USA > Kansas > Wyandotte County > Kansas City > Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. Historical and biographical. Comprising a condensed history of the state, a careful history of Wyandotte County, and a comprehensive history of the growth of the cities, towns and villages > Part 21
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the cold shoulder and told to go ahead with the road. This was in February, 1864. The Missouri Pacific was approaching Jefferson City, and Hallett saw that if ground could be broken at the mouth of the Kaw for the beginning of the new road to be known as the Kansas Pacific, a connection between it and the Missouri Pacific could be made more quickly, and leave Leavenworth out in the cold. Quietly maturing his plans and contracts, he one morning began work without a soul in Wyandotte knowing of his intention beforehand. Word reached the city about 10 o'clock that morning that work had begun on the new railroad. Hundreds of citizens went down on foot and in carriages and found a hundred men at work, cutting an opening through the woods south of Armstrong. Wyandotte boiled over with excitement. Property went up 100 per cent during the week. Hal- lett opened an office at the foot of Kansas Avenue, and the streets were thronged with laboring men. By the middle of April more than a thousand laborers were employed. Samuel Hallett was general manager, his brother, John, was employed as superintendent, and an- other brother, Thomas, was an assistant. O. A. Talcutt was chief engineer. About the middle of May, Samuel Hallett went to St. Louis and Chicago, leaving the office work with his brother John. It has been stated that soon after Hallett left Talcutt came in from the western terminus of the road, and drawing the amount of money due him, went to St. Louis, where he met Samuel Hallett and asked for more money, which was paid him by Hallett without Hallett's knowl- edge of his having been settled with in full at the office. One who has told the story says, that a week later, Samuel Hallett was called to Washington, and while conferring with President Lincoln about the road, Mr. Lincoln called his attention to a letter received from Tal- cutt, in which it was claimed that Hallett was constructing a cheap road, that the material was of the poorest kind, and that the bridges would not hold up a year, stamping Hallett in general as a swindler. Mr. Hallett is said to have made a showing of his contract, and of the amount of work done, whereupon Mr. Lincoln is said to have declared that Talcutt "ought to be spanked." It is further stated that Mr. Hallett mailed Talcutt's letter to the President to his brother John. A week later Talcutt returned to Wyandotte and went at once to Hal- lett's office. John Hallett showed him the letter that he had sent to Washington and said, " President Lincoln says you should be spanked and I am going to do it." Being a big, two-fisted fellow, it is said John Hallett took Talcutt across his knee and summarily adminstered
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the spanking. Being released, Talcutt drew his revolver, but John Hallett's hand came down upon him again, and before he could make any successful attempt at resistance, his assailant had opened the door and hurled him through it into the middle of the street.
From Washington, Samuel Hallett went to New York, and worked up a large capital for the Kansas Pacific, Thomas Durant representing it. On his return, he stopped at St. Louis, and induced John D. Perry and others to invest. On his arrival at Wyandotte, a large and enthu- siastic meeting was held, in which it was resolved to push forward the work. George Francis Train was one of the speakers. The sudden death of Hallett was a serious blow to Wyandotte. It was claimed by many, and has been by many denied, that a letter was found at Quin- daro written to Talcutt, from persons in Leavenworth, offering him money to kill Hallett. Be that as it may, Leavenworth felt sore over the boom at Wyandotte, and immediately after the beginning of work there by Hallett, it is said, a large delegation of prominent citizens of Leavenworth called on him and offered him large inducements to return there. Samuel Hallett was spoken of by many as a gentleman of culture, who made friends wherever he went. It is said that at one time he figured in London in stocks of some kind, and was arrested for debt. Later he negotiated loans in England and in Spain to build the Atlantic & Great Western Railway. His family spent most of their time in Europe, and at the time of his death they were in Paris. Later they returned to Hornellsville, N. Y. His son, Samuel Hallett, Jr., came to Wyandotte and married a sister of Hon. E. L. Bartlett. There can be no doubt that Hallett was a man of exceptional business ca- pacity and success, but his methods have been called in question by some, and it has been claimed that he was not so blameless in the trouble with Taleutt as his friends would have had him appear. Mr. John Speer, writing to the Topeka Commonwealth said: "I think the story of President Lincoln showing Samuel Hallett a letter from Tal- cutt in a familiar way is exceedingly thin. I do not think Talcutt ever wrote to the President, and if he had done so Hallett was not in the habit of walking into the executive chamber and familiarly reading Old Abe's letters. From memory, the circumstances, or rumors of them, were these: Mr. Talcutt was chief engineer of the Kansas Pacific, representing the capitalists-the principal of whom was John D. Perry, of St. Louis; or he may have represented Fremont, or both. Hallett, in his imperious way, had demanded that Talcutt should make an offi- cial report of progress of the work entirely inconsistent with the truth.
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under oath, either-to get the first subsidy of $16,000 a mile, for twenty miles, from the Government, or to secure more money from the capi- talists by representations that the first donation of $320,000 was due. This Talcutt positively refused to do. Hallett left for Washington, attempting to get the proof in some other way, but, when there, met a report of Talcutt in the proper department, which entirely blockaded his little game. Samuel Hallett then telegraphed to Thomas Hallett to whip Talcutt. Tom Hallett, being a burly, stout man of 200 pounds, and Talcutt a little, feeble man of not over 125 pounds, the former proceeded at once to chastise him, and gave him an unmerciful whipping. Talcutt awaited the arrival of Samuel Hallett, and "laid for him" with a rifle, and shot him dead in the street, just after he passed him. It was a deliberate, premeditated act, but the whipping by Tom Hallett was unmerciful and undeserved. I do not believe there was any reason for the story that some one in Leavenworth hired him to do the deed, though that story was told at the time. If Talcutt had been tried at the time, with the evidence of his excited condition, amounting almost to insanity, and of his terrible provocation fresh in the public mind, I doubt if a jury could have been found to convict him."
In this connection some incidents of the first work on the road will be interesting. John Hallett had a kind of general charge of it, and seemed to be almost making his own location as he progressed. Mr. Speer states that'all Lawrence was startled one day by a report that the road was being graded some three miles north of the city, and a committee at once went over in two hacks to near where the road crosses Mud Creek. No one was there to tell anything to the committee, and the 400 hands passed west grading slightly-in some places merely cutting a little ditch, in some not even breaking the grass; but they called it "grading." though, it is said, there was not enough done to stop a plow from crossing the track. Various committees were ap- pointed and conferences held. In an interview with Senator Lane, Samuel Hallett said he would not vary his location out of a direct line on account of the road being a great national highway subsidized by the Government; but he finally consented to make such a change as was demanded, if Mr. Lane would get a majority of the United States Senate to petition him for it. Mr. Lane not only induced every Re- publican senator to sign the request, but secured the signature of Mr. Lincoln at its head, asking for the location of the road on the bank of the river opposite Lawrence and Topeka- for Topeka had fears of the
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same treatment that Lawrence had received. Still the location was not made to Lawrence, and Hallett wanted $300,000 of Douglas County bonds. Mr. Lane then got an amendatory bill passed, author- izing the location of the road to Lawrence and Topeka; but this bill was subject to the acceptance of the company. Mr. Speer was sent to Washington by the citizens of Lawrence to work in behalf of the loca- tion, John D. Perry, Samuel Hallett and perhaps other stockholders being there. He states that one day, "as Lane lay on a couch in his room, Hallett came in and took a seat by Lane's side. With all his suavity of manner he said: 'Senator, we have concluded that we can not change the road to Lawrence, unless Douglas County will give us $300,000 in bonds to pay the extra expenses.' Lane raised up in bed, his eyes fairly flashing with indignation. It was just after the Law- rence massacre. 'You shall not get a dollar out of that burned and murdered town. You shall take up every stump and log you have buried, and make a first-class road in every respect, and, when you get a dollar of your subsidies, let me know it.' Lane lay back in his bed. Hallett essayed to speak. Lane waved his hand. 'No words; my mind is made up.' Hallett left. I was scared-fearful our peo- ple would be defeated-but Lane merely remarked: 'He will want to see me worse to-morrow than he did to-day.' The next day I met Lane on Pennsylvania Avenue. He drew up his face, and, in a quiz- zical manner, said: 'Hallett sent for me for an interview.' 'Well, did you have it ?' 'No-o-o; I told his friend that Hallett was a posi- tive man, and had probably made up his mind. He will want to see me worse to- morrow than to- day.' The next day Hallett met him and entered into an agreement in writing to locate the road to Lawrence, and both signed it. Lane, however, put a postscript to it, to the effect that it was his understanding that the people of Lawrence were to pay for the extra cost of grading. He also got a copy of a dispatch to John Hallett, in Sam Hallett's handwriting, which I copied and had sent, and then brought the original to Lawrence." Thus the road was located. Shortly after this arrangement with Lane, Mr. Hallett returned to Wyandotte and was shot. "But a few days before the homicide," continues Mr. Speer, "Samuel and John Hallett were riding in a buggy when they met Talcutt, and one of them said to him: . We'll fix you; we have the tools to do it, and we'll teach you to report.' Talcutt said: 'I don't hold Tom responsible. You could hire any dirty nigger to do his work.' And he kept his word. Talcutt was right about the road. It was a common saying
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that Hallett laid the track before he graded, and when John D. Perry got control the work had to be done over again."
In a letter to Hon. John Speer, who has been quoted above. Judge B. F. Kingsbury wrote as follows: "I can corroborate most of the statements made by you. I concur also in the general inference to be derived from your letter, that Mr. Hallett was a fraud, and also in your statement that it is exceedingly doubtful if Mr. Talcutt would have been convicted if tried at the time. My opportunities for know- ing something of that road were briefly these: Early in the fall of 1863 I received a letter from George Robinson, postmarked Wyan- dotte, in which he informed me that he had been sent out by Gen. Fremont to act as chief engineer of the Kansas Pacific road, and urg- ing me very strongly to accept a position as engineer on the road. Mr. Robinson and I had been partners in civil and mining engineering some years ago, with an office at Scranton, Penn. I went to Wyan- dotte and found things considerably mixed. Mr. Talcutt was acting as chief engineer in the location of the road from Wyandotte to Law- rence. Mr. Robinson was also recognized as chief engineer, or at least seemed to do about as he pleased, but was more of a consulting engineer at that time. I do not remember that Robinson and Talcutt ever came in conflict in regard to matters connected with the road. After a time it was decided to locate a road from Leavenworth to Lawrence, and Robinson was put in charge. A large corps was or- ganized, and we proceeded to the Leavenworth end of the line. Robinson staid with us until we were fairly started, when he turned the party over to me, and returned to Wyandotte, and I completed the survey and location to Lawrence. When I returned to Wyan- dotte, I waited a month or two for the pay, which I never got, as the Halletts were paying no one, and returned home in the latter part of the winter of 1863-64. I did no work on the Kansas Pacific road, ex- cept to ride out with Robinson at two or three different times to help take measurements for bridges, cnlverts, etc., and I can remember remarking to Robinson, on one occasion, that an engineer who would allow a road to be constructed in such a manner, was an ignoramus, or a frand. I afterward heard of the protests of Talcutt, and of his re- fusal to make certain affidavits, and that trouble was likely to grow out of it. From the above brief statements you will see that I know something of the early history of the road. I never could understand the true inwardness of affairs, but my conclusions were that the whole thing was a fraud; that Talcutt, as an honest man, could not have
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made a different report from the one he was said to have made; that he was grossly insulted and abused, and I doubt if he ever received any pay for the work he did. Of course the murder of Mr. Hallett was unjustifiable, but if Talcutt had been tried at the time, I believe he would have been acquitted." Such is the history of a tragic event connected with the early railway interests of the two Kansas Cities, which culminated in what is now Kansas City, Kas. The railway his- tory of the sister cities has been almost inseparably connected from the first. All that has contributed to the growth of one city has contrib- uted to the growth of the other. It was by means of railways having their course partly in Wyandotte County that Kansas City, Mo., se- cured some of its most important outlets to the West and Northwest. The Union Depot is located almost on the border line between the two cities, and since the recent arrangement, by which the Kansas City, Wyandotte & Northwestern Railroad makes connection with other lines at the Union Depot, that point is the center of the railway inter- ests of the two cities. The part taken by Wyandotte County, and by Kansas, in those early railroad projects, which did so much to make Kansas City the center of the trade of the entire Southwest, has been no insignificant one.
The magnificent railway system of Kansas City was not the result of chance or force of circumstances. The lines reaching to the great lakes on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico on the south, the Pacific coast on the west and the great cities of the east, were planned and outlined from the first. Kansas City, by reason of the natural ad- vantages which gave it control of the traffic of the country when con- ducted by batteaux, steamboats, pack horses and wagons, combined with the enterprise of its citizens, has been made a great railway cen- ter; and when we say Kansas City, we mean neither Kansas City, Mo., nor Kansas City, Kas., but the Kansas City known to the world at large, which comprises both. It was a favorite dream of some of its early citizens, encouraged by such men as Senator 'Benton, Gov. Gilpin and Gen. Fremont, that here would be a great distributing point where the products of the North would meet the tropical prod- nets of the South; where the products of the manufactories of the East would meet the metallic wealth of the West, and the silks and teas of China and Japan be exchanged and distributed throughout the world. This dream has already been realized. More than twenty lines of railroad from every point of the compass, with innumerable branches penetrating the interior, and main lines reaching the sea-
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coast in every direction, meet in the city and exchange passengers and freight. The first railroad meeting held in Kansas City, Mo., was called in 1856. Its object was to raise funds to pay the expense of a preliminary survey of a road projected from this point to Keokuk, Iowa, and which was to be a link in a direct line to Chicago, and also make connection with the Hannibal & St. Joseph road at Hudson, Mo. A committee was appointed to visit Keokuk and interest the people of that place and obtain their aid in the enterprise. Another road proposed about this time was the Kansas City, Lake Superior & Galveston Road, to give Kansas City connection with Lake Superior on the north, and Galveston, Tex., on the south. A branch from Kansas City to Cameron, Mo., on the Hannibal & St. Joseph road, was to be the first link in this road north. The Missouri Pacific was the first road from the east to reach Kansas City.
Work was begun on the Missouri Pacific at St. Louis July 4, 1850, and progressed by slow degrees westward. On reaching Jefferson City, a line of steamers to Kansas City was placed on the river by the company for the transfer of its freight and passengers. It was not completed to Kansas City until September 21, 1865. When this road was first projected, Independence, Mo., was designated as the western terminus, but Kansas City assumed such importance before the road was completed that Independence was lost sight of in this connection. In May, 1862, Congress passed the Union Pacific Rail- road bill. Work was begun on the Kansas branch by Samuel Hallett (whose murder by Talcutt has been narrated) and Gen. Fremont, July 7, 1863, and November 18, following, forty-one miles of the road had been completed. The iron and equipment for this part of the road arrived by rail at St. Joseph about the time the river closed with ice; and it was not until the opening of navigation in the spring that they were brought to Kansas City, arriving March 24, 1864. The engine belonging to this outfit was the first ever seen here. This road was opened to Lawrence, Kas., December 19, 1864, and was com- pleted to Denver, Colo., in August, 1871. In June, 1864, the North Missouri Railroad, now the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad, se- cured the franchise of the Missouri Valley Railroad from Brunswick, Mo., to Leavenworth, Kas., and at once began building a line to Kansas City. The road was completed to the city December 8, 1868. It was known at one time as the Kansas City, St. Louis & Northern Railway. As early as 1857 a railroad was projected from Kansas City to Junction City, Kas., running up the south side of the Kansas
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River, to be known as the Kansas Valley Railroad. A charter was obtained from the Kansas Legislature by a company composed of citi- zens of Lawrence and Kansas City. Nothing was done toward the construction of this road until the Kansas Pacific branch was put under construction, when the charter was allowed to lapse. In May, 1864, the project of a railroad between Kansas City aud Fort Scott began to be agitated. This was to be the commencement of a road heretofore outlined from Kansas City to Galveston, Tex., and a part of the great line from Lake Superior, passing through Kansas City to the Gulf of Mexico. The war shattered most enterprises, and shattered Kansas City's hopes for speedy commercial supremacy; but her citizens took heart from the knowledge that the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad started within her limits and was in operation as far as Lawrence, while the Missouri Pacific was nearly completed. In February. 1865, the Missouri Legislature granted a charter for a railroad from Kansas City to the Iowa State line, in the direction of Council Bluffs, via St. Joseph, and embracing what had been built of the Kansas City & St. Joseph Railroad from St. Joseph to Weston. The interest in the road to Fort Scott was revived, and the Kansas Legislature memorialized Congress for a grant of land for it. Track- laying on the Missouri Pacific was begun in February, but was de- layed by the bushwhacker troubles of that time. The old Kansas & Neosho Valley Company was reorganized under the presidency of Col. Kersey Coates, and measures were taken without delay for the construction of the line. A proposition was submitted to the people of Kansas City, September 19, that they vote $200,000 to aid this object, and $25,000 toward the completion of the Kansas City & St. Joseph Railroad from Weston to Kansas City. September 14, five days before the election, Capt. Charles G. Keeler had begun work on the Fort Scott road. Both lines were aided generously by Kansas City. In November, following, Johnson and Miami Counties, Kas., each voted the Fort Scott road $200,000. This it was thought would practically secure its construction. As projected before the war, this road was to have run to Galveston, and its friends were now watching and waiting for an opportunity to secure its right of way through the Indian Territory. Such an opportunity was soon presented. During the war the Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Seminoles, Shawnees, Kio- was, Wichitas, Osages, Comanches, Senecas, Quapaws and Cherokees, had, in whole or in part, joined the Rebellion. In consequence, the Gov- ernment took the ground that these Indians had nullified all treaties
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formerly existing between them and the United States, and that new treaties must be made, and Judge D. N. Cooley (commissioner of In- dian affairs), Hon. Elijah Sells (superintendent of the Southern super- intendency), Col. Parker (of Gen. Grant's staff), Gen. Harney, of St. Louis, Thomas Nixon, of Philadelphia, and others, were ap pointed commissioners on the part of the Government to meet the Indians at Fort Smith, September 5, to negotiate such treaties. The friends of the railroad recognized in this treaty an opportunity to secure the much desired right of way, and the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce appointed Col. R. T. Van Horn, Col. E. M. McGee, Col. M. J. Payne and Mathew Mudeater (a Wyandotte Indian of Wyandotte County), the Kansas City delegation to the conference. The balance of the delegation consisted of Silas Armstrong (of Wy- andotte County), Col. Wilson, Maj. Reynolds and Gen. C. W. Blair, of Fort Scott, and Gen. R. B. Mitchell, of Paola, and Col. T. J. Haines and Gen. James G. Blunt. These representatives of their several localities secured the right of way through the Territory from Kansas to Texas, and at the instance of St. Louis capitalists, a right of way was secured across the Territory from east to west, which was afterward utilized by the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad.
Interest in the Kansas City & Cameron road was revived early in this year. This road had been practically built before the war by M. Quealy, under a contract between its promoters and the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad Company. New directors were chosen April 29, with Maj. W. C. Ransom, as president, and they immediately opened negotiations with Mr. Quealy for a settlement for the work already done, and for the completion of the road under a new arrange- ment. This object was accomplished, but at a considerable advance, necessitated by war values, upon the original contract price, and work was resumed about the close of 1865. The directors instructed Chief Engineer John A. J. Chapman (formerly of Wyandotte County) to make a survey of the river for a bridge, which was completed satis- factorily. It was not until the latter part of 1866 that the company succeeded in reviving the old contract with the Hannibal & St. Jo- seph Railroad Company, though, as has been seen, Mr. Quealy was pushing the work forward as fast as possible. The Missouri Pacific was completed September 21, 1865, and opened with great rejoicing on the part of the people of this part of the country. The North Missouri Railroad people resumed operations as soon as the bush- whackers were driven from the country.
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In October, 1865, D. R. Garrison, of the Missouri Pacific, con- tracted with the Kansas City & Leavenworth Company to build that line, and the work was begun at once. It had for some time been recognized that the natural laws of commerce strongly favored Kan- sas City as compared with Leavenworth, and Kansas politicians mani- fested no better feeling toward Kansas City than they had done in ante-bellum days. Senator Lane, of Lawrence, favoring Kansas trade for Kansas towns, projected an extensive railroad scheme for Kansas. At that time what is now Kansas City, Kas., was compara- tively insignificant, and he had no idea that beside Kansas City, Mo., would grow up Kansas City, Kas., the metropolis of the State, and that by striking a blow at one city he was delaying the development of the other. In this scheme were embraced a line from Pleasant Hill to Lawrence, and one from Leavenworth, through Lawrence, to the southern boundary of the State, toward Fort Gibson, with a view to securing to Lawrence the terminus of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, and also the railroad Kansas City had been so long endeavoring to secure to the Gulf of Mexico. Even at this early day St. Louis began to see danger to her trade in the rapid advance of Kansas City, and readily allied herself with Senator Lane and his associates, although the success of his scheme would have connected the Kansas railroads with the Hannibal & St. Joseph road, and taken the trade of Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas to Chicago. In pursuance of his plan to get his gulf railroad into the field first, Senator Lane caused work to be begun at Lawrence, June 26. In November a survey was made of a branch to Emporia, authorized by the charter, and the Pleasant Hill & Lawrence road was surveyed. The first rail was laid on the Atchison & Pike's Peak road (the central branch of the Union Pacific), and the survey of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe road was begun at Atchison.
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