USA > Kansas > Kansas; a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence, Volume II > Part 10
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ernor responded that "Until the peace officers themselves or the citizens of the respective counties are heard from, I would deem it unwise to take official action."
United States Marshal Neely and a number of deputies then started west on a special train, met the captured train at Scott City and arrested "Gen." Saunders, his aides and about 400 of the "Commonwealers." The prisoners were taken to Topeka on May II and encamped on the state- house grounds until the next day, when they were taken to Fort Leaven- worth. Saunders and three of his lieutenants-leaders of the detach- ment-were arrested on the charge of obstructing the United States mails, and after some delay were tried before a United States cominis- sioner. In the meantime, however, the "army" had been dispersed, the movement ending in failure, the prisoners escaped with light prison sentences.
In Aug., 1903, two union machinists were forced out of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway shops at Topeka. This caused considerable dissatisfaction among the union machinists in the employ of the com- pany, and the situation was very much aggravated by Supt. Lovell's letter of April 23, 1904, to the mechanical superintendents and master mechanics directing them to classify the men and pay wages according to the grades in which they stood. It soon became evident that a strike was imminent because of this order, and the railroad company posted notices in the shops at Topeka that it would "prosecute to judgment all suits against members of the International Association of Machinists, and other conspirators, for damages to its property and business grow- ing out of any and all unlawful acts during the strike."
This notice was promulgated a few days before May 2, when the machinists were to quit work at 9 o'clock a. m. When the employees went to the shops on that morning they found the doors closed against them. The company had turned the strike into a lockout, fearing that in the two hours prior to the time the men went out on strike damage might be done to the machinery and rolling stock in the shops and adjacent yards. The next day the shops were opened with the union machinists still out. Machinists in the company's shops at Argentine, Kan., and Albuquerque, N. M., also went out. At Argentine Judge Holt issued an injunction against the strikers interfering in any way with the work of the shops, and this notice was served upon 21 of the labor leaders with good effect. A similar injunction was issued by Judge Hazen at Topeka against J. L. Buckalew, 3d vice-president ; T. L. Wilson, 4th vice-president of the International Association of Machinists; and 93 other men, formerly in the employ of the railroad company. These injunctions practically settled the difficulty. The shops were soon run- ning on full time, and about the only result of the strike was the loss of permanent employment by a number of the men who started it.
There have been a few minor strikes in the state at various times, but the above are the only ones that assumed proportions sufficient to threaten serious consequences to the business interests. The state has
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been criticised by some for sending the militia to settle labor troubles, but on the other hand, no state in the Union has passed more progress- ive laws in the interests of the working classes than has Kansas.
Laclede, a hamlet of Pottawatomie county, is located in Center town- ship on the Red Vermillion river, 13 miles southeast of Westmoreland, the county seat, and 15 miles from Wamego, from which place it receives mail by rural delivery. It has one general store and one drug store. The population in 1910 was 76.
La Crosse, the county seat of Rush county, is centrally located in the county, and is 200 miles west of Topeka. It is in the midst of a large and prosperous farming and stock raising country. There are about 100 business establishments, including 2 banks, 3 hotels, 2 grain ele- vators, a foundry and machine shop, 2 weekly newspapers (the Chief- tain and the Republican). All the leading denominations of churches are represented, and there are good graded schools and an opera house. The town is lighted by electricity, and has automobile service daily to Rush Center. There are telegraph and express offices and an inter- national money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 806.
La Cygne, the third largest town in Linn county, is situated in the northeastern portion on the Marais des Cygnes river and the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. The town was started in 1869 as soon as the people were assured of the building of the railroad. A town company was organized and purchased 1,400 acres of land, but had only 140 acres laid out as a town site. La Cygne was incorporated as a village on Jan. 14, 1870, and a board of trustees was appointed. In the fall of that year the town had grown so that it had inhabitants enough to organize as a city of the third class, and E. A. Foote was elected the first mayor. The first school was taught in 1869 in Cady's hall. It was a private subscription school and was kept open until 1870, when the public school house was built. It was a commodious two-story brick building containing the graded and high schools. At the present time La Cygne has an excellent public school system. The Methodist church perfected an organization in 1870 and soon after a house of worship. The Presbyterian church was organized the same year but had no building for a year afterward. At an early date La Cygne became a manufacturing point. A flour mill was built in 1870; a bank was started in 1871; the La Cygne organ factory was another early commercial enterprise, but it did not flourish. In 1881 a coal mine was opened, since which time La Cygne has become an important point for this industry. The first newspaper in the town was the Weekly Jour- nal, which first appeared in June, 1870.
At the present time La Cygne has a number of business blocks and beautiful homes, and in 1910 had a population of 957.
Ladder, a country postoffice of Harrison township, Wallace county, is located 15 miles southeast of Sharon Springs, the county seat and nearest shipping point.
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Ladore, a station on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R. near the southern boundary of Neosho county, is located in Ladore township 13 miles south of Erie, the county seat, and 5 miles south of Galesburg, whence it receives daily mail by rural route. The population in 1910 was 50. Had the early settlers been willing to part with their lands at a reasonable figure, the company which established the city of Par- sons would have located their town at this point instead. The town was first called Fort Roach, in honor of J. N. Roach, its principal pro- moter. In the early days it was an important little town but gave way to Parsons after the latter was founded.
Ladysmith, a hamlet in Clay county, is located 10 miles southwest of Clay Center, the county seat, and the postoffice from which its mail is distributed by rural route. It has one general store. The popula- tion in 1910 was 20.
Lafayette, a hamlet in Stevens county, is located in Voorhees town- ship 15 miles southeast of Hugoton, the county seat, and 12 miles from Tyrone, Okla., the nearest shipping point. It has a postoffice and the population in 1910 was 13.
Lafontaine, one of the thriving little towns of Wilson county, is located in Talleyrand township on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 8 miles south of Fredonia, the county seat. It has all the main lines of busi- ness enterprise, including a bank, a newspaper, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The popula- tion in 1910 was 250. The town had its beginning in 1879, when a postoffice was established. A store was opened, and as it was in the midst of an excellent farming community, others followed. In 1886 the railroad was built, which made the future of the little town secure. In May, 1896, Talleyrand township was swept with a cyclone which destroyed numerous farm buildings, wrecked several buildings and injured a number of people in Lafontaine. The telephone system was installed in 1902.
La Grange, a hamlet of Marshall county, is located in the southeast- ern part of the county, about 21 miles from Marysville. It had 25 inhabitants in 1910. Daily mail comes by rural route from Frankfort.
La Harpe, located on the Missouri Pacific and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railways 5 miles east of Iola, is the third largest city in Allen county. The town was founded by the Fort Scott, Wichita & Western Railroad company (now the Missouri Pacific), and was platted in 1881. When natural gas was discovered in the immediate vicinity in 1899 La Harpe began to grow more rapidly and soon rose to be a city of importance. It is now an incorporated city of the second class, and has some of the largest zinc smelters in the world, 2 banks, an opera house, several good mercantile establishmerits, a newspaper, and all the municipal improvements usually found in cities of that class. The population in 1910 was 2,080. Its postoffice is authorized to issue inter- national money orders, and two rural routes supply mail to the sur- rounding country.
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Lake City, a little town in Barber county, is located in Lake City township, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 18 miles north- west of Medicine Lodge, the county seat. It has a number of business establishments, including a bank. There is a daily stage to Deerhead and to Aetna. The town is supplied with telegraph and express offices and has a money order postoffice. The population, according to the census of 1910, was 250.
Lakeland, a money order postoffice of Meade county, is located in Sand Creek township on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 20 miles southeast of Meade, the county seat. The population in 1910 was 12.
Lake Sibley, a semi-circular body of water lying north of the Re- publican river, is about 5 miles northwest of Concordia, the county seat of Cloud county. It was formed long before white men settled in Kansas by the river cutting across the bend, and is supposed to have been named in honor of Gen. Sibley. In the early settlement of Cloud county a postoffice was established there under the name of Lake Sibley and a town grew up, which was at one time an aspirant for county seat honors, but both town and postoffice have disappeared.
Lake View, a hamlet in the northern part of Douglas county which is located on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. and a branch of the Kansas river, 5 miles northwest of Lawrence. It has a money order postoffice, telegraph and express facilities, and in 1910 had a popula- tion of 15.
Lakin, the judicial seat of Kearny county, is located south of the central part of the county on the Arkansas river and on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. It has 2 banks, with a combined capital of $20,000 and $160,000 deposits, a newspaper (the Kearny County Ad- vocate), telegraph and express offices, and an international money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910. was 337. Lakin was founded in the 'zos but did not attain much of a growth until 1885. At that time it experienced a boom. A newspaper was started that year and the population increased very rapidly for a time. It was made the temporary county seat in 1888. Two years later the county records were removed to Hartland, but were brought back in 1894.
La Lande, Baptiste .- Soon after the acquisition of Louisiana by the United States in 1803, a commercial expedition was organized by Wil- liam Morrison of Kaskaskia, Ill., to open up a trade with the Spanish settlements in the southwest. Morrison employed as his agent a French creole named Baptiste La Lande, who reached Santa Fe some- time in the summer of 1804. It is believed that La Lande passed through Kansas closely following the route which afterward became known as the Santa Fe trail. Upon arriving in Santa Fe he found a ready market for his goods, but never made any return to his em- ployer. Gregg, in his Commerce of the Prairies; says: "The kind and generous treatment of the natives overcame at once his patriotism and
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his probity. He neither returned to his employer nor accounted for the proceeds of his adventure. His expansive intellect readily conceived the advantages of setting up in business for himself upon this 'borrowed' capital; which he accordingly did, and remained there, not only unmolested, but honored and esteemed till his death, which occurred some fifteen or twenty years afterward-leaving a large family and sufficient property to entitle him to the fame of rico among his neighbors."
While in Santa Fe in March, 1807, Lieut. Pike saw La Lande, who claimed that he was held as a prisoner by the Spanish authorities. In his report of his expedition Pike says: "As he had been rather insolent in his inquiries, I ordered my men to shut and fasten the door. I then told him that I believed him to be an emissary sent on purpose by the governor, or some person, to endeavor to betray me, that all men of that description were scoundrels, and never should escape punish- ment whilst I possessed the power to chastise them, immediately order- ing my men to seize him, and cautioning him at the same time, that if he cried out, or made the least resistance, I would be obliged to make use of the sabre which I had in my hand," etc.
This frightened La Lande to such an extent that he confessed he had been employed by the governor to ascertain Pike's intentions. The prompt and somewhat dramatic action of Lieut. Pike thwarted the design, and he suffered no further inconvenience from the interference of the delinquent creole. Such was the character of the pioneer of the Santa Fe trade, which in later years was conducted by honorable men and reached into hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
Lamar, an inland hamlet of Ottawa county, is located in Sherman township 17 miles northeast of Minneapolis, the county seat, and 10 miles north of Wells, the nearest railway station. It has a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 50.
Lamont, a village on the Missouri Pacific R. R. in Greenwood county, is located in Shell Rock township 30 miles northeast of Eureka, the county seat. This is also a receiving and distributing point for the adjoining territory, has express and telegraph offices, a money order postoffice, and in 1910 reported a population of 100.
Lancaster, an incorporated town of Atchison county, is located in the northern portion on the Missouri Pacific R. R. II miles west of Atchison, the county seat. It was platted in 1857 by J. W. Smith, presi- dent of a town company, and a postoffice was established the same year. In 1858 Mr. Smith contributed the money for the erection of a union church, in which the first religious services were held in August. Busi- ness blocks were built, a hotel and school house were erected, the town became the supply point for the surrounding country, and aspired to county seat honors. It has banking facilities, a money order post- office, telegraph and express offices, a good local trade, and in 1910 reported a population of 220.
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Land Grants .- The first grants or concessions of land in the province of Louisiana were made soon after the Western company succeeded Antoine Crozat in the management of colonial affairs in 1717. These early grants were mostly along the Mississippi river below the present city of Natchez, Miss., and were generally made to wealthy and promi- nent citizens of France. The failure of John Law in 1720 seriously affected the prosperity of the Western company and practically put a stop to further concessions. When Alexander O'Reilly assumed con- trol of the colony for Spain in 1769 he laid down rules under which all future land grants should be made, and limiting the extent of such grants. Concerning grants made by the Spanish authorities in Lower Louisiana about this time Claiborne says: "Lands were obtained with little difficulty or expense. The immigrant made his selection of any unoccupied parcel, and presented a written request for an order of survey. If no obstacle intervened the governor issued the order, and on return of the plat and the payment of very moderate fees for sur- veying, the grant issued. Many settled under the order of survey merely, if the survey could not be immediately made."
The first land grants in Upper Louisiana, which included the present State of Kansas, were made at St. Louis and bear the date of April 27, 1766. They were made by the French, authorities, although the province had passed into the hands of Spain by the treaty of 1762. In fact the French continued to dispose of the lands in this part of the province until the spring of 1770, when Spain took possession. Some twenty-five years later Spain found it necessary to increase the popula- tion of Upper Louisiana in order to form a barrier against the English in Canada. To this end liberal inducements were offered to people of the United States to cross the Mississippi and accept valuable conces- sions of land. Preference was given to the emigrants from the States, because "their prejudices against the English were a sure guarantee of their attachment to the Spanish interests." Lands were granted to them for the actual cost of survey and the fees of confirmation and entry at New Orleans. Maj. Amos Stoddard says that the cost of 800 acres amounted to but little over $40. After the United States took possession of Louisiana under the treaty of April 30, 1803, some of these old claims became matters of litigation and were not finally settled until about the middle of the 19th century.
Only one of these early land grants was located in Kansas. That was the one made to Regis Loisel (q. v.) by Charles Dehault de · Lassus, lieutenant-governor of Upper Louisiana, March 25, 1800. The title to the lands included in this grant was not settled until after long and expensive litigation.
In more recent years the question of railroad land grants has com- manded considerable attention. In the building up of the country almost every inducement was offered to railroad companies to build roads where roads were not especially necessary. Congress and the state authorities of Kansas granted large tracts of land to railroad
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companies to encourage the construction of their lines. The report of the Kansas railroad commission for 1883 gives the following list of railroad companies that thus received aid and the acreage of their land grants :
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. 2,930,338.00
Kansas City, Lawrence & Southern Kansas. 242,349.41
Union Pacific (Kansas Division) 6,625,508.1I
Missouri, Kansas & Texas. 1,041,769.17
Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf 89,672.43
Total 10,929,637.12
Part of the lands thus given the railroads were granted by the state, but by far the greater portion was given from the public domain by act of Congress. Of the above land grants, the same report of the railroad commission gives the number of acres sold or under contract as follows :
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. 1,318,679.14
Kansas City, Lawrence & Southern Kansas. 238,874.96
Union Pacific (Kansas Division) 1,538,284.56
Missouri, Kansas & Texas. 1,035,769.17
Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf 87,112.43
Total 4,218,820.26
About the time this report was rendered a large number of people came to the conclusion that too much liberality had been shown the railroad companies in the way of land grants and demanded that the companies either perfect their title to the land by carrying out the provisions of the law under which the lands were granted, or that the lands revert to the public domain. Through the work of ex-Gov. Samuel J. Crawford, as state agent, a large part of the unsold lands were recovered for the state. (See Railroads.)
At the close of the Civil war thousands of discharged soldiers came to Kansas and entered homesteads. These entries were not land grants in the ordinary meaning of that term, but they were made possible by liberal amendments to the homestead laws, and have sometimes been designated as "military grants."
Land Laws .- (See Public Lands.)
Land League .- (See Settlers' Protective Association.)
Landmarks .- Webster defines a landmark as a mark to designate the boundary of land, or "any conspicuous object on land that marks a locality or serves as a guide." The latter part of the definition is especially true of cliffs, tall trees, etc., along the seacoast or the banks of navigable rivers, by which the pilots of vessels steer their course.
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Landmarks may be divided into natural and artificial, the former being those natural formations that "serve as guides," and the latter the works of man that have a historic interest. Among the natural land- marks of Kansas the most prominent are Pawnee rock, Diamond and Great Spirit springs, Mushroom and Castle rocks, the formation known as Rock City, and the natural bridge near Medicine Lodge. Each of these will be found under the appropriate title in this work. Of the artificial landmarks the best examples are the markers along the Santa Fe trail, Pike's Pawnee village, the old Pottawatomie mission, the Padilla monument near Council Grove, and the ruins of the old pueblo in Scott county. The old wind-mill at Lawrence was for many years a landmark, and the ruins of the old capitol near Fort Riley might be so considered.
Land Offices .- Kansas was made a land district by an act of Congress, approved on July 22, 1854, which provided for the establishment of a land office at the seat of government. On Aug. 4 John Calhoun was appointed surveyor-general for the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and soon after Lecompton was designated as the territorial capital, an office known as the Pawnee land office was opened at that point. The first filings were made in that office in May, 1856, though prior to that time a number of claims had been filed upon through the office of the surveyor-general. In March, 1857, Congress provided for land offices at Doniphan, Fort Scott and Ogden. The first preëmption entry was made on April 21, 1857, by Julius G. Newman for the southwest quarter of section 25, township 5 south, range 20 east, a little north- west of Atchison.
The Fort Scott office was removed to Humboldt in Sept., 1861. Soon afterward it was raided by guerrillas, and on Oct. 3, 1861, it was taken · to Mapleton, where it remained until the following May, when it was returned to Humboldt. On Dec. 15, 1870, it was taken to Neodesha, and on Oct. 3, 1871, to Independence, where it continued to do business until consolidated with the office at Topeka on Feb. 28, 1889.
The Ogden office was removed to Junction City on Oct. 6, 1859. and to Salina on May 1, 1871. On Dec. 31, 1893, it was consolidated with the Topeka office, which was originally the Lecompton office, having been removed to Topeka in Sept., 1861.
The Doniphan office was removed to Kickapoo, or Kickapoo City, on Dec. 3. 1857, where it was retained until Sept. 6, 1861, when it was taken to Atchison. In Dec., 1863, it was consolidated with the Topeka office.
As the frontier moved westward the land offices in the eastern part of the state were either consolidated or discontinued, and new ones were established farther west, in order to accommodate the constant stream of immigrants looking for homesteads. Two offices were opened in the summer of 1870: one on June II at Augusta, and the other on July 7, at Concordia. The former was removed to Wichita in Feb .; 1872, and both were consolidated with the Topeka office on Feb. 28, (II-7)
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1889. In June, 1872, a land office was opened at Cawker City, and on June 20, 1874, additional offices were established at Hays City and Larned. In May, 1881, an office was opened at Oberlin, and two years later one was opened at Dodge City. In 1885 the state was divided into ten land districts as follows: Topeka, office at Topeka; Wichita, office at Wichita; Republican, office at Concordia; Salina, office at Salina; Western, office at Wakeeney; Osage, office at Independence; Northwestern, office at Kirwin; Northern, office at Oberlin; Arkansas Valley, office at Larned; Garden City, office at Garden City.
Under this arrangement the office at Kirwin was the one originally established at Cawker City, and the one at Wakeeney was formerly the Hays City office. The former was consolidated with the Oberlin office on Sept. II, 1893. On Jan. 25, 1891, the Larned and Garden City offices were consolidated, and on Feb. 10 the consolidated office was removed to Dodge City. About the same time the Oberlin office was removed to Colby. One by one the land districts and offices have been absorbed by those at Dodge City and Topeka, which in 1911 were the only two government land offices in Kansas. The Topeka office con- tains the records of the Lecompton, Doniphan, Atchison, Kickapoo, Fort Scott, Humboldt, Mapleton, Neodesha, Ogden, Independence, Junction City, Salina and Concordia offices, and a part of the records of the offices at Augusta and Wichita, except such as were destroyed by fire in the late fall of 1869, part of which have been replaced by copies from the general land offices at Washington. The Dodge City office holds the records of the offices formerly at Cawker City, Kirwin, Colby, Oberlin, Wakeeney, Hays City, Larned and Garden City, and a portion of the records of the old Augusta and Wichita offices.
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