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 33
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Midway, a mining town in Crawford county, is located on the Atchi- son, Topeka & Santa Fe and the St. Louis & San Francisco railroads, 16 miles southeast of Girard, the county seat. The mining company maintains a general store and there is a money order postoffice. The town was formerly known as Nyack. The population in 1910 was 400.
Miege, John B., the first Roman Catholic bishop of Kansas, was born in the parish of Chevron, Upper Savoy, in 1815. He completed his liter- ary studies at the age of nineteen years, but spent two years more in the seminary, and on Oct. 23, 1836, he was admitted into the Society of Jesus at Milan. On Oct. 15, 1838, he pronounced his first vows, after which he studied in various institutions until 1847, when he was ordained to the priesthood. Two years later he came to America to take up the work of missionary among the Indians, but was made pastor of a parish at St. Charles, Mo., where he remained until March 25, 1851, when he was consecrated Bishop of Messenia, his diocese embracing the territory from the Missouri river to the Rocky mountains. His first chapel was a building 24 by 40 feet at Leavenworth, and in 1855 he began the erec- tion of the cathedral there. In 1864 he visited South America to raise funds for the completion of the building. He retired from the episcopate in 1874 and was then connected with the St. Louis University, Wood- stock College in Maryland, and with church work at Detroit, Mich., until stricken with paralysis in the early '8os. He died on July 20, 1884.
Milan, a little town in Sumner county, is located in Ryan township, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 15 miles west of Wellington, the county seat. It has a bank, a mill and elevator, a number of good retail stores, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with two rural routes. The population according to the census of 1910 was 250. The town was founded in 1880, the postoffice and school house antedating the town by several years. The first teacher in the new school building in Milan was a Mrs. Merrill, and the first postmaster was I. D. Moffitt, who was also the first storekeeper. The first birth, as well as the first death, was that of the little son of Mr. Moffitt. The first marriage was between Nannie Hankins and W. D. Baker. Dr. Wil- liam Cummings was the first physician and erected a drug store when the town was founded.
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Milberger, a country postoffice in Russell county, is located in Lin- coln township, 13 miles south of Russell, the county seat and nearest shipping point.
Mildred, a thriving little town in the northeastern part of Allen coun- ty, is a station on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R., about 15 miles from Iola, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, express and telegraph offices, a good local trade, and in 1910 reported a population of 300. It is also a shipping point of some importance for that section of the county.
Miles, a country postoffice in Meade county, is located in Cimarron township and on the Cimarron river, about 22 miles south of Meade, the county seat, and 16 miles north of Beaver, Okla., the nearest shipping point. The population in 1910 was 20.
Milford, a village in Geary county, is located in the township of the same name on the Republican river and the Union Pacific R. R., 12 miles north of Junction City, the county seat. It has a bank, a grain elevator, 2 flour mills, all lines of mercantile business, a telegraph office, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 250. The town was laid out in 1855 under the name of Bach- elder. The postoffice was established in 1861 and the first postmaster was Major Barry.
Military Order of the Loyal Legion .- (See Loyal Legion.)
Military Posts .- (See Forts and Camps.)
Militia .- The first session of the territorial legislature, which met on July 2, 1855, passed a long act of 27 sections providing for the organiza- tion of the militia. This was what is known as the "bogus legislature," elected by the votes of Missourians, and the actual residents of the terri- tory refused to be governed by its enactments. Consequently, the organization of the militia under the provisions of the act mentioned was more in theory than in fact. On Feb. 12, 1858, the first free-state legislature passed an act declaring every white male inhabitant between the ages of 18 and 45 years subject to military duty and a part of the militia of Kansas. The act also provided for a major-general, 8 brig- adier-generals, an inspector-general, an adjutant-general, a quartermas- ter-general, a commissary-general and a surgeon-general, these officers to be elected by the legislature and to constitute a military board, which should have control of all matters pertaining to the militia. The object of the legislature in creating this board was to take the matter out of the hands of the territorial authorities, which were friendly to the slave power, and for that reason the act was vetoed by the governor, but was passed over the veto. (See Denver's Administration.)
A thorough reorganization of the militia was effected soon after Kan- sas was admitted into the Union. By the act of April 22, 1861, all male citizens between the ages of 21 and 45 years were declared to be part of the militia, except such persons as might be exempt by the laws of the United States; those who had served for five years in the United States army or the active state militia; superintendents of the state
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charitable and penal institutions, and railway conductors or engineers actually engaged in the train service of any railroad company. Persons having conscientious scruples against bearing arms could be exempted by payment of $5 annually. The active militia was defined as the mem- bers of volunteer companies, subject to the call of the governor, who was commander-in-chief, by virtue of the state constitution.
Under the operation of this law, Kansas was divided into two militia districts, separated by the Kansas river, and the number of brigades in each district was to be directed by the commander-in-chief. From three to six companies of the active militia were to constitute a battalion; from five to eleven companies were to be formed into a regiment, and all enlistments were to be for a period of five years. Counties were auth- orized to create a military fund for the volunteer companies therein, and the mayor and council of every city where a volunteer company might be enrolled were directed to erect an armory for such company. By the act of May 1, 1861, the governor was authorized to tender to the United States government one or more regiments of the state militia.
While the Civil war was in progress, very little attention was given to the organization or discipline of the militia. Practically all the men subject to service in the active militia enlisted in some of the volunteer organizations and were mustered into the service of the United States "for three years, or during the war." Early in 1865, when it became apparent that the war was nearing an end, the legislature again turned its attention to the subject of the state militia. On Feb. 13, 1865, an act was passed providing for the compensation and discipline of the state troops, and for their expenses incurred in the Price raid the previous autumn. This law, with some amendments, remained the militia law of the state until 1885.
By the act of March 7, 1885, the militia of Kansas underwent for a second time a complete reorganization, and the name was changed to the Kansas National Guard. In April the work of reorganization was commenced. All the old organizations that did not desire to remain as part of the national guard were mustered out under the new law; new companies and regiments were mustered in; rules and regulations for the government of the guard were adopted, etc. The state was made one military district, to be under the command of a major-general, but there were four brigade districts, each under the command of a brig- adier-general. The major-general and the four brigadier-generals were authorized to act as a military board. The first board, which was organ- ized on June 21, 1885, consisted of Maj .- Gen. Thomas M. Carroll, Brig .- Gens. A. M. Fuller, T. McCarthy, Adam Dixon and J. N. Roberts, with Adjt .- Gen. A. B. Campbell as secretary. The law also provided for an annual muster and camp of instruction, and the first annual muster was held at Topeka from Sept. 28, to Oct. 3, 1885. Since then annual musters and camps of instruction have been held regularly, and they have been the means of awakening considerable interest among the young men of the state in military maneuvers. Friendly rivalry, or rather emulation,
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has been stimulated by the act of Feb. 27, 1907, which provided for target practice, the state paying three cents for each shot fired on a state range, under the direction of a commissioned officer, upon a proper report being filed. Since the passage of this law the members of the national guard have become much more proficient in the use of the rifle.
Another act relating to the national guard was approved by Gov. Stubbs on March 12, 1909, authorizing the military board to build armories for drill, meeting and rendezvous, and provided that such armories should be open to the Grand Army of the Republic, Spanish- American War Veterans and auxiliary societies. At the same time it was provided that enlistments should be for four years, and that the military board should act in an advisory capacity to the commander- in-chief.
On a number of occasions the militia or the national guard has been called upon to aid in the enforcement of law or to preserve order. The most notable instances of this character were in the county seat con- tests in some of the western counties, particularly in Stevens and Sher- man counties. In the great railroad strike of 1878 some of the companies were called into active service, and the troops were in evidence in the Missouri Pacific strike of 1886. The state has been liberal in her sup- port of the national guard since the passage of the law of 1885, about $20,000 being annually expended on the camps of instruction, and some- thing like $30,000 more for the support of the adjutant-general's office, company drills, armory rent, medals, target practice, etc.
The state constitution provides that "Officers. of the militia shall be elected or appointed and commissioned in such manner as may be pro- vided by law." Under the law of 1909 the state constitutes one brigade district, under the command of a brigadier-general, and is divided into regimental districts. The governor appoints the brigadier-general, with the consent of the senate; the field officers of each regiment are chosen by the commissioned officers of the several companies composing the regiment, and the company officers are elected by the enlisted men be- longing to the company. The adjutant-general has control of the mili- tary department of the state, in which he is subordinate only to the governor. He exercises a general supervision over all military affairs and performs the duties of his department under the usage and regula- tions of the United States army. The governor, as commander-in-chief, has power to call out the national guard at any time to suppress insur- rection, repel invasion, or to aid in the execution of the laws. Mayors of cities of the first class also have power to call out any local company of the guard to disperse unlawful assemblies or to assist in preserving the peace.
Every company is required to meet at its armory for drill and instruc- tion at least twice each month, and at such meetings some officer capable of imparting military instruction conducts a drill of not less than two hours' duration in the "school of the soldier," the manual of arms, etc. In addition to the annual camp of instruction, there is a semi-annual
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inspection of each regiment and battalion, made by the commanding officer thereof, or under his supervision. These are known as the spring and fall inspections. In April, 1911, the Kansas National Guard was composed of one brigade of two regiments-the First and Second infan- try-each made up of twelve companies; a battery of field artillery ; a signal corps and a hospital corps. The First regiment was commanded by Col. Wilder S. Metcalf, and the Second by Col. Perry M. Hoisington. The brigade was at that time under the command of Brig .- Gen. Charles S. Huffman. In addition to this organization there were two provisional companies-Capt. Clinton R. Shiffler's company at Lawrence, which was attached to the First infantry for duty, and Capt. Harry M. Snyder's company at Independence, which was attached to the Second infantry. Battery A, field artillery, was commanded by Capt. William A. Pattison, with headquarters at Topeka.
Such is the peace footing of the national guard, but the military spirit is strong in Kansas, and with the excellent commanders, the inculcation of the proper esprit de corps, the state has as fine a body of citizen sol- diery as any in the Union, always ready to answer the call of duty.
Millard, an inland hamlet of Barton county, is located 20 miles north- west of Great Bend, the county seat, and 10 miles in the same direction from Hoisington, the nearest railroad station and the postoffice from which mail is delivered by rural route.
Miller, a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R. in the northeastern part of Lyon county, is located 19 miles northeast of Emporia, the county seat, and 8 miles west of Osage City, Osage county, from which place it is furnished with mail by rural route. It has express and telegraph offices, and the population according to the census of 1910 was 24.
Miller, James Monroe, lawyer and member of Congress, was born at Three Springs, Pa., May 6, 1852, the son of Jonathan and Christiana Miller. He was educated at Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport, Pa., and soon after arriving at his majority he decided that the West offered greater opportunities for young men than did Pennsylvania. Accord- ingly he came to Kansas, located at Council Grove, where he took up the study of law, and in 1880 he was admitted to the bar. Soon after his admission he was elected county attorney of Morris county, and was twice reelected. During the six years he served as county attorney he became well acquainted throughout the county ; was active in political affairs as a Republican ; was one of the presidential electors on the Re- publican ticket in 1884; and in 1898 was elected to represent the 4th district in the lower branch of Congress. He was reelected at each suc- ceeding election until 1908, and was a candidate for renomination in 1910, but was defeated in the primary by Fred S. Jackson. In his reli- gious affiliations Mr. Miller is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in 1896 he was a delegate to the general conference of that denomination. On Dec. 23, 1884, while serving as county attorney, Mr. Miller married Miss Mamie R. Dillon, of Council Grove.
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Miller, Josiah, who started one of the first newspapers in Kansas, was born in Chester district, S. C., Nov. 12, 1828. He was educated at the Indiana University, where he graduated in 1851, after which he also graduated at the law school at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and in Aug., 1854, he came to Kansas. As his father had been waylaid and mobbed because of his anti-slavery views, it was but natural that Josiah should be an ardent opponent of slavery, and on Jan. 5, 1855, he began the publica- tion of the "Kansas Free State" at Lawrence. A pro-slavery jury found an indictment against him for maintaining a nuisance in the publication of this paper, and on May 21, 1856, his printing office was destroyed by the territorial authorities. In that year he made speeches in several states for John C. Fremont, the Republican candidate for president, and in 1857 was elected probate judge of Douglas county. In 1861 he was a member of the first state senate, but resigned his seat in that body to become postmaster at Lawrence. While in the senate he was chairman of the judiciary committee. In 1863 he was appointed a paymaster in the army, with the rank of major, and in 1866 was elected a member of the legislature. His death occurred at Lawrence on July 7, 1870, after having a leg amputated. The inscription on the monument erected to his memory in Oak Hill cemetery credits him with being the author of the motto, "Ad astra per aspera," on the Kansas seal of state.
Miller, Orrin L., jurist and member of Congress, was born at New- bury, Me., Jan. II, 1856. He received a good common school education, studied law, and in 1880 was admitted to the bar at Bangor. In the fall of that year he came to Kansas and located at Kansas City, where he opened a law office. Within a short time he became recognized as one of the local Republican leaders, and was appointed judge of the 29th judicial district in March, 1887. He was elected to that office in No- vember of the same year, but in 1891 he resigned to resume the practice of law. He accepted the nomination for Congress on the Republican ticket in 1894, was elected and served one term. After retiring from Congress he resumed his law practice.
Millerton, a hamlet of Sumner county, is located in Illinois township on the Missouri Pacific R. R., about 15 miles northwest of Wellington, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, some general stores, telegraph and express offices, etc. The population in 1910 was 60.
Millspaugh, Frank Rosebrook, Protestant Episcopal bishop of Kan- sas, was born on April 12, 1848, at Nichols, Tioga county, N. Y. He is of Dutch and Huguenot ancestry, the name having originally been spelled "Miltzbach." In 1857 his parents removed to Minnesota, where he received his early education in the parish schools, after which he com- pleted the course at Shattuck Hall in 1869, and in 1872 graduated at the Seabury Divinity School with the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. In June, 1873, he was made a deacon in the church, and the following year was ordained to the priesthood. His first charge was at Duluth, Minn. In 1876 he was made dean of the cathedral at Omaha, Neb., where he remained for ten years, at the end of which time he went to St. Paul's
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church at Minneapolis, Minn. In 1894 he became dean of the Grace cathedral at Topeka, Kan., and the next year succeeded Bishop Thomas as the executive head of the diocese. Bishop Millspaugh has been active in his work of building up the church in Kansas. He has cleared off a debt of $35,000 against Bethany College at Topeka; has built sixteen new churches, and has been the means of increasing the membership in most of the older congregations. He was united in marriage in 1882 with Miss Mary M. Clarkson, daughter of Bishop Clarkson, of Omaha.
Milo, a country trading point in Lincoln county, is located on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., about 16 miles northeast of Lin- coln, the county seat. It has 2 stores, an express office, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 50.
Milton, one of the villages of Sumner county, is located in Eden township on the Missouri Pacific and on the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient railroads, about 21 miles northwest of Wellington, the county seat. It has two sets of telegraph and express offices, a money order postoffice with one rural route, a number of retail stores and a bank. The population in 1910 was 150.
Miltonville, a city of the third class in Cloud county, is located on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Union Pacific railroads, 21 miles southeast of Concordia, the county seat. It has 2 banks, a weekly news- paper (the Record), a hotel, all lines of mercantile enterprise, express and telegraph affices, and an international money order postoffice with four rural routes. The population in 1910 was 829. It is an important shipping point for grain, live stock and produce.
Mina, a hamlet of Marshall county, is located in St. Bridget township, on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 20 miles northeast of Marysville, the county seat, and 6 miles from Summerfield. It has an express office and postoffice. The population in 1910 was 38.
Mine Creek, Battle of .- In the fall of 1864 Gen. Price began his raid through Kansas. On Oct. 24 the Confederate forces entered Kansas and camped on the Marais des Cygnes. At that time Mound City was de- fended by 80 men of the Fifteenth Kansas, under Capt. Green, and three companies of militia, negroes and exempts. The Confederates were followed by the Union forces, and Gen. Pleasanton despatched Col. Moonlight with his regiment to the right to flank the enemy and keep him from going too far west, and at the same time reinforce Mound City, which was reached about midnight. Early next morning Gen. Pleasanton drove Price's rear-guard from the Marais des Cygnes. Be- fore Col. Moonlight reached Mound City scouts had brought word that a detachment of Price's army was advancing on the town and had taken position on the heights to the northeast. The Union forces attacked before daylight in a heavy rain. After being challenged they advanced rapidly up the hill, a Confederate battery opened, but the Union men steadily advanced to the top of the mound, drove the defenders from it and opened fire on the men drawn up in the fields beyond. The mound at the right was next carried and the Union forces then advanced upon
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the Confederates, 2,000 strong, drawn up in line of battle on the edge of the timber, with a battery of artillery. Gens. Curtis and Pleasanton were in command and directed the advance. The Confederates retreated to a point where three roads met the main one, which crossed the stream. Gen. Pleasanton pressed them closely and they formed in the timber along Mine creek, about 5 miles south of Mound City. One line was drawn up on the north bank, and by this time showed a force of 12,000 inen. Gen. Price commanded in person, with Fagan and Marmaduke under him. A long train and the divisions under Shelby and Tyler were drawn up on the south bank of the creek, while on the left of the Con- federate line were stationed 10 pieces of artillery.
The Union army charged the enemy's center, the line broke and fled across the creek, and Col. Benteen pursued until recalled by Gen. Pleas- anton. A number of Confederates were captured and a number of Union officers and men wounded. Richard Hinton says: "The field was won against 12,000 by two brigades, numbering not more than 2,500." It is believed that the victory was largely due to the vigorous driving of the Confederates from the Marais des Cygnes early in the morning, and the successful capture of the mounds before daylight. Had the tide of battle turned in favor of Price, Fort Scott, an important post, and "the whole southeastern part of Kansas would have fallen prey to the rebel army."
Mineral, an incorporated city of the third class in Cherokee county. is a mining town on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R., 8 miles northwest of Columbus, the county seat. It has a money order post- office. West Mineral, an addition to the original town, has an inter- national money order postoffice. The combined population of the two towns is 1,170. There are all lines of mercantile enterprise, a bank, a newspaper (the Mineral Cities Times), an opera house, an electric rail- way to Columbus, telegraph and express offices, etc.
Mineral Springs .- Many definitions are given mineral water. One chemist's definition is water which, "by the nature of its principles or by its therapeutic action, differs from drinkable waters," and another is, "natural water which is employed in therapeutics because of its chemical composition or its temperature." The United States govern- ment in gathering mineral water statistics issued the following state- ment written by S. C. Peale, of the U. S. geological survey, in a circular sent to all mineral springs proprietors in the United States: "Our reports do not restrict the term 'mineral waters' to medicinal waters, but includes all spring waters put on the market whether they are util- ized as drinking or table waters, or for medicinal purposes, or used in any other way. If the water comes from a spring and is put on sale, in bottles, jugs, barrels or any other way, it is entitled to a place in our reports."
The geological survey of the University of Kansas, in explaining the origin of mineral springs, gives the geological distribution of M. Garrigau: I-warm water found in the oldest rocks (granites) ; 2-bi-
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carbonate and gaseous waters in the midst of volcano rocks; 3-fer- riginous waters which have their origin in the strata of transition ; 4-simple saline waters obtained in the secondary strata or at their limits. There seem to be two sources of mineral water. One theory is, that "while this globe was hot and surrounded by vapor there was min- gled with the vapor of water that of other substances which at the present time are solids. This condensing vapor would carry with it to the earth greater or less quantities of other elements condensed, and there formed a basis for the oceans as they now exist." The other source is the rain water.
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