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 102
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No worse possible arrangement could have been devised. Under cover. of the heavy growth of grass, the Pawnees and their French allies during the night completely hemmed in the camp on the three sides, while the river on the north cut off retreat in that direction. With the first ap- pearance of dawn on the 16th the attack was commenced. More than half of the Spaniards fell at the first volley and the Apache allies de- serted, leaving less than a score of Spanish soldiers to resist the assaults of some 250 Pawnees and French musketeers. Yet, so bravely did they defend their position that the enemy was three times driven back. At last, seeing that further resistance was useless and would lead to in- evitable destruction, a few survivors cut their way through the lines and sought safety in flight. They were not pursued, as the Pawnees turned their attention to looting the camp, and about three weeks later a bare half dozen men-all that were left of Villazur's little army- reached Santa Fe.
The place where the battle occurred is in the eastern part of what is
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now Lincoln county, Neb., a short distance below the junction of the two forks of the Platte. Dunbar says that "Almost 100 years later oc- casional relics of varying character were still found in or near Villazur's old camp ground."
In his march northward, Villazur passed through the present Kansas counties of Hamilton, Kearny, Wichita, Scott, Logan, Thomas and Rawlins. Some writers have asserted that the place where the expedi- tion met its fate is on the Missouri river. The foregoing account is taken chiefly from a paper on the subject by Prof. Dunbar, who had ac- cess to the archives in Santa Fe and in Mexico, and the statements there- in regarding the location are corroborated by Bandelier in his report of the Hemenway southwestern archaeological expedition. Bandelier also says :
"The geographical results of Villazur's expedition are about as valua- ble as' those of the journey of Leiva Bonilla and Humana in 1585 ; that is, they amount to hardly anything beyond the few data enabling us to establish the locality of the disaster. In other respects the results are very important in a negative way. The loss of so many men crippled the Spanish power at Santa Fe, and precluded all possibility of subse- quent expeditions. It gave the tribes of the plains a more moderate idea of Spanish military power, and contributed to produce that state of de- pression, resulting from continuons Indian warfare, which made the peo- ple of New Mexico so unhappy for a century or more, shaping their national character into one of resignation to any evil, provided life could be secured."
Vincent, William D,, Congressman and merchant, was born on a farm near Dresden, Tenn., Oct. 11, 1852. Ten years later his parents re- moved to Riley county. Kan., where he was educated in the public schools and in the Agricultural College. He engaged in the mercan- tile business at Clay Center ; was elected to the city council in 1880; was one of the nominees of the Greenback party for presidential elector in 1884 : was a member of the state board of railroad commissioners in 1893- 94: and in 1896 was elected to Congress as a Populist. After serving one term in Congress he resumed his business pursuits at Clay Center.
Vine, a village on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R .. in Ottawa county. is 18 miles east of Minneapolis, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice and telegraph and express office. The population in 1910 was 50. The railroad name is Vine Creek.
Vining, an incorporated city of the third class, is located on the line between Clay and Washington counties, 17 miles northwest of Clay Center. Being situated on the Republican river and at the junction of the Missouri Pacific and the Union Pacific railroads, it is a trading cen- ter and important shipping point for a large agricultural district. It is supplied with a number of well stocked stores, a grain elevator, tele- graph and express offices, good public schools, etc. The population in 1910 was 191.
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Vinland, one of the early settlements of Douglas county, is located on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 7 miles south of Lawrence. The first settlers located there in 1854, among them Jacob Branson (q. v.), Charles Dow, Franklin Coleman and several others. In 1857 a sawmill was erected in the vicinity and the first school was opened in the fall of 1858 in a building built by subscription: The town was of some im- portance during the years 1857-58, but did not grow much. In the early '70s a cheese factory was established and in 1878 the Presbyterian church was erected. Today it is the supply and shipping town for a fine agri- cultural district, with a money order postoffice, express and telegraph facilities and in 1910 had a population of 75.
Vinton, a country postoffice in Cowley county, is located on the Mis- souri Pacific R. R. about 12 miles southeast of Winfield, the county seat. It has one general store. The population in 1910 was 20.
Viola, an incorporated city of the third class in Sedgwick county, is located in the township of the same name on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient railroads, 24 miles south- west of Wichita, the county seat. It has a bank, a telephone exchange owned by a local company, general stores, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 156. It is located in a good agricultural district for which it is the receiving and shipping point.
Virgil, a village of Greenwood county, is located on the Atchison, To- peka & Santa Fe R. R. and the Verdigris river in Lane township, about 20 miles northeast of Eureka, the county seat, and about 7 miles from Quincy. The town is supplied with telegraph and express offices and a money order postoffice with one rural route. Several of the leading religious denominations have church buildings, the schools are good, and the main lines of mercantile enterprise are well represented. The . population according to the census report of 1910 was 173.
Vliets, a village of Marshall county, is located in Noble township, 25 miles southeast of Marysville on the Missouri Pacific R. R. and the Ver- milion river. The main lines of business and professional pursuits are represented. It has banking facilities, telegraph and express offices and a postoffice with one rural mail route. The population in 1910 was 350.
Volland, a country postoffice in Wabaunsee county, is located in Wash -. ington township on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 8 miles from Alma, the county seat. It has a general store and telegraph and express offices. The population in 1910 was 26.
W
Wabaunsee (Indian spelling, Wabonsa, derived from Wah-bon-seh, meaning "Dawn of Day"), was a Pottawatomie chief who lived with his tribe in Iowa, within the confines of what is now Mills county, on Wa- bonsie creek. He was partially civilized and occupied a log house on the creek bank. In 1848 he came with his tribe to Kansas and located on
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that part of the Pottawatomie reservation which lay in Wabaunsee county. He was an old man when he came to Kansas and died on the reservation a few years later. His name was gained by a daring feat of his youth, when he went alone on an expedition against the Osages to avenge the death of a friend. He crept into the camp and succeeded in toma- hawking a dozen warriors before the alarm was given, making his es- cape just at break of day. "Wah-bon-seh !" he exclaimed, which literally means, "day a little," and took that for his name. The village and county of Wabaunsee were named for him.
Wabaunsee, a little town in Wabaunsee county, is located in the town- ship of the same name on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 12 miles north of Alma, the county seat. It has churches, schools, gen- eral stores, telegraph and express offices and a money order postoffice. This is one of the historic villages of the state. The first settlement was made here in 1854 by a colony of 34 people of mixed nationalities. It was followed in 1856 by a colony of 65 members of the Beecher Bible and Rifle company (q. v.), and the stone building erected in 1862 as a home for this organization is one of the old landmarks which attracts old settlers' meetings once a year. Rev. Harvey Jones came to this point as a missionary in 1855. For many years this was the only settle- ment west of Topeka. It was the county seat until after the war when it lost to Alma after a three years' struggle. Wabaunsee was referred to by the pro-slavery men in the early days as the "Abolition nest."
Wabaunsee County, in the eastern part of the state, is located a little north of a central line running east and west and about 75 miles west of the Missouri river. It has an area of 804 square miles ; is bounded on the north by Riley county and the Kansas river which separates it from Pottawatomie and Jackson counties; on the east by Shawnee and Osage counties ; on the south by Lyon and Morris, and on the west by Morris, Geary and Riley counties. The northern boundary is extremely irregu- lar, following the winding course of the Kansas river, the northeast cor- ner being 6 miles south of the northwest corner. Wabaunsee was one of the 33 counties created by the first territorial legislature in 1855, and at that time was named Richardson, but as such never had any officers and was attached to Shawnee county for all revenue and judicial pur- poses. In 1859 the legislature changed the name from Richardson to Wabaunsee in memory of the Pottawatomie chief "Wabonsa," signify- ing "The Dawn of Day."
It is hard to determine who were the first white men to visit this section of Kansas. It is claimed by some that Coronado's expedition passed through what is now Wabaunsee county in the winter of 1541- 42, but it is hardly probable. (See Coronado's Expedition.) French, in his Louisiana Historical Collections, says that during the first quar- ter of the 17th century French traders went among the Pawnees, who hunted along the Kansas river. It is claimed by some historians that the French explorer Dutisne passed west through the valley of the Kan- sas in 1720, and four years later the Bourgmont expedition followed the
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south bank of the Kansas beyond the junction of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers. In 1842, the Fremont expedition passed up the Kan- sas valley on its way west. Fremont says, "we crossed at Io a. m. (June 20) the Big Vermilion."
The earliest permanent settlements were made about 1853-54. One of the first settlers, a few miles north of the present town of Wilmington, was Henry Harvey, who came into the county with his family in 1854. The settlement there prospered and by the close of the war so many settlers had come that in 1869 a postoffice was established and named Harveyville in honor of the first settler. Newbury, on the west bank of Mulberry creek, was started by Dan Horne of Topeka, Col. Allen Phillips and three men named Lakin, Kellum and Bartling. John P. Gleich settled in what is now Farmer township and soon after Peter Thoes, Frank Schmidt, R. Schrader and a man named Schranke entered land. These early settlers located in different parts of the county and the first collective settlement was made in the Mill creek valley, in what is now Wabaunsee township, by Robert Banks, D. B. Hiatt, Peter and Bartholomew Sarra, J. H. Nesbit, J. M. Bisby, Joshua Smith, Clark .Lap- ham and a minister named Leonard.
In 1856 he population of the county was increased by the Beecher Bible and Rifle company, a body of people from Connecticut who or- ganized for the purpose of coming to Kansas to aid in making it a free state. Sixty-five of the colony, exclusive of women and children, each with a Bible in his pocket and a rifle on his shoulder, encamped on May I, 1856, in the northwest part of the county on the south bank of the Kansas river, where Wabaunsee now stands. The colonists proposed to locate a town site and secure a farm for each member. On the way west, one of the members of the company purchased a sawmill in Kan- sas City. It was brought to the settlement and as there was a good sup- ply of timber in the vicinity, log cabins were soon built and the mill kept busy supplying lumber for the pioneer homes. The members of the colony were all Congregationalists, and soon erected the first church in the county as well as a two-story school building. In time the church was replaced by a fine stone structure. Soon after their set- tlement the men organized a military company known as the "Prairie Guards," one of the first organizations in the territory to be armed with Sharp's rifles. This company took part in the border warfare of 1856.
A second colony was formed by a party of Germans in Cincinnati, Ohio, who upon their arrival in Wabaunsee county, selected a site near the two branches of Mill creek and laid out the town of Alma. These peo- ple were poor and within a short time the Alma Town association broke up, the site being preëmpted by individuals. In 1857 many settlers came directly from Germany. The following year Gottlieb Zwanziger built the first grist mill and John Hankammer a sawmill. In 1857 Wabaun- see colony was increased by S. H. Fairfield, S. R. Weed, Enoch, L. H. and J. E. Platt, men from Mendon, Ill., who volunteered to go to Kan- sas to aid in securing its admission as a free state. The white popula- tion of Wabaunsee county at the close of 1857 was about 400.
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To perfect the organization of Wabaunsee county an election was held in March, 1859. There were two voting precincts, one at Alma, the other at Wabaunsee. One hundred and eleven votes were cast and the following officers were elected: Henry Harvey, J. M. Hubbard and Gottlieb Zwanziger, commissioners: J. M. Hubbard, probate judge; J. M. Harvey, clerk of the court ; John Hodgson, sheriff ; Moses C. Welsh, register of deeds; Henry Harvey, treasurer; Gottlieb Zwanziger, sur- veyor ; R. G. Terry, county attorney ; S. F. Ross, auditor ; J. E. Platt, su- perintendent of schools, and August Brasche, coroner. Prior to this time Wabaunsee had consisted of one civil township, but at the meet- ing of the board of commissioners they divided it into Alma, Wabaunsee, Mission Creek and Wilmington townships. When the Pottawatomie reservation was thrown open in 1870, the territory embraced within its limits was called Newbury township. From this time as the popula- tion increased the first townships were divided to form the thirteen civil townships into which the county is now divided, viz : Alma, Farmer, Garfield, Kaw, Maplehill, Mill Creek, Mission Creek, Newbury, Plumb, Rock Creek, Wabaunsee, Washington and Wilmington.
When the county was organized Wabaunsee was made the seat of justice, as it was the only town in the county. Its location, however, was not central and it was felt at the time that as the county settled up efforts would be made to change the county seat to a point nearer the geographical center. No permanent county buildings were erected and on Nov. 22, 1866, the question of a permanent location was submitted to the people, Alma and Wabaunsee being the contesting points. The re- sult was a majority of 28 votes for Alma, and in December the county records and offices were transferred to that place, where a small frame building had been erected for county and court-house purposes. Still the permanent location of the seat of justice hung in the balance, for Alma was a town in name only, there being only two buildings on the site in 1869. In 1870 the question of a change again arose and excite- ment ran high. The contesting points were Alma, Newbury and Esk- ridge. At the election held on Feb. 7, 1871, Alma received 369, New- bury 217 and Eskridge 256 votes. As there was no choice another elec- tion was ordered for Feb. 21. Circulars were scattered all over the county, each town setting forth the advantages it offered. Alma pledged to give the county "a safe, well-built, handsome stone building worth from $6,000 to $10,000." The result of this election was 465 votes for Alma and 429 for Eskridge. According to the promise made, the people of Alma soon erected a stone court-house at a cost of $8,000.
In 1870 the legislature took the greater part of Zeandale township, then the northwest township of the county, and annexed it to the res- ervation.
The Underground Railroad (q. v.) was succesfully operated in Wa- baunsee county during the last few years of slavery. There were two stations in the county-one on Mission creek in the southeast and one at Wabaunsee near the northwest corner-and runaway negroes who ar-
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rived at Mission creek were taken in charge by a conductor, who took them to Wabaunsee, where they were placed in charge of another con- ductor to be taken to the next station, etc.
At the outbreak of the Civil war the population of Wabaunsee county was about 1,050. The voting population, however, was only 250, but as nearly all the settlers were from New England they loyally responded to the call for volunteers, and 112 men enlisted for service, giving Wa- baunsee a long roll of honor in the military history of the nation.
The Wabaunsee County Herald, the first newspaper in the county, made its initial appearance on April 1, 1869. It was owned and edited by Sellers & Bertram. On Oct. 1, 1869, a half interest in the paper was sold to S. H. Fairfield, who in 1871 became sole proprietor and changed the name to the Alma Union. On May 1, 1872, Fairfield resold to Sel- lers, and the name of the paper was again changed to, the Wabaunsee County News. The Landmark was started by E. H. Sandford in the spring of 1871, but the publication was discontinued in 1874.
The first railroad to enter the county was a branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, running from Burlingame northwest to Alma, which was built in 1880. Since then the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific has been built, entering near the northeast corner and crossing the county in a southwest direction to Alta Vista. A branch of the same system leaves the main land at McFarland and runs northwest through Man- hattan. There are over 75 miles of main track railroad in the county.
The east and west portions of the county are undulating prairie, but the central and northern portions are hilly, breaking into bluffs along the streams. The valleys, ordinarily, are about a mile wide and cover about one-fifteenth of the area. The timber belts along the streams vary in width from a few rods to half a 'mile, and consist of walnut, cottonwood, white and burr-oak, mulberry, dog-wood and locust. Corn is the prin- cipal cereal, though winter wheat, potatoes, millet, Kafir corn and al- falfa are raised. The county leads in the production of sweet potatoes and ranks high in live stock. In 1907 there were 70,000 bearing fruit trees. Thick ledges of limestone underlie the whole county ; cement rock of good quality is found near Alma and thin veins of coal have been found in different places. The northern and central portions of the county are drained by the Kansas river, which forms the northern bound- ary, Mill creek and its branches, while the southern and eastern portions are drained by Rock, Elm, Dragon and Mission creeks.
Alma, on Mill creek, in the northwestern part of the county, is the seat of justice and the principal town. The population of the county in 1910 was 12.721.
Waco, a hamlet in Sedgwick county, is located 12 miles south of Wichita, the county seat, and 4 from Haysville, the nearest shipping point. It has one general store. Mail is delivered from Peck. The popu- lation in 1910 was 41.
Waconda Springs, a hamlet of Mitchell county, named after the chief god of the Kaw Indians, is located in the northwest corner of the county,
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in Cawker township, on the Missouri Pacific R. R., and at the junction of the two forks of the Solomon river, 20 miles west of Beloit, the county seat, and about 2 miles west of Cawker City, from which place it receives mail. The population in 1910 was 32. Near the town is the noted spring of the same name, from which water is shipped to be used for its health giving properties. This was one of the earliest established towns of the county, and in 1871 was quite an important little village. Most of the buildings were later moved to Cawker City.
Wade, a hamlet in the northwestern part of Miami county, is about II miles from Paola, the county seat, from which it has rural delivery. Wellsville is the nearest railroad station.
Wagner, a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. in Marion county, is located 10 miles south of Marion, the county seat, and about 5 miles west of Florence, from which place it receives mail.
Wagonda Da .- (See Great Spirit Spring.)
Wagstaff, a village in the northeastern part of Miami county, is on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 8 miles northeast of Paola, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, telegraph and express offices, and in 1910 had a population of 35.
Wakarusa, a little town in Shawnee county, is located in William- sport township on the Wakarusa river and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 12 miles south of Topeka, the county seat. It has a grain elevator, a cider mill, a number of stores, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with two rural routes. It is a popular summer camping place for Topeka people, and a large camp is maintained throughout the season by the Young Women's Christian As- sociation. This is a receiving and shipping point for a large and pros- perous farming district. The population in 1910 was 150. The town was founded in 1858 by two men named Mills and Smith, and was at first named Kingston in honor of Zenas King, one of the parties interested. The postoffice had already been established under the name of Wakarusa and the name of the town was changed to correspond.
Wakarusa Creek, a historic Kansas stream, rises in the eastern part of Wabaunsee county and has a number of small affluents near its head- waters. Its course is slightly to the north of east through Shawnee and Douglas counties, until it empties into the Kansas river about a mile east of the town of Eudora. Its estimated length is about 50 miles. One of the earliest mentions of the stream was by S. H. Long, the ex- plorer, in 1819. The name, according to Holloway's History of Kan- sas. comes from an Indian legend, which says that a "maiden, during a great freshet, sought to cross the stream on horseback. As she pro- ceeded across, the waters became deeper and deeper, until her body was half immersed, when she exclaimed. 'Wakarusa! (hip deep). Though she crossed in safety, still the savages from this occurrence, named the stream Wakarusa."
During the troublous times of the early territorial days the region along the Wakarusa was the scene of much strife between the pro-
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slavery and free-state forces, the celebrated "Wakarusa war" being fought there on Nov. 27, 1855. The Methodist Episcopal mission was located near the mouth of the stream about 1842, and was in charge of Rev. Abraham Still and others.
Wakarusa War .- During the summer and fall of 1855, excitement ran high in Kansas on account of the struggle between the free-state and pro-slavery parties. Several events occurred which made strife between men of opposing political interests more bitter. Charles W. Dow, a free-state man, was shot by Franklin N. Coleman, a pro-slavery leader of Hickory Point (q. v.) in a dispute over a claim. This occurred on Nov. 21, 1855, and was the beginning of a series of difficulties which led to the Wakarusa war. The culminating event was the rescue by free- state men of Jacob Branson, with whom Dow had lived, after his arrest by Samuel J. Jones, sheriff of Douglas county. Jones at once started for Franklin with his posse, and sent a dispatch to his father-in-law, Col. Boone, at Westport, Mo., asking for aid to recapture Branson. Word was also sent to Gov. Shannon at the Shawnee Mission, for 3,000 men to put down the rebellion at Lawrence. There are people who believe that the whole affair was planned as a trap to catch the free-state men and to serve as an excuse for the destruction of Lawrence.
Without ascertaining the actual condition of affairs, the governor issued a proclamation calling out the militia of Kansas-which really meant the ruffians of Missouri-to put down the rebellion at Lawrence. The people of Missouri were ready and were not long in responding to the call. Holloway, in his History of Kansas, says, "For two or three counties back from the western line of Missouri, troops were sent fully equipped and expecting to fight." In three days some 1,500 had rushed across the border and were confronting Lawrence. Said Gov. Shannon : "Missouri sent not only her young men, but her gray-haired citizens were there. The man of seventy winters stood shoulder to shoulder with the youth of sixteen. There were volunteers in that camp and with them were not only their sons, but their grandsons to join in the fray." The main camp of the besiegers was near Franklin, about 3 miles southeast of Lawrence, and the other wing was in position near Lecompton, under command of Strickler and Richardson.
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