Anderson County KS Archives History - Books .....Chapter IX 1877 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com August 4, 2005, 11:41 pm Book Title: THE HISTORY OF ANDERSON COUNTY, FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE FOURTH OF JULY, 1876. CHAPTER IX. Convention at Ottumwa—Election of Members of Territorial Legislature—Establishing Mail Routes in Southern Kansas—Free State Men called on to Defend Settlers in the Border Counties—Posse from Coffey County arrest Settlers of Anderson County—Burning of Painter's and Fox' s Cabins by a Mob—Marais des Cygnes Massacre—John Brown's Parallels—Liberation of Slaves—Squatters' Court Organized in Anderson, Linn and other Counties—First meeting of the Republicans of Anderson County. IN September, 1858, a Free State convention was held at Ottumwa, in Coffey county, for the nomination of candidates for members of the Territorial Legislature from the counties of Richardson, Davis, Wise, Breckenridge, Weller, Madison, Butler, Hunter, Greenwood, Bourbon, Godfrey, Allen, McGee, Woodson, Coffey, Anderson and Franklin, commonly known as the nineteen disfranchised counties, entitled to three representatives. L. D. Bailey, T. R. Roberts and William Spriggs were nominated by the convention. On the 4th of October, 1858, an election was held for members to the Territorial Legislature. At this election L. D. Bailey, T. R. Roberts and Wm. Spriggs were elected to represent these counties. William Spriggs was the first person from Anderson county who held a seat in the Legislature of the Territory. On the nth day of January, 1858, a mail route was established from Leavenworth to Humboldt, and service commenced on the route on the 24th of April following, via Prairie City, Ohio City, Fairview, Hyatt, Carlyle and Cofachique. The route was staked out from Ohio City to Fairview by William Spriggs and others, in the latter part of March. There was at the time a road leading from Fairview to Hyatt, via the Adington crossing of the Pottowatomie, passing on the west side of Cedar creek until near Hyatt, where Cedar was crossed. A few days before the mail service commenced on the route, Dr, John W. Scott and others staked out the route from Carlyle to Hyatt. The mail was carried on this route by Zach. Squires; was at first only once a week, on a small mule, but soon after tri-weekly, in a two-horse hack. Squires also acted as expressman, there being no express line along the route, and seldom charged the people along the line for small packages, and other articles, and was accommodating and of good service to the settlers. In 1859 the route was changed from the west side of Cedar, via Garnett, and in the spring of that year a postoffice was established at Garnett, and Dr. Thomas Lindsay was appointed postmaster. The first mail received in the town of Garnett was in May, 1859—consisting of about twenty-five letters and fifty papers. On the 31st of March, 1858, the following mail routes were let in Southern Kansas: No. 15007, from Butler, Missouri, by Moneka, Hyatt, Hampden, Burlington, Ottumwa, California, Florence, Emporia, to Council Grove; 150 miles; No. 15016, from Osawatomie to Walker (now Greeley); No. 15026, from Shermanville, by Cedar Bluff, to Cofachique. On the 19th of December, 1857, notice was sent by Capt. James Montgomery to the Free State men of Anderson county, to raise all the men with arms they could and proceed to the Free State camp on Sugar creek, west of Mound City, for the purpose of defending the homes and property of the Free State men, which were threatened by an army of Border Ruffians then in Bourbon county, near Fort Scott. That day and night were spent in gathering up recruits; and early next morning about fifteen men started from Reeder township for the Free State camp, and among the number were John S. Robinson, Solomon Kauffman, Samuel H. Hill, Wm. G. Hill, David S. Eaton and Wm. G. Eaton (the names of the others we have forgotten), together with a number of Free State men from Pottowatomie. They found a large number of the Free State men in camp near Danford's mill. General James H. Lane, Montgomery and Wm. A. Phillips (now a member of Congress) were the leaders. They then marched to Fort Scott and returned, and were disbanded and admonished to quietly, in small squads, return to their homes, bearing the impression that nearly the entire command was still in camp, which had the desired effect, as the Ruffians soon departed for their homes in Missouri. The party from Reeder township returned on Christmas day. On the 5th of June, 1858, Charles Edwards, with a posse of men from Coffey county, came to Cresco to arrest Milan Grout, T. W. Painter, Christian Fox and Robert Crocker, on the charge of being horse thieves. They took Painter and Fox to Central City where the mob, headed by Edwards, of Coffey county, and Peter Walters, of Anderson county, undertook to give the prisoners a sham trial. The authorities at Garnett were notified, and on the next day (Sunday) the sheriff, G. A. Cook, went to Central City; and the few law-abiding citizens of Reeder who were present succeeded in putting the prisoners into his hands, when he started with them to Garnett; but before he had gone far the mob interfered and took the prisoners from him and put them under guard in the west part of a building then unfinished, and since used as a store and hotel by Stephen and Oliver Marsh. That night runners were sent out, and by noon of the next day about 200 men had collected at Central City. A young lawyer by the name of Mitchell was passing through the place, observed the excitement, and inquired the cause; and as the mob was about to organize a court to condemn and hang the prisoners, he mounted a store box and made a short speech in favor of law and order., and moved that the prisoners be turned over to the civil authorities, which motion carried by four majority. The prisoners were then put into a wagon and guarded by a number of the law-abiding men, with their muskets, and taken before Henry Williams, J. P., for examination. No testimony was offered against the prisoners, except a statement of Edwards, which he claimed to have received from a horse thief whom they had hanged a week previous on the Neosho river. The circumstances of the hanging of the horse thief in Coffey county were that some horses had been stolen, and Edwards' mob had taken three men and hung two of the number till dead, and the other till nearly dead, and then let him down with the promise not to take his life if he would give the names of those connected with them; and in order to save his life he gave the names of about forty persons in different parts of Kansas and Missouri; then they again hung him till dead. This was the only testimony offered; and the justice released the prisoners, it then being after 10 o'clock at night, on the 7th of June, 1858. On the same night, a part of the mob lay near the house of Mr. Grout, who was a justice of the peace, and absent from home on business, who returned well armed, so that they did not molest him. The other division of the mob went and set fire to the cabins of Painter and Fox, burning their clothing and provisions, leaving them penniless, and against whom there was not a shadow of suspicion. Grout had just come to Cresco with a stock of goods. Crocker had just come into the neighborhood, and was but little known. Painter remained in the neighborhood, built him another house, and continued to improve his claim, and has outlived most of his accusers; and still, with his family, resides on the same piece of land, respected by his neighbors and acquaintances. On the 19th day of May, 1858, Dr. John Hamilton, with twenty or thirty Pro-Slavery men from the neighborhood of West Point, Missouri, armed with muskets, revolvers and Bowie-knives, reached the Trading Post, in Linn county, and began the work of arresting Free State settlers. After arresting several they placed them in a wagon and started toward the line of Missouri. When they had gone about three miles from the Trading Post others of their number came up with other Free State prisoners. Here the prisoners were ordered to form in line, a few yards to the front, with their faces toward a ravine, which the prisoners did, and then Hamilton gave the order to fire on the prisoners, who were unarmed and unwarned of the butchery that awaited them. The murderous command was obeyed, and five fell dead, and five wounded, and one slightly wounded, who was soon after shot through the head and killed. The others feigned that they were dead. The Ruffians robbed their bodies and rode away, leaving them all for dead. The names of the murdered men were: Wm. Stillwell, Patrick Ross, William Colpetzer, Michael Robinson and John F.Campbell. The wounded were Wm. Hargrave, Asa Hargrave, Rev. B. L. Reed, Amos Hall and Charles Snyder. Col. Montgomery and others, with a party of men, pursued the murderers to the border of Missouri, near West Point, but returned without accomplishing anything. This was one of the most outrageous, dastardly murders that ever took place on the soil of Kansas. This butchery was not noticed by the administration. Two of these Ruffians had been members of the Lecompton constitutional convention, to wit: Hamilton and Brockett. They sought to attest their devotion to slavery by murdering Free State settlers in cold blood, in expectation that the Lecompton constitution would be passed by Congress, and enforced by the hireling legions of the administration. These men formed the plan for renewing the disturbances in Southern Kansas, for the purpose of securing to their Missouri friends the cabins of the Free State settlers, thereby preventing the stream of emigration from the North to Kansas, and facilitating the conquest of the Territory to slavery. The following poem was written by John G, Whittier, in September, 1858: LE MARAIS DU CYGNE. A blush as of roses Where rose never grew! Great drops on the bunch-grass. But not of the dew! A taint in the sweet air For wild bees to shun! A stain that shall never Bleach out in the sun! Back, steed of the prairies! Sweet song-bird, fly back! Wheel hither, bald vulture! Gray wolf call thy pack! The foul human vultures Have feasted and fled; The wolves of the Border Have crept from the dead. In the homes of their rearing', Yet warm with their lives, Ye wait the dead only, Poor children and wives Put out the red forge-fire. The smith shall not come; Unyoke the brown oxen, The ploughman lies dumb. Wind slow from the Swan's Marsh. O dreary death-train, With pressed lips as bloodless As lips of the slain! Kiss down the young eyelids. Smooth down' the gray hairs; Let tears quench the curses That burn through your prayers. From the hearths of their cabins, The fields of their corn. Unwarned and unweaponed. The victims were torn,— By the whirlwind of murder Swooped up and swept on To the low reedy fen-lands, The Marsh of the Swan. With a vain plea for mercy No stout knee was crooked: In the mouths of the rifles Right manly they looked. How paled the May sunshine, Green Marais de Cygne, When the death-smoke blew over Thy lonely ravine! Strong man of the prairies, Mourn bitter and wild! Wail, desolate woman! Weep, fatherless child! But the grain of God springs up From ashes beneath, And the crown of His harvest Is life out of death. Not in vain on the dial The shade moves along To point the great contrasts Of right and of wrong; Free homes and free altars And fields of ripe food; The reeds of the Swan's Marsh, Whose bloom is of blood. On the lintels of Kansas That blood shall not dry: Henceforth the Bad Angel Shall harmless go by; Henceforth to the sunset. Unchecked on her way, Shall liberty follow The march of the day. Soon after the Marais des Cygnes murder, John Brown went to Missouri and forcibly liberated eleven slaves and brought them to Pottowatomie, near Greeley, where he remained in a cabin for about one month; and while camped near Greeley he wrote his parallels. Although dated at "Trading Post," it was written in this camp on the Pottowatomie, in Anderson county: JOHN BROWN'S PARALLELS. "TRADING POST, KANSAS, January, 1859. "GENTLEMEN: Yon will greatly oblige a humble friend by allowing the use of your columns, while I briefly state two parallels, in my poor way. "Not one year ago, eleven quiet citizens of this neighborhood, viz: William Robertson, William Colpetzer, Amos Hall, Austin Hall, John Campbell, Asa Snyder, Thos. Stillwell, William Hargrave, Asa Hargrave, Patrick Ross and B. L. Reed, were gathered up from their work and their homes, by an armed force, under one Hamilton, and, without trial or opportunity to speak in their own defense, were formed in line, and all but one shot—five killed and five wounded; one fell unharmed, pretending to be dead. The only crime charged against them was that of being Free State men. Now I inquire what action has, ever since the occurrence, in the least been taken, by either the President of the United States, the Governor of Missouri, the Governor of Kansas, or any of their tools, or any Pro-Slavery or administration men, to ferret out and punish the perpetrators of this crime ? Now for the other parallel: On Sunday, December 19, a negro man called Jim, came over to the Osage settlement from Missouri, and stated that he, together with his wife, two children and another negro man, were to be sold within a day or two, and begged for help to get away. On Monday (the following) night two small companies were made up to go to Missouri and forcibly liberate the five slaves, together with other slaves. One of these companies I assumed to direct. We proceeded to the place, surrounded the building, liberated the slaves, and also took certain property supposed to belong to the estate; we, however, learned, before leaving, that a portion of the articles we had taken belonged to a man living on the plantation as a tenant, and was supposed to have no interest in the estate. We promptly restored to him all we had taken. We then went to another plantation, where we found live more slaves, took some property and two white men. We moved all slowly away into the Territory for some distance, and then sent the white men back, telling them to follow us as soon as they chose to do so. The other company freed one slave, took some property, and, as I am informed, killed one white man (the master), who fought against the liberation. "Now for the comparison: Eleven persons are forcibly restored to their natural, individual rights, with but one man killed, and all 'hell is stirred from beneath.' It is currently reported that the Governor of Missouri has made a requisition upon the Governor of Kansas for the delivery of all such as were concerned in the last named -'dreadful outrage:' the marshal of Kansas is said to be collecting a posse of Missourians (not Kansans) at West Point, in Missouri, a little town about ten mites distant, to enforce the law. All Pro-Slavery, conservative Free State and dough-faced men, and administration tools, are filled with holy horror. "Consider the two cases, and the action of the administration party. Respectfully yours. "JOHN BROWN." This bold transaction on the part of Brown produced considerable excitement throughout the Territory and the whole country. The Governor of Missouri offered a reward of three thousand dollars for the arrest of all those who had participated in the matter. The President of the United States also offered a reward for the body of John Brown, and John Brown, as a compliment to Buchanan, offered a small reward for the body of the President. After remaining in camp about one month he proceeded with the eleven liberated slaves through Northern Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, and arrived safe with them in Canada in the following spring. This party increased one by the birth of a child while in camp near Greeley. The child was named Capt. John Brown. This was Brown's final departure from the Territory. In the first settlement of the county came a class of men who had been reared on the frontier, and had kept in advance of civilization, and had generally made their living by speculating in claims on government lands. These men would settle along the streams in the neighborhood of the finest bodies, of timber and finest bottom lands; and the first thing after settling they would go over the most desirable tracts of land and drive down a stake, and write the name of some person as having selected the land for a claim, and in this way take all the most desirable and valuable pieces of land, and when a stranger came in search of a tract of government land to settle upon, these speculators would inform him that all the claims worth settling upon had been taken, but that here was the agent of a man who had selected a claim, and that the claim was for sale, as the claimant had a chance to get another claim by going to the Verdigris or Fall rivers, as that was the nearest that claims could be taken. The stranger, supposing that the claim had been honestly selected, and thinking it better to purchase than to go further into the Territory, would thus be compelled to pay from one hundred to two thousand dollars. The purchaser would erect a cabin, and then start for his family, and on his return would often find that his claim had been sold again, and the second purchaser occupying it with his family: and that the speculator, with his gold in his pocket, had gone to other fields of profit for further speculation. These claims were a source of perplexing contest in the United States land office, and at the end of the contest both parties would have expended as costs more money than the claim was worth. Whoever succeeded in the suit had to borrow funds of some speculator to pre-empt the land, giving a mortgage on the land for the same, paying an enormous interest for the money, and at the end of the year the speculator got the land for the mortgage; and the land cost the speculator about one dollar per acre. The settler had the gratification of having been the owner of a quarter-section of land for one or two years, and of having put two years' improvements and hard labor on the land to pay for money to preempt the same, and to pay costs in a contest in the United States land office. Kansas has been no exception to such controversies and luxuries, common to most new countries. In November, 1858, a Free State squatters' court was organized in the counties of Linn, Anderson and Bourbon, for the trial of contested land claims, &c. In order to inspire terror, the judge of this court was called "Old Brown," although Capt. John Brown was in Iowa at the time. Dr. Rufus Gilpatrick was elected judge of the court. The witnesses in this court were sworn on Dr. Gunn's "Family Physician," as no Bible could be found in the neighborhood. None of the cases tried by this tribunal were ever appealed, as it was generally believed that it was a court from which no appeal would lie. Major Abbott and Rev. Stewart (commonly known as the fighting preacher), went around with this court to enforce the orders and decrees made at its sessions. The action of the court was entirely satisfactory to most of the settlers. On the 16th of January, 1859, ex-Governor Epaphroditus Ransom and 116 citizens of Fort Scott petitioned the Governor to establish martial law in Linn, Bourbon, Allen and Anderson counties. The first meeting the Republicans of the county ever held was at Osawatomie, on the 18th day of May, 1859. They met in an old blacksmith shop, north of the Osage Valley House. They met for the purpose of electing delegates to the Osawatomie convention, for the organization of the Republican party. The meeting organized by electing W. A. Johnson, chairman, and Alanson Simons, secretary. The following gentlemen were present. Dr. Rufus Gilpatrick, Dr. J. G. Blunt, Henry Nugent, D. G. Watt, John T. Lanter, Jacob Benjamin, George S. King, William Spriggs, G. A. Cook, A. Simons, S. J. Crawford, B. F. Ridgeway, W. A. Johnson and W. F. M. Amy. This meeting appointed Dr. Rufus Gilpatrick and Geo. S. King as delegates to represent Anderson, county in the Osawatomie convention. Both Gilpatrick and King were present and participated in the proceedings of the Osawatomie convention, when the Republican party of the Territory was first organized. Dr. Gilpatrick was on the committee on resolutions, and one of the most active members of the convention. Additional Comments: THE HISTORY OF ANDERSON COUNTY, FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE FOURTH OF JULY, 1876. BY W. A. JOHNSON, CHAIRMAN OF HISTORICAL COMMITTEE. PUBLISHED BY KAUFFMAN & ILER, GARNETT PLAINDEALER, 1877. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1877, by KAUFFMAN & ILER, In the office of the Librarian of Congress,Washington, D. C. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/anderson/history/1877/anderson/chapteri62ms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ksfiles/ File size: 21.4 Kb