Barton County KS Archives History - Books .....Another Incident 1912 ************************************************ 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 July 23, 2005, 1:03 am Book Title: Biographical History Of Barton County ANOTHER INCIDENT WE are informed by Mr. T. J. Richardson, a settler near Rush Center, that in September, 1860, while returning from a trip over the Rocky Mountains, he stopped over night at "Peacock's Ranch," an abode concern then situated a short distance below the Walnut, about where Fort Zarah was built. There he learned of the massacre of Mr. Peacock and five others, part of them members of his family, by the Kiowa Indians, one or two weeks previous. One man escaped whose name he did not learn. Our informant did not know where Mr. Peacock was from, and did not state how long he had lived at the ranch. The Indians carried off all the stock connected with the ranch, and committed sundry other depredations on emigrants. OLD FORT ZARAH FORT ZARAH was established September 6, 1864, by Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, then in command of the military district, and named in honor of his son, Maj. H. Zarah Curtis, who was killed at the Baxter Springs massacre while on the staff of Gen. Blunt, October 6th, 1863. It was completed in 1867, and spoken of as an outpost. The site of the Fort is well known to all— at the southeast of the Walnut. It stood on a gentle eminence, nearly surrounded by a shallow creek which might easily be made a means of defense by filling with water. It was built of sandstone, quarried in the neighboring bluffs about three miles off. These rocks were mostly of a deep purplish brown, varying to a light brown. They were usually hewn to a pretty smooth face, and laid up in the rough, in good solid mortar. The outer walls were about 16 inches thick, the inner walls one foot. The walls inside were all well plastered. The roof of the building was of ten. plastered. The roof of the building was of tin. 116 feet, with an average width of 50 feet. The main portion was divided into 7 rooms, somewhat resembling a "hop-scotch" bed. It was two stories high except 24 feet of the eastern part. The main entrance was at the eastern end, opening into the officers' quarters. There was only one window in the entire building, and that was at the eastern end. There were loop-holes along the northwest, and south sides. At the southeast and northwest corners there were hexagonal, two-story towers, with two sets of loop-holes for musketry. These loop-holes were arranged in sets of three on a side in each story, and presented a face opening of two inches wide by 16 inches high, widening in the wall to a breadth of about 16 or 18 inches on the inside. Beneath the rooms running across the ends, there were cellars dug S feet deep and walled with stone. To the west, at a distance of' 20 feet, was the magazine, which was 12 feet square, and connected with the west cellar by an underground passage 4 feet wide. A short distance to the southeast of the fort stood the guard house, a stone building about 14 feet square. We herewith present a plan of the fort: OTHER RUINS. There are many evidences of occupation surrounding the Fort, such as cellars, remains and traces of ranches, huts, shanties, tents, etc. On section 36, township 19 south, range 13 west, about 100 rods south of the southeast corner of the reservation, near where the old toll-bridge crossed the Walnut, appears the most formidable ruins of any. At first sight there would seem to have been a fort there once; but it must be remembered that in those days herdsmen were obliged to build for defense. Besides, the "oldest inhabitant," Mr. H. H. Kidder, assures us that there was never a fort there—only a ranch. The main building is 70 feet north and south, by 30 feet across. A cross wall divides it into two rooms, the north one being 30 feet square, the south one 30 by 40. There are still some very heavy rocks in the foundation of the walls, though most of the material of which the walls were composed has long since been carried off. The debris is still 18 inches to 2 feet high. Attached to the southeast corner appears a hexagonal ruin of earth and rock, each of the sides about 12 feet long. On the west side of the building are earth-works, about 60 by 80 yards, with various cross-works and walls. These were the walls of the corral, which was divided into apartments. The present owner of the ground has some field crop growing over the ruins; but it seems like farming under difficulties, for the soil is not so rich and damp as ordinary prairie soil. CEMETERY. About 300 yards northeast of these ruins, in Section 31, T. 19, R. 12 W., is the old grave yard. This bears evidence of more recent use. There are about 18 or 20 graves in all; though many were difficult to distinguish, and there may be more or less. Many of the graves have no stone or stick to mark the spot, and can only be detected by a slight ridge or depression. Several have sandstones raised at the head and foot. Only one grave has a stone with any inscription. This, a brown sandstone, is broken down, and bears the following well carved, but partly effaced, inscription: IN MEMORY OF CHARLES WELCH, Who Died Mar. 22d, 1872. Age 1 yr and 2 Months. The age was the most effaced, and may have been something else. At the foot a neat cross is engraved on a standing brown sandstone. The grave is covered densely with buffalo grass, and appears much older. At the foot of one grave there is a cotton wood board, without any inscription. At the heads and feet of a few, small stones are stuck in the ground. Three of the graves, which are probably those of soldiers, are surrounded by stone walls 18 inches high, which are filled within with earth. These are in the best condition of any of the graves. RESERVATION. Fort Zarah Military Reservation was established September 30th, 1868, by order of the president, and surveyed and laid out the same year. It is about two by two and three quarters miles in extent, and reaches from the railroad north to the hills. It contains about 3,698 acres. On February 24, 1871, an act of Congress provided for bringing into market the lands of the Fcrt Zarah Reservation; and on August 11, 1871, "the Surveyor General was authorized to extend the lines of the public surveys over the same." In July, 1874, "the lands having been appraised at from $3 to $10 per acre," were offered at public sale at Salina, at which sale "only two lots, containing together 45.20 acres, were sold at $4 per acre, leaving the balance subject to private entry at the appraised value." FORT ABANDONED. The Fort was "dismantled" in 1869. Among other work of dismantling was the removal of the tin roof at an expense to the government of $20,000; and the removal of the same to Fort Barker at a further expense of $10,000; —fat jobs for some poor contractors. On arrival of the tin roof at Fort Barker, the receiver wouldn't receive her; so the thing was dumped down on the prairie a short distance from the fort; and it has since done good service in sheltering various settlers on government lands. The original cost of Fort Zarah was $110,000. After the abandonment of the Fort it became a den of thieves and general rendezvous for bats and marauders. These occupied it day and night by turns,—the former hiding by day, the latter by night. Settlements commenced in 1871. Almost immediately the hand of the granger was laid upon it, and it began to disappear little by little. Capt. E. V. Rugar was appointed a marshal to take care of it, which he bravely did by going to California in 1874, and letting the Fort take care of itself. Shortly after the sale of lots mentioned above, Mr. E. C. Sooy put up a notice forbidding anyone to remove any rock from Fort Zarah, as the property had been purchased and now belonged to private individuals. The notice held good until all the best rock had been hauled away from the Fort by various parties at Great Bend, who made quick work of it for a short time, when the rumor was spread that there had been no sale, and the valuable stone remaining at the old Fort lasted but a very short time after; and today only a heap of rubbish, overgrown with rank weeds is left to mark the spot where the proud Fort once stood. Fort Zarah has passed into history. INDIAN TROUBLES. In 1868, Indians were very troublesome to the settlers and ranchers in the country at that time. They would attack ranchers and wagon trains, run off the horses and cattle, and some times kill the people. On or about the 12th of August, 1868, word came to Fort Zarah that the Indians were murdering the settlers on the Saline, and Col. Menteen, with his company of 7th Cavalry, "marched swiftly" to their relief, and run the Indians about ten miles. On October 2nd, 1868, Gen. Hazen reports that "about 100 Indians attacked the Fort at daylight, and were driven off; then they attacked a provision train, killed one of the teamsters, and secured the mules from four wagons; then attacked the ranch eight miles below (near Ellinwood) and drove off the stock." On the 10th, Lieut, Kaizer, 3rd Infantry, reports that "at 4 p. m. a party of Indians surrounded and drove off six horses and two mules from citizens near Fort Zarah." File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/barton/history/1912/biograph/anotheri22ms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ksfiles/ File size: 9.7 Kb