USA > Kansas > Bourbon County > History of Bourbon County, Kansas. To the close of 1865 > Part 3
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KANSAS TERRITORY ORGANIZED.
Kansas at last had a place on the map. It had been partly surveyed and the boundary lines designated and described. A governor and other Territorial officers were soon after appointed, and this experiment of non- intervention-this child of Squatter Sovereignty-was set adrift, to be buffeted, smitten, disgraced, in the con- fident hope that she would acquiesce in the demand of that force which instantly jumped at her throat, and quietly submit to be "sealed " to the South.
3
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HISTORY OF BOURBON COUNTY.
[1854
CHAPTER VI.
THE FIRST GOVERNOR.
H. REEDER, the first Governor of Kansas Ter- ritory, arrived at Fort Leavenworth, and assumed the executive office October 7th, 1854. Soon after, with a party of other officials, he made a somewhat extended tour of observation through the eastern part of the Territory, and on his return that por- tion was divided into "Election Districts."
The district which included Fort Scott was denomi- nated the Sixth District, and the metes and bounds were described as follows :
"Commencing on the Missouri State line, in Little Osage river; thence up the same to the line of the Re- serve for the New York Indians, or the nearest point thereto; tlience to and by the north line of said Reserve to the Neosho river, and up said river to and along the south branch thereof to the head; and thence by a due south line to the southern line of the Territory; thence by the southern and eastern line of said Territory to the place of beginning."
THE FIRST ELECTIONS.
On November 10th, Governor Reeder issued a proc- lamation for an election to be held in the Territory on
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THE FIRST ELECTIONS.
1854]
the 29th day of November for the election of a Delegate to Congress. Fort Scott was designated as the place for holding the election for the Sixth District. The house of H. T. Wilson was named as the polling place, and the judges appointed were Thomas B. Arnett, H. T. Wilson and William Godfrey. J. W. Whitfield was the Pro-slavery candidate for Delegate, R. P. Finnekin, Independent, and John A. Wakefield Free State. In this district Whitfied received the entire vote cast, 105. Whitfield resided in Missouri at this time and made no pretense of being a citizen of the Territory.
O11 March 8, 1855, a proclamation was issued by Gov. Reeder, ordering an election for members of the Terri- torial Council and House of Representatives, to he held on Friday the 30th day of March, 1855. There were to be thirteen members of the Council and twenty-six Representatives, to constitute the "Legislative Assem- bly" of the Territory. The vote was to be by ballot. As there were yet no county or other municipal organi- zations, the election districts were provided for in the proclamation. The Sixtli District remained the same as in the election of November 10, 1854. The place designated for holding the polls was the hospital build- ing on the Plaza, and the judges of election appointed were James Ray, Willianı Painter and William Godfrey. The proclamation also provided :
"That the Sixth Election District, containing two hundred and fifty-three votes, will constitute the Fifth Council District, and elect one member of the Council. Also, that the Sixth Election District shall be the Sixth Representative District and elect two members."
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HISTORY OF BOURBON COUNTY.
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The result of this election was as follows : For Coun- cil Fifth District, William Barbee, 343 votes. For Representatives Sixth District, Joseph C. Anderson, 315, S. A. Williams 313, John Hamilton 36, William Margrave 16. And the returns being in due form and no protest filed, William Barbee for the Council, and Joseph C. Anderson and S. A. Williams for the House of Representatives, were by the Governor de- clared duly elected.
Nevertheless this election was grossly fraudulent, not only in this district, but in all others. It will be remembered that the district was nearly 50 by 100 miles square. William Barbee, mentioned above, had been appointed the January before to take the census of the district, and about March I, thirty days before the election, filed his report giving the number of legal voters as 253. Many of these voters would have liad to travel forty and fifty miles to the polling place. It is not reasonable to suppose that they took such a journey to vote. Most of the votes cast came from covered wagons camped on the Marmaton bottom, "for one day only," which Judge Margrave said, "just swarmned over from Missouri." But there was no pro- test in this district, and the men took their seats in the Legislature.
Barbee had no opposition. He and Anderson and Williams were voted for by the Pro-slavery men. Ham- ilton and Margrave received the feeble showing of the opposition.
William Barbee came here front Kentucky at the age of 29. He was a very fair inan, and lived liere several
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THE FIRST LEGISLATURE.
1854]
years. Barbee street in Fort Scott was named for him.
Joseph C. Anderson was never a resident of the dis- trict from first to last. He was the author of the "Black Laws" passed by this Legislature.
Samuel A. Williams was originally from Kentucky. He came here first in 1854, and afterwards brought his family, about six months before election, from Polk County, Missouri, driving an ox cart, containing his family, his chickens and two "cheers." He was no "voter." He had come to stay. He was a good man, a good citizen, and held many important positions. He died at his home in Fort Scott, August 13, 1873.
John Hamilton was "left over" from the regular army. He lived here in the town and in the county until after the war, as has been stated.
William Margrave was born in Missouri, February 17, 1818. He came here in the fall of 1854, and was appointed one of the first Justices of the Peace in the Territory, and the very first one appointed in this dis- trict. His commission bears date of December 5, 1854. He has lived here continuously ever since that time, and he is Justice of the Peace "till yet." The Judge, in his quiet way, has always performed the duties of a good citizen, and always stood in the highest estimation in this community. Margrave street in the city of Fort Scott was named for him.
THE FIRST LEGISLATURE.
The first Legislature convened by order of the Gov- ernor at Pawnee, near Fort Riley, on the 2nd of July,
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[1854
HISTORY OF BOURBON COUNTY.
1855. Pawnee was 100 iniles west of the Missouri State line at Westport. Governor Reeder said he took it out there to get it out of the way of political influ- ence and to keep the legislators unspotted from the world. That was certainly the right idea and the right place if he could have made them stay there, but he couldn't do it. The statesmen said it was too dry, and too far from their base of supplies; and besides, as there were no houses in Pawnee, or in forty miles of it, they had to sleep in their wagons, or under them ; and then again they had nothing to eat but jerked buffalo and Pawnee macarroni. This latter was a very succu- lent dish much sought after by the Pawnee Indians. It was made from the small entrails of antelope and fish-worms. The origin of this war-like tribe arose from this dish. Most any body would. The statesmen arose from it. Said they liked the legislature business all right enough but this wasn't an adjourned session of the Diet of Worms; they were not elected on that ticket. Said they didn't know what other Kansas Legislatures might do-no man in his right mind could tell, but as for their part they could not entertain such a diet, anyway, without something to go with it, and they didn't even have Bourbon County corn bread. Besides, they wanted to be nearer home where they could hear the honest coon-dog's deep-mouthed bay. So next morning they hitched up and drove down to Shawnee Mission, near Westport. That was as near home as they could get without going "plum over" into Missouri. Reeder could do nothing but set around and scratch his head and pawnee. He finally followed
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THE BOGUS STATUTE.
1854]
them down to Shawnee Mission. He told them they could not legally move, and could pass no valid laws if they did. They told him to be quiet or they would pass him-down the Missouri river on a raft. That made him madder than ever and he called them a lot of Border Ruffians. Then Stringfellow smote him hip and thigh, "and they wrote a letter unto the king," saying what a bad man this Reeder was, "and the king dismissed him with contumely." But the name give to them by Governor Reeder of Border Ruffian stuck to those fellows, and their kind, even to the third generation. Ainsi soit il.
THE BOGUS STATUTE.
The Legislature then went to work to pass laws for Kansas. It was now the 16th of July. By the Ist of Sep- tember they had finished their labors which resulted in the preparation of an immense code of "laws," which have always been called and known as the "Bogus Statute of 1855." This Statute was called bogus prin- cipally because many of the members were not residents of the Territory, and they were themselves bogus ; the elections were fraudulent in nearly every case, con- sequently their office was bogus. The sessions were held at Shawnee Mission against the will, order and veto of the Governor who had the only legal right to decide that point, as he claimed, consequently the whole business really had no legal status or right to be. But it was the prologue of the opening drama. The Pro-slavery men here showed their hand and the true
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[1854
HISTORY OF BOURBON COUNTY.
spirit and intent of their party. They at once became blustering, arrogant, defiant and overbearing, and con- tinually sought to pick quarrels with, and embroil every man into difficulties who opposed them. The few scattering and unorganized Free State men, in contemplation of such acts and such men, stood with raised and outstretched hands as if warding off a blow.
SAMPLE OF LEGISLATION.
The Legislature did more by its drastic, ill-tempered and senseless legislation to destroy the prospect of making Kansas a slave State than did all the Emigrant Aid Societies, John Brown and other Northern fanatics put together. As a sample of their legislation and to show the spirit which controlled the Pro-slavery side on the threshold of the struggle, the following section of their laws is quoted:
"SEC. 12. If any person, by speaking or by writing, assert or maintain that persons have not the right to hold slaves in the Territory, or shall introduce into Kansas, print, publish, write, circulate, or cause to be introduced into the Territory, any book, paper, inaga- zine, pamphlet or circular containing any denial of the rights of persons to hold slaves in this Territory, such person shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and pun- ished by imprisonment at hard labor for a term not less than two years."
This made it a penitentiary offense for a person to take a Free-State paper, or to argue the question with a neighbor, even at his own fireside. The present gen- eration cannot conceive that a body of educated and intel-
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SAMPLE OF LEGISLATION.
1854]
ligent American men could have seriously placed such a law, and a hundred of similar tenor and import on the statute books of a State. But the indescribable fanaticismn on the question of human slavery had made them, as a people, just that intolerant.
On the other hand the Northern people, as a people, said to the South exactly this : We have made a con- stant, consistent and honest effort to restrict slavery to its present limits, and although the sacred compact which has stood for a third of a century is broken down, let us peacefully abide the provisions of the squatter sovereign principle. And we now say to you Southern people, and you may be fully assured that, although we shall not desist from those open, honest efforts which we have constantly made for restriction and which efforts will be vigorously continued to make Kansas a Free State, we shall neither openly or secretly resort to any measures which can tend to disturb the tranquillity of the slave States, or thereby to affect the prosperity of the Nation. And thus at the commence- ment of that most momentous era was the virgin Terri- tory of Kansas handed over to those two contending sections, who had "come to ope the purple testament of bleeding war."
It looked dark for the side of Freedom. Its enemies controlled the Administration ; they controlled all the branches of the Territorial Government and they con- trolled the front door through which emigration must enter.
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HISTORY OF BOURBON COUNTY.
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GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS SOLD.
The buildings erected and the improvements made by the Government at Fort Scott were estimated to have cost $200,000. They were sold at public auction on the 16th day of May, 1855, by Major Howe, Assist- ant Quartermaster of the U. S. Army, for less than $5,000 for the whole business. The officers quarters- the four principal blocks of buildings, were disposed of as follows: A. Hornbeck bought the first block, on the west corner of the Plaza for $500. H. T. Wilson the next for $300, E. Greenwood the next for $505, and J. Mitchell bought the next building on the east for $450. The other buildings were sold to different parties for nominal sums. Of course, this not being a Government Reservation, the title to the land on which these build- ings stood did not pass by this transaction, and it was so understood by the purchasers. But they concluded to "let the hide go with the tallow," and take their chances of acquiring title either from the Government as pre-emptors, or, that some time in the future when the town shall have been surveyed and platted, and a legally incorporated town company organized, they could obtain deeds. This plan was agreed on and was after- wards carried out.
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BOURBON COUNTY ORGANIZED.
1855]
CHAPTER VII.
BOURBON COUNTY ORGANIZED.
HE County of Bourbon was organized, together with thirty-two other counties by the act of the Bogus Legislature contained in Chapter 30, of the Bogus Statutes. This Act or Chapter of that code was acted on and passed by the Legislature at the session held at Shawnee Mission, early in August, 1855, to take effect from and after the date of passage, although the statutes were not compiled or completed and published until, probably, October 25th of that year.
In Section 4 of said Chapter 30, the boundary lines of Bourbon County were fixed and described as follows :
"Beginning at the southeast corner of Linn county ; thence south thirty miles; thence west twenty-four miles ; thence north thirty miles; thence east twenty- four miles to the place of beginning."
These descriptions are very nearly correct, except that the first sectional line is not quite parallel with the Missouri State line, and the border sections along that line are fractional, and there is a jog in the range line on the west side of the county.
The Legislature, at the request of William Barbee
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HISTORY OF BOURBON COUNTY.
[1855
and S. A. Williams, who were both originally from old Kentucky, named this county "Bourbon"-especial brand not given. They thought, like the old boys used to say : "Some is better than others, but it's all good." So they gave it a good send off by giving it a good name.
McGee county was named for old Milt McGee who was then a member of the Legislature, "from West- port, Missouri." Everybody knew old Milt way up to the 60's.
Anderson county was named for one of our first Rep- resentatives, Joseph C. Anderson.
Wilson county was named for Col. H. T. Wilson, of Fort Scott.
Bourbon County retained its original territory until by act of the Legislature, approved February 13, 1867, entitled, "An Act to define the boundaries of Bourbon, Crawford and Cherokee counties," the boundaries of Bourbon County were defined and described as follows :
"SEC. I. That the boundary of Bourbon County shall commence at the southeast corner of the county of Linn ; thence run south, on the east line of the State of Kansas to the southeast corner of section (24) twenty-four, township (27) twenty-seven, range (25) twenty-five; thence west to the southwest corner of section (23) twenty-three, township (27) twenty-seven, range (21) twenty-one; thence north to the southwest corner of Linn county ; thence east to the place of beginning."
By this act the county was cut down to about twenty- five miles square.
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BOURBON COUNTY ORGANIZED.
1855]
In the Government survey of this State the base line, or beginning line, for townships of six miles each was made the north line of the State, and townships were numbered from number one on down southward; and the range lines, also six miles apart, were numbered east and west from the sixth principal meridian, or guide meridian, which is near the city of Wichita.
Bourbon County contains 407,680 acres of land. The contour of the face of the country is high, rolling prairie, with a general slope from west to east, the general direction of all the larger streams being from west to east, in common with the entire State. The west line of the State has an altitude of between 2,000 and 3,000 feet. At the sixth principal meridian the altitude is about 1,000 feet. At the east line of Bour- bon County it is 650 feet.
The county is very well watered. The more consid- erable streams being the Osage river on the north and through the northern tier of townships, Mill creek and Marmaton river through the central portion, and Paw- nee and Drywood creeks in the southern part. There is the usual amount of bottom land along these streams, which are, of course, very rich, but these lands are not especially desirable over those of the high prairie for farming purposes, for the reason that they are colder and harder to get into to work during a wet spring and do not stand a dry time later in the season much better than the high prairie, besides the high lands are, as far as the soil is concerned, rich enough except on some quarter sections scattered throughout the county on which the stone is too near the surface. The soil of
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HISTORY OF BOURBON COUNTY.
[1855
the prairie lands is, generally speaking, of a limestone formation and richer of itself than a sandstone forma- tion. Under the black soil is about eighteen inches of a dark brown sub-soil, then a stratum of three to eight feet of yellow clay, then two to four feet of shale or slate stone. Under that in a good portion of the county is a layer of hard bituminous coal from eight to twenty inches. This is especially true of the east half of the county. Under all this is a solid stratum of pure lime- stone from four to six feet in thickness, then comes a stratum of from sixteen to thirty feet of soapstone. Under that, on a limestone bedrock, water is generally obtained. These strata vary, however-and in fact the entire geological formation changes in certain sections
of the country. About the central part of the county there are sections which are pure sandstone formation, which contains an almost inexhaustible supply of the very best quality of sandstone flagging. Limestone for the manufacture of lime, and for building stone is easily obtained in any part of the county. In Fort Scott, and the neighborhood, is found extensive quarries of cement rock, which produces the best grade of hydraulic cement.
THE FIRST COUNTY OFFICERS.
The Secretary of the Territory and Acting Governor Daniel Woodson, appointed a part of the first officers of Bourbon County, after its organization, on the 31st day of August, 1855, as follows : Samuel A. Williams, Pro- bate Judge, H. T. Wilson and Charles B. Wingfield County Commissioners, and B. F. Hill, Sheriff. And
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1855] NEUTRAL LANDS IN BOURBON COUNTY.
on the 22d of September, Governor Wilson Shannon appointed J. J. Farley clerk of the Board of County Commissioners, or County Clerk, as we call it now, and John F. Cottrell, Constable, and Thomas Watkins Justice of the Peace for Bourbon County.
On the 9th of November commissions were issued to Wiley Patterson, Cowan Mitchell, Henry Miller and D. Guthrie, as Justices of the Peace. J. J. Farley, County Clerk, was appointed Register of Deeds.
Fort Scott was about this time designated as the County Seat.
In November, 1855, the Board of County Commis- sioners met and divided the county into townships, as follows : Little Osage, Timberhill, Russell, Scott and Drywood. The townships as they now exist are, Osage, Freedom, Timberhill and Franklin on the north, Scott, Marmaton, Mill Creek and Marion through the center, and Drywood, Pawnee and Walnut on the south.
About the close of the year 1855, B. F. Thompson and Branham Hill were appointed Justices of the Peace, Alexander Howard and William Moffatt, constables, and H. R. Kelso, coroner, in and for Bourbon County.
THE NEUTRAL LANDS IN BOURBON COUNTY.
The county of McGee, organized at the same time as Bourbon, included what is now Crawford and Cherokee counties, and was all Cherokee Neutral Land. A six mile strip off the south side of Bourbon county, between townships 26 and 27, and between ranges 21 and 25, was also in the Cherokee Neutral Land. This strip is more exactly described as follows :
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HISTORY OF BOURBON COUNTY.
[1855
The south 1/3 of Township 26, of Ranges 22, 23, 24, 25. The east part of south 13 Township 26 of Range
21. The north 2/3 of Township 27 of Ranges 22, 23, 24, 25. The east part of 23 of Township 27 Range 21.
As will be seen hereinafter, a good part of these lands were squatted on by settlers in direct violation of treaty stipulations with the Cherokee Indians. In many cases, however, the squatters were innocent of any intention to trespass.
FORT SCOTT INCORPORATED AS A TOWN.
Fort Scott was incorporated as a town by Chapter 40 of the Bogus Statutes, which chapter was acted on and passed by the Legislature on the 30th of August, 1855.
Section I of that chapter provides that the land set forth and defined in the plat of said town shall be incorporated into a town by the name of Fort Scott.
Section 4 provides that "the first Board of Trustees of the town of Fort Scott shall consist of H. T. Wilson, A. Hornbeck, Thomas Dodge, R. G. Roberts, F. De- mint and Thomas B. Arnett."
Section 8 provides that the trustees shall have power to collect taxes, regulate dramshops, to restrain and prevent the meeting of slaves, etc.
But little is now known about some of the trustees. A. Hornbeck was a merchant. He came in from Mis- souri, and went back there after two or three years' residence here. Dodge was an Indian trader, and liad been all his life. Thomas B. Arnett opened and kept the first hotel ever in Bourbon county. It was in the
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MORE ELECTIONS.
1855]
house on the west corner of the Plaza, known after- wards as the Fort Scott, or Free State Hotel. He fell dead one Sunday, sometime afterwards, while attending religious services in the Government Hospital building, probably because, as town trustee, he had not been strict enough in "regulating dramshops."
MORE ELECTIONS.
On the Ist of October, 1855, an election was held under provisions of the Legislature, for Delegate to Congress. J. W. Whitfield was again the Pro-slavery candidate, and received 242 votes in this county.
There was no Free State candidate, and the Free State men took no part in this election.
A convention had been called at Topeka on the 19th day of September, to take measures to form a State Constitution. An election was held for Delegates to the Topeka Constitutional Convention, on the 9th of October. A. H. Reeder was also voted for by the Free State men for Delegate to Congress. The town of Fort Scott cast 27 votes. There appears to be no record of a county vote.
The Convention inet at Topeka on the 23d day of October. A Free State Constitution was framed, and an election for its adoption held on the 15th day of De- cember. Again there is no record from Bourbon County. The fact of the matter is, there were but few Free State mnen in this county at that time. There were not enough of them to form anything like an organization, or even a circulating chain of intelligence among them-
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HISTORY OF BOURBON COUNTY.
[1855
selves. Each one was isolated from his kind, and lived like a rabbit in a burrough. He kept his eyes and ears open, but he kept his mouth shut. There were less than 300 legal votes in the entire county, and not more than thirty of these were Free State men. The first immigration into this county was largely from the Southern States. The territory lay adjacent to a slave State, and it was natural that it should assimilate with the peculiar institution of the South. Further north, where the parties were more nearly equal in number, the Free State men went to the polls ; they protested, however vainly, against the fraudulent elections ; they took concerted action for self-defense. Here they could do neither. As yet they were in too great a minority. They could only sit down and wait; wait to see how far and to what extent the Northern people would go to ineet the open defiance of the inaddened and blinded partisans of ultra pro-slaveryism ; wait for immigration to reach down this far and give them help. It seemed now to them like a losing contest. The migratory hordes of the Pro-slavery party had, under the faint pretense of "election," taken possession of the Terri- tory, driven out the first Governor-an able, fair and just man-and published to the world their statute of "laws," whichi hung over the Territory for five years like the web of a mammoth spider.
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