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 51
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The meager curriculum of early days has expanded and developed
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until there are four departments embracing numerous courses. The departments are the college of liberal arts, with 142 students in at- tendance; the academy, 119; the school of fine arts, 275, and the busi- ness college, 81.
Otto, a country postoffice in Cowley county, is located in Grant town- ship 20 miles southeast of Winfield, the county seat, and 6 miles south- west of Hoover, the nearest railroad station. The population in 1910 was 36.
Ottumwa, one of the minor villages of Coffey county, is on the Neo- sho river about 9 miles northwest of Burlington, the county seat, from which place it receives mail. Strawn, 3 miles south, is the nearest rail- road station. This is one of the oldest places in the county, having been established in 1857. The first number of the Ottumwa Journal, which was the first paper published in the county, was issued by Jona- than Lyman prior to 1860. The town was incorporated in 1860, by act of the legislature, which act provided for a city council with power to regulate all matters. The councilmen appointed by the act of incor- poration were Ebner H. Hoult, William R. Smith, James Harris, J. W. Kerr and Enoch Maudlin. Much of the early success of the town was due to the school established at that place by the Christian church. (See Ottumwa College.)
Ottumwa College .- This institution was projected by the Methodist Episcopal church of Ottumwa, Coffey county, about the beginning of the Civil war. An elevation known as "College Hill" was selected as a site and the corner-stone of the first building was laid with imposing ceremo- nies in 1862. At that time there was more of a rivalry among the va- rious Protestant denominations than at present, and shortly after the corner-stone was laid the Christian church of Ottumwa, under the min- istrations of such men as Jenks, Cox and McCombs, experienced a re- vival that won many of the Methodists from their original faith to the Christian church. The result was that the proposed college was trans- ferred to the latter denomination.
In 1864 Rev. J. M. Rankin was placed at the head of the school and the pupils of school district No. 2 were sent to the college, the tuition being paid out of the public funds. This helped the college, but at the end of 1865 the college trustees informed the school board that the ar- rangement must cease. The board then erected a school building and employed Mr. Rankin as teacher. The college employed others and dragged along a precarious existence until the following year when it was closed. Rankin and Cox then moved to Burlington and Dr. David Gwin came to Ottumwa as the leading elder of the church. A rivalry quickly grew up between him and Dr. Jenks, the second elder, and both being physicians, it was perhaps natural that there should be some pro- fessional jealousy between them. Gwin and Jenks each tried to get hold of the school, and late in 1872 the former succeeded. He immediately turned it over to the church, a board of trustees was appointed, and ar- rangements were made to open the institution on the second Monday
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in Sept., 1873, with John McCrocker as principal and his wife as as. sistant. In August the building was totally destroyed by fire-sup- posed to have been of incendiary origin-and Ottumwa College passed into history.
Oursler, a hamlet of Marion county, is a station on the Atchison, To- peka & Santa Fe R. R. between Marion and Florence, 4 miles southeast of Marion, the county seat, and 7 miles from Florence, from which place it receives mail by rural route.
Overbrook, one of the thriving towns of Osage county, is located in Elk township on the Missouri Pacific R. R. 15 miles northeast of Lyn- cion, the county seat. It has a weekly newspaper (the Citizen), a bank, telegraph and express offices, an international money order postoffice with four rural routes, good schools and churches. It is one of the newer towns, having been founded in 1888. The population in 1910 was 575.
Overland Pony Express .- (See Pony Express.)
Oxford, one of the thriving towns of Sumner county, is located on the Arkansas river, the Missouri Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads 13 miles east of Wellington. It has a bank, a flour inill, a weekly newspaper (the Register), a large number of retail es- tabiishments, good schools and churches, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order postoffice with two rural routes. The population according to the census of 1910 was 624.
One of the first trading posts in the county was on the site of Oxford. The town was founded by a company of Osage City people in 1871. It entered the county seat fight, but was unsuccessful. The first print- ing press in the county was set up by the Oxford town company. Be- fore that a postoffice had been established under the name of Napa- walla, with L. Binkley as postmaster. Another office was established with T. E. Clark as postmaster and the first one was discontinued. The first school district in the county as organized here in Jan., 1872, and Miss Minnie Whaley was the first teacher. Oxford was incorporated as a city of the third class in Oct., 1879. The following were the first officers: Mayor, B. F. Smith ; police judge, Joseph Sleigh; city clerk, George T. Walton. The Sumner County Press, the first newspaper in the county, was started at this place in 1871.
Ozawkie (also spelled Osawkie), a village of Jefferson county, is lo- cated in Ozawkie township on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 8 miles west of Oskaloosa, the county seat. It is on the Delaware river and is the oldest town of the county, having important historical con- nection with the territorial period of the state. It was the county seat until Oct., 1858. The first settlement was made in the spring of 1854. when the Dyer brothers opened a store and started a trading post on the old military road. During that same year William O. and H. B. Tebbs. R. McCauslin and Norris S. Knight came with their families. The next year the town was laid out and the sale of lots began, although it was more than two years before the lands were to be sold by the government
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and clear titles could not be given. A sawmill and a number of business buildings of pretentious size were erected. A hotel was put up at a cost of several thousand dollars, in anticipation of the sale of lands, which it was hoped would make Ozawkie one of the leading cities of the territory. When the sale of lands was on thousands of people came to Ozawkie temporarily, and the big hotel and all the houses were filled, with many camping about on the prairies. Town lots sold for fabu- lously high prices and everything was booming. This gradually wore off and when the county seat was taken to Oskaloosa, Ozawkie's race was run, so far as being a city was concerned. At present it is just a prosperous little village, shipping farm produce and cattle to the mar- kets. It has banking facilities and all the leading business activities are represented. It also has a money order postoffice with three rural routes, express and telegraph offices, and in 1910 reported a population of 300.
P
Padilla, Francisco Juan De, a Franciscan friar and the first missionary to the Indians of Kansas, was a native of Andalusia, Spain. In early life he was a soldier, but exchanged the sword for the cassock and became an active member of the priesthood. He possessed talents of a high order, held several important positions in Old Mexico, and was at one time guardian of a convent at Jalisco. He was one of the four Franciscans who accompanied Coronado (q. v.) on his expedition to Quivira, and subsequently became a missionary to the Indians of that province. There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether he remained among the Quivirans or went back to the tribe after returning to New Mexico with Coronado. Even Castaneda, the chronicler of the Coronado expedi- tion, gives conflicting statements regarding the movements of Father Padilla. In one place he says : "A friar named Juan de Padilla remained in this province, together with a Spanish-Portuguese and a negro and a half-blood and some Indians from the province of Capothan (Capetlan), in New Spain. They killed the friar because he wanted to go to the province of the Guas, who were their enemies."
In another part of his narrative he says: "The general sent a com- pany to escort them (the priests) as far as Cicuye, where Friar Luis stopped, while Friar Juan went on back to Quivira with the guides who had conducted the general," etc.
Gen. W. W. H. Davis found at Santa Fe an old manuscript which gave the following account of Father Padilla : "When Coronado returned to Mexico, he left behind him, among the Indians of Cibola, the father fray Francisco Juan de Padilla, the father fray Juan de la Cruz, and a Portuguese named Andres del Campo. Soon after the Spaniards departed, Padilla and the Portuguese set off in search of the country of the Grand Quivira, where the former understood there were innumerable souls to be saved. After traveling several days, they reached a large settlement in the Quivira country. The Indians came out to receive them
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in battle array, when the friar, knowing their intentions, told the Por- tuguese and his attendants to take to flight, while he would await their coming, in order that they might vent their fury on him as they ran. The former took to flight, and placing themselves on a height within view, saw what happened to the friar. Padilla awaited their coming upon his knees, and when they arrived where he was they immediately put him to death. The same happened to Juan de la Cruz, who was left behind at Cibola, which people killed him. The Portuguese and his attendants made their escape, and ultimately arrived safely in Mexico, where he told what had occurred."
Prentis, in his History of Kansas, says Padilla was killed by the Quivirans "because he had left them and was on his way to spread religion to other tribes. Padilla ordered the few who were with him to escape, and kneeling, met the savage attack. Friendly Indians piled stones about his grave, making a crude monument, which stands, crown- ing the summit of a hill near Council Grove."
The monument mentioned by Prentis is about 10 feet high, 6 feet square at the base, and is constructed of loose, undressed stones. Father Padilla met his death in the fall of 1542, so that for more than three and a half centuries this rude structure, erected by the hands of uncivilized admirers, has stood as a silent witness to the fate of the first Christian martyr in Kansas.
Another monument to Father Padilla was erected in the city park at Herington, Dickinson county, at a cost of about $500, and was dedicated on Oct. 26, 1904.
Padonia, one of the little towns of Brown county, is located on the Missouri Pacific R. R. 6 miles north of Hiawatha, the county seat. It has a flour mill, a number of well stocked retail establishments, churches and schools, express and telegraph offices, and a money order postoffice. The population in 1910 was 104. The town was named after Jesse Padon, who prior to 1862 lived in a log hut on the bank of the Walnut. The postoffice was established in 1857 with Orville Root as the first post- master. The Padonia Town company built a school house in 1858.
Page, a village in Logan county, is located on the Union Pacific R. R. 12 miles north of Russell Springs, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, some general stores, etc. The population in 1910 was 75. The railroad name is Page City.
Palacky, a hamlet in Ellsworth county, is located 12 miles southwest of Ellsworth, the county seat, and 5 miles north of Holyrood, the nearest railroad station and shipping point and the postoffice from which it receives mail by rural route. The population in 1910 was 40.
Paleontology, the science of the ancient life that inhabited the earth, is the foundation upon which the geological history of the earth in a great part rests. By the aid of fossils, the remains of ancient life, the succession of rocks, their distribution and relations are determined. Kansas is famous as a region for fossils, and within the boundaries of the state varied and remarkable fossil records have been found. Accord-
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ing to Zittel, the study of paleontology is carried on by means of fossils which are "all remains or traces of plants and animals which have lived before the beginning of the present geological period, and have been preserved in rocks."
The study of paleontology is closely allied with that of biology and geology. The rocks of the earth's crust are classified according to their periods of origin into four great groups, each of which represents an era of great duration, measured in millions of years. These eras are again divided into periods represented by systems of rock formation, thirteen of which are generally recognized, and the periods are likewise subdi- vided. Beginning at the top these eras and periods are as follows: Ceno- zoic era of mammals, divided into Quarternary and Tertiary periods ; Mesozoic era of reptiles, divided into Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic periods ; Palaeozoic era of invertebrates, divided into Permian, Carbonif- erous, Devonian, Silurian, Ordovician and Cambrian periods; Eozoic, and Azoic eras. With the exception of the last two eras at the bottom of the scale, from which no satisfactory fossil remains have been obtained, each of these divisions has been found to contain fossil organ- isms, peculiar to that system and era, entirely different from any other. These organisms in any system or geological formation constitute its fossil fauna, which furnishes a somewhat imperfect synopsis of the ancient life that inhabited the vicinity of the ocean, lake or land basin in which the system or formation originated. It has been discovered that formations of different ages contain greatly diverse fauna, but in a single formation the fauna in all portions of its area of distribution are the same in general character and thus serve to identify widely sep- arated districts.
The earliest work with regard to fossils in Kansas was done in the western part of the state. The first person to make any systematic collection was the late Prof. B. F. Mudge, professor of geology at the Kansas State Agricultural College, who headed an expedition up the Republican and Solomon rivers in 1870. In Kansas the upper Creta- ceous has been divided into the Fort Pierre, subdivided into Arickaree shales and Lisbon shales; Niobrara, subdivided into Peteranodon beds and Fort Hayes beds; Benton, subdivided into the upper and lower group; Dakota; Comanche; red beds and Permian. The richest fossil fields are found in the chalk beds of Rush county, the Niobrara chalk of Trego county and of Plumb creek, and the Fort Hayes beds of the Smoky Hill river in Gove county.
Birds are the rarest of vertebrate fossils, for although abundant they did not fall into such positions that they would easily fossilize. In the lower Cretaceous no birds are as yet known, and from the upper Cre- taceous the only remains in America are from New Jersey and the Nio- brara formations of Kansas and Wyoming. Of these, 20 of the best specimens came from Kansas, the first of which was discovered in 1870. One of the most important specimens was discovered by Prof. Mudge
(II-28)
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near Sugar Bowl mound in northwest Kansas in 1872, and large collec- tions were made in this state in succeeding years.
The group of dinosaurs contains the largest land animals that ever existed, in some cases reaching such enormous proportions as to be almost incredible. The smallest were about the size of a cat, while the largest reached a length of 60 feet or more. These reptiles were not crawling animals, but walked erect, after the manner of a kangaroo. The dinosaurs ranged in time from the Triassic to the close of the Cre- taceous. The single known dinosaur specimen from Kansas was discov- ered in 1872 in the Niobrara chalk of the Smoky Hill river.
The earliest fossil crocodiles are found in rocks of the Triassic age. But two specimens have been discovered in Kansas, one from the lower Cretaceous of Clark county and the other from the upper Cre- taceous. More than a century ago the singular group of reptiles known as mosasaurs was discovered and Kansas has been the great collecting ground for them. The first specimen was discovered near Fort Wallace in 1868, since which time several hundred have been collected for the museum of the University of Kansas alone. Their geological range is confined exclusively to the upper Cretaceous. From the upper Creta- ceous of Kansas alone, four genera and six species of turtles, all marine, are known, one from the Benton and the others from the Niobrara. The largest and also one of the most remarkable of these fossil turtles reaches a length of 12 or more feet, while the others are smaller, probably not more than 5 or 6 feet in length. Remains of turtles are frequent among the vertebrate fossils of all formations from the Triassic to the present time, and their distribution has been general, but as the specimens have been fragmentary, complete fossil specimens are rare. Turtles are usu- ally divided into three suborders but all of the known fossil turtles from the Kansas Cretaceous belong to the cryptodira, or second suborder.
The remains of microscopic organisms found in the upper Cretaceous of Kansas are some of the most interesting and important fossils. Sam- ples from six of the thirteen beds in the state have shown evidences of organic origin. Particular interest centers in the specimens obtained from the Niobrara group, the Kansas chalk having been investigated and discussed more than any other deposit. It was chalk from Kansas that first established the fact that such a formation existed in the United States. The fact that organic fossil remains existed in it was first proved in 1882. In size these minute organisms vary from 1-100th of an inch to 3 inches in their largest diameter and in their distribution are almost omnipresent, being found in nearly every body of water. salt or fresh, and at all depths. They were so numerous that extensive strata of rock are composed almost entirely of their remains. Their geo- logical range is believed to be from the Silurian to the present time. They are called foraminifera, are nucleated, protoplasmic bodies invested with a shell, and are remarkable for variety and beauty of form.
The animal kingdom has been divided into eight subkingdoms; pro- tozoa, coelenterata, echinodermata, vermes, molluscoidea, mollusca,
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arthropoda and vertebrata. Seven of these comprise the invertebrate animals and the eighth, or last, the vertebrate. All of the subdivisions except the fifth are represented by fossil remains in the upper Cre- taceous of Kansas. Four of the subkingdoms are represented in the Fort Benton, viz., the second, third, fourth, and sixth. The first three are represented by a single form, but the sixth or mollusca is repre- sented by 18 genera and 40 species. The Niobrara fossils are numerous and varied, species belonging to the six of the invertebrate subking- doms having been found, represented by about 12 genera and more than 30 species. In the lower horizon, that of the Fort Hayes lime- stone, fossils are not abundant. The Fort Pierre area of Kansas has not produced a great diversity of invertebrate forms. Fossils were col- lected at an early date from a Fort Pierre outcrop on Butte creek and on the north fork of the Smoky Hill river, in the eastern part of Wallace county, but no extensive Fort Pierre formation occur in Kansas except in Cheyenne county, where it has furnished 15 species.
The Carboniferous invertebrates are again classified under the sub- kingdoms. The foraminifera are an order of the class known as rhizo- pods, which means root-footed. They are very minute animals, resem- bling a glass of jelly full of bubbles. These animals are called for- manifera on account of the little holes in the shell. They lived in both fresh and salt water, but were much more numerous in the ocean, where, although so minute, their shells made up masses of deposits. which became hardened into limestone extending over vast areas. The only foraminifera found in the rocks of eastern Kansas are what is often called "petrified wheat." Rocks of this formation are numerous and the layers of limestone made up of these shells vary from 2 to 10 feet in thickness and extend across the state from north to south. A second Carboniferous invertebrate is the spongae, a loose collection of single cells, grouped into a mass, which forms a compound organism. The cells of a sponge are held together by horny needles, and the sponge of com- merce is not the entire animal but only this skeleton, which is a network of these needles. In nearly almost all of the fossil sponges these fibers of the skeleton are found to be of lime or flint. Two kinds of fossil sponge has been found in Kansas, in the northwest part of Atchison county, western Doniphan county, and in eastern Brown county. They sometimes make up a limestone stratum 6 inches thick.
Corals, or anthozoa, are exclusively marine animals. The reef-build- ing coral is only found in comparatively shallow water, while other forms are found much deeper. The fossil corals of Kansas are of the reef-building class and indicate that rocks in which they were formed were laid down in shallow water. At Fort Scott a stratum of limestone has been found almost entirely made up of coral.
Crinoidea were animals known as sea lillies or stone lillies. They are found at varying depths in the sea. During their geological time they were abundant and reached their highest development in the Carbon- iferous period. They were well adapted for preservation as fossils and
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many specimens have been found. Usually the skeleton fell apart when the animal decayed so that an entire specimen is very rare, but masses of stone have been found made up entirely of the pieces of these ani- mals, as they lived in colonies during geological time the same as today. In the Carboniferous and Triassic periods they were more abundant than at present. Specimens have been found in the upper coal measures of Topeka, the horizon of the Osage, and the upper coal measures of Kansas City, Kan., and Argentine.
Sea-urchins, sea-eggs and sea-dollars, or echinoidea, are animals that vary in form from spheres to discs and live in moderately shallow water, generally near oyster beds. Some bury themselves in the sand, others make holes in rocks, but all live in the sea. The only parts of the animal that fossilizes are the spines or plates, and at least four kinds have been found in Kansas rocks-in the upper coal measures of the Topeka lime- stone and the upper coal maesures of the Deer creek limestone near Topeka.
Brachipods are small animals that in a way resemble clams in external appearance, with a two-valved shell, but internally their structure is very different, resembling worms. They are marine animals and usually live in shallow water. Their distribution has been given as follows : "shore zone, or the beach between high and low tide marks; the shallow water zone, or water to a depth of 90 feet; moderately deep zone, or water from 90 to 300 feet deep ; the deep zone, or water from 300 to 1,668 feet deep ; and the very deep zone, or water from 1,668 to 17,670 feet or three and a half miles deep." In each zone there are species which are not found in the others, though some are common to two or more zones. One hundred and fifty-eight forms of brachipods are known, and these form but a remnant of what was once one of the most abundant and varied classes of animals of their size, for the fossil species already dis- covered number 6,000, nearly 2,000 of which are represented in American rocks. They are some of the earliest fossils of which there is a record and reached their height in the earliest part of geological time. About 125 species are known to belong to the Cambrian, or earliest period of which there is any definite knowledge of life. During the Devonian period they reached their highest numbers, with about 1,400 species. At the close of the Paleozoic era they fell to less than 100 species. In Kan- sas they have been found in the upper and lower coal measures of Kansas City, Topeka, Burlingame, Rosedale, Lansing, Leavenworth county, the Wabaunsee formation, Blue Mound, near Manhattan, Eu- dora, Grand Summit, Cambridge in Cowley county, Fort Scott, Law- rence, Carbondale, Olathe, Lecompton, Beaumont, Geary county, Osage county, Anderson county, Alma, Marysville and generally throughout the coal measures of the state.
Mussels, clams and oysters, properly called pelecypods, are animals that live both in fresh and salt water. They are covered by a shell made up of two halves; the hard part of the animal or this shell, is all that is preserved in the rocks. Fossil remains of these animals have been found
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