USA > Kansas > Barton County > Biographical History of Barton County, Kansas > Part 34
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In May, 1871, within two days after our arrival at Ft. Zarah, Dr. John Prescott, W. W. Weymouth, Wm. Finn, Captain Griffin and myself, organized the Zarah Town Company. Dr. John Prescott was elected president, D. N. Heizer secretary and W. W. Weymouth treas- urer. We were all directors. We at once proceeded to select a location for our town and decided on the west fractional half of section 26, township 19, range 13. William Finn, who had a transit and surveyor's chain with him, directed the survey and we staked out a street running north and south, as I
remember, for about two blocks, a row of blocks on either side of the street. This was not intended to be a complete survey, but only such a survey as would enable us to make filing on this land under the Townsite- Preemption Act, as in force at that time. Mr. W. W. Weymouth and Dr. John Prescott were supposed to be the heavy capitalists in this enterprise and the next day after the sur- vey were taken by me to Ellsworth where they took train for their respective homes. Mr. Weymouth to Springfield, Ohio, and Dr. Prescott to Meridan, Miss., both with the avowed determination of arranging their bus- iness as speedily as possible, to return with their families for settlement and to develop the new town.
As mentioned before, they were to furnish the capital and Finn and I, especially, were expected to do the heavy hustling. Dr. Pres- cott was a man of culture and of wonderful energy and had had much experience in fron- tier life in Northern Iowa in the Ockebogee Lake county, when the Sioux were making their last stand in that portion of Iowa. Mr. Weymouth was a cattle dealer of Springfield, Ohio. He was a man of means; Protestant Irish blood; of fine appearance; a good talker, goood natured and jolly; thoroughly compan- ionable and always ready with his Irish wit and blarney. Wm. Finn was a young man of about 28; lived at the then starting town of Sedgwick, where he joined us to make the trip to Ft. Zarah. He was a quiet young man of good education, thoroughly good principle and a good all-round reliable young man. Cap- tain Griffin was also a young man less than 30, had been in the war and lost a leg; was a small man, but he possessed enough spirit and energy to fully make up for his size. He could cover as much territory with his one good and wooden leg, as many men with two good ones. He was full of dash and afraid of nothing, and when later in that season, the Indians brought him to bay in a buffalo wal- low in the Medicine Lodge country, seventy empty needle gun shells were found with his body, showing he had made a game defense.
These gentlemen, with myself, laid off the first town in Barton County-the town which was destined never to be a town-but no mat- ter, we had done what seemed to be a new Kansan's first and highest duty, i. e., to lay off a town. No man ever amounted to much in Kansas, unless somewhere at some time in his experience in the state, he laid out a town, or at least, helped to do so or got laid out by some town. Many prominent Kansans can point with pride to the latter experience.
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The representatives of the Great Bend Town Company appeared on the scene about the 1st of July, headed by Judge Mitchell of Quincy, Ill., who was a brother of Mrs. W. H. Odell. I returned from a trip on the 4th of July, 1871, the day they had taken their de- parture. They were apparently on a buffalo hunt, from what Finn related to me, and seemed to be having a good time. In charging a buffalo on the north side of the Bottoms from Ft. Zarah, Judge Mitchell had a horse killed, but escaped unhurt himself. Later, I believe in August, came Thomas Luther Mor- ris, as agent of the Great Bend Town Com- pany and at about this time came Geo. N. Moses, "Mose," as he was familiarly called among the plainsmen. "Mose" impressed me, and I shall never forget the time he came to my camp, then on the northwest quarter of section 22, township 19, range 13, on the Wal- nut. He rode up on a fourteen hand white Texas pony; he dismounted from a big high backed cowboy saddle with two cinches and wooden stirrups a foot wide. "Mose" and che saddle were larger than the broncho. He stood before me six feet high and straight as an In- dian arrow; he had on a weather worn cow- boy hat with a rattlesnake band, a navy blue woolen shirt, a pair of much worn buckskin pants with fringe down the seams, cowboy boots, a heavy belt of cartridges with two Navy 44's in its holsters, a five day growth of beard and about a three-ply coat of tan on his face. He reached out his hand and said, "How," like an Injun. As I took it and glanced him. over, I made up my mind at once that this was a man I would rather have with me than against me.
Lute Morris, on the other hand, had just come out of the band-box of civilization; he was a gentleman cf the Drawingroom type and had never had any experience roughing it and being a man rather of a delicate type physically, with more effeminate tastes, it was perfectly natural that he should make up with "Mose" at Salina and interest him in coming with him into the great and wild Arkansas Valley. It was just as natural for Lute to lean on such a nature as "Mose's" as is for "Mose," in his strength, to permit himself to be leaned upon; they became fast friends. It was through council with George Moses that I afterwards agreed to assure Lute Mor- ris and the Great Bend Town Company, that if they meant business and were ready to pro- ceed at once to improve their town site, (Sec. 28, Township 19, Range 13,) we would not be in the way with ours. We all then went in together to push the Great Bend enterprise along.
Lute Morris began at once to draw lumber from Ellsworthi to build the Great Bend Ho- tel, which I think was started early in Sep- tember. Henry Shaffer was brought from Quincy to suerintend the carpenter work and i think Henry Shridde came in this connection. E. L. Morphy also came at this time. The
Town Company, or the main men of it, made a trip in the early fall; Dr. Curtis, Judge Mitchell, Archie Williams, then attorney gen- eral of Kansas, and others. Morphy was a very interesting, bright little Frenchman; a good observer; had a keen sense of the ludl- crous; fond of fun at anyone's expense, but never cruel; was a fine singer, a natural born actor and mimic; a general all round com- panionable fellow and cultured gentleman. "Morf," as we called him, never missed any- thing and always entertained us with the lit- tle funny things he observed of any of us. It was rumored that the Great Bend Town Com- pany had brought a goodly supply of whisky along with them as they had learned that a colony of Prairie Dogs had long been squat- ters on their townsite and as rattlesnakes ¡were reported to live with the dogs, the whisky was brought lest the town company might, in an unguarded moment, be bitten on its Charter or By-Laws, or most anywhere, at any rate, they had the whiskey. It seems that everyone bragged to the different members of the Town Company of the integrity of wild life in the wooly west. Nobody ever thought of looking anything up, never had anything stolen and left everything right out in the open. The next morning the Great Bend Town Company had its Charter, By-Laws, Plats, Specifications, bocts and shoes, wear- ing apparel, bags and baggage all right, but they didnt have any whiskey. No one was drunk, faces not even red, but Morphy always said that the next morning when any member of the Town Company would undertake to en- gage Henry Shaffer in conversation, Henry would smack his lips, turn his liquid blue eyes toward heaven and exclaim that the "Kavincy down Gompany vos yust all right and would make a bigger down as anybody."
Henry Shridde was as nice a little gentle- man as ever came to the settlment, but with that fine tender feeling in his heart for old associations, which the Germans possess above all other people, Henry used to get homesick once in a while. Henry would say, "Down at Kavincy on a Sunday morning, ve used to go down by the Mississippi river, und de boat vould take us by de river out, and we vould land by de grass out mit de drees, und der sun a shining, und der boids a singing in de drees, und we'd ave some music und some beers. Oh, dat Kavincy vas a burty blace," and the tears would fill Henry's blue eyes.
Dr. Curtis was a very lofty, dignified man. He had brought with him a new dangerous looking butcher knife; he asked Morphy to conduct him to the Arkansas river; every now and then he would make a lofty sweeping stab into the soil with his butcher knife and getting some of the said soil on the knife, he would pose with lofty demeanor as he gazed at it. Af- ter a long surgical stare at the sample of soil, he would cast a deliberate sweeping glance around over miles of the beautiful valley and with unction, exclaim, "Morphy, the resources
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OF BARTON COUNTY, KANSAS
of this country are vast, vast." They came to the river bank; the river was dry. Morphy proposed they should cross. "Dr." said Mor- phy, "Can this river be crossed?" (Yes.) . "Are there any quicksands in this river?" (No) "Can it be safely crossed on horseback?" "Yes) "On foot?" (Yes) "Is there no danger?" (No) "All right, go ahead." and all the way across he would follow Morphy, carefully stepping in his tracks.
Morphy used to entertain us by the hour after the Town Company had gone, mimicking
the first of March, 1872, when the officials of the Great Bend Town Company came out from Quincy and made a deal with the Arkansas Valley Town Company (The A. T. & S. F. R. R.,) to combine their interests and push the town of Great Bend, and it was agreed to put in section 28, township 19, range 13, which the Great Bend Town Company had secured, and section 33, town 19, range 13 which the rail- road company owned as the townsite. This be- gan to look like business and gave the set- tlers west of the Walnut, an additional inter-
D. N. Heizer
the peculiarities of different members.
The Great Bend Hotel was completed in the early winter and Col. Tom Stone came from Missouri and took possession as land- lord, also brought with him a stock of goods. Col. Tom was a genial, hospitable landlord and all the settlers liked him.
The Great Bend Hotel began to be the cen- ter of interest for the settlers up the Walnut Valley but a decisive event occurred about
est in the town nearest to them.
About the same time, in the summer of 1871, July 1st, when the Great Bend Town Company began to act, a town company was formed at Ellsworth, Kansas, by Titus J. Buck- by, John Light & Bros., Perry Hodgden, Judge Miller and others, called the Zarah Town Com- pany, and located on the fractional part of section 30, town 19, range 12, lying just out- side of the southeastern part of Ft. Zarah
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Reservation. Tite Buckby built a store and had it stocked and in operation in the carly fall of 1871. Dave Greaver built a saloon and restaurant, and Dick Strew and his wife moved down from Plum Creek and built a hotel in the early winter of 1871. Tite Buckby was a bright, business-like young man and he and his wife, Mrs. Nettie Buckby (nee Light), were very amiable and popular among the set- tlers, and really carried with their personal popularity, a very kindly feeling for the town of Zarah. In the early spring, each side began to show jealously and watch each other.
Captain Elllinwood, the chief engineer of the Santa Fe R. R., made his camp during the spring while at work on the survey near Zarah and it was said, Tite was entertaining the captain just as though he were the whole railroad company. It was even hinted that Tite had imported a two gallon keg of the best rye whisky in the State of Kentucky, and was every day putting a little of it in the captain's canteen to kill the alkali, and up to the first
with the foregoing announcement, gave to the settlers new confidence in the town of Great Bend.
On the evening of March 14th, I was invited, to spend the evening with Col. Stone's family at the Great Bend Hotel, for a social sing. Late in the evening, Lute Morris and W. H. Odell called me out into the bar room and showed be a petition they had drawn up for the organization of the county and the ap- pointment of county commissioners and coun- ty clerk. It had my name on for commissioner and I tried in vain to have them change it for another but they asked me how I liked the re- mainder of the ticket. After changing one, we laid our plans for organization and then being warned that it was very late in the night, we all went to bed, I staying at the hotel. On March 15th and 16th we circulated the peti- tion, got it signed and the papers all made out. We had the people with us and not a man refused to sign the petition. Of course, as it was intended to be a quiet move, we did not
1
Residence Built by D. N. Heizer in Great Bend Which Later Became the Nucleus of the St. Rose Hospital
week in March all feared that it was doing its deadly work as we could see plainly that Cap- tain Ellinwood was very friendly to Zarah and its proprietor. We did not know any more about town building than Tite did and sup- posed the chief engineer might be the whole "push." There was Tite's mistake; he depend- ed upon his hospitabe entertainment of the engineer corps too much, instead of going to headquarters. Archie Williams, who was in- terested in the Great Bend Town Company, knew a thing or two and I have always given him the credit for bringing about the deal be- tween the Quincy people and the railroad com- pany.
The first week in March, 1872, the officials of the Great Bend Town Company came on the ground and started a complete survey of section 28, town 19, range 13, with the an- nouncement that they had formed a combina- tion with the railroad company. They em- ployed E. B. Cowgill as surveyor and proceed- ed at once to business, and this fact coupled
present it to anyone for signature we had any doubt about being in full sympathy with Great Bend for the county seat.
On March 18th, Lute Morris went to To- peka to present the papers in person to Gov. James Harvey, who was the governor of Kan- sas and whose duty it was to act upon the pe- tition. In about two days he returned post- haste, having found on his arrival at Topeka, that a new law had been made by the legisla- ture during the winter, providing that a cen- sus taker should be appointed in organizing a new county and that it should be his duty to find six hundred inhabitants therein before the governor could name temporary county offi- cers and county seat. This new law had just been published and gone into effect, and he at once returned to make a new start before the Zarahites should get ahead of us. He came after me in the evening at my dugout on Wal- nut creek; we went over to the Great Bend Hotel and got the petition ready and conclud- ed that we would have the papers ready for
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OF BARTON COUNTY, KANSAS
him to take the train at Ellsworth the next evening at six o'clock, as we learned the Zarah people were making a move. I rode all that night to get the requisite number of signatures and by ncon of the next day, the petition was ready to go. Lute took it and drove to Ells- worth, a distance of fifty miles, in six hours, and caught the train. This was on March 21, 1872, for I was appointed census taker in and for Barton county, on the following day. On March 29th, I went over to Great Bend and "there learned our petition had reached the governor first and E. L. Morphy and I secur- ed a buggy and drove to Zarah and found my commission from James M. Harvey, as census taker. with instructions to proceed at once to enumerate the inhabitants of Barton County. We now had victory in our grasp if we could but find the six hundred inhabitants. Fortun- ately, we had a hotel register and grading
three dollar setting of Black Cochin eggs and then deliberately gone to sleep right in the middle of my sole and only bed. After sur- veying this sublimity of nerve, I noticed on my buffalo settee, a pair of trousers, then I was aroused to self again and with the point of a Navy 44, I punched this intruder and to my great surprise, it proved to be Tom Mc- Caughan, my future brother-in-law, who aft- erward went with me and helped in my cen- sus work and who also became a great fav- orite with the buffalo hunters as he was afraid of nothing; always genial and pleasant, a good cook, good story teller and all round good fellow. The Indians always called him "Man-Squaw" because of his clean, rosy face and long curly hair. Had Tom staid on the plains, he would have made a character for a book of adventures as he was always falling into the most thrilling experiences.
Last Sod House in Barton County. North of Pawnee Rock
camps were being established every day to do grading work on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad and the prairie schooners of the homesteaders were all coming to our as- sistance, six hundred strong.
On Saturday, March 30, I began taking the the census. In the evening I came home to my dugout about ten o'clock and found a light in the window. I peeped in very cautiously and somebody was in my bed, and it looked like a rosy cheeked, curly headed girl, who was sleeping very peacefully in the only bed on the plantation; here was a fine kettle of fish- what right could this intruding young lady have for absolutely taking possession of the only home I had on earth? There were dying embers in the fireplace and egg shells scatter- ed over the hearth. She had made herself comfortable with fire from my Sunday wood and- appeased her prairie appetite with a
Monday morning, April 1st, Tom and I started out on census business, went to Great Bend and found some men who wanted to go six miles west to find their land and locate building places. We went and showed them their lines and then went to Pawnee Rock and enumerated the Kentcuky colony. This was a colony of young men, brought out under the leadership of Geo. M. Jackson, Hon. E. W. Hoch and brother, of Marion, Kansas, who were members of this colony. They had al- ready put up a frame house on the townsite of Pawnee Rock and Geo. Jackson, in his earnest, assuring manner, announced that Pawnee Rock was going to make a great place, for "Don't you see," he said, "it is ge- ographically situated and historically known." They were a bright, enterprising lot of young men and it would be interesting to know where they all are now. After partaking of a camp
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
meal with them, we went north to Walnut creek to section 10, northwest quarter town- ship 18, range 14, where we stayed all night with Levi H. Lusk, who had built a nice little frame house. Next morning, April 2nd, we went up the creek to the county line, enumer- ating all as we went; where we took dinner with another tribe of bachelors. We came back down the creek a few miles to section 26, township 18, range 15, where we staid all night at Bill Atchison's camp with another tribe of Bachelors. Bill had located there with forty Texas cow boys whom he was try- ing to domesticate. He had laid aside his religion, temporarily, during the domesticat- ing process. Bill was an exception of a cat-
iness man in Denver, Colorado. On section 10, Henry Schultz and his family; John Rein- ecke and family and Bill Bahler. On section 14, Robert Gibson.
Most all of the early settlers were young, married men and old bachelors. When a new caravan would come in, these single-blessed creatures would almost ask in chorus, "Have they any gals?" Fortunate was the home- steader who had a "gal" in the family. He could command the best we all had of every- thing.
The following offices were held by D. N. Heizer while he was a resident of Barton County :
I
tagrania for
THE IRRIGATION ERA?
Denver
One of Great Bend's Volunteer Fire Companies
tle man. You could get milk at his camp; he would have it and he would lasso a Texas cow and get it.
Milk was a part of his hospitality and that made Bill's camp famous in the valley. The rule in cattle camps was, the more cat- tle they had the scarcer were milk and butter. Bill made no pretentions to either, but you could always get a good drink of milk. In this camp were Chas. Worden, Henry Kellar. Mr. Brining, Mr. Albright and Charlie Rou- debush. Lower down in the edge of section 18-14, were Nate Field and Geo. Berry. Still farther down were some German families. On section 3 was Mr. Mecklin and his son and Antone Wilke, who is now a prosperous bus-
First notary public commissioned in the county. Commission dates January 9, 1872, issued to D. N. Heizer and signed by James M. Harvey, governor and W. N. Smallwood, secretary of state.
Appointed as census taker of Barton Coun- ty to take census for organization of county, March 22, 1872, by Gov. James M. Harvey.
Elected July 5th, 1872 to office of probate judge of Barton County.
Elected November 5th, 1872 to office of register of deeds of Barton County.
Rail road assessor of 4th judicial district, composed of the counties of Barton, Ells- worth, Ellis, Lincoln, McPherson, Russell, Sa- line and Wallace. Commission signed by W.
OF BARTON COUNTY, KANSAS
261
N. Smallwood, secretary of state.
Appointed deputy county serveyor, July 13th, 1872, by John Favrow, county surveyor.
Appointed city treasurer of Great Bend, Kansas, July 14th, 1874, by Samuel Maher, mayor.
Elected November 2nd, 1880, to office of representative of the 120th district, Barton County.
Appointed April 2nd, 1881, Member repub- lican state central committee of Kansas, J. B. Johnson, chairman.
Appointed 27th of June, 1883, appraiser of Ft. Larned Reservation by secretary of inter- ior, U. S.
Elected 1886 to office of mayor of Great Bend, Kansas.
Residence of Ferdnand C. Maneth (See page 188)
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
Extracts From an Old Diary Kept by D. N. Heizer, 1871-72
Oct. 2, 1871-Went out to see the Pawnee Indians and traveled all day on the trail with them. Bought one pony and had a merry time with the Indians. Stayed all night at Landon's Ranch on the Smoky River.
Nov. 14, 1871-Up in the morning early, traps together, we set sail with three yokes of bulls to a bull wagon, Henry Huffines prin- cipal "whacker." Company consisted of Char- lie Prescott, George N. Moses, (commonly called Mose,) Henry Huffines, Albert B. Rob- inson (Bob) and D. N. Heizer. After a drive of a few miles with no excitement, we pitched our camp at what is known as the "12-Mile Timber" on the Arkansas. Here Charles, an unerring rifleman, shed the first blood for the
Lording it over them, who, from the brogue on his tongue and the limburger expression on his countenance was evidently of Teutonic origin. His wagon was freighted with flour, bacon, some farming and cooking utensils, a pig in a box,-these making his sole earthly possessions. Behind, with slow and meas -- ured pace, in keeping with the gait of the oxen, came his loving frou, bare-headed and bare- footed. They halted and after a few inquiries of me concerning the land of their destination, they kept on their way toward the Star of the Empire. This was the last I saw of the Teu- tonic Tinker and his gentle Frou for more than a week when I was again returning to Ellsworth. Away out on the wild prairie, out
Old Congregational Church, Great Bend
company by slaying a swan, a beautiful bird and we ate it. I committed the next murder, which, need not be told, it could be smelled.
Sunday, Oct. 29, 1871-Rev. D. J. Glenn, a Presbyterian minister, preached at J. H. Hub- bard's. He came last week with a large fam- ily and they are occupying my dugout tem- porarily. He was robbed of what little money he had on his way out. He lived at Meridian, Miss., several years, but being a Pennsylva- nian, the Ku Klux made it too uncomfortable for him in the south.
Was on my way to Ellsworth when in hills three miles out of Ellsworth I met a muley ox team. A short, fair haired man was
of sight of house, friends or anything, save buffalo or antelope, stood the tinker's muley team, and there too, stood the tinker. They had started across the Cheyenne Bottoms, the oxen had given out, and growing discouraged, had given a long look homeward and were now trying to urge the oxen in that direction. He told me his sorrowful story. There sat his frou, weeping and bitterly reproaching her lord for having brought her into that wild country and meekly he sat on his wagon tongue like longour on an hour glass, timing the duration of woe. I condoled and encour- aged them and to some purpose, as I put them on a plan to get back on the road and they finally landed safely in the valley and wook
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OF BARTON COUNTY, KANSAS
up a homestead on section 20-18-13. Soon af- ter their arrival, a son was born to them, the first white child born in the county. Nick was a bugler and the next morning after the ar- rival of the boy, there rang out through the valley, every bugle call known to the bugle and then some. He was the wildest Dutch- man in American.
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