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 25

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.)
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing company
Number of Pages: 932


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 25


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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No attempt to establish a permanent medical society in Wyandotte County has been crowned with success. The last to date was the or- ganization of the Wyandotte County Medical Society, about two years ago, which had an existence of about a year. Quite a number of lead- ing Kansas City physicians belong to the Eastern Kansas District Med- ical Society.


The first Wyandotte County election was that of June, 1857, for a delegate to the Lecompton Constitutional Convention. The polls were protected by soldiers, and the votes were deposited in a candle- box, the same candle-box buried in a wood pile in Lecompton and afterward discovered and made infamous in history. In October, the county came into notice again, politically, by the stuffing of a ballot box, and other frauds perpetrated at the Delaware Crossing, eight miles west of Wyandotte. It is said that many of the names found on the poll list could also be found in a New York City directory,


245


C


WYANDOTTE COUNTY.


which some enterprising citizen happened to have in his possession at the time. Properly, however, the political history of Wyandotte County begins with its formation by the Legislature, which convened in January, 1859. A copy of the act creating the county is given in a previous chapter.


The first meeting of the commissioners, George Russell and George W. Veale (Mr. Veale acting in place of Alfred Gray), was held at the Eldridge House, February 25, 1859. The proceedings of this and subsequent meetings are given in Chapter XII. The county was Democratic, politically, until 1869, when the memorable Glick-Cobb Legislative contest began, resulting in Cobb's being counted in by the Honse. Since that time the Republicans have generally triumphed, though many worthy Democrats have been chosen to fill offices of importance.


The civil list of the county from its organization to the present year is as follows:


First election. - Jacques W. Johnson, probate judge; M. A. Gar- rett, clerk; V. J. Lane, register of deeds; S. E. Forsythe, sheriff; W. L. McMath, county attorney; Robert Robitaille, treasurer; C. L. Gorton, surveyor; Dr. G. B. Wood, coroner; J. B. Welborn, superin- tendent of public schools.


1859 .- W. L. McMath, Representative; B. Gray, probate judge; V. J. Lane, register of deeds; M. B. Newman, county clerk; L. H. Wood, sheriff; S. M. Emerson, connty attorney; D. C. Boggs, connty surveyor; Robert Robitaille, treasurer; P. Julian, coroner.


1860 .- W. Y. Roberts, Representative; Barzillai Gray, probate judge; Vincent J. Lane, register of deeds; L. H. Wood, sheriff; S. M. Emerson, county attorney; D. C. Boggs, surveyor; M. B. New- man, county clerk; Robert Robitaille, treasurer; Peter Julian, coroner; William McKay, John W. Dwyer and Julius G. Fisk, commissioners; John B. Dexter, assessor.


1861 .- W. W. Dickinson and James McGrew, Representatives; L. H. Wood, sheriff; James A. Cruise, county clerk; Martin Stewart, assessor; John A. J. Chapman, surveyor; Charles Morasch, coroner; Francis Kessler, Richard Cook and Leonard Lake, commissioners.


1862 .- James McGrew, senator; Isaac B. Sharp, probate judge; James A. Cruise, clerk of district court; Stephen Perkins, county commissioner; James M. Chinault, assessor; Frederick Speck, super- intendent of schools.


1863 .- W. W. Bottum, Representative; Pembroke S. Ferguson,


246


HISTORY OF KANSAS.


sheriff; James A. Cruise, register of deeds; Byron Judd, treasurer; John A. J. Chapman, surveyor; Eli McKee, assessor; William B. Bowman, probate judge; Benjamin F. Mudge, superintendent public instruction; Stephen Perkins, Joseph Grindle and Francis Kessler, commissioners; Thomas P. Fenlon, district attorney.


1864. - William Weer, Senator; Charles S. Glick, Representative; James A. Cruise, district clerk; Isaac B. Sharp, probate judge; Moses B. Newman, county attorney; Michael Hummer, superintendent pub- lic instruction; David Pierson, assessor; John A. J. Chapman, sur- veyor.


1865 .- Isaiah Walker, Representative; Pembroke S. Ferguson, sheriff; Charles H. N. Moore, coroner; Moses B. Newman, county clerk; John M. Funk, treasurer; James A. Cruise, register of deeds; David Pearson, assessor; Benjamin F. Mudge, superintendent of schools; William Cook, Martin Stewart and Francis Kessler, commis- sioners.


1866 .- Isaac B. Sharp, Senator; Thomas J. Barker, Representa- tive; Daniel Killen, Representative; William B. Bowman, probate judge; James A. Cruise, district clerk; Rynear Morgan, surveyor; Charles S. Glick, county attorney.


1867 .- Richard Hewitt, Representative; Vincent J. Lane, Repre- sentative; James A. Cruise, register of deeds; Jesse J. Keplinger, county clerk; Thomas W. Noland, coroner; Silas Armstrong, sheriff; Samuel Parsons, surveyor; William Cook, Patrick Reedy and Hiram Malott, county commissioners.


1868 .- Charles S. Glick, Senator; Henry W. Cook, Representative; Thomas Feeny, representative; Isaac B. Sharp, probate judge; John B. Scroggs, county attorney; James A. Cruise, clerk of the district court; Emmanuel F. Heisler, superintendent of public schools.


1869 .- Vincent J. Lane, Representative; John T. McKay, Repre- sentative; Joseph C. Welsh, treasurer; James A. Cruise, register of deeds; Edward Riter, sheriff; Patrick Kelly, county clerk; Samuel F. Bigham, surveyor; George B. Wood, Riley M. English and H. F. Reed, commissioners.


1870 .- George P. Nelson, Senator; Rufus E. Cable, Representa- tive; Isaac B. Sharp, probate judge; Joseph K. Hudson, Repre- sentative; Henry W. Cook, county attorney; Emmanuel F. Heisler, superintendent public instruction; James A. Cruise, clerk of district court; Harvey Hortsman, sheriff.


1871 .- Stephen A. Cobb, Representative; Hiram Malott, Repre-


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WYANDOTTE COUNTY.


sentative; Andrew B. Hovey, county clerk; Nicholas McAlpine, treas- urer; James A. Cruise, register of deeds; Edward S. Drought, sheriff; Robert A. Ella, county surveyor; Bryant Grafton, coroner; William P. Overton, commissioner to fill vacancy; Robert P. Clark, Samuel Beatty and William Richart, commissioners for full term.


1872 .- Byron Judd, Senator; William J. Buchan, Representative; William S. Tough, representative; Henry L. Alden, county attorney; James A. Cruise, clerk of district court; William W. Dickinson, superintendent of public instruction.


1873 .- Richard B. Taylor, Representative; Sanford Haff, Repre- sentative; G. W. Betts, clerk of the district court to fill vacancy; Edward S. Drought, sheriff; David R. Churchill, probate judge to fill vacancy; Alison Crockett, register of deeds; Andrew B. Hovey, county clerk; Nicholas McAlpine, treasurer; David W. McCable, coroner; Francis House, surveyor; Charles Hains, Samuel Beatty and Richard P. Clark, commissioners.


1874 .- Byron Judd, Senator; Sanford Haff, Representative; Will- iam J. Buchan, Representative; George W. Betts, clerk of district court; Henry L. Alden, county attorney; David R. Churchill, pro- bate judge; William W. Dickinson, superintendent of public instruc- tion.


1875 .- Sanford Haff, Representative: Henry W. Cook, Representa- tive; Edward S. W. Drought, county treasurer; William H. Ryns, sheriff; Alison Crockett, register of deeds; David R. Emmons, county clerk; Samuel T. Bigham, surveyor; William G. Scott, coroner; Richard P. Clark, William Jacks and Theodore Schultz, commis- sioners.


1876 .- Hiram Stevens, district judge; Byron Judd, Senator; Sanford Haff and H. W. Cook, Representatives; D. R. Emmons, county clerk; D. R. Churchill, probate judge; G. W. Betts, district clerk; H. L. Alden, county attorney; N. McAlpine, treasurer; W. H. Ryus, sheriff; Alison Crockett, register of deeds; Samuel F. Bigham, surveyor; Dr. W. G. Scott, coroner; W. W. Dickinson, superintendent public instruction; R. P. Clark, William Jacks and Theodore Schultz, com- missioners.


1877. - William J. Buchan, Senator; H. L. Alden, Representative; L. E. James, representative; G. W. Greever, representative; D. R. Churchill, probate judge; J. S. Gibson, county attorney; G. W. Betts, clerk of district court; J. S. Clark, register of deeds; L. C. Trickey, superintendent public instruction.


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HISTORY OF KANSAS.


1878. - E. S. W. Drought, treasurer; W. H. Ryus, sheriff; D. R. Emmons, clerk; J. S. Clark, register of deeds; Francis House, sur- veyor; L. T. Holland, coroner.


1879 .- W. J. Buchan, Senator; R. B. Armstrong, Representative; L. E. James, Representative; G. W. Greever, Representative; R. E. Cable, probate judge; G. W. Betts, clerk of district court; H. C. Whitlock, superintendent of schools; J. S. Gibson, county attorney; Perley Pike, county commissioner.


1880 .- T. B. Bowling, sheriff; William Albright, treasurer; D. R. Emmons, clerk; J. S. Clark, register of deeds; Walter Hale, surveyor; G. W. Nevill, coroner; James T. Johnson, county com- missioner.


1881. - W. J. Buchan, Senator; E. S. W. Drought, Representa- tive; T. J. Barber, Representative; B. L. Stine, Representative; J. S. Gibson, county attorney; R. E. Cable, probate judge; George W. Betts, clerk of district court; D. B. Hiatt, superintendent public in- struction; J. W. Wahlenmaier, commissioner First District; D. R. Emmons, county clerk, William Bridgens, register of deeds; Walter Hale, surveyor; T. C. Baird, coroner; T. B. Bowling, sheriff; William Albright, treasurer.


1882 .- H. C. Alden, county attorney; R. E. Cable, probate judge; L. C. Trickey, clerk of district court; C. J. Smith, superin- tendent public instruction; E. S. W. Drought, Representative Twelfth District; J. F. Timmons, Representative Thirteenth District; D. S. Bentley, county commissioner Second District


1883 .- James Ferguson, sheriff; Benjamin Schnierle, county treasurer; W. E. Connelly, county clerk; William H. Bridgens, reg- ister of deeds; J. H. Lasley, county surveyor; A. H. Vail, coroner; George W. Hovey, commissioner Third District.


1884 .- R. E. Cable, probate judge; L. E. Trickey, clerk of dis- trict court; H. C. Whitlock, county superintendent public instruction; James S. Gibson, county attorney; E. S. W. Drought, Representative Twelfth District; B. L. Stine, Representative Thirteenth District; Isaac La Grange, commissioner First District; Stephen Perkins, commissioner Second District.


1885 .- James Ferguson, sheriff; W. H. Bridgens, register of deeds; William E. Connelley, county clerk; Benjamin Schnierle, county treasurer; J. H. Lasley, county surveyor; George M. Gray, county coroner; A. A. Lovelace, commissioner for Second District.


1886 .- Porter Sherman, Representative Tenth District; J. F. Tim-


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WYANDOTTE COUNTY.


mons, Representative Eleventh District; R. P. Clark, probate judge; John Warren, clerk of district court; Nathan Cree, county attorney; F. M. Slosson, superintendent public instruction; G. U. S. Hovey, commissioner Third District.


1887 .- Martin Stewart, county treasurer; Frank Mapes, county clerk; A. A. Lovelace, register of deeds; J. H. Lasley, county sur- veyor; T. J. Bowling, sheriff; H. M. Downs, coroner; S. S. Sharpe, county commissioner First District.


1888 .- W. J. Buchan, State Senator; George Monahan, probate judge; E. W. Towner, clerk of district court; E. F. Taylor, county superintendent public instruction; G. L. Coates, Representative of Tenth District; W. H. Young, Representative Eleventh District; John Steffens, county commissioner Second District.


1889 .- M. W. Stewart, county treasurer; Charles E. Bruce, coun- ty clerk; T. B. Bowling, sheriff; A. A. Lovelace, register of deeds; S. F. Brigham, surveyor; Russell Hill, coroner; N. Garcelon, com- missioner Second District; R. H. Scott, commissioner Third District.


In July, 1890, the county clerk completed the compiling of an abstract of the assessment rolls of Wyandotte County, showing the number of acres of taxable land and its assessed value, the number of lots and their aggregate value, together with the value of all per- sonal and railroad property. This abstract shows that the total value of all the property in the county, personal and real, is $12,860,555. 24, which is an increase of $1,537, 793.28 over the values of last year. This is the assessed value, which is about 20 per cent of the real value. Of the 85,269 acres of land in the county, 57,910 are under cultivation and 27,359 are not cultivated. There are 48,707 town lots in the county, of which 8,658 are improved and 40,049 are unim- proved. The following tables show all the salient features of the abstract :


No. of Acres.


Average Value per Acre.


Aggregate Value of all Lands.


Kansas City, Kas.


2,559


$963 00


$2,364,322


Argentine


178


904 27


767,801


Rosedale


...


Prairie Township


18,355


8 12


149,206


Quindaro Township.


15,003


24 34


365,261


Delaware Township.


20,975


8 64


181,319


Shawnee Township.


12,963


36 70


475.845


Wyandotte Township.


15,236


47 67


726,185


Total.


85,269


$51 95


$4,429,939


16


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HISTORY OF KANSAS.


No. of Town Average Value Lots. of Town Lots.


Aggregate Value of Town Lots.


Kansas City, Kas


25,061


$222 56


$5,577,611


Argentine .


4,598


69 02


327,383


Rosedale. .


2,401


85 51


205,320


Prairie Township.


904


8 41


7,608


Quindaro Township


1,556


10 80


16,804


Delaware Township.


7,344


7 95


58,383


Shawnee Township.


4,669


32 12


149,985


Wyandotte Township.


2,174


56 27


122,338


Total


48,707


$132 74


$6,465,432


Aggregate Value of Per- sonal Prop- erty.


Aggregate Value of all Railroad Property.


Total Value of Taxable Property.


Kansas City, Kas


$804,959


$206,387 75


$8,953,319 75


Argentine


48,258


85,699 89


629,141 89


Rosedale ..


5,691


9.910 28


220,921 28


Prairie Township.


16,272


57,821 63


230,907 63


Quindaro


8,461


162,449 36


552,975 36


Delaware .


28,507


112,713 28


380,992 28


Shawnee


28,814


184,423 87


839,067 87


Wyandotte


27,511


177,205 18


1,053,299 18


Total


968,473


$966,611 24


$12,860,555 24


A little later in the same month a financial statement of Wyan- dotte County was prepared, which shows the bonded indebteness of the county to be $514,520.76, against $540,000 of last year, a de- crease of over $25,000. This amount does not include the indebted- ness of the cities, townships or school districts. The townships have little or no debt at all, and very few of the school districts have any indebtedness. Shawnee Township reports no debt and a balance of $4,500 in the treasury. The bonded indebtedness of Kansas City, as per the report of the city clerk, is $1.772, 467.24.


The following farm and crop statistics show the acreage, product and value of field crops in the county in 1888, there being no later statistics obtainable: Winter wheat, 4,337: product, 91,077 bushels; value, $70, 129.29. Rye, 755 acres; product, 15,100 bushels; value, $6,795. Corn, 10,731 acres; product, 536,550 bushels; value, $193, - 158. Oats, 5,609 acres; product, 185,097 bushels; value, $44, 423.28. Irish potatoes, 5,375 acres; product, 752,500 bushels; value, $338, 625. Sweet potatoes, 533 acres; product, 53,300; value, $53,300. Sorghum, 12 acres; value, $305. Castor beans, 1 acre; product, 12 bushels; value, $12. Tobacco, 1 acre; product, 600 pounds; value, $60. Broom corn, 6 acres; product, 3,600; value, $126. Millet and Hun- garian, 152 acres; product, 304 tons; value, $1,216. Timothy, clover,


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WYANDOTTE COUNTY.


orchard grass, blue grass and other tame grasses, 10,805 acres; prod- uct, 4,303 tons; value, $25,818. Prairie grass, under fence, 382 acres; product, 169 tons; value, $1,014. Total acreage, 37,839; value, $734,981.57.


The number and value of live stock in the county at the time men- tioned is shown by these figures: Horses, 21,099, valued at $224,910; mules and asses, 699, valued at $69,700; milch cows, 2,417, valued at $48,340; other cattle, 3,009, valued at $60,180; sheep, 558, valued at $1,116; swine, 4,220, valued at $33, 760. Total number of live stock of all kinds, 13,400. Total value, $438,006.


Summary amount and value of farm products: Field crops, 37, 839 acres, valued at $734,981.57; animals slaughtered and sold for slaugh- ter brought $59,349; the value of increase in live stock was $36,402; wool clip, 400 pounds, valued at $72; butter, 100,777 pounds, valued at $20,155.40; cheese, 350 pounds, valued at $42; honey and bees- wax, 785 pounds, valued at $157; milk sold brought $39,500; horti- cultural products marketed brought $36,343; wine manufactured, 4,838 gallons, valued at $4,838; garden products marketed brought $147,501; poultry and eggs sold brought $7,894; wood marketed brought $5,280.


Following are the statistics of horticulture in the county: Number of trees bearing-Apple, 95,185; pear, 567; peach, 17,574; plum, 1,771; cherry, 7,048. Number of trees not bearing-Apple, 29,391; pear, 228; peach, 4,098; plum, 1,601: cherry, 1.699. Total number trees bearing, 122,145; total number not bearing, 37,017. Small fruits -acres devoted to raspberries, 199; to blackberries, 51; to strawberries, 47; total, 297. Artificial forest-Acres of trees one year old and over: Walnut, 125; other varieties, 1,904; total, 2,029. Acres in nurseries, 309; in vineyards, 164.


Wyandotte County is pre-eminently the leading manufacturing center of the West. The latest report of the State Labor Bureau shows that $12,073,000 of capital is employed in manufacturing in the county, while the value of the product for 1889 was $36,209,311. The value of the raw material used in manufacturing is placed at $32,209, 458, while $2,554,817 was paid out for labor in forty-nine of the leading establishments. The manufactories of Wyandotte County embrace basket and box factories, brick clay works, brick yards, broom factories, cement works, clothing manufactories, cooper shops, corrugated iron works, desiccating works, flour-mills, foundries, foun- dry and machine works, a gas machine factory, gas works, harness


252


HISTORY OF KANSAS.


manufactories, haystacker and hayrake manufactories, iron bridge works, an oil-mill, packing houses, planing-mills, publishing and printing houses, a radiator manufactory, silver smelting works, soap factories, a soda water factory, terra cotta works, vinegar factories, wagon factories, water works and woodenware factories. In Kansas City, Kas., there are seven great packing establishments, which enti- tle the county to the claim of being the second packing center of the world. At Argentine, which joins Kansas City on the south, and which is separated from it by the Kansas River, is the mammoth smelter of the Consolidated Smelting and Refining Company, of Kan- sas City. This is the largest institution of the kind in the world, producing one-fifth of all the silver and one-fifth of all the lead pro- duced in the United States, its annual output being valued at $18, - 000,000. At Lovelace, three miles west of Argentine, another similar smelter has just been put in operation.


Wyandotte County has the largest city in the State of Kansas -- Kansas City, with a population of 45,000. She has twenty-three miles of paved streets, is lighted by electricity, has Holly system of water works, and has fourteen miles of double track and sixteen miles of single track in street railways, with five or more miles under con- struction. The population of the county is 63,000, distributed as follows: Kansas City, Kas., the metropolis of the State, 45,000; Argentine, a great manufacturing city of the second class, 6,000; Rosedale, a busy city of the third class, 4,000, and the five townships outside the cities, 8,000. The surface of Wyandotte County com- bines the rich alluvial bottom lands of the Missouri and Kansas Val- leys, and the lighter soils of the hills skirting them. Every plant that can be grown along the 39th parallel is cultivated to a high degree of perfection. Evidence of this is found in the fact that for the last eight years, the agricultural exhibits have taken first prizes at fairs and expositions wherever shown. Geological formations and experiments show that coal in paying quantities underlies the county, and capitalists are making active preparations for mining the coal.


253


WYANDOTTE COUNTY.


CHAPTER XIV.


THE JUDICIAL DISTRICT AND THE DISTRICT COURT-FIRST SESSION- JUDGE JOHN PETTIT-FALLING OF THE COURT-ROOM-JUDGES Mc- DOWELL, BREWER, BURRIS, STEVENS, WAGSTAFF, HINDMAN AND MILLER-THE BAR-FIRST GRAND JURY-FIRST CASES-FIRST PETIT JURY-PROBATE COURT - IMPORTANT TRIALS-WILLS VS. WOOD ---- THE ICE CASE-TITLE TO CHURCH PROPERTY-HOMICIDES-LYNCH- INGS-THE STRIKE OF 1886-TRIALS OF HAMILTON AND OTHERS FOR WRECKING TRAIN, ETC.


The charge is prepared, the lawyers are met, The judges all ranged; a terrible show !- Beggar's Opera.


UDICIAL DISTRICT No. 3, of the Territory of Kansas, was what Wyandotte County was made a part of when the county was organized, and it con- tinued as such until an act of the Territorial Legis- lature, approved February 27, 1860, made the First Judicial District of the Territory consist of the counties of Leavenworth, Atchison, Doniphan, Jefferson, Wyandotte and Arapahoe. The county remained in this district, and the district continued to be composed of the same counties until the Terri- tory became a State in 1861.


The constitution adopted by the Kansas Constitu- tional Convention at Wyandotte, on July 29, 1859, and under which the State was afterward admitted into the Union, provided for the erection of district courts, as follows:


Article 3, paragraph 152, " The State shall be di- vided into five judicial districts, in each of which there shall be elected by the electors thereof, a district judge, who shall hold his office for the term of four years. District courts shall be held at such times and places as may be provided by law." Paragraph 153 provided


254


HISTORY OF KANSAS.


that the district courts should have such jurisdiction in their respective counties as might be provided by law, and paragraph 154 provided for the election in each organized county of a clerk of the district court, who should hold his office two years, and whose duties should be pro- vided by law. In another paragraph the constitution provided that the First Judicial District should consist of the counties of Wyan- dotte, Leavenworth, Jefferson and Jackson until otherwise provided by law.


The act of Congress, admitting Kansas into the Union as a State, was approved by the President, January 29, 1861, and from this time forward the First Judicial District remained the same until an act of the State Legislature, approved February 25, 1869, changed Wyan- dotte County to the Tenth Judicial District, and made the latter con- sist of the counties of Wyandotte, Johnson and Miami. This district continued to be composed of the same counties, until an act of the General Assembly, approved March 5, 1874, detached Linn County from the Sixth Judicial District and attached it to the Tenth Judicial District. In 1876 an act was passed and approved, which changed Linn County back to the Sixth Judicial District, thus leaving the Tenth to consist as before of the counties of Wyandotte, Johnson and Miami, and so it continued until an act, approved March 5, 1887, created the Twenty-ninth Judicial District, consisting of Wyandotte County only, as it now exists. The act creating this district set the time for the commencement of the several sessions of each year on the first Monday of March, the first Monday of June, the third Mon- day of September, and the first Monday of December.


The first session of the Wyandotte District Court, which con- vened June 6, 1859, was presided over by Hon. Joseph Williams, associate justice of the Territory of Kansas. He also presided at the fall term of the court in the same year. The next year, Wyandotte County having been transferred from the Fort Scott to the Leaven- worth District, the Hon. John Pettit, judge of that district, presided over the Wyandotte District Court, holding two terms, the last one being the last term held under the Territorial organization.


The history of Wyandotte, by Birdsall, Williams & Co., in speak- ing of Judge John Pettit, the second judge of the Wandotte Dis- trict Court, says, "Pettit was ill-natured, petulant, high-tempered, profane, tyrannical and abusive, but withal as clear-headed and able a jurist as ever donned the judicial ermine of Kansas. It was nothing unusual for him to go to Kansas City and play poker


255


WYANDOTTE COUNTY.


and drink whisky all night. The bar generally had to suffer for it the next day. In this connection we can not refrain from giving an in- cident that occurred at the Garno House during one of his terms of court. S. L. Norris, a young man from Vermont, who lived by his wits, brought out a carpet-sack of bank-notes on the St. Albans Bank, which had bursted in the crash of 1857. Judge James, Col. Weer, Norris, and one or two other parties, set up a job on Pettit and got him to playing poker. The old man was permitted to win nearly every game, and every time he won the boys put out a $20 bill on the broken bank of St. Albans, Pettit paying change in good money. At the close of the term the old judge was in high glee, as his capacious wallet was filled with $20 bills. But when he came to pay Mrs. Hal- ford his hotel bill and presented one of his $20 notes, he learned the bank was broken; a second and a third tender meeting a refusal on the same grounds, he saw that he had been sold. He returned to Leavenworth minus about $300 in cash, with about $1,000 in worth- less money, a sadder but wiser man."




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