USA > Kansas > A history of Kansas > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24
236
HISTORY OF KANSAS.
Kansas for several terms in the House of Representatives, and, on the death of Senator Plumb, he was appointed by Governor Humphrey his temporary successor.
402. State Normal School .- On the 14th of June, the State Normal School held its thirtieth annual com- mencement exercises, and conferred its diplomas on a class of 100 graduates. The history of the State Normal School is a counterpart of that of the State. It was founded in 1863, in the crisis of the Civil War, but first opened its doors in 1865, with thirteen students. From that time forward it advanced, like the State, "through difficulties," among them fire, which, in 1878, destroyed its building. From the lowest point in its fortunes, which was reached in the year of the fire, it has steadily risen, until the last ten years its attendance has ranged above 1,000 students, and the number of its annual graduates at 100 and upwards. Since 1882 the State Normal has been under the guidance of President A. R. Taylor.
On the 26th of June Haskell Institute, at Lawrence, turned out a class of nine native Americans. Eight different Indian tribes were represented among the gradu- ates.
403. Death of Early Settlers .- In 1894 the early settlers and founders of the State of Kansas were admon- ished of the flight of time, by the departure from the scene of life of many of their associates; among the dead of the year were numbered:
Isaac T. Goodnow, one of the founders of Manhattan, third State Superintendent of Public Instruction, from 1863 to 1867, and a man distinguished for his services to the educational interests of the State.
237
PASSING OF THE PIONEERS.
T. Dwight Thacher, long eminent in connection with the journalism of Lawrence and of Kansas; a leader in the ranks of thought, scholarship and literature.
Judge Joel K. Goodin, of Ottawa, the first Justice of the Peace in the Territory, appointed by Governor Reeder in 1855, and active in all the early history.
404. Coxey Army .- There was much unrest among the laboring classes during the year. Strikes were reported, especially among the coal miners and railroad men. Another evidence of the popular discontent was the march- ing of the "Coxey Army." The appearance of the detach- ment called "General Sanders' " army, which camped at Topeka in May, was involuntary. The men were brought in from the West charged with having captured a railroad train. The party remained several days in Topeka, and were held by the United States Commissioner to appear for trial before the United States Court at Leavenworth. Their cause and condition elicited many expressions of sympathy.
405. Valuable Fossil Found .- Collectors of fossil remains in Kansas have for years enriched museums with valuable specimens. It was announced in 1894 that Mr. Charles H. Sternberg, of Lawrence, had made a very valuable find in the northeast part of Lane county, a bed of fossils containing nearly the entire skeleton of the hairy mammoth, similar to that found in Siberia, and preserved in St. Petersburg, a cast of which was exhibited at the World's Fair. Over 150 elephants' teeth formed part of Mr. Sternberg's discovery.
406. Oil and Gas Discovery .- The greatest discovery and development in Kansas, in 1894, was in the oil and gas
238
HISTORY OF KANSAS.
field. In January, nineteen flowing wells were reported in Wilson county. A Pennsylvania company, exploring in that region, stated that of twenty-one wells they had bored, but two were valueless. By May the Neodesha wells were said to be equal to those of Lima, Ohio. Oil and gas were struck at Sedan, Thayer, Cherryvale and other places, but the Neodesha field remained the most important.
407. Apple Orchards in Kansas .- In 1894 one bear- ing apple tree was reported in Wichita county, and one in Greeley county, but in that year Judge Wellhouse, the Kansas orehardist, planted a new orchard of 25,000 apple trees on 270 acres. He is the owner of 1, 700 acres in orehards, and is believed to be the largest apple grower in the world.
408. A Heavy Snow Storm .- A very heavy snow on the 12th of February, revived the recollections of the old- est inhabitants, and it was remembered that in the winter of 1855-56 the country between the Missouri river and Fort Riley was covered with snow for nearly two months, and that for six weeks the United States mail from Independ- ence, Mo., to Fort Riley was carried in sleighs.
409. Report of Commissioner Harris .- The report of Commissioner Harris, of the Bureau of Education, showed that Kansas had the greatest proportion of her school population enrolled in the schools of any State in the Union, the per cent being 87.66. The next States in order were Maine, 87.12; Iowa, 86.33; South Dakota, 81.04. The percentage of New York was 70.40.
The large proportion of the attendanee to the enrollment in the schools of Kansas shows the interest felt by the people of Kansas in education, and is not the result of compulsory laws. Kansas received its earlier and later'
239
PASSING OF THE PIONEERS.
settlers from the States in the Union in which a system of free public schools was earliest established and has been most successfully maintained. The free, the common school, was in Kansas a heritage from the oldest and best educated communities of the United States.
SUMMARY.
1. Charles Robinson and James M. Harvey, two pioneer Gov- ernors of Kansas, died in 1894.
2. Edmund N. Morrill was elected Governor.
3. The amendment to the constitution giving women equal suffrage was defeated.
4. Haskell Institute graduated nine Indians.
5. The State Normal School granted 100 diplomas.
6. Among the early settlers of the State who died in 1894 were Bishop Perkins, Isaac T. Goodnow, T. Dwight Thacher and Judge Joel K. Goodin.
7. The year of '94 was one of unrest and discontent among the laboring classes.
8. Kansas has a larger proportion of her school population en- rolled than any other State in the Union.
1 CHAPTER XXXV.
THE STORY OF 1895-96.
410. The Enforcement of Law .- Looking over a brief abstract and chronicle of Kansas affairs in 1895, it would appear that the subject of the prohibitory law and its enforcement remained a matter of first interest. In Emporia, a party, for selling liquor illegally, was senteneed to a fine of $500 and 150 days in jail. In Armourdale, citizens demanded the enforcement of the law. In Wyan- dotte county, the county Attorney ordered the joints to close. In Arkansas City, the joints, which is by common consent the Kansas name for places where liquor is sold, were temporarily closed by agreement. In Dodge City, the Mayor closed the joints. In Beloit, an offender against the liquor law was convicted after four trials. The Sheriff ordered a closing up in Wichita. In Topeka, six druggists' permits were suspended. Wellington women knelt in whisky joints and prayed for prohibition. A district judge decided that the "so help me God" oath must be taken in all liquor sales. There are many variations. In one place a local liquor ordinance was declared unconstitutional. A jointist in Seneca was fined $300. Weir City broke the record by fining a fifteen-count violator of the law $1,500, with 450 days in jail. There were long lists of individual convic- tions in many counties, but always discussions, and equally confident assertions, that the law is, and is not, a failure.
240
241
THE STORY OF 1895-96.
411. Case of John L. Waller .- As illustrating the vicissitudes of human fortune, was presented to public attention in Kansas the case of John L. Waller, born a slave in Missouri, becoming a citizen of Kansas, and the United States Consul to Madagascar. After serving his term, he remained in the island, received valuable grants from the native government, and on the overthrow of the Malagassy Government by the French, he was arrested, tried by court-martial, sent to France, and incarcerated in a fortress. Kansas interested herself for her former citi- zen; Mr. Waller's picture appeared in the papers, with biographical sketches. Governor Morrill telegraphed the President in regard to Mr. Waller's release. A petition was sent to Congress containing 6,743 names. The United States Ambassador at Paris was reached. John Waller was liberated, and returned to his country to enter the Twenty-Third Colored Kansas Infantry Volunteers, and served as a captain in the regiment in Cuba.
412. Weather Phenomena of 1895 .- In 1895 there were given illustrations of the variability of the Kansas temperature. In January the mercury was sixteen degrees below zero; in February eighteen degrees; persons froze to death at Newton, New Basle and Chanute, and three Stanton county children perished. On the 9th of May the mercury was ninety-three degrees above zero; on the night of the 12th of May there were hard frosts in many parts of Kansas.
413. Old People .- Kansas began to speak of herself as an old country, and a country of old people. James White died at Ottawa, aged 108 years. Elder John Burney, who died at Abilene, left 147 descendants. Andrew Franklin. a veteran of three wars. died at Burlington, aged 104 years
242
HISTORY OF KANSAS.
The death was announced at San Marcos, Tex., of Israel B. Donalson, at the age of ninety-nine years. He was United States Marshal in Kansas in the "Border Troubles" days. He was appointed from Illinois. The death is announced of Neodesha Fuller, the first white person born in Neodesha. It was an early Kansas custom to name the first babies after the town sites. Lawrence Carter and Topeka Zimmerman are remembered.
414. Monument to Kansas Heroes .- On May 30, 1895, Decoration Day, there was a monument dedicated in the cemetery at Topeka, to the memory of the men of the Second Kansas State militia, Shawnee county regiment, who fell in the battle of the Blue, in October, 1864. The remains of the brave militiamen were removed to Topeka in 1866, but the graves were but slightly marked, and the monument reared at this time was the gift of Mr. G. G. Gage, of Topeka, who served in the Second Regiment, and was taken prisoner at the Blue.
The address at the dedication was delivered by General John C. Caldwell. General Joe Shelby, who commanded a Confederate division in the battle opposed to the Kansans, wrote a letter giving his recollections of the confliet.
At Lawrence a monument was dedicated to the slain in the Quantrell raid. At Frankfort a monument to the Union soldiers buried there was unveiled.
There was complaint of suffering and need in the western counties. The State shipped coal in quantities. The State Normal students contributed. Nortonville, Horton and other towns donated to the relief of the destitute, as did Shawnee and the eastern counties. The Railroad Commis- sioners purchased 10,000 bushels of corn for seed.
10
243
THE STORY OF 1895-96.
1
415. Lawrence Loses Two Prominent Men .- Law- rence and the State lost two useful citizens in Judge Solon O. Thaeher and Professor David H. Robinson. Judge Thacher had graced the bench and bar of the Territory and the State, and was President pro tem. of the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention, which formed the present Con- stitution, an instrument which bore the impress of his legal knowledge, and principles of justice to all men. Professor David H. Robinson was a member of the original faculty of the Kansas State University, and for thirty years was the Latin professor. A man of learning, honor and conscience.
416. Election of 1895 .- The Legislature of 1895 was Republican on joint ballot, and elected Lneien Baker, of Leavenworth, United States Senator, as the successor of John Martin in the "Lane line," as distinguished from the "Pomeroy line" of senatorial succession. Joseph K. Hud- son was elected State Printer.
417. Legislative Acts. - The Legislature did not indulge in novel or excessive measures. The principal acts were the establishment of appellate courts to relieve the pressure of business on the Supreme Court; the pro- viding for an irrigation commission consisting of the President of the State Agricultural College, the State Geo- logist, and three appointees; the making of an appropria- tion of $30,000 for experiments in irrigation, the State entering the business of irrigation in accordance with the Act of the Legislature. In June the State irrigation plant at Goodland was given a public trial. The thirteenth and last of the State plants was located at Dodge City on the 3d of July. The season in which these plants were
244
HISTORY OF KANSAS.
located was marked by heavy rains throughout the State, accompanied by washouts, and excessive thunder and light- ning.
The Legislature abolished the office of State Veterinarian, but established the office of State Accountant. $3,000 was appropriated to buy coal for destitute settlers in the western portion of the State. The Legislature failed to divide the State into eight Congressional districts; in other words, failed to make a Congressional apportionment.
A concurrent resolution was adopted, asking that the statue of John Brown be placed, as representing Kansas, in the Statuary Hall of the Capitol, at Washington.
418. Educational Interests. - The Kansas State Uni- versity graduated a class of 130. Washburn College cele- brated its thirtieth anniversary. The Wesleyan University, at Salina, secured the library of the late Colonel William A. Phillips. Fifty-seven graduates formed the class at the Agricultural College.
419. Issues Before the People .- The year 1896 was devoted in Kansas, as in the other States of the Union, to politi- cal discussion and action. The national conventions of the great political parties met, framed their platforms, and an- nounced their candidates. The questions before the people being largely financial; the "gold standard" as opposed to "free silver," and "free trade" as against "protection," there was endless opportunity for discussion. In Kansas, the canvass, one of the most thorough and earnest ever made in the history of the State, was conducted principally by "home talent."
420. Result of Election .- The political combinations during the summer resulted in the fusion of the Democratic
245
THE STORY OF 1895-96.
and People's parties, and Kansas cast her electoral vote for Bryan and Sewall, and the following Populist State and Congressional tickets were triumphant:
John W. Leedy, Governor; A. M. Harvey, Lieutenant- Governor; W. E. Bush, Secretary of State; D. H. Heffle- bower, Treasurer; L. C. Boyle, Attor- ney-General; W. H. Morris, Auditor; Frank Doster, Chief Justice; William Stryker, Superintendent of Public In- struction; Congressman-at-Large, Rev. J. D. Botkin.
The Congressmen elected were: First Distriet, Case Broderick, and Fourth, Charles Curtis, Republicans; Second, Mason S. Peters; Third, E. R. Ridgely; Governor John W. Leedy. Fifth, W. D. Vincent; Seventh, Jerry Simpson, Populists; Sixth, N. B. McCormick, Democratic.
The Bryan electors received 171,810 votes; MeKinley, 159,541; Palmer, 1,209; Levering, 1,921; the vote for Governor stood, Leedy, Democrat-Populist, 168,041; Morrill, Republican, 160,530; Hurley, Prohibition, 2,347; Kepford, Independent-Prohibition, 703; Douthard, National Prohibi- tion, 752.
421. Natural Gas at Iola .- In the matter of resources the chief development in Kansas was in the line of natural gas; the Iola gas field coming into line with the Neodesha oil field. Natural gas was first discovered at Iola in boring for coal to a great depth in 1871. Fifteen years later came the discovery of the gas fields of Indiana and Ohio, and the grand results which these States achieved in building up manufacturing centers, proved the incentive by which the
246
HISTORY OF KANSAS.
people of Iola were induced to make efforts to test the prospects shown in the "Acers well."
Near the end of 1895, the first great natural gas well was opened. The gas rushed upward with a roar as if a hun- dred locomotives were letting off steam at once. The gas territory has since developed over an area of some eighty square miles. Great flows have been struck at LaHarpe and Gas City. Twenty-nine wells have been drilled which furnish fuel for zinc smelters, many manufactories, and fuel and light for the city of Iola.
When Thomas Watson, the middle-of-the-road Populist candidate for Vice-President, visited Iola in September, 1896, ten million cubic feet of gas were consumed in honor of the event.
422. Severe Storms .- The State was visited by severe cyclones, costing several lives. The most fatal in their effect were those at Clifton in April, and Seneca in May. The month of May again seemed the month most subject to these storms.
423. George T. Anthony .- George T. Anthony died at Topeka, on the night of August 5, 1896. He was born in Fulton county, N. Y., in 1824, belonging to a family famous in the history of political and social progress. He came to Kansas after the close of the Civil War, in which he served as a captain of artillery. It was in Kansas that he entered upon a public career. He is said to have made his first publie speech after he was forty years old. In Kansas he was almost continuously entrusted with official responsi- bilities. He was United States Collector, President of the State Board of Agriculture, in which capacity he contributed to the success of the State at the Centennial Exhibition at
247
THE STORY OF 1895-96.
Philadelphia, and in connection with George A. Crawford and Alfred Gray, compiled the third annual report of that Board, said by competent authority at the time, to be the finest agricultural report ever published in the world. He was elected Governor of Kansas in 1876, serving in 1877-79. He was afterwards Railroad Commissioner, and at the time of his death was State Insurance Commissioner. His funeral occurred in the State Senate Chamber at Topeka. He lived seventy-two years.
SUMMARY.
1. Kansas stands for prohibition.
2. John L. Waller was released from a French prison by the efforts of his fellow citizens of Kansas.
3. On May 30th a monument was unveiled at Topeka, in memory of the men of the Second Kansas militia, who were killed at the battle of the Blue.
4. Judge Thacher and Professor Robinson died in Lawrence.
5. Lucien Baker was elected United States Senator in 1895.
6. Among the Legislative acts were the establishment of an Appellate Court, a commission on irrigation, with an appropriation of $30,000 for experiments; aid to Western settlers; resolution to place statue of John Brown in Capi- tol at Washington.
7. The year 1896, a presidential year, was largely given up to politics.
8. Kansas cast her electoral vote for Bryan and Sewall. John W. Leedy was elected Governor, and Rev. J. D. Botkin, Congressman-at-Large.
9. George T. Anthony, ex-Governor, died at the age of 72 years, at Topeka, August 5, 1896.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE YEARS 1897 AND 1898.
424. Legislative Session .- The Legislative session of 1897 lasted sixty-seven days, being the longest on record in Kansas.
January 26th, the joint session of the Legislature elected Honorable Wm. A. Harris United States Senator. Mr. Harris had previously served in the House of Representa- tives. J. S. Parks was elected State Printer.
The Legislature repealed the Act which established the State Board of Irrigation, and consolidated the duties assigned it to an officer styled the Commissioner of Irriga- tion and Forestry.
425. Accomplishments of Board of Irrigation. - The Board, during its existence of two years, instituted an extensive series of experiments, mostly in the western por- tion of the State, boring thirteen wells to different depths, and testing various pumps and motive powers. The wells were sunk at likely and unlikely places to find water, in the low grounds and on the high plateaus, and in the sand hills. One result of the operations conducted under the patronage of the State was to encourage the efforts of private parties. In the county of Sherman 150 reservoirs for irrigating purposes were constructed in the year 1895. Both northwestern and southwestern Kansas were included in the State's experiments, and a great stimulus was given the cause of irrigation in those sections.
248
249
THE YEARS 1897 AND 1898.
426. First Successful Irrigator .- In histories of irri- gation in Kansas the credit of being the first successful irrigator is usually accorded a settler named George Allman, who, in 1873, near Fort Wallace, constructed a ditch about a mile long, taking water from the Smoky Hill river. He succeeded in raising garden vegetables in plenty, which he sold at Fort Wallace. Since his time there have been thousands of irrigating plants established by indi- viduals, corporations and the State. The Arkansas has been the stream most drawn upon for water, and the town of Garden City, which derived its name from the irrigation gardens early established in its neighborhood, has become the center of the largest and most compact body of irri- gated country. Kansas possesses an irrigation law modeled on that of Colorado. The appearance and even the climate of Kansas it is believed is to be greatly changed by irrigation.
The search for an underground supply of water for domestic and irrigating purposes has resulted in the dis- covery in central Kansas of what seems a subterranean river, with a slow but defined flow in a certain direction, and apparently exhaustless in quantity.
427. Agricultural Reports .- The carefully collated and very conservative statistics collected by the Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, showed that the farm products of Kansas for the years 1897-98 amounted in value to $288,259,056; which was a gain of $43,506,301, or nearly eighteen per cent over the preceding biennial period. The reports show an increase in the value of farm products in Kansas for every biennial period from 1877-78 forward, except for 1885-86, and 1893-94. In
250
HISTORY OF KANSAS.
other words there were four unproductive years in twenty- one.
428. Wheat Production .- With 1897 came increased signs of prosperity, following a period of depression. It was estimated that Kansas raised, in 1897, enough wheat for every man, woman and child in the State; to provide seed for the coming year, and feed all of New England, New York and Pennsylvania for twelve months.
429. Kansas Oil .- In April, 1897, a great oil refinery was building at Neodesha, and eighty-seven wells produced daily an average of four barrels of oil each. The stock of oil accumulated at Neodesha before the opening of the new refinery amounted to over 300,000 barrels. In July, oil was piped from Neodesha to Chanute. Kansas began to buy, in quantity, Kansas oil. In 1897, Iola, Coffeyville, Independence, Cherryvale, Paola, Neodesha, Osawatomie, Kansas City, Kan., and Chanute were noted as producers of natural gas.
Kansas was rated as the eighth State in the Union in the number of men employed in coal mining. The salt pro- ducing capacity at Hutchinson was increased to over 1,650,000 barrels per annum.
430. Reduction of Indebtedness .- There were evi- dencesthis year of the diminution of the enormousload of debt, which Kansas had accumulated in the boom days. Early in the year ten counties were reported as without indebtedness. Estimates based on reports from registers of deeds in thirty- eight counties indicated that the mortgage indebtedness of the State was reduced in seven years over $100,000,000.
431. Necrology of 1897 .- The neerology of the year included Mrs. Clotilda Hilton Greer, widow of Samuel W.
251
THE YEARS 1897 AND 1898.
Greer, second Territorial Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion, and an early settler of Doniphan and Cowley counties. Sol Miller, the veteran editor of the Kansas Chief, at Troy, oldest in length of service, and best known of Kansas editors. Judge N. C. McFarland, of Topeka, at one time Commissioner of the General Land Office, and in that office the friend of the homestead settler. Harrison Kelley, a former Congressman and member of the Legislature. Lewis Hanback, a veteran of the war for the Union, repre- sentative of Kansas in Congress, and a prominent figure in the Grand Army of the Republic. Major J. B. Abbott, a pioneer Free State settler, who figured in the rescue of Branson, the rescue of the Doys, and most of the stirring events of the days of the "border troubles." Mrs. Mary Ward, who came to Kansas long before it ceased to be the Indian Territory, and was the first white woman settler in what is now Shawnee county. Captain William J. Clark, who died at Hobart, Delaware county, New York, was the last survivor of John Brown's men. As a boy of nineteen he took part in John Brown's last raid. On the 3d of August State Senator Daniel McTaggart was murdered at Inde- pendence. He was known for his services in the State Legislature, and as the most extensive cultivator of cotton in Kansas.
432. Sons of the Revolution .- In February, 1897, was organized the first Kansas chapter of the Sons of the Revo- lution. The patriotic societies having an historical origin find a fertile soil in Kansas. The population is largely American, and a great number of families trace to a Revolu- tionary, and even Colonial, ancestry. The "sword of Bun- ker Hill" has been carefully handed down in Kansas.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.