will 
be  the  inevitable  Topsy  and  will  illustrate  the  part  fully  in  song  and 
dance."  The  verdict  afterward  seemed  to  indicate  the  same  trend, 
that  Mrs.  Stowe's  antislavery  story  had  been  turned  into  mere  "fun 
and  humor."  The  commentator  admitted: 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  425 

We  were  much  astonished  at  the  excellent  manner  in  which  it  was  put  on  the 
stage  and  played  throughout  by  the  members  of  this  excellent  Company, 
which  is  without  exception  the  best  Troupe  that  has  visited  this  city  for  years. 
The  character  of  Topsy,  rendered  by  Mrs.  Louie  Lord,  was  immense,  the  best 
we  ever  saw,  and,  as  many  expressed  themselves,  far  superior  to  Lotta.  Mrs. 
Lord  possesses  a  variety  of  talent  seldom,  if  ever,  embodied  in  any  one  person 
now  on  the  American  Stage,  and  her  character  of  Topsey  will  at  all  times  ensure 
a  crowded  house.  .  .  .  The  audience  showed  their  approbation  by  such 
applause  as  is  seldom  heard  in  the  Opera  House. 

The  third  of  the  Leavenworth  papers,  the  Bulletin  contained  the 
advertisement  of  Louie  Lord  as  Topsy  "with  Songs,  Dances  and 
Banjo  Solos/'  As  so  often  the  case,  this  paper  was  the  most  unin- 
hibited in  its  appraisals: 

Last  night  the  Opera  House  was  densely  crowded  with  an  intelligent  and 
delighted  audience  to  witness  LOUIE  LORD'S  famous  impersonation  of  the  cele- 
brated character  of  "Topsy"  in  Mrs.  Stowe's  story,  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin.  Every 
theater-goer  knows  that  the  play  is  old,  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  age  im- 
proves it.  A  curiosity  to  see  a  new  "Topsy"  attracted  people  last  evening, 
and  we  believe  every  one  left  the  Opera  House  fairly  satisfied  with  the  manner 
in  which  Topsy  was  given,  if  not  enthusiastic  in  praise  of  the  rendition.  If  any 
doubts  were  heretofore  entertained  as  to  the  versatility  of  Louie  Lord  they 
were  happily  removed  by  the  very  versatile  clever  and  animated  representation 
of  that  character  last  night. 

At  Topeka  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  was  the  vehicle  used  for  Her- 
bert's benefit,  and  the  Record  urged: 

Don't  fail  to  attend.  ...  Of  the  merits  of  this  drama  it  is  not  necessary 
to  speak;  but  there  are  one  or  two  salient  characters  in  it,  on  which  much  of 
interest  centers.  Of  these,  Topsy  is  one,  and  as  rendered  by  Mrs.  Lord  has 
seldom  been  equalled.  The  character  of  Gumption  Cute  is  also  one  of  the  most 
pronounced  in  the  whole  play,  and  though  by  some  considered  a  minor  one,  yet 
requires  an  artist  to  do  it  justice.  Mr.  Herbert  takes  this  part  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  his  rendition  of  it  has  been  such  as  to  call  forth  the  hearty  and  de- 
served commendations  of  those  who  have  seen  him  play  it.  Added  to  these 
with  Addie  Corey  as  Eva,  no  stronger  cast  can  be  given.  .  v  . 

The  audience  was  "one  of  the  largest  V  .  .  of  the  season" 
and  Herbert 

was  in  one  of  his  happiest  veins  and  as  Gumption  Cute  kept  his  audience  in  a 
thorough  good  humor  during  the  whole  performance.  His  rendition  of  this 
character  is  another  proof  of  the  readiness  with  which  he  adapts  himself  to 
any  line  in  which  he  may  be  cast.  He  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  members  of 
the  troupe.  .  .  . 

The  Commonwealth  was  more  restrained  and  definitely  sophis- 
ticated (certainly  not  the  country  boy  in  the  big  city  approach): 
"We  saw  the  play  some  seventy  nights  in  New  York  and  are  of  the 


426  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

opinion  that  Mrs.  Lord,  as  Topsy,  up  to  the  time  that  she  went  north 
with  Miss  Ophelia,  was  as  good  as  we  ever  saw.  All  the  rest  of  the 
acting  was  good."  The  Atchison  Champion,  December  21,  1870, 
dealt  again  in  superlatives,  which  by  mere  repetition,  without  dis- 
crimination, became  largely  meaningless. 

Some  conclusions  appear  to  be  in  order  about  "Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin."  The  bare  fact  stands  out  sharply  that  in  spite  of  the  super- 
latives of  the  newspapers,  Mr.  Lord,  as  the  responsible  manager 
of  his  company  used  the  play  only  three  times  out  of  70  in  the  four 
tours.  Lawrence  did  not  have  it  that  season.  What  was  implicit 
in  the  first  tour  about  the  transformation  of  the  old  antislavery  play 
into  mere  "fun  and  humor"  was  made  explicit  during  this  tour.  To 
accomplish  such  a  result,  two  characters  were  made  to  carry  the 
effective  leading  parts,  Topsy  and  Gumption  Cute.  During  the 
1869-1870  season,  the  low  comedy  man,  J.  A.  Simon,  used  the  char- 
acter "Marks"  for  the  same  purpose.  The  further  shift  in  focus  to 
sensation  and  suspense  in  the  escape  of  Eliza  Harris  with  blood 
hounds  baying  at  her  heels  was  made  later  under  different  auspices. 
If  actors'  scripts  or  prompt  books  were  available  for  a  considerable 
number  of  companies  and  over  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, these  transformations  and  shifts  in  focus  for  the  audiences  more 
and  more  remote  from  the  antislavery  agitation  of  the  1850's  could 
be  traced  and  documented.  More  elusive  but  hardly  less  important 
would  have  been  the  unique  variable  of  individual  actors,  each  of 
whom  must  necessarily  employ  the  techniques  that  were  peculiarly 
his  own. 

The  vogue  of  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room"  and  the  seriousness  of 
the  liquor  question  during  the  Civil  War  generation  require  a  brief 
note  on  the  reception  of  this  play.  It  was  not  presented  at  Topeka 
during  the  season  until  February  10,  1871,  and  the  third  visit  of  the 
Lord  Company  to  the  state  capital,  and  during  the  session  of  the 
legislature.  The  Record  of  that  date  explained  the  situation: 

To-night  will  be  produced  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar-room."  We  have  always 
claimed  that  this  play,  as  presented  by  Mr.  Lord  on  a  certain  Saturday  after- 
noon during  his  first  visit  here,  was  the  most  impressive  dramatic  performance 
ever  witnessed  in  Topeka.  Mr.  Lord  in  his  speech  before  the  curtain  last  night 
said  he  had  been  requested  to  give  a  matinee  with  the  "Ten  Nights"  on  the  bill, 
but  circumstances  prevented,  and  he  should  do  the  next  best  thing  and  oblige 
his  friends  by  giving  it  as  the  regular  performance.  We  doubt  not  a  crowded 
house  will  greet  its  representation. 

The  reports  of  the  next  day  on  the  performance,  although  in 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  427 

praise,  were  peculiarly  elusive.  In  view  of  the  Record's  setting  of 
the  stage,  they  suggest  a  feeling  of  anticlimax.  The  Record  stated: 
Mr.  Lord,  in  his  last  engagement  in  Topeka,  for  some  time  at  least,  appears 
to  be  meeting  with  his  usual  luck,  viz:  to  have  larger  houses  with  each  succes- 
sive evening.  The  audience  .  .  .  last  night  was  one  of  the  best  of  the 
season.  Of  the  merits  of  the  performance  we  do  not  need  to  speak,  as  our 
regular  theatre-goers,  and  many  who  are  not  "regular,"  are  perfectly  familiar, 
not  only  with  the  play  itself,  but  with  the  Lord  troupe's  rendition  of  it.  It  is 
enough  to  say  that  the  play  was  presented  in  a  perfectly  satisfactory  manner. 

The  Commonwealth  appeared  to  be  of  a  divided  mind  about  the 
play  as  comedy  or  tragedy.  To  those  familiar  with  the  play  as  given 
and  with  the  local  situation,  this  dichotomy  may  not  have  appeared 
contradictory: 

Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room  was  played  by  Lord's  dramatic  company  last  night 
to  a  large  audience.  The  miserable,  degraded  and  terrible  life  of  a  drunkard 
was  presented  in  six  pictures,  painted  to  life.  The  drama  is  full  of  the  horrible 
effects  of  dram  drinking.  The  bar-keeper,  the  gambler,  the  sot,  the  desolate 
home,  the  pleading  and  sorrow-stricken  wife,  were  all  acted  with  a  wonderful 
adherence  to  nature.  Mrs.  Lord,  as  "Mehitable,"  was  perfectly  side-splitting, 
and  when  she  got  on  "the  r-a-i-1-r-o-a-d  K-e-e-r,"  thunders  of  applause  greeted 
every  stanza,  and  a  rapturous  encore  told  of  the  appreciation  of  a  delighted 
audience.  John  Toohey  though  [playing]  a  besotted  drunkard  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  in  his  young  days,  after  his  reform,  showed  himself  from  beneath  his 
rags,  to  be  "a  man  for  a'  that."  John  is  an  excellent  commedian  and  well  de- 
serves the  hearty  applause  which  greets  his  appearance.  Mr.  Lord,  Miss  Woltz 
and  Addie  Corey,  the  drunken  father,  the  devoted  wife  and  loving  child  [re- 
spectively], did  excellently.  The  death  scene  of  the  child  was  very  affecting, 
and  drew  tears  to  the  eyes  of  hundreds.  The  father's  vow  to  drink  no  more  was 
a  very  fine  piece  of  acting. 

At  Lawrence  the  following  week,  "Ten  Nights"  was  not  used,  but 
in  the  three-night  engagements  at  Leavenworth  and  Atchison,  the 
plays  were  "Ingomar,"  "The  Hunchback/'  and  "Ten  Nights."  As 
"Ten  Nights"  was  the  final  show  in  each  case  comment  upon  it  in 
particular  was  almost  lost  in  the  general  farewell  notices  for  the 
Lord  Company.  The  Commercial,  February  22,  1871,  did  remark 
before  the  event,  that  the  billing  of  this  piece  was  upon  request. 
The  Champion,  February  26,  emphasized  again  the  comic  feature: 
"No  piece  heretofore  produced,  by  this  or  any  other  Company,  in 
this  city,  was  more  pleasing  than  that  of  last  night.  Louie  Lord 
as  Mehitable  Cartwright,  provoked  the  wildest  mirth,  and  proved 
herself  as  inimitable  in  the  role  of  a  Yankee  girl  as  in  almost  every 
impersonation  she  attempts.  .  .  ." 


428  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

FARCES 

Among  the  customs  of  the  period  was  the  use  of  afterpieces — 
usually  short  farces.  Program  making  for  the  legitimate  theatre  in- 
cluded entertainment  of  the  audience  between  acts  when  scene  and 
costume  changes  might  require  a  substantial  time.  Apparently, 
Jennie  Woltz's  songs  usually  occurred  at  such  points,  or  the  child 
actress,  or  the  comedy  man  appeared.  But  besides  the  featured 
play,  it  was  customary  to  close  the  evening's  entertainment  with  an 
afterpiece,  a  short  comedy  or  farce — the  accent  of  course  was  on 
something  light  to  put  the  audience  in  a  good  humor. 

During  these  first  tours  of  Kansas  by  the  Lord  Company,  these 
afterpieces,  if  and  when  presented,  were  not  always  listed  in  the 
advertising  or  commented  upon  after  the  event.  Those  used  during 
the  tour  of  1869-1870  included  "Jennie  Lind,"  "Kiss  in  the  Dark," 
"Laughing  Hyena,"  and  "Our  Gal."  Among  those  used  during  the 
tour  of  1870-1871  were  "Our  Gal,"  "Turn  Him  Out,"  "The  Funny 
Family,"  "Pauline  Sanford,"  "Katy  O'Sheal,"  and  "Husband  of  the 
Future."  The  substance  of  these  pieces  was  never  summarized  and 
probably  they  contained  little,  but  some  had  already  proved  durable, 
and  a  few  were  to  remain  in  the  theatre  repertory  for  some  time  to 
come. 

IX.    MR.  LORD,  MANAGER,  AND  His  COMPANY 

Mr.  Lord,  as  actor,  had  been  treated  with  restraint  by  the  dra- 
matic critics,  although  with  very  high  praise  for  a  few  roles.  Even 
the  most  favorable  notices,  however,  lacked  the  spontaneous  en- 
thusiasm evoked  by  Louie  Lord,  or  even  the  reception  accorded 
Simon,  during  the  first  Kansas  tour.  But  the  estimates  of  Mr.  Lord 
as  manager  were  quite  different.  Instead  of  dealing  with  this  aspect 
in  the  sequence  in  which  the  company  entered  the  state  on  this  sec- 
ond tour,  possibly  it  is  more  appropriate  to  take  the  towns  in  the 
order  of  final  leave  taking.  In  following  this  sequence,  however, 
there  is  no  intention  to  magnify  Lord's  one  major  blunder  of  the 
season — the  engagement  of  J.  K.  McAfferty  as  leading  man. 

In  1870,  the  village  of  Topeka,  transformed  from  one  of  750  into 
a  substantial  urban  community  of  6,000  population  within  a  decade, 
was  recording  a  remarkable  number  of  firsts  in  dramatic  entertain- 
ment, and  necessarily,  other  things  as  well.  No  doubt  many  indi- 
viduals included  in  this  great  influx  of  people  had  seen  their  share  of 
stage  productions,  but  as  a  city,  the  record  of  theatre  was  short. 
First  performances  in  Topeka  were  claimed  for  "Dora"  on  Decem- 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  429 

her  6,  "Frou  Frou"  December  9,  1870,  "Our  American  Cousin"  Jan- 
uary 11,  "The  Child  Stealer"  January  19,  and  "Ingomar"  February  6, 
1871.  More  unusual  was  the  claim  that  "Richard  III"  was  not  only 
a  first,  but  that  it  was  the  first  Shakespearian  play  to  be  staged  in 
Topeka.  Yet,  technically,  Topeka  had  had  a  railroad  since  1865. 
Effectively,  a  connected  network  of  railroads  as  well  as  population 
were  required  before  traveling  theatre  companies  moved  from  the 
river  towns  into  the  interior. 

Of  the  three  engagements  at  Topeka  the  winter  of  1870-1871,  the 
first  opened  under  rather  strained  relations  between  the  city  gov- 
ernment and  Mr.  Lord  about  license  fees.  Accordingly: 

Mr.  Lord  between  the  play  and  the  afterpiece,  made  a  neat  little  speech  in 
which  he  took  occasion  to  polish  off  the  city  fathers  for  asking  such  an  exorbitant 
sum  for  license,  raising  in  his  case,  from  $20  last  winter  to  $50  this.  The 
sympathies  of  the  audience  were  evidently  with  him,  and  we  trust  the  authori- 
ties will  see  the  impropriety  of  taxing  our  amusements  out  of  existence. 

Two  days  later  a  local  said:  "The  statement  by  Mr.  Lord  has  had 
its  effect."  Individual  members  of  the  common  council  interviewed 
favored  his  contention.  At  leave  taking  from  their  first  round  of  the 
season  the  Commonwealth,  December  11,  asserted  that  "their  stay 
here  during  the  past  week  has  been  a  perfect  ovation."  The  Rec- 
ord, December  11,  insisted  the  audiences  had  increased  "every  night 
from  the  first."  In  a  curtain  speech:  "Mr.  Lord  announced  that  he 
should  return  with  his  company  during  the  first  week  of  the  Legisla- 
ture." 

As  happens  rather  frequently,  January  brought  the  stormiest,  bit- 
terest, cold  weather  of  the  year.  The  Lord  Company  opened  its 
two-week  engagement  January  9,  1871,  and  apparently  the  storm 
climax  was  reached  January  11,  12:  "Yesterday  morning  [January 
12]  the  storm  spent  its  strength  in  sleeting,  accompanied  by  a  very 
high  norther.  In  the  afternoon  it  snowed  furiously  and  the  wind 
drifted  the  snow  upon  the  streets  and  sidewalks.  .  .  ."  The 
Record,  next  day,  in  reporting  on  both  the  storm  and  the  perform- 
ance of  the  play,  "The  Serious  Family"  admitted: 

A  more  hopeless  time  than  last  night  for  a  theatrical  performance  was  never 
known  in  this  city,  .  .  .  That  Mr.  Lord  should  play  at  all  on  such  a  night 
is  evidence  of  his  nerve,  if  nothing  else,  and  when  we  put  the  proper  construc- 
tion on  the  act,  which  was  actuated  by  a  desire  to  keep  an  engagement  with 
the  public,  whatever  the  loss  to  himself,  too  much  praise  cannot  be  awarded 
Mr.  Lord  for  his  conduct.  There  was,  after  all,  a  better  house  than  could 
reasonably  have  been  expected.  The  Governor  [James  M.  Harvey]  represented 
the  "Administration,"  and  both  houses  had  members  present.  About  half-a- 


430  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

dozen  ladies  showed  their  courage  by  turning  out,  thus  practically  doing  away 
with  one  of  the  objections  to  female  suffrage  [recently  rejected  twice  by  popular 
vote],  for  if  ladies  will  face  a  storm  like  that  of  last  night  to  go  to  the  theatre, 
a  rattling  of  pitchforks  will  not  deter  them  from  going  to  the  polls. 

The  play  selected  for  the  evening  was  the  well-worn  yet  always  acceptable 
"Serious  Family,"  and  we  could  not  see  but  the  company  gave  it  with  as  much 
spirit  as  if  they  were  playing  before  a  crowded  house. 

The  Commonwealth  report  provided  the  necessary  data  to  round 
out  the  picture: 

It  required  considerable  courage  to  venture  out  into  the  clouds  of  wind- 
tossed  snow,  but  those  who  did  venture  to  Union  Hall  were  amply  repaid  by 
witnessing  the  admirable  rendition  of  the  two  very  good  comedies. 

First  was  played  "The  Serious  Family"  intended  by  its  author,  as  a  thrust 
at  that  straight-jacket,  Puritanic,  be-happy-by-making-yourself-miserable  style, 
of  religious  fanaticism,  too  prevalent  even  in  this  enlightened  age.  The  parts 
were  admirably  rendered.  The  company  never  played  better.  Mr.  J.  A.  Lord, 
was  peculiarly  happy  and  at  home  in  his  character — the  open-hearted  "Captain 
Murphy  McGuire," — and  his  dramatic  genius  shone  with  all  its  brilliancy. 

"Mr.  Aminidab  Sleek,"  the  pious,  was  played  with  an  excellent  appreciation 
of  the  character,  by  Mr.  John  Toohey. 

That  example  of  long-jawed  piety,  "Lady  Sowerly  Creamly,"  was  imper- 
sonated in  perfect  detail,  by  May  Graham. 

Mrs.  Lord  played  well  throughout,  but  it  was  in  her  happy  rendition  of 
"Our  Gal"  [the  afterpiece]  that  her  versatile  powers  were  exhibited  to  the 
most  advantage.  Seeing  her  but  a  few  minutes  before  as  the  fascinating  widow, 
"Mrs.  Ormsby  Delmaine,"  endeavoring  to  win  the  heart  of  poor  "Charles  Tor- 
rens,"  one  could  scarcely  believe  he  saw  the  same  person  in  "Miss  Jemima." 

Altogether  this  was  the  best  entertainment  given  by  the  company  since  its 
arrival  in  the  city. 

The  play  for  Saturday  night,  January  14,  was  "Oliver  Twist/' 
about  which  the  Record  had  this  to  say:  "The  Lord  troupe  achieved 
a  triumph  last  night  over  the  elements  themselves,  and  the  house  was 
crowded  to  witness  the  performance  of  'Oliver  Twist/  The  play 
was,  we  think,  one  of  the  best  so  far  given  in  this  city  by  Mr.  Lord's 
company,  and  reminded  us  of  the  successful  rendition  of  the  'Ticket- 
of -Leave  Man'  by  the  same  company  last  winter."  Apparently  the 
prolonged  severe  weather  was  building  up  tensions,  which  reacted 
to  establish  a  remarkable  accord  between  the  actors  and  the  small 
audiences,  all  of  whom  braved  the  discomforts  of  the  cold  to  carry 
on.  Thus  each  night  seemed  to  create  an  intimate  and  memorable 
performance.  On  Monday  the  situation  continued,  unbroken  by  the 
Sabbath  interval,  to  include  the  "Fanchon"  show: 

There  are  few  sights  more  gratifying  to  the  theatre-goer  than  Union  Hall 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  431 

last  night.  Outside  it  was  dark  and  snowy  with  some  traces  of  the  late  "cold- 
snap"  lingering  in  the  air,  inside  all  warmth  and  light,  a  well-filled  house  and  a 
"taking"  play  well  played.  "Fanchon"  as  we  remarked  the  other  night  has 
been  a  "stock-piece"  here  and  it  must  have  required  all  of  Lord's  proverbial 
"nerve"  to  essay  it  again,  but  he  did,  and  with  excellent  success. 

It  was  during  this  long  period  of  severe  winter  weather,  and  on 
this  occasion  that  the  Record  concluded:  "Mr.  Lord  has  a  fine  com- 
pany in  one  respect,  they  never  get  sick  or  sulky,  or  if  they  do  the 
public  never  hears  of  it."  The  Commonwealth  summarized  the 
plot: 

[In  the  play]  "Fanchion"  and  "Landry  Barbeaud"  are  over  head  and  ears 
in  love  with  each  other,  but  according  to  the  rule  in  such  cases  made  and  pro- 
vided, old  "Father  Barbeaud"  is  opposed  to  their  union  because  "Fanchion" 
is  poor.  She  flees  from  her  lover,  but  returns  after  a  year's  absence,  and  the  old 
story  was  told  over  again,  not  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  at  a  suitable 
time  of  day,  and  old  "Barbeaud,"  according  to  another  rule  in  such  cases  made 
and  provided,  of  course  melts  at  last,  and,  the  curtain  falls  upon  the  whole 
"Barbeaud"  family,  saying  "Holy  be  the  Cricket,"  who,  without  money,  brings 
blessings  and  happiness  to  our  hearths. 

The  following  night,  January  17,  the  play  was  "'The  Ticket-of- 
Leave-Man/  with  substantially  the  same  cast  as  when  it  was  played 
here  last  winter,  when  it  was  the  great  dramatic  success  of  the 
season."  But  the  spell  was  broken — "a  good  house"  and  a  good  per- 
formance. Nothing  more.  Four  more  plays  were  offered  before 
the  close  of  this  series,  which  built  up  to  a  new  climax  on  January  21 : 

The  last,  and  perhaps  the  best,  performance  of  this  company  in  Topeka. 
.  .  .  The  piece  was  "Under  the  Gaslight,"  a  play  more  popular  with  most 
audiences  than  previous  ones,  on  account  of  its  scenes  and  incidents  being  en- 
tirely modern  and  pertaining  to  our  society. 

This  was  an  interesting  comment  on  audience  taste,  but  raises  some 
questions  if  generalized  as  an  accomplished  fact.  The  most  of  the 
theatre  fare  of  the  next  decade  hardly  provided  confirmation.  Even 
if  pointing  a  trend,  that  itself  was  scarcely  new.  From  different 
decades  there  were  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  and  "Ten  Nights  in  a 
Bar  Room,"  and  many  other  examples. 

Both  Topeka  papers  made  a  special  point  of  paying  their  respects 
to  Mr.  Lord  and  to  his  company.  The  major  point  of  emphasis  by 
the  Record  was: 

They  have  made  many  warm  friends  here,  both  as  actors  and  in  private  life. 
One  very  marked  feature  of  all  their  performances  is  the  entire  absence  of  any  of 
those  indelicate  allusions  and  smutty  remarks  which  some  actors  and  actresses 
too,  seem  to  think  necessary,  but  which  this  company  ignore  altogether,  and  for 
their  care  in  this  respect  they  can  be  commended. 


432  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

The  Commonwealth,  January  22,  covered  a  wider  range  in  com- 
mendation of  the  Lord  Company: 

We  wish  to  make  one  or  two  remarks  in  reference  to  this  company  in  a 
general  way.  There  is  not  a  poor  actor  in  the  company  and  we  repeat  without 
hesitation  what  we  said  yesterday,  that  no  better  stock  company  can  be  found 
anywhere,  and  the  stars  inferior  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lord  are  many  times  more 
numerous  than  those  superior  to  them.  The  company  is  composed  entirely  of 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  which  can  by  no  manner  of  means  be  said  of  most  com- 
panies that  travel.  Mr.  Lord  not  only  has  great  pride  in  his  profession,  but  also 
in  the  personal  honor  and  reputation  of  himself  and  all  the  members  of  his  com- 
pany, and  would  do  nothing  to  tarnish  either.  He  not  only  presents  a  pleasing 
variety  of  modern  plays,  but  he  scrupulously  avoids  anything  offensive  to  the 
taste  or  the  severest  morals.  And  we  believe  that,  should  he  remain  with  us 
three  weeks  more,  he  would  continue  his  variety,  and  not  once  violate  propriety 
or  good  taste.  We  say  this  much  because  we  think  that  when  a  really  good 
company  comes  among  us,  we  ought  to  encourage  such  by  simply  saying  it  is 
good,  and  when  a  poor  thing  asks  our  patronage,  it  is  an  outrage  for  us  to 
deceive  the  public  by  praising  it. 

The  company  return  here  in  February,  when  they  will  play  three  nights  in 
Costa's  opera  house.  Mr.  McAfferty  will  be  added  to  the  company,  and  the 
plays  will  be  Ingomar,  The  Hunchback,  and  Shylock.  Look  out  for  Louie  Lord 
as  Parthenia,  Julia,  and  Portia. 

The  farewell  editorial  in  the  Commonwealth,  January  22,  1871, 
had  stated  that  upon  their  return  for  the  third  time  that  winter, 
Lord's  Company  would  play  in  Costa's  Opera  House.  The  build- 
ing in  question  had  been  under  construction  for  some  time  and 
S.  S.  Prouty,  senior  editor  of  the  paper,  because  of  his  interest  in 
theatre  was  credited  with  inducing  Costa  to  provide  a  theatre.  The 
opening  was  set  for  January  26,  or  four  days  after  the  Lords  went 
to  Emporia,  and  the  entertainment  was  in  the  hands  of  amateurs. 
Thus,  although  technically  the  Lords  did  not  open  the  Opera  House, 
their  season  beginning  February  6  marked  its  opening  as  legitimate 
theatre. 

The  feature  that  distinguished  this  visit  was  the  engagement  of 
Professor  J.  K.  McAfferty,  formerly  of  Racine  (Wis.)  College,  but 
at  that  time  with  the  Episcopal  Seminary  at  Topeka,  where  he  was 
professor  of  elocution.  Whether  or  not  he  had  been  known  to  Topeka 
and  Lawrence  a  decade  earlier  has  not  been  determined,  but  he  had 
visited  the  towns  of  the  Missouri  river  elbow  region  in  September, 
1860;  Atchison  September  14,  and  Leavenworth  the  following  week, 
when  he  gave  "readings  from  the  poets."  At  Leavenworth,  the 
Times,  September  25,  listed  "Nothing  to  Wear/'  "The  Raven," 
"Famine  of  Hiawatha,"  "Power  of  Fashion,"  and  "The  Maniac."  The 
following  week  the  report  on  his  performance  emphasized  that  he 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  433 

was  "without  mannerisms  which  has  become  too  intolerable  in 
dramatic  representation/' 

All  that  had  been  some  ten  years  before  his  appearance  upon  the 
Topeka  dramatic  horizon  with  J.  A.  Lord  as  a  young  tragedian 
starting  at  the  top.  The  first  play,  February  6,  was  "Ingomar"  of 
which  McAfferty  had  prepared  his  own  translation  from  the  Ger- 
man. He  was  assigned  the  title  role,  Mrs.  Lord  playing  her  ac- 
customed "Parthenia."  The  Record  wrote  enigmatically:  "Mr. 
McAfferty  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  his  reception/'  The  Com- 
monwealth was  more  explicit  in  differentiating  major  aspects  that 
were  good,  but  condemning  others,  though  softening  the  adverse 
criticism  by  explaining  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  weaknesses 
that  practice  could  not  remedy.  The  Record  commented  further 
that:  "It  seemed  strange  to  see  Mr.  Lord  out  of  the  leading  busi- 
ness,' nevertheless  he  played  with  energy  and  effect,  the  part  as- 
signed him,  that  of  'Tymarch,' "  Also  the  papers  both  asserted  that 
comment  upon  Mrs.  Lord  was  superfluous. 

The  second  play  was  "Othello"  with  McAfferty  in  the  title  role, 
Lord  as  "lago,"  Mrs.  Graham  as  "Desdemona,"  and  Mrs.  Lord  as 
"Emelia."  The  verdict  of  the  Record  on  McAfferty  was  that: 
The  character  was,  as  a  whole,  well  rendered.  .  .  .  His  Othello  . 
was  good,  but  not  what  it  will  be  when  he  has  courted  Desdemona  and  killed 
her  afterwards,  say  a  hundred  times.  Mr.  Lord's  "lago"  was  devilish  enough 
for  the  '^hardest  case"  amongst  Shakespeare's  villains,  and  was  one  of  Mr.  L's 
best  renditions.  Mrs.  Lord's  "Emelia"  was  a  beautiful  piece  of  acting,  and  we 
are  glad  to  say  a  good  word  for  Mrs.  Graham's  "Desdemona."  This  lady 
looked  as  well  as  spoke  her  part,  and  has  every  reason  to  feel  proud  of  her 
success. 

About  McAfferty's  "Othello,"  the  Commonwealth  was  very  brief — 
"the  acting,  with  a  few  exceptions  was  good."  About  the  "Hunch- 
back" the  next  night,  the  same  paper  reported,  also  succinctly:  "The 
characters  were  well  sustained  throughout,  all  things  considered." 
The  Record  was  brief  also,  after  admonishing  the  public  that  those 
not  in  attendance  were  missing  "the  best  acting  ever  seen  in  To- 
peka, ...  the  'Hunchback'  was  so  rendered  as  to  satisfy  a 
critical  audience." 

The  fourth  play  was  "Our  American  Cousin,"  and  the  Record 
had  this  to  say:  "The  Opera  House  contained  a  fine  audience  last 
night,  assembled  to  welcome  the  Lord  back  to  his  wonted  position 
of  'leading  man'  .  .  ."  The  Commonwealth  critique  was  forth- 
right, if  somewhat  left-handed: 

29—1378 


434  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

The  play  was  well  cast,  and  every  one  did  well,  which  is  more  than  can  be  said 
of  previous  entertainments.  We  are  satisfied  that  Mr.  Lord  will  do  well  to 
adhere  to  his  own  company.  The  contrast  last  evening  was  marked. 

Mrs.  Lord  was  herself  again.  .  .  .  Her  easy  manners,  grace  and  studious 
care  are  very  attractive,  and  always  win  the  hearty  recognition  of  the  audience. 

Mr.  Lord  had  billed  "The  Hidden  Hand"  as  the  final  play  for 
Saturday  night,  but  late  Friday  night  decided  to  substitute  "Under 
the  Gaslight/'  No  reason  was  given.  Only  "a  fair  audience"  turned 
out  for  this  23rd  and  last  performance  for  the  company  in  Topeka 
that  winter.  They  left  with  the  good  will  of  all,  their  itinerary  being 
indicated  as  Lawrence,  Leavenworth,  Atchison,  St.  Joseph,  Chilli- 
cothe,  and  Macon,  Mo.,  and  thence  home  to  Chicago. 

At  Lawrence,  Mr.  Lord  played  the  leading  man  roles  as  usual, 
but  on  the  last  two  nights,  in  "Ingomar"  and  the  "Hunchback"  Mc- 
Afferty  acted  the  title  roles,  with  praise.  Incidentally,  the  Lord 
Company  was  accumulating  its  own  peculiar  list  of  firsts  in  Kansas. 
On  its  first  visits  to  Lawrence  in  1869-1870  the  theatre  used  was 
Frazer's  Hall.  On  the  first  visit  of  the  season  of  1870-1871  the  com- 
pany played  in  Liberty  Hall  which  had  been  dedicated  upon  the 
first  night  of  their  second  engagement  of  the  previous  season.  On 
the  return  engagement  of  1870-1871,  they  occupied  Frazer's  Hall 
again.  The  point  was  that  the  competition  of  the  wholly  new  Li- 
brary Hall  had  compelled  the  owners  of  Frazer's  Hall  to  remodel  it. 
Although  not  so  large  as  Liberty  Hall,  the  claim  was  made  that  in  its 
new  form  it  was  more  effective  than  its  rival.  The  J.  A.  Lord  Com- 
pany, in  effect,  on  its  Lawrence  engagement  of  February  13-16, 1871, 
opened  Frazer's  Hall  to  its  new  lease  on  life.  Thus  is  observed 
clearly  the  inter-relation  among  the  several  factors  of  competition; 
an  effective  railroad  service,  the  increase  in  patronage  for  places 
of  entertainment,  and  the  competitive  process  between  places  of 
public  amusement  for  business  at  the  local  level. 

The  plays  at  Leavenworth  and  Atchison,  both  three-night  engage- 
ments, were  "Ingomar,"  the  "Hunchback"  and  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar 
Room."  In  the  first  two  of  these  plays  at  each  place,  McAfferty 
took  the  leading  roles,  but  note  should  be  made  of  the  fact  that 
"Othello"  was  not  offered.  At  Leavenworth,  the  Bulletin,  February 
18,  announced. 

the  manager  will  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  our  people  Mr.  J.  F.  MC- 
AFFERTY, a  young  tragedian  of  some  celebrity.  We  have  never  seen  any  of 
Mr.  McAfferty's  impersonations  of  prominent  characters,  but  have  heard  him 
[September,  I860?]  read  "Foe's  Raven"  and  other  selections.  He  is  certainly  a 
good  reader,  with  a  clear  full  voice,  while  his  articulation  is  faultless.  There- 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  435 

fore,  we  have  a  right  to  expect  something  from  the  young  tragedian  in  the 
heavier  parts,  and  shall  observe  his  first  appearance  here  at  the  Opera  House 
Monday  evening,  in  the  role  of  Ingomar,  with  no  little  interest.  He  will  be 
admirably  supported  by  the  talented  lady,  Louie  Lord,  as  Parthenia. 

Two  days  later  the  public  was  further  prepared  for  the  new 
actor  by  emphasis  upon  his  own  translation  of  the  play  from  the 
German  which  would  be  used:  "Mr.  J.  K.  McAfferty  will  represent 
the  rough  barbarian  Ingomar,  Louie  Lord  will  impersonate  the 
gentle  tamer  of  the  barbarian,  and  everything  will  be  nice."  The 
other  papers  were  less  elaborate  in  their  introductions.  The  Sunday 
Times,  February  19,  said:  "The  company  has  had  a  valuable  ac- 
quisition in  the  person  of  J,  R.  McAfferty,  the  popular  tragedian." 
In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  new  actor  had  no  background  of  pro- 
fessional experience  in  theatre  to  cite,  this  billing  of  him  as  the  star, 
relegating  the  Lord  Company's  real  star  to  the  status  of  supporting 
actress,  was  certainly  more  than  any  young  beginner  could  right- 
fully ask. 

After  the  performance  of  "Ingomar,"  the  Bulletin  reported  in  a 
two-sentence  paragraph  that  the  piece  "was  very  well  received. 
.  .  ."  The  Commercial  introduced  its  one-sentence  notice  of  the 
play  which  "delighted  the  habitues  of  the  theatre,"  with  a  eulogy  of 
Leavenworth  and  the  Lord  Company: 

It  is  an  unerring  index  of  the  enterprise  and  prosperity  of  a  city,  when  theatri- 
cals succeed.  In  Kansas  City,  with  the  current  stars  in  the  dramatic  firmament, 
none  have  paid  expenses.  With  Leavenworth  it  differs — where  pre-eminent 
talent  appeals  for  patronage,  it  invariably  receives  it.  In  no  instance  is  it  so 
remarkable  as  with  the  oft  repeated  successes  of  the  Lord  Troupe. 

This  was  the  occasion  when  the  Times  printed  the  patronizing  ex- 
planation of  its  self-imposed  restraint  on  adverse  criticism  as  stem- 
ming from  the  handicaps  of  traveling  theatre.  At  the  close  the 
critic  praised  Louie  Lord  first,  and  then  added:  "The  tragedian, 
McAfferty,  was  excellent  as  the  barbarian,  Ingomar." 

After  the  "Hunchback"  performance,  the  Commercial  commented 
quite  favorably  on  Mrs.  Lord  in  particular,  and  on  Mr.  Lord, 
Toohey,  Herbert,  and  Woltz;  and  the  Times  handled  it  this  way: 
"Hunchback  was  presented  last  night  to  a  very  fair  house.  We  must 
say  that  Louie  Lord  made  an  exceedingly  fine  representation  of  the 
character  of  Julia.  To-night  the  management  present  the  great 
Temperance  Drama  of  'Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room/  Mr.  McAfferty 
does  not  appear.  The  full  strength  of  the  company  will  be  brought 
out.  .  .  ."  What  more  need  be  said?  In  its  final  editorial  the 
Times,  after  airing  its  grievance  about  the  discourtesy  shown  its 


436  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

employees  regarding  tickets,  praised  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lord  and  Toohey, 
and  closed  with  a  masterpiece  of  understatement.  "The  engagement 
of  the  three  nights  just  past  has  not  added  to  the  surplus  earnings 
of  the  management  to  any  considerable  extent.  We  hope  it  will 
be  different  next  time/'  The  same  paper  carried  a  local:  "A.  K. 
McAfferty  proposes  to  abandon  the  stage."  In  the  Bulletins  parting 
message  of  February  23,  Lord  was  praised  for  bringing  to  Leaven- 
worth  "the  best  pieces  and  presenting  the  most  talented  performers 
offered  during  the  present  winter.  LOUIE  LORD  is  deserving  of  spe- 
cial distinction.  She  is  an  accomplished  lady,  and  many  of  her  im- 
personations deserve  to  take  equal  rank  with  the  renditions  of  the 
best  actresses  of  the  Atlantic  cities/' 

At  Atchison,  the  Champion,  February  24,  1871,  after  "Ingomar" 
pronounced  McAfferty  "a  great  addition  to  the  Company/'  Two 
days  later  its  verdict  on  the  three  nights  was  "a  brilliant  engage- 
ment," and  on  McAfferty,  "a  fine  tragedian  and  distinguished  elo- 
cutionest."  But  the  Champion  had  not  proved  itself  an  outstanding 
exponent  of  dramatic  criticism. 

That  Mr.  Lord  blundered  in  engaging  McAfferty  cannot  be  ig- 
nored, but  nothing  comparable  in  bad  judgment  has  been  found 
elsewhere  in  his  career.  Probably  the  reputation  of  the  company 
was  not  seriously  injured  by  the  episode.  The  critics  at  Topeka 
and  Leavenworth  recognized  where  the  deficiency  lay,  and  differ- 
entiated as  between  McAfferty  and  the  Lord  Company,  his  weak- 
nesses and  the  regular  organization's  competence.  The  Common- 
wealth had  been  kindly  and  yet  blunt:  "Mr.  Lord  will  do  well  to 
adhere  to  his  own  company."  From  that  perspective,  the  incident 
may  have  had  its  constructive  side  in  demonstrating  so  effectively 
that  his  troupe  was  composed  of  truly  superior  artists  functioning 
as  a  harmonious  whole. 

X.   APPENDIX 

In  order  to  save  footnotes,  the  following  calendar  of  plays  pre- 
sented by  the  Lord  Company  on  their  tour  of  Kansas  during  the 
winter  of  1870-1871  is  compiled  for  reference,  together  with  the  list 
of  newspapers  available  in  each  of  the  towns  visited.  The  notices 
of  the  plays,  with  few  exceptions,  appeared  in  the  press  on  the  day 
before,  on  the  day  of,  and  on  the  day  following  its  presentation. 
The  reader  who  wishes  to  verify  references  may  thus  find  the  article 
or  advertisement  used  in  the  text  with  the  minimum  effort. 


TRAVELING  THEATRE  IN  KANSAS  437 

CALENDAR  OF  PLAYS,  1870-1871 

Leavenworth,  November  21-26,  1870. 

November  21  Monday  "Frou  Frou." 

22  Tuesday  "Dora,"  and  "The  Funny  Family." 

23  Wednesday  "Richard  III." 

24  Thursday  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin." 

25  Friday  "Our  American  Cousin." 

26  Saturday  "The  Mormons,"  and  "Turn  Him  Out." 

Lawrence,  November  28-December  3,  1870. 

November  28     Monday  "Ireland  as  It  Is,"  and  "Our  Gal." 

29  Tuesday  "Our  American  Cousin." 

30  Wednesday      "Richard  III." 

December     1     Thursday         "Dora,"  and  "The  Funny  Family." 

2  Friday  "Frou  Frou." 

3  Saturday          "The  Mormons,"  and  "Turn  Him  Out." 

Topeka,  December  5-7,  9,  10,  1870. 

December     5     Monday  "Ireland  as  It  Is,"  and  "Our  Gal." 

6  Tuesday  "Dora,"  and  "The  Funny  Family." 

7  Wednesday      "Richard  III." 

8  Thursday          (No  Performance.) 

9  Friday  "Frou  Frou." 

10     Saturday  "The  Mormons,"  and  "Turn  Him  Out." 

Atchison,  December  12-17,  19-21,  23,  24,  1870. 

December  12     Monday  "Dora,"  and  "The  Funny  Family."    ( Dedica- 

tion of  Corinthian  Hall. ) 

13  Tuesday  "Richard  III." 

14  Wednesday      "Ireland  as  It  Is,"  and  "Our  Gal." 

15  Thursday          "The  Serious  Family,"  and  "Katy  O'Sheal." 

16  Friday  "Frou  Frou." 

17  Saturday          "The  Mormons,"  and  "Turn  Him  Out." 

19  Monday  "The  Octoroon." 

20  Tuesday  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin." 

21  Wednesday  (No  Performance.) 

22  Thursday  "Fanchon,  the  Cricket." 

23  Friday  "Marco,  the  Marble  Heart." 

24  Saturday  "Oliver  Twist." 

Leavenworth,  December  26,  1870-January  7,  1871. 

December  26  Monday  "The  Sea  of  Ice." 

27  Tuesday  "The  Octoroon." 

28  Wednesday  "Fanchon,  the  Cricket." 

29  Thursday  "The  Serious  Family,"  and  "Our  Gal." 

30  Friday  "Marco,  The  Marble  Heart." 

31  Saturday  "Oliver  Twist,"  and  "Turn  Him  Out." 


438  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

January         2  Monday  "Dora,"  and  "The  Funny  Family." 

3  Tuesday  "The  Mormons,"  and  "Our  Gal." 

4  Wednesday  "Under  the  Gaslight." 

5  Thursday  "Frou  Frou,"  and  "Husband  of  the  Future." 

6  Friday  "Don  Caesar  de  Bazan,"  and  "Ireland  as  It  Is." 

7  Saturday  "The   Child   Stealer,"   and   "Pauline   Sanford 

[Sanfroid?]." 
Topeka,  January  9-14,  16-21,  1871. 

January         9     Monday  "Dora,"  and  "The  Funny  Family." 

10  Tuesday  "The  Octoroon." 

11  Wednesday      "Our  American  Cousin." 

12  Thursday          "The  Serious  Family,"  and  "Our  Gal." 

13  Friday  "Marco,  the  Marble  Heart." 

14  Saturday          "Oliver  Twist,"  and  "Turn  Him  Out." 

16  Monday  "Fanchon,  the  Cricket." 

17  Tuesday  "The  Ticket  of  Leave  Man." 

18  Wednesday  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin." 

19  Thursday  "The  Child  Stealer." 

20  Friday  "The  Sea  of  Ice." 

21  Saturday  "Under  the  Gaslight." 

Topeka,  February  6-11,  1871. 

February       6     Monday  "Ingomar." 

7  Tuesday  "Othello." 

8  Wednesday  "The  Hunchback." 

9  Thursday  "Our  American  Cousin." 

10  Friday  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room." 

11  Saturday          "Under  the  Gaslight." 
Lawrence,  February  13-16,  18,  1871. 

February     13  Monday  "The  Octoroon." 

14  Tuesday  "Under  the  Gaslight." 

15  Wednesday  "Oliver  Twist,"  and  "Turn  Him  Out." 

16  Thursday  "Ingomar."  . 

17  Friday  (No  Performance.) 

18  Saturday  "The  Hunchback." 

Leavenworth,  February  20-22,  1871. 

February     20     Monday  "Ingomar." 

21  Tuesday  "The  Hunchback." 

22  Wednesday      "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room/' 
Atchison,  February  23-25,  1871. 

February     23     Thursday         "Ingomar." 

24  Friday  "The  Hunchback." 

25  Saturday          "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room." 

NEWSPAPERS 

Leavenworth  Daily  Times,  Daily  Commercial,  Daily  Bulletin. 
Lawrence  Republican  Daily  Journal,  Kansas  Daily  Tribune. 
Topeka  Kansas  Daily  Commonwealth,  Daily  Kansas  State  Record. 
Atchison  Daily  Champion. 


Bypaths  of  Kansas  History 

IT'S  NOT  ALWAYS  THE  POLITICIANS  WHO  CREATE  EXCITEMENT 

IN  TOPEKA 

From  The  Kansas  Daily  Commonwealth,  Topeka,  December  14, 
1872. 

A  Monroe  street  man  whose  horse  was  laid  up  with  the  epizootic,  and  who 
had  an  old  cow  which  was  loafing  around  doing  nothing,  thought  he  would 
hitch  her  up  yesterday  morning,  and  do  a  little  hacking  about  town. 

He  tacked  her  to  his  spring  wagon,  and  turned  out  into  the  street. 

It  wasn't  a  minute  before  every  dog  in  the  neighborhood  was  after  that 
cow,  ready  for  their  accustomed  chase.  With  the  dogs  in  close  pursuit,  the 
cow  at  once  made  for  the  hay  wagons  on  the  corner  of  Kansas  and  Sixth  ave- 
nues where  she  usually  sponged  her  feed. 

With  some  persuasion,  in  which  assisted  the  dogs,  the  hay  owners  and  a 
man  with  a  shot  gun,  she  left  the  hay  wagons  and  then  started  for  a  favorite 
salt  barrel  in  an  alley  back  of  the  avenue. 

The  salt  barrel  was  gone,  and  the  patient  animal  proceeded  to  the  Shawnee 
Mills  to  lick  around  there  for  awhile. 

Our  friend  in  the  wagon  got  some  boys  to  head  her  off,  and  she  then  went 
to  see  if  there  was  any  grass  in  the  capitol  grounds. 

Here  the  janitor  shot  at  her  twice,  when  remembering  that  she  had  the 
evening  before  noticed  a  pair  of  old  pants  hanging  on  a  fence  at  the  female 
seminary,  she  thought  she  would  take  a  trip  up  there  and  interview  them. 

As  luck  would  have  it,  another  cow  had  been  there  before,  and  so  our  cow 
didn't  know  what  better  to  do  than  to  go  around  to  Jake  Smith's  and  see  if 
his  cabbage  cave  had  been  unearthed  lately. 

They  didn't  happen  to  have  cabbage  for  dinner  that  day,  and  nothing  more 
feasible  presented  itself  to  the  cow  than  to  go  across  the  river  and  see  what 
the  prospect  was  in  the  first  ward. 

About  this  juncture  our  friend  in  the  wagon  became  discouraged.  So  he 
deserted  the  vehicle,  and  as  he  walked  home  concluded  to  give  up  the  idea 
of  bovine  power  and  calmly  await  the  disappearance  of  the  dreadful  malady. 


WHAT  CALVES  CAN  Do 

From  The  Nationalist,  Manhattan,  May  16,  1873. 

In  1859  some  emigrants  going  west  camped  at  Mr.  Henry  Edelblute's,  on 
the  Wild  Cat.  That  night  two  of  their  cows  dropped  calves,  which  they  sold 
to  Mr.  E.  at  seventy-five  cents  each.  From  those  two  calves  he  has  sold  up- 
wards of  $1,600  worth  of  stock,  and  still  has  fifty  head  on  hand. 

(439) 


440  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

IT  WAS  EVER  THUS,  EVEN  IN  THE  HORSE  AND  BUGGY  DAYS 

From  the  Girard  Press,  July  16,  1874. 

When  a  young  man  who  is  out  riding  with  his  girl  desires  to  indulge  in 
osculatory  amusement,  especially  if  he  intends  to  vary  the  proceedings  by  that 
exercise  of  the  flexor  muscles  of  the  arms  which  Webster  defines  as  hugging, 
he  should  see  that  his  vehicle  has  a  top  to  it,  and  that  it  is  properly  raised,  or 
he  should  defer  his  pleasure  until  after  dark.  We  knew  a  youth  who  neglected 
these  precautions,  while  traveling  from  Thunderbolt  to  Girard,  on  Sunday  last, 
and  the  consequence  was  that  a  lady  and  gentleman  who  traveled  behind  them 
saw  very  little  of  the  surrounding  landscape  for  the  distance  of  two  or  three 
miles,  as  they  found  sufficient  amusement  in  watching  the  occupants  of  the 
foremost  vehicle  to  vary  the  monotony  of  the  ride.  The  witnesses  to  the  ama- 
tory exercises  have  no  fault  to  find  with  the  manner  of  execution.  They  say 
that  the  young  man  understood  his  business  and  did  full  justice  to  the  subject, 
and  they  ought  to  know,  for  they  are  married. 


FRONTIER  HUMOR 

From  the  Ellis  County  Star,  Hays  City,  July  6, 1876. 

Billy  King,  rushing  down  the  street  the  other  day,  asked  Billy  Patterson  if 
he  had  seen  his  black-faced  antelope.  "No,"  said  Patterson,  "who  did  your 
blackfaced  aunt  elope  with?"  King  made  no  reply,  but  went  on  in  pursuit  of 
his  pet. 

A  BULL  IN  THE  HOUSE 

From  the  Lane  County  Gazette,  California,  November  25,  1880. 

For  several  days  past  the  cattle  men  have  been  gathering  up  their  cattle 
which  were  widely  scattered  during  the  storm.  Saturday  a  cow  boy  came  into 
town  with  a  large  bull  which  he  had  found  some  place  and  after  stopping  at 
the  store  a  while  he  got  on  his  pony  and  tried  to  start  the  bull  off  towards  home, 
but  the  bull  didn't  seem  inclined  to  go.  He  ran  around  the  buildings  several 
times  and  finally  took  a  turn  around  Pelham's  building.  The  cellar  under  the 
last  named  building  is  four  or  five  feet  longer  than  the  upper  part  and  the  west 
end  is  covered  with  light  boards  and  dirt  thrown  over.  The  bull  turned  the 
corner  of  the  house  and  right  on  to  this  light  covering  and  it  not  being  strong 
enough  to  hold  him  up  his  bullship  went  down  into  the  cellar  with  a  crash. 
Mrs.  Nixon  and  family  are  occupying  the  cellar  and  our  readers  will  probably 
imagine  their  surprise  and  fright  at  seeing  such  an  unhandsome  caller  come  in 
in  such  an  unceremonious  style.  Mrs.  N.  and  children  got  into  the  upper  part 
of  the  building  through  a  scuttle  hole  in  short  order,  and  the  bull  was  roped 
and  pulled  out.  Not  much  damage  was  done  except  to  the  roof.  The  young 
man  who  had  charge  of  the  animal  was  cheeky  enough  to  mount  his  horse  and 
ride  off  without  paying  for  the  damage  done  or  even  so  much  as  saying  he  was 
sorry  for  the  mishap. 


Kansas  History  as  Published  in  the  Press 

Histories  of  Humboldt  churches  recently  made  their  appearance 
in  the  Humboldt  Union  as  follows:  Assembly  of  God  church,  by 
the  Rev.  R.  F.  McMinimy,  August  8,  1957;  St.  Joseph's  Catholic 
church  and  Poplar  Grove  Baptist  church,  August  22;  Humboldt 
Christian  church,  September  5;  St.  Peter's  Lutheran  church,  Sep- 
tember 12;  Humboldt  Pilgrim  Holiness  church,  September  19;  and 
the  First  Presbyterian  church  and  the  former  Humboldt  Evangelical 
United  Brethren  church,  September  26.  A  history  of  the  Humboldt 
community,  by  Dick  Buzbee,  was  published  in  the  Chanute  Trib- 
une, September  20. 

In  observance  of  Wathena's  100th  anniversary,  the  Wathena 
Times  published  its  August  15,  1957,  issue  and  a  28-page  historical 
number  dated  August  16  and  17,  under  the  title  Wathena  Centennial. 

A  history  of  Sheridan  county,  compiled  by  Mrs.  Pearl  Toothaker, 
was  published  in  the  Hoxie  Sentinel,  August  15  and  29,  1957.  The 
county  was  created  in  1873  and  organized  in  1880. 

"Linn  County  Marks  100  Years,"  by  Jack  Fairfield,  a  four-page 
history  of  Linn  county,  was  published  in  the  Fort  Scott  Tribune's 
Linn  county  fair  edition,  August  16,  1957. 

Herman  F.  W.  Oesterreich's  family  and  descendants  are  sketched 
in  an  article  which  appeared  in  the  Junction  City  Republic,  August 
22,  1957.  Oesterreich  came  to  Kansas  in  1857  and  settled  in  Dick- 
inson county. 

On  August  22,  1957,  the  Butler  County  News,  El  Dorado,  began 
publication  of  a  series  of  stories  on  the  history  of  Butler  county 
written  by  Joy  Wigginton  for  her  school  pupils.  The  El  Dorado 
Times,  September  2,  printed  a  historical  article  entitled  "Spring 
Near  Towanda  Served  as  Indian  Campsite  Many  Years  Ago." 

A  history  of  the  "Beecher  Bible  and  Rifle"  church  at  Wabaunsee 
appeared  in  the  Wamego  Reporter,  August  22,  1957.  The  congre- 
gation observed  its  100th  anniversary  August  25,  1957. 

The  story  of  the  Mudge  ranch,  Hodgeman  county,  was  told  in  a 
copyrighted  article  by  Margaret  Evans  Caldwell,  in  the  Jetmore 
Republican,  August  22,  29,  and  September  5,  1957.  Henry  S. 
Mudge,  wealthy  Bostonian,  came  to  Kansas  in  1878.  He  acquired 

(441) 


442  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

over  40  quarter  sections  of  land  which  he  operated  as  a  ranch  until 
he  experienced  a  financial  collapse  in  1885  and  1886. 

Historical  articles  appearing  in  recent  issues  of  the  Emporia 
Gazette  included:  "Ruggles  Schoolhouse  Sale  Closes  a  70-year 
Chapter,"  August  22,  1957;  "Letters  Show  G.  W.  Brown  Was  a 
Devout  Free  Stater/'  August  29;  and  "Hardships  Endured  in  Win- 
ter of  1860,"  September  26.  The  Ruggles  school  article  appeared  in 
the  Weekly  Gazette,  August  29,  and  the  story  on  G.  W.  Brown's 
letters,  September  5.  On  September  26  the  Weekly  Gazette  printed 
"Plymouth's  First  School  Was  Held  in  Private  Home/'  by  Mrs.  S.  H. 
Bennet.  The  Emporia  Times,  August  29,  published  an  article  by 
Pearl  Mallon  Nicholas  on  the  Chase  county  landmark  called  Jacobs 
Mound  and  the  Jacobs  family,  for  whom  the  mound  was  named. 

Abraham  "Bullet  Hole"  Ellis  was  shot  in  the  forehead  by  William 
C.  Quantrill  and  lived,  it  is  stated  in  a  biographical  sketch  of  Ellis 
by  Lily  B.  Rozar,  published  in  the  Independence  Reporter,  August 
25,  1957. 

Olathe's  100th  anniversary  was  the  occasion  for  special  editions 
of  the  city's  newspapers,  featuring  the  history  of  the  community. 
The  Olathe  Mirror  published  a  32-page  centennial  edition  August 
29, 1957,  and  the  Johnson  County  Democrat's  edition,  also  32  pages, 
appeared  September  12. 

Letters  of  William  Hamilton,  missionary  to  the  Iowa,  Sac,  and 
Fox  Indians  from  1837  to  1853,  were  published  in  the  Journal  of 
the  Presbyterian  Historical  Society,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  September,  1957. 
The  letters  were  written  in  1846,  several  of  them  from  the  Iowa 
and  Sac  mission  located  near  present  Highland.  The  introduction 
was  by  Charles  A.  Anderson. 

Historical  articles  in  recent  issues  of  the  Hays  Daily  News  in- 
cluded: "Kansas  'Balkans'  Century  Ago  Was  Cherokee  Neutral 
Tract,"  September  2,  1957;  "Hays  Citians  Enjoyed  Steamboat  Rides 
on  Big  Creek  in  '70s  Before  Dam  Broke,"  by  Maurine  Bergland,  and 
"Movement  Started  at  Fairplay,  Colo.,  to  Recreate  Life  of  Gold 
Mine  Days,"  September  8;  and  "Martin  Allen,  One  of  Great  Pioneers 
of  Hays,  Sacrificed  Everything  to  Build  City  of  Culture,"  Septem- 
ber 29. 

Jules  Bourquin's  talk  before  the  Horton  Kiwanis  club  August  26, 
1957,  on  the  early  trails  in  the  Horton  area  and  the  traffic  they  car- 
ried, was  printed  in  the  Horton  Headlight,  September  5,  1957. 


KANSAS  HISTORY  IN  THE  PRESS  443 

Directions  for  following  the  old  Chisholm  trail,  and  some  of  its 
history,  are  included  in  an  article  by  Will  Brown,  published  in  the 
Ellsworth  Reporter,  September  5,  1957. 

Early  schools  in  Ottawa  were  recalled  in  a  brief  article  in  the 
Ottawa  Herald,  September  7,  1957.  The  first  school  began  in  Jan- 
uary, 1865,  with  Mary  Ward  as  teacher.  The  first  school  building 
was  completed  in  1866. 

Recent  issues  of  the  Wichita  Eagle  have  included  the  following 
historical  articles:  "Bullets  and  Ballots  Settled  [Pratt]  County  Seat 
War,"  by  Jim  Watts,  September  8,  1957;  a  history  of  the  Seltzer 
Methodist  church,  Sedgwick  county,  September  14;  and  Eva  Win- 
termute's  reminscences  of  the  Cherokee  strip  run,  by  Jessy  Mae 
Coker,  and  "Beecher  Island  Monument  Is  Kansas,  Colorado  Tribute 
to  Frontiersmen,"  by  Lily  B.  Rozar,  September  15. 

Calloch  cemetery  is  all  that  remains  of  the  settlement  of  Talley 
Springs,  it  is  pointed  out  in  an  article  by  R.  H.  Seaton,  in  the  Coffey- 
ville  Daily  Journal,  September  12,  1957.  Talley  Springs  was  started 
about  1870  but  soon  died  when  the  railroad  by-passed  it. 

"Fascinating  Fort  Hays  State  Museum  Mirrors  Pioneer  Times, 
Ancient  Life,"  is  the  title  of  an  article  in  the  Junction  City  Union, 
September  19,  1957,  describing  the  Fort  Hays  Kansas  State  College 
museum. 

Historical  material  on  the  Mt.  Tabor  community,  near  Douglass, 
assembled  by  Glen  E.  Kiser  from  writings  of  Elisha  M.  Payne  and 
Mrs.  Zella  Lamb-Wolff,  appeared  in  the  Douglass  Tribune,  Septem- 
ber 19, 1957.  Settlement  of  the  area  began  in  the  late  1860's. 

A  history  of  the  Brewster  schools,  by  Leola  Molesworth,  was 
published  in  the  Sherman  County  Herald,  Goodland,  September  19, 
1957.  The  school  district  was  formed  in  September,  1888.  Early 
Brewster  history,  contributed  by  Mrs.  C.  A.  Horney,  appeared  in 
the  Herald,  September  26.  The  town  was  established  in  1887  as 
Hastings. 

Elizabeth  Barnes'  historical  column,  "Historic  Johnson  County," 
has  continued  to  appear  regularly  in  the  Johnson  County  Herald, 
Overland  Park.  The  September  19,  1957,  column  was  a  history  of 
Gardner,  which  had  just  celebrated  its  centennial. 

R.  A.  Clymer's  address,  "In  Praise  of  the  Pioneer,"  given  at  Butler 
county's  "Pioneer  Days"  celebration  August  25,  1957,  was  printed 
in  the  Whitewater  Independent,  September  26,  1957. 


444  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

Travel  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail  and  some  of  the  pioneers  who  settled 
in  the  vicinity  of  Marion  are  the  subjects  of  a  four-column  article 
written  in  1950  by  Jenny  Corby  and  published  in  the  Marion  Rec- 
ord-Review, September  26,  1957. 

Harold  O.  Taylor  is  author  of  a  four-column  history  of  Weir 
entitled  "Weir  Should  Have  Been  in  Land  of  Texas,"  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Pittsburg  Headlight,  September  28,  and  the  Pittsburg 
Sun,  September  29,  1957.  Early  Weir  residents  loudly  insisted  that 
their  town  was  second  to  none. 

Burlington's  centennial  was  observed  by  the  publication  of  a 
20-page  special  edition  by  The  Daily  Republican,  September  30, 
1957.  The  edition  was  largely  devoted  to  Burlington  history  and 
sketches  of  local  citizens  and  businesses. 

The  October,  1957,  issue  of  the  Ford  Times,  Dearborn,  Mich., 
included  an  article  entitled  "Olathe— Mother  of  the  Huddle,"  by 
Grace  Bilger.  In  addition  to  reviewing  the  history  of  the  commu- 
nity, the  author  claimed  for  Olathe  the  origin  of  the  football  huddle. 
The  Kansas  School  for  the  Deaf  started  using  the  huddle  to  keep 
opponents  from  reading  their  sign  language. 

Agricultural  History,  Champaign,  111.,  published  "The  Develop- 
ment of  the  Capper  Farm  Press,"  by  Homer  E.  Socolofsky,  in  its 
October,  1957,  issue.  Arthur  Capper  entered  the  farm  publications 
field  with  the  purchase  of  the  Missouri  Valley  Farmer  in  1900. 

Tecumseh's  history  is  featured  in  the  December,  1957,  number  of 
the  Bulletin  of  the  Shawnee  County  Historical  Society,  Topeka. 
Articles  include:  "Tecumseh,  Past  and  Present,"  by  Thomas  M. 
Lillard;  "The  Stinsons,"  by  Thomas  N.  Stinson;  "Some  Pioneer  Trails 
in  Tecumseh  Township,"  by  Norman  Niccum;  "The  Campbells  of 
Tecumseh  and  Their  Neighbors,"  by  Audrey  McMillan  Chaney; 
"Two  Families  of  Old  Tecumseh — Naylor  and  Morris,"  by  Ruth 
Naylor  Chandler;  "The  Waysman  Place,"  by  Erma  Schmidler 
Tebben;  "The  Faxon  Family";  "Garvey's  Retreat,"  by  Annabel  Gar- 
vey;  "The  Kreipes";  "Murphy- Venable  Families";  "The  Eli  Hopkins- 
Rush  Elmore  House";  the  Thomas  N.  Stinson  papers  from  the  manu- 
script division,  Kansas  State  Historical  Society;  and  an  article  from 
the  May,  1846,  issue  of  Merry's  Museum,  on  the  Indian,  Tecumseh. 


Kansas  Historical  Notes 

Current  officers  of  the  Kansas  Association  of  Teachers  of  History 
and  Related  Fields  are:  Prof.  Homer  E.  Socolofsky,  Kansas  State 
College,  Manhattan,  president;  Father  Peter  Beckman,  St.  Bene- 
dict's College,  Atchison,  vice-president;  and  Prof.  Jack  W.  Vander- 
hoof,  Kansas  Wesleyan  University,  Salina,  secretary-treasurer.  Prof. 
Eugene  R.  Craine,  Fort  Hays  Kansas  State  College,  is  a  new  member 
of  the  executive  council.  The  1957  meeting  of  the  association  was 
held  at  Kansas  State  Teachers  College,  Pittsburg,  March  15  and  16. 
Prof.  Dudley  T.  Cornish  of  the  Pittsburg  school  was  the  retiring 
president.  The  1958  gathering  will  be  in  Manhattan. 

Wathena  celebrated  its  centennial  August  16  and  17,  1957,  with 
parades,  Indian  dances,  street  dances,  an  address  by  Gov.  George 
Docking,  and  other  events. 

The  Allen  county  community  of  Geneva  observed  its  100th  anni- 
versary August  18,  1957,  with  a  basket  dinner  and  a  program  which 
included  talks  on  the  town's  history. 

Butler  county's  "Pioneer  Days"  celebration  in  El  Dorado,  August 
22-25,  1957,  sponsored  by  the  Butler  County  Historical  Society,  was 
climaxed  with  a  basket  dinner  and  an  address  entitled  "In  Praise 
of  the  Pioneer,"  by  R.  A.  Clymer,  on  the  last  day.  Martha  Hoard 
was  recently  announced  winner  of  the  Butler  county  society's 
annual  essay  contest,  and  was  awarded  a  prize  of  $100  by  ex-Sen. 
Frank  H.  Cron. 

All  officers  of  the  Ford  Historical  Society  were  re-elected  at  a 
meeting  of  the  society  in  September,  1957.  They  include:  Mrs. 
Walter  Umbach,  president;  Mrs.  Harold  Patterson,  vice-president; 
Mrs.  I.  L.  Plattner,  secretary-treasurer;  Mrs.  Kathleen  Emrie,  his- 
torian; and  Mrs.  W.  P.  Warner,  custodian. 

Olathe  observed  her  100th  birthday  with  a  week-long  celebration, 
September  1-7,  1957.  Included  in  the  program  were  parades,  a 
historical  pageant  entitled  "Arrows  to  Atoms,"  and  an  old  settlers' 
homecoming. 

Labette  county  old  settlers  gathered  in  Oswego  for  their  annual 
reunion  September  2,  1957.  A  discussion  of  plans  for  a  county 
museum  was  included  in  the  program.  Fred  McColey,  Oswego, 

(445) 


446  KANSAS  HISTORICAL  QUARTERLY 

was  elected  president  of  the  old  settlers;  Ivan  Sullivan,  Parsons, 
vice-president;  and  Mrs.  Winnie  Grain,  Oswego,  secretary  and 
treasurer.  O.  L.  Grain,  Parsons,  was  the  retiring  president. 

Paul  B.  Wood,  Elmdale,  was  re-elected  president  of  the  Chase 
County  Historical  Society  at  its  annual  meeting,  September  7,  1957, 
in  Cottonwood  Falls.  Other  officers  chosen  include:  Henry  Rogler, 
Matfield  Green,  vice-president;  Clint  Baldwin,  Cottonwood  Falls, 
secretary;  George  T.  Dawson,  Elmdale,  treasurer;  and  Mrs.  Ruth 
Conner,  Cottonwood  Falls,  chief  historian.  The  society  is  now 
preparing  the  third  volume  of  its  Chase  county  history. 

Junction  City  businessmen,  the  First  infantry  division,  former 
cavalry  officers,  and  others  have  joined  in  the  re-establishment  of 
the  Fort  Riley  Military  Museum  which  was  officially  opened  Sep- 
tember 27,  1957.  It  is  located  in  the  building  which  served  as  post 
headquarters  from  1890  through  World  War  II.  One  room  is  set 
aside  for  history  of  the  Junction  City  area.  The  Fort  Riley  Historical 
Society  will  have  charge  of  the  museum.  Maj.  Gen.  David  H. 
Buchanan,  First  division  commander,  is  honorary  president  and  Lee 
Rich,  Junction  City,  is  president. 

Humboldt's  week-long  centennial  celebration  was  climaxed  Sep- 
tember 28,  1957,  by  a  parade  and  a  street  dance.  Other  features 
of  the  observance  included  a  local  talent  show,  football  game,  and 
Humboldt  High  School  class  reunions. 

Mrs.  W.  G.  Anderson,  president  of  the  Cowley  County  Historical 
Society,  has  announced  that  the  society's  museum,  on  the  campus 
of  Southwestern  College  in  Winfield,  will  be  open  every  Friday 
from  2:00  to  5:00  P.  M. 

Additional  appointments  to  the  Kansas  centennial  commission 
made  by  Gov.  George  Docking  include:  the  Rev.  John  R.  Barber, 
Columbus;  Sid  Calbert,  Newton;  Howard  Carey,  Hutchinson;  W. 
Luke  Chapin,  Medicine  Lodge;  Franklin  Gordon,  Medicine  Lodge; 
Mike  Gordono,  Wichita;  Mrs.  Ruby  Harris,  Wichita;  the  Rev.  I.  H. 
Henderson,  Kansas  City;  I.  N.  "]ibo"  Hewitt,  Medicine  Lodge; 
Col.  Pat  L.  Keenan,  Seward;  August  Lauterbach,  Colby;  Dr.  James 
McCain,  Manhattan;  Mrs.  Thomas  Martin,  Highland;  Novma 
Mering,  Great  Bend;  L.  F.  Meyers,  Dodge  City;  Dr.  Franklin 
Murphy,  Lawrence;  Mrs.  E.  E.  Peiser,  Mission;  F.  J.  Rost,  Topeka; 
Leon  N.  Roulier,  Colby;  John  Sticher,  Topeka;  Elton  Wilson,  Mound 
City;  and  Dr.  L.  D.  Wooster,  Hays.  Members  of  the  commission 


KANSAS  HISTORICAL  NOTES  447 

previously  appointed  were  listed  in  "Kansas  Historical  Notes,"  in 
the  Summer,  1957,  issue  of  the  Quarterly. 

Circular  351,  August,  1957,  published  by  the  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station,  Kansas  State  College,  Manhattan,  printed  a  36-page 
article  by  F.  D.  Farrell,  entitled  "Kansas  Rural  Institutions:  XIII. 
County  Fair."  It  is  a  study  of  the  Coffey  county  fair,  one  of  the 
oldest  in  Kansas,  first  held  October  9,  1860. 

A  mimeographed  pamphlet  entitled  "History  of  the  Argonia 
Friends  Meeting,"  has  been  issued  in  commemoration  of  the  75th 
anniversary  of  the  Argonia  church. 

Following  the  Civil  War,  Phillip  and  Elmira  Simmons  settled  on 
high  ground  in  Douglas  county  between  the  Kansas  and  Wakarusa 
rivers,  which  became  known  as  The  Hill  or  Simmons  Point.  A 
granddaughter,  Zoe  Dentler,  is  author  of  a  144-page  history  of  the 
area  and  the  Simmons  family,  entitled  The  Hill  or  Simmons  Point, 
published  by  Greenwich  Book  Publishers,  New  York  in  1957. 

William  S.  Prettyman,  Arkansas  City  photographer,  made  some 
10,000  pictures  of  Indians,  early  settlers,  land  seekers,  and  other 
subjects  on  the  frontier  from  1880  to  1909.  More  than  100  of  these 
have  been  selected  by  Robert  E.  Cunningham  and  included  in  his 
174-page  book,  Indian  Territory,  published  recently  by  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oklahoma  Press,  Norman. 

Ben  Thompson — Man  With  a  Gun,  by  the  late  Floyd  B.  Streeter, 
of  Hays,  was  recently  published  by  Frederick  Fell,  Inc.,  New  York. 
The  217-page  volume  is  a  biography  of  Thompson,  about  whom  it 
is  stated  in  the  introduction,  "probably  no  man,  before  or  since, 
crowded  more  excitement  into  forty-three  years  of  life.  .  .  ." 

Our  Heritage — 150  'Years  of  Progress  is  the  title  of  a  126-page 
history  of  the  First  Christian  church  of  Lawrence,  by  Clarence  E. 
Birch,  published  by  the  church  in  1957.  The  general  development 
of  the  Christian  church  is  traced  from  its  establishment  in  1807, 
but  the  Lawrence  congregation,  formed  in  1884,  is  the  main  theme 
of  the  work. 

A  260-page  history  of  Enterprise  entitled  A  Kansans  Enterprise, 
by  Ellen  Welander  Peterson,  was  recently  published  by  the  Enter- 
prise Baptist  church. 


Errata  and  Addenda,  Volume  XXIII 


Page  59,  second  line  from  bottom  of  page,  Camp  Mackey  should  be  Camp 
Mackay. 

Page  109,  tenth  line  from  bottom  of  page,  Ray  A.  Boast  should  be  Roy  A. 
Boast. 

Page  127,  lines  21  and  22,  "this  is  the  oldest  church  building  in  Kansas, 
with  the  exception  of  early  missions"  should  be  deleted. 

Page  129,  seventh  line  from  bottom  of  page,  R  16  E  should  read  R  16  W. 

Page  130,  line  13,  R  16  E  should  read  R  16  W. 

Page  135,  Gove  county  No.  1,  Carlysle  Stage  Station  should  be  Carlyle 
Stage  Station. 

Page  143,  line  one,  Sangro  House  should  be  Fangro  House. 

Page  153,  McPherson  county  No.  1 — Coronado  Heights  should  be  listed  in 
Saline  county. 

Page  177,  Wilson  county  No.  2 — Fort  Belmont  should  be  listed  in  Woodson 
county;  "Site  only,  two  miles  west  of  Buffalo,  off  U.  S.  75,"  should  read  "Site 
only,  about  four  miles  southwest  of  Yates  Center,  off  U.  S.  75." 

Page  217,  line  eight,  William  Errol  Enrau's  should  be  William  Enrol  Unrau's. 

Page  328,  sixth  line  from  bottom  of  page,  June  16  should  be  July  16. 

Page  330,  second  line  from  bottom  of  page,  Daily  World  should  read 
Hiawatha  Daily  World. 

Page  332,  line  two,  Maj.  Gordon  William  ["Pawnee  Bill"]  Lille  should  be 
Maj.  Gordon  William  "Pawnee  Bill"  Lillie. 

(448) 


Index  to  Volume  XXIII 


Abilene:     Eisenhower  home,  note  on.  .    124 

photograph    between  144,  145 

— records,  microfilmed. 56 

— see,  also,  Old  Abilene  Town  Co. 
Abilene  Reflector-Chronicle:     articles 

in,  noted    107 

Actual  Settlers'  Assn.:     note  on 188n 

Adair,    Lincoln,    Emporia:      article    on, 

noted      105 

Adair,  Rev.   Samuel 155 

Adams,    Mrs.    Paul 109 

Addis,  A.  S..  Leavenworth    .  17,  19,  27-     34 
36,  38,  39,     41 

Adee,  Glen 222 

Adkins,  James:    Lecompton  const,  conv. 

delegate     242 

Agricultural   History,    Champaign,    HI.: 

article    in,    noted 444 

Aiken,  George:    playwright 50 

Airplane  builder.     See  Longren, 

Albin  K. 

Airplane  Company,  Boeing:    H.  Mans- 
field's book  on,  noted 112 

Aitchison,   R.   T.,   Wichita 82,  84,  222 

Akin,    Asst.    Surg.   George   S.:    at   Fort 

Riley    347 

Alcove  Springs,  Marshall  co.:     loca- 
tion        154 

— note  on 154 

Aldrich,   Barbara,   Atchison 221 

Allen,  Henry  J.:    and  W.  A.  White,  in 

Europe,  article  on,  noted 326 

— residence  when  governor,  note  on.  .    170 

Allen,  J.  R.:    actor 18,     23 

Allen,   Mrs.   J.   R.:     actress 43 

Allen,  John:    minstrel  show  of, 

noted    314,  315 

Allen,  Martin,  Hays:    article  on,  noted  442 

Allen,  Mrs.  P.  W.,  Topeka:  donor 62 

Allen  county:     historic  sites  and  struc- 
tures, notes  on 115 

— jail,  note  on 115 

photograph    facing  144 

— Stoney  Lonesome  school,  note  on.  .    115 
Allen  County  Historical  Society:     1956 

meeting,  note  on 108 

— 1957  meeting,  note  on 221 

Allender,    Corp.   Robert:     marriage, 

noted      343 

Alma:    history,  articles  on,  noted 218 

Alma   Signal-Enterprise:    articles  in, 

noted     218 

— historical  series,  note  on 326 

Alta  Vista  Journal:    article  in,  noted.  .    211 
Altamont:     Baptist   church,   article   on, 

noted     330 

Altamont  Journal:    article  in,  noted.  .  .    330 
American  Heritage  Book  of  Great  His- 
toric Places,  The:    note  on 335 

American  Jewish  Archives,  Cincinnati: 

article   in,    noted 211 

Americus:    article  on,  noted 327 

— centennial,   note   on 333 

pamphlet,    noted 334 

Amos,  Ed,  Manhattan 109 

Amrine,  Milton  F.:    article  by,  noted.  .    220 

— and  wife,  donors 62 

Anderson,  A.   E.,  Leoti:     donor 59 


Anderson,  C.  E.,  Wellsford:    article  on, 

noted      214 

Anderson,    Charles   A 442 

Anderson,  George,  Finney  co Ill 

Anderson,  George  L.,  Lawrence.  .  .  .82,     84 

— address   by,   noted 110 

Anderson,  Gust  and  John,  Lindsborg.  .        3 

Anderson,  Mrs.  W.  G.,  Cowley  co 446 

Anthony,  Daniel  Read,  I:    letters,  note 

on    213 

Anthony,  Daniel  Read,  III .  .  63,  82,  84,   109 

Anthony,  Maj.  Scott 264 

Apache     Indians 264,  265 

Appleby,  John,  Columbus 217 

Arapahoe   Indians    260,  261,  264,  265 

393,  397 

Archaeology.      See    El   Quartelejo;    In- 
dian burial  pit,  Saline  co. 
Architecture,  Kansas:    article  on,  noted  214 
Argonia:    Friends  meeting  history,  note 

on    447 

— history,    articles    on,    noted 211 

Argonia  Argosy:    articles  in,  noted.  ...    211 
Argonne  Forest,  France:    battle 

area    77,     78 

Arickaree,  battle  of:    article  on,  noted.    443 

Arkalon,   Seward   co 286 

Arkansas    City:      "boomer"    expedition 

from,    noted 216 

— Cherokee  run  starting  point 205 

Arkansas   City  Dotty  Traveler:    articles 

in,   noted 216,  332 

— microfilmed      63 

Arkansas   river:     Santa   Fe  trail  cross- 
ings, notes  on 131,  137 

Arlington's    Minstrels 316 

Armstrong,  Lt.  Francis  C.:    note  on.  .    391 

Arnold, :     actor 34,  200 

Ash  creek    391 

Ashlock-Longstreth,    Dot:     booklet   by, 

noted     335 

Ash  ton  &  Bros.,  Leavenworth 40 

Asling,  Rev.  John,  Doniphan  co 107 

Atchison:     Amelia  Earhart  home,  note 

on     116 

photograph    between  144,  145 

— Byram  Hotel,  note  on 116 

—Corinthian   Hall    405 

— Ed  Howe  home,  note  on 116,  117 

— First    Christian    church,    history, 

noted    57,  326 

— John  A.  Martin  house,  note  on 117 

— Lord  Dramatic  Co.  at. 301,  302,  321,  323 

— Otis  House,  note  on 116 

— Pomeroy's  Hall,  note  on 191 

— population,  1860-1890,  data  on.  ...    Ill 

— Price's  Hall,  notes  on 191,   192 

195,  302 

—revival    at,    1872 369,372,378-  381 

— theatre  history,  to  1868 191-  195 

— Trinity  Lutheran  church,  article   on, 

noted     107 

— Turner  Hall,  note  on 191 

Atchison  and   St.  Joseph  railway 202 

Atchison  county:     High  Prairie  school, 

article   on,    noted 107 

— historic  buildings,  notes  on.  ...    116,  117 
Atchison  Daily  Globe:    articles  in, 

noted    107,  326,  327,  332 


(449) 


30—1378 


450 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  railroad: 
inspection   train,    1872,   photo- 
graph     facing  224 

— to  Fort  Larned  area 274,276,  278 

Atwood:     Citizen   Patriot,   article   in, 

noted      213 

Aubrey,   Mile. :     dancer.  .31,  33,     35 

Aubrey's  crossing:    note  on 396 

Augusta:     first  building,  note  on 120 

Augusta    Daily    Gazette:     articles     in, 

noted     214,  331 

Augusta    Historical    Society 120 

Austin,  Mrs.   Helen,   Chase  co 108 

Automatic   Electric   Co.,   Chicago 6 

Axe,   Lucy  Porter:     donor 65 

Axe,    Rose:     donor 66 

Axtell:     note  on 213 

Axtell  Standard:    article  in,  noted.  .  .  .    213 

B 

Baber,  Mrs.  Louise,  Lawrence:     donor,     62 
Bache,  Maj.  Dallas:    at  Fort  Riley.  .  .  .    358 

— note  on 358 

Bailey,  Roy  F.,  Salina 83 

Bailey,  W.  A.,  Kansas  City 63 

Bakeless,  John:    book  on  George  Rogers 

Clark  by,  noted 112 

Baker  University:     note  on 125 

— Old  Castle  Hall,  note  on 125 

photograph     between    144,   145 

Baldrey,  J.   A.:     family,  article  on, 

noted      327 

Baldwin,    Clint  A.,   Chase  co 108,  334 

Ball,  Lt.  R.  R.:    at  Fort  Riley.  .  .357,  359 

Ballou,    Louis 222 

Ballou,  Mrs.  Louis 222 

Bancroft, :    theatre  manager  315,  316 

Baptist  Church.     See  Delaware  Baptist 
Missions;     Ottawa     Baptist     Mission; 
Pottawatomie  Baptist  Mission;  Shaw- 
nee    Baptist   Mission. 
Bar     Assn.     of     Northwestern     Kansas: 

records,    note    on 59 

Barber,  Rev.  John  R.,  Columbus 446 

Barber  county:    historic  sites,  notes 

on      117,  118 

Baringer,     Sylvester 83 

Barker,   Rev.  Francis 184n 

Barlow,  J.  H.:    Lecompton  const,  conv. 

delegate     234n 

Barnes,  Elizabeth  E.::     articles  by, 

noted    105, 216,  443 

Barnes,  Surg.  Joseph  K.:    at  Fort  Riley  338 

— biographical  sketch 338,  339 

— photograph     facing  353 

Barnes,  Mrs.  Lela:    treasurer,  Historical 

Society    67,  69,     83 

report  by 67-     69 

Barnett,  Capt.  Richardo:    at  Fort  Riley  359 

Barnum,  E.  E.,  Topeka:     quoted 377 

Barr,    Frank,    Wichita 84 

Barrel  Springs,  Greeley  co 137 

Barrows,  M.  C.,  article  by,  noted 220 

Barry,  Louise 83,   109 

— index  by,  noted 64 

Barry,  Rev.  Thomas  William:    chaplain, 

Fort     Riley 362 

Barton  county:    historic  site  and  struc- 
ture, notes  on 118,   119 

Bascom,  Delaware  Indian 395n 

Basye,  Ruby:    articles  by,  noted 106 

216,  327 

Battle  canyon,  Scott  co.:    note  on 168 

— photograph  of  cave  in    .  between  144,  145 

Baugher,  Charles  A.,  Ellis 82,     84 

Baughman,  Robert 62 

Baxter    Springs    massacre,    1863:     note 

on    121 

— site,  note  on 121 


Bayard,  Lt.  George  Dashiell:    note 

on     392,  393 


59 
84 


67 


Beatty,  Jerome,  Roxbury,  Conn.:   donor 

Beck,  Will  T.,  Holton 82, 

— on    executive    comm.,    Historical    So- 
ciety       54, 

— on  nominating  comm.,  Historical  So- 
ciety       81-     83 

Becker,  Rev.  C.  H.,  Fairview 330 

Beckman,   Father   Peter 445 

— Kansas  Monks  by,  noted 335 

Becknell,     William 337 

Beecher,   Henry  Ward 175 

"Beecher  Bible  and  Rifle"  Church,  Wa- 

baunsee:     article  on,  noted 441 

— note  on 175 

— photograph     facing  145 

Beecher  Bible  and  Rifle  Colony:    monu- 
ment commemorating,  note  on 66 

Beecher  Island  monument:     article  on, 

noted      443 

Beeson,     Charley 324 

Beezley,  George  F.,  Girard 83 

Bell, :     mail   agent,    1860 391 

Bell,    Alexander   Graham 3 

Bell,  Lt.  David  D.:    at  Camp  Alert.  .  .    259 

Bell,  Mrs.  James  G 108 

Bellamy,  Mrs.  John  B.,  Topeka:  donor,  62 
Belleville  Telescope:  articles  in, 

noted    212,  217 

Beloit:    Presbyterian  church,  articles  on, 

noted      217 

Beloit  Call:    article  in,  noted 217 

Beloit  Gazette:    article  in,  noted 217 

Bender  family,  Labette  co.:  note  on.  .  146 
Bender  mounds,  Labette  co.:  note  on.  146 
Benedictine  monks:  book  by  Father 

Beckman  on,   noted 335 

Bennett,   Erastus:     home,   Topeka,  note 

on      170 

Bennett,  Mrs.  S.  H.:     articles  by, 

noted    105,  442 

Bent,  William:    Indian  agent 257,  258 

260,273,  387 

Bentley,   A.   R 108 

Bentley,  Roderick,  Shields:     donor.  ...      62 

Bent's    Fort 397,  398 

Bent's    New    Fort 400 

Beougher,  Edward  M.,  Grinnell 83 

Berger,  William  E.:    "A  Kansas  Revival 

of  1872,"  article  by 368-  381 

— note  on 368n 

Bergland,  Maurine:     articles  by, 

noted     215,  442 

Berglund,  V.  E.:     and  wife,  caretakers, 

Funston  Home 65,     67 

Bernheisel,  Mrs.  A.  S 333 

Berry,  L.  J.:    Santa  Fe  mail  route  sur- 
veyor       258n 

Berryman,  Jerome  C.,  Ashland 84 

Bickel,    H.    M 278 

Big    Blue    river:      Independence    cross- 
ing, note  on 154 

Big  John  creek 159 

Big  Springs:    note  on 125,   126 

— United  Brethren  church,  note  on.  .  .    126 

Biggs,   R.   R.,   Abilene 333 

Bilger,  Grace:     article  by,  noted 444 

Birch,  Clarence  E.:     book  by,  noted    .    447 

Birmingham,    Maj.   Henry   P. 362,  363 

Bisenius,  Jake,  Great  Bend:    article  on, 

noted     106 

Bitting,   Carl,  Wichita 222 

Black  Dog,  Osage  chief:    note  on 223 

Black  Dog,  II,  Osage  chief:  note  on.  .  223 
Black  Dog  Trail,  The:  by  Tillie  K. 

Newman,    note   on 

Black   Jack,    battle    of    (Douglas    co.); 

note     on 

Blackburn,  Dick:     article  by,  noted.  .  . 
Blackburn,   Forrest    R 


223 

126 

217 

67 


GENERAL  INDEX 


451 


Blackburn,  R.  Z.,  Chase  co 108 

Blake,  Henry  S.,  Topeka:    note  on    ...      54 

Blake,  Mrs.  Henry   S.,   Topeka 109 

Blanchard,     Ben 163 

— article    on,    noted 106 

Blanchard,  Howard,  Garden  City 221 

Blind  Tom:     at   Leavenworth 314 

Bloyd,  Levi:    booklet  by,  noted 334 

Blue   Mound:     article   on,  noted 331 

Blue  Rapids  Times:    article  in,  noted.  .    327 
Blue   river.      See   Big    Blue   river. 
Blue    Valley    News,    Randolph:      article 

in,     noted 328 

— discontinuance  of 328 

Bluejacket,   Charles:     ferry  of,  noted.  .    187 

Blunt,    Gen.    James 121,  149,  264 

Boast,   Roy  A.,   Topeka 109 

Boder,   Bartlett:     article  by,  noted.  .  .  .    214 
Boeing   Airplane   Company:     H.   Mans- 
field's book  on,  noted 112 

Boissiere,    Ernest    Valeton    de 134 

Boling,  Lucius,  Lecompton 235 

Bolton,   J.   W.,  Emporia:     recollections, 

noted      105 

Boltz,   Arle    108 

Boltz,    Mrs.    Arle 108 

Bonnell,  J.   C.:     photographer 207 

Bonner,  Thomas  N.:    book  on  medicine 

in    Chicago  by,    noted 112 

Bonner  Springs:    historic  site  in,  noted,   177 
"Boomers"    (Oklahoma):     article    on, 

noted      216 

Boone,    Daniel    Morgan:     Jefferson    co. 

home  of,  note  on 142 

— note  on 142 

Booth,  Capt.  Henry:     at  Fort 

Lamed    275,  278 

Booth,   John    Wilkes 37,  46,  122 

Border  Queen  Museum  Assn.:    meeting, 

1957,   note   on 221 

Border  troubles:     article  on,  noted.  .  .  .    214 

Botkin,     Theodosius 250 

Boucicault,  Dion:    plays  by,  noted,  41,     42 
45, 46,     50 

Bourne,    Mrs.    Bert 222 

Bourquin,  Jules:    talk  by,  noted 442 

Bowers,    Mrs.    Eugene,    Topeka 62 

—donor    58,     63 

Bowlus,  Thomas   H.,   Tola 83 

Boxmeyer,   Mrs.    Roy   E 108 

Boyd,   Albert   H.:     rancher 274 

Boyd,    Belle:      actress 44 

Boyd,  Mrs.  McDill,  Phillipsburg 110 

Bradley,    Mrs.    Sola,    Merriam 108 

Bradshaw,  Alfred  B.:    articles  by,  noted  212 
Branson,    Jacob:      arrest,     and    rescue, 

note     on 182 

Breed,  H.  E.,  El  Cajon,  Cal.:    donor.  .      59 
Brennan,  Jim:    murderer  of  S.  N. 

Wood     181 

Breslaw,   James  C.:     scenic  artist 192 

Breslaw,  Melissa  (Mrs.  James  C. ):    ac- 
tress     193,   195 

Brewer,  David  J.:    house,  Leavenworth, 

note     on 147 

— note  on 148 

Brewer,   Lt.    Madison   M.:     at  Fort 

Riley    361 

Brewster:    history,  article  on,  noted.  .  .    443 

— schools,  article  on,  noted 443 

Bridges.     See  Covered  bridge. 

Briggs,  T.   C.,   Kiowa   co.:     article   on, 

noted      212 

Brigham,  Mrs.  Lalla  M.,  Pratt 84 

Bright,  Rev.  John  A 211 

Bright,  Dr.  John  D 109 

Brignoli,   Pasqualino:     at  Leaven- 
worth        15,     20 

Brinkerhoff,  Fred  W.,  Pittsburg 83,  221 

Broadwell,     Dick 156 


Brock,  R.  F.,  Goodland 70,  84 

Brodrick,  Lynn  R 83,  221 

Brooke,  Lt.  Benjamin:  at  Fort  Riley.  .  360 
Brooks,  Mrs.  Julia  (German):  article 

on,  noted 326 

Brooks,  Rev.  W.  C.,  Lawrence.  .  373,  374 
Brookville:  Brookville  Hotel,  note  on.  .  167 

photograph  between  144,  145 

Brown,  Berm'ce,  Hays:  article  by, 

noted  107 

Brown,  Britt,  Wichita 222 

Brown,  Rev.  Charles,  Hugoton ....  106,  223 

Brown,  Dick:  engineer 372 

Brown,  George  W.:  letters,  article  on, 

noted  442 

Brown,  John  155,  156 

— A.  Whitridge's  article  on,  noted.  .  .  .  219 
— capture  at  Harper's  Ferry,  note  on.  .  386 

— in  battle  of  the  Spurs 140 

— in  Black  Jack  battle 126 

— Memorial  Park,  Osawatomie,  note 

on  155,  156 

— Pottawatomie  massacre  perpetrator.  .  133 

Brown,  Mrs.  Mabel  Rowe Ill 

Brown,  Myra  Lockwood:  article  by, 

noted  220 

Brown,  R.  G.,  Finney  co Ill 

Brown,  Will:  articles  by,  noted,  329,  443 
Brown  county:  early  trails,  talk  on, 

noted  442 

— first  school,  noted 328 

— historic  sites,  and  structure,  notes 

on  119,  120 

Bruce,  H.  E.,  Horton 221 

Bryan,  Lt.  Francis  T.:  note  on 390 

Buchanan,  Maj.  Gen.  David  H 446 

Buchanan,  Pres.  James 225 

Buchanan,  McKean:  actor 41,  201 

Buchanan,  Virginia:  actress 41,  201 

Bucklin:  Christian  church,  article  on, 

noted  212 

Buffalo:  articles  on,  noted 331 

— killing  of  a  white  buffalo,  noted.  .  .  215 

Buffalo  hunting:  note  on,  1872 204 

Buffalo  wallows:  in  Ellis  co.,  noted  .  214 
Bulkeley,  Mrs.  Gerald  Clough:  donor,  58 

Bulkley,  Roy,  Topeka 110 

Bull,  "Gen."  H.  C.:  article  on,  noted,  107 

Bullit,  Delaware  Indian  395n 

Bunce,  Bev:  article  by,  noted ...  .  326 

Burgard,  Ruth 109 

Burlingame,  Anson:  town  named  for.  .  162 

Burlingame,  Ward:  anecdote  of 403 

Burlingame:  note  on 161,  162 

Burlingame  Chronicle 249 

Burlington:  history,  articles  on,  noted  444 
— The  Daily  Republican  centennial  edi- 
tion, noted 444 

Burns,  Kathryn:  hospital  matron,  Fort 

Riley  355 

Burns,  Mrs.  Luther,   Topeka:     donor.  .      59 

Burt,  Agnes   (Mrs.  George):     actress    .      14 

17,  18,  21-23,  26,  28,  29,  43,     44 

52,  193,  194,  197,   198 

Burt,  Clara:  actress 44,  195 

— naming  of 22 

Burt,  Eliza  Logan:  actress ...  43, 44,  47 
193-195,  197 

— naming  of 22 

Burt,  George:    actor    .  12-14,  17-19,  21-     23 

26-29,  43,  44,  52,  193-195,   197 

198,  311 

Burt,  Nellie 44 

Burt,  Willie 44 

Burt  and  Coutra,  Leavenworth 18 

Burt  and  Hunter,  Leavenworth.  ...  18 

Burt  family:  actors 43,44,47,  52 

193-195,197,299,  300 

Bushton:  article  on,  noted 217 

Bushton  News:  article  in,  noted.  .  .  .  217 


452 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Butler  county:     first  courthouse,  article 

on,    noted 220 

— historic  site,  note  on 120 

— history,  articles  on,  noted 214,  441 

— Mt.    Tabor    community,    article    on, 

noted      443 

— "Pioneer    Days"    celebration,     1957, 

notes     on 443,  445 

Butler  County  Historical  Society    .214,  445 

— 1957  meeting,  note  on 221 

Butler   County   News,  El   Dorado:     ar- 
ticles  in,   noted 220,  441 

Butterfield,    David   A 271,  275 

— biographical  data 9 

— Manhattan  home,  notes  on 9,   165 

photograph    facing       9 

Butterfield's  Overland  Dispatch,  9,  135,   165 

Buzbee,  Dick:    article  by,  noted 441 

Byer,  Neil:    articles  by,  noted.  .  .  .215,  331 

"Bypaths  of  Kansas  History"   104,  204-  210 

324,325,439,  440 


"Caches,  The":    location  of 131 

— note  on    131 

Caddo  Indians 262 

Calbert,  Sid,  Newton 446 

Caldwell,  Margaret  Evans:    Mudge 

ranch  story  by,  noted 441 

Caldwell,  W.  C.,  Humboldt 108 

Caldwell:    Cherokee  run  starting 

point    205,  206 

— Fairbanks  House,  note  on 174 

— note  on    219 

Caldwell  Messenger:    articles  in,  noted,  219 

Calhoun,  John:    notes  on 237,  238 

— photograph facing  240 

— president,  Lecompton  const,  conv. ...    231 

236-  239 

Calnan,  Charles  C.,  Troy 219 

Calnan,  Henry  T.,  Sr.,  Troy    219 

Camp,  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  Charles  D. .  .    362 

Camp,  Essex:    at  Fort  Riley 347 

Camp,  H.  R.,  Kansas  City,  Mo 20 

Camp  Alert 223 

—notes  on    258,  259,  391 

Camp  Center   59,  338,  339 

Camp  Doniphan,  Okla 72,     73 

Camp  Kirwin,  Phillips  co.:   note  on.  ...    163 

Camp  Mackay  [not  Mackey] 131,  448 

— records,  filmed 

Camp  Pond  Creek 175 

Camp  Precaution 59 

Camp  Whitside 340 

Campbell,  Lt.  C.  A.:  at  Fort  Larned.  .  274 
Campbell  brothers,  Haddam:  note  on,  334 
Campbell  Brothers  Great  Consolidated 

Shows:    L.  Bloyd's  booklet  on,  noted,  334 

Campbell  College,  Holton 128 

Campbell  family,  Tecumseh:    article  on, 

noted    444 

Candy,  C.  M.,  Chicago:    patent 

attorney     3n,       6 

Cannon,  L.  T.,  Humboldt 108 

Cannon:  "Old  Sacramento,"  noted.  ...  127 
Capitol,  first  territorial:  article  on, 

noted    105 

— note  on    165 

— photograph     between  144,  145 

Capper,  Arthur:    at  Camp  Doniphan.  .  . 

— home,  Garnett,  note  on 116 

photograph     ....  between  144,  145 

Topeka,  note  on 170 

— note  on    116 

—publisher    444 

— residence  when  governor,  note  on.  .  .    170 

— U.  S.  senator 80,     81 

Capper  Farm  Press:    H.  E.  Socolofsky's 

article  on,  noted 444 

Capper  Memorial  Museum  Assn 116 


Carey,    Howard,    Hutchinson 446 

Carey,  James  C.,  Manhattan 204 

Carlson,  Sen.  Frank 279 

Carlyle  stage  station  [not  Carlysle]:    lo- 
cation      135 

— notes  on    135,  448 

Carnegie,  Andrew    212 

Carney,  Thomas:     house,  Leavenworth, 

note  on    147 

Carpenter,  Mrs.  R.  H.,  lola 108 

Carr,  Charles  H.,  Wichita:    donor 63 

Carr,  Lt.  Eugene  A.:  at  Fort  Riley.  .  .  .  342 
Carroll,  Joe,  Marysville:  article  on, 

noted    218 

Carroll   and   Lynch,  Leavenworth:     en- 
tertainers          24 

Carter,  John,  Lyon  co.:    article  on, 

noted    105 

Carter,  John  S.:     accounts  of,  filmed.  .      59 
Carver,     George     Washington:       home- 
stead, note  on 161 

location   of    161 

Carver,  Hugh  D.,  and  wife,  Concordia,     62 

Carver,  Lewis:     donor 62 

Case,  C.  A.,  Abilene 333 

Castle  Rock  Creek  stage  station, 

Trego  co.:     location 174 

— note  on    174 

"Cathedral    of    the    Plains,"     Victoria: 

note  on 130 

— photograph     between  144,  145 

Catholic   Church.      See  Osage   Catholic 

Mission. 
Catren,  Mrs.  Marion,  Olpe:    donor.  ...      59 

Cattle      439,  440 

Cedar  Vale  Messenger:    articles  in, 

noted     329 

Census:     1857,   notes   on 226,  227 

Centennial  commission,  Kansas:    names 

of    members 221 

Chaff ee,  Mrs.  Harry,  Topeka 110 

Chalk  Bluffs  stage  station:    location.  .  .    135 

— note  on 135 

Chamberlain,  Mrs.   Bernard  P.:    donor,     59 

Chambers,  Lloyd,  Clearwater 82,     84 

Chandler,  Allison:     article  by,  noted.  .    326 

Chandler,  C.  J.,  Wichita 82,     84 

Chandler,     Ruth    Naylor:      article    by, 

noted     444 

Chancy,  Audrey  McMillan:    article  by, 

noted      444 

Chaney,  Warren  P.,  Topeka:  donor.  .  62 
Chanute,  Octave:  article  on,  noted.  .  .  212 
Chanute  Tribune:  articles  in, 

noted    212,  441 

— microfilmed     '60,     63 

Chapin,  W.  Luke,  Medicine  Lodge.  .  446 
Chaplin,  George  D.:  actor.  .  .  .  17,  19,  20 
33,  35-43,  197,  201,  303,  315-  320 
Chapman,  Berlin  B.:  article  by,  noted,  220 
Chapman,  Stan:  article  by,  noted.  .  .  .  326 
Chapman:  Dickinson  County  High 

School,  note  on 124 

Cherokee  county:    county  seat  war,  ar- 
ticles  on,   noted 217 

Cherokee  neutral  lands:    article  on, 

noted      442 

Cherokee   Strip  opening:     Eva  Winter- 
mute's   reminiscences    of,   noted.  .  .  .    443 

— L.  R.  Elliott's  account  of 205-  210 

— note  on 123 

— R.  Ingle's  recollections  of,  noted.  ...    213 

Chetola:     article  on,  noted 106 

Chetopa:     centennial    celebration,   note 

on    223 

— Christian  church,  articles   on, 

noted    107,  211 

— history,  article  on,  noted 326 

by  W.  A.  O'Connell,  noted 220 

note  on    220 

— name   origin    220 


GENERAL  INDEX 


453 


Chetopa  Advance:    articles  in, 

noted     107,  220 

Cheyenne   Indians    260-262,  264-  267 

— battle  with,  1857,  note  on 172 

1878,  note  on 168 

— campaign  against,   1857.  .....  .384,  385 

— German  family  massacre,  articles  on, 

noted      330 

— Kidder  massacre,  note  on 172 

— raid,   1857,  note  on 345 

1864,     noted 149 

1874,  note  on 155 

1878,  notes  on 123,   124 

Chicago  Telephone  Co 2 

Childs,   Mrs.    Claud 222 

Chippewa  Indian  cemetery:    note  on.  .    133 

Chisholm,    Jesse 173 

Chisholm   trail:     article  on,   noted.  .     .    329 

— in  Stunner  co.,  note  on 173,   174 

— route,  article  on,  noted 443 

Chivington,  Col.  J.  M.:    in  Fort  Lamed 

area   264 

Chivington   massacre,    1864 .  .  263,  264,  266 

Cholera:     at   Fort  Lamed 272 

—at  Fort  Riley,   1855 341-  343 

1867    351,  352 

Chouteau,  Cyprian:    trading  post,  note 

on    179 

Chouteau,  Francis  and  Cyprian:     trad- 
ing post  "Four  houses,"  note  on.  .  .    177 

Chouteau's  Island:    note  on 145 

Chrysler,  Walter  P.:    home,  Ellis,  note 

on      128,  129 

photograph    between  144,  145 

Church   histories:     note   on 57 

Churchill,  Mrs.  C.  D.,  St.  Francis ....      63 

Cimarron 137 

Cimarron  crossing,  Arkansas  river:    note 

on    137 

Cimarron    Herald:     microfilmed 60 

Cimarron    river 394,  396 

Circus,  Campbell  brothers':    note  on.  .    334 
Civil  war:    battles  in  Kansas,   notes 

on     121,149,  157 

— Negro  soldiers  in,  book  on,  noted.  .    222 
Clark,  George  Rogers:    John  Bakeless's 

book    on,    noted 112 

Clark,  H.  T.,  Leavenworth 12 

Clark    county:     St.    Jacob's    well,    note 

on      121,   122 

Clark    County    Clipper,    Ashland:      ar- 
ticle  in,   noted 212 

Clarke,    Lt.    Joseph    Taylor:      at    Fort 

Riley      360 

Clarkson,   Rev.   David:     chaplain,   Fort 

Riley    341 

Clay  Center:    articles  on,  noted 216 

Clay    Center    Dispatch:     articles    in, 

noted    216,  327 

— microfilmed    63 

Clay  county:     articles  on,  noted 216 

— first  school  dist.,  article  on,  noted    .    327 

Cleardale:     article  on,  noted 330 

Clemens,    Mary   E.:     donor 59 

Cloud  county:    historic  site  in,  noted.  .    .22, 
Clough,  Ebenezer  Nicholas  Orrick:  pa- 
pers   of,   noted 58 

Clyde   Development    Co.:     records, 

noted     59 

Clymer,  Rolla,  El  Dorado 82,  84,  221 

— address  by,  noted 443,  445 

—given  W.  A.  White  award 221 

— nominated  as  Historical  Society  presi- 
dent           69 

— note     on 248n 

— president,   Historical   Society 83 

— "Thomas  Benton  Murdock  and  Wil- 
liam Allen  White,"  article  by .  .  248-  256 
Cobb,  Howell:     secretary  of  the  treas- 
ury         235 

Cochran,    Elizabeth,    Pittsburg     82, 84,  221 


Cody,  William  F. 151 

— articles  on,  noted 214,  215 

Coffey  county:  county  fair,  F.  D.  Far- 

rell's  study  of,  noted 447 

Coffeyville:  Bethel  African  Methodist 

church,  article  on,  noted 331 

— Dalton  raid,  article  on,  noted 211 

note  on  156,  157 

— museum,  note  on 157 

Coffeyville  Daily  Journal:  articles  in, 

noted  211,219,331,  443 

Coffeyville  Journal:  microfilmed 60 

Coker,  Jessy  Mae:  article  by,  noted.  .  .  443 

Colborn,  E.  F 324,  325 

Colby  Free  Press-Tribune:  article  in, 

noted  212 

Coldwater  Republican:  microfilmed.  .  60 
Coleman,  Franklin  N.:  murderer  of 

Dow  182 

Collard,  E.  Bert,  Sr 109 

College  of  Emporia:  article  on, 

noted  218 

Colley,  S.  G.:  Indian  agent 262 

Collingsworth,  R.  N.,  Topeka 377 

Collins,  John  C.:  chief  clerk,  treasurer's 

office  281-  284 

Collins  Dramatic  Co 315 

Collinson,  Mrs.  W.  B.,  Topeka:  donor  62 

Colonial  Dames 66 

— Kansas  Society  of,  donor 57 

Columbus  Advocate:  articles  in,  noted,  217 
Comanche  county:  Collier  Flats  area, 

article  on,  noted 328 

Comanche  Indians 257,  259,  260,  264 

265,  386 
— and  Kiowas,  J.  E.  B.  Stuart's  diary 

of  1860  campaign  against 382-  400 

Combs,  Gene,  Wichita 222 

Comes,  John,  Pittsburgh,  Pa 129 

Compehau,  Ottawa  chief:  burial  place, 

noted  133 

Comstock,  William  "Buffalo  Bill" ....  151 
Concordia  Blade-Empire:  articles  in, 

noted  212,  330 

Condra,  Mrs.  Ella Ill 

Cone,  Mrs.  Harold 109 

Cone,  Lois  Johnson:  article  by,  noted  219 
Confederate  troops:  killed  in  fight 

with  Osages,  note  on 157 

Congressional  Medal  of  Honor  356 

— first,  note  on 337,  348,  350 

— last  to  an  army  doctor,  noted 361 

Connecticut  Kansas  Colony:  monument 

commemorating,  note  on 66 

Connell,  Jesse,  Leavenworth  co 234 

Connell,  Willard,  Kansas  City 108 

Connelley,  William  Elsey 331 

Conner,  Mrs.  Ruth,  Cottonwood  Falls,  108 

334,  446 

Connolly,  David:  inventor 3 

Connolly,  T.  A.:  inventor 3 

Conrad  and  Haun,  Leavenworth: 

theatre  managers 18 

Considine,  Bob:  speaker  at  Topeka 

meeting  110 

Constable,  Marshall 109 

Constitution  Hall,  Lecompton:  note  on,  127 

— photograph  between  144,  145 

Conwell,  Mrs.  Anna,  Topeka: 

donor  59,  62 

Cooke,  Flora:  marriage,  note  on,  383,  384 

Cooke,  Lt.  Col.  Philip  St.  George 383 

—at  Fort  Riley 344,  384 

Coolidge,  Asst.  Surg.  Richard  H.:  at 

Fort  Riley  344-  346 

— biographical  note 345,  346 

Coolidge,  W.  H.,  Leavenworth  ...  17,  19 

40-  42 

Coolidge  Border  Ruffian:  microfilmed,  60 

Coon  creek  393 

— battle  of,  1848,  note  on 128 


454 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Coons,  Lois,  Parsons:    donor 59 

Cooper,  C.  M.,  Crawford  co 108 

Cooter, ,   Leaven  worth:     saloon 

keeper    40 

Copple,  O.  A.,  Council  Grove:     donor,     66 
Corbett,  Boston:    homestead,  note  on,      122 

— note  on    122 

Corby,  Jenny:    article  by,  noted 444 

Cordley,    Rev.    Richard 370,  371 

Corey,    Addie:     actress ..  299,  304,  306,  307 

310,425,  427 

Corkill,  Eldon,   Dallas,    Tex.:     donor.  .      62 

Cornish,  Dudley  T.,  Pittsburg 445 

— book  by,  noted 222 

Coronado  Heights,  Saline  co.   [not  Mc- 

Pherson  co.] :    notes  on 153,  448 

Coronado's  expedition,   1541:     note  on,   164 

Correll,   Charles   M.,    Manhattan 84 

— donor     57 

— on  executive  comm.,  Historical 

Society    54,     69 

— on   nominating  comm.,   Historical 

Society     82 

Correll,  Mrs.  Charles  M.,  Manhattan        109 
Cortelyou,  J.  V.:     Indian  collection  of, 

noted   62 

Cortelyou,  R.  G.,  Omaha,  Neb 62 

Cory,    Homer    109 

Cotton,   Corlett  J.,  Lawrence 82,     84 

Cotton,  Julia:     estate,  donor 62 

Cottonwood  Falls:     S.  N.  Wood  home, 

note  on    .    121 

Couldock,   C.   W.:     actor ..    33,  34,  37,     42 

43,  46,  193,  198,  201,  316,  320 

Couldock,   Eliza:     actress    .  .  33,  34,  37,     42 

193,201,  316 

Council   City,   Osage   co 161 

Council  Grove:    civic  projects,  noted    .      65 

— Council  oak,  note  on 157,  158 

— Custer  elm,  note  on 158 

— Hays   tavern,   note   on 158 

— Kaw  Methodist  Mission,  note  on    ...    158 

— Last  Chance  store,  note  on 158 

photograph     between    144,  145 

— Post  office  oak,  note  on 159 

Council  Grove  Republican:    articles  in, 

noted    211,  220 

County  fair,  Coffey  co.:    F.  D.  Farrell's 

study   of,   noted    447 

Coutra, .      See  Burt  and  Coutra. 

Covered    bridge,    Leavenworth    co.: 

note  on    146 

— photograph    between    144,   145 

Cowley  county:    historic  site  in,  noted,   123 
Cowley   County  Historical  Society: 

museum,  note  on 446 

Cox,   Al   and  George:     ranchers 274 

Cox,  Robert:    visit  to  Victoria,  noted.  .    214 

Crabtree,   Lotta:     actress 201 

Grain,  O.  L.,  Parsons 446 

Crain,   Mrs.   Winnie,   Oswego 446 

Craine,  Eugene  R.,  Hays    445 

Crandall,  Prudence:     article  on,  noted,  219 

— note  on    219 

Crase,   Mrs.   Frank Ill 

Crawford,   Frances    249 

Crawford    county:     historic    buildings, 

notes   on    123 

Crawford    County    Historical    Society: 

1957  meeting,  note  on 222 

— tour  by,  noted 108 

Crawshaw,  Ralph,  Topeka:    donor.  ...      63 
Creameries,   E.   W.   McDowell's   article 

on,   noted    217 

Crittenden,  Col.  George  Bibb:    note  on,  399 
Cron,  Frank  H.,  El  Dorado.  .  .83,221,  445 

Crooked    creek    393n 

Cuartelejo.     See  El  Quartelejo. 

Culbreth,  Marie  Antoinette 249 

Cumming,  Alfred:     governor  of  Utah 

ter .385 


Cunningham,  Robert  E.:     book  by, 

noted    447 

Cunningham  Clipper:    article  in,  noted,  213 
Curtis,  Charles:    home,  Topeka, 

note  on    170 

— note  on    170 

— U.   S.   senator 80 

Curtis,  Gen.  Samuel  R. 149 

Cushman,   Pauline:     actress 42 

Custer,  Col.  Brice  C.  W.,  Topeka.  .70,  223 

— donor      62 

Custer,   Elizabeth    (Mrs.   George   A.): 

article    on,    noted 329 

Custer,   George   Armstrong:  .  .  158,  348,  352 

— articles    on,    noted 107,  329 

— in  Indian  campaigns,   1860's    .  .265-  267 


Daggett,  Ralph:     article  by,  noted        .  218 

Dallas,  Dave,  Manhattan 109 

Dalton,    Bob 156 

Dalton,  Emmett    156 

Dalton,     Grat 156 

Dalton    gang:     Coffey ville  raid,   note 

on     156,   157 

Dalzell,  Mrs.  Nina:    article  by,  noted.  .  329 

Danford,  J.  S.,  El  Dorado 249 

Danforth,     Joshua     H.:       Leavenworth 

const,    conv.    delegate 235 

Daniel,  Rev.  C.  T.,  Altamont 330 

Daughters  of  American  Colonists 66 

Daughters    of    1812 66 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  66 

— Kansas   Society,  donor 57 

El  Quartelejo  site  owned  by.  ...  114 

meeting  at  Shawnee  Mission, 

noted     66 

Davis,   Mrs.    Bonnie 331 

Davis,    Jefferson 340 

Davis,  W.  W.,  Lawrence 84 

Dawson,    George   T.,   Elmdale ....  108,  334 

446 

Dawson,   John  S.,   Topeka 82,  84 

— on   executive   comm.,    Historical   So- 
ciety     54,  69 

— on  nominating  comm.,  Historical  So- 
ciety       82 

Deal,   Carl   W.:     on  Historical   Society 

staff     57 

Dean,  Julia:    actress    20,  201 

DeBar,     Ben,     New    Orleans:      theatre 

manager     201 

DeBar,    Blanche:     actress 42,43,  201 

DeBar,     Clementine 201 

Decatur    county:     Indian    raid,    1878, 

notes     on 123,  124 

Delahay,    Mark    W.:     house,    Leaven- 
worth,  note  on 147 

photograph     between    144,  145 

— note  on 147 

Delaware  Baptist  Mission  (first):    note 

on    179 

Delaware     Baptist     Mission     (second): 

note  on 179 

Delaware     Indians 187 

— burial    ground,   Wyandotte   co.,   note 

on    180 

Delaware   Indians:     scouts,    1860,   note 

on    395n 

Delaware  Methodist  Mission:     note  on,  180 

Delgado,  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  Jose  M. .  .  362 

Delia:     drugstore,   note   on 62 

Denin,   Kate:     actress 33,  46,  47,  50 

201,315,  320 

Denin,   Susan:     actress .  .  19,  42,  44,  53,  201 
Denious,  Jesse  C.,  Jr.,  Dodge  City.  ...  84 
Dentler,  Zoe:     book  on  Simmons  fam- 
ily  by,   noted 447 

Derby:    articles  on,  noted 213 

Derby  Star:    articles  in,  noted 213 


GENERAL  INDEX 


455 


De  Soto:  centennial  history,  noted  .  .  335 
Detwiler, :  temperance  lec- 
turer   406,  407 

Deweyville,  Clay  co.:  article  on,  noted  327 
Dial  telephone:  early  models,  photo- 
graphs   between  8,  9 

— invention  and  development,  Emory 

Lindquist's  article  on 1-  8 

Diamond  Springs,  Morris  co.:  note  on,  159 

Dick,  George 66 

Dick,  Louis  TM  and  wife,  Tulsa,  Okla.,  66 
Dickinson  county:  courthouse,  article 

on,  noted 107 

— historic  buildings,  notes  on 124 

— historical  sketches,  noted 58 

— Mt.  Pleasant  Presbyterian  church, 

article  on,  noted 107 

— records  microfilmed 56 

Dickinson  County  High  School,  Chap- 
man: note  on 124 

Dickinson  County  Historical  Society: 

donor  58 

— 1956  meeting,  note  on 108,  109 

Dighton  Herald:  articles  in,  noted.  .  .  .  215 

Dillard,  Alva  E.,  Melvern:  donor.  ...  62 

Dillingham,  Annie  E.:  actress 37 

Disney,  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  F.  A.  E. .  .  .  362 

Docking,  Gov.  George 83,  110,  221 

445,  446 

Dodge  City:  article  on,  noted 327 

Dodson,  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  B.  E.:  at 

Fort  Riley 352,  353 

Dole,  William  P.:  comm'r.  of  Indian 

affairs  400 

Doniphan:  article  on,  noted 107 

Doniphan  Constitutionalist 240 

Doniphan  county:  historic  buildings, 

notes  on 124,  125 

— Zion  Methodist  Church,  article  on, 

noted  107 

Donnall,  Margaret  O.  D.:  at  Fort 

Riley  341 

Donner  party:  in  Kansas,  1846 154 

"Dora"  (play):  note  on 418 

Douglas,  Stephen  A 225 

Douglas  county:  historic  sites  and 

structures,  notes  on 125-128,  448 

Douglass  Tribune:  article  in,  noted.  .  443 

Dow,  Charles  W.:  murder,  noted  ...  182 

Downer's  Station,  Trego  co 355 

— note  on 174 

Downs:  B.  Yost's  reminiscences  of, 

noted  331 

Downs  News  6-  Times:  article  in, 

noted  331 

Doyle,  W.  P.:  comm'r.  of  Indian 

affairs  262 

Drake,  Lewis,  Humboldt 108 

Drennan, :  hospital  steward,  Fort 

Riley  345 

Drew,  Asst.  Surg.  Fred  P.:  at  Fort 

Riley  346,  347 

— note  on  347 

Drought:  of  1860,  article  on,  noted  .  215 

Drum  creek:  Osage  treaty  site,  note  on  157 

Drumm,  Andrew:  article  on,  noted  .  .  216 

Drussel,  Albert Ill 

Dry  Turkey  creek:  1825  treaty  site, 

note  on 153 

Duckwall,  G.  E.,  Abilene 333 

Dull  Knife's  raid,  1878,  notes  on  123,  124 
Duncan,  Kunigunde  (Mrs.  Bliss  Isely): 

book  by,  noted 224 

Duncan  crossing,  Pawnee  river:  note 

on  139,  140 

Durein,  Frank 109 

Durkee,  Mrs.  C.  C.,  Manhattan:  donor  62 

Durpey  and  Benedict:  minstrels 314 

Dutch  Henry's  crossing,  Franklin  co.: 

notes     on .  .  133.  134 


E 

Earhart,  A.  R.,  Topeka:     donor 62 

Earhart,  Amelia:    home,  Atchison,  note 

on     116 

photograph between  144,  145 

Eastin,  Lucian  J.:    editor 18 

— Lecompton    const,    conv.    dele- 
gate     239,  241n 

— note  on 239 

Easton      239 

— note  on 241 

Eayre,  Lt.  George 263,  264 

Ebbutt,  Percy  G.:     emigrant  life  ac- 
count by,  noted 215 

Ebright,   Homer    K.,    Baldwin 83 

Eckdall,  Mrs.  Ella  (Funston) 115 

— donor     65 

Eckdall,   Frank   F.,   Emporia 82,     84 

Edelblute,   Henry,   Riley  co 439 

Editorial    Assn.:     ball,    Topeka,    1870, 

noted     312 

Editorial  Assn.,  Southwest  Kansas:    rec- 
ords,    noted 59 

Edna  Sun:    article  in,  noted 330 

Edwards,     Mabel 222 

Edwards,  Ralph,  Burdick:    donor 65 

Edwards  county:  historic  site,  noted.  .  128 
Edwards  County  Historical  Society: 

1957   meeting,  note  on 333 

Eighth  Kansas  infantry:    in  1862,  note 

on      59 

Eisenhower,    Dwight    D.:     home,    Abi- 
lene,   note    on 124 

photograph    between  144,  145 

— parents   of,  note  on 128 

Eisenhower,    Mrs.    Ida:     K.    Duncan's 

book  on,  noted 224 

El  Dorado    Democrat 253 

El  Dorado  Free-Lance:    articles  in, 

noted     213,  214 

El  Dorado  oil  field:    Stapleton  No.   1 

well,  note  on 120 

El  Dorado  Republican:  notes  on,  250,  253 
El  Dorado  Times:  article  in,  noted.  .  .  .  441 

— note     on 250 

Eldridge,  Col.  Lyman,  Leavenworth.  .  34 
Election:  of  June,  1857,  notes  on,  227,  228 

Elgin:     article  on,  noted 106 

Elland,  W.  F.,  Bucklin 212 

Eller,  Mrs.  Fern:  article  by,  noted.  .  .  .  212 
Elliott,  L.  R.,  Manhattan:  account  of 

Cherokee   run    by 205-  210 

Elliott,    Leila,    Coffeyville 221 

Ellis,  Abraham:  article  on,  noted.  .  .  .  442 
Ellis:  Walter  P.  Chrysler  home,  note 

on    128,  129 

photograph between  144,  145 

Ellis    county:     court   house    fire,    1895, 

article   on,    noted 329 

— historic  buildings,  notes  on.  .  .  .128-  130 

— history,   articles   on,   noted 106,  107 

214,215,  329 
— Schoenchen    community,    article    on, 

noted     106 

Ellsworth:  Grand  Central  Hotel,  noted,  130 
— historic  buildings,  notes  on.  .  .  .130,  131 
—I.  E.  Lloyd's  diary  of  life  in,  1873, 

noted      330 

— 90th-year  celebration,  note  on 334 

— note  on    215 

— White  House  Hotel,  note  on 130 

Ellsworth  county:  articles  on,  noted.  .  .  330 
— Excelsior  Lutheran  Church,  article  on, 

noted    211 

— George  Jelinek's  history  of,  noted.  .  .  215 
Ellsworth  Messenger:  article  in, 

noted 211,  215 

Ellsworth   Reporter:    articles   in, 

noted     330,  443 


456 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Elmore,  Rush:  house,  article  on,  noted,  444 
— Lecompton  const,  conv.  delegate ....  234n 

236-  239 

— notes  on  238 

ElQuartelejo  114 

— monument,  photograph 

of  between  144,  145 

— note  on  168 

Emerson  Minstrels 314 

Emigrant  Aid  Co.  of  Massachusetts ....  186n 

Emporia:  centennial,  note  on 334 

— colleges,  historical  articles  on,  noted,  218 
— fire  department,  article  on,  noted.  .  .  .  105 
— First  Christian  church,  articles  on, 

noted  105 

— First  Methodist  church,  article  on, 

noted  328 

— high  school,  article  on,  noted 328 

— historical  booklet  on,  noted 223 

— history,  articles  on,  noted 328 

— Lord  Dramatic  Co.  at 321,  405-  409 

— population,  1870-1890,  data  on.  ...  11 

— W.  A.  White  home,  note  on 153 

Emporia  Gazette:  articles  in,  noted.  .  .  105 
218,327,  442 

— centennial  articles  in,  noted 328 

— notes  on  253-  255 

Emporia  Times:  article  in,  noted 442 

— centennial  edition,  noted 328 

Empson,  Mrs.  Grover:  donor 62 

Emrie,  Mrs.  Kathleen,  Ford 222,  445 

English  Lutheran  Church:  first  Kansas 

church  of,  notes  on 141,  448 

Enid,  Okla 210 

Enterprise:  Carry  Nation's  visit,  article 

on,  noted 107 

— history,  by  E.  W.  Peterson,  noted.  .  .  447 
Erickson,  Anders:  to  Lindsborg,  1869,  1 
Erickson,  Anna  Maria  ( Mrs.  Anders ) .  .  1 
Erickson,  Charles  J.:  account  by, 

quoted 2-5,  7,  8 

— biographical  note  In 

— inventor  1-  7 

— photograph  facing  8 

Erickson,  John:  biographical  note.  ...  In 

— inventor  1-  7 

— photograph  facing  8 

Ernst,  Mrs.  Paul,  Olathe:  donor 59 

Eudora:  Methodist  church,  article  on, 

noted  331 

— note  on  331 

Eudora  News:  centennial  issue,  note 

on  331 

Euwer,  Elmer  E.,  Goodland 82,  84 

Evans,  John:  governor  of  Colorado  ter.,  263 

Ewing,  Cortez  A.  M.:  note  on 281n 

— "Notes  on  Two  Kansas  Impeach- 
ments," article  by 281-  297 

Ewing,  Mrs.  Ralph,  Russell 59 

F 

Fabrique,  Dr.  Andrew  H.:    records  of, 

filmed  59 

Fager,  Maurice:  centennial  comm. 

chairman  221 

Fairfield,  Jack:  article  by,  noted 441 

Fairview:  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church, 

articles  on,  noted 330 

Fairview  Enterprise:  article  in,  noted,  330 
Fall  Leaf,  Delaware 

Indian  395n,  397,  398 

Fangro  house,  Shawnee:  notes 

on  143,  448 

Fant,  William  Ill 

Fargo  Springs,  Seward  co 286,  287 

Faringhy,  Ellen  (Mrs.  Louis  O.).  .351,  355 

Faringhy,  George:  quoted 351,  352 

Faringhy,  Louis  O.:  hospital  steward, 

Fort  Riley    351,  352,  355,  356 


Farley,  Alan  W.,  Kansas  City 69,  70 

82,  84 

— donor  59 

— nominated  as  first  vice-president,  His- 
torical Society  69 

— sheriff,  K.  C.  posse  of  the  Westerners,  109 

— vice-president,  Historical  Society.  ...  83 

Farlington:  township  hall,  note  on.  ...  123 

Farmers'  Alliance  286 

— W.  P.  Hackney's  comment  on 291 

Farnsworth,  Mrs.  Harry  B.:  donor.  ...  62 

Farrell,  Francis  D.,  Manhattan 83 

— study  of  the  Coffey  county  fair  by, 

noted  447 

Fashion:  note  on,  1857 204 

Fauntleroy,  Col.  Thomas  T 338 

Faxon  family,  Tecumseh:  article  on, 

noted  444 

Feeley,  Dr.  Newell,  Topeka:  donor.  .  .  62 
Feldman,  Mrs.  Sophia  (German): 

recollections,  noted  330 

Feller,  John 109 

— donor  57 

Ferguson,  E.  E.,  and  wife,  Valley 

Falls:  donors  62 

Ferris,  B.  E 222 

Fickertt,  Earl,  Peabody:  donor 59 

Field,  Lt.  P.  C.:  at  Fort  Riley 363 

Finlaw,  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  W.  C.:  at 

Fort  Riley  347 

Finley,  Mrs.  Dean:  donor 62 

Finney  county:  historic  sites,  notes  on,  131 

Finney  County  Historical  Society 131 

— 1957  meeting,  note  on Ill 

First  printing  press:  note  on 143 

First  U.  S.  cavalry:  Co.  K,  in  1859, 

note  on  258,  259 

— in  Cheyenne  campaign,  1857.  .384,  385 
— in  Kiowa-Comanche  campaign, 

1860  387-  400 

— in  Mormon  campaign,  1858 385 

— in  Sioux  campaign,  1855 383 

— organized,  1855  383 

First  U.  S.  dragoons:  at  Fort  Riley 

site,  1852  338 

Fisher,  Lt.  Henry  C.:  at  Fort  Riley.  .  360 
Fitch,  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  A.  L.:  at 

Fort  Riley  356 

Flora,  Snowden  D.:  book  on  hailstorms 

by,  noted  Ill 

Floyd,  H.  E.:  article  by,  noted 218 

Foch,  Marshal  Ferdinand 77 

Football  huddle:  claimed  for  Olathe 

community  444 

Forbes,  R.  I.,  and  wife,  Topeka: 

donors  62 

Ford,  Evelyn,  Topeka  110 

Ford,  Gen.  James  H 263,  264,  268 

Ford  county:  historic  sites, 

notes  on  131,  132 

Ford  Historical  Society:  1957  meet- 
ings, notes  on  222,  445 

Foreman,  Harvey:  Lecompton  const. 

conv.  delegate  239,  241 

— note  on  239 

Forman,  Mrs.  Lilly:  article  on, 

noted  328,  448 

Forsyth,  Bessie:  marriage,  noted.  .  .  .  358 
Forsyth,  Col.  James  W.:  at  Fort 

Riley  358,  361 

Fort  Atkinson:  note  on 131 

— records,  filmed  59 

— Sixth  U.  S.  infantry  at,  noted 59 

Fort  Aubrey:  note  on 138 

Fort  Belmont,  Woodson  [not  Wilson] 

co.:  notes  on  177,  448 

"Fort  Blair":  blockhouse,  photo- 
graph   between  144,  145 

Fort  Cobb,  I.  T 267,  276 

Fort  Dodge  277 

— buildings,  notes  on 132 


GENERAL  INDEX 


457 


Fort  Harker:     buildings,  note  on,   130,   131 
— guard  house,  photo- 
graph  between  144,   145 

— note  on    130 

Fort  Hays:     blockhouse,  photo- 
graph     between  144,   145 

— buildings,  note   on 129 

— note  on    129 

Fort   Hays-Fort   Dodge   trail 139 

Fort    Lamed     113,  217 

— abandonment   of    276-  280 

— aerial   view   of between    144,   145 

— buildings,   described    269-  272 

— cholera    at,    1864 272 

— founding  of    257-  259 

— historic  site,  note  on 162 

— Indian  relations   at 260-  268 

— museum  opening,  note  on 223 

—photograph,  1886    facing  272 

— Second  U.  S.  dragoons  at 398 

—sports  at 275,  276 

— T.  R.  Davis'   1867  sketch  of,  facing  272 

— W.  E.  Unrau's  article  on 257-  280 

Fort  Lamed  Historical  Society 162 

— note  on    280 

— organized     223 

Fort    Leavenworth     113 

— First  U.  S.  cavalry  at,  1855 383 

— historical  markers   at,   noted    ....         149 

—note   on    148,   149 

Fort  Leaven  worth-Fort  Sfll  trail 152 

"Fort   Lexington":     note   on.  .  .  119 

Fort  Lyon    260 

Fort  Lyon-Fort  Wallace  trail 137 

Fort   Mann    131 

Fort    Riley     113 

— cavalry    school    established 357,  361 

— cholera  at,   1855 341-  343 

—  — 1867  351,  352 

— dispensary,    1889,    photo- 
graph     between  352,  353 

— early  hospitals  of,  photographs,  facing  352 

— hospital  ambulance,  1900,  photo- 
graph       between  352,  353 

— hospital  history  to  1903,  Maj.  G.  E. 
Omer,    Jr.'s    article   on 337-  367 

— hospital  ward,   1900,  photo- 
graph       facing  336 

—  —note  on facing  337 

— liquor   problem,    1850's 345 

— maneuvers,  1902,  note  on 362 

— medical  detachment,  1870,  photo- 
graph    between  352,  353 

1900,  photograph   .  .  between  352,  353 

— note  on    165 

— Sixth    infantry    at,    noted.  .  .  .  '.'.  59 

— typhoid  outbreak,  1903 ....  363 

Fort   Riley   Historical   Society 446 

Fort  Riley  Military  Museum:     opening, 

noted      446 

Fort  Scott  (military  post):    buildings, 

notes   on    119 

— note  on    .,.."!!  '.    119 

— officers'   quarters,  photo- 

_  graph   between  144,  145 

Fort    Scott:      First    Methodist    church, 

history,  noted 212 

— historic  buildings,  notes  on 119 

photographs    between   144,   145 

— note  on 241 

— Olympic   Theatre 16 

— population,  1870-1890,  data  on    .  11 

— revival   at,    1872 369,373,379,  381 

— theatre  at,   1870,  note  on 315 

Fort  Scott  Tribune:    articles  in 

no.ted       ..- 212,  441 

— microfilmed      63 

Fort    Supply-Fort    Dodge    trail:      notes 

on      121     122 

"Fort  Titus":    note  on 126 


Fort  Wallace:    article  on,  noted 332 

— cemetery,  German  family  monument, 

noted     330 

marker,  photograph,  between  144,   145 

— note     on 175 

Fort    Wise:      Indian    treaty    at,    1861, 

note     on 260 

Fort  Zarah:     site,  note  on.  118 

Forwood,  Bvt.  Maj.  William  Henry:'  at 

Fort  Riley    352,  353 

— biographical    sketch 352 

— letter,     1868 270 

Foster,    Mrs.    Sharon,   Ellsworth 110 

Four  Houses  trading  post:    note  on.  .  .      177 
Fourth  of  July:     Ellis  co.  celebrations, 

article   on,   noted 329 

— territorial     celebrations,     article     on, 

noted      326 

Fowler,  O.  S.:    phrenologist 378 

Fowler,  Mrs.  Ruffin:    article  on,  noted,  328 

Fox,   Joy 223 

— booklet   by,    noted 327 

Frame,  Hannah:    hospital  matron,  Fort 

Riley    346 

Frankfort  Index:    article  in,  noted.  ...    215 

Frankfort  Town  Co.:    note  on 215 

Franklin,  Douglas  co.:    battles  of, 

noted     127 

— note    on 126,  127 

Franklin  county:    historic  sites  and 

structures,    notes    on 133,   134 

Frayne,  Francis  I.:    actor 193 

Free-State  meeting:    Big  Springs,  1857, 

noted      230 

"Free-Stater's    'Letters   to   the   Editor,' 

A"  (S.  N.  Wood  letters,  1854),  181-  190 
Freienmuth,  Mrs.   W.   H.,   Tonganoxie: 

donor     Q% 

Fremont,  John  C.:    in  Kansas.  .  .    179,  337 

Frick,  Maj.  E.  B 363 

Friends,   Society  of.     See  Shawnee 

Friends   Mission. 

Frienmuth,    W.    Hans 109 

Frisby,  Mrs.  B.  E.,  Delia:    donor.  .  .          62 

Frizell,    E.    D 279 

Frizell,    E.    E.:      Fort    Larned    ranch 

owner      278,  279 

Frizell,  Robert:    owner  of  Fort  Larned 

property     223 

Frizell   family:     ranchers 269 

"Frou   Frou"    (play):     notes   on.  .409,  410 

Frusher,    Edgar:      family,     article    on,' 

noted      327 

Fuchs,    James    R 100 

Fulton,  T.  P.,  El  Dorado 253 

Funston,   Aldo,   Parsons:     donor.  .  65 

Funston,  Edward  H.:     home  of,  noted,  115 

Funston,   Frederick:     death,  note  on.  .  360 

— home,   notes    on 115 

photograph    facing  144 

see,  also,  Kansas  State  Historical 

Society:      Funston    Home    report. 

— note  on 115 


Gabay's   Dramatic   Troupe 16,  52,  203 

300 
Gabriel,  Dr.  Madge,  Topeka:    donor..      59 

Gaffner, :    on  Santa  Fe  trail, 

1860    393 

Gaines,  Charles,  Chase  co 108 

Gait,   Mrs.   Charles:     donor 57 

Gambrinus, ,    Leavenworth 52 

Card,    Spencer,   lola 108,  221 

Garden  City:    historical  markers,  noted,   131 

— U.  S.  land  office  site,  noted 131 

Gardner,  Alexander:    photograph  (over- 
land stage)   by    facing      iv 


458 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Gardner,   Bertha,   Wichita 222 

Gardner,  Lt.  Col.  E.  F 363 

Gardner:     articles    on,    noted 218,  443 

Gardner  News:  articles  in,  noted.  .  .  .  218 
Garnett:  Arthur  Capper  home,  note  on,  116 

photograph   between  144,   145 

Garrett,  Jack   and  Uriah 145 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd:  note  on.  .  .  .  186n 
Garvey,  Annabel:  article  by,  noted.  .  .  444 
Garvey  family,  Tecumseh:  article  on, 

noted      444 

Geary,  Gov.  John  W 226,  227 

Geddings,  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  R.  M. .  .  .    362 

Geisen,    Rolla 222 

Geneva,  Allen  co.:    centennial  celebra- 
tion,   noted 445 

George,  Rev.  A.  P.,  Hugoton 223 

George,  Al  F.,  Topeka:    donor 62 

Gerken,   Mrs.  Fred:     article  by,   noted,  215 
German,    John:     family,    massacre,    ar- 
ticles  on,   noted 330 

note    on 150,   151 

monument,    note    on 330 

Germans:     in  Rice  co.,  note  on 217 

Gilbert,  Eli:     state  rep 283 

Gilbert,    N.    R 324 

Gilchrist,  H.  L.:    army  doctor 363 

Gillett,  Almerin:    home,  Emporia,  note 

on     153 

Gilmore,    Fannie,    Leavenworth,    singer,     24 

Gilson,  Mrs.  F.  L.,  Emporia 222 

Girard:     article  on,  noted 105 

— public  library,  note  on 215 

Girard  Press:    article  in,  noted 215 

Gladstane,  Mrs.  Mary:    actress.  .20,38,     39 
41,44,  201 

Glandon,  Mrs.  Clyde  E 82 

Glasco:     history,  article  on,  noted.  .  .  .    218 

Glasco  Sun:    articles  in,  noted 218 

Glenn,  Frank,  Kansas  City,  Mo 110 

Glennan,    Lt.    James    Denver:     at    Fort 

Riley    360 

Glunt,  John:    family,  article  on,  noted,  327 

Godard,   D.  V.:     donor 59 

Goddard,  Lt.  C.  C.:    at  Fort  Riley.  .  .  .    357 

Godsey,  Mrs.  Flora  R.,  Emporia 84 

Goodland:  library,  article  on,  noted  .  212 
Goodland  Daily  News:  articles  in, 

noted      330 

Goodnow,  Isaac  T.:    home,  note  on.  .  .    166 

— note    on     166 

Goodnow,  William  E.:     Manhattan 

pioneer     9 

Gordon,  Franklin,  Medicine  Lodge.  .  .  .    446 

Gordono,    Mike,   Wichita 446 

Gosling,  George,  Leavenworth ....  19,  27 
Gove  county:  stage  stations  (1860's), 

notes     on 135, 136,  448 

Gove  County  Republican  Gazette, 

Gove:     article   in,   noted 330 

Governors'  residence   1915-1923:     note 

on      170 

Grabendike,  Mrs.  Frank,  Wichita 222 

Graham,  L.  L.:    actor 417 

Graham,  Mrs.  L.  L.:    actress 314,  417 

Grainger,  Boyne:  article  by,  noted.  .  .  .  214 
Grant,  George:  founder  of  Victoria..  129 

— home,  notes  on 130,  448 

Grant,  Gen.  Ulysses  S 268 

Gray,  Lt.  Col.  Charles  Carroll:    at  Fort 

Riley    356 

Gray,  George  A.:    article  by,  noted.  .  .    216 

Gray,  Harry,  Topeka 311 

Gray  county:  historic  sites,  noted.  .  .  137 
Great  Bend  Tribune:  articles  in,  noted,  106 

Greathouse,  J.  E Ill 

Greeley:     centennial  celebration,  noted,  223 

— history   of,   noted    327 

Greeley  county:  springs  in,  noted.  .  .  .  137 
Green,  Horace  T.,  Topeka:  donor.  ...  62 


Greene,  Mrs.  Lena,  Arkansas  City:    bio- 
graphical data  on,  noted 332 

Greensburg:     hand-dug  well, 

note   on    145,  146 

Greenwood,  A.  B.:     comm'r.  of  Indian 

affairs     258 

Grier,  U.  S.:    article  by,  noted    218 

Griffing,  O.  D.,  Council  Grove:    donor,  66 

Griffith,   George  D.,  Hays:     editor.  .  .  .  106 

Grinnell  Springs  stage  station:    note  on,  136 

Grinter,  Moses:    house,  note  on    .  .  178,  179 

photograph    facing  145 

— note  on    178 

Groom,  Ray  W.,  Council  Grove:    donor,  62 

Grover,    Nellie:     actress 195 

Grubaugh,  Mrs.  J.   L.,   Council  Grove: 

donor      62 

Guilfoyle,    William,    Abilene 333 

Guise,  Mrs.  Byron  E.:  article  by,  noted,  218 
Guthrie    (Okla.)    Daily   Leader:     '89er 

edition,  1957,  note  on 220 

Guy,  Hinkle  M.,  Jr.:     donor 61 

Guy,  Lillian  S.:    memorial  collection, 

noted      81 

H 

Hackney,  William  P.:    lawyer  for  T. 

Botkin     291,  297 

Haddam:    stage  station,  note  on 176 

Hadley,  Loren:    heirs  of,  donors 62 

Hailstorms:     S.  D.  Flora's  book  on, 

noted      HI 

Haines,  Joe  D.,  Manhattan 109 

Haines,   Stella  B.:     article  by,  noted.  .    331 

Halberstadt,    Ray    222 

Hall,  Elder  D.  P.,  Olathe    375 

Hall,  Ecile:    article  by,  noted 214 

Hall,    Fred    83 

Hall,  Mrs.  Fred    62 

Hall,   Jacob:     Santa   Fe  mail  route 

chosen  by    258n 

Hall,    Acting    Asst.    Surg.    L.:     at    Fort 

Riley    356 

Hall,    Richard  A.:     biographical   sketch 

of,  noted    105 

Hall,  Standish,  Wichita 84 

Hall  Lithographing  Co.,  Topeka:  donor,     62 

Hamilton,  R.  L.,  Beloit    83 

Hamilton,  William:    letters,  1846,  pub- 
lished, note  on    442 

Hamilton  county:    historic  site,  note  on,   138 
Hammond,  Rev.  Edward  Payson:     bio- 
graphical   note     368 

— in  Kansas,   1872    368-381  passim 

Hammond,  Asst.   Surg.  William  A.:     at 

Fort   Riley    340,  343 

— biographical  sketch    343,  344 

— photograph    facing  353 

Hancock,  Gen.  Winfield   S.:     1867  In- 
dian campaign    266,  275 

article  on,  noted    329 

Handy,  Mrs.  Grace:    articles  by,  noted,  211 

Hankins,   Mary,  lola 108,  221 

Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  railroad,  202,  203 
Hanover:     "Days    of   '49"    celebration, 

note  on    334 

Hapo,  Osage  chief    177 

Harbinson,  Asst.   Surg.   Thomas  B.:     at 

Fort    Riley     347 

Hardy,    Harry,   and   wife:     caretakers, 

Shawnee   Mission    67 

Harkins,  D.  R.:    actor 43 

Harlan,    Earl     333 

Harling,  Pvt.  Charles:    at  Fort  Riley.  .    344 
Harney,  Bvt.  Brig.   Gen.  William   S. .  .    383 

Harrington,  Grant  W 112 

Harris,   Mrs.   Ruby,   Wichita 448 

Harris,  Stanley,  Colony    108 

Harrop,   Mrs.   F.   F.,  Manhattan 109 

Harshbarger,    Mrs.    Ira    E.:     donor.  ...      62 


GENERAL  INDEX 


459 


Hartford:     centennial,   note   on    333 

pamphlet    on,    noted 334 

— high  school  alumni  directory,  noted,  334 

— note    on     327 

Hartford  Collegiate  Institute,  Hartford: 

note  on    152 

Hartford    Times:     centennial    edition, 

noted      327 

Hartsuff,  Maj.  Albert:    at  Fort  Riley.  .  356 

— biographical    note    356,  357 

Harvey,  Mrs.  A.   M.,  Topeka 83 

Harvey,   Fred:     house,   Leaven  worth, 

note    on    147 

photograph     between    144,  145 

Harvey,    Gov.    James    H 277 

Hashinger,    Edward    H 112 

Hastings,  Sherman  co.:    note  on 443 

Haucke,    Frank,   Council   Grove    .  .  .70,  83 
— on    executive   comm.,   Historical 

Society      54,  69 

— on  nominating  comm.,  Historical 

Society      82 

Haucke,    Mrs.    Frank 221 

Haun, ,    Leavenworth.      See 

Conrad    and   Haun. 

Haun,   Elizabeth,   Jetmore 327 

Haun,  T.  S.,  Jetmore 327 

Haviland:     note    on 212 

Haviland    Journal:     article    in,    noted    .  214 
— special  edition,    1856,  note  on,  212,  213 
Hawkes,  A.  K.:     a  Hartford  founder  327 
Haworth,  B.  Smith:    Ottawa  Univ.  his- 
tory by,  noted    224 

Hay,   Mrs.   Bert,   Holton:     donor.  .  .59,  62 

Hayden,  Capt.  Julius 393 

Hayes,   Josiah:     impeachment,   C.  A.  M. 

Ewing's   article  on    281-  285 

"Haymeadow    massacre":      article    on, 

noted      327 

Hays,  Beatrice,  Chase  co 108 

Hays,  Robert  Roy:     state  senator 290 

Hays,  Seth:    tavern,  note  on 158 

Hays,   articles   on,   noted 215 

—fire,  1895,  article  on,  noted 106,  107 

Hays  Daily  News:    articles  in,  noted    .  106 

107,214,215,329,  442 

Hazen,  Maj.  Gen.  W.  B 267 

Hazlett,  Mrs.  Emerson  L.,  Topeka    ...  110 

Healey,   J.   R.,  Leavenworth:     actor.  34 

47,  49 

Heeney,  Mrs.  D.  G.:    article  by,  noted,  330 

Hegler,  Ben  F.,  Wichita 84 

Heilmann,    Charles    E 221 

Heintzelman,  John  Cranston:     article 

by,   noted    214 

Heitt,   Curtis,  Emporia:     article  on, 

noted      105 

Heizer,   Chester   C.,   Caldwell 221 

— donor     62 

Helena,   Miss :     actress ...  28,  30,  31 

33, 35,  49 

Helfrich,    Brace,    Wichita 222 

Helm,   John,   Jr.,  Manhattan 221 

Henderson,     Ettie:       actress ...    37, 41,  42 

Henderson,  Rev.  I.  H.,  Kansas  City    .  .  446 
Henderson,  John  Dale:     Lecompton 

const,  conv.  delegate 240 

— note  on    240 

Hendrix,  Mrs.  Jack,  Topeka:    donor.     .  62 

Hennessey,  Okla 209,  210 

Henshaw's    stage    station,    Logan    co.: 

note  on 151 

Herbert,   Horace:     actor 417,  425,  435 

Herington:      Methodist    church,    article 

on,   noted    213 

Herington  Advertiser-Times:    article  in, 

noted     213 

Heritage  of  Kansas,  Emporia:     buffalo 

articles  in,  noted 331 

— note  on  first  issue 215 

Herndon,   Walter    .  108 


Hershey,  Mrs.  Lloyd,  Olathe:     donor.  .      59 

Herzog,  Ellis  co.:    note  on 129 

Hewitt,  I.  N.  "Jibo,"  Medicine  Lodge,  446 
Heyl,    Capt.    Ashton   Bryant:     at    Fort 

Riley      361 

— note  on    361 

Hi-Y  movement:    note  on 124 

Hiawatha:     article  on,  noted 328 

Hiawatha  Daily  World:    article  in, 

noted      330 

— centennial    issues,    noted 220 

Hickok,  James  Butler:    article  on, 

noted,     214 

Hickory  Point,  battle  of:    note  on.  ...    141 
Hicks,  John  Edward:     articles  by, 

noted      326 

Higgins,  Rev.   Charles,  Beloit.  .  .    217 

Higgins,   J.   Wallace,   III:     booklet  by, 

noted      334 

Highland,    Presbytery   of:     minutes, 

1857-1858,    published 328 

Highland    Junior    College:     Irvin    Hall, 

note    on    125 

photograph    between  144,  145 

— note    on     125 

Highland  Park,  Shawnee  co.:    data  on, 

noted      213 

Highland   Vidette:     article  in,   noted.  .    107 

Hight,   Jenny:     actress 42 

Higley,  Dr.  Brewster:    cabin,  Smith  co.: 

note    on     173 

photograph    between  144,   145 

Hilbert,     John      George:       biographical 

sketch,   noted    334 

Hildebrand,  William:    Butler  co. 

pioneer     214 

Hill,    Dr.    Gordon,    and   wife,   Topeka: 

donors    59 

Hill,  R.  B.:    telephony  authority 6 

Hills,   Thomas:     hospital  steward,   Fort 

Riley      356 

Hillsboro  Star-Journal:    article  in, 

noted     217 

Hinton,    Emma    Lodean,    Kansas    City: 

estate,  note  on 61 

Hinton,    Richard    J 140 

Historic     places:      American     Heritage 

book  on,  noted 335 

Historic  sites  and  structures  in  Kansas: 

survey  of    113,   180 

Historical  and  Philosophical  Society  of 

Kansas  Territory 241 

Historical  and  Philosophical  Society  of 

Ohio,    Bulletin    of    the:     article    in, 

noted      214 

History    Today,     London:      article    in, 

noted     219 

Hixon,  Will,  Altoona:    article  on, 

noted      329 

Hoard,   Martha,   Butler  co 445 

Hobbs,     Mrs.     Elwood 108 

Hodgdon,  L.  L.:    article  by,  noted.  .  .  .    214 
Hodgeman  county:     articles  on, 

noted    216,  327 

Hodgeman    County    Historical    Society: 

1957  meeting,  note  on 333 

Hodges,  Frank,  Olathe 83 

Hoff,    Surg.    John   Van   Rennselaer:     at 

Fort  Riley 359,  362,  363 

— biographical  sketch 359,  360 

Hoffmeier,    Charles:     hospital    steward, 

Fort  Riley   356 

Hoffmeier,  Mary  ( Mrs.  Charles ) 356 

Hohn,  Gordon  S.:    article  by,  noted.  .  .    218 
Hoisington,    Perry    M.,    Newton:     mili- 
tary career,  noted 72 

Hollenberg  ranch:    notes  on 176,  334 

— photograph     between  144,   145 

Holloway,  J.  N.:    article  by,  noted 215 

Holloway,  Webster  W 112 

Holmstrom,    John,    Manhattan 109 


460 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Holt,  Lynne:    article  by,  noted 218 

Holton  Recorder:    article  in,  noted.  .  .  .  220 
"Home    on    the    Range"    cabin,    Smith 

co.:    note  on 173 

— photograph     between  144,  145 

Homines,  Cpl.  Jacob:    at  Fort  Riley.  .  .  341 

Hope,  Clifford,  Sr.:    speech  by,  noted.  .  Ill 

Hopkins,  Eli:    house,  article  on,  noted,  444 

Hopkins,  Lt.  Thomas:    death,  noted.  .  .  76 

Horney,  Mrs.  C.  A.:    article  by,  noted.  .  443 
Horse   racing:     Marysville    area,   article 

on,  noted 218 

Horton,    Maj.    Samuel    Miller:     at    Fort 

Riley     357 

— note  on    357 

Horton:    historic  site  in,  note  on 120 

Horton  Headlight:    articles  in, 

noted     328,  442 

Hosmer,  Jean:     actress 37,43,  51 

Hospitals.      See  under  Fort  Riley. 

Houlehan,  Mrs.   Charles 108 

Houts,  Frank:    family,  article  on,  noted,  326 

Howe,  Adelaide,  Atchison 117 

Howe,  Edgar  Watson:    homes,  Atchison, 

note  on 116,  117 

Howe,   Julia  Ward:     in  Kansas,   article 

on,   noted    219 

Howells,  William  Dean:    article  on  Kan- 
sas tour,  noted 211 

Hoxie  Sentinel:    articles  in,  noted 441 

Hoyt,  Mrs.  Hobart,  Lyons 110 

Hubbell,  L.  W 333 

Hubbell,  Zella  Baldrey:     article  by, 

noted    327 

Hudson,  Edward  F 112 

Hudson,  Julia  and  Lola:    actresses.  ...  28 

Hudson,  Miss  Leo:    actress 43,  47 

Hugoton:     First  Methodist  church,  his- 
tory, noted 106,  223 

Hugoton  Hermes:    article  in,  noted.  .  .  .  106 

Hull,  Mell  H.:    land  office  official 207 

Humboldt:    centennial  celebration, 

noted    446 

— church  histories,  noted 441 

— history,  article  on,  noted 441 

Humboldt  Union:    articles  in,  noted    .  .  441 

Hunt,   Mrs.  Gorman 109 

Hunt,  Ruth  E.,  Topeka:    donor 63 

Huntington,    Mrs.    Amelia:     article    on, 

noted    215 

Huron    Indian   Cemetery,   Kansas    City: 

note  on    178 

— resolution  on   70 

Hutchinson:    electric  trolley,  article  on, 

noted    106 

— Grace  Episcopal  Church,  history, 

noted    57 

— historical   pictures,   noted 216 

— see,  also,  South  Hutchinson. 
Hutchinson  family:     temperance 

workers     197 

Hutchinson  News:    articles  in,  noted    .  .  327 

— note  on 216,  217 

Hutchinson    News-Herald:     articles    in, 

noted     106,  216 


Impeachments,   Kansas:     C.   A.   M. 

Ewing's  article  on 281-  297 

Independence:  history,  articles  on, 

noted  107 

Independence  crossing,  Big  Blue  river: 

note  on  154 

Independence  Daily  Reporter:  article 

in,  noted 329 

— 75th  anniversary  edition,  noted.  .  .  .  107 
Independence  Reporter:  articles  in, 

noted  218,  219,  329,  442 

Indian  burial  pit,  Saline  co.:  note  on,  167 


Indian    campaign:      against    Cheyenne, 

1857     '.384,  385 

— against  Kiowas  and  Comanches, 

1860,  J.  E.  B.  Stuart's  diary  of,  382-  400 
— Hancock's,  1867,  articles  on,  noted.  .    329 
Indian   depredations    in    Kansas:     notes 
on      ...  123,  128,  137,  145,  149,  150,  155 
164,  166,  167,  172,  173,  176 
261-267,324,330,  345 
Indian  lands  in  Kansas:     W.  G.   Mur- 
ray's   reports,    noted 335,  336 

Indian     material     (Kansas):      acquired 

from   Beloit   College   Museum 61 

Indian  missions.  See  Kaw  Methodist 
Mission;  Shawnee  Baptist  Mission; 
etc. 

Indian  Territory:  by  R.  E.  Cunning- 
ham, note  on 447 

Indian  tribes:    treaty  with,  1865,  notes 

on     169,  264,  265 

Indians:    battles  with,  in  Kansas,  notes 

on     168,  172,  219 

Ingalls      137 

Ingersoll,  Robert  G.:  letter  quoted.  .  .  .  378 
Ingle,  Reece:  recollections,  note  on.  .  213 
Inventors  of  dial  telephone:  Emory 

Lindquist's    article    on 1-        8 

lola:     county  jail,   note  on 115 

photograph    facing  144 

lola   Register:     microfilmed 63 

Iowa    Indians    187 

Iowa  Point:    note  on 241 

Iowa,  Sac  and  Fox  Presbyterian  Mis- 
sion: note  on 124,  125 

— photograph    between   144,   145 

— William   Hamilton's  letters   from, 

noted      442 

Ireland,   Lt.   Merritte  Weber:     at   Fort 

Riley    360 

— biographical    sketch    360 

Irving,  C.  H.:    theatre  manager 192 

Irving:     article   on,  noted 327 

Irwin,  Bvt.  Lt.  Col.  Bernard  John  Dow- 
ling:  at  Fort  Riley 348,  352,  355 

356,  360 

— biographical  sketch 348-  351 

— photograph     facing  353 

—report,   1858    348-  350 

Irwin,  William  H.:    journalist 378,  380 

Irwin,  Jackman  and  Co.:  freighters..  273 
Isely,  Mrs.  Bliss:  book  by,  noted.  .  .  .  224 

Isern,   Mrs.    Edward,   Ellinwood Ill 

Ives,  Earl    109 


Jackson,  G.  C.:  Woodson  co.  pioneer  .  212 

Jackson,  Ruth:  article  by,  noted 326 

Jackson  county:  Winding  Vale  school, 

article  on,  noted 220 

Jackson's  Island  (Arkansas  river)  .  ...  393 
Jacob  family,  Chase  co.:  article  on, 

noted  442 

Jacobs  Mound,  Chase  co.:  article  on, 

noted      442 

! agger,  Fred  109 
ameson,  Henry  B.,  Abilene 221,  333 
ardinier,  Christine:  article  by,  noted,  331 
efferson  county:  courthouse,  note  on,  140 
— historic  sites  and  structures,  notes 

on     140-  142 

Jelinek,  George:    article  by,  noted.  .  .  .    215 

Jenista,  Harry    221 

Jenkins,    Mrs.    Elsie 333 

Jenkins,  William  H.:    Lecompton  const. 

conv.    delegate    235 

Jennison,    Col.    Charles    R.:      daughter 

of,  an  actress 

Jennison,    Sophia:     actress 34,     50 

Jetmore:     articles  on,  noted 216,  327 

— 75th    anniversary,    note   on 333 


GENERAL  INDEX 


461 


Jetmore  Republican:    articles  in, 

noted     216,327,  441 

— 75th  anniversary  edition,  note  on.  .  .  327 
Jews  in  Kansas:     article  on,  noted.  ...  211 
Johannsen,  Robert  W.:     "The  Lecomp- 
ton   Constitutional   Conven- 
tion    .     .     .,"  article  by 225-  247 

— note  on    225n 

John   Brown    Memorial  Park,   Osawato- 

mie:     note    on    155,  156 

Johnson,    Beryl    R 109 

Johnson,   E.  W.,   Chanute 63 

Johnson,    Nellie:     actress 315 

Johnson,    Rachel:      actress 41 

Johnson,  Swan:    biographical  sketch, 

noted      334 

Johnson,  Rev.  Thomas 144,   183n 

Johnson,  Virginia  L.:    articles  by,  noted,  218 

Johnson,    Rev.    William 180 

Johnson   and    Burt   Theatrical 

Troupe      44,  195 

Johnson  county:  articles  on,  noted,  216,  443 
— historic  sites  and  structures,  notes 

on    142-145,  448 

Johnson   County  Democrat,   The, 

Olathe:    article  in,  noted 326 

— centennial  edition,  noted 442 

Johnson  County  Herald,  Overland  Park: 

articles  in,  noted    105,  216,  443 

Johnson  Pioneer:    70th  anniversary  edi- 
tion, note  on 217 

Johnston,  Lt.  Col.  Joseph  E 383,  394 

Jones,    Alfred    W.:     Lecompton    const. 

conv.    delegate    240 

—notes  on 240,  244-  247 

Jones,  Batt.:    notes  on 234,  235,  242 
ones,  E.  F.,  LaGrange:    cabin,  note 

on      154,  155 

Jones,    Elwood,    and    wife:     caretakers, 

Kaw    Mission     67 

Jones,  Herbert  C.:     Easton  history  by, 

noted    58 

Jones,    Horace,    Lyons 84 

Jones,   Mrs.   Jesse 109 

Jones,  John  C.  and  Winoma  C.:    work 

on  pioneers  by,  noted 58 

Jones,  John  Tecumseh:    home,  note  on,  134 

photograph     between    144,  145 

— notes  on    133,  134 

ones,  Lucina    222 

ones,  Owen  C 112 

ones,  S.  H.:    buffalo  article  by,  noted,  331 

ones,  Samuel:     Douglas  co.   sheriff.  .  .  182 

ones,  Mrs.  Schuyler,  Jr.,  Wichita 222 

ordan,   Henry    (Harry):     actor...    30,     49 

ordan,    Mrs.   Henry:     actress 31 

ordan,  Neal,  Harper  co.:    donor 59 

orgenson,  Lloyd  P.:    book  by,  noted.  .  112 

umbo    Springs,   Greeley    co 137 

unction  City:     Lord  Dramatic  Co.  at,  321 

— population,  1860-1890,  data  on.  ...  11 
Junction  City  Republic:    article  in, 

noted      441 

Junction    City    Union:     articles    in, 

noted     211,  443 

K 

Kambach,   Mrs.   Frank 109 

Kampschroeder,    Mrs.    Jean    Norris, 

Garden  City    84 

Kanopolis:     Fort   Harker  buildings, 

notes  on   130,  131 

Kansas   (ter.):    Capitol,  article  on, 

noted      105 

— note  on    165 

— photograph    between   144,  145 

Kansas     (state):      centennial     commis- 
sion, names  of  members    221,  446 

— Forestry,  Fish  &  Game  Commission,  169 
— Fort  Hays  Kansas  State  College  mu- 
seum, article  on,  noted 170,  171 


Kansas     ( state ) :      Governor's    mansion, 

note   on    170,   171 

— Governor's  mansion,  note  on ...  170,  171 
— Industrial  Development  Commission,  114 
— National  Guard, 

notes  on    71,  72,  80,     81 

— Teachers     College,     Emporia,     article 

on,    noted    218 

Kansas — A     History     of    the    Javhawk 

State:    by  W.  E.  Zornow,  noted    .  .  .    335 
Kansas    Assn.    of    Teachers    of    History 
and   Related   Fields:     1957   meeting, 

note  on    445 

Kansas  Chief,  The,  Troy:  note  on.  ...  219 
— 100th  anniversary  edition,  note  on.  .  219 
Kansas  City:  historic  places,  notes  on,  178 
— interurban  to  Olathe,  article  on, 

noted      326 

— population,  1870-1890,  data  on.  ...  11 
— Strawberry  Hill  section,  article  on, 

noted      326 

— Wyandotte  burial  ground,  resolution 

on     70 

Kansas  City  Kansan:    microfilmed 63 

Kansas    City,    Mexico   and   Orient   Rail- 
road:     J.    W.    Higgins'    history    of, 

noted      334 

Kansas    City    (Mo.)    Star:     articles    in, 

noted    326 

Kansas  City  (Mo.)  Star  of  Empire  ...  240 
Kansas  City  (Mo.)  Times:  articles  in, 

noted      326 

—for   1874,  microfilmed    '.'.'.      60 

Kansas   Daily   Tribune,   Lawrence: 

microfilmed    60 

Kansas  Falls,  Geary  co.:    note  on  389 

"Kansas    Historical    Notes"..       ..108-112 
221-224,  333-336,  445-  447 
"Kansas    History    as    Published    in    the 

Press"      105-107,  211-  220 

326-332,  441-  444 
Kansas  Indian  Agency,  Council  Grove: 

note    on     159 

Kansas    Indians:     treaty    site,    1825, 

note  on    153 

Kansas  Magazine,  Manhattan:    1957  is- 
sue, note  on    £14 

Kansas    Methodist    Mission.      See    Kaw 

Methodist   Mission. 

Kansas    National    Democrat,    Lecomp- 
ton           244,  246 

Kansas-Nebraska    act:     R.    F.    Nichols* 

article  on,  noted 105,  106 

Kansas  Pacific  railroad:    train  captured 

by  Indians,  note  on    824 

Kansas  river:    navigation,  note  on.  ...    188 
Kansas   Sod  House,   Cimarron:     micro- 
filmed             60 

Kansas    State    Historical    Society:     An^ 

nals  of  Kansas,  report  on 64 

motion  relating  to    82,     83 

— annual    meeting,     1956,    proceed- 
ings      54-     84 

1957,    noted     221 

— archives  division  report,  1955- 

1956     56,     57 

— executive  committee  report,  1956 .  .  69 
— First  Capitol  report,  1955-1956 ....  65 

— Funston  Home  report,  1956 65 

— Kansas  Historical  Quarterly,  The:   re- 
port on,  1955-1956 64 

—Kaw  Mission  report,  1955-1956 .  .  65,  66 
—library,  books  added  to,  1955-1956, 

listed     85-  103 

report,   1955,    1956 57,     58 

— manuscript     division     report,     1955- 

1956     58-     60 

— microfilm   division   report,   1955- 

1956    60 

—Mirror,  report  on,  1956 64,     65 

— Mitchell  bequest,  report  on 66 

— museum  report,   1955-1956 60-     62 


462 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Kansas  State  Historical  Society:     news- 
paper   and    census    divisions    report, 

1955-1956      62,     63 

— nominating  committee  report,  1956,  69 
— pictures  and  maps,  report  1955-1956,  63 
— publications  report,  1955-1956 .  .  64,  65 

—research  subjects,   1955-1956 63,     64 

— secretary's  report,  1955-1956 .  .  .  54-  67 
— Shawnee  Mission  report,  1955-1956,  66 
— treasurer's  report,  1955-1956.  .  .67-  69 
Kansas  Tribune,  Lawrence:  note  on.  .  181 
Kansas  Weekly  Herald,  Leavenworth.  .  239 
Kanzas  News,  The,  Emporia:  note  on.  .  328 
Karns-Newman,  Mrs.  Tillie,  Arkansas 

City    110 

Kaw  Methodist  Mission,  Council  Grove: 

note  on      158 

— photograph     between  144,   145 

— see,  also,  under  Kansas  State  Histori- 
cal Society. 

Kawsmouth    station:     Henry   King's    ar- 
ticle on,  noted 215 

Keefer,  Lt.  Frank  Royer:     at  Fort 

Riley     360 

Keenan,  Col.  Pat  L.,  Seward 446 

Keim,  De  B.  R.:    book  by,  noted 331 

Keith,  A.  E.,  Chicago:    inventor 4-        6 

Keith,   Walter,   Coffeyville 221 

Keller,     Mrs.     Daisy,     Sapulpa,     Okla.: 

donor   62 

Kelley,  Rev. ,  Emporia 406-  408 

Kelley,   Charles  A.,  and  wife,   Topeka: 

donors     62 

Kelley,  Jim  and  Pat,  Topeka 372 

Kelly,  J.   W 109 

Kennedy,  Lt.  James  M.:    at  Fort  Riley,  361 

Kent, :    actor 27 

Kent,  Imogin:    actress 27,  315 

Ketcham,  H.  T. :    at  Fort  Larned 272 

Key,  Thomas  Jefferson:    Lecompton 

const,   conv.  delegate 240 

— note  on    240 

Keyes,  "Grandma"  Sarah 154 

Kickapoo   Presbyterian   Mission:     article 

on,  noted 328 

— note  on    120 

Kickapoo  Rangers    242 

Kidder,  Lt.  Lyman  S 172 

Kilbourne,    Asst.    Surg.   H.    S.:     at  Fort 

Riley     356 

King,  Clarence:    article  by,  noted 214 

King,  Harry,  and  wife,  Zarah:    donors          62 

King,  Henry:    article  by,  noted 215 

Kingman:     salt  industry,  article  on, 

noted    105 

Kiowa  County  Signal,  Greensburg:    ar- 
ticles  in,   noted 212,  214 

Kiowa  Indians   257,  259-  261 

264,265,  386 

— and    Comanches,    J.    E.    B.    Stuart's 
diary  of  1860  campaign  against,  382-  400 

Kiowa  News:    article  in,  noted 216 

Kipple  murder  case:    article  on,  noted.  .    107 

Kirk,  Frank  W.,  Parsons 221 

Kirwan,  Lt.  Col.  John  S 163 

Kiser,  Glen  E.:    article  by,  noted 443 

Klema,  Marion,  Salina 221 

Klopfenstein,  Carl  G.:    article  by,  noted,  214 

Knapp,  Dallas  W.,  Coffeyville 82,     84 

Knecht,   Karl  K.:    Eisenhower  cartoons 

by,  noted 61 

Knights  of  Labor 286 

Knott,  Peter:    biographical  sketch, 

noted    334 

Knouse,  Charles  A 223 

Knowles,  Sheridan:    play  by,  noted.  .15,     30 

34,     41 

Koch,  Mary  S.:    article  by,  noted 326 

Kolarik,  Manuel,  Caldwell:    donor 62 

Kreipe    family,    Tecumseh:      article   on, 
noted    .  .    444 


Krenger,    Charles,    Abilene 333 

Kuykendall,    James:     Lecompton    const, 
conv.  delegate 24 In 


Labette  county:  historic  sites,  notes  on,  146 
— old  settlers  meeting,  1957,  note 

on    445,  446 

LaGrange,  Marshall  co.:    note  on 154 

Lamp,    Henry:     hospital    steward,    Fort 

Riley     346 

Land,  pre-emption  of:    note  on 187n 

Landes,    Fannie   Johnson:     booklet   by, 

noted    334 

Landes,  O.  B.,  Abilene 333 

Landmarks.       See     Historic     sites     and 
structures 

Landon,  Alfred  M 110 

Lane,  J.  M.,  Frankfort:    article  by, 

noted    215 

Lane,  Franklin  co.:  article  on,  noted.  .  105 
Lane  county:  pioneers,  articles  on,  and 

by,  noted 215 

Lane  County  Historical  Society 215 

— 1956  meeting,  note  on 108 

— 1957  meeting,  note  on 222 

Lane  trail:    in  Brown  co.,  note  on.  ...    119 

Lane  University:    photographs.  .  .facing  112 

between  144,   145 

— students    and    faculty,    1884,    photo- 
graph     facing  112 

Lange,  Rev.  F.  W.:    Lutheran  mission- 
ary       135 

Langrishe,  — ,  and  wife:  actors .  .  .  197,  300 
Langrishe  and  Allen:  theatre 

managers     18,     47 

Langsdorf,  Edgar    108 

— asst.  secretary,  Historical  Society.  ...      67 

Larkin,    Arthur,    Ellsworth 130 

Larkin,  Mrs.  Charles,  Leavenworth  .  .  .  221 
Larmer,  Bud,  Council  Grove:  donor.  .  66 
Larned,  Col.  Benjamin  F.:  fort  named 

for      259 

Larrick,  John:    reminiscences,  and  data 

on,   noted    330 

Larsen,    Lucile    108 

La    Rue's    Minstrels 317 

Lastelic,  Joseph  A.:  article  by,  noted.  .  326 
Lathrop,  Mrs.  Amy:  history  by,  noted,  332 

Lauterbach,  August,   Colby 446 

Lawrence:    First  Christian  church,  his- 
tory by  C.  E.  Birth,  noted 447 

— Frazer's  Hall    196,  197,  434 

—Liberty  Hall    196 

— Lord   Dramatic   Co.    at.  .  .  .306-309,  313 
314,321,323,404,  405 

—Miller  Hall    196 

— Poole's  building    196 

— population,   1860-1890,  data  on.  ...      11 

—revival   at,    1872 369,  370,  372 

373,  381 

— saloons,    note    on 196 

— theatre  history  to  1868 196-  198 

— Trinity  Episcopal  parish  house,  notes 

on   ..........    127,  448 

Lawrence  Daily  Journal-World:    micro- 
fumed     63 

Leaper,    Mathew    (Matthew?):     Indian 

agent      262 

Leavenworth,   Col.   Henry 339 

Leavenworth,  Col.  Jesse:     Indian 

agent     260,  261,  264,  265,  267 

Leavenworth:     American  Concert 

Hall    24,25,     52 

— Chaplin    Opera    House 19,43,     51 

— Christian  church  history,  noted 57 

— D.  J.  Brewer  home,  note  on 147 

— fire,   1858,  note  on 12 

— First    Presbyterian    church 147 


GENERAL  INDEX 


463 


Leavenworth:  First  Presbyterian  church, 

history,  noted    57 

— Fred   Harvey  house,   note   on 147 

photograph     between    144,  145 

— Gambrinus    saloon     52 

—German  Theatre  Hall 33,     53 

—Harmony  Hall 39 

— Laing's    Hall    15,  317,  320 

— Leavenworth  Theatre    41 

— Lord   Dramatic   Co.   at.  .  .    302-306,  315 

321-  323 
— Mark  W.   Delahay  house,  note  on .  .    147 

photograph     between    144,  145 

— Melodeon    Concert    Hall.  .  11,  13,  14,     24 
— National   Theatre,  history.  .  .  .  13,  18,     23 

24,     53 
— newspapers,  as  drama  critics.  .  .401-  404 

— Opera  House,  notes  on 15 

— People's    Theatre    Co 34,   197 

— Planters'   Hotel,  note   on 148 

photograph     between    144,   145 

— population,  1860-1890,  data  on.  .  11 

—revival   at,    1872 369,371,373,  381 

— Russell,  Majors,  Waddell  offices, 

note  on    148 

— Stockton  Hall,  notes  on .  .  14,  19,  23,     26 

40,     53 
— theatre    history,     1858-1868,     J.     C. 

Malin's    article    on 10-     53 

1869-1871,    notes    on 302-  306 

314-  323 
— Thomas   Carney  house,  note  on ....    147 

—Turner    Hall    Theatre 33,     53 

—Union     Theatre,    history ..  11-14,  16,      18 
19,  22,  23,  26-40,     53 

— Varieties    Theatre     11-      13 

Leavenworth  county:  historic  build- 
ings, notes  on 146-  149 

Leavenworth  County  Historical  Society: 

1956  meeting,   note  on 109 

Leavenworth    Musical    Assn 15 

Leavenworth    Times:     D.    R.    Anthony 

letters    in,    noted 213 

— microfilmed    63 

— Lebanon:      note    on 218 

Lebanon    Community    Development 

Assn.:     note   on 218 

Lebanon  Times:    article  in,  noted.  .  .  .    218 

Lecompte,    Samuel   D 226 

Lecompton:    Constitution  Hall,  note  on,   127 

photograph between  144,   145 

—in  1857,  notes  on 225,  226,  228 

231,  232 
— Lane  University  building,  note  on .  .    128 

photographs     -facing  112 

between  144,   145 

Lecompton  constitution:  original  docu- 
ment returned  to  Kansas,  notes 

on     244-  247 

— photograph   of   page   one facing  241 

— travels  of  original  document  out- 
lined   240n 

Lecompton  constitutional  convention : 
R.  W.  Johannsen's  article  on  mem- 
bership of  225-  247 

Lecompton    Union     244 

Lee,  Elford  E.:    at  Fort  Riley 347 

Lee,  Mary:    hospital  matron,  Fort  Riley,  347 

Lee,  Lt.   Col.  Robert  E 386 

Lee,  Lt.  William  Fitzhugh:    note  on.  .    391 
Lee,  Mrs.  William  Fitzhugh:    at  Camp 

Alert    391 

LeMay,  Dr.  Daniel:    veterinary  surgeon  361 
Lemert,     Bernard    H.:      reminiscences, 

note  on' 213 

Leonard, :    actor 200 

Lerado  community,   Reno  co.:     articles 

on,   noted    212 

Lewis,  I.  N.:    machine  gun  inventor.  .    139 
Lewis,  Lt.  Col.  William  H.:    death, 

1878,  noted 168,  219 


Lexington,    Brown   co.:     note  on..  119,   120 

Lia,    Mrs.    Eleanor 66 

Lillard,    T.    M.,    Topeka 84 

— article   by,    noted 444 

— on  executive  comm.,  Historical  So- 
ciety   54,  69 

— on  nominating  comm.,  Historical  So- 
ciety    82 

Lilleston,    W.   F.,   Wichita 82,     84 

Lillie,  Gordon  William  "Pawnee  Bill": 

article  on,  noted    332,  448 

Lincoln,     Abraham:      at     Leavenworth, 

1859,  note  on 148 

Lincoln   county:     Indian   raids,    1860's, 

note    on     149 

Linden,    Henry,   Leavenworth:     actor.  .       19 

41,     42 

Lindquist,  Emory  K.,  Wichita 82,      84 

— "The  Invention  and  Development  of 
the  Dial  Telephone  .  .  .,"  arti- 
cle by  1-  8 

— note  on    In 

— Protestant    church    bibliography    by, 

noted      211 

Lindsborg:       dial     telephone     inventors 

from      1-        8 

Lingenfelser,  Angelus,  Atchison 83 

Linn    county:     historic    sites,    notes 

on      149,   150 

— history,  article  on,  noted 441 

Lisle,  Dr.  George:     article  on,  noted    .    326 

— Chetopa  founder    220,  223 

Little,  Dr.  Blake,  Fort  Scott 234 

Little,  J.  E.  (or  J.  Z.?):  actor  .  .  .43,  197 
Little  Heart,  Cheyenne  chief:  killing  of,  262 

Little  Mountain,  Kiowa  chief 387 

Livermore,  Mrs.  Mary  A.:  at  Emporia,  409 
Living  conditions:  in  1870's  and 

1880's,   article   on,   noted    220 

Livingstone,   Mrs.   Ray 108 

Lloyd,  Ira  E.:    diary,  noted 330 

Loan,  Gen.  B.  F 246 

Locke,  Yankee:     actor 42 

Logan,  Dr.  C.  A.,  Leavenworth    22n 

Logan,    Eliza:     actress 22,30,  201 

— biographical  note    22n 

Logan,  J.  Glenn 109 

Logan    county:     historic   sites,    notes 

on     150-  152 

Lomax,  Lt.  Lunsford  Lindsay:  note  on,  397 
Lone  Elm  camp  ground:  note  on  ....  142 

Lone  Tree  massacre:     note  on    155 

Long,  Mrs.  Ray    331 

Long,    Richard   M.,   Wichita 83 

— nominated    as    second    vice-president, 

Historical    Society     69 

— second  vice-president,  Historical  So- 
ciety    59 

Longren,   E.   J.,   Topeka:     donor    .  .59,     62 

Loomis,  Mrs.  R.  C 221 

Lord,    James    A.:      actor    and    theatre 

manager      10,  15,  298-323  passim 

401,  436  passim 

Lord,  Louis   (Mrs.  James  A.):    actress,     10 
15,  298,  300-319  passim,  405-427  passim 
Lord     (James    A.)     Chicago    Dramatic 

Co 10,  44,  196,  203 

— calendar  of  plays,    1870-1871 .  .437,  438 

— J.    C.    Malin's    article   on 401-  438 

—travels,    1869-1871    298-  323 

Loring,  Capt.  Leonard  Young:     at  Fort 

Riley     353,  355 

— biographical  note    355 

Lose,  Harry  F.,  Topeka 82,     84 

Lost  Springs,  Marion  co.:  note  on.  ...  154 
Love,  James  E.:  letters,  1862,  filmed.  .  59 
Love  joy,  Rev.  Elijah  P.:  murder, 

noted      189n 

Lovell,  Capt.  Charles  S.:  at  Fort  Riley,  338 
Lovewell,  Paul  A 109 


464 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Lowry,  Velma  E.:  article  by,  noted.  .  218 
Lundquist,  Frank  A.:  biographical 

notes  In,  2n 

— inventor  1-3,  5-7 

— photograph  facing  8 

Lundquist,  N.  P.,  and  wife:  to  Linds- 

borg,  1870  2n 

Lutheran  Church:  first  Kansas  parish, 

note  on  135 

Lutheran  Church,  English:  first  church, 

note  on  141 

Lykins,  David:  Lecompton  const. 

conv.  delegate  241,  242 

Lykins,  Johnston  143 

Lyon  county:  articles  on,  noted 105 

— early  marriage  in,  noted 105 

— historic  buildings,  notes  on....  152,  153 

— schools,  articles  on,  noted 442 

— Verdigris  church,  article  on,  noted,  105 
Lyon  County  Historical  Society:  1957 

meeting,  note  on  222 

Lyons,  Paul,  Topeka:  donor 62 

M 

McAfee,  Rev.  J.  B.,  Valley  Falls 329 

McAfferty,  J.  K.:  actor.  .  428,432-  436 
McArthur,  Mrs.  Vernon  E.,  Hutchinson,  i 

— -donor     57 

Macauley,   B.:     actor 41 

McCabe,  Dr.  F.  S.,  Topeka 370,  376 

McCain,  James  A.,  Manhattan 83,  446 

McCampbell,     C.     W.:       "Manhattan's 
Oldest   House     .     .     .,"   article 

by    9 

— note  on    9n 

McCarrol,  Ann:    at  Fort  Riley.  .  .  .338,  340 

McCarter,  Charles  N.,  Wichita 110 

McCarthy,  Rev. ,  Fort  Scott.  .  .  .    380 

McColey,    Oswego     445 

McCollom,  James  P.,  Dodge  City: 

donor     59 

McComb,  John:    oratorical  contest  win- 
ner         110 

McConnell,  Faith:  article  by,  noted .  .  329 
McCormick,  Dr.  Richard  P.,  New 

Brunswick,  N.  J 244 

McCoy,  Rev.  Isaac 66,   143 

McCune,  H.  W.,  Emporia 407 

McCune:     note  on    106 

McCune  Herald:    article  in,  noted.  .  .  .    106 

McCune  Times:    note  on 106 

McDowell,  Earl  W.:    article  on  cream- 
eries by,  noted    217 

McEwen,    Owen,    Wichita 222 

McFadden, ,    Topeka:      grocery- 
man     283 

McFarland,   Helen   M.,   Topeka 57,     83 

McFarland,    William    D.:     heirs    of, 

donors    62 

McGrew,  Mrs.  William  E.,  Kansas  City,     83 

Mclntosh, :    justice  of  the  peace, 

Ford  co 325 

Mclntyre,  Lt.  James  B.:    note  on 397 

McKay,  Mrs.  J.  B.,  El  Dorado 110 

McKenzie,   Clara    (Mrs.  John  M.) 356 

McKenzie,  John  M.:    hospital  steward, 

Fort    Riley    356 

McKown,  G.  W.:    Lecompton  const. 

conv.  delegate    240,  242 

McLellan,    Charlotte,    Topeka:      article 

by,   noted    219 

— donor     59 

McMillen,   Dr.  J.   W.,   Sr.:     article  on, 

noted      107 

McMillin,  Mrs.  Eugene,  Lawrence.  ...  110 
McNown,  Ed,  Great  Bend:  article  on, 

noted      106 

McPherson  county:    historic  sites,  notes 

on      153,  448 

McTighe,  J.  T.:    inventor 3 


McWilliams,  Mary:    actress 33 

Maddern,  Emma  and  Lizzie:    actresses,     42 

47,  201 
Madison,    Maj.    Thomas    C.:      at    Fort 

Riley    346 

— biographical  note    346 

Madison:    article  on,  noted 331 

Madison  News:    article  in,  noted 331 

Madson,  Frank,  Jr.:    article  by,  noted.  .    105 

Mails,  John:     Manhattan  pioneer 9 

Malin,  James  C.,  Lawrence 82,     84 

— article    in    Wisconsin    magazine    by, 

noted     328 

— donor     59 

— notes  on   lOn,  19 In,  298n,  40 In 

— "Theatre  in  Kansas,   1858- 

1868     .     .     .,"  article  by 10-     53 

191-  203 

— "Traveling  Theatre  in  Kan- 
sas    .     .     .,"    article   by 298-323 

401-  438 

Malone,    James,    Gem 83 

Manhattan:      Butterfield     house,     notes 

on    9,  165 

photograph    facing       9 

— Congregational  church  history,  noted,     57 

— Goodnow  house,  note  on 166 

— oldest  residence,  1957,  notes  on    .  9,   165 

photograph    facing       9 

— Poyntz  avenue,   1860,  photo- 
graph      between  8,       9 

— Runyon  house,  note  on 168 

photograph    between  144,   145 

—traffic    problem,    1859 104 

Manhattan   Town  Assn 9 

Mann,  Miss :     actress ....  49,  50,  299 

Mansfield,  Harold:    book  on  Boeing 

Airplane  Co.  by,  noted 112 

Marais  des  Cygnes  massacre:     note  on,   150 

Maranville,    Lea     69, 82,     84 

Marble,   George  W.,  Fort   Scott 63 

Marion    county:      pioneers,    article    on, 

noted      444 

Marion   Hill   Lutheran   church:     article 

on,   noted    211 

Marion  Record-Review:    article  in, 

noted      444 

Marrs,  Isaac:    soldier,  at  Fort  Larned.  .    262 
Marshall,  Frank  J.:    claim  against  Paw- 
nees, noted   60 

Marshall,  Mrs.   George,  Basehor 110 

Marshall,  George  S 109 

Marshall,   Joseph,  Topeka:     architect.  .    129 
Marshall    county:     historic    sites,    notes 

on    154 

Martin,   Charles    I.,    Fort   Scott:     mili- 
tary   career,    noted 71,     81 

Martin,  John  A.:    home,  Atchison,  note 

on    117 

Martin,    John    W.:     Lecompton    const. 

conv.   delegate    242 

Martin,  Mrs.  Thomas,  Highland 446 

Martindale,    Mrs.    Myrta:     articles    by, 

noted     331 

Marysville:    articles  on,  noted 218 

— note  on    241 

Marysville  Advocate:    articles  in,  noted,  218 
Masterson,   Bat:     review  of  R.   O'Con- 
nor's   book   on,   noted 326 

Mathews,  Cecil 333 

Mathews,  John:    trading  post,  note  on,  146 
Mathews,    William:     Lecompton    const. 

conv.    delegate    234n 

Matson,   Simon  E.:     articles  by,  noted,  219 

Mattes,    Merrill    J 279 

Mayhew,    Mrs.    Patricia    Solander,    To- 
peka     82,     84 

Meade  county:    historic  site,  note  on.  .    155 

Meader,   E.    L.,  Wichita 222 

Means,  Hugh,  Lawrence 84 


GENERAL  INDEX 


465 


Mechem,   Kirke,  Lindsborg 81,     83 

— editor    64 

Medicine:     in  Chicago,  T.  N.   Bonnet's 

book  on,  noted 112 

Medicine   Lodge:     Carry   Nation   home, 


note    on 

Medicine  Lodge  peace  treaty: 

notes  on    

— site,  note  on 

Meeker,  Jotham 

— and  wife,  burial  place,  noted 

Mellinger,   Sam    

Melville,  Emilie:     actress 

Mendenhall,   Richard    

Menninger,  Dr.  Karl  A.,  Topeka 


117 

117,  266 

118 

143 

133 

.  222 

43 

184 

....  82 

84,  110 

— donor    59 

Meredith,    Joseph:     hospital   steward, 

Fort  Riley    356 

Mering,  Novma,  Great  Bend 446 

Merrill,  Lt.  Lewis:    notes  on.  .392,393,  398 
Meserole,  Harrison  T.:    article  by, 

noted           211 

Metcalf,  Wilder  S.,  Lawrence:    military 

career,    noted     71 

Methodist    churches   of   central   Kansas: 

histories,   noted    57 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South ....  183n 
— see,    also,    Delaware    Methodist    Mis- 
sion; Kaw  Methodist  Mission;   Shaw- 
nee   Methodist   Mission. 

Meuse-Argonne  battle  area 77,  78 

Meyer,  Surg.  Albert  J 346 

Meyer,  Mrs.  Harry 108 

Meyer,  Ruth:    article  by,  noted 106 

Meyers,  L.  F.,  Dodge  City 446 

Miami  county:     historic  sites,  notes  on,  155 
Mickel,   W.   L.:     hotel,   Waterloo,   note 

on    152,  153 

Millbrook,    Mrs.    Minnie    Dubbs:     Ness 

county  history  by,  noted 58 

Miller,  Dorothy,  White  City:    donor.  .  .  65 
Miller,     Edward:      killed     by     Indians, 

1864,   article  on,  noted 106 

Miller,  Mrs.  Frank,  Topeka:    donor.  ...  62 

Miller,    John,   Topeka:     donor 62 

Miller,   Karl    67,  70,  82,  84 

Miller,  Larry,  Topeka 221 

Miller,   Mrs.   Leonard 333 

Miller,  Mary:    at  Fort  Riley.  .                   .  343 

Miller,  Nyle  H.,  Topeka 83,  221 

— secretary,  Historical  Society 67 

— talk  by,  noted .  222 

Miller,  Mrs.  Pearl  Christ 108 

Miller,  Robert  C.:    Indian  agent.  .  .386,  387 

Miller,  S.  F.:    article  by,  noted 329 

Miller,  Sol.,  Troy:    article  on,  noted      .  219 

— autobiography,   noted    219 

Miller  family,  Mulberry:    article  on, 

noted    105 

Mills,  Maj.  Madison:    at  Fort 

Riley     340,  346 

— biographical  note 346 

Mills,  Theodore,  Topeka 375 

— quoted    .  376 

Mills,  Mrs.  W.  M 109 

Mills  Dramatic  Co 315,  316,  320 

Mine  Creek,  battle  of:    note  on    .  .  149,  150 
Mining.     See  Salt  mining. 

Mission  Neosho:    note  on 160 

Mississippi    Valley    Historical    Review, 

The:   article  in,  noted 106 

Missouri  Pacific  railroad:     book  on 

towns  and  states,  noted Ill,  112 

Missouri  river:    first  bridge,  noted 203 

Missouri    River   railroad 202 

Missouri    Valley    Farmer 444 

Missouri  Valley  railroad 202 

Mitchell,  Rev.  D.  P.,  Topeka 376 

Mitchell,  Miss  E.:    actress 46 


Mitchell,  William:    monument  in  mem- 
ory   of,    note   on 66 

Mitchell,  William  L:    bequest  by,  note 

on     66 

Modern  Light,  The,  Columbus:    articles 

in,  noted    217 

Molesworth,  Leola:     article  by,  noted.  .    443 
Monks,  Benedictine:    book  on,  noted.  .    335 

Montgomery,  John,  Junction  City 221 

Montgomery,  Gen.  Richard  M.:     article 

on,  noted 329 

— county  named  for,  noted 326,  328 

Montgomery,  W.  A.:     newspaperman..    215 
Montgomery,  Maj.  William  R.:    at  Fort 

Riley    340,  343 

— court-martialed     341 

Montgomery    county:     historic    sites, 

notes  on    156,   157 

— name,  article  on,  noted 326 

Monument  Rocks,  Gove  co 136 

Monument  station,  Gove  co.:     note  on,   136 
Monument  station,  Logan  co.:    note  on,   151 

Moody,  Capt.  Sargent 276 

Mooney,  Volney  P.:    comments  on  T.  B. 

Murdock 250-  252 

Moore,  Bessie  E.,   Wakarusa 59 

Moore,    Mrs.    Cecil 223 

— booklet  by,  noted 327 

Moore,    Howard,   Abilene:     articles   by, 

noted     107,  219 

Moore,    Hugh    M.:      Lecompton    const. 

conv.   delegate    238,  239 

Moore,  Ray,  Atwood:    article  by,  noted,  213 

Moore,   Russell,   Wichita 82,     84 

"Mormons,  The"  (play):    note  on.  .  .     .    420 

Morphy,    W.    N 324,  325 

Morris,  Warren    222 

Morris  county:    historic  sites  and  struc- 
tures     157-  159 

— Marion  Hill  Lutheran  church,  article 

on,    noted     211 

Morris    family,    Tecumseh:      article    on, 

noted    444 

Morrison,    Frank    R.,    Spring   Hill:     ar- 
ticle on,  noted 330 

Morrow,  Dave:    article  on,  noted,  214,  215 
Morrow,  John:     biographical  sketch  of, 

noted     105 

Morse,  Mrs.  J.  H.,  Mound  City 59 

Mosher,    Orville    Watson 82,  222 

Motz,  Frank,   Hays 82,     84 

Mound  City  Republic:    article  in,  noted  331 
Mound    Valley:     Times-Journal,    article 

in,    noted     330 

Mount  Mitchell,  Wabaunsee  co 175 

— monument    placed    on 66 

Mudge,  Henry  S.:     note  on 441,  442 

Mudge   ranch,    Hodgeman   co.:     article 

on,    noted    441 

Muecke,  Joseph   B.:     pamphlet  by, 

noted      223 

Mueller,  Harrie  S.,  Wichita 83 

Mulberry:     Miller  home,  note  on 105 

Mulberry    creek     393 

Mull,  Mrs.  R.  G.,  Sr 108 

Mulroy,  H.  C.,  and  wife,  Topeka: 

donors    62 

Munsell,  Mrs.  F.  E.,  Herington:     ar- 
ticle by,  noted 213 

Munsell,  Lelia:    articles  by,  noted  214,  326 
Murdock,  Ellina:    daughter  of 

Thomas   B 249 

Murdock,  Marshall 249 

Murdock,    Mary  Alice:     daughter  of 

Thomas   B 249 

Murdock,    Roland     249 

Murdock,   Thomas   Benton:     photo- 
graph     facing  256 

— R.  A.  Clymer's  article  on 248-  252 

Murphy,  Dorothy,  Caldwell:     donor.  .  .      59 


31—1378 


466 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Murphy,  Franklin   D.,   Lawrence.  .  .83,  446 
Murphy-Venable     families,     Tecumseh: 

article    on,    noted 444 

Murray,  William  G.:     Indian  lands  re- 
ports by,  noted 335,  336 

Murrell,  Mrs.  T.  M.,  Topeka 110 

Muscotah:     articles    on,   noted.  .  .  .327,  328 

— centennial,  booklet,  noted 335 

note   on    333 

Museum  Graphic,  St.  Joseph,  Mo.:    ar- 
ticle   in,   noted 214 

Mutual   Settlers'    Assn.   of   Kansas    Ter- 
ritory:    note   on 188 

Myers,   A.   E.,  Hodgeman  co.:     family, 

article    on,    noted 327 

Myers,    A.    J.,    Hodgeman    co.:     article 
by,   noted    327 

N 

Nash,     Mary:      hospital     matron,     Fort 

Riley    346 

Nation,  Mrs.  Carry:     at  Enterprise,  ar- 
ticle on,  noted 107 

— home,  Merlicine  Lodge,  note  on   117,   118 

Nation,    David    117 

National  Guard.     See  Kansas   (state): 

National   Guard. 
National   Military  Cemetery,  Baxter 

Springs:     noted     121 

National    Park    Service.  .  113,  114,  132,   144 

279,  280 

National  Theatre:     note  on,    1870.  .  .  .    315 
Native  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Kansas: 

1957  meeting,  note  on 110 

Naylor   family,    Tecumseh:     article  on, 

noted      444 

Neafie, :     actor 37 

Nefif,  Morris,  Jr.,  Wichita 222 

Negro  soldiers:    in  Civil  War,  book  on, 

noted     222 

Neilson,    Caroline:     hospital    matron, 

Fort    Riley     362 

Neodesha:     first    commercial    oil    well, 

note    on     177 

Nescutunga  river:    notes  on 393,  394 

Ness  City:    stone  house,  note  on 161 

Ness    County   Historical    Society:    work 

of,  noted 161 

Nevins,  Allan    232 

New   Brunswick   Historical    Club,   New 
Brunswick,   N.  J.:     gift  to  Historical 

Society,    note    on 244 

New  Kiowa:     noted 216 

New    Orleans,    La.:      theatre,     1850's- 

1860's,  note  on 201 

Newby,  Capt.  Edward  W.  B.:    note  on,  391 

Newman,  Mrs.  Tillie  Karns 110 

— book  by,  noted 223 

Newport,  Mrs.  Leigh 333 

Newspaper  subscriptions:    note  on.  ...    325 
Newspapers:      criticism    of    drama    by, 

1870-1871,  discussed    401-  436 

Newton:    "Boot  Hill,"  note  on 107 

— history,    article    on,   noted 107 

Newton  Kansan:    article  in,  noted    ...    107 
Niccum,  Norman:    article  by,  noted.  .  .    444 

— donor     63 

Nicholas,   Pearl   Mallon:     article   by, 

noted      442 

Nicholas,  W.  G.:    article  on,  noted.  .  .    106 

Nichols,  Roy  Franklin 232 

— article    on    Kansas-Nebraska    act, 

noted     105,  106 

Nicholson,   Georgia,   Lawrence:     donor,     62 
Nickel,  August:    hospital  steward,  Fort 

Riley    362 

Nicodemus:    note  on    136 

Nine  Mile  Ridge  massacre    261 

Nolley,  Mrs.  George  T.,  Wichita 59 

North,  Joseph  H.:    article  on,  noted   .  .    329 


Northeast    Kansas    Historical    Society.  .  125 

Norton   county:     article   on,   noted.  .  .  .  332 
Norton   Daily    Telegram:     article    in, 

noted      .  332 


Oakley  Graphic:    article  in,  noted 330 

Oceana,    LaBelle:     actress 44 

O'Connell,    Wayne    A.:      article    by, 

noted      220 

O'Connor,  Richard:    review  of  his  book 

on   Masterson,   noted    326 

Oesterreich,   B.   H 109 

Oesterreich,  Herman  F.  W.:  and  fam- 
ily, article  on,  noted 441 

Offen,   Charlotte:     article  by,  noted.  .  .  106 

Offerle,  Harry    333 

Ogden,    Maj.   Edmund   A.:     at   Fort 

Riley    338 

— death,    1855,   note   on 341 

Oil   well:     Carrie   Oswald   No.    1,   note 

on     168 

— first    commercial,   note   on 177 

Oklahoma:     history,  articles   on,   noted,  220 
— see,  also,  Cherokee  Strip  opening. 
Oklahoma    "boomers":     article    on, 

noted      216 

Olathe:     article  on,  noted 444 

— centennial,  album,  noted 335 

notes   on    442,  445 

— First  National  Bank,  note  on,   1872,  281 

— history,  article  on,  noted 326 

— Hotel  Olathe,  article  on,  noted 216 

— interurban  to  K.  C.,  article  on,  noted,  326 
Olathe    Mirror:     centennial    edition, 

noted      442 

Old  Abilene  Town  Co.:    note  on    ....  333 

Old  Castle  Memorial  Assn 125 

Omer,  George  E.,  Jr.:  "An  Army  Hos- 
pital: From  Dragoons  to  Rough 
Riders— Fort  Riley,  1853-1903," 

article  by 337-  367 

— note  on    337n 

137th  U.  S.  infantry:    notes  on.  .  .  .72,  76 

O'Neil,    J.    R.:     actor 25,  30,  49,  311 

Oregon   trail:     historic    sites,   notes    on,  125 

142,  154 
— Independence    crossing,    Big    Blue 

river,  note  on    154 

— junction  with  Santa  Fe  trail,  note  on,  142 

Osage  Catholic  Mission:    note  on.  .160,  161 
Osage   Indians:     Drum   creek  treaty, 

note  on    157 

— 1863   battle  with  Confederates,  note 

on     157 

— Tillie  K.  Newman's  book  on,  noted,  223 

Osage    Mission    (town) 161 

Osawatomie:      Congregational    church, 

note  on    155 

— John  Brown  Memorial  Park,  note 

on     155,  156 

Osawatomie,  battle  of:    noted    156 

Osawatomie   Graphic-News:    article   in, 

noted      327 

Osborn,  Gov.  Thomas  A 282,  283 

Oskaloosa:     courthouse,  note  on 140 

Oswego  Democrat:    articles  in,  noted.  .  220 

Oswego  Independent:  articles  in,  noted,  220 

Otis,  Lt.  Elmer:    note  on 397 

Ottawa:     early   schools,    article   on, 

noted      443 

— revival  at,   1872    369 

Ottawa  Baptist  Mission 133 

Ottawa  County  Historical  Society:  or- 
ganized, notes  on 109,  221,  222 

Ottawa  Daily  Herald:   microfilmed ...  60 


Ottawa  Herald:    article  in,  noted 
Ottawa  Indian:    cemetery,  note  on. 

Ottawa   University    

— history  by  B.  S.  Haworth,  noted 


443 
133 
133 
224 


GENERAL  INDEX 


467 


Overend,   Mrs.   Harry,   Wichita 222 

Overland  Park:     articles  on,  noted.  .  .  .    105 
Overland  stage:     1867   Gardner  photo- 
graph  of    facing      iv 

Owen,  Arthur  K.,  Topeka    84 

Owen,  Mrs.  E.  M.,  Lawrence 84 

Owen,    Jennie    Small:     annalist    .  .  .  64,     67 

81,     83 

— articles  by,  noted 326 

— donor      59 

— retirement,   noted    64 

Owen,  Lucile    222 

Owens,   Estell  Arthur:     reminiscences, 

noted      218 

Oxford:     schools,  article  on,  noted    .  .  .    220 
Oxford  Register:    article  in,  noted    .  .  .    220 


Pabst,  Mrs.  L.  L.:    reminiscences,  noted     58 

Pacific  railroad    203 

Packard,  Augustus:     marriage,  noted.  .    107 
Padilla,    Father    Juan    de:     monuments 

to,     noted 164 

— note    on     164 

Palmer,    Theodore    D.:      reminiscences, 

noted     218 

Palmetto:    note  on 241 

Pannkuk,  Mrs.  Ben:    donor 59 

Pantle,    Alberta:      librarian,     Historical 

Society    57,  67,     85 

Paola:     note   on 241 

— revival    at,    1872 369 

Pardey,    George:     actor 200 

Parmeter,  Capt. :    at  Fort  Lamed,  264 

Parrott,    Marcus   J 229 

Pate,    Henry    Clay 126 

Patrick,   Mrs.    Mae   C.,    Sublette 84 

Patterson,  Mrs.  Harold,  Ford 222,  445 

Pattison,  Mrs.   Mary  Alice    (Murdock),  249 

Pauley, ,  Topeka:     saloon  keeper,  372 

Paulson,   Rev. ,   Fort   Scott 380 

Pawnee    (town)     340,  341 

Pawnee  Town  Site  Assn 340,341,  346 

Pawnee  Bill.     See  Lillie,  Gordon  W. 

Pawnee   capitol:     note  on 165 

— photograph    between    144,  145 

Pawnee  Fork    389,  392 

— Bell's  bridge,  note  on 391 

—camp  on,   1859 258,  259 

Pawnee  Indians:    village,  Republic  co., 

note    on     164 

Pawnee   river:     Duncan    crossing,    note 

on      139,  140 

Pawnee  Rock:    note  on 118,   119 

— photograph    between    144,  145 

Pawnee  Valley  Stock  Breeders  Assn..  .    278 
Pawpaws:     article    on    W.    A.    White's 

praise    of,    noted 326 

Payne,  David  L.:     homestead  location,   139 

— notes    on    139,  216 

Payne,  Elisha  M 443 

Payne,  Lt.  John  A.:    at  Fort  Larned.  .    277 
Payne,   Mrs.   Loyal  F.,   Manhattan.  ...      84 

— donor     63 

Peak  family:     Swiss  bell  ringers.  .197,  314 

Pearson,    Carl    O.,    Lindsborg 3 

Peck,  Maj.  Robert  Gray 79-     81 

"Peck's   Bad   Boys":     address   by   Wil- 

ford  Riegle    70-     81 

Pegram,  Lt.  John:    note  on 398 

Peiser,   Mrs.   E.   E.,  Mission 446 

Pence,  Mrs.  Ruth:     article  by,  noted    .    212 

Pendergrast, ,    Leavenworth.  ...      24 

Pennoyer, :      actor 21 

Pennoyer,  Mrs.  M.  A.:    actress.  .21,42,     43 

197,  201 

Pershing,   Gen.   John   J 74-     76 

Peters,  Lorin  T.,  Ness  City 333 

Peterson,  Mrs.  E.  G 333 

Peterson,   Mrs.   Edna,   Chanute 110 


Peterson,    Ellen    Welander:     history    of 

Enterprise  by,  noted 447 

Peterson,  Mrs.  Gail  French:  donor.  ...  62 

Petrie,  Bruce,  Wichita 222 

Pettit,  Mrs.  Frank:  donor 61 

Pettyjohn,  Lura:  article  by,  noted.  .  .  .  331 

Pfuetze,  Carl,  Manhattan 109 

Philip,  Jennie  A.  (Mrs.  W.  D.),  Hays: 

estate  of,  donor  59 

— note  on  54 

Philip,  Ward  R.,  Brownell:  donor.  ...  62 
Phillips,  Dr.  Samuel:  at  Fort  Riley.  .  342 
Phillips,  William:  newspaperman.  .  .  .  230 
Phillips,  William  Addison:  note  on.  .  .  390 
Phoebus,  The,  Hutchinson:  issues  of, 

given  Historical  Society 63 

Photographs:  by  William  S.  Pretty- 
man,  noted  447 

Piazzek,  J.  M.,  Valley  Falls:  mill,  note 

on  141 

Pike,  Gen.  Albert 261 

Pike,  Zebulon:  expedition,  article  on, 

noted  217 

Pike-Pawnee  village:  article  on  loca- 
tion of,  noted 217 

— note  on  164 

Pinquard,  Surg.  Joseph 363 

Pittsburg:  First  Baptist  church,  article 

on,  noted  331 

— First  Christian  church,  article  on, 

noted  105 

Pittsburg  Headlight:  articles  in, 

noted  105,  444 

Pittsburg  Sun:  articles  in,  noted.  .220,  444 
Plains,  The,  Fort  Larned:  note  on.  ...  273 

— page  from,  reproduced facing  273 

Platte  County  (Mo.)  Self -Defensive 

Assn 242 

Plattner,  Addie  (Mrs.  I.  L.),  Ford,  222,  445 
Playter,  Franklin:  home,  note  on.  ...  123 

Pleasonton,  Gen.  Alfred 149 

Plumb,  Preston  B 277 

— article  on,  noted 328 

— comment  on  A.  W.  Jones  quoted.  .  .  245 

—quoted,  1857  230,  232 

Plunkett,  Annie  300 

Plunkett,  Blanche  300 

Plunkett,  Carrie  (Mrs.  Charles) 300 

Plunkett,  Charles  300 

Plunkett,  Clara  300 

Plunkett  family:  actors 300 

Plymouth,  Brown  co.:  note  on 119 

Plymouth,  Lyon  co.:  articles  on,  noted,  105 

school,  article  on,  noted  442 

Poey,  Asst.  Surg. :  at  Fort  Riley,  362 

Poindexter,  Capt.  Jefferson:  at  Fort 

Riley  361 

Point  of  Rocks,  Morton  co 113 

— note  on  160 

— photograph  between  144,  145 

Pollock,  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  Irving  J.: 

at  Fort  Riley  347 

Pomeroy,  Samuel  C 116 

Pond  Creek,  Okla 209 

Pond  Creek  stage  station,  Wallace  co.: 

note  on  176 

— photograph  between  144,  145 

Pony  Express:  article  on,  noted 216 

— Hollenberg  ranch  station,  note  on  .  176 

photograph  between  144,  145 

Pope,  Maj.  Gen.  John 268,  276,  277 

Population  statistics:  of  Kansas  towns, 

1860-1890  11 

Post  and  Rogers:  drama  company  .  .  316 

317,  320 

Pottawatomie  Baptist  Mission 114 

— article  on,  noted 219 

— note  on  171,  172 

— photograph  between  144,  145 

Pottawatomie  county:  pioneers,  articles 

on,   noted    211 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Pottawatomie    Indian    Agency,    St. 

Marys:    note  on    163 

Pottawatomie  massacre,  1856:    note  on,   133 

— location    of     134 

Powell,    Capt.    Junius    L.:     at    Fort 

Riley     361,  362 

Powers,    Bill    156 

Pozzoni,    Carlotta:     actress 37,     41 

Prairie  Grove   (battlefield),  Ark.:     note 

on     Ill 

Pratt,  Rev.  John  G 179 

Pratt,   Sgt.   McKinley,  Emporia:     death, 

noted      76 

Pratt  county:     county  seat  war,   article 

on,    noted     443 

Pratt  Daily  Tribune:  third  Pride  edi- 
tion, noted  105 

Presbyterian  Church:  Nebraska  Pres- 
bytery and  Presbytery  of  Highland, 

note  on    328 

— see,  also,  Iowa,  Sac  and  Fox  Presby- 
terian Mission;  Kickapoo  Presbyterian 
Mission;  Mission  Neosho. 

Preston,   May:     actress 315 

Prettyman,     William     S.:      photographs 

by,    noted    447 

Price,    Fannie:      actress 42 

Price,  John   M.,  Atchison 191,   192 

Price,  Gen.   Sterling 149 

Price    raid    scrip 282 

Printing  press,  first:     note  on 143 

Proctor,    Joseph:      actor 43 

Proctor,   Lotta:     actress 43 

Protection  Post:    article  in,  noted 328 

Protestant  Church  in  Kansas:  an  An- 
notated Bibliography:  by  Dr.  Emory 

K.  Lindquist,  noted 211 

Prouty,   S.   S 423,  432 

Punished  Woman  Creek,  battle  of, 

1878:     article  on,  noted 219 

Purdum,  B.   W.,   Topeka:     donor 62 

Purkins,  G.  W.,  Leavenworth 21 


Mildred    109 

juantrill,    William    C 442 

telejo.     See  El   Quartelejo. 

lindaro:     note   on 178 

hiinius,   Herman    M.,   Wichita 222 

unton,   Lt.   William   W.:     at   Fort 

Riley    361 

Quiring,    William,    Wichita 222 

Quivira  Indians:     village  site,  note  on,  164 


Railroad  train:  captured  by  Indians.  .  324 
Railroads:  first  lines  in  Kansas,  notes 

on  202,  203 

Railway  and  Locomotive  Historical  So- 
ciety, Boston  334 

Randall,  Wayne,  Osage  City 110 

Randolph,  John  W.:  Lecompton  const. 

conv.  delegate  241 

Randolph:  newspaper  history,  article 

on,  noted  328 

Randolph  Echo 328 

Rankin,  Charles  C.,  Lawrence .  .  70,  82,  84 

Rankin,  Mrs.  Ruth  Vawter,  Wichita..  110 

Raser,  Margaret:  articles  by,  noted.  .  216 

Rattlesnake  creek,  Stafford  co 392n 

Ravanna,  Finney  co.:  note  on 131 

Rawlins  county:  school  districts,  article 

on,  noted  213 

Raymond,  Lt.  Thomas  U.:  at  Fort 

Riley  361 

Raynesford,  H.  C.,  Ellis 82,  84 

— articles  by,  noted 329 

Records  management:  state  conference, 

1956,   note   on 56 


62 
241 

340 

105 

108 

84 


Redbud  trees:    W.  A.  White's  praise  of, 

noted      326 

Reed,  Clyde  M.,  Jr.,  Parsons 82,     84 

Reed,  Jim,  Topeka 110,  221 

Reeder,    Andrew    H.:      territorial    gov- 
ernor        340 

Reeve,   Chet    Ill 

Reid,    Samuel    G.:      Lecompton    const. 

conv.    delegate    240 

— quoted      231 

Remsburg,    Charles:     article   by,    noted  106 
Reno   county:     Lerado   community,   ar- 
ticles  on,    noted 212 

Revel,   Marietta:     actress 42 

Revival:     of   1872,  W.  E.   Berger's  ar- 
ticle  on    368-  381 

Reynolds,  Rev.  Charles:    chaplain,  Fort 

Riley     351,  352 

Reynolds,   Surg.   F.  P. 363 

Reynolds,  Leon:     article  by,  noted    ...    218 
Rice,  Harvey  D.:     a  Hartford  founder,  327 

Rich,  Lee,  Junction  City 446 

"Richard    III"     (play):      comments    on 

Lord  Co.  presentation  of 421-  424 

Richards,  Walter  M.,  Emporia 84 

Richardson,  Mrs.  Myrtle  H 333 

Richmond,  Robert   W.:     archivist,   His- 
torical    Society 67 

— editor,  S.  N.  Wood  letters 181-   190 

Richmond,    Mrs.    Robert    W.,    Topeka 

donor     

Richmond,  Nemaha  co.:    note  on.  ... 
Ridgely,   Asst.    Surg.   Aquila   Talbot: 

note    on     

Ridpath,  Dee:    article  by,  noted 

Rieke,    Mrs.    Louis 

Riegle,    Wilford,   Emporia 

—"Peck's  Bad  Boys,"  address  by.  .70-     81 
— president,    Historical    Society.  .  .  .54,     67 

69,     83 

Riley,   Maj.   Gen.   Bennet 145,337,  339 

— biographical  note    339 

Riley  county:     historic  buildings,  notes 

on     166,  167 

Riley   County   Historical   Society:     mu- 
seum opening,  noted 222 

— 1956  meeting,  note  on 109 

Riordan,  T.  T.,  Solomon 221 

Rively,    M.    Pierce:     Lecompton    const. 

conv.    delegate    241 

— note    on     241 

Robbins,   Richard  W.,   Pratt 84 

Roberts,  Rev.  G.  Harold,  Atchison.  .  .  .    221 

—article   by,   noted 326 

— donor     57 

Robinson,    Charles     178 

— home,  note  on 127 

— note  on    127 

Robinson,  Mrs.  Hazel:     article  by,      . 

noted,     331 

Robinson,  W.   Stitt:    editor  of  J.  E.  B. 

Stuart  diary  of   1860 382-  400 

— note  on    382n 

Robinson:     articles  on,   noted 

Robinson   Index:    articles  in,   noted.        331 

Robson,   Stuart:     actor 43 

Roche,    Frank:     actor 33,  200 

Rocky  Mountain   Fur  Co 337 

Rodkey,  Clyde  K.,  Manhattan    .  82,  84,   109 

Rogers, :     actor 34 

Rogers,   Felix:     actor 314 

Rogers,  J.  H.:     actor 200 

Rogler,   Henry,    Matfield   Green    108 

Rogler,   Wayne,   Matfield   Green '     83 

Rome,  Ellis  co.:     article  on,  noted  106 

Rooney,  Mrs.  Edward,  Topeka:    donor,     59 
Root,  Elihu:    camp  at  Fort  Riley  named 

for      362 

Root,    Frank    A 331 

Root,  Julien  V.,  Boise,  Idaho:    donor         59 


GENERAL  INDEX 


469 


Rose,  O.  C.:    Woodson  co.  pioneer    .  .  212 

Rost,   F.   J.,   Topeka    109,  446 

Roulier,   Leon  N.,   Colby 446 

Rowe,    Fayette,     Columbus 221 

Roy,   Fred,   Wilsey:     donor 65 

Rozar,  Lily  B.:     articles  by,  noted.  ...  219 

442,  443 

Ruff,   Mrs.    Charles   F 392 

Ruggles    school,    Lyon   co.:     article   on, 

noted      442 

Runnymede:     note    on 138 

Runyon,    Damon:     birthplace,   note    on,  166 

photograph    between  144,  145 

Rupp,   Mrs.  Jane  C.,  Lincolnville 84 

Ruppenthal,   Jacob    C.,    Russell 

— donor      59 

Rush,   Cecile:     actress 33,34,37,  42 

43,46,47,  201 
Russell,   Mrs.   A.   R.,   Clay   co.:     article 

by,    noted    216 

Russell:     First  Congregational  church 

records,   filmed    59 

Russell   county:     historic   sites,   notes 

on      166,  167 

— Kit's  Fork  Indian  raid,  note  on,  166,  167 
Russell,    Majors    and    Waddell: 

freighters     273,  340 

— Leavenworth   offices,   note   on 148 

Russell  Springs  stage  station,  Logan 

co.:     note   on 151 

Rust,  Mrs.  Lucile,  Manhattan 110 

Rutgers    University:      Lecompton    Con- 
stitution  held   by    244 

Ryman,   John,   Dunlap:     donor 65 


Sabin,  Dr.  Jeremiah:     at  Fort  Riley.  .  .  347 

Sackett,  Dr.  S.  J.:     talk  by,  noted.  .  .  .  222 

Sage    and    Jackson,    Pawnee    co. 278 

St.   Benedict's  Abbey:     history,  by 

Peter  Beckman,   noted    335 

St.  Benedict's  College:     articles  on, 

noted      332 

— old  Priory,  note  on 117 

St.   Cloud:     note  on,    1860 390 

St.  Francis:     articles  on,  noted 219 

St.   Francis   Herald:     articles   in,   noted,  219 
St.   Jacob's   Well,   Clark   co.:     note 

on      121,  122 

St.  John,  Claude  J.:    biographical  sketch 

of,    noted     105 

St.  John,  Silas:    ordeal  of,   1858,  348-  350 

St.    Joseph,   Mo.:     Smith   Theatre 12 

St.    Joseph    ( Mo. )    Theatre 16 

St.     Marys:      Pottawatomie     Agency 

building,  note  on    163 

St.  Mihiel,  France:    battle  area.  .  .  .76,  77 

St.    Paul,    Neosho    co 161 

St.   Vrain,  Col.   Ceran 397 

Salina:      note    on,     1860 390 

— population,    1870-1890,    data   on...  11 
Saline  county:     Indian  burial  pit,  note 

on     167 

Saline  river    390 

Salt  mining:     in  Kingman  area,   article 

on,   noted    105 

Salt  well,  first:     note   on 163,  164 

Santa  Fe,  Haskell  co.:     note  on 139 

Santa    Fe   trail 337 

— Arkansas   river   crossings,    notes 

on      131,  137 

— article  on,  noted 444 

— historic  sites,  notes   on    .  .  .118,  119,  128 

131,  132,  137,  138,  142 

145,  154,  157-  162 

— junction  with  Oregon  trail,  note  on.  .  142 

— note   on,    1860 391 

— remains,   west   of  Dodge   City,   notes 

on     113,  132 

photograph    between  144,  145 


Sarcoxie,    Delaware    Indian    395n 

Sarcoxie  spring    398 

Satanta,    Kiowa    chief 266,  275 

Satsuma's  Royal  Japanese  Troupe  .  .  .  315 
Sawyer,  Joseph  O.:  at  Fort  Riley  .  .  341 

Scheller,   Mme. :     actress 44 

Schenck,    Leland,    Topeka 63 

Schenck,  Mrs.  Leland,  Topeka:  donor,  59 
Schenck,  Lena  Baxter:  article  by, 

noted      219 

Schoenchen,    Ellis    co.:     article    on, 

noted      106 

Schroeder,   Byron    109 

Schweitzer,   Wilma:     article   by,   noted,  329 

Scott,  Angelo,    lola 63,  84,  108,  221 

Scott,  Charles  A.,  Westmoreland:     arti- 
cles  by,    noted    211 

Scott,   D.   L.,   and  wife:     actors 18 

Scott,   D.   W.:     on    Santa   Fe   trail, 

1860     392,  393 

Scott,  John:  caretaker,  First  Capitol  .  67 
Scott  City:  News  Chronicle,  articles  in, 

noted     107,  219 

Scott  City  &  Northern  Railway:    article 

on,   noted    107 

Scott    county:      Cheyenne-U.    S.    battle 

canyon,  note  on    168 

— historic   sites,  notes   on 168,   169 

— Indian  battle,  1878,  article  on,  noted,  219 
— School  Dist.  37,  article  on,  noted .  .  107 

Scott  County  State  Park    114 

— El    Quartelejo    monument,    photo- 
graph      between    144,   145 

— Steele  house,  note  on 169 

Scrip     282 

Sears,    Burton    P 112 

Seaton,  Richard  H.:  article  by,  noted,  443 
Second  U.  S.  cavalry:  notes  on.  .344,  348 
Second  U.  S.  dragoons:  at  Camp  Alert,  391 

—at   Fort   Riley 344 

Second  U.  S.  infantry:    at  Camp  Alert,  391 

Sedan:     article   on,   noted 218 

— Baptist   church,  note  on 218,  219 

Sedgwick,  Maj.  John:     at  Fort  Riley    .    342 

— in    1857    Cheyenne   campaign 384 

— in    1860    Kiowa-Comanche    cam- 
paign      388,  389,  391,  398,  400 

Sedgwick  county:    Indian  treaty  site  in, 

noted      169 

— Seltzer  Methodist  Church,  article  on, 

noted      443 

Settler      207 

Seventh   U.    S.    cavalry:     notes   on, 

1890's    359 

— organization,    note    on 348 

Severance,    Mrs.    A.    L.:     recollections, 

noted      211 

Seward  county:    county  seat  fight,  note 

on     286,  287 

Seymour, :     actor 402 

Shaffer,  Sallie:     article  by,  noted 326 

Shaw,  Joseph  C.,  Topeka 70,  82,     84 

Shaw,    Mary:     actress 33,     47 

Shaw,  Neosho  co.:  historic  site,  noted  160 
Shawnee:  Dick  Williams  house,  note 

on    145 

— Fangro  house,  note  on 143,  448 

— historical  sketch  of,  noted 105 

Shawnee    Baptist    Mission 184n 

— note    on     143 

Shawnee     county:      historic     buildings, 

notes    on    170-  172 

— Tecumseh  township  trails,  article  on, 

noted      444 

Shawnee    County    Historical    Society: 

1956  annual  dinner,  note  on 109 

Shawnee    County    Historical    Society, 
Bulletin    of    the:      articles    in    Apr., 

1957,    issue,    noted 219 

— "Highland  Park"  edition,  noted.  ...    213 

Shawnee  Friends  Mission 184,   186 

— note    on     .  .    143 


470 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Shawnee  Indians:  lands,  note  on.  ...  187 
— removal  from  Ohio,  article  on,  noted,  214 
Shawnee  Methodist  Mission,  113,  114,  183n 

— cemetery,   note   on 144 

— note   on    143,  144 

— photographs     between    144,  145 

Shawnee  Mission  Indian  Historical  So- 
ciety           66 

— 1956  meeting,  note  on 108 

Shearer,  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  M.  M.:    at 

Fort    Riley     356 

Sheets,  Mrs.  L.  W.:    article  by,  noted,  218 

Shelden,  Alvah,   El  Dorado 250 

Sheridan,  Gen.  Philip  H 276,  277 

357,  358 

Sheridan,  Logan  co.:    note  on.  .     .151,   152 
Sheridan  county:    Cheyenne-U.  S.  bat- 
tle  site,    note    on 172 

— history  by  Mrs.  P.  Toothaker,  noted,  441 
Sherman,  "Dutch  Henry":  home,  note 

on     134 

Sherman,   Lt.   Gen.    William   T 267 

Sherman  county:    county  seat  fight,  ar- 
ticle on,  noted 330 

— Kidder  massacre  site,  note  on .  .  172,   173 

— newspapers,  article  on,  noted 330 

Sherman    County   Herald,    Goodland: 

articles    in,    noted 212,  443 

— 70th  anniversary  edition,  noted.  .  .  .  330 
Shillock,  Maj.  Paul:  at  Fort  Riley,  362,  363 
Shirley,  Dorothy:  article  by,  noted.  .  .  332 
Sidebottom,  Abbie  Ruff:  article  by, 

noted      327 

Sigma   Nu,   at  Kansas  University:     his- 
tory of,   published    112 

Silkville:     building,  photo- 
graph    between  144,   145 

— note    on     134 

Simerwell,  Elizabeth:    diaries  of,  filmed,     59 

Simerwell,    Robert     59 

Simmons,    Philip    and    Elmira:      Zoe 

Dentler's   book  on,   noted 447 

Simon,  J.  A.:     actor 299,  302,  304 

307-310,  312-314,  426,  428 

Simons,   Dolph,    Lawrence 63,     83 

Simons,    Asst.    Surg.    James:      at    Fort 

Riley     340-  342 

— photograph     facing  353 

Simonson,  Maj.  J.  S. 383 

Simpson,  L.  R.:  article  by,  noted.  ...  331 
Simson,  T.  W.:  hospital  steward....  340 
Sioux  Indians:  Kidder  massacre  by, 

note  on    172 

Six-Mile   house,    Wyandotte    co.:     note 

on    178 

Sixth  U.  S.  cavalry    355 

Sixth    U.    S.    infantry:     at    Fort   Riley, 

1853    , 338 

— military  escort,  1829    338 

— records,    1853-1855,   noted 59 

Skiff  and  Gaylor  Minstrels 314 

Skinner,  Jim:     article  by,  noted 106 

Slagg,  Mrs.  C.  M.,  Manhattan.  .82,83,   109 

Slay,   Mrs.   Frank,  Wichita 222 

Sloan,   E.    R.,   Topeka 84 

Smelser,   Mary  M.,   Lawrence 84 

Smith,  Col.  Andrew  J.:    Seventh  cavalry 

head     348 

Smith,  Benjamin  H.,  Chetopa:  note  on,  107 
Smith,  Byron  Caldwell:  award,  note 

on    Ill 

Smith,  Mrs.  George  E.,  Topeka:    donor,     62 

Smith,  Gerrit:    note  on    186n 

Smith,  Mrs.  Glee,  Larned 110 

Smith,  Henry:    Lecompton  const,  conv. 

delegate      241 

Smith,  Jacob,   Topeka    372 

Smith,   Jedediah:     site  where  killed, 

noted      137 

Smith,  Louis  R.,  Topeka:  donor 63 


Smith,    Mrs.    Raymond,    Parsons 110 

Smith,   Solon   W 112 

Smith,  Mrs.  William  L.,  Sarasota,  Fla.: 

donor     63 

Smith,   Mrs.   Yolande    108 

Smith  county:     history,  article  on, 

noted      215 

— "Home    on   the    Range"    cabin,    note 

on      173 

photograph    between  144,  145 

Smith    County    Pioneer,    Smith    Center: 

article    in,    noted     215 

Smoky   Hill  river 389 

— forks   of,  note  on 150 

Smoky  Hill  trail:     stage  stations,  Gove 

co.,   notes   on    135,  136 

Logan  co.,  notes  on 151,  152 

Trego  co.,  notes  on 174 

Wallace   co.,   note   on 176 

Socolofsky,    Homer    E.,    Manhattan      .  109 

221,  445 
— article    on    Capper    Farm    Press    by, 

noted      444 

Sod  house:     article  on,  noted 329 

Sohl,  Stanley  D.,  Topeka:    donor 62 

— museum   director,   Historical    Society,  67 

Solomon  river      390 

Somers,   John   G.,   Newton    82,  84 

South  Haven  New  Era:    article  in, 

noted      330 

South   Hutchinson:     salt  find,    1887, 

note   on    163,  164 

South  Leavenworth   Musical  Assn 403 

Southeast    Kansas:     history,    article    on, 

noted      220 

Southern    Overland    Mail    Co 348 

Southgate,  Asst.  Surg.  Robert:    at  Fort 

Riley    344 

Southwest  Daily  Times,  Liberal:     arti- 
cles in,  noted    213 

Southwest   Kansas  Editorial  Assn.: 

records,  noted 59 

Sparks,   Col.   Ray  G 110 

Speer,    John     181 

Spencer,  Charles:    article  by,  noted.  .  .  107 

Spencer,  Selden  P.:    U.  S.  senator    ...  80 

Spring  Hill:    articles  on,  noted 329 

Spring  Hill  New  Era:    articles  in, 

noted     329,  330 

Springfield,  Seward  co 286,  287 

Spurs,  battle  of  the,  1859:    note  on.  .  .  140 

Squirrel,    James     66 

Stage   line.      See  Overland   stage. 

Stairrett,  Louisa:     article  by,  noted.  .  .  327 

Stallings,  Don 221 

Stanley,  Henry  M.:     at  Fort  Larned.  .  275 
Stanley,    William    Eugene:      household 

items  of,  given  Historical  Society.  .  .  62 
Stanley,  Mrs.  William  Eugene,  Wichita, 

donor     62 

Stanton,  Mrs.  E.  M.:    article  by,  noted,  105 

Stanton,    Frederick    P 227 

Stanton  county:    articles  on,  noted.  ...  217 

Stapf,   Charles,   Abilene 333 

Starke,   Mrs.   Ellina    (Murdock)     249 

Stauffer,  Oscar    63 

Steamboat:     Excel    339 

—on  Big  creek,  Ellis  co.,  noted 442 

Steam  (s),  E.  Norris:    at  Fort  Riley   .  .  347 
Steele,   H.   L.,   Scott   co.:     home,    note 

on    169 

Steele,  Capt.  William:     notes   on,  391,  400 

Steffes,  Don,  Abilene    333 

Stephens,  Kate:     bequest,  note  on    ...  Ill 
Sternberg,    Bvt.     Maj.     George    Miller: 

at   Fort  Riley 353 

— biographical    sketch     353-  355 

Sternberg,  Louisa  Russell  (Mrs.  George 

M. ):     death,   noted    353 

Sternberg,    Martha    L.    Pattison     (Mrs. 

George   M. )     354 


GENERAL  INDEX 


471 


Stevens,  J.  A.,  Kansas  City,  Mo 20 

Stevens,  LeRoy,  Topeka:    donor 63 

Stevens,    Richard    B.,    and    wife:     chil- 
dren  of,   donors    62 

Stevens  county:    county  seat  fight,  arti- 
cle on,  noted 327 

— records   microfilmed    56 

Steward,  Sarah:    hospital  matron,  Fort 

Riley    361 

Stewart,  Donald,  Independence.  .  .  .  82,  84 
Stewart,  Capt.  George  H.:  at  Pawnee 

Fork      258,  259 

Stewart,  Mrs.  James  G.,  Topeka 84 

Stewart,  Larry,  Council  Grove:    donor,     66 

Stewart,  Col.  Ralph 109 

Sticher,   John,    Topeka 446 

Still,   Dr.   Andrew  T.:     note  on 189 

Stine,  Daniel:     article  on,  noted 331 

Stine,  I.  J.,  Leavenworth  .  .  373,  379,  380 
Stinson,  Thomas  N.:  article  by,  noted,  444 

— papers  of,  noted    444 

Stinson   family,   Tecumseh:     article   on, 

noted      444 

Stolte,  Fred  W.,  Jr.:     reminiscences, 

noted     216 

Stone,   Amy:     actress    51 

Stone,  Arthur    Ill 

Stone,  Clifford  W 221 

Stone,  Harry,  and  Anne:    actors    ....        33 

Stone,  Robert,  Topeka 83 

Stoney   Lonesome   school,   Allen   co.: 

note  on    115 

Storms.      See   Hailstorms. 

Stotler,  Jacob    407 

Stover,    Ida    Elizabeth:     in   Lane    Uni- 
versity group   picture facing  112 

Strachan,  Grace:  article  by,  noted.  .  .  .  327 
Strang  Line  ( interurban ) :  article  on, 

noted      326 

Stratton,  Mrs.  Clif,  Topeka:  donor.  .  .  59 
Straub,  Lt.  Paul  F.:  at  Fort  Riley.  .  .  361 
Street er,  Floyd  B.:  book  on  Ben 

Thompson    by,     noted 447 

Strowger,  Almon  B.:    inventor 3-        6 

Strowger    Automatic    Telephone    Ex- 
change   Co.,    Chicago 6 

Stuart,  Lt.   James  Ewell  Brown 172 

—diary,  1860,  edited  by  W.  S.  Robin- 
son       382-  400 

— early  military  career,  outlined.  .382-  388 

— invention  by,  note  on 385 

— marriage,  note  on 383,  384 

Stuart,  James  Ewell  Brown,  Jr.:    birth, 

noted      399 

Stuart,  Lewis  B.,  St.  Louis 59 

Sturgis,   Capt.   S.  D 388,  400 

Stutzman,   Mrs.  Claude,  Kansas  City.  .    110 

Sullivan,  Mrs.   H.   B 108 

Sullivan,    Ivan,   Parsons 446 

Sully,    Gen.    Alfred 267 

Sumner,    Col.    Edwin   Vose 131 

— at  Fort  Leavenworth    342,  383 

— campaign  against  Indians,  1857,  note 

on     172 

—head,  First  U.  S.  cavalry.  .384,387,  388 
Sumner  county:  historic  sites,  notes 

on     173,  174 

Sunderlin,  Ono.  V.  W 380 

Swedish    inventors    of    dial    telephone: 

Emory  K.  Lindquist's  article  on .  .  1-        8 
Sweet,   Annie   B.,   Topeka:     donor....      62 

Switzler    creek     162 

Sylvester,  Louise 316-  319 

— biographical  data    319 


Tabor,    Milton     109 

Tade,  C.  H.:    article  by,  noted 328 

Taft,    Robert:     posthumous    award    to, 
noted     Ill 


Tally  Springs,  Montgomery  co.:     article 

on,    noted    443 

Talmo:     Methodist   church,    article    on, 

noted      £12 

— note    on     £12 

Taylor,  Rev.  E.  O.,  Topeka '    372 

Taylor,  Harold  O.:    article  by,  noted.  .    220 

— history  of  Weir  by,  noted 444 

Taylor,   James   E.,  Sharon   Springs  84 

Taylor,   Lt.   Joseph  Hancock:     note 

on  ;  390  392 

Taylor,  Dr.  T.  B.,  Topeka 375-  377 

— quoted      377 

Taylor,  Tom:    plays  by,  noted.  ...  46 

Taylor,  Lt.  W.  O.:    at  Fort  Riley 355 

Tebben,    Erma    Schmidler:     article    by, 

noted      444 

Tecumseh,   Indian  chief:     article  on, 

noted      444 

Tecumseh:     history,   articles   on,  noted,  444 

— note  on    241 

Tecumseh    Note    Book.  .  231    240 

Teed,  Mrs.   C.   W .'  333 

Teeter,  Mrs.  Virgil,  Partridge:    donor.  .      62 
Telephone,  dial:     early  models,   photo- 
graphs      between    8,       9 

— invention    and    development,    Emory 

K.  Lindquist's   article  on 1-        8 

Templar,    George,    Arkansas    City 83 

Temple,    Oscar    F.:     hospital    steward, 

Fort    Riley    361 

Templeton,    John,    Leavenworth 19 

28-33, 35,     49 
"Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar  Room"    (play): 

comment    on     426,  427 

TenEyck,   Capt.   Benjamin   L 362 

Thacher,  T.  Dwight:     quoted 227 

Thayer,  Davis  W.:    missionary 184n 

Theatre:    in  Kansas,   1858-1868,  J.  C. 

Malin's   article   on 10-53,  191-  203 

— traveling,      in     Kansas,      1869-1871, 

J.  C.  Malin's  article  on 298-  323 

401-  438 

Third  U.  S.  infantry:  at  Fort  Riley .  .  .  355 
35th  Division:  Wilford  Riegle's  address 

on     70-     81 

Thoes,  Joseph:    pioneer  of  Alma 218 

Thomas,   Alois     284 

Thomas   county:     Wesley   chapel,   near 

Colby,   article  on,  noted 212 

Thompson,  Ben:     F.  B.  Streeter's  book 

on,    noted    447 

Thompson,  Frederick    221 

Thompson,  Mrs.  Myrtle,  Ottawa  co. .  .  109 
Thompson,  R.  L.,  Jr.,  Moran.  .  .  .108,  221 
Thorne,  C.  R.:  theatre  manager.  ...  18 

— and  wife:     actors 23 

Thorne,    Emily:     actress 37 

Thorne,  J.  C.:     actor 18 

Thorne    and   Burt,   Leavenworth: 

theatre  managers    18 

Thorne  family:     actors 18,     23 

Tibbies,    Thomas    Henry:     autobiog- 
raphy,   note    on 335 

Tiffany,    Annie:      actress 404 

Tiller  and   Toiler,   The,   Lamed:     Fort 

Larned   history   in,   noted    217 

Tillotson,   Mrs.   J.   C.,  Norton 110 

Tillotson,     Raymond,     Shields 108 

Tilton,    Maj.    Henry   Remsen:     at   Fort 

Riley      356 

Titus,  Col.  H.  T.:  log  home,  note  on,  126 
Todd,  Jarrett:  Lecompton  const,  conv. 

delegate     242 

Toevs,  Waldo,  Wichita    222 

Toohey,   John   T.:     actor 417,427,430 

435,  436 
Toothaker,    Mrs.    Pearl:      Sheridan    co. 

history  by,  noted 441 


472 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Topeka:  Costa's  Opera  House  432 

— First  Congregational  church  history, 

noted  57 

— historic  buildings,  notes  on.  .  .  .170,  171 

— history,  articles  on,  noted 219 

— Lord  Dramatic  Co.  at.  .  .  309,  32~I,  324 

428-  434 
— population,  1860-1890,  data  on.  .  .  11 

— Potwin  area  history,  noted  219 

— printing  history,  not*  on 223 

—revival  at,  1872 369-  373 

375-378,  381 

— Tefft  House  records,  filmed 59 

—theatre  in,  1860's,  noted 196,  197 

Topeka  Daily  Capital:  microfilmed.  .  .  63 
Topeka — Guide  to  the  Capital  City  of 

Kansas:  note  on  335 

Topeka  Spiritualist  Society 375 

Topeka  Typographical  Union  No.  121,  223 

Torluemke,  A.  W.,  Manhattan 9 

Tornado:  Ottawa-Kansas  City,  booklet 

on,  noted  223 

Toulon:  murder  case,  noted 107 

Towanda:  spring  near,  noted 441 

Townsley,  Will,  Great  Bend 83 

Trace,  Mrs.  Carl  F.,  Topeka:  donor.  .  62 
Trading  post,  Mathews,  Labette  co.: 

note  on  146 

Trail,  Dr.  E.  B.,  Berger,  Mo.:  donor.  .  59 
Train,  A.  T.  &  S.  F.:  photograph, 

1872  facing  224 

Trego,  Joseph  Harrington:  diaries  of, 

filmed  59 

Trego  county:  stage  stations,  notes  on,  174 
Tremaine,  Acting  Asst.  Surg.  W.  S.: 

at  Fort  Riley  356 

Triplett,  Roger:  article  on  Emporia  by, 

noted  223 

Trotter,  Lavina  333 

Tucking,  Mrs.  Charles,  Valley  Falls: 

donor  62 

Turner,  J.  B.:  actor 41 

Turner,  J.  E.,  Caldwell  221 

Turner,  James,  Clyde:  records  of, 

noted  59 

Turner,  L.  E.,  Clifton:  donor 59 

Turnverein:  at  Atchison,  noted 191 

— at  Leavenworth,  noted  39 

Turon  Press:  A.  B.  Bradshaw's  articles 

in,  noted  212 

Turrill,  Surg.  Henry  Stuart:  at  Fort 

Riley  361 

Tuton,  Alice  Belle:  marriage,  noted..  107 
12th  Tennessee  cavalry:  in  Kansas, 

noted      163 


Umbach,    Mrs.    Walter,    Ford 222,  445 

Ummethun,    George,    Leavenworth.  ...      42 
"Uncle    Tom's    Cabin"     ( play ) :      com- 
ment on    48-50,  424-  426 

Underground  railway:    Jackson  co.  sta- 
tion,  note   on    140 

Union   Pacific   railroad:     advertising, 

article  on,  noted    214 

— Eastern  division    202 

United  Brethren  Church:    first  in  Kan- 
sas,  note   on 126 

University  of  Wichita  Bulletin,  The: 

article    in,    noted 211 

Unrau,   William   E.:     Fort  Lamed  his- 
tory by,  note  on   217 

— notes  on   257n,  448 

— "The  Story  of  Fort  Larned,"  article 
by     257-  280 


Valentine,   Harry,   Clay   Center 63 

Valentine,   L.   F.:    articles   by, 

noted     .  .  .  216,  327 


Valley  Falls:     Piazzek  mill,   note   on  141 

— St.    John's    Methodist    Church 141 

— St.    Paul's    Lutheran    Church,    article 

on,    noted     329 

note    on     141 

Valley   Falls   Vindicator:     articles   in, 

noted     216,  329 

Van  De  Mark,  M.  V.   B.,  Concordia .  .  84 

Van  Doryn,  Lt.  A.  C.:     at  Fort  Riley,  357 

Vanderhoof,   Jack   W.,    Salina 445 

Vanderslice,  Daniel:     Lecompton  const. 

conv.   delegate    239,  241 

Vang,  Mrs.  Mary    333 

VanLew,    Anna,    Axtell 213 

Van  Velzer,  Mrs.  Lutie:    reminiscences 

by,    noted    57 

Van  Wagner,  Rev. ,  Leavenworth,  379 

Venable-Murphy   families,    Tecumseh: 

article    on,    noted 444 

Verdigris  river:     massacre  of  Confed- 
erates,   note    on 157 

Victoria:     note   on    129 

— railroad  depot,  article  on,  noted.  .  .  .  214 

— Robert  Cox's  visit  to,  noted 214 

— St.    Fidelis   Church,  notes   on 129 

130,  448 

photograph    between  144,  145 

— St.    George's    Church,    article    on, 

noted      214 

Viele,  George:    article  by,  noted 219 

Vinson,  Mrs.  Ida  M.,  Chase  co 108 

von    der   Heiden,    Mrs.    W.    H., 

Newton     82,  84 

Vycital,    Frank    108 

W 

Wabaunsee:    "Beecher  Bible  and  Rifle" 

church,    article    on,    noted 441 

note   on    175 

photograph    facing  145 

— founding  of,    article  on,   noted 326 

Wabaunsee    county:     history,    in    Alma 

newspaper,  note  on 326 

Waconda    (Great  Spirit)   Springs:    note 

on     156 

Wade,  Mrs.  Alice  M.,  Coffeyville 221 

— article    by,    noted 211 

Wagon  Bed  Springs:    note  on 137 

Wakarusa  river:     ferry,  note  on 187 

Walker,  Rev.  F.  M.,  Sedan 219 

Walker,  Mrs.  Ida  M.,  Norton 82,     84 

Walker,  Judy  Ann,  Topeka:    donor.  .  .      62 

Walker,   Goy.   Robert   J 229 

Walker,     William:      Lecompton     const. 

conv.    delegate     .  .  .  .234n,  236,  237,  241 

— notes  on    236,  237 

Walker,   Capt.  William   S 386,  389 

391,  396 
Wallace,   John    M.:     Lecompton    const. 

conv.    delegate    234n 

Wallace,    Ralph,    Larned 268,  280 

Wallace  county:     articles  on,  noted    .  .    332 

— historic  sites,  notes  on 175,   176 

— stage  station,  note  on 176 

Walnut  Valley  Times,  El  Dorado 249 

Walsh,  Paddy   192 

Walters,    Charles   F.:     actor .  .  .  .  18,  21,     23 
29-31,  33,  39,     40 

Walters,  Mrs.  Irene Ill 

Walters,  Jean  Clara  (Mrs.  Charles  F.): 

actress     .     .  .  18,  21-23,  29-38,  41-43,     47 

49,  50,  53,  193,  197,  201 

Warn  ego:    historical  booklet  on,  noted,   111 

Wamego  Reporter:    article  in,  noted.  .    441 

Wano  Plain  Dealer:    note  on 63 

Ward,    Annie:      actress 316 

Ward,    Mary,    Ottawa:     teacher 443 

Ward,  W.  A.,  Ottawa  co 109 

Wark,   George  H.,   Caney 84 

Warner,  Leslie  H.,  Chicago 6,       7 


GENERAL  INDEX 


473 


Warner,   Mrs.   W.    P.,    Ford 222,  445 

Washburn  University:     Rice  Hall,  note 

on     171 

Washington    county:     Immanuel    Luth- 
eran Church,  article  on,  noted 327 

— stage  stations,  notes  on 176 

Washington    County    ( Ark. )    Historical 

Society     Ill 

Waterloo:    Mickel  House,  note  on,  152,  153 
Waters,    Bvt.    Maj.    William    Elkanah: 

at  Fort  Riley 355,  356 

Wathena:     centennial  celebration, 

noted      445 

— note  on    241 

Wathena    Times:     centennial   issue, 

noted      441 

Watson,  John:     article  by,  noted 105 

Watson,  Mrs.  L.  R.,  Altoona:    donor.  .  62 

Watts,  Jim:    article  by,  noted 443 

Waysman  home,  Tecumseh:    article  on, 

noted      444 

Wea  Indians    187,  241 

Weatherwax,   Lester,   Wichita 221 

Webb,  James  Josiah:    letter,   1856, 

noted     59 

Webber,  Asst.  Surg.  Henry  A 362 

Wedin,  Mrs.  Paul  H.,  Wichita 110 

Weede,    Dr.   G.   W. 222 

Weichselbaum,  Theodore:     sutler  at 

Fort  Lamed    274 

Weir:    history,  by  H.  O.  Taylor,  noted,  444 

Welch,    Charles,    Pawnee    co 279 

Well,    hand-dug,    Greensburg:      note 

on      145,  146 

Wells,  J.  A.,  Seneca,  Mo.:    donor 59 

Wells,  Robert,  Garden  City 221 

Wells,   William   S.:     Lecompton   const. 

conv.    delegate     241,  242 

Wellsford,  Kiowa  co.:    article  on,  noted,  214 
Welsh:     in  Lyon  county,  article  on, 

noted     328 

Wessells,  Maj.  Henry  Walton:    at  Paw- 
nee Fork,  1859 258,  259 

— family  of,  at  Camp  Alert 391 

— note  on    391 

Western  Humanities  Review,  Salt  Lake 

City:     article  in,  noted 211 

Western    Stage    Co 202 

Western    Star,    Coldwater:      article    in, 

noted     106 

Western   Times,    The,    Sharon   Springs: 

special  edition,   1957,  note  on 332 

Western  Trail 207 

Westerner's  Brand  Book,   The,   New 

York:     article    in,    noted 330 

Westheffer,   Mrs.  Phoebe 331 

Westhoff,  Margaret  Ann:    article  by, 

noted      329 

Westmoreland    Recorder:      articles     in, 

noted      211 

Westport,  Mo.:    S.  N.  Wood's  comment 

on,  1854 189 

Wetzel,  Christian  F.:    home,  note  on.  .  135 

Weyss,  John  E.:     surveyor 395 

Wheeler,  Ban,  Leavenworthr    actor,  24,  25 

Wheeler,   John  J. 112 

Whiskey   Lake    340 

White,  Dr.  Allen:    R.  A.  Clymer's  com- 
ment on    252 

White,  Mary  Hatten   (Mrs.  Allen)    .     .  252 
White,  W.  H.,  Jr.,  Council  Grove: 

donor     66 

White,   W.  L.,   Emporia 153 

White,  William  Allen:     and  Henry  Al- 
len in  Europe,  article  on,  noted.  .  .  .  326 
— comments  on  T.  B.  Murdock.  .  .251,  253 

— home,  Emporia,  note  on 142 

— J.  S.  Owen's  articles  on,  noted.  .  .  .  326 

— photograph     facing  256 

— R.   A.   Clymer's  article   on 252-  256 

— "The  Story  of  Squa  Pura"  by,  noted,  215 

32—1378 


White    Church,    Wyandotte    co.:      note 

on    180 

Whitehorn,  Dr.  Samuel:    at  Fort  Riley, 

1855    342 

Whiteside,     Nellie    Oder:      article    by, 

noted       213,  214 

Whitewater     Independent:      article     in, 

noted     443 

Whiting,    Albe    Burge:     autobiography, 

note  on    219 

Whitridge,  Arnold:    article  by,  noted.  .  219 

Whittenhall,    Capt. :     of   Second 

Kansas  cavalry    261 

Wichita:     article  on,  noted 218 

— "Cowtown"  project,  notes  on 169 

170,  333 

photograph    between  144,  145 

— population,  1875-1890,  data  on.  ...  11 

Wichita  Beacon:    articles  in,   noted.  .  .  105 

Wichita   Eagle:    articles   in,  noted.  .  .  .  106 

218,  443 

Wichita  &  Western  railroad 145 

Wichita    Historical   Museum   Assn.: 

1957  meeting,  note  on 222 

Wichita  Natural  Gas   Co 120 

Wilcoxson,  Mrs.  M.  J.:    lecturer 374 

Wild    Horse,    Okla 209 

Wild  horse  corral,  Greeley  co 137 

Wilder,  Daniel  Webster:     editor 31 

— quoted     133 

— state    auditor    282,  283 

Wildman, ,  and  wife:     actors.  .  .  33 

Wilkins,  Mrs.  Adele 108 

Willard,  Mrs.   Millie:     actress 324 

Williams,    Archibald,    Topeka 372 

Williams,  Charles  A.,  Bentley 84 

Williams,  Charles  J.,  Topeka:    donor.  .  62 
Williams,  Dick:     house,  Shawnee,  note 

on     145 

Williams,  Fannie  E 222 

Williams,  John,  Delaware  Indian 395n 

397,  398 

Williams,  Lt.  Solomon:    note  on.  .  .391,  392 

Williams,  W.  W.,  Emporia 407 

Willmore,  Jenny:    actress 314 

Wilson,   Delaware  Indian 395n,  398 

Wilson,    Bruce,    Manhattan 109 

Wilson,  Elton,  Mound  City 446 

Wilson,  Hiero:    Lecompton  const,  conv. 

delegate    241 

Winfield:     First    Christian    church,    ar- 
ticle on,  noted 329 

Winfield  Courier:    article  in,  noted.  .  .  .  329 

Winn,  Asst.  Surg. :    at  Fort  Riley,  362 

Winter,  Lt.  Francis  Anderson.  .  .  .360,  363 
Wintermute,  Eva.:     reminiscences, 

noted      443 

Wirth,  Conrad  L.,  Washington,  D.  C.  280 
Wisconsin:     L.  P.   Jorgenson's   book  on 

public  education  in,  noted 112 

Wolf,  Capt.   Lambert:    diary, 

noted       258,  259 

Wolfe's  Camera  Shop,  Topeka:    donor,  62 

Wolff,  Mrs.  Zella  Lamb 443 

Woltz,  Jennie:     actress     314,  406,  417,  418 

427,428,  435 

Womack,  Rev.  A.  F.,  Winfield 329 

Woman's  Kansas  Day  Club:    donor.  .  .  62 

— 1957  meeting,  note  on 110,  111 

Wood,     George,     Cincinnati:       theatre 

manager     22n 

Wood,  Paul  B.,  Elmdale,  82,  108,  334,  446 

Wood,  Samuel  Newitt:    Alliance  leader,  287 

— biographical  data    181,  182 

— comment    on     104 

— home,  Cottonwood  Falls,  note  on .  .  121 
— letters,  1854,  edited  by  R.  W.  Rich- 
mond       181-  190 

— note    on     .                              121 


474 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Woodhull,  Lt.    Col.   A.   A.:     in 

Kansas  357,  358 

— biographical  sketch  357,  358 

Woodring,  Harry  H.,  Topeka 83 

Woodruff,  Capt.  Charles  Edward:  at 

Fort  Riley  362 

— biographical  note  362 

Woods,  Rex,  Arkansas  City 63 

Woodson  county:  pioneer  recollections 

of,  noted  212 

— pioneers,  note  on 334 

Woodward,  Albert  G.:  claim  against 

Pawnees,  noted  60 

Wooster,  L.  D.,  Hays 446 

World  War  I:  35th  division,  W. 

Riegle's  address  on 70-  81 

Wounded  Knee,  battle  of:  note  on ....  359 

Wright,  John  K 271 

Wright,  Gen.  William  M.:  35th  divi- 
sion commander  72,  73 

Wulfkuhle,  Charles,  Topeka:  donor.  .  62 

Wullschleger,  Otto  J.,  Frankford 70 

— donor  62 

Wyandot  National  Cemetery:  note  on,  178 
Wyandotte  county:  historic  sites  and 

structures,   notes    on 177-  180 


Wynkoop,    Maj.   E.    W.:     Indian 

agent     265,  267 


Yancey,     William     Lowndes,     Mont- 
gomery,   Ala 238 

Yates,    Abner:     biographical    sketch, 

noted     334 

Yates  Center:    F.  J.  Landes'  history  of, 

noted      334 

Yerby,  William,  Leavenworth 48 

Yingling,    Dean,    Topeka 110 

Yocemento:    article  on,  noted 106 

Yost,  Bartley:    reminiscences,  noted.  .  .  331 

Young,  B.  F.,   Winfield:     donor 57 

Young,   Mrs.   Chester,  Kansas  City.  .  110 

Young,  Walker    221 

Young,  Willard,  Council  Grove:     donor  66 


Zarah:    general  store,  note  on 62 

Zornow,   William  E.:     Kansas — A  His- 
tory of  the  Jayhawk  State,  by,  noted,  335 


PRINTED    IN 

THE    STATE    PRINTING    PLANT 

TOPEKA.    KANSAS 

1958 


27-1378