USA > Kansas > Wabaunsee County > Early history of Wabaunsee County, Kansas, with stories of pioneer days and glimpses of our western border.. > Part 20
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PAIN
RESIDENCE OF MR. FRED DIERKING, Rock Creek Township.
RESIDENCE OF MR. AUG. MEINHARDT, Newbury Township.
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
1
GERMAN METHODIST CHURCH, Rock Creek.
Y
SCHOOL-HOUSE, District No. 66.
RESIDENCE OF MR. A. E. TRUE, Newbury.
20
ROYAL NEIGHBORS' FLOAT, Alma, Woodman Day, August 30, 1900.
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
MR. W. J. TOD'S RESIDENCE ON THE FOWLER RANCH, Maple Hill.
MAPLE HILL SCHOOL, 1902.
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
AN OLD LANDMARK. Where "Butter-Hanness" kept store in 1869.
THE " MILL " SCHOOL. District No. 59, near Paxico.
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
MAIN STREET, Alta Vista. Looking south from;Bnak.
WOODMAN HALL AND POST-OFFICE, Chalk.
RESIDENCE OF MR. OTTO WINKLER, Vera.
RESIDENCE OF MR. FRANK SCHMIDT, Alma.
SCHOOL-HOUSE, District No. 86.
·
MISSION POINT BAPTIST CHURCH, Plumb Township.
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
RESIDENCE OF MR. PETE HOLMAN, Alta Vista.
RESIDENCE OF MR. W. H. MELROSE, Eskridge.
SCHOOL-HOUSE, District No. 36, Keene.
SONS OF VETERANS HALL, Keene.
-
SCHOOL-HOUSE, District No. 7.
SCHOOL-HOUSE, District No. 44.
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
THE OLD AND THE NEW. Schoolhouses at Halifax.
THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH, ALMA. Before spire was built.
-
SCHOOLHOUSE, DISTRICT No. 30.
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
FRAME SCHOOL-HOUSE, Wabaunsee.
SCHOOL-HOUSE, Paxico.
SCHOOL-HOUSE, District No. 71.
SCHOOL-HOUSE, District No. 3.
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
WESLEYAN METHODIST COLLEGE, Eskridge.
--
EARL BROS'. STORE, Eskridge.
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
--
WAUSHARA M. E. CHURCH.
M. E. CHURCH AT HARVEYVILLE.
PAXICO LUMBER CO
OFFICE AND YARDS OF PAXICO LUMBER COMPANY.
201
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
Wabaunsee County Election Returns, 1901.
Kaw
Maple Hill.
Miller
McFarland ...
Paxico.
Wabaunsee .
Totals
Majority .. ..
List of County Officers.
With Name and Date of Election.
REPRESENTATIVE.
Amasa Bartlett
November 8, 1859
A. Sellers
November 4, 1873
Ernest Hohencek
December 6, 1859
S. A. Baldwin
3, 1874
Abner Allen
6. 1859
S. A. Baldwin
.
2,1875
E. J. Lines
6, 1859
E. N. Morehouse
7,1876
C. B. Lines
November 6, 1860
L. J. McCrumb
5,1878
J. B. Ingersoll.
5, 1861
L. J. McCrumb
2,1880
A C. Pierce
5,1861
L. Pauly
7, 1882°
T. F. Herzog
5, 1861
F. L. Raymond
5,1884
D. M. Johnston
4, 1862
Chas. Taylor
2, 1886
D. M. Johnston
3,1863
A. F. Wade
6, 1888
H. D. Shepard
..
8, 1861
John Rehrig
4, 1890
H. D. Shepard
7,1865
Joseph Treu
8, 1892
H. J. Loomis .
6, 1866
G. G. Cornell
6, 1894
Wm. Mitchell
5,1867
L. Palenske
3. 1896
Samuel R. Weed
6, 1868
W. M. Rinehart
1898
A. Sellers
5,1872
John Sudweeks
1900
COUNTY CLERK.
-
Geo. M. Harvey
.. March 28, 1859
T. N. Watts.
November 4, 1879
S. E. Beach
November 8, 1859 60
D. M. Gardner
8, 1881
H. M. Seldon.
5,1861
H. G. Licht.
6, 1883
H. M. Seldon*
3, 1863
G. W. French
3, 1885
S. H. Fairfield
7. 1865
G. W. Frencht.
8, 1887
S. R. Weed.
5. 1867
C. O. Kinne.
5,1889
J. M. Matheny
2,1869
C. O. Kinne
11, 1891
G. W. Watson
7, 1871
J. R. Henderson
7,1893
G W. Watson
4, 1873
J. R. Henderson
5. 1895
G. W. Watson
66
2,1875
B. Buchli, Jr
2, 1897
T. N. Watts
6,1877
B. Buchli, Jr
1899
CANDIDATES.
Commissioner, 3rd District.
Andrew Bell ..
137
45 176
17
18
135 73|
40
418
59
J. E. Romick.
7
77
359
*Died in office, S. A. Baldwin appointed July 3, 1865.
tDied in office, C. O. Kinne appointed December 15, 1888.
..
4 4
202
EARLY HISTORY OF WABA UNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
COUNTY TREASURER.
Henry Harvey
March 28, 1859
Chas. Ross
November 4, 1879
11. M. Seldon
. November 8, 1859
Chas. Ross
..
8, 1881
S. E. Beach
5, 1861
Joseph Fields
6, 1883
S. R. Weed
3, 1863
Joseph Fields
3, 1885
S. R. Weed
7, 1865
J. B. Fields.
8, 1887
S. 11. Falrfield
..
5, 1867
F. Stuewe .
5, 1889
S. JI. Fairfield
11
2, 1869
J. H. Michaelis.
3.1891
Chas. Ross
7,1871
J. H. Michaelis.
7,1893
Chas. Ross
4, 1873
J. M. Lee .
5,1895
Joseph Fields
2, 1875
J. M. Lee .
2, 1897
Joseph Fields
6, 1877
Jos. Lafontaine
1899
PROBATE JUDGE.
J. M. Hubbard
. March 28, 1859
J. T. Keagy
November 2, 1880
J. M. Hubbard
November 8, 1859
J. T. Keagy
7, 1882
G. G. Hall
4.1862
J. T. Keagy
5,1884
G. G. Hall
8, 1864
J. T, Keagy
2,1886
G. G. Hall
6, 1866
L. Richards
66
6,1888
G. G. Hall
..
8, 1870
L. T. Rice
8, 1892
G. G Hall
5, 1872
L. J. Woodard
6, 1894
G. G. Hall
3. 1874
L. J Woodard .
3,1896
G. G. Hall
7,1876
T. S. Spielman.
..
1898
G. G. Hall
5,1878
T. S. Spielman
1900
REGISTER OF DEEDS.
Moses C. Welch.
. March 28, 1859
S. H. Fairfield.
November 4, 1879
E. C. D. Lines
.November 8, 1859
S. H. Fairfield
8, 1881
S. R. Weed
5,1861
S. H. Fairfield
6, 1883
S. A. Baldwin
3,1863
J. C. Henderson
3, 1885
S. A. Baldwin.
7,1865
J. C. Henderson.
8,1887
S. R. Weed
5,1867
J. C. Henderson :
. .
5,1889
S. H. Fairfield
2,1869
W. B. Small
3, 1891
S. H. Fairfield
7,1871
W. B. Small.
7,1893
S. H. Fairfield
4,1873
Emma Little.
5,1895
S. H. Fairfield
2,1875
C. H. Thompson
..
2,1897
S. H. Fairfield
6, 1877
D. U. Millison
1899
SHERIFF.
Jehu Hodgson
. March 28, 1859
D. M. Gardner
November 4, 1879
Jehu Hodgson
November 8, 1859
5, 1861
H. J. Pippert.
6, 1883
S. B. Haryey
. .
8,1864
J. M. Russell
8,1887
J. II. Pinkerton
7,1865
S. E. Hull
5,1889
J. H. Pinkerton.
5,1867
H. J. Palenske
3,1891
E. Herrick
2, 1869
H. J. Palenske
7, 1893
E. Herrick
١٠
7,1871
Wm. Treu
5,1895
`~Hoskinson
4, 1873
Win. Treu.
2,1897
L ..
B. He *"kinson
2.1875
Fred J. Frey
1899
L. M. Gal rer
6. 1877
H. J. Pippert.
.1
8, 1881
Jehu Hodgson
3, 1863
J. M. Russell
3, 1885
Geo. W. Daily
..
3, 1868
L. T. Rice
4, 1890
G. G. Hall
203
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
COUNTY ATTORNEY.
R. G. Terry
. March 28, 1859
G. G. Cornell.
November 2. 1880
W. Odlin
November 8, 1859
G. G. Cornell ..
. .
7, 1882
A. H. Case (Dist. Atty)
5, 1861
W. A. Doolittle
5,1884
A. H. Case (Dist. Atty)
3, 1863
J. B. Barnes
2,1886
E. J Lines .
8, 1864
J. B. Barnes
6, 1888
N. H. Whittemore
6, 1866
J. H. Jones
4, 1890
N. H. Whittemore.
3, 1868
J. H. Jones
6 .
8, 1892
N. H. Whittemore*
8, 1870
J. B. Barnes
6, 1894
J. T. Keagy.
3, 1874
C. E. Carroll
1898
W. A. Doolittle
7.1876
F. A. Seaman
1900
W. A. Doolittle
5,1878
CLERK DISTRICT COURT.
E. C. D. Lines. December 6, 1859
H. G. Licht
November 5, 1878
J. V. B. Thompson.
November 5, 1861
H. G. Licht.
..
2, 1880
S. R. Weed .
4, 1862
H. G. Licht.
7.1882
S. R. Weed
8. 1864
'r. S. Spielman
5, 1884
S. R. Weed
6, 1866
T. S. Spielman
2,1886
S. R. Weed .
3, 1868
T. S. Spielman
6, 1888
R. G. Mossman
8,1870
H. B. Jones
4, 1890
R. G. Mossman ...
5, 1872
H. B. Jones.
8, 1892
W. A. Doolittle
4,1873
W. G. Weaver
6,1894
Percival Hawes
3, 1874
W. G. Weaver
3,1896
A. W. Gregory.
. 6
2, 1875
Wyatt Roush
1898
H. G. Licht
.6
7,1876
Wyatt Roush
1900
SURVEYOR.
G. Zwanziger
. March 28, 1859
W. T. Mahan
November 8, 1881
G. Zwanziger.
November 8, 1859
W. T. Mahan ..
6. 1853
G. Zwanziger
5,1861
W. D. Deans.
3, 1885
J. E. Evans.
3, 1863
W. D. Deans.
8, 1887
G. Zwanziger
7, 1865
W. D. Deans
5, 1889
S. R. Weed .
5,1867
B. Buchli. Sr.
3. 1891
J. M. Matheny
2, 1869
B. Buchli, Sr.
7,1893
G. Zwanziger
7, 1871
W. D. Deans
5, 1895
G. Zwanziger
4, 1873
J. H. Jonest
October 14, 1897
S. R. Weed ...
2, 1875
J. H. Jones
November 2, 1897
J. B. Easter
6, 1877
W. S. Whitlock
1899
W. T. Mahan.
4, 1879
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
J. E. Platt
March 28, 1859
W. E. Richey.
.November 7, 1876
J. H. Gould
November 8, 1859
Matt Thomson
5,1878
J. H. Gould.
6, 1860
Matt Thomson.
2,1880
J. H. Gould.
4, 1862 Matt Thomson.
7,1882
Isaiah Harris
7,1865
Matt Thomson.
5, 1884
Isaiah Harris
6, 1866
Matt Thomson.
2,1886
T. M. Allen.
..
2, 1869
Florence Dickinson
4, 1890
R. M. Tunnell ..
..
8, 1870
Geo. L. Clothier
8, 1892
W. F. Cotton.
7,1871
C. C. Carter
6, 1894
W. S. McCormick
5,1872
Dow Busenbark
3,1896
F. W. Kroenke
3,1874
Dow Busenbark
1898
W. E. Richey.
2, 1875
T. J Perry.
1900
..
. .
3,1868
W. W. Ramey
..
6, 1888
T. M. Allen ..
60
..
*Died in office, J. T. Keagy appointed.
+Mr. Deans died in office. Mr. Jones appointed.
..
5,1872
H. B. Jones ..
..
3,1896
J. T. Keagy.
..
..
..
..
66
. .
204
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
CORONER.
August Brasche.
March 28, 1859
E. W. Eldridge.
November 8, 1881
August Brasche
November 8, 1859
E. W. Weems
6. 1883
August Brasche
5. 1861
J. C. McElvain
5, 1884
August Brasche
3, 1863
C. J. Sawyer
3, 1885
August Brasche
7. 1865
E. W. Eldridge
2. 1886
August Brasche .
5, 1867
E. W. Eldridge
8, 1887
August Brasche ..
2, 1869
T. H. Hall
5, 1889
C. S. Montgomery
7,1871
T. H. Hall
3,1891
Henry Schmitz
4, 1873
H. R. Schmidt.
7, 1893
T. N. Watts
. .
2, 1875
G. C. Beals
5,1895
J. P. Brown
6, 1877
HI. R. Schmidt ..
2, 1897
J. P. Brown
4, 1879
H. F. Palenske
1899
ASSESSOR.
H. M. Seldon
March 31, 1860
Geo. M. Harvey
. November 7, 1865
H. J. Loomis.
. November 6, 1860
John Herriott
5, 1867
D. L. Bates.
.. 5,1861
E. Herrick
3. 1868
Wm. Kreig.
3,1863
COUNTY COMMISSIONER.
(Henry Harvey, J. M. Hubbard and G. Zwanziger appointed by Governor.)
James W. Blain
. March 6, 1860
W. E. Little
November 2, 1875
James B. Ingersoll.
6, 1860
J. R. Gross
2,1875
G. Zwanziger
6, 1860
Lorenz Pauly
6' 1877
Wm. Mitchell
November 6, 1860
Geo. W. French
6. 1877
F. X. Hebrank
6, 1860
Wm. Mitchell.
6, 1877
J. B. Ingersoll
6, 1860
L. Pauly.
5,1878
Wm. Mitchell
5,1861
F. X. Hebrank.
5. 1861
J. B. Ingersoll
5, 1861
B. H. Younker
8,1881
E. R. McCurdy.
3,1863
J. W. Core.
7, 1882
Joseph Treu
3. 1863
A. E. True .
..
6, 1883
H. D. Shepard
3,1863
A. F. Wade.
3,1885
Wm. Mitchell.
7. 1865
G. W. Greenwood
2,1886
Henry Schmitz
7. 1865
Joseph Treu .
8,1887
W. D. Ewing
..
5,1867
Ed Worsley
5,1889
H. M. Sanford
5, 1867
Joseph Treu .
4, 1890
Morris Walton
5,1867
Eli Walton.
3, 1891
John Copp.
2, 1869
Moritz Hund.
8, 1892
Enoch Platt
2, 1869
P. F. Johnson
7, 1893
C. N. Earl
6, 1894
Joseph Thoes
7,1871
Robert Strowig
5,1895
Allen Hodgson
7,1871
Joseph M. Eck
3,1896
Allen Phillips.
7, 1871
C. N. Earl .
2,1897
Joseph Thoes
4, 1873
Robert Strowig.
1898
J. W. Crandall.
..
4. 1873
L. T. Rice
1899
A. E. True
4, 1873
Wm. Pringle
1900
J. R. Fix
2, 1875
Andrew Bell
1901
1
F. L. Raymond
2, 1880
Geo. Mogge
8, 1881
Eli Walton.
6, 1888
Henry Schmitz.
..
7, 1865
. .
Allen Hodgson.
2, 1869
4 6
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
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48. 121/ min
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THE OVERLAND MAIL TO SANTA FE. The station at Elm Creek, nine miles west of Wilmington, in 1859. See page 205.
205
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
The Old Santa Fe Trail.
At the old mail station at Elm creek, just over the line in Brecken- ridge (now Lyon Co.) we first became initiated into the mysteries of plainscraft.
It was here that was born the desire to know more of the bound- less West-to see with our own eyes the land of the Aztec.
Through the influence of an uncle, Mr. Ben. Thomson, of Inde- pendence, Mo., my father was appointed agent of the Overland Mail Company (carrying the U. S. mail from Independence, Mo. to Santa Fe, New Mexico).
My father entered upon his duties March 1, 1859, and for three years we lived at the old station, building the frame house seen in the illustration in 1859. The old log buildings were constructed several years before by former agents of the mail company.
In the Southeast corner of Richardson county (now Wabannsee) the military road from Fort Leavenworth formed a junction with the greatest and most extensively traveled thoroughfare on the American continent.
For three quarters of a century the people of more than a hundred flourishing towns in the valley of the Rio Grande and old Mexico had received their supplies in wagons drawn by mules and oxen over the historic Santa Fe trail.
From small ventures the traffic increased until goods to the value of two millions of dollars were annually purchased from the merchants of Kansas City, Independence, Lexington and Boonville (Old Franklin).
This meant the employment of an army of men and the purchase of thousands of oxen and mules, with hundreds of wagons to meet the constantly increasing demands of the trade between the people of the States and those of New Mexico.
Having crossed the plains half a score of times during the sixties and having been a quasi resident of. the territories for nearly three years during that period our knowledge of the then existing conditions is based upon actual experience among the participants in the stirring scenes of a most eventful period in our country's history.
Our stay at the old mail station we regard as the most pleasurable of our existence. For three years we unthoughtedly reveled in an
206
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSER COUNTY, KAN.
atmosphere of romantic incident. With boyish eagerness we listened to tales of frontier life-to the stories told by plainsmen, army officers, soldiers in the ranks, and employes of the mail company-each and every one of whom had courted danger from every standpoint.
While among the relators there were some poltroons there were many heroes-heroes without dreaming of it. There was no bragga- docio in manner or speech. The greatest difficulty lay in eliciting facts from unwilling tongues : only the mock hero is prone to lavish and extravagant recitals of tales of personal prowess that have an exis- tence only in the relator's vivid imagery.
But few other than those who know the facts can realize the immense volume of trade that passed over the trail through Wabaun- see county to Santa Fe prior to the advent of the iron horse.
For days the rumble of the heavily laden wagons, the cracking of whips, and the noise incident to a constant passing of trains made a. din indescribable and almost incessant. During the summer season hundreds of wagons passed daily on their way to Santa Fe. During the Pike's Peak excitement in '59 as many as 300 vehicles of all descriptions would go into camp near the old mail station at the Elm creek crossing. In this motley crowd would be from 500 to 1,000 men -but few women-of a dozen nationalities. Usually Americans pre- dominated but our Mexican neighbors came in for a close second.
Fully one-half of the overland traffic was carried on by Mexican freighters-in wagons drawn by mules or oxen-about equally divided.
Around the nightly campfires could be heard songs of mirth, tales of adventure, and recitals that would almost congeal the blood in one's veins. Possibly exaggeration was purposely engrafted for the editica- tion-or discomfiture-of the tenderfoot.
That in the youthful listener the desire was enkindled to know more of the great plains, the historic ground and the quaint people beyond was but natural. As with the New England boy the stories of people beyond the seas begot a longing to cross the ocean so with the youth living on the margin of the Great American Desert-whether on the prairies of Kansas or the borders of Missouri-there was early instilled in his veins an unquenchable longing to cross the plains.
He would view with his own eyes the halls of the Montezumas. The weird and gruesome tales of the deadly trail across the "Jornada"* incited no fears in the boy who would brave every danger to do as many boys had done before him.
*This refers to the dry route between the Cimarron crossing of the Arkansas and the Cimarron (Lost) river. The distance trains were compelled to travel without water varied from 50 to 90 miles and dur- ing a dry time there was no water for man or beast. except that carried in kegs from the tepid waters of the Arkansas or the brackish liquid oozing through the sands of the Cimarron. Sometimes whole trains would perish and the bones lay bleaching on the Plains. For this reason this part of the trail was called "Jornada del Muerto"-"The journey of the Dead."
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN. 207
He would see the "Big Timbers," but in the scattering cotton- woods of the Upper Arkansas there was naught but disappointment. "Old Fort Atkinson" dwindled into insignificance as the few rods of dilapidated stone and adobe walls loomed into view. "Raton Pass," "Apache Hill" and the "Turkey Mountains" divested of the romance clinging to their names become commonplace, and even Historic Santa Fe, Old Baldy Mountain and the turbulent Rio Grande are not worth the candle as compared with the pleasant memories clustered about the home fireside and the old log cabin of the early pioneers.
But lack of water wasn't the only unpleasant feature of a journey over the old trail. The Indians were a constant source of anxiety if not of vexation and trouble. Wagon-masters in charge of trains, no matter how large the outfit were given opportunities to disgorge. It was a case of put up or lose a "whoa-haw." The custom was to put up a sufficient amount of bacon, flour, sugar and coffee for a feast-the amount depending on the hostile attitude of the begging Indians, their numbers, or estimated ability to enforce their demands.
The leader of every band of Indians, large or small, went armed with his begging-paper. It was just as essential as any other part of a warrior's equipment-not so war-like, but equally effective in replenishing the empty larder as the rifle and lance, or bow and arrow. But all this is changed-by that modern cizilizer, the railroad. The moderń school-house with its patent seats stands where stood the Indian Tepee. Forty years ago (1862) the writer in search of Indian curios wandered down the banks of the Pawnee (near Larned) and found more than he was looking for. He found himself ushered into the presence of Satank ;* was asked to dine, and-well, he didn't refuse. But as Mr. Satank will hardly see these lines and no apology be demanded, we will take the liberty of saying that the coffee was too strong, the plum stew too sour, and the buffalo soup was altogether too fresh. The horn spoons and mussel shell ladles were interesting as curiosities but "by the great horn spoon" our appetite did not crave soup without salt conveyed to the mouth in a mussel shell. But we never grumbled at the fare. Just two years before Satank had settled his score with Peacock at the mouth of the Walnut. Possibly our knowledge of this fact caused us to partake of the fare set before us with a seeming relish. As we were about starting on our return trip to camp we were somewhat startled by a blast from Satank's bugle (any person passing over the Santa Fe trail from '60 to '65 will remem- ber Satank and his bugle). The blast brought into his presence a young Indian mounted on a beautiful pony and leading Satank's war- horse. The old chief was going to our camp but he had no idea of
*His begging paper gave us the first intimation as to his name.
208
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
walking, nor of permitting ourself to enjoy this much preferred privi- lege. We rode-at Satank's invitation. It may be that our ready acquiescence in complying with the old chief's every request was due to some hypnotic influence, for which we were then unable to account. But at this, the eleventh hour, we mingle our thanks with congratu- lations. The thanks are for Satank and the congratulations for our- self-that we are here to chronicle this long deferred account of our first banquet with the wiliest of Kiowas in his tepee on the banks of the Arkansas.
During the summer of 1867 the combined tribes of the plains dis-' puted the passing of all trains over the Santa Fe trail. If there were exceptions the fact was due to advantages in the matter of force or organization not in favor of the Indians. They were peaceable or otherwise as the probability of losing their scalps seemed apparent. But with the advent of the railroad came the conviction to the Indian that it was time to be good. The mysterious power of the "talking wire" and the facility with which troops could be transported from one point to another caused Mr. Lo to put on his thinking cap. This thing of swooping down on a train and cutting out a few of the hindmost wagons was ended. The iron horse could not be stampeded, nor could his locomotion be stopped by the old process of cutting the ham-strings. Corraling a train and cutting off the water supply; shooting and scalping the teamsters while guarding the herds of cattle or mules; picking them off while hastily constructing breastworks behind which to conceal their bodies-are among the things of the past, and are less to be attributed to a change of heart on the part of the Indian than to the civilizing influences exerted by the iron horse.
This article on the Old Trail would be incomplete without some reference to the overland mail-carried in the sixties in a Concord coach drawn by six mules with an outrider *- as a promoter of speed. With each coach were three men and occasionally one or more extra coaches were required. The schedule time from Independence to Santa Fe was twenty days until 1860, when it was reduced to fifteen
*Boyish pleasure never assumed the superlative form in a more eminent degree than in our own case while playing the role of outrider on the overland mail. If we could manage to meet the mail at Wil- mington and be "whipper-up" to the old station and thence to 142 creek (of course we wanted to go there after the mail) we would feel as though we had met with an unusual piece of good luck. Our pre- dilection for this employment is probably responsible for our failure to take a course at college. Being proffered a scholarship (at Lebanon college, Tenn.) my brother Davis remarked that a place on the mail line would be more to my liking. My father's displeasure in the mat- ter was shown by his never referring to the matter again. But we are not complaining.
EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
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L., MAIL
A
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THE OVERLAND MAIL TO SANTA FE. Bill Cole's Last Drive, or Killing of the Smith Brothers, 1859. See page 104.
N
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EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN. £
days. Until 1859 Lost Springs was the last station and outfitting point. Beyond this only "long-route mules" were serviceable, the broken-down and short winded "short-route mules" being detailed for service on short drives on the east and west ends of the line. Here, time was made, as much as 150 miles being covered in the first 24 hours. Conductors and drivers were heavily armed as a protection to the mail and the large sums of money sent in the care of the company. Though seldom attacked the crews were frequently held up by Indians with begging papers. This meant generous treatment or imminent risk of the consequences, that were, as a rule, averted. The killing of the Smith brothers referred to in "Bill Cole's Last Drive" was an exception-one that had little effect in curtailing the number of applications for employment at the office of the Overland Mail Company.
As early as 1831, the town of Franklin, 150 miles west of St. Louis, was an outfitting point for the Santa Fe traders.
Wagons, drawn by oxen, were first used in 1829, by Major Riley, who, with three companies of infantry and one of riflemen, escorted the caravan as far as Choteau Island on the Arkansas. The train being attacked by Indians the escort continued with the caravan as far as Sand creek. The use of oxen by Major Riley was a surprise to plainsmen. The oxen stood the trip as well, if not better, than mules and after that time about half the freighters used oxen.
As early as 1831 Council Grove was used as an outfitting point by fur traders and emigrants to Oregon, though up to that time there was not a house west of Independence. The name-Council Grove- had its origin in the fact that in 1825 Messrs Reeves, Sibley and Math- ers, commissioners appointed to establish and mark a road from Inde- pendence to Santa Fe, made a treaty with the Osages to gain their consent to the establishment of the road. The council was held in the Grove at the crossing of the Neosho. The caravans organized here by electing a captain, detailing guards, etc., for the protection of the caravan while passing through the hostile tribes of the plains, and the more dangerous hordes of robbers that preyed on unsuspecting outfits at will.
In 1843, large escorts, under Capt. Philip St. George Cook accom- panied the caravans as far as the Arkansas river.
An item from "Annals of the Great Western Plains" is deserving of a place here. "In 1857, 9,884 wagons left Kansas City for New Mexico. Now, if these wagons were all in one train, they would make a caravan 223 miles long, with 98,840 mules and oxen, and freighting an amount of merchandise equal to 59,304, 000 lbs."
As fully as many wagons were outfitted at Leavenworth, Inde-
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EARLY HISTORY OF WABAUNSEE COUNTY, KAN.
pendence and other points the above figures represent not more than half the traffic passing over the old trail.
Among the items of traffic received at Kansas City that year was one of 50,000 buffalo robes.
Another item in the "Annals" says: "As early as 1840 it was not uncommon, on the arrival of Mackinaw boats. to see as many as 300 or 400 men on the levee (at Kansas City ) at one time, and all of them buy- ing more or less from the traders."
Among other items of trade were rings that cost ten cents in St. Louis and sold to the Indians for five or six dollars. In view of these prices there need be no cause for wonder at the fabulous fortunes piled up by the Astors.
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