USA > Kansas > Douglas County > Lawrence > The Kansas memorial, a report of the Old Settlers' meeting held at Bismarck grove, Kansas, Sept. 15th and 16th, 1879 > Part 22
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COL. WOOD :-- I will now call on one of the old guard, one whom you all know to have been always reliable when duty called; he will tell you some things he knew about.
Mr. Coleman said :
Ladies and Gentlemen :
It has been said, sir, that we were writing history on this occasion to go on record. Such being the fact, it is abso- lutely necessary that that history should be correct. In regard to one fact, I want to say one word to corroborate what my friend here says; in regard to the position that Gov. Stanton took at that time he referred to: There are people here who recollect the circumstance to which I am about to refer. It is a stray leaf. It will be recollected by the people of Lawrence and vicinity that before Gov. Walker got here Gov. Stanton came down to Lawrence to make a speech. He got up on the rostrum or platform of the old Cincinnati Hotel and went on with his speech, and said that he, as Governor of Kansas Territory, was bound to see that the laws were carried out to the letter. Robert Morrow, standing by my side, said : "Governor, what laws do you refer to, the ter- ritorial laws or the laws of the United States ?" He said, " Both." Standing by him I spoke out and said: "We will obey the laws of the United States, but the laws of the Territory, never!" and in this many others joined with me, crying out, "never ! never!" "Then," said Gov. Stanton, rising up on his very tip-toes and throw- ing his arms high in the air, " then, gentlemen of Lawrence, it is war to the knife and the knife to the hilt." But after that assertion he soon crawled down and slipped out of the back door. That is what I call a stray leaf.
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One thing I want to say about " Osawatomie Brown." His name has hardly been brought before the Old Settlers. Osawato- mie Brown, it is well known, came, as the rest of the settlers in 1855 did, and brought his family and household goods. But be- fore taking a claim, as the balance of us did, he settled down near the border-near the Missouri line. The border ruffian war com- menced in 1855, and John Brown and his sons came here to Law- rence and with us, insisted on fighting them, and fighting them to the death !
It is well known that Gov. Robinson, through his intrigue with other men, tried to get old Gov. Shannon drunk and then make a compromise with him and get him to send the Missourians back.
I want to tell you of another fact that I call a stray leaf. John Brown frequently visited me at my house and stayed with me. In fact, my "latch-string was always out " for all such men. John Brown knew where his friends lived, and could go to them night or day. That evening we ate supper out-of-doors in the shade of my cabin, at five o'clock. As soon as supper was over Captain Brown commenced pacing back and forth in the shade of the house with his hands behind him. The conversation was pretty general. My wife stood by the dishes and I sat in my chair with my heels upon the table. I finally said : "Capt. Brown, I want to ask you one question, and you can answer it or not as you please, and I shall not be offended." He stopped his pacing, looked me square in the face, and said : " What is it?" Said I, " Capt. Brown, did you kill those five men, or did you not ?" He replied : did not ; but I do not pretend to say they were not killed by my order, and in doing so I believe I was doing God's service." My wife spoke and said: "Then, Captain, you think that God uses you as an instrument in His hands to kill men ?" Brown replied : " I think he has used me as an instrument to kill men, and if I live I think He will use me as an instrument to kill a good many more." He went on and said : "Mr. Coleman, I will tell you all about it, and you can judge whether I did wrong or not. I had heard that these men were coming to the cabin that my son and I were staying in" (I think he said the next Wednesday night) " to set fire to it and shoot us as we ran out. Now, that was not proof enough for me; but I thought I would satisfy myself, and if they had committed murder in their hearts I would be justified in kill- ing them. I was an old surveyor, so I disguised myself, took two men to carry the chain, and a flagman. The lines not being run, I knew that as soon as they saw me they would come out to find out where their lines would come." And taking a book from his pocket he said : "Here is what every man said that was killed. I ran my lines close to each man's house. The first man that came out said : 'Is that my line, sir ?' I replied : ' I cannot tell; I am running test lines.' I then said to him : 'You have a fine country here ; great pity there are so many Abolitionists in it.' .‘ Yes, but by
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God we will soon clean them all out,' he said. I kept looking through my instrument, making motions to the flagman to move either way, and at the same time I wrote every word they said; then I said : ' I hear that there are some bad men about here by the name of Brown.' ' Yes, there are, but next Wednesday night we will kill them.' So I ran the lines by each one of their houses, and I took down every word, and here it is, word for word, by each one. [Shows wife and me the book. ] I was satisfied that each one of them had committed murder in his heart, and according to the Scriptures they were guilty of murder, and I felt justified in hav- ing them killed; but, as I told you, I did not do it myself."
He said : "Now. Mr. Coleman, what do you think ?" I told him I thought he did right ; so did my wife. This statement we are both willing to be sworn to as the truth of it if it would do any good, but it would not, as we are known, and have been for twenty-five years in Kansas.
I thank you; and I will leave the platform to some one else.
ADDRESS BY WILLIAM HUGHES.
COL. WOOD : I want to introduce to you one who is now one of the most prosperous farmers in Douglas county, but who, when a mere boy as it were, as a member of Captain Bickerton's artillery company had nothing to fight for but his rights and the Kansas home he had in prospect. I refer to Mr. William Hughes, and I hope he will come forward.
Mr. Hughes said :
I am one of the boys from Pennsylvania, born again into the anti-slavery fold by my Kansas experiences. It is true I came as a mere boy. I came simply to make a home and an honest living. But the outrages against the free state men brought me into the field, and I did my best for the cause of freedomn. I know a good many Democrats-such as the McGee boys, for instance-who did valiant service. There was no neutral ground then. I remember seeing Mr. Wood, the Chairman, disarm Sheriff Jones. I was in the fights at Franklin, Fort Saunders, Fort Titus, Lecompton and Hickory Point. I escaped arrest with the one-hundred Hickory Point prisoners by being detailed to bring Frank Baldwin home wounded. I saw the free state prisoners brought in from Fort Scott with shackles on, and was one of the free state men who disarmed their captors and took the boys to a blacksmith shop and cut off their shackles.
I make no pretensions as a speaker, but the Lord has preser- ved me, and I now feel independent, and thankful for the part which I was permitted to take in the great struggle for human free- dom.
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RESOLUTION OF REGRET.
The following was offered by Hon. Sidney Clarke, and adopted by unanimous vote :
Resolved: That we cannot adjourn this meeting without ex- pressing our profound sorrow for the loss of the Old Settlers of Kansas who, since our last reunion have passed over the river to the other side. For each and all we shed the tears of regret, and say, farewell.
ADDRESS BY MR. WAKEFIELD.
The Chairman introduced Mr. Wakefield, who said :
Ladies and Gentlemen :
It is late, but as others have spoken so fully of the leaders among the free state men, and have given the leaders so much credit for what they did in the early troubles in Kansas I will speak a word for the boys, one of which I was at the time. It was the young men and the boys that did most of the fighting and scouting and endured most of the hardship of the border wars. Most of these young men were in the war of the Rebellion and made honor- able records as soldiers, no less than nineteen of the company known as the Bloomington Rangers in 1855 and 1856 having held commissions during the war. This company was the first one or- ganized in the Territory, it having elected officers and commenced drilling in June, 1855. Our company was formed into a secret or- ganization ; every man was sworn by a terrific, double-geared, iron-clad oath to be true to the cause, under penalty of death ; was sworn to kill any one who betrayed us, and to always rally to the company rendezvous when notified; or to the assistance of his neighbors; and to obey without hesitation the orders of the com- pany-officers, or a vote of the company.
Our place of meeting was in a dense piece of timber, in a lonely and unfrequented place, the regular hour being nine o'clock P. M., where we compared notes of the enemy's movements and laid plans for future operations.
Members of the company were notified of a meeting at nine o'clock P.M. by leaving a piece of blank paper two inches square at their residence, or pinning it to their door if not at home-as a good many were keeping " bach " and liable to be absent from their cabins in the day-time. If the piece of blank paper was cut three-cornered, it meant business at once, and for the one receiving it to rally at rendezvous immediately, armed and ready for action.
It was generally conceded in those days that no other company did more or better service than the Bloomington Rangers, Capt. Sam. Walker commanding. But credit is due to a great many com- panies, and to a great many individuals who were not leaders. It is the duty of all to collect up the history of all such organizations, and of the worthy acts of all individuals who made sacrifices for
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the good of Kansas, and in that way alone can the true history of Kansas be recorded and preserved. The State Historical Society is doing a good work in drawing out reminiscenses from the Old Settlers and gathering them into its collections of the materials of Kansas History.
ADDRESS BY W. C. GIBBONS.
COL. WOOD: I will now introduce to you an old settler who has on other occasions talked temperance to you, in this grove and elsewhere, Dr. W. C. Gibbons.
Dr. Gibbons said :
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :
I was born an Abolitionist and came to Kansas an Abolition- ist. On the 18th day of October, 1854, I left my home in the East and started for Kansas. I came up the Missouri river and landed in Kansas City. Then I didn't know how to get up here as I didn't have a dollar. I borrowed a dollar from a man there and started up on foot to what was said to be Lawrence with my pack on my back. On my way up, a few miles this side of Kansas City, when I didn't know where I was going or where I should get anything to eat, or how I would get along, I met a man with his wife and children and a span of horses, and he says, "Throw your pack in the wagon." That man was my dear good old friend Mr. Coleman. On November 3d, 1854, I landed here, so I have a little claim to old settlership. What I have done for Kansas I did as many another man did. We arranged for the work and we went into it not knowing what the results would be, and I am very proud to stand here to-night with these men and women at the twenty-fifth anniversary of the settlement of Kansas. One by one we will pass away, and perhaps very few of us will be here on the fiftieth anniversary. I hope to be here then. I will then be 69 years of age. Well, I can live that long, I see no good reason why I should not. [Laughter. ]
Now we must attend to work. One good man here said, "Let's get ready for the battle for the next twenty-five years." Kansas is free, America is free, and we glory in the fact that we live in Kansas. Now let us go on in our manhood, and show that we are worthy of the name that these reporters are wafting over the civilized world. The very fact of this large gathering here at Bismarck we should be proud of. Let us continue, let us love it better, bear it in our hearts and souls, the standard of Kansas. Never let it drop. Let us go on cheerily, grandly, nobly working out the problem of our lives, and the problem of the life of Kansas.
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ADDRESS BY CAPT. JOHN ARMSTRONG.
The chairman introduced Mr. Armstrong, who said :
Ladies and Gentlemen :
.
I was an original Garrisonian Abolitionist, and always acted with the Abolition party before I came to Kansas. I voted for Martin Van Buren when he was the anti-slavery candidate for President. I well remember the excitement in the State of New York and in New England when the Kansas-Nebraska bill passed. I took that occasion to make a move. I had been wanting to go farther south, and I then resolved I would come to Kansas and help to make it a free State. So I shaped things as fast as I could, and on the Ist of November, 1854, I left western New York for Kan- sas. I arrived at Kansas City, I think, on the 17th of November, or on the morning of the 18th. I went out to the livery stables to see if I could find some one going to Lawrence.
The first man I met was the notorious Sam Wood. There he he is, president of this meeting (pointing to Mr. Wood). I looked at him, and he said he was running an express up to Lawrence. I looked at him some more and found he was scarred up a little ; he looked a little rough, and after a little while I found that he had had a little battle over the slavery question at Westport, and had got his nose a little skinned. But I made arrangements with him to carry our baggage, our trunks. There were five of us in the party. I arrived in Lawrence on the night of the 20th of November. I could tell many things but I've not time. There's any amount of the history of Kansas that is yet unwritten. I am not accustomed to speak in public. I wish to say, however, that wherever there was work to do, in 1855 and 1856 and afterward, I was always on hand and ready to answer to the calls of my comrades and my country. In 1855 I think, I was, in the hands of Providence, instrumental in bringing James H. Lane to Lawrence. That spring I met James H. Lane on a boat on the Missouri river the morning after leaving St. Louis. I had been in Kansas in 1854, and with Gov. Robinson up as far as the Blue. He took a crowd of us up there. Lane was on his way to Kansas, and when he found out that I had been in the Territory, he wanted to learn all about the country. Thomas C. Shoemaker, Land Receiver at Kickapoo, was with him, a pro-slavery man as well as Lane, and Lane ex- pected to locate at Kickapoo or Leavenworth. I gave them a gen- eral description of the country from the mouth of the Kaw river up to where Manhattan now stands, and of all the country. The location of Lawrence and the Kansas bottom pleased my eyes bet- ter than any where else, and I gave them a glowing description of it, and told them that I believed that Lawrence was the place where we should eventually build up a great city. I know I did prevail upon Lane to come to Lawrence, for three days after I got here he came up here with his family.
Lane soon began to come over to the free state side. He came
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over gradually, and finally got to be one of our main leaders. And we could not have done without James H. Lane ; nor without Dr. Robinson, and I hope they will always live in the memory of every Kansan.
I am the first person, I believe, that had the colored children taught to read and write in Kansas, eight of them, in my house or cabin, on Washington creek, in Douglas county, in 1856. I also started an underground railroad in 1857 from Topeka to Civil Bend, in Iowa. I hired a closed carriage and span of mules. I lived at Topeka then. I took up a subscription to start the thing, and amongst the number that gave me money was Dr. Charles Rob- inson, who was at Topeka at the time. He gave me ten dollars. I think Sam Wood gave five dollars and Maj. J. B. Abbott five. They were attending the Legislature. I don't remember all who helped start the first train on the underground railroad, and I helped establish the depots from Topeka to Civil Bend, Iowa.
Our friend there, Dr. Patee, was talking a while ago about Bull creek. Some said there was no shooting done there. I was an advance guard, going to Bull creek with Lane and five men. I did a little shooting down there. One of them was that noble man who was shot down on the streets of Lawrence in the Quantrill raid, Capt. Bell. He was one of the best friends that Kansas ever had. At Bull creek Bell, Keller, Mitchell and a young man from Boston and myself made up the advance guard. This Mitchell was formerly from Kentucky. When we came to Bull creek the pro- slavery men had thrown out their pickets on each side of the road, and they ordered us to halt. They wanted to know who we were. We had Capt. Mitchell for spokesman to talk to them and we cal- culated to drive them, but after considerable talk and a little swear- ing they were a little fooled as they could not make out who we were. After a while Capt. Mitchell ordered me to give them a shot. Well, of course, I was willing to give them a shot, and I think I got my man. I know I got his hat and coat anyhow. Gen. Lane formed upon a ridge about half a mile west of Bull creek. There was a ravine intervening between where the two parties were formed. The pro-slavery men formed on a ridge just east of the creek, Lane to the west of them nearly a half a mile. They be- gan forming in line on both sides of the road. After we got the cavalry in position they sent down three men toward our lines. As they came riding down the hill Lane says: "Armstrong go down and drive them men back." So I went down with my Sharpe's rifle and fired away at the three advancing men at long range. I fired a good many times as fast as I could. It had the desired ef- fect to cause them to turn and get out of the way as fast as their horses could carry them, our boys shouting and cheering as the frightened men ran. So there was shooting done at the battle of Bull creek at two different times to my certain knowledge.
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ADDRESS BY A. R. GREEN.
The Chairman introduced Mr. A. R. Green of Lecompton, who said he must be excused from making a speech ; but he desired to make a motion as an act of justice to a worthy early settler who seemed to have been forgotten by the committee on officers. A quarter of a century ago George W. Zinn, then an old man, settled at Lecompton and made him a home; and through all the stormy period of 1855-7 that convulsed the Territory upon the slavery question, he was an active, efficient and faithful free state man; never wavering in his devotion to freedom or yielding an inch of ground to the slave-power. His cabin was often a beleaguered fortress, but it stands to-day one of the monuments to free speech. I move that the name of George W. Zinn be added to the list of vice-presidents of this meeting and I am sure that the adoption of this motion will give the old man more pleasure than the many flat- tering indorsements he has received from the people of his town- ship, his county and his representative district.
The motion was then enthusiastically adopted.
ADDRESS BY E. L. PATEE.
COL. WOOD: I now want to present to you Dr. E. L. Patee of Manhattan, who was a very early settler and a very useful free state man in the most trying times.
Mr. Patee said :
I am happy to meet so many Old Settlers on this occasion ; so many of my old and time-honored friends whom I scarcely ever ex- pected to see again. Times have so changed, thousands have settled among us giving us a nearer neighborship; circumstances have forced new acquaintances, and new friends, making Old Set- tlers' reunions a matter of necessity in order to perpetuate old acquaintance, and the memories of those who, though not forgotten are too far from us in this fast age of our young State, to call upon, to visit, as we once did, to ask the time of day, hear the news, borrow or lend, or warm our feet. We congratulate every man, woman, child, and ourselves on the glorious strides we have made in this, our first quarter-century. Yet in our happiness we are sorry that some who once met with us are not here. I can notice never- theless the sorrow is lessened in the joy I feel in beholding their portraits in conspicuous places. By these we know they are not forgotten, and in my imagination I feel their influence as I did feel in their presence in days gone by. Among others I notice the likeness of one whose shadow I think was a little longer in the world than any other one in our State; and as ever, I now like to honor
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him even in death. I think he was a great man. Some see fit to throw dust at his greatness, still I know, as they must, that they can do him no harm. That man was James H. Lane. May God rest his ashes; and may his soul rest as peaceful as his life was useful. May the generations of history be as true to him as he was true to liberty. I shall never forget my first acquaintance with him. It was in the fall of '56, when Buford and his Border Ruffian Gang marched into our Territory from Westport, Missouri, intending to make a war of extermination on all free state men in Kansas.
Lane was then in Topeka, had a few men without ammunition. Runners came to Manhattan for help. Powder and lead was needed. Among us we arranged to obtain it of Robert Wilson, then the sutler at Fort Riley, who was a warm pro-slavery man, by causing him to believe it was to go to Buford. The plan worked well although we were forced to " take water" and float down in a skiff on the Kansas river, while soldiers were scouring the woods and prairies after us; we landed about three o'clock in the morning at Topeka all safe. At once all of us but one, who stood with the skiff reported to Lane's head-quarters who received us with caution keeping us there until he sent others to find out the truth of our re- port ; in a short time all were satisfied, and by sun-rise that morn- ing we were marching to meet the " foe," who were reported to be fifteen-hundred strong. By the light of the next morning we were drawn up on the hills overlooking the enemy, who were camped in the valley of Bull creek. A few of us were placed in different places to make us look as big as possible while horsemen rode from one place to another to lend as bold an outlook as we could to the array. Thus we were presented to the enemy's sentinels, who gave the alarm to their camp; and such a skedaddling, I never saw be- fore, some mounted two on one mule, some ran off on foot, while more cut the lariat and rode off single, all disappearing ; to leave the camp, tents, and equipments an easy conquest to our little army.
The first of the enemy that reached Westport reported all dead but them, and the next the same and so on until all were home safe, while we held the field with a bloodless victory for we did not fire a gun. Under the circumstances I think this was much the best tactics, and good evidence of a soldier and great man to which he gave additional proofs. And I am very sorry to see the small point against him, that a few poor sheets have seen fit to spread before the world. I am glad to be able to stand here to-night as I do to offer thanks to the Hon. Sidney Clarke for his noble article in defense of this hero of Kansas, whose very name did much good work to secure law and order in the darker days of our State and during the days of our great national peril that followed.
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ADDRESS BY JAMES ROGERS.
COL. WOOD : I see the Hon. James Rogers, of Burlingame, here and I am sure you would all like to hear a few words from him.
Mr. Rogers said :
Mr. President and Fellow Citizens :
This call upon me to address this meeting at this time is en- tirely unexpected, and but from the fact that up to this time no mention has been made of several of the most prominent men of my part of the State and men the peers of any of her earliest set- tlers, I could not have been induced to give utterance to a single word. Not that I would pluck a single laurel from the brow of any one whose name has been mentioned, but simply that I would have justice done to all. I glory in the names of the leading pioneers of Kansas, and the least of them are entitled to all the encomiums that have been bestowed upon them to-day, but I came here for another purpose than to make speeches. I came here to meet old familiar faces, to greet old friends and to grasp honest and earnest hands. But as I look over this vast assembly of intelligent faces and reflect upon what changes have taken place in this Territory within the last five and twenty years, what "thronging memories" rise up before me. My tongue is unable to give utterance to my thoughts, and language is inadequate to express them.
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