History of Leavenworth County Kansas, Part 2

Author: Hall, Jesse A; Hand, LeRoy T
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Topeka : Historical Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 684


USA > Kansas > Leavenworth County > History of Leavenworth County Kansas > Part 2


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).


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The Delawares or Lenni Lenapes as a tribe were rich in legendary and historical lore. They were descendants of the famous Algonquin tribe Their oldest known home was in Pennsylvania, where they resided along the banks of the Delaware River, the river getting its name from that of the tribe. The name, Lenni Lenape, by which they were some- times known, means in Indian parlance "Original Man." The tribe


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claimed to have been the original parents of the Algonquins. Among other things this tribe had the distinction of being the first Indian tribe upon the American continent to negotiate a treaty with the United States. This treaty was made at Fort Pitt, September 17, 1778.


Among the names of the chiefs of the Delawares we find those of "Four Miles," "Fall Leaf," "Ketchum," and "Journey-Cake." In his val- uable work, "Beyond the Mississippi," which dealt exclusively with the New West of the early fifties, Albert D. Richardson tells of a night spent by himself at the cabin of Chief "Four Miles." He describes the location of the cabin as being about fifteen miles east of Lawrence, where it is believed to have been located in what is now Sherman Township, Leaven- worth County, Kansas. It was during this stay that he met the chief "Fall Leaf," after which the station, Fall Leaf, on the main line of the Union Pacific Railway between Linwood and Lawrence, is named. A legend connected with the name of the chief, "Four Miles," is to the effect that he once ran a distance of four miles and back without stopping.


The city of Linwood, Leavenworth County, Kansas, which is situ- ated at the junction of Big Stranger Creek and the Kansas River, was originally called Journey-Cake. It was named after a chief of the Dela- ware tribe around which the following legend was interwoven: At one time a young brave of the Delaware tribe was captured by white traders and carried to a far distance from his tribe. He eventually managed to escape and upon his long journey home, which was fraught with many dangers and hardships, he was forced to rely for subsistence upon a small cake of corn bread which he had concealed upon his person. Having arrived safely with his tribe and after telling them the story of his es- cape he was immediately rechristened "Journey-Cake." This name was originally given to the city of Linwood, Kansas, owing to the close prox- imity within which Journey-Cake lived to the city at the time of its establishment. The name, which is of purely Indian origin, has been corrupted by the whites to that of "Johnny-Cake." Another legend of the Delawares in connection with their chief, "Ketchum," was to the effect that while he was quite young, he was captured by white soldiers while in battle and carried away captive. Long afterward he escaped by tearing away a board from the floor of the guardhouse in which he was held prisoner. After he had gained the open he was discovered by one of the guards who immediately fired upon him several times and then cried loudly to his associate guards: "Catch him !"


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Upon his return to his tribe and after telling the story of his escape he was rechristened "Ketchum." Later he became chief of the Delawares and died as chief of the tribe in 1857.


The Delawares as an Indian tribe were unusually industrious. Many of them were quite intelligent and quite readily forsook the chase and hunt as a means of livelihood and resorted to agriculture. The govern- ment gave them considerable assistance in their agricultural work. They built numerous cabins which were found mostly upon the hills and bluffs and along the well established trails through their lands. It is recorded that they were not as a rule very strict abont the marriage relation. Whenever a brave took a liking to one of the female members of the tribe he usually gave her father some sort of a present, a pony, hunting knife, or some other article valuable to the Indian way of thinking, and took the girl. They lived together as long as he liked and then he either traded her off or they separated. The offspring, as a rule, went with the mother.


On May 30, 1860, the Delawares entered into a treaty at Sarcoxie- ville, a settlement on their reservation named after a chief of their tribe, "Sarcoxie," the terms of which assigned to each member of the tribe eighty acres of land in one compact body. A privilege was extended the Leavenworth, Pawnee & Western Railroad Company, now the Union Pa- cific Railway Company to purchase the balance of the land at not less than $1.25 per acre.


On July 4, 1866, what was left of the Delaware lands, then referred to as the Delaware Diminished Reserve, was offered for sale by the Sec- retary of the Interior of the United States at not less than $2.50 per acre. All of the remaining land was subsequently bought by the Leavenworth, Pawnee & Western Railroad Company, the date of transfer being Janu- ary 7, 1868.


The greater portion of the tribe removed to the Indian Territory in 1867, leaving only about two hundred members who in 1868 removed to the Wichita Agency.


The Kickapoos, who followed the Delawares in the occupation of the territory of which Leavenworth County is now composed in part, ceded their lands and country on the Osage River in Missouri, October 24, 1832, by treaty to the United States Government. Subsequent to this and on November 26, 1832, they were granted a tract of land in the territory of which Kansas was later to be formed and of which Leavenworth County was to become a part, which was described as follows, to-wit:


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"Beginning on Delaware line where said line crosses the left branch of Salt Creek; thence down said creek to Missouri River; thence up the Missouri River to a point thirty miles when measured on a straight line; thence westerly to a point twenty miles from Delaware line so as to include in the lands assigned to the Kickapoos at least 1,200 square miles."


The first settlement of the Kickapoo tribe on their arrival upon their new lands to take possession was at the southeastern corner of their grant or reservation, a short distance northwest of where Fort Leaven- worth now stands and near the present site of Kickapoo. As a tribe they were industrious and of extremely good habits. Like a great many Indian tribes they were prone to build their villages upon high places such as hills and bluffs. Their cone shaped lodges were closely grouped. About the individual lodges were grouped such ornaments as buffalo skulls. various hides, and bits of pottery. Occasional sacrifices might be seen in the way of some gayly colored cloth or costly stuff hung over the door of the lodge of the chief, offered by him for the good fortune that the Great Spirit saw fit to allow him to enjoy. The Kickapoos were more or less religious in a sense. They believed strongly in a Great Spirit. "Kennekuk," their prophet, resented in a way the teaching of the white missionaries, holding that they, not teaching the way of the Indian prophets, were wrong. He taught long among his tribe and the major portion of the tribe were ardent followers of his doctrine. Among other things embodied in his teachings was the total abstenence from the use of liquor. He also taught that he would arise upon the third day after his death. So strong was the belief of his followers in his teachings that upon his death in 1857 from smallpox, a large number of his adherents stayed with his body until after the third day, expecting to see him arise from the dead. Almost all of those who so attended his dead body in turn contracted the disease of which he died, and in many instances it proved fatal.


By the treaty of May 18, 1854, the Kickapoos ceded the major por- tion of their lands to the United States Government for the sum of $20,- 000. They reserved in this treaty, however, a tract on the western por- tion of their land containing 150,000 acres, to which they moved.


Two early missions were founded upon the Kickapoo land. In May, 1836, a Catholic mission was located near the junction of Salt Creek and the Missouri River. It was established by Fathers Van Quickenborn and


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Hoeken, assisted by two lay brothers. It was established for the benefit of the numerous Pottawatomies who were at that time located on the Kickapoo lands. A Methodist mission was established for the Kickapoos in 1833, which was under the supervision of Rev. J. C. Berryman, of Weston, Missouri.


CHAPTER II


_ EARLY EXPLORATIONS


THE NEW WORLD-SPANISH EARLIEST CLAIMANT-PONCE DE LEON-PAMPHILO DE NARAVEZ-CABEZA DE VACA-CORONADO-TREATMENT OF INDIANS- FRENCH EXPLORERS-MARQUETTE-LA SALLE-CROZAT GRANT-DU TISS- NETT EXPEDITION-FORT ERECTED-LOUISIANA PURCHASE-LEWIS AND CLARKE-DANIEL BOONE.


History has been held to be speculative, inferential, and actual; spec- ulative when it records conclusions based on hypothesis founded on facts, far removed; inferential when conclusions are reasonably based on facts ; and actual when facts alone are recorded. The historian in his writing deals with all three more or less in combination one with the other. This chapter is more or less inferential and speculative insofar as it deals with the visits and explorations of the earliest explorers.


When the new world was discovered and had wonderfully revealed itself to the adventurous and daring men of the Old World, the enterprise of Europe was startled into action. Those valiant men who had won laurels among the mountains of Andalusia, on the fields of Flanders, and on the battlefields of Albion, sought a more remote field for adventure. The revelation of a New World and a new race, and communication be- tween the old and the new, provided a field of fertile imagination. The fact was more astounding to the people then than it would be to us today were we to awake some morning and find communication had been estab- lished with one or more of our nearest planets.


The heroes of the ocean despised the range of Europe as too narrow, offering to their extravagant ambition nothing but mediocrity. Ambi- tion, avarice, and religious zeal were strangely blended, and the heroes of the main sailed to the west, as if bound on a new crusade, for infinite


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wealth and renown were to reward their piety, satisfy their greed, and satiate their ambition.


America was the region of romance where their heated imaginations could indulge in the boldest of delusions, where the simple ignorant native wore the most precious ornaments, the sands by the side of the clear runs of water, sparkled with shining gold. Says the historian of the ocean, these adventurous heroes speedily prepared to fly by a beckoning or a whispering wheresoever they were called. They forsook the cer- tainties of life for the lure and hope of more brilliant success.


To win provinces with the sword, divide the wealth of empires, to plunder the accumulated treasures of some ancient Indian dynasty, to return from a roving expedition with a crowd of enslaved captives, and a profusion of spoils, soon became ordinary dreams. Fame, fortune, life and all were squandered in these visions of wealth and renown. Even if the issue was uncertain, success, greater than the boldest imagin- ation had dared, was sometimes attained.


It would be an interesting story to trace each hero across the ocean to the American continent, and through the three great gateways thereof, through which he entered the wilds of the great West. The accounts of the explorations and exploitations into the great West reads like a romance. The trials through which these early explorers passed were enough to make the stoutest heart quail and to task the endurance of men of steel.


The earliest known claimants of the vast stretch of land and country west of the Mississippi River were the Spanish. Among the members of the crew that crossed the Atlantic with Columbus on his second voyage was a certain Juan Ponce de Leon, who had spent the greater part of his life in the military service of Spain. In the year 1513, with a squad- ron of three ships which he had fitted up at his own expense he set sail upon an expedition which resulted in the discovery of Florida a few miles north of the present location of the oldest city in the United States, St. Augustine. Here, Ponce de Leon and a greater portion of his crew re- mained for some time patiently and persistently exploring and penetrat- ing the regions to the westward. Wild and fanciful tales were constantly poured into his ears by the various Indian tribes concerning the country further to the westward. They told him of great life-giving springs and streams of water found in the interior, a veritable paradise where the. youth of those who had grown old was restored to them by bathing in


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the fabled waters. Ponce de Leon was old. His cheeks were deeply etched by the fingers of time. The spell of the strange wild country added new fire to his adventurous spirit. His fortune had been squand- ered, the lure of the fabled "Fountain of Perpetual Youth" of which the Indians told; the dream of replenishing his dwindled fortunes by con- quests of new kingdoms, led him on and on. It was on his second voyage to this territory in 1521 that he was killed in a battle with Indians who resented his intrusion. His body was buried on the island of Cuba.


It was thus that the Spanish laid claim to the vest stretch of territory of which the territory of Kansas, later the State of Kansas and our own county was to be organized as part thereof.


In the year 1528, Pamphilo de Naravez, who had been appointed governor of Florida by the King of Spain, organized an expedition for the purpose of exploring the lands of which he had been made governor. With a fleet of four ships and a company of nearly 400 men under his command he set sail from Havana, Cuba. Upon his arrival in Florida · he took possession of all the territory in the name of Spain and proceeded at once to diligently explore the regions to the westward. Upon his return to the sea after one of his exploring expeditions he found that the ships of the company had been spirited away or destroyed. The stranded explorers were forced to construct several rude boats and with these they started out to find the nearest Mexican post, following the gulf coast. During their voyage along the gulf coast several of their boats were wrecked and a number of the crew were drowned. Those who were not drowned were taken captive by the Indians. The cruel treatment accorded them by the savages soon led to the death of the major portion of the captives. Cabeza de Vaca, who had occupied the position of treasurer of the expedition, learned the language of the tribe as well as their customs and gained their confidence. After remaining captive six years he es- caped and made his way to San Miguel, in Sonora, Mexico.


Cabeza de Vaca, who had been a member of the ill-fated Naravez ex- pedition, had as before mentioned set out with that expedition from Havana, Cuba, in the year 1528. He had remained with Naravez and his expedition as treasurer and had been one of the members of the expedi- tion that had been left stranded when the ships of the party disappeared. He was one of the party that had escaped drowning when the illy-con- structed boats of the party were destroyed and wrecked in an attempt to reach a Mexican port and had fallen into the hands of Indian tribes as


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prisoner. Six years after his capture, during which he had studied the ways of the tribe, their language, and had gained their confidence, he effected his escape with a small party and started out to reach the Spanish settlements in Mexico. Upon leaving his captors on the gulf, his party proceeded north toward what they termed a great range of mountains which are believed now to have been those in northern Alabama. From thence they proceeded in a westerly direction crossing what they referred to in their story as "the large river that comes from the north" (the Mississippi). It is believed by many historians that in the course of their wanderings and explorations to the westward that they traversed the territory of which Kansas and the State of Colorado are now com- prised. Whether or not this Spanish crusader and his party touched upon any of the territory of which Leavenworth County is now a part is highly conjectural. It is known that it was the custom of exploring parties in those days to follow closely main river courses. In view of the fact that Leavenworth County as originally laid out occupied all that territory of which Wyandotte County is now composed and the confluence of two great river systems center there, it is highly probable that did, Cabeza de Vaca at any time follow the course of the Missouri which led westward from the Mississippi, that he traversed territory of which either Wyandotte or Leavenworth County is now composed.


In all probability the most famous of all exploring expeditions sent out under the Spanish Government for the purpose of exploring its hold- ings west of the Mississippi River was that of Coronado. The expedition of which he was at the head set out from Mexico on the morning following Easter, 1540. The party consisted of some eleven hundred members. They were well equipped and supplied for a long journey. The object for which the expedition went forth was to find and take possession of the cities of Cibola, Indian cities which were said to be enormously wealthy in gold and other valuable articles. After a long and tedious journey fraught with much hardship the party reached the object for which they sought to find that they had been deceived. The cities of Cibola had nothing in the way of riches to offer them, yet they did find thereabouts provisions with which they replenished their diminished supply. After remaining for some time with the tribes of Indians there- abouts, there was brought to the ears of Coronado by one of the leaders of the numerous scouting and exploring parties he sent out, a wild fanciful tale concerning the wealth found in the kingdom of the Quivera, far to


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1336476


the eastward. In due time the party, again thoroughly organized and equipped, set out in search of the kingdom of Quivera. When the party reached the Arkansas River they again found their provisions low and it was decided to split the party up, allowing some to go on forward while the others proceeded upon their return trip to their base on the Rio Grande. Coronado took with him from this point on the Arkansas thirty of his best mounted troops and six foot soldiers and proceeded on in search of the kingdom which he believed the streets whereof to be paved with gold. After marching on for a period of some forty days the party halted in the fabled kingdom, only to find that they had been deceived. The wealth of which they had dreamed was nowhere to be found. The Indian guides who had attended the party finally confessed that the stories they had told the Spaniards had been told for the purpose of luring them away from the native tribes of the guides that they might not be further imposed on by the Spaniards and with the hope that after leading the party far into the desert like interior, their supplies would fail and they would eventually perish.


The exact line of march of Coronado and his party through the State of Kansas is and always will remain a matter of pure conjecture. Major Henry Inman, best known as the author of "The Santa Fe Trail," and who spent a great many years on the western frontier, believes that the expedition crossed the Kansas River near Abilene and then proceeded to the northward, striking the Missouri River in the vicinity of Atchison. He further contends that the expedition returned by following the Mis- souri to its junction with the Kansas River, where the party turned to the westward along the north bank of the Kansas River, proceeding as far westward as the Smoky Hill River, where they crossed the Kansas and again proceeded on to Big Creek, where they turned to the south toward the Arkansas.


Coronado in his report of the voyage to the Viceroy of Mexico stated that he had reached the fortieth degree of north latitude, and described the country thereabout as being very fertile and productive. Jaramillo, a member of the party who chronicled the expedition's progress, mentions the name of a large river, the "Saint Peter and Saint Paul," which is be- lieved by historians to be none other than the Arkansas. After reaching the province of Quivera, he tells of the party's learning of another large river to the northward which was named by them the "Teucarea." Gen. J. H. Simpson in his "Annals of Kansas" expresses the belief that this latter river was the Missouri of today.


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The expedition of Coronado it is estimated cost the Spanish approxi- mately one-half million dollars and netted them practically nothing. It is recorded that more than a hundred years elapsed before the country over which Coronado traveled was again visited by any member of the white race.


As a rule the Spanish explorers treated the Indians with barbarous cruelty. Their great hopes of limitless riches and conquered provinces became as ashes in their hands. Their men, after long marches for months through the wilderness, became tattered, disgruntled and surly. They were burdens upon the red men whom they visited in their different villages, and consumed their maize and provisions. The Indians were distrustful and suspicious, and an inborn hatred for the white man in- stantly grew in their breasts, that was handed down by tradition with growing rancor, to future generations. The fabled cities of Cibola were · found to be miserable mud huts. Indian guides lured them from place to place with wonderful stories in order that the white men might be kept away from their own country.


The earliest known explorations upon which the French based any claim to the territory of which Leavenworth County is now a part were those of Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet. In May, 1673, Marquette, who was a French missionary at the time with station on Lake Superior, set out with five companions and three canoes to the southwestward in search of rich Indian tribes and valuable mines, the stories of which had been borne to his ears by various Indians. Probably this was merely a secondary object of the expedition, as it is known that one of the purposes was to establish a mission among the Illinois Indians, and another to carry the gospel to the tribes west of the Mississippi.


The party set out from the Straits of Michilimackinac and went by way of Green Bay, the Fox River, the Wisconsin River and then into the Mississippi, which they followed to the southward to near the mouth of the Arkansas. It is known that they explored the Missouri River for some distance up its course from the Mississippi and in their various reports of their travels they refer to the Missouri as the "Pekitano'


Having heard the story of the great river whose course Mar and Joliet had followed on their trip to the southward, Robert Cavaner de la Salle conceived the idea that it was none other than the great river that had been discovered by De Soto in 1541. With a view of opening it for navigation La Salle led an expedition that set out from the Illinois


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River, February 6, 1682, with three barges. Upon entering the Missis- sippi, La Salle gave to it the name, "Colbert." At various points along the river on their journey to the south they erected crosses and took possession of the vast tracts to the westward in the name of France. On April 9, 1682, the party entered the Gulf of Mexico. By right of discovery they claimed all of the lands and country west of the Mississippi for the French Government.


Being desirous of getting into actual possession of the vast area of territory which they had come into ownership of through the right of discovery, the French Government on September 14, 1712, granted the Louisiana Territory, which this country had come to be known as, to one Anthony Crozat, a merchant, for a period of ten years, the said Crozat to have perpetual propriety of all mines and minerals he should discover subject to certain conditions, and other stipulations. Later, Crozat retroceded this vast tract to the French Government and they immediately and under similar conditions ceded these tracts to a company which offered many inducements in the way of land, etc., to emigrants.


In the year 1719, M. Du Tissnett, who had previously been in the service of M. Crozat when the French Government had ceded him the Louisiana Territory, was ordered to make an expedition to west of the Mississippi. It was during his travels that he crossed and explored a great deal in territory of which the State of Kansas is now a part. He visited many of the native tribes and erected many crosses, taking posses- sion of all the territory explored and discovered by him in the name of France. The principal object of this expedition was to locate valuable mines the story of which had been poured into the ears of the French as well as those of the Spanish explorers. Du Tissnett is commonly re- ferred to by various historians as Du Tisne. He was the first French explorer to give definite information concerning the native tribes of Kansas.




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