A HISTORY OF KANSAS

BY

ANNA E. ARNOLD

AUTHOR OF CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP

PUBLISHED BY
THE STATE OF KANSAS
IMRI ZUMWALT, State Printer
TOPEKA, 1919
7-6552

Copyright 1914, Anna E. Arnold

Copyright 1919 (Revised), Anna E. Arnold
All Rights Reserved

PREFACE

No State has a history better calculated to inspire patriotism in its people than has Kansas. In this fact lies the greatest reason for teaching Kansas History in the schools. A knowledge of the difficulties that have been met and conquered in building the State will create in the minds of the boys and girls a greater respect for the sturdy qualities of the pioneers; it will give them a wholesome sense of the great cost at which the ease and comfort of to-day have been purchased; it will stimulate in them a desire to live up to the past.

If the study of Kansas History is to accomplish these results, the subject must be presented in such a way as to arouse the interest of the pupils. They must feel its reality. They must catch its spirit.

With the hope of fulfilling in some measure these requirements, this book has been prepared with the following aims constantly in mind: to make it, as nearly as possible, a narrative; to select from the wealth of material at hand such subject matter as is within the comprehension of children, eliminating such matter as can be fully understood and appreciated only by mature minds; to present the general movement of the State’s progress rather than a mass of unrelated facts. Only so much detail has been used as is necessary to a clear understanding of events. The purpose has not been to chronicle a multitude of events, but rather to show forth what manner of men and 6 women were the builders of our State, what motives actuated them, what conditions surrounded them, how they lived, and what they accomplished.

An effort has been made to give the pupils a general view of the State’s history as a whole, to give them a framework on which to build their later knowledge, and to leave them with a desire to learn more of Kansas history.

Anna E. Arnold.

CONTENTS

A HISTORY OF KANSAS

CHAPTER I

THE BEGINNING OF KANSAS HISTORY

Introduction. More than four centuries have passed since Columbus discovered America. During that time the hunting ground of three hundred thousand Indians has become the United States with its more than one hundred million civilized people. In the center of this great nation, which occupies nearly half the area of the continent, lies Kansas, a rectangle four hundred miles long and two hundred miles wide.

Kansas is a part of the great plain that slopes gradually from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River. Its surface, cut by many eastward-flowing streams, lies level in the west but in the east curves into countless hills and valleys.

On these broad prairies to-day are thousands of cattle, and great fields of corn, wheat, and alfalfa. Towns and cities are scattered over the State, and the country between is dotted with the homes of farmers. There are mines, factories, churches, schools, and colleges. Uniting all are miles and miles of railroad. Kansas is now the home of more than a million seven hundred thousand of busy, prosperous people. But it was not always so; these prairies were once used only by the Indian and the buffalo. If we are to understand how this change has come about we must begin with the coming of the first white men to America.

The First White Men in Kansas. At that time Spain was the most powerful nation of Europe, and since she 10 had furnished the funds for the voyage of Columbus she claimed the first right to America and became the pioneer in the exploration of the New World. The Spaniards first explored the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, discovered the Pacific Ocean and the Mississippi River, and were the first to sail around the world. In 1519 Cortez, a Spaniard, landed on the present site of Vera Cruz and marched into the heart of Mexico, the home of the Aztec Indians. He made himself master of that great region and called it New Spain. All of these expeditions were too far south to reach what is now Kansas, but only a few more years were to pass before this far-off country was to be explored by the adventurous Spaniards, the first white men to set foot on Kansas soil.

Cabeza de Vaca. In 1528 Narvaez, a Spaniard, led an exploring expedition westward from Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. Through various misfortunes and hardships nearly all of the party perished. One of the commanders, Cabeza de Vaca, and three of his men were taken prisoners by the Indians. After being held in captivity nearly six years they succeeded in making their escape. They fled westward, and after an adventurous journey of nearly two years reached a Spanish settlement near the western coast of New Spain. The exact route followed by Cabeza de Vaca and his companions can never be known, but his accounts of their wanderings were largely the cause of the expedition of Coronado, who was the first white man known with certainty to have traveled across what is now Kansas.

Purpose of the Spaniards. The chief purpose of all the Spanish explorers was to search for wealth. Cortez is said to have made this remark to the Indians: “We Spaniards are troubled with a disease of the heart for which we find gold, and gold only, a specific remedy.” The hope of 11 finding gold and precious stones lying about like pebbles lured many Spaniards into enterprises filled with terrible hardships. Reports of great cities of untold wealth to the northward, the “Seven Cities of Cibola,” as they were called, had reached New Spain at various times, and when Cabeza de Vaca told similar tales that he had heard from the Indians it stirred the Spaniards to explore the region.

Coronado. Great preparation was made for an expedition. An army of three hundred Spaniards and eight hundred friendly Indians was gathered and placed under the command of Coronado. This was a large army for those times and the burden of furnishing it with arms and supplies fell heavily on New Spain. But so hopeful were the people of the success of the expedition that no sacrifice seemed too great. In the spring of 1540 the long march into unexplored country began.

The Search for Quivira. After months of travel in a northerly and then in a northeasterly direction, Coronado and his army reached the province of Cibola, which was probably in the western part of what is now New Mexico, and the “Seven Cities” proved to be ordinary adobe Indian villages. They took possession of the Indian supplies and spent the winter in the villages. The Indians, anxious to get rid of their unwelcome visitors, persuaded a Quivira Indian, whom they held as a prisoner, to tell the Spaniards tales of the wonderful land of Quivira in order to lead them off into the wilderness where they would die from lack of food and water. Coronado and his men listened to this Indian, whom they called “Turk,” and followed him as a guide for many days. He led them steadily toward the east, and after a time they became convinced that they were being deceived and made him confess that Quivira was far to the northward. They had been only too willing to listen to Turk’s stories, but when 12 they learned that he had misled them they put him to death. Supplies were now low and Coronado sent back the main body of the army, which was composed of footmen, and with thirty horsemen started northward.

The Journeys of Cabeza de Vaca and Coronado.

Coronado in Kansas. It must be remembered that the whole country was a vast wilderness without names or boundary lines, and we can describe the journey of the Spaniards only by using names and boundary lines that have come into existence long since that time. As nearly as can be learned, Coronado and his men entered Kansas about where Clark County now is, and went on northward, crossing the Arkansas River at or near the site of Dodge City. From this point they followed the river to Great 13 Bend, and then continued in a northeasterly direction to the vicinity of Junction City. At the end of their journey they set up a cross bearing the inscription: “Francisco Vasqueth de Coronado, commander of an expedition, arrived at this place.”

“Francisco Vasqueth de Coronado, Commander of an Expedition, Arrived at this Place.”

Quivira Found. After all this weary journey they had reached Quivira and found it to be merely the home of a tribe of Indians, the Quiviras, later known as the Pawnees. Coronado wrote in a letter to the King of Spain:

“The country itself is the best I have ever seen for producing all of the fruits of Spain, for, besides the land itself being very fat and black, and being very well watered by rivulets, springs, and rivers, I found prunes like those in Spain and nuts and very good sweet grapes and mulberries. I remained twenty-five days in this province of Quivira, both to see and explore the country, and to find out whether there was anything beyond which could be of service to your Majesty, because the guides who had 14 brought me had given me an account of other provinces beyond this. And what I am sure of is that there is not any gold or any other metal in all that country, and the other things of which they told me are nothing but little villages, and in many of these they do not plant anything, and do not have any houses, except of skins and sticks, and they wander around with the cows. So that the account they gave me was false, because they wanted to get me to go there with the whole force, believing that as the way was through such uninhabitable deserts, and from lack of water they would get us where our horses and we would die of thirst. And the guides confessed this, and they said they did it by the advice of the natives of these provinces.”[1]

Coronado’s Return to New Spain. Empty-handed, Coronado and his little band of Spanish knights turned toward New Spain and carried to their waiting countrymen the disappointing story of their two years’ expedition. With this event fifty years had passed since the discovery of America, and for the next two and a half centuries little attention was paid to the Kansas country.

SUMMARY

The history of Kansas begins with the first exploration of this country by white men nearly four hundred years ago. Spain was the first nation to explore the New World. The chief purpose of the Spaniards was to find gold. They had heard from the Indians of rich cities to the northward, and when Cabeza de Vaca told them similar tales the people of New Spain decided to explore the country. They sent Coronado with a large army on a journey of exploration lasting two years. He failed to find gold, but his expedition is of interest because he was the first white man known to have traversed what is now Kansas.

REFERENCES

• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 1-23.
• Foster, A History of the United States, p. 29.
• Spring, Kansas, pp. 17-19.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, pp. 44-45.
• Bourne, Spain in America (vol. III, of The American Nation, a History).
• Blackmar, Kansas, Selected Topics.
• Historical Collections, vol. VII, pp. 20, 40, 268, 573; vol. VIII, p. 152; vol. X, p. 68; vol. XII, p. 219.
• Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology.

QUESTIONS

1. How long has it been since Columbus discovered America?

2. Compare the population at that time with the present population of the United States.

3. In what part of the United States is Kansas?

4. Describe briefly the western part of the Mississippi valley. Describe the surface of Kansas.

5. What relation has Spain to the history of Kansas? Why did Spain claim the first right to America? Name some of the early discoveries of the Spaniards.

6. Where was New Spain?

7. What influenced the Spaniards in their ventures in the New World?

8. Who was Cabeza de Vaca? Of what importance is the account of his adventures?

9. Tell the story of Coronado. What is his relation to Kansas history?

CHAPTER II

KANSAS BECOMES A PART OF THE UNITED STATES

The French. While the Spaniards were searching for wealth in the southern part of North America the French were trading with the Indians in the northern part along the St. Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. Among the French were many Catholic priests, called Jesuits, who came to carry their religious faith to the Indians. In 1673, one of these Jesuits, Father Marquette, accompanied a trader named Joliet on an expedition to explore the Mississippi River. They launched their canoes on the great river and floated downstream for hundreds of miles, between shores that in some places were thickly wooded, and in others were grassy plains. They went as far south as the mouth of the Arkansas River, and then turned and began the long, hard task of paddling back.

La Salle and Louisiana, 1682. Among those who heard of the journey of Marquette and Joliet was a young Frenchman, La Salle. He planned to explore the whole Mississippi basin and to take possession of it in the name of the King of France. In 1682, with a few companions, he floated down the Mississippi to its mouth. Here, with much ceremony, they planted a cross, buried a leaden plate inscribed with the arms of France, and declared that all the land drained by the Mississippi River and its tributaries should belong to France, and should be named Louisiana in honor of the French King, Louis XIV. Thus in 1682, nearly two centuries after the discovery of America, Kansas came into the possession of the French.

The End of Spanish and French Explorations. The French soon planted a few colonies and forts along the Mississippi River and sent out explorers, some of whom 17 may have entered the present bounds of Kansas. This roused the Spaniards in Mexico, who wished to hold the territory for Spain, and they also sent expeditions. The armies of both nations suffered severely at the hands of the Indians and the exploration of the Kansas country was given up by both Spain and France, and for nearly a century more it lay almost forgotten. The next exploration of this territory was by people of another nation.

The English. While the Spaniards were busy in the South and the French in the North, another people, the English, began to make explorations in the new continent. They did not come to hunt for gold, nor to trade with the Indians, but to found homes. They settled along the Atlantic coast between the French in Canada and the Spaniards in Florida, and claimed the country westward to the Pacific Ocean.

Conflict of French and English Claims. As time went on and the settlements increased in number, the claims of the French and the English conflicted and caused much strife between the colonies of the two countries. The question of the ownership of the land was not settled until the close of the French and Indian War in 1763. As a result of this war France gave up all her claims in America, practically everything east of the Mississippi to England, and that west of it to Spain. In 1800 Spain ceded her portion of America back to France.

The Louisiana Purchase, 1803. In the meantime the English colonies had fought the Revolutionary War and become an independent nation. In 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was President, the United States bought from France her tract of country lying west of the Mississippi River. This was known as the Louisiana Purchase, and the date is one to be remembered, for it marks the end of 18 French claims in America, and it marks the time when what is now Kansas became a part of the United States.[2]

One Century More. More than three centuries of American history had passed and the country west of the Mississippi River remained unsettled and practically unknown. The Spaniard and the Frenchman had come and gone, but the Indian still hunted the buffalo on the prairies. The white man had not yet made his home in the Kansas country.

SUMMARY

Spain explored in the South in search of wealth, France in the North to trade in furs with the Indians, and England along the coast between these two to establish homes. Spain claimed the Kansas country because of the exploration by Coronado, France through the claims of Marquette and La Salle, and England through the ocean-to-ocean claim. None of the nations succeeded in accomplishing anything here, and the Kansas country was left alone for nearly a century after it came into the possession of France. At the close of the French and Indian War the country west of the Mississippi was ceded to Spain. Later it came again into the hands of France, and was purchased by the United States in 1803.

REFERENCES

• Elson, History of the United States, pp. 161, 384.
• Fiske, Discovery of America, vol. II, chap. XII.
• Foster, A History of the United States.
• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 24-40.
• Parkman, La Salle and the Great West.
• Spring, Kansas, pp. 19-20.
• Historical Collections, vol. IX, p. 250; vol. X, p. 336.
• Wilder, Annals of Kansas, pp. 15-18.

QUESTIONS

1. Who were the Jesuits? What can you say of Marquette? Joliet? La Salle?

2. Contrast the motives of the French and Spanish in coming to America.

3. Why did the English come to the New World?

4. What territory was claimed by the French? By the Spanish? By the English?

5. To what nations did what is now Kansas successively belong? How and when did it first become a part of the United States? How long was this after the discovery of America?

CHAPTER III

EXPLORATION OF THE KANSAS COUNTRY BY THE UNITED STATES

President Jefferson Sent Explorers. When the United States bought Louisiana the country from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean was a vast unknown area. President Jefferson was eager to learn something about the great West, and sent out several exploring parties.

Lewis and Clark. The first expedition, sent in 1804, the year following the purchase of Louisiana, was in charge of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They were instructed to move up the Missouri River and on to the Pacific Ocean. After a difficult journey lasting two and a half years the party returned to St. Louis and brought to the people of the United States much important information concerning the West. It is the part of their journey along the border of what is now Kansas in which we are most interested.

The Journey. With about forty-five men and three boats Lewis and Clark started up the Missouri River in the spring of 1804. Two horsemen rode along the bank to hunt and bring in game, which was to go far toward supplying provisions for the expedition. After a five weeks’ journey they reached the mouth of the Kansas River, and encamped that night on the present site of Kansas City, Kansas. From there they continued up the Missouri River where it forms the present boundary line of Kansas, along the border of what has since become Leavenworth, Atchison, and Doniphan counties. Their account of the journey describes the country through which they passed and the different Indian tribes and villages they saw. It speaks of an Indian tribe as “hunting on the plains for 21 buffalo which our hunters have seen for the first time.” Again we read, “Pecan trees were this day seen, and large quantities of deer and wild turkey.” By July 4 they had reached a point not far from the present city of Atchison. They did not have the means for much of a celebration, but their observance of the day included the firing of “an evening gun” and the naming of two streams, Fourth of July Creek, and Independence Creek. Independence Creek still retains its name. A week later they passed the fortieth parallel, which afterward became the northern boundary of Kansas, and continued on their way to the Pacific.

Pike’s Expedition. In 1806 another exploring party was sent out in command of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, a young lieutenant in the army. He was instructed to ascend the Missouri River, visit the various Indian tribes in the Kansas country, go west until the frontier of New Mexico was reached, then south toward the source of the Red River which he was to descend to the Mississippi, and thence to St. Louis, the starting point. The journey did not, however, follow just this route.

Pike Visits the Osage Indians. The Osage Indians lived in the eastern part of Kansas, south of the Kansas River. At their villages Pike purchased supplies for the overland journey. From there he went west and then northwest toward the Pawnee village which is believed to have been within the bounds of what is now Republic County.

Pike Among the Pawnees. About the time he crossed the Solomon River he came upon the trail of Spanish troops. It seems that the authorities in Mexico had in some way heard of the Pike expedition and had sent an army of five hundred men to intercept him. These forces missed each other, but when Pike reached the village of 22 the Pawnee Indians he found them in possession of many blankets, bridles, saddles, and other things which they had received from the Spaniards. After having been visited with much ceremony by the mounted and lordly army from Mexico, the Indians were not inclined to be courteous to Pike and his score of dusty, bedraggled footmen. After much unpleasantness and delay a council attended by four hundred warriors was held. In his opening address Pike spoke, among other things, of the numerous Spanish flags in the village. Pointing to one which floated above the tent of the head chief, he demanded that it be lowered and that an American flag be put in its place. Several Indians made speeches without mentioning the flag. Pike again told them they must choose between the Spanish and the American governments. The Americans awaited the answer in anxious suspense. Finally an old chief arose. He slowly hauled down the Spanish flag, laid it at Pike’s feet, and received the American flag in return. This he unfurled above the chiefs tent, and for the first time, so far as is known, the Stars and Stripes floated over Kansas.

Pike in Colorado. From this place Pike and his men moved southwest to the Arkansas River, where the party divided, some of them going down the river and on home. Pike and his remaining men, instead of searching for the Red River according to instructions, followed the Arkansas River into what is now Colorado. They pushed westward, and after many days of travel sighted a mountain, which appeared at first like a small blue cloud but which proved to be a great bald peak of the Rocky Mountains. This peak has since been named Pike’s Peak in honor of the explorer. By this time it was winter and their supplies were low. Pike and his men suffered terribly from cold and hunger while wandering among the mountains. Hoping 23 to better their condition they moved toward the southwest, only to find themselves taken prisoners in Spanish territory. Later, however, they were escorted across Texas to the American frontier in Louisiana and released.

The Expedition of Pike, and the Location of the Original Indian Tribes.

There were no clearly defined boundaries between the tribes.

The Return of Pike. A whole year had passed before they found themselves again in St. Louis, a year of hardship for them, but well worth while, nevertheless, for Pike brought back a great deal of valuable information. That he was a better soldier than farmer may be seen from this passage taken from his journal:

“From these immense prairies may rise one great advantage to the United States, viz., the restriction of our population to certain limits, and thereby a continuation of the union. Our citizens, being so prone to rambling and extending themselves on the frontiers, will, through necessity, be constrained to limit their extent on the west to the borders of the Missouri and the Mississippi, while they leave the prairies, incapable of cultivation, to the wandering aborigines of the country.”[3]

The Great American Desert. Another explorer, Major Long, who came in 1819 and 1820, likewise expressed the idea that most of the country was unfit for cultivation, and therefore uninhabitable by an agricultural people. He even went so far as to say the country bore a “resemblance to the deserts of Siberia.” Washington Irving, the great writer, said of this region: “It could be well named, the Great American Desert. It spreads forth into undulating and treeless plains and desolate sandy wastes, wearisome to the eye from their extent and monotony. It is a land where no man permanently abides, for at certain seasons of the year there is no food for the hunter or his steed.”

An Indian Village.

The tribes that lived in permanent homes built lodges consisting of an embankment of earth topped with a row of poles brought together at the center and thatched with bark and grass.

The views of these men largely molded public opinion concerning the West. The country out of which has been carved such prosperous agricultural states as Oklahoma, 25 Kansas, and Nebraska was, a hundred years ago, known as the “Great American Desert,” and was so named on the maps of that time.

Interior of an Indian Lodge.

Indian Tribes in Kansas. The western prairies had for untold ages been occupied by Indians. At the time of Pike’s expedition there were four tribes living within the present bounds of Kansas. These were the Kanza, the Osage, the Pawnee, and the Comanche tribes. The Kanza, or Kaw, Indians lived in the northeastern part of the State and were the ones seen by Lewis and Clark in their expedition up the Missouri River. It is from this tribe that Kansas probably received its name. The Osage Indians were located in the eastern part, south of the Kansas River. The Pawnee tribe lived north and west of the Kanza Indians. It was in the Osage village that Pike secured supplies for his journey, and in the Pawnee village that he caused the Spanish flag to be lowered. The Pawnees were once called the Quiviras. The first of their tribe that we know anything about was “Turk,” who led Coronado into the wilderness. These three tribes lived in permanent homes and had their tribal villages, but the fourth tribe were wanderers. They were the Comanches, sometimes called the Padoucas, and they roved over the western part of Kansas and adjacent territory, hunting buffaloes and following the herds as 26 they grazed from place to place. They were fine horsemen, and brave, but very fierce and warlike.

The Kansas of a Century Ago. This was the Kansas of a century ago. At that time it had received neither name nor boundaries. For the first fifty years that this region was a part of the United States, that is, from the purchase of Louisiana until Kansas was organized as a territory in 1854, the country was little used by the white people except as a pathway to the West.

SUMMARY

President Jefferson, wishing to learn something of the unknown western country, sent out two exploring expeditions. The first, in 1804, was in charge of Lewis and Clark, who were to follow the Missouri River and to go on across the mountains until they reached the Pacific coast. They passed along the northeast border of Kansas. The next exploring party was in command of Pike. His route was somewhat in the form of a circle. Beginning at St. Louis it was to pass through Kansas, then south, then east, and up the Mississippi to St. Louis. He visited the Osage Indians in eastern Kansas, the Pawnee Indians in northern Kansas where he raised the American flag, and then marched into Colorado where he discovered Pike’s Peak. From Colorado he went into what is now New Mexico, where he was taken prisoner by the Spaniards. They took him nearly to the Mississippi River and released him. On his return he reported this country as unfit for settlement, and his opinion was shared by later explorers. At the time of Pike’s expedition there were four tribes of Indians in Kansas, the Osages, the Kanzas, the Pawnees, and the Comanches.

REFERENCES

• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 31-41.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, pp. 49-53.
• Coues, Expedition of Zebulon Montgomery Pike.
• Blackmar, Kansas, vol. II.
• Historical Collections, vol. IX, p. 574; vol. VII, pp. 261-317; vol. VI, p. 325; vol. X, pp. 15-159.

QUESTIONS

1. What was known of the Louisiana Purchase at the time it was acquired by the United States?

2. Who were Lewis and Clark? Give an account of their expedition as it related to Kansas.

3. What route was Pike instructed to take?

4. Describe Pike’s visit to the Osages. His visit to the Pawnees. By what other name do we know the Pawnees?

5. Give an account of the remainder of Pike’s journey.

6. What was Pike’s opinion of the Kansas country? Long’s opinion? Washington Irving’s opinion?

7. How much of Kansas did the Louisiana Purchase include?

8. What Indian tribes lived within the present bounds of Kansas? Locate and tell something of each.

9. When was Kansas Territory organized? How long was this after the Louisiana purchase?

10. What use did the white people make of Kansas during this period?

CHAPTER IV

KANSAS AS A PATHWAY

Mexico a Century Ago. Nearly three centuries passed from the time Cortez led the Spaniards into Mexico until Kansas became a part of the United States. During those years Spanish settlements had increased in number until at the time of Pike’s expedition Mexico included most of what is now California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.

Old Santa Fe. Santa Fe, said to be the second oldest city in the United States, was the most important point on the northern frontier of Mexico. In those days it was not like the busy American Santa Fe of to-day. It had about two thousand inhabitants, practically all Spaniards, and they lived in little adobe houses arranged around a public square after the manner of Spanish cities.

Origin of the Santa Fe Trail. The “Great American Desert” lay between Santa Fe and the settlements of the western border of the United States. But Captain Pike’s interesting descriptions of the wealth and resources of the Spanish country stirred up enthusiasm, and Americans began to make their way across the plains to trade with the Spaniards. Santa Fe soon became an important trading point for all of northeastern Mexico. The traders, on their journeys to the Spanish city, wore a pathway that crossed the length of Kansas. This pathway came to be called the “Santa Fe Trail.”

Captain Becknell the First Trader. Although a few earlier trips were made, the trade with Santa Fe really began in the year 1822 with the journey of Captain Becknell, of Missouri. He had started out the year before to trade with the Indians, and had gone on with a party of 31 Mexican rangers to Santa Fe where he sold his small supply of merchandise so profitably that he decided to try again on a larger scale. In 1822 he took about thirty men and five thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise. His success encouraged others, and a regular trade with Santa Fe was soon established.

Scenes in Early Santa Fe.

Left, a street scene. Upper right, an adobe house. Lower right, the old “Palace,” used by the Spanish and Mexican authorities as government headquarters for about two centuries. It was in this building that Pike was held prisoner.

Merchandise Carried on Pack Mules. For several years most of the transportation along the Trail was done with pack mules. A caravan of pack mules usually numbered from fifty to two hundred, each animal carrying about three hundred pounds of merchandise. From the earliest times the Mexicans had used pack mules as a means of transportation, and were skilled in handling them. For this reason the American traders usually employed Mexicans for the work of the pack train. The average rate of travel of a mule train was from twelve to fifteen miles a day. Since the Trail was nearly eight hundred miles long, fifty to sixty days were required for the trip.

Wagons Used on the Trail. Probably the first time that wagons were used was in 1824, when a company of traders left Missouri with twenty-five wagons and a train of pack mules. This experiment was so satisfactory that the use of wagons soon became general and mules were used less and less as pack animals.

The Traders and the Indians. Travel over the Santa Fe Trail rapidly increased, and the history of those days is filled with stories of exciting adventure, of danger, of privation, and of deeds of courage. The source of greatest danger and excitement was the Indians, for they did not take kindly to the white men’s use of their hunting grounds. For several years the traders crossed the plains in small parties, each man taking only two or three hundred dollars’ worth of goods, and they were seldom molested. But peace did not last long. The Indians soon learned more about 32 the journeys of the traders and how to estimate the value of their stock. Also, many of the traders considered every Indian a deadly enemy and killed all that fell into their power simply because some wrong was known to have been committed by Indians. This treatment tended to stir up the hatred of the red men and to make them watch every opportunity for revenge.

An example of the enmity between the Indians and the traders may be seen in an occurrence of 1828. Two young men went to sleep on the bank of a stream a short distance from their caravan, and were fatally shot, it was supposed, with their own guns. When their comrades found them one was dead, and the other died by the time the caravan reached the Cimarron River, about forty miles farther on. During the simple burial ceremonies a party of six or seven Indians appeared on the other side of the river. It is probable that these Indians knew nothing of the crime committed or they would not have approached the white men. Some of the men took this view, but, against their advice, the others fired and killed all of the Indians but one, who escaped to carry the news to his tribe. The Indians of the wronged tribe then followed the caravan to the Arkansas River where they robbed the traders of nearly a thousand head of horses and mules. Other robberies and murders followed until it became necessary for the traders to petition the National Government for troops. The next year soldiers escorted the caravan nearly to the Cimarron River. Government protection was furnished again in 1834, and in 1843. In the other years the traders fought their own way, but the day of small parties was over. For mutual protection, the traders banded together. A single big caravan started out each spring as soon as the grass was sufficient to pasture their animals, and returned in the fall.

The Starting Point of the Traders. For many years the city of Franklin, on the Missouri River, was the starting point of the traders, the place where they purchased their goods and their outfits. Later, Independence, Missouri, and finally Westport which is now a part of Kansas City, became the emporium of the Santa Fe trade. The tourists and traders began to gather about the first of May for the journey that would begin near the middle of that month.

Supplies Taken. The ordinary supplies to be taken for each man were about fifty pounds of flour, fifty pounds of bacon, ten pounds of coffee, twenty pounds each of sugar, rice, and beans, and a little salt. Anything else was considered an unnecessary luxury and was seldom taken. The buffalo furnished fresh meat for the travelers.

Teams and Wagons. After the first few years horses were little used on the Trail except for riding. A wagon was usually drawn by eight mules or oxen, though some of the larger ones required ten or twelve. The large wagons often carried as much as five thousand pounds of merchandise and supplies. The loading of the wagons for a journey of nearly eight hundred miles was a very particular piece of work.

Council Grove the Meeting Place. Although the traders banded together in one big caravan, they did not all start from the same place nor at the same time. The Kanza and Osage Indians seldom committed worse deeds than petty thievery, and the more warlike Comanches and Pawnees did not often appear along the first two hundred miles of the Trail. The place where all the wagons united to form a caravan was Council Grove, a point about one hundred and fifty miles west of Independence. In those days Council Grove consisted of a strip of fine timber along the Neosho valley. It is said to have been named in 1825 by the United States Commissioners who 34 met on this spot some Osage Indians, with whom they made a treaty for the right of way for the Santa Fe Trail. About 1850 a blacksmith shop and two or three traders’ stores were established at Council Grove and this place became “the last chance for supplies” for westbound travelers.

Council Oak,

Under which the Commissioners and Indians met at Council Grove to make their treaty. It is still standing. A Santa Fe marker has been placed beneath its branches.

Journeys of Gregg. We can not get an idea of those days in a better way, perhaps, than by following an account of one of the caravans. Josiah Gregg, who crossed the prairie eight times, has left a very interesting record of his experiences. Many of the following facts are taken from his account of the journey of 1831.

Organization of the Caravan. For this particular trip there were two hundred men and nearly a hundred wagons, with a dozen smaller vehicles, and two carriages carrying cannon. The total value of the merchandise was about $200,000. For so large an undertaking it was, of course, necessary to have some kind of organization. According to custom, therefore, they elected officers and adopted a set of rules. The head man was the “Captain of the Caravan,” who directed the order of 35 travel, selected the camping grounds, and performed many other duties of a general nature. The wagons were divided into four groups, each group under the charge of a lieutenant, who selected crossings and superintended the “forming” of the camp. The men were well armed with rifles, shotguns, and an abundant supply of pistols and knives.

The Starting of the Caravan. When the time came to start from Council Grove the command “Catch up! Catch up!” sounded by the captain and passed on to all the groups, started a scene of hurry and uproar as the teamsters vied with each other to be first to shout “All’s set!” After a period of shouting at animals, the clanking of chains, and the rattling of harness and yokes, all were ready. The command “Stretch out!” was given, and the line of march began.

Crossing the Plains.

The Country West of Council Grove. Council Grove seemed to form the western boundary of the very rich, fertile, and well timbered country. From here westward the streams were lined with but little timber growth, and 36 much of that was cottonwood. The country was mostly prairie, with the vegetation gradually becoming more scarce. The traders usually lashed under their wagons a supply of logs for needed repairs, for Council Grove furnished the last good wood they would pass. Westward from Council Grove not a single human habitation, not even an Indian settlement, was to be seen along the whole route. It is difficult to imagine such a condition in Kansas only eighty years ago.

North American Bison, Commonly Called Buffaloes.

They were described by Cabeza de Vaca as “crooked-backed oxen.”

Buffaloes Sighted. Soon after leaving Council Grove the traders began watching for buffaloes, and when a small herd was sighted it created much excitement. About half the men had never seen these animals before. All the horsemen rushed toward the herd, and some of the drivers even left their teams and followed on foot.

Pawnee Rock. After a few more days of travel, during which nothing more serious happened than a few false alarms of Indians, they reached the Arkansas River. Another day’s travel over a level plain brought them in 37 sight of Pawnee Rock, a great rock standing on the plains near the Big Bend of the Arkansas, and a landmark known from one end of the Trail to the other. The surrounding country was not occupied by any tribe of Indians, but was claimed by all of them as a hunting ground, for it was a fine pasture for buffaloes. For many years it had been the scene of bloody battles between different tribes. The Rock afforded an excellent hiding place and retreat. Since the old Trail passed within a few yards of it, this became a dreaded spot for the traders, for at this point they seldom escaped a skirmish with the Indians. The Rock probably received its name from some of the bloody deeds of the Pawnees, who were especially connected with these scenes.

Pawnee Rock.

Forming Camp. When the caravan camped at Ash Creek the traders found a few old moccasins scattered around and some camp fires still burning, which seemed to indicate the near presence of Indians. They had, up to this point, marched in two columns, but after crossing Pawnee Fork they formed four lines for better protection in case of attack. In camp the wagons were arranged in the form of a hollow square, each line forming a side. This provided an enclosure for the animals when needed, and a fortification against the Indians. Ordinarily the camp fires were lighted outside the square, the men slept on the ground there, and the animals were picketed near.

The Caches. The next important stopping place was The Caches, near the present site of Fort Dodge. All that marked this spot from the surrounding country was a group of pits in the ground. A number of years before, a small party of traders had attempted to go to Santa Fe in the fall. By the time they reached the Arkansas River a heavy snowstorm forced them to take shelter on a large island, where they were kept for three months by the severe winter. During this time most of their animals perished. When spring came, having no way to carry their goods, they made some caches,[4] where they stored their merchandise until they could bring mules to haul it to Santa Fe.

The Trail Divided into Two Routes. At Cimarron Crossing the Trail divided, and did not reunite until within a few miles of Santa Fe. The southern route was shorter, but it meant crossing fifty miles of desert before reaching the Cimarron River. In all that stretch of level plain there was no trail, nor landmark, nor stream of water. Travelers sometimes lost their way in this desert, and unless they had prepared for this part of the journey by taking along a sufficient supply of water, they perished of thirst.

An Experience with Indians. This caravan decided to take the southern route. A band of Indians soon appeared, carrying an American flag as a token of peace. They talked with the traders by means of signs and told them there were immense numbers of Indians ahead. A little later a band of warriors appeared and threatened to 39 fight. There was great excitement as the caravan prepared for battle and the Indians continued to pour over the hills. But there was no fighting, for the chief came forward with his “peace pipe,” from which the captain took a whiff. The warriors were ordered back to rejoin the long train of squaws and papooses who were following with the baggage. There were probably three thousand Indians in this party, and they moved down into the valley and pitched their wigwams. The traders felt sure that since the women and children were along the Indians would not be hostile, and they, therefore, formed their camp a few hundred yards away. The Indians gathered around to gaze at the wagons, for it was probably the first time most of them had ever seen such vehicles. Some of them followed to the next camp, and the next day a large number of them gathered around the caravan. This sort of thing continued until the traders made up a present of fifty or sixty dollars’ worth of goods to “seal the treaty of peace.”

Their First News. Some days later the caravan met a Mexican buffalo hunter. He told the traders the news from Santa Fe, the first they had heard since the return of the caravan of the year before. To-day Kansas City and Santa Fe are little more than twenty-four hours apart by rail, and we read the latest news from both places in the morning and evening papers.

Round Mound. Round Mound, standing nearly a thousand feet above the level of the surrounding plain, in what is now New Mexico, was one of the landmarks along the Trail. At that point the caravan had completed about three-fourths of the journey to Santa Fe. As they approached the Mound some of the party decided to ascend it. They felt certain that it could not be more than half a mile away, but they had to go fully three miles before reaching it. This remarkable deception in distance is 40 characteristic of the West.[5] Nothing of particular note occurred from Round Mound to the end of the journey.

Arrival at Santa Fe. The arrival of the caravan at Santa Fe was a source of excitement for both the traders and the city and was celebrated with much festivity. The traders had entered what was in those days a foreign country and had to pay duties on their goods at the custom house. Then came the business of selling these goods to those who had come in from the surrounding country to buy, after which the traders, or freighters as they were often called, prepared for the long return journey, planning to finish the round trip before the winter began. This was but one of many trips made over the Santa Fe Trail.

Travel Across Kansas During the ’40’s. There was a war between the United States and Mexico in 1846-’48. The trouble between the two countries checked the Santa Fe trade between the years 1843 and 1850, but even under those circumstances there was much travel across Kansas 41 during the ’40’s.[6] There were four principal classes of travelers: soldiers, emigrants to Oregon, Mormons, and California gold seekers.

The Soldiers. The war with Mexico broke out in 1846, and many of the United States soldiers were sent to that country by way of the Santa Fe Trail. This increased the travel across the prairies.

The Oregon Settlers. The remote unsettled region in the Northwest, known as Oregon, was soon to become the home of civilized people. In 1842 wagon trains of emigrants began to undertake the long and weary journey to that far-off country. Others soon followed, and during the next few years many thousands of people settled in the Oregon country.

The Mormons. In those days the Mormon Church had not been long established, but their beliefs had brought the Mormons into trouble with the people around them and with the Government, and they had been forced to move several times. The last time was in 1845, when they left Nauvoo, Illinois, and began the long and perilous journey to the valley of Great Salt Lake, in which region the main body of them remains to-day.

The “Forty-niners.” In 1848 a man named James Marshall, who was running a sawmill near the present site of Sacramento, California, discovered shining particles of gold in the mill race, and it was soon found that there were rich gold fields in that part of the country. The news spread, not rapidly as it would to-day, for there were no railroad or telegraph lines west of the Mississippi River 42 and only a few east of it, but within a short time the whole country and even Europe had heard of the California gold fields, and people from all parts of the world began to make their way to the Pacific coast. Some went by water but more of them made the journey overland. Long lines of wagons, or prairie schooners as they were called, wound their way across the plains and over the mountains to California. It is estimated that ninety thousand people passed through Kansas on their way to California during the two years 1848 and 1849, a few of them to gain wealth, but thousands to be disappointed, and many to perish on the way.

The Oregon Trail. The Oregon settlers, the Mormons, and the gold seekers entered Kansas at or near Atchison, Leavenworth, St. Joseph, or Westport, and moved toward the northwest, crossed the border into Nebraska, and went on across the mountains. The road worn by this westward-moving stream of emigrants was known as the Oregon Trail, though it was sometimes called the Mormon Trail, and more often the California Road. For two thousand miles the Oregon Trail stretched away through an utter wilderness, and every mile of it came to be the scene of hardship and suffering, of battle, or of death. It was one of the most remarkable highways in history. It had several branches, and in many places it followed different routes at different times. The largest number of travelers over this Trail entered Kansas at Westport and followed for a short distance the Santa Fe Trail. Near the present town of Gardner stood a signboard on which were the words, “Road to Oregon.” At this point the two historic highways divided. It has been said that, “never before nor since has so simple an announcement pointed the way to so long and hard a journey.”

SUMMARY

The Santa Fe Trail was a great road about 775 miles long, beginning successively at the Missouri towns, Franklin, Independence, and Westport, and extending westward to Santa Fe. Four hundred miles of its length were in Kansas. Travel began in 1822 for the purpose of trading with Mexico. The first merchandise was carried on pack mules, but wagons began to be used in 1824. The traders experienced much trouble with the Indians, and in 1829 they began going together in big caravans for protection. The gathering place was Council Grove, where they organized and started. A few of the well-known sites along the Trail were Pawnee Rock, Ash Creek, Pawnee Fork, and The Caches. At Cimarron Crossing the Trail divided. The northern branch followed the Arkansas and crossed the mountains over practically the same route as that followed by the Santa Fe Railway to-day. The southern branch was the cut-off across the desert. Another historic highway was the Oregon Trail, sometimes called the Mormon Trail and sometimes the California Road. This Trail crossed the northeast corner of Kansas.

REFERENCES

• Inman, The Old Santa Fe Trail.
• Parrish, The Great Plains.
• Pamphlet by Historical Society, Santa Fe Trail.
• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 42-49.
• Gregg, Commerce of the Prairies.
• Blackmar, Kansas, vol. II, p. 645.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, p. 54.
• Historical Collections, vol. VIII, p. 137; vol. IX, p. 552; vol. XII, p. 253-269.
• Hunt, California the Golden.
• Aplington, Pilgrims of the Plains. (A novel.)

QUESTIONS

1. What part of the United States did Mexico own a hundred years ago?

2. Describe the city of Santa Fe. How did trade first begin with Santa Fe?

3. Tell about the journey of Captain Becknell.

4. Discuss the use of pack mules on the Trail. When were wagons first used?

5. What was the attitude of the Indians and the traders toward each other?

6. What places were in turn the starting point of the traders?

7. What supplies were usually taken?

8. How did Council Grove get its name? Of what importance was the place?

9. Who was Josiah Gregg?

10. Describe the organization of the caravan. The starting.

11. What occurred when buffaloes were sighted?

12. What is told of Pawnee Rock?

13. How was camp formed at Ash Creek?

14. Describe The Caches. How did this place receive its name?

15. Where did the Trail divide? Describe each route.

16. What experience did the travelers have with the Indians?

17. Explain the occurrence at Round Mound.

18. Describe the arrival of the caravan at Santa Fe.

19. Discuss the Santa Fe trade during the ’40’s.

20. Name the classes of travelers who crossed Kansas in the ’40’s, and give an account of each.

21. Name and describe the trail made by these travelers.

CHAPTER V

KANSAS AS AN INDIAN COUNTRY

Kansas Belonged to the Indians. During the years when the white men were traveling back and forth across Kansas they were not making settlements here. The country remained in the undisputed possession of the Indians. The white men did not want it as yet. They looked upon these vast prairies, not as a resource, but as so much land to be crossed in reaching places farther west. But changing conditions in the states east of the Mississippi River made people begin to look upon Kansas in a different light. The country there was becoming thickly settled and the people wanted the lands of the eastern Indians.

Removal of Eastern Indians to Kansas. Soon after the Louisiana purchase was made people began to talk of an Indian reserve, of a state set aside for the Indians, and it was believed that these western prairies would be useful for such a purpose. Nothing definite was done, however, until 1825, when the National Government began the “removal policy.” The eastern part of Kansas was occupied by two tribes of Indians, the Kanzas, or Kaws as they are often called, north of the Kansas River, and the Osages south of it. In 1825 the National Government made treaties with these two tribes. Under the provisions of these treaties each tribe retained only a small part of its territory, the rest being ceded to the Government. In return, the Indians were to receive certain annual payments and were to be supplied with cattle, hogs, and farming implements. The Government was also to provide them with blacksmiths and with teachers of agriculture. With these two tribes restricted to their 46 reservations, a large part of eastern Kansas was left to be apportioned into reservations for Indians from the East. In 1830 Congress passed an act setting aside an Indian country, which included eastern Kansas. Then the removal policy was carried out. Under this arrangement the Government made treaties with the various eastern tribes by which they gave up their lands in exchange for certain tracts in the Indian country. The Shawnees had come in 1825, and during the ten or twelve years following 1830 about seventeen tribes were located on reservations in Kansas. Among these were the Iowas, Sacs and Foxes, Kickapoos, Delawares, Chippewas, Pottawatomies, Wyandottes, and Miamis. By 1850 there was not a tribe left east of the Mississippi River. The Indians had all been moved to these western plains, and no white man could settle on any of the reservations without the consent of the Indians.

An Indian in War Dress.

Indians Removed from Kansas. According to the treaties the Indians were promised their land “so long as grass should grow or water run.” But it soon developed that the white men wanted Kansas also. In 1854 we find the tribes being again transferred, this time to the Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, where the remnants of the various tribes still remain.[7]

Although Kansas was not used during those early years to make homes for white settlers, a few hundred people came here. They were of three different classes; fur traders, missionaries, and soldiers.

Indian Reservations in Kansas.

The Fur Traders. It is impossible to say when the first hunters and trappers came to these western plains, for they were generally obscure men and little was known of their comings and goings, but they were the real pathfinders of the West. There are records of fur traders here in the very early years of the nineteenth century, and they gradually went farther and farther into the vast wilderness. The streams of travel across Kansas in the ’40’s followed paths that had been pointed out by the fur traders.

The fur companies established many trading posts, which served as forts for protection against the Indians and as places to which hunters and trappers could bring 48 their furs. Some of the hunters and trappers were employed by the fur companies, and others worked independently.

Many Indians also engaged in this trade, and often they were given tobacco, whisky, and weapons in exchange for their furs. In this way much of the work of the missionaries was undone. In the earlier years the hunters and trappers found many kinds of wild animals in Kansas: the buffalo, the wolf, the fox, the deer, the elk, and the antelope, and along the streams the beaver, the otter, the mink, and the muskrat. Later the main supply of furs came from the mountains, and the whole fur trade gradually moved west of what is now Kansas.

The Indian Tepee,

Made of poles and buffalo hides, was the only home of the wandering tribes, and was used by the other tribes when on hunting trips.

Father Padilla, the First Missionary in Kansas. The attempt to civilize the Indian began in the days of the early explorers, and it was on Kansas soil that the first missionary’s life was lost in the cause. This man was Father Padilla, a Jesuit, who came with Coronado on his journey to Quivira. Father Padilla became much interested in the Quivira Indians and remained to do missionary 49 work among them. His preaching was of short duration, however, for he was soon killed, whether by the Quiviras or some other tribe is not known.

Kansas Missionaries of the Nineteenth Century. Centuries later, when Kansas became a part of the United States and was explored and traversed by white men, missionaries were among the first to arrive. They came to instruct the Indians in the Christian religion and to persuade them to adopt the customs of civilization.

Of the many who came, Rev. Isaac McCoy probably deserves first mention. He had spent many years in work among the Indians and strongly urged the removal policy. He believed that if they could live in a separate state, free from contact with the white race, the Indians could be civilized, and he gave his life to this work.

Jotham Meeker and his wife were among the most devoted of the missionaries, but there were many others, both men and women, who placed the welfare of human beings above mere gain and who endured the hardships of life among the savages for the sake of the good they might do.

Missions Established. As soon as the eastern Indians were removed to Kansas a number of missions were established by Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Friends, and Catholic churches. The work of the missionaries was not confined to religious instruction. Schools were established,[8] books were printed, the Indian girls were taught cooking and sewing, and the boys were taught farming and such trades as blacksmithing and carpentry.

Shawnee Mission as First Built in 1830.

In 1839 a new location was selected and fine new buildings constructed.

The most noted mission in Kansas was the one established 50 by the Methodist Church for the Shawnee Indians near the present site of Kansas City. This mission was opened in 1830 and continued its work for more than a quarter of a century. It had a large tract of land and good buildings, and maintained a successful school. Rev. Thomas Johnson, who took a prominent part in early Kansas affairs, was in charge of the mission.

Pawnee Flats at Fort Riley.

Near the center of the view is the old Pawnee Capitol.

Pontoon Bridge at Fort Riley.

The Soldiers. The third class of people who came to early Kansas was the soldiers. Their presence was necessary for the protection of the few white people against the Indians. Fort Leavenworth was established by the National Government in 1827, as headquarters for the troops. This was shortly after the beginning of the Santa Fe trade. During the ’40’s this fort was used as a base of supplies for the soldiers of the Mexican War, 52 and as an outfitting point for many of the California gold seekers and Mormon emigrants. Fort Leavenworth is to-day one of the most important of the national forts. A number of other forts were established, among them Fort Riley, Fort Dodge, Fort Scott, and Fort Hays, but all of these have been abandoned except Fort Riley.

Above is the Old Wall at Fort Leavenworth. This wall is all that remains of the original Fort. The lower picture is of the Main Parade at Fort Leavenworth at the present time.

Population of Pre-territorial Kansas. Kansas remained in possession of the Indians until 1854, when it was organized into a territory. With this date a new era began. 53 At this time the white population consisted of about twelve hundred people, one half of them soldiers and the other half connected with the trading posts and the missions.

SUMMARY

When the country that is now Kansas became a part of the United States it was occupied by four tribes of Indians. In 1825 the Kanza and Osage tribes ceded a large part of their lands to the Government and the eastern quarter of the State was made a part of the Indian country by the Act of 1830. Following this a number of eastern tribes were removed to reservations in Kansas, where they remained until Kansas was organized as a territory, in 1854, when they were moved to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. During these years there was much travel through the State, but up to 1854 the white population numbered only about twelve hundred. These people were of three classes; traders, missionaries, and soldiers.

REFERENCES

• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 50-64.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, pp. 58-74.
• Gihon, Geary and Kansas, chap. II.
• Inman, The Old Santa Fe Trail.
• Elson, History of the United States, chap. II.
• Kansas Historical Collections, vol. VIII, pp. 72, 171, 206, 250; vol. IX, p. 565; vol. X, p. 327; vol. XI, p. 333; vol. XII, pp. 65, 183.
• Holloway, History of Kansas, chap. VIII.
• Blackmar, Kansas, vol. I, pp. 655-703; vol. II, p. 291.

QUESTIONS

1. What use did the white people make of Kansas during the first half of the nineteenth century?

2. How did the condition of the Indians here differ from that of the Indians in the East?

3. What was the removal policy? Name some of the Indian tribes brought here. What promise was made them?

4. Name the three classes of white people who came to Kansas during this period.

5. Who was Father Padilla? Name some of the missionaries. What work did they do?

6. Tell of the fur traders and their relations with the Indians.

7. Why were the soldiers here?

8. When did Kansas cease to be an Indian country?

CHAPTER VI

KANSAS ORGANIZED AS A TERRITORY

The Year 1854 an Important Date. The year 1854 is an important one in the history of Kansas, for it brings to a close the period during which this region was used as a hunting ground by the Indians and marks the beginning of its use as a home for white people. The white settlers did not come in peace and quiet; the first dozen years following 1854 were filled with hatred, struggle, and bloodshed. This was brought about by conditions outside of Kansas. As we have seen, twenty-five years earlier Kansas was made an Indian territory because people in the states wanted the lands of the eastern Indians. In 1854 a terrible conflict began here because there was a division between the North and the South on the question of slavery.

Territorial Kansas.

Attitude of the North and the South Toward Slavery. Slavery had existed in the United States since very early colonial days. It had not been profitable in the northern states, but in the cotton fields of the southern plantations slave labor was in demand, and its use after the invention of the cotton gin had increased steadily with the passing years. The Northerners had long been opposed to slavery and made every effort to keep it from spreading into northern and western territory, while the Southerners were just as determined that it should flourish and that it should be extended into new territory. This difference between the North and the South developed great bitterness. Neither side lost any opportunity to take advantage of the other, and each was anxious to secure a majority in the Senate in order to obtain favorable legislation. This matter was so carefully watched that it had long been the 57 custom to keep the “balance of power” between the states; that is, to admit free and slave states alternately so as to keep the number of proslavery and free-state senators balanced. The North, because of its more rapid growth in population, had long had a majority in the House.

The Missouri Compromise, 1820. Missouri was along the dividing line between the North and the South, and when it asked to be admitted to the Union there followed a long debate in Congress as to whether it should come in slave or free. The question was finally settled by the Missouri Compromise, which provided that Missouri might come in as a slave state but that all the rest of the territory included in the Louisiana Purchase and lying north of 36° 30′, the line forming the southern boundary of Missouri, should be forever free. In other words, slavery was to be forever excluded from Kansas and the territory lying north of it.

Slavery Trouble Brings on the Civil War. This was in 1820, about the time of the beginning of the Santa Fe trade. During the years when Kansas was an Indian country and was traversed by countless caravans the country remained bound by the terms of this compromise. But all this time the feeling of animosity between the North and the South was growing more intense; northern churches and newspapers denounced the evils of slavery, free-state and abolition parties developed, thousands of slaves were assisted in making their escape through the North to Canada in spite of the strict fugitive slave law, and there was bitter strife in Congress between the free-state and the slave-state members. The relations between the North and the South were becoming more and more strained. The time was rapidly approaching when the differences between the two sections were to be settled by a great war.

The Conflict Brought into Kansas in 1854. The Civil War began in 1861, the same year in which Kansas became a state; but seven years earlier, in 1854, Congress had passed a measure that brought the slavery trouble into Kansas and made this state the battle ground in the great national struggle over the slavery question.

The Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 1854. The measure passed by Congress that played such an important part in the history of Kansas and of the Nation was known as the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and was the work of Senator Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois. It provided that the two territories, Kansas and Nebraska, should be organized, and that the question of slavery should be left for the people of each territory to decide for themselves. This method of settling the question was known as “popular sovereignty.” Because the settlers were often called squatters it was frequently called “squatter sovereignty.”

Reception of the Bill. Kansas and Nebraska were part of the territory which, according to the terms of the Missouri Compromise, was to be forever free, but under the Douglas bill they were to become either slave or free as the people who settled the territories might decide. When this bill was introduced into Congress it raised a storm of indignation among those opposed to slavery, and the debate which ensued lasted for months. The whole North was aroused and poured forth objection and protest, but to no avail. The bill was passed May 30, 1854.

Result of the Bill. The Kansas-Nebraska Bill meant that the Missouri Compromise had been repealed and that there was no longer any boundary line against slavery. It meant that Kansas and Nebraska were offered as prizes to be contended for by the free and the slave states. The South said, “You may have Nebraska; Kansas is ours.” The North refused to recognize such a division of spoils, 59 and insisted that both territories had been carved from free soil and should both come into the Union free. Both North and South desired to secure Kansas, and each side urged that as many as possible of its own people should emigrate to the new Territory. It could scarcely be expected that, under such circumstances, Kansas would be left for gradual and peaceful settlement. The result was that the scene of strife was transferred from Congress to these western prairies, and from that time until the admission of the Territory as a state the conflict between the forces of freedom and slavery was waged here.

Indians Removed from Kansas Lands. It must be remembered that at this time Kansas was an Indian country; that many of the eastern tribes had given up their lands in exchange for lands here which had been promised to them forever. Nevertheless, the Indians were removed from Kansas, many of them at once and others more leisurely. They were taken to what has since become Oklahoma, where many of them still live. In this way room was made for the white settlers to enter Kansas.

SUMMARY

For many years there had been bitter feeling between the North and the South on the slavery question. In 1820 the Missouri Compromise was passed. This measure provided that all the Louisiana Purchase lying north of the southern boundary of Missouri, except Missouri itself, should be forever free. This agreement was observed until the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill in 1854. This bill provided that the settlers of each of these territories should decide whether it was to be made slave or free. Each side was determined to win Kansas, and as a result the slavery struggle was brought here. In order to make room for settlers the Indians were moved to Indian Territory, now known as Oklahoma.

REFERENCES

• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 63-73.
• Spring, Kansas, pp. 2-16.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, pp. 81-82.
• Holloway, History of Kansas, chap. VI.
• Tuttle, History of Kansas.
• Larned, History for Ready Reference.
• Gihon, Geary and Kansas, chap. III.
• Historical Collections, vol. IX, p. 115; vol. VIII, p. 86.
• Foster, A History of the United States, pp. 325-329.
• Muzzey, American History, 379-412.
• Hodder, Genesis of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, in Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1912, pp. 69-86.

QUESTIONS

1. Why is 1854 an important date in Kansas history?

2. What great national question affected Kansas at that time? Explain.

3. Explain the attitude of the North and the South toward slavery.

4. What was meant by the “balance of power”?

5. Give the provisions and the date of the Missouri Compromise. How did this Compromise affect Kansas?

6. What did the Kansas-Nebraska Bill provide? Give the attitude of the North and the South toward it.

7. How did this Bill affect the Missouri Compromise? What was the result in Kansas?

8. What was done with the Indians in Kansas?

CHAPTER VII

THE COMING OF THE SETTLERS

Little Known of Kansas in 1854. Kansas in 1854 was, to most people, only a name, a part of the great desert in the Far West, an Indian country. Many of those who had crossed it in emigrating to California had been impressed with the beauty and richness of the country and had written back glowing accounts of it. Some of them had returned from the coast, and were now numbered among our early settlers. When its organization as a territory brought it into such prominence, knowledge of Kansas soon became more general.

Advantages of the South. The people of the South felt confident that they could make it a slave state, for they had gained many victories in Congress, and the President, Franklin Pierce, was in sympathy with them. Moreover, they were closer to Kansas than were the northern people, and the only state touching Kansas was the slave state Missouri.

Advantages of the North. The people of the North, however, possessed one very important advantage. The population of the South consisted largely of plantation owners and their slaves, and it was not an easy matter for these men to leave their property or to take it into a new and untried country. On the other hand, the North was a land of small farms and shops and many laborers. Moreover, there was much foreign immigration into the United States in those years, and since the employment of slaves left no place in the South for white laborers, most of the immigrants entered the northern states, and added to the number of those who were ready and anxious to go farther west. Consequently many more settlers came into 63 Kansas from the North than from the South, but the Southerners tried to overcome this handicap in other ways.

The Coming of the Missourians. The plan of the South was to use Missouri as the stepping-stone to Kansas. Immediately following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill a number of Missourians came over into Kansas and took as claims large tracts of the best lands, in some cases not even waiting for the removal of the Indians. Settlers who asked for claims were required to build houses and to use the land for homes for a certain length of time. While some of the Missourians met these requirements, many of them did not come here to live. They notched trees, or posted notices, or laid rails on the ground in the shape of a house, or in some other way indicated their claims, and returned to their homes in Missouri, coming back only to vote or to fight when it seemed to them necessary. While in Kansas, however, they held a meeting at which it was resolved that: “We recognize slavery as always existing in this Territory,” and, “We will afford protection to no abolitionists as settlers of Kansas Territory.”

Handicap to Northern Emigration. The free-state people could not step over a boundary line and be in Kansas. They lived a long way off, the trip out here was expensive, and little was known of the new Territory. It was a land without homes or towns, churches, schools, or newspapers, and the Northerners knew that people would hesitate to start to Kansas under all these difficulties.

The New England Emigrant Aid Company. So it came about that even while the Kansas-Nebraska Bill was pending in Congress a Massachusetts man named Eli Thayer had thought out a plan for assisting and encouraging the people to undertake the long journey. His plan was to form a company for the purpose of inducing and organizing 64 emigration to Kansas and reducing the expense and hardship involved. This was not to be done as charity, but was to be put on a business basis. Thayer aroused public interest in his plan by constant writing and speaking, and since the people were ready to listen to whatever promised to aid in making Kansas a free state, money enough was soon raised to organize a company, called the New England Emigrant Aid Company. It gathered and published information concerning the new country and organized emigrants into large parties in order to make the journey more pleasant, to reduce expense, and to lessen danger. Competent guides were sent with the parties. The company established schools, newspapers, mills, hotels, and other improvements that tended to lessen the hardships of the pioneers and to further the development of the new Territory. Several similar organizations were formed, but none of them was so well known nor so efficient as the New England Emigrant Aid Company.

Work of the Emigrant Aid Companies. Hundreds of people came here under the management of these companies, but probably the greatest service the companies performed was that of giving an immense amount of publicity and advertising to Kansas. Newspapers were filled with descriptions of the loveliness, the fertility, and the future greatness of the new Territory, and people were urged to go to Kansas at once, both to secure the advantages of the country and to help in saving it from slavery. In this way interest and enthusiasm were aroused over the whole North, but for every one who came in one of the emigrant aid parties there were many who came independently, especially from the states farther west than New England—​Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa.

Southern Organizations. The organizations in the North aroused much bitter feeling in the South, and a reward was offered for the capture of Eli Thayer. The South soon formed organizations too, some of them being known as Blue Lodges, Social Bands, and Sons of the South.

The Coming of the Free-state Settlers. As has been stated, the Missourians came into Kansas immediately after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill on May 30, but the free-state people were not far behind, for on the first day of August, just two months later, the first party of emigrants sent out by the New England Emigrant Aid Company reached the Territory. Even these were not the first free-state men to arrive; a few who had come independently were already here.

The First Party of Settlers. This first party consisted of only twenty-nine men. It had been organized with some difficulty, for coming to Kansas was looked upon as a dangerous undertaking. Hundreds of people gathered to bid these men farewell as they started on their long journey to take part in the great conflict between freedom and slavery. There were many who would not have been surprised had the whole party been murdered on their arrival in Kansas, but when nothing of the kind happened others took courage and more parties soon followed.

Early Kansas City.

They Reach the Present Site of Lawrence. The pioneer party reached St. Louis by railroad, where they boarded a steamboat and came up the Missouri River to Kansas City, then a town of only three or four hundred people. There they purchased an ox team to transport their baggage, and on Saturday evening set out on foot into Kansas. By Tuesday noon they reached the present site of Lawrence, where they pitched their tents on a big flat-topped hill. To-day the great buildings of the University of 67 Kansas stand on this hill, which is still called Mount Oread,[9] the name given it by this first party of pioneers. The weather was extremely hot; a drouth had parched the earth and prairie fires had destroyed the grass, but the pioneers were not discouraged. They staked out claims in the surrounding country and began preparations for the future.

The Second Party Arrives. In a short time the second party arrived. It was under the direction of Dr. Charles Robinson and Samuel C. Pomeroy, who were leaders in the free-state cause during the whole Territorial struggle. This party was much larger, and part of its members were women and children. The town was now laid out, organized, and named Lawrence.[10] On the arrival of this party a boarding house was established by two of the women. It was thus described by a writer of that time: “In the open air, on some logs of wood, two rough boards were laid across for a table, and on washtubs, kegs, and blocks the boarders were seated around it.” A short time later a hotel was opened. It was constructed by driving into the ground two long rows of poles, which were brought together at the top and the sides thatched with prairie grass. The ends were made of cotton cloth, and the building resembled the “stray roof of a huge warehouse.”

Getting Ready for the First Winter. The people lived in tents and houses of thatch through the summer and fall, but in the meantime all were busy getting log cabins ready for the winter. By the time winter had come a number of things had been accomplished: a sawmill was running, churches had been organized, two newspapers had been 68 established, and Lawrence had been granted a post office with mail from Kansas City three times a week. The population was about four hundred. Many of the cabins still had cloth doors and were without floors, and altogether the people had all they could do to take care of themselves through the winter. When two more parties of emigrants arrived at the beginning of winter the task became much more difficult.

The Actual Settlers’ Association. Besides the work of building homes and developing the town, there was much to occupy the minds of the pioneers. Missourians had taken claims over much of the eastern part of the Territory. While some proslavery settlers had come to make homes, just as the free-state settlers had, most of those who had taken claims were really living in Missouri. When the first party came to Lawrence, the members bought out the claims where they located their town; later other claimants appeared, and there was much trouble over the title to the land. The same kind of trouble arose in regard to the land taken by many free-state settlers outside of Lawrence. It became a common occurrence for a Missourian to come over and lay claim to some free-state man’s land and warn him to leave the Territory. This caused the formation of the Actual Settlers’ Association, which helped to adjust such difficulties.

The First House in Topeka.

Other Towns. Lawrence was not the only place in the Territory that was settled before the close of the first winter. People were coming in from north, east, and south, settling on claims and starting other towns. The principal proslavery towns were Leavenworth, Atchison, and Lecompton. Free-state towns were Lawrence, Topeka, Osawatomie, and Manhattan. Leavenworth and Atchison were both founded by people from Missouri, and, since they were on the Missouri River, came to be outfitting 69 points for travelers over the California and Salt Lake Trails. Lecompton, on the Kansas River, not far from Lawrence, soon became the headquarters of the proslavery people, and for several years was the Territorial capital. Topeka was founded with the hope of its becoming the capital of Kansas. Osawatomie soon became an important free-state center. Manhattan, on the Kansas River at the mouth of the Big Blue, was for the first few months called Boston. On the arrival of a party of seventy-five people from Cincinnati, Ohio, the name was changed to Manhattan. This party made the entire trip from Cincinnati to Manhattan by boat.

SUMMARY

When Kansas Territory was organized little was known of it, but, because it was wanted by both the North and the South, knowledge of Kansas spread rapidly. The 70 South had the support of every branch of the National Government and the added advantage that the only State touching Kansas was proslavery. The advantage of the North lay in the fact that it had a much larger number of people who were free to move to a new country. The proslavery Missourians came in at once and took claims. A few free-state people came within a month, and in two months the emigrant aid parties began to arrive. The fact that many Missourians had staked out claims and gone back home led to numerous claim disputes and caused the organization of the Actual Settlers’ Association. By the time winter had come four emigrant aid parties had arrived at Lawrence, many settlers were living on their claims, and several towns had been started by each side.

REFERENCES

• Spring, Kansas, pp. 29-40.
• Brooks, The Boy Settlers.
• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 71-78.
• Thayer, The Kansas Crusade.
• Robinson, The Kansas Conflict, chaps. II-IV.
• Mrs. Robinson, Kansas—​Its Interior and Exterior Life.
• Gihon, Geary and Kansas, chap. IV.
• Historical Collections, vol. VI, p. 90; vol. IX, p. 144.

QUESTIONS

1. When was Kansas organized as a territory? In what ways had the people gained any knowledge of Kansas up to this time? Why did Kansas soon become well known?

2. What advantages did the South have in the effort to win Kansas? The North?

3. Contrast the manner of life in the North and the South in those days. What do you know of the conditions to-day?

4. Why did Missouri play an important part in early Kansas affairs? Explain how Missourians took claims.

5. Why did the North organize emigrant aid companies? What was the chief company? What did it do? Did all the Kansas settlers come under the management of these companies?

6. What was the attitude of the South toward these organizations?

7. When did the first emigrant aid party arrive? Tell of their journey; their settlement. Were they the first free-state settlers to arrive?

8. Give an account of the second party. Tell something of the way they lived. What had been accomplished by the time winter set in?

9. What was the Actual Settlers’ Association? Why was it formed?

10. Name several persons connected with this period of Kansas history, and tell something of each.

11. Name and locate some of the towns settled during this period.

CHAPTER VIII

THE FIRST TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT

The Government of a Territory. When a territory is organized it must be provided with a government. The people in a territory may not elect their officers as in a state; they may elect a legislature and a delegate to Congress, but the governor, secretary, judges, and certain other officers are appointed by the President.

The First Territorial Governor. In October, 1854, there arrived in Kansas the first Territorial Governor, Andrew H. Reeder, who, although he was known to favor slavery, was heartily welcomed by all the people. That he might become familiar with conditions in the Territory, Governor Reeder made a tour of inspection shortly after his arrival. Although this was but little more than four months after the opening of the Territory, he found a number of settlements scattered over eastern Kansas. Towns were springing up, and the prairies were dotted with the tents and cabins of the pioneers. Several thousand people had arrived by this time, some of them free-state and some proslavery. The proslavery settlers had brought a few slaves. There were also many Indians here, for only a part of the tribes had as yet been removed.

The First Election Called. On his return from his tour of observation, which had included the most remote settlements, as far west as Council Grove and Fort Riley, Governor Reeder issued a proclamation for the first election to be held in Kansas. The date was set for November 29, at which time a delegate to Congress was to be chosen.

Interest in the Election. The settlers were all busily engaged in building cabins and otherwise providing for the coming of winter, and since this election was not deemed 73 of much importance they took little interest in it. This was not the case, however, with the Missourians, and at this first election, under the leadership of their Senator, D. R. Atchison, they gave an exhibition of the methods by which they expected to control Kansas.

Election Day, November 29, 1854. On the day before election the Blue Lodge voters began to cross the border into Kansas. They came well armed, and organized into companies, each of which went to a polling place. They came to vote, and they voted. There were so many of them that they were able to outnumber the legal voters in many of the precincts where they took possession of the polls. Election judges who refused to accept their votes were removed and judges of their own installed.[11]

The Result. Of course the proslavery delegate was overwhelmingly elected. He would probably have been elected had the Missourians stayed at home, for up to this time a majority of the settlers outside of Lawrence favored slavery. The result of this unfair election was to renew the excitement in the North at such a working out of the principle of “popular sovereignty.” But the free-state pioneers were not to be discouraged. They continued, during the winter, their home building, their preparations for the spring cultivation, and the securing of titles to their land.

The Second Election, March 30, 1855. The first event of importance in the new year was the taking of the census of the Territory in the spring. It showed a total population of 8601, about 3000 of whom were voters. A little later a date was set for the election of a Territorial Legislature. Since this body of men would make the laws for 74 the Territory, there was no lack of interest among the settlers in this election. It was well understood that the Missourians were expecting to vote again. Money was being raised and men hired to march into Kansas on election day. They came, fully five thousand of them, armed with pistols, guns, and bowie-knives, and marched to the different polling places. They did not pretend to be residents of Kansas, but boasted that they were from Missouri. They were disorderly and dangerous, and in many cases drove the legal voters from the polls. Not more than half of the 3000 rightful voters cast ballots in this election, but the count showed that more than 6000 ballots were cast.

The “Bogus Legislature.” The whole thing had been so openly fraudulent that the free-state people demanded that the Governor set aside this election and call a new one. The Missourians threatened his life if this were done. When the day came for deciding the question, the men who had been fraudulently elected gathered in the Governor’s office, armed and defiant. The Governor and a number of his friends who were there to protect him were also armed. Bitter discussion ensued, but there was no fighting. Contests had not been filed against all of the men elected. Governor Reeder decided to recognize the election except where sufficient proof of fraud was shown. In these cases he threw out the returns and ordered another election. The proslavery men took no part in the new election, and a number of free-state men were chosen to the Legislature. When the Legislature met, the proslavery majority promptly unseated these free-state members and recognized the men first elected. This gave the Territory an entirely proslavery legislature. It was called by the free-state people the “Bogus Legislature.” The proslavery leaders were B. F. Stringfellow and D. R. Atchison, both of whom lived in Missouri but took an 75 active part in Kansas affairs. Senator Atchison said, “We wish to make Kansas in all respects like Missouri.” So they adopted the whole body of Missouri laws, and added a series of slave laws that were probably the most severe of any ever enacted in the United States.

The First Legislature, at Pawnee, July, 1855. The Governor chose Pawnee as the place where the Legislature should meet. Pawnee was a new town on the Kansas River, within the present bounds of the Fort Riley military reservation. Since it was west of nearly all the settlements, the members had to make long journeys to reach it. Both because of the inconvenience of location and because the proslavery members desired to be nearer the Missouri border, the Legislature remained in session at Pawnee only five days, just long enough to unseat the free-state members and to pass an act removing the seat of government temporarily to Shawnee Mission. All that remains of Pawnee to-day is the old stone building that was erected for a capitol.

The Removal of Governor Reeder. Governor Reeder had refused to accede to all the demands of the proslavery people, and had fallen into disfavor with them. When he refused to sign some of their measures they petitioned the President for his removal, which soon followed. Governor Reeder’s administration had lasted through less than a year of these troublous times. In the summer of 1855, with the Territory little more than a year old, the people were divided into two bitter factions, proslavery and free-state, with the proslavery people congratulating themselves upon being rid of a Governor they could not control, upon having the support of the President, and upon having a Legislature unanimously proslavery. Daniel Woodson, the Territorial Secretary, who now became 76 Acting Governor, approved the acts of the proslavery Legislature.

Gloomy Outlook for the Free-state People. These were dark days for the free-state people; they had no hand in the Government and no recognition in the laws of the Territory. They were denounced, misrepresented, and ridiculed. To add to the gloom of the situation, the new Territorial Governor, Wilson Shannon, at first entirely ignored the existence of free-state citizens. No community could obey the slave laws passed by the “Bogus Legislature” without becoming proslavery. But the free-state people had no intention of becoming proslavery; they had no intention of giving up the struggle. They found themselves confronted with the question of what was to be done. It was a very grave situation.

SUMMARY

The first Territorial Governor, Andrew H. Reeder, arrived in October, 1854. After a tour of inspection, he called an election to choose a Territorial delegate to Congress. Although there were probably enough proslavery settlers to carry the election, the Missourians, to make sure, came over in force, and elected their candidate with an overwhelming majority. Another election was called in March to choose members of a Territorial Legislature. The Missourians came again, and although the census had shown but 3000 voters in Kansas there were twice that number of ballots cast. On proof of fraud Governor Reeder threw out the contested returns and free-state men were elected, but when the Legislature met the proslavery majority unseated them and recognized those first elected. Pawnee was chosen by the Governor as the Territorial capital, but after five days the Legislature adjourned to Shawnee Mission. The measures passed were entirely in the interest of slavery. Although Governor Reeder came to Kansas favoring slavery, he did not approve of the methods of the proslavery people. He was removed in 77 July, 1855. He was replaced by Wilson Shannon, who was in full sympathy with slavery interests. Every condition was unfavorable to the free-state people at this time.

REFERENCES

• Spring, Kansas, chap. IV.
• Robinson, The Kansas Conflict, chaps, VI, VII.
• Holloway, History of Kansas, chaps, XII, XIII, XVII.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, pp. 87-101.
• Connelley, Kansas Territorial Governors.
• Historical Collections, vol. V, p. 163; vol. VII, p. 361; vol. VIII, p. 227.
• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 79-87.
• Hodder, Government of Kansas, pp. 5-13.

QUESTIONS

1. How is a Territory governed?

2. Who was the first Territorial Governor of Kansas? How long did he serve? What was his attitude toward slavery?

3. What were the conditions in Kansas when the first Governor arrived? How far west did settlements reach at that time?

4. When was the first election held? What was its purpose? Give an account of it.

5. When was the first census taken and what did it show?

6. What was the purpose of the second election? Give an account of it.

7. Why was the “Bogus Legislature” so called? Where did it meet? What did it do?

8. Who were some of the proslavery leaders?

9. Why were these “dark days” for the free-state people?

10. Who was the new Territorial Governor? With which side did he sympathize?

CHAPTER IX

RIVAL GOVERNMENTS IN KANSAS

The Free-state Plan. The free-state people decided to ignore the proslavery government, and since they were really made outlaws by the “Bogus Legislature” they organized another government and sought the admission of Kansas as a state. To accomplish this it was necessary to draw up a state constitution, which must be approved by the people of the Territory and by Congress.

Free-state Leaders. A number of meetings were held for the purpose of getting the free-state people interested and willing to work together. The leaders in these efforts were Dr. Charles Robinson, of Lawrence, ex-Governor Reeder, who had come back to Kansas as a tireless worker in the free-state cause, and James H. Lane, a man of much experience, who had recently come to Kansas. Lane became one of the most radical of free-state men and played an important part in Kansas affairs for many years.

James H. Lane.

The Topeka Constitution, 1855. In the fall of 1855 a convention was held at Topeka, and a state constitution which said, “There shall be no slavery in this State,” was drawn up. When a little later the Topeka Constitution was submitted to a vote of the people it carried by an immense majority. Only free-state people voted, of course, for the proslavery people did not recognize any of these 79 acts as having any force. Later in the winter state officers were elected under the Constitution, Dr. Charles Robinson being made Governor and James H. Lane a United States Senator. In the spring of 1856 the Constitution was sent to Congress with a request that Kansas be admitted to the Union, but the bill making Kansas a state failed to pass.

The Wakarusa War, 1855. These were not the only events occurring in the Territory. It had become evident early in the fall of 1855 that with the people divided into these two groups, each governing itself and denying the authority of the other, there would be a conflict. The proslavery people had committed several outrages that added to the irritation of the free-state people, but the real trouble came with the murder of a free-state man. This brought on what was called the Wakarusa War.

The Beginning of the Trouble. A proslavery man named Coleman shot and killed a young free-state man named Dow. This occurred about ten miles south of Lawrence. Coleman then fled to Westport, Missouri, where he appealed for protection to a man named Jones, who, although he lived in Missouri and was the postmaster at Westport, had been appointed by the “Bogus Legislature” as sheriff of Douglas County. Jones was a border ruffian of the lowest and most dangerous type, and had made himself obnoxious to the free-state people by his leadership in the fraudulent elections.

The Arrest of Branson. In the meantime a friend of Coleman declared that his life was threatened by Jacob Branson, an old man with whom young Dow had made his home. Thereupon Sheriff Jones arrested Branson, but a party of free-state men, indignant because of such high-handed proceedings, rescued him and took him to Lawrence.

Proslavery Hatred of Lawrence. Of all the settlements in Kansas, Lawrence was the most hated by the proslavery people, for it was the hotbed of free-state principles and the gathering place of those who scorned the Territorial Legislature. There had come to be a general proslavery conviction that nothing less than the destruction of this town could bring them peace and safety.

Sheriff Jones Gathers an Army. Lawrence had nothing to do with any of this trouble with the sheriff, but when the rescued Branson was taken there it gave the enemy an excuse to threaten the destruction of the town. When his prisoner was taken from him, Jones sent a call to Missouri for help and asked Governor Shannon for three thousand men to “carry out the laws.” The result was that fifteen hundred Missourians assembled for the destruction of Lawrence, and camped on the banks of the Wakarusa River about three miles south of the town.

Lawrence Prepares for Defense. Meanwhile, although Branson and his rescuers had left Lawrence and there was not a man in the town for whom Jones had a warrant, his army continued to gather, and Lawrence prepared for defense. The surrounding settlers came in and the six hundred men built fortifications and drilled.

End of the Wakarusa War. The army of Jones, “an unwashed, braggart, volcanic multitude,” was living off the surrounding country, rifling cabins and stealing horses and cattle. The people of Lawrence were feeling the burden of the siege also, for with the large number of those who had come in from the outside their supplies were being rapidly exhausted. Finally two men succeeded in getting through the lines of the enemy and reaching the Governor, who was being deceived about conditions. Governor Shannon then came to Lawrence, and, learning how things really were, took an active part in arranging a treaty between 81 the opposing forces, and, to the disgust and disappointment of Sheriff Jones, dispersed the proslavery army. Without battle or bloodshed, what has since been known as the Wakarusa War was over.

SUMMARY

Instead of submitting to the proslavery Territorial Government, the free-state people decided to set up another government. They held a convention at Topeka and drew up a constitution prohibiting slavery. This constitution was adopted by the free-state people of the Territory, and then sent to Congress with a request that Kansas be admitted to the Union. The bill failed to pass. These rival governments within the Territory brought on the Wakarusa War, the principal events of which were as follows: Coleman shot Dow and fled to Jones, sheriff of Douglas County, for protection. Jones arrested Dow’s friend Branson, who was rescued by free-state men and taken to Lawrence, the town most hated by the proslavery people. Jones then gathered an army of Missourians for the purpose of destroying Lawrence. While both sides were preparing for the struggle, two free-state men succeeded in reaching Governor Shannon, who came to Lawrence, and, on learning the real condition, succeeded in arranging a treaty of peace, and dispersed the proslavery army.

REFERENCES

• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 88-92.
• Spring, Kansas.
• Holloway, History of Kansas.
• Tuttle, History of Kansas.
• Gihon, Geary and Kansas.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, pp. 101-120.
• Historical Collections, vol. VI, p. 291; vol. VII, p. 521; vol. IX, p. 540; vol. X, p. 457.

QUESTIONS

1. Explain what is meant by “rival governments in Kansas.”

2. What was the purpose of the Topeka Constitution?

3. Was Kansas admitted under this Constitution?

4. Who was Charles Robinson? James H. Lane?

5. What event brought on the Wakarusa War? Why was it so named?

6. Name five persons connected with this war, and tell something of each.

7. What did Lawrence have to do with the trouble?

8. Give the events of the Wakarusa War. How was it ended?

CHAPTER X

THE PERIOD OF VIOLENCE

The Severe Winter of 1855–’56. The Wakarusa War closed in December, 1855. This second winter proved to be an exceedingly severe one, and many of the settlers were not sufficiently protected against the sudden and intense cold. Most of the houses were hastily constructed, one-room log buildings, many of them with dirt floors, and windows and doors of cotton cloth. The storms drifted into these cabins through numberless chinks and cracks in roof and walls. One of the pioneers, writing of that winter, says: “At times, when the winds were bleakest, we went to bed as the only escape from freezing. More than once we awoke in the morning to find six inches of snow in the cabin. To get up, to make one’s toilet under such circumstances, was not a very comfortable performance. Often we had little to eat; the wolf was never far from our door during that hard winter of 1855–’56.”

Preparations for Hostilities. The struggle of the pioneers with the hardships of winter closed hostilities for a while, but it soon became evident that the Missourians were preparing more extensively than ever to invade Kansas, destroy Lawrence, and drive the free-state people from the Territory, or force them to recognize the proslavery Territorial Government. The free-state people began to gather stores and ammunition and to send calls to the northern states for men and money to meet the situation.

Territorial Governors.

WILSON SHANNON, ANDREW H. REEDER, JOHN W. GEARY,
JAMES W. DENVER, ROBT. J. WALKER, SAMUEL MEDARY

The Sacking of Lawrence, May 21, 1856. A number of minor conflicts occurred. Sheriff Jones was wounded, a young free-state man named Barber was killed, and then came the long feared attack upon Lawrence. From the 85 beginning the policy of the free-state people had been to avoid conflict wherever possible. On this occasion they made every attempt to conciliate and to pacify the attacking force, but in vain. As the proslavery leaders rode through the town they were invited to dinner by Mr. Eldridge, the proprietor of the new $20,000 hotel built by the Emigrant Aid Company. They accepted the invitation, and in the afternoon the mob completely demolished the hotel. They threw the two printing presses of the town into the river, ransacked stores and houses, taking whatever they wanted, and before leaving town burned Governor Robinson’s home. The financial loss to Lawrence and the surrounding country was heavy. Though the people had been oppressed and outraged they had not been conquered. By offering no resistance they had robbed the affair of any possible justification in the eyes of the world.

John Brown.

John Brown. There was one who bitterly opposed this policy of nonresistance, who believed that the way to meet the situation was to fight. This was John Brown, a tall, gaunt, grizzled old man who had come to Kansas a few weeks before the sacking of Lawrence. Five sons had preceded him and had settled near Osawatomie. John Brown came, not to aid his sons in their pioneer struggles, nor to make a home for himself, but because it seemed to him an opportunity to strike a blow at slavery. He hated 86 slavery with an intensity that knew no bounds, and he gave all of his mind and energy to warfare against it.

The Pottawatomie Massacre, May 24, 1856. The sacking of Lawrence roused him to a high pitch of excitement. He believed that this outrage should be avenged, and determined to strike a blow, to return violence for violence. With a party of seven or eight men, including four of his sons, he made a night trip down Pottawatomie Creek where a number of proslavery settlers lived. Five of these settlers were called out of their houses and killed.

Beginning of Four Months of Violence. This kind of warfare was not in accordance with the plans or purposes of the leaders of the free-state movement, and was not approved by them. News of the awful affair spread rapidly through the Territory and created wild excitement. The Pottawatomie massacre was followed by a period of nearly four months of violence on both sides.

Both Sides Arm for War. A band of border ruffians gathered to wreak vengeance on those who had taken the lives of the proslavery settlers of Pottawatomie Creek. The battle of Black Jack resulted, in which the border ruffians were defeated by John Brown and his men. The Missouri border hurriedly gathered more forces and marched a well-armed body of men into Kansas. The free-state men had been busy, too, and on June 5 the Missourians were met by a band of armed free-state Kansas settlers.

Armies Dispersed by the Governor. This alarming state of affairs aroused Governor Shannon and he at once ordered both sides to disperse. The free-state army disbanded, but the Missourians obeyed sullenly, and on their way back to Missouri they committed a number of depredations, and pillaged Osawatomie, which they hated because it was the home of John Brown.

Free-state Help from Northern States. The North was deeply stirred by the calamities endured by the free-state people in Kansas. Although practically all of the free-state newspapers here had been closed or destroyed, the papers in the northern and eastern states were filled with narrations of the hardships, robberies, and murders that had befallen antislavery settlers in the Territory. The Kansas troubles were discussed from the pulpit, and the great preacher, Henry Ward Beecher, advised sending rifles to Kansas and pledged his church for a definite number. The men thus sent out armed with Bibles and rifles were sometimes called “The Rifle Christians.” Public meetings were addressed by men fresh from Kansas, among them ex-Governor Reeder, S. N. Wood, and James H. Lane. Much sympathy was aroused for the suffering free-state settlers. Large sums of money were raised, and companies of men were organized to take part in the Territorial contest. The movement swept over the states from Boston to the Northwest.[12] “Societies of semi-military cast, no less willing to furnish guns than groceries, sprang up as if by magic, and overshadowed the earlier, more pacific organizations.” As a result of these agitations a stream of migration moved toward Kansas during the spring and summer of 1856. Every party came prepared for defense, and many brought with them a goodly stock of provisions. One writer says of the immigrants, “There were fewer women and children, less house-luggage, fewer agricultural implements; more men, more arms, more ammunition.”

Missouri River Closed to Free-state Immigration. These activities of the North were viewed with alarm by the proslavery leaders. They believed that this inflow of free-state settlers must be checked or it would end all hope of making Kansas a slave state. One of the most important of the measures they adopted for this purpose was the closing of the Missouri River to free-state immigration. They overhauled the steamboats and seized merchandise and arms that were being sent to free-state people, and they arrested and turned back all travelers whom they believed to be unfriendly to the South. All overland immigrants received similar treatment as soon as they touched Missouri soil.

New Route to Kansas. Although this policy occasioned the northern people considerable loss and much inconvenience, it did not check the movement toward Kansas. It simply meant that the immigrants came through Iowa and Nebraska, entering Kansas from the north.

The Southerners also appealed to their people and money was raised and men were sent to Kansas, but the response was not to be compared with that of the North.

A Condition of Lawlessness. While these things were going on, Kansas was becoming more and more lawless. It would be hard to say which side surpassed the other in misdeeds. A number of free-state leaders, including Dr. Robinson, were held at Lecompton during the summer as prisoners on a charge of treason. The free-state people were irritated by the loss of money, supplies, and mail, through the Missouri blockade. Bands of armed proslavery men guarded the roads out of Topeka and Lawrence, so that these towns were really in a state of siege. These guards lived on supplies taken from the surrounding settlers, and cut off supplies sent to the towns so that food became very scarce, especially at Lawrence, where the 89 chief article of diet for some time was ground oats. Meanwhile, supplies were reaching the proslavery towns, Tecumseh, Lecompton, and Franklin, without hindrance. It was evident to the free-state people that their enemies expected to starve them out of the Territory, and they were stirred to retaliate. The free-state guerrillas again began their work of seizing the supplies of proslavery settlers and merchants. This was kept up until many of the proslavery people were completely impoverished.

The “Army of the North.” About the first of August a report that Lane was coming with the “Army of the North” spread over the Territory. James H. Lane was one of the free-state men who had been in the northern states, addressing meetings and raising men and money. He was a very eloquent speaker and had influenced many to come to Kansas. The “Army of the North” consisted of several hundred men, women, and children, most of whom had come to make homes for themselves. This army was a combination of several parties that had united to come into Kansas over the new route through Iowa and Nebraska. Lane was with the party, but only a small number were armed or had been gathered by him.

A Proslavery Army Gathers. The proslavery leaders began to rally their men along the border. The following sentences are taken from one of the calls they published: “Lane’s men have arrived! Civil war is begun! And we call on all who are not prepared to see their friends butchered, to be themselves driven from their homes, to rally to the rescue.” A large number of men soon gathered on the border, anxiously awaiting permission to move into Kansas; but as Governor Shannon had dispersed the Missouri army a few weeks earlier, he now refused to issue orders for the new army to move into the Territory.

Governor Shannon Resigns. About this time Governor 90 Shannon resigned. He had so displeased the proslavery people that he was compelled to flee for his life under cover of night. Daniel Woodson, Secretary of the Territory, now became Acting Governor until the new Governor should arrive. As he was in full sympathy with proslavery interests he opened the Territory to the Missouri invasion. Woodson’s power lasted only three weeks, but they were the darkest days that Kansas had experienced.

The Burning of Osawatomie. The proslavery army moved into Kansas. The Pottawatomie massacre had not been forgotten, and when this army reached Osawatomie, “the headquarters of old Brown,” they attacked the town. John Brown had only forty-one men, and so thoroughly did the enemy do their work this time that only four cabins escaped burning.

Arrival of Governor Geary, September, 1856. At this time the new Territorial Governor, John W. Geary, arrived. Governor Geary described the situation that he found on his arrival in the following words: “I reached Kansas and entered upon the discharge of my official duties in the most gloomy hour of her history. Desolation and ruin reigned on every hand; homes and firesides were deserted; the smoke of burning dwellings darkened the atmosphere; women and children, driven from their habitations, wandered over the prairies and among the woodlands, or sought refuge even among the Indian tribes. The highways were infested with numerous predatory bands, and the towns were fortified and garrisoned by armies of conflicting partisans, each excited almost to frenzy, and determined upon mutual extermination. Such was, without exaggeration, the condition of the Territory at the period of my arrival.”

Conditions in the Territory. In the meantime the big body of armed Missourians was moving forward and the proslavery settlers were gathering in answer to a call that closed with these words: “Then let every man who can bear arms be off to the war again. Let it be the third and last time. Let the watchword be, ‘Extermination, total and complete,’” The free-state people were scattered, unorganized, and but scantily supplied with arms and provisions, and were therefore in no condition to meet such a force. Fortunately, the new Governor, whose policy was that of fair play, at once ordered all bodies of armed men to disband.

Preparations for the Defense of Lawrence. The Missourians, however, continued to move toward Lawrence. The Governor then took some United States troops and went to Lawrence, which he found in an almost defenseless condition. The town was poorly fortified, with few provisions and not more than ten rounds of ammunition. Even the women and children were armed. There were not more than three hundred people, but there seemed to be no thought of surrender. They would either repulse the enemy or perish in the attempt. The arrival of the Governor with United States soldiers brought unexpected relief.

End of the Reign of Violence, September, 1856. On the morning of September 15, Governor Geary marched out to the Missouri army encamped about three miles from Lawrence, held a conference with the leaders, and insisted that his orders for disbanding be obeyed. The Missourians consented, and the force of twenty-seven hundred well-equipped men went home. Thus ended the four months’ reign of violence[13] that had begun with the 92 sacking of Lawrence in May. The threatened attack on Lawrence was the last organized effort of the Missourians to take Kansas by force. Both sides soon gave up their plundering expeditions, travel became safer and property more secure. For a time peace settled down over the Territory, and Governor Geary, believing that order was entirely restored to Kansas, appointed November 20 “as a day of general praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God.” With the close of the period of violence a little less than two and a half years had passed since the organization of Kansas as a territory in the spring of 1854.

SUMMARY

Hostilities were renewed in the spring of 1856. The Missourians prepared for invasion, and the free-state people for defense. Several minor conflicts were followed by the sacking of Lawrence, to which the free-state people offered no resistance. This policy was not approved by John Brown. He counseled revenge and the Pottawatomie massacre followed. Then began a four months’ “reign of terror.” Several conflicts followed, among them the battle of Black Jack. An army was hurriedly gathered by each side, but Governor Shannon ordered them to disperse. The sympathy of the whole North was aroused, and men and money poured into Kansas. This led to the closing of Missouri to free-state travel, and the newcomers entered Kansas through Nebraska. During this time both sides were committing many outrages and there was a constant condition of lawlessness. The coming of the “Army of the North” resulted in the gathering of a large army from Missouri called “the 2700.” Governor Shannon resigned, and Acting Governor Woodson permitted this army to enter Kansas, and it marched toward Lawrence, pillaging Osawatomie as it passed. While Lawrence was awaiting attack, Geary, the new Governor, arrived and ordered the army disbanded. This ended the period of violence.

REFERENCES

• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 93-108.
• Spring, Kansas.
• Robinson, The Kansas Conflict.
• Mrs. Robinson, Kansas—​Its Interior and Exterior Life.
• Blackmar, The Life of Charles Robinson.
• Connelley, James Henry Lane, the Grim Chieftain of Kansas.
• Connelley, John Brown.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, pp. 120-125.
• Ingalls, Writings, pp. 76-92, 228-262.
• McCarter, A Wall of Men. (A novel.)

QUESTIONS

1. When did the Wakarusa War close?

2. Describe the winter of 1855-’56.

3. What conditions came with the spring?

4. Give an account of the sacking of Lawrence.

5. Who was John Brown? Why did he come to Kansas? What was the Pottawatomie massacre? What do you know of John Brown other than what is given in this book?

6. Give an account of the battle of Black Jack, the gathering of armies, and the pillaging of Osawatomie.

7. What free-state assistance was given by the North?

8. What measure did this lead Missouri to take?

9. What was the “Army of the North”?

10. What was “the 2700”? Who permitted this force to enter Kansas?

11. Give an account of the second attack on Osawatomie.

12. Name the Territorial Governors up to this time.

13. Who was the new Governor? How did he describe the conditions that he found in Kansas?

14. How was Lawrence threatened? What became of the army?

15. When did the period of violence close?

16. What condition followed?

17. How long was this after the organization of the Territory?

CHAPTER XI

THE PERIOD OF POLITICAL CONTESTS

Beginning of the Political Period, 1857. The Missourians had given up hope of conquering Kansas by force. After the close of the period of violence the contest became almost entirely a political struggle between the proslavery and the free-state settlers, each side trying to win Kansas by securing control of its government. The next few years were filled with conventions, elections, and political schemes.

Governor Geary Leaves the Territory. The second Territorial Legislature met at Lecompton in the opening days of 1857. Because of Governor Geary’s efforts to be just to both sides, the Legislature did everything possible to annoy and harass him. The free-state men rallied to his support, but conditions soon became so intolerable that one night in March, after having been in office about six months, he made a hasty escape from Kansas. Governor Geary had found Kansas in a deplorable condition and left it not greatly improved, but he had attempted to do justice to all. His place was taken by Governor Walker, who arrived in May.

A Proslavery Constitution Prepared, 1857. Up to this time the only attempt to get Kansas admitted as a state was the effort of the free-state men under the Topeka Constitution, but the proslavery people had long been planning to draw up a constitution under which they might secure the admission of Kansas as a slave state. The Territorial Legislature provided for a constitutional convention, which met at Lecompton in September, 1857, and prepared what was called the Lecompton Constitution.

The First Free-state Territorial Legislature. Two important events were to take place in the fall of 1857: the election of a new Territorial Legislature, and the vote on the Lecompton Constitution. When election day came, United States troops were stationed in the different precincts to prevent illegal voting and invasions from Missouri. Under Governor Walker’s promise of a fair election, both parties voted for the first time since the fraudulent election in the spring of 1855. The result was a free-state victory, and the first time Kansas was to have a free-state Legislature. This result was not achieved without many protests and threats from the proslavery people, who now became afraid to submit their Lecompton Constitution to a vote, for it was clear that the free-state people were largely in the majority and would defeat it.

Fear to Submit the Lecompton Constitution. After a number of meetings and debates among themselves, the proslavery people decided to get around this difficulty by not submitting the Constitution at all, but by offering instead these two statements to choose between: “The Constitution with slavery,” or “The Constitution without slavery.”

Each Side Holds an Election. This gave the free-state people no chance to vote against the Constitution as a whole, and of course their indignation was aroused. The election was held in December, 1857. The free-state men refused to vote, and after several meetings and a special session of their new free-state Legislature the free-state people appointed a day in January, 1858, for an election to decide for or against the Constitution. This time the proslavery party refused to vote. Thus each side held an election and carried its point by a big majority.

End of the Lecompton Constitution. No attention was paid to the defeat of the Constitution at the hands of the 96 free-state people, and it was sent to Congress. After a long discussion Congress attached a number of conditions to the Constitution and sent it back to Kansas to be voted on by all the people. Of the 13,000 votes cast at this election, which was held August 2, 1858, more than 11,000 were against it. This ended the second attempt to get Kansas admitted as a state.

The Leavenworth Constitution, 1858. While the Lecompton Constitution was pending in Congress, the free-state people concluded that it was time for them to try their hands at constitution making again. During the winter and spring of 1858 they produced the Leavenworth Constitution, but it was not favorably received by the people of Kansas and was never voted on by either house of Congress.

Trouble in Southeastern Kansas. These events of Territorial history occurred within a small area. With Lawrence as a center, a circle with a radius of thirty miles would include virtually all of them. Another part of Kansas, the southeastern, including what is now Miami, Linn and Bourbon counties, came into prominence at this time and showed that the period of bloodshed was not yet past. The southeastern part of the Territory had been settled largely by proslavery people, but gradually the Northerners began to come in. The proslavery people frequently made raids on them, the free-state settlers retaliated, and southern Kansas was soon in the midst of a guerrilla warfare. The free-state people engaged in this warfare came to be known as Jayhawkers.[14] Their leader was a man named James Montgomery.

The Marais des Cygnes Massacre. These conditions continued until in the spring of 1858. While the Lecompton and Leavenworth constitutions were being considered in the Territory, there occurred in Linn County the Marais des Cygnes massacre, the most shocking and bloody event of the whole Territorial period. A Southerner named Hamelton made up a list of free-state men whom he planned to seize and execute. On May 19, almost two years to the day after the Pottawatomie massacre by John Brown, Hamelton with a gang of Missourians captured eleven of the free-state men, marched them to a near-by gulch, lined them up and fired a volley. Five men were killed, five were wounded, and one remained unharmed. This terrible deed created great excitement, and an unsuccessful attempt was made to capture Hamelton and his men.[15]

Order Restored. Steps were taken to bring about a more settled condition in southeastern Kansas. Though several other outrages took place, none of them was so barbarous as the Marais des Cygnes massacre, and order was gradually restored.

Proslavery and Free-state Names Dropped. During the trouble over the Lecompton Constitution in the closing days of 1857 Governor Walker was compelled to resign, and in the autumn of 1858 Governor Denver, who succeeded him, voluntarily resigned. Although Denver was the fifth Territorial Governor, he was the first one who had not been compelled to give up his office. This was one of the indications that better days were beginning in Kansas. Lawlessness was practically over. The South was no longer hopeful of making Kansas a slave state. The settlers dropped the terms proslavery and free-state, 98 and identified themselves with the National political parties.

The Wyandotte Constitution, 1859. In the summer of the next year, 1859, a fourth constitutional convention was held at Wyandotte. There was less hard feeling now between the two factions, and the members of this convention were from both political parties, Democrat and Republican. It was generally conceded by this time that Kansas was to be a free state, and the new Constitution contained the words, “There shall be no slavery in this State; and no involuntary servitude, except for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” This was called the Wyandotte Constitution, and when it was submitted to the people in the fall a large majority of the votes were cast in favor of it.

Kansas Admitted to the Union, January 29, 1861. But the question was not yet settled, for Congress had to vote on the admission of Kansas under the Wyandotte Constitution. These events took place in the closing days of 1859, only a little more than a year before the beginning of the Civil War. Relations between the North and the South had become strained almost to the breaking point. The Congressmen from the South had given up hope of making Kansas a slave state, but they were certainly not anxious to admit it as a free state, and consequently a year passed before the Wyandotte Constitution of Kansas was acted upon. Finally, in January, 1861, some of the southern states seceded from the Union and their representatives and senators withdrew from Congress, leaving a free-state majority. The bill for the admission of Kansas under the Wyandotte Constitution was at once called up and passed. The next day it was signed by President Buchanan, and on January 29, 1861, Kansas became a state.

First State Officers. In December, 1859, shortly after the people had voted to adopt the Wyandotte Constitution, they held an election to choose state officers to act whenever Kansas should be admitted to the Union. For Governor they chose Dr. Charles Robinson, who had so faithfully served the free-state cause throughout the long but successful struggle. The first United States senators from Kansas were two other well-known free-state men, James H. Lane and Samuel C. Pomeroy. The Wyandotte Constitution designated Topeka as the temporary capital. An election was held in November, 1861, for the purpose of selecting a permanent capital. Topeka received 7996 votes, Lawrence 5291, and all other places 1184. Thus Topeka became the capital of Kansas.

SUMMARY

The first two and a half years of the Territorial period were spent in the warfare which was practically closed when Governor Geary sent “the 2700” home. The last four months of the two and a half years formed the “period of violence.” The next three years were given to the political struggle which ended with the adoption of the Wyandotte Constitution. During the remaining year the people went about their work, while this Constitution was pending in Congress. In 1857, early in the political period, the free-state people succeeded, for the first time, in electing the Legislature. The proslavery people prepared the Lecompton Constitution, but submitted to the people only two statements concerning it. The free-state people refused to vote, but held another election, at which the proslavery people refused to vote. After the Lecompton Constitution was returned from Congress it was voted on by both factions and defeated. In the meantime the free-state people submitted the Leavenworth Constitution, which was defeated. During the last six months of the political period the Wyandotte Constitution was prepared, adopted, and sent to Congress. This was in 1859. More 100 than a year passed before Congress acted on the matter; then, January 29, 1861, Kansas became a state.

REFERENCES

• Spring, Kansas.
• Robinson, The Kansas Conflict.
• Mrs. Robinson, Kansas—​Its Interior and Exterior Life.
• Holloway, History of Kansas.
• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 107-143.
• Muzzey, American History, pp. 379-412.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, pp. 155-179.
• Ingalls, Writings, pp. 443-465.
• Historical Collections, vol. VI, p. 365; vol. VIII, pp. 331, 443; vol. X, pp. 169, 216; vol. XI, p. 47; vol. XII, p. 331.

QUESTIONS

1. How long was Kansas a territory? Into what periods may this time be divided?

2. Was Lecompton a proslavery or a free-state town? Of which faction was the second Legislature? How did the Legislature treat Governor Geary? Who succeeded him?

3. What was the result of the election for a third Territorial Legislature?

4. When and by whom was the Lecompton Constitution made? Why was it not submitted as a whole? What became of it?

5. Give an account of the Leavenworth Constitution.

6. Within about what area did all these events occur? Show this on a map of Kansas.

7. Give an account of the troubles in southeastern Kansas. Who were the Jayhawkers?

8. Give an account of the Marais des Cygnes massacre.

9. What were the conditions in Kansas by the opening of 1859?

10. What was the last constitution made in Kansas? When and by whom was it made?

11. When was Kansas admitted to the Union?

12. Who was the first State Governor?

13. How was the State capital selected?

CHAPTER XII

PIONEER LIFE

A Dugout.

Comforts of Life Receive Little Attention. The seven Territorial years had brought freedom to Kansas, but the struggle had left the pioneers little time or strength for building better homes, improving their farms, or establishing public institutions. The energy that might have accomplished these things had been given to fighting and to politics. When Kansas became a State, the people had almost as few of the comforts of life as when they first came to the Territory. A few of them had come with little idea of the hardships and privations of frontier life, and others had believed that such conditions would last 103 but a short time. Many of these, of course, grew discouraged and returned to their eastern homes. But the great body of Kansas pioneers had come with the twofold purpose of securing homes and making a free state, and were not to be discouraged. They had come to stay.

In Pioneer Days.

Conditions of Living During the ’50’s. Frontier life is always hard, but it was made many times harder in Kansas by the years of strife and warfare. The inconveniences and hardships were especially severe outside the towns. In these days of railways and good roads, of the telegraph and the telephone, it is difficult to realize what life on the prairies meant in the ’50’s. Post offices and mail routes came slowly, and for many of the settlers a trip for mail and provisions meant a journey of two or three days, or even longer, with an ox team. Neighbors were often many miles apart. Nearly every one’s supply of farming implements 104 was scanty, and to replace a broken ax might require a trip of from twenty-five to fifty miles. In the winter these journeys were often accompanied with danger and suffering. Streams were without bridges and many of the fords were deep and treacherous. Fences were few and roads were mere trails over the prairies, so when the blizzard swept across the country, piling its drifts of snow and obliterating every landmark, the unfortunate traveler was in great danger of losing his way. Getting a farm under cultivation was slow work at best. Since most of the settlers brought but little money with them they had to trust to raising a crop, and if sickness or drouth or raids made it impossible to raise the crop, want and suffering followed.

The privations, the sacrifices, and the loneliness of pioneer life fell most heavily on the women. Business and necessity brought the men together occasionally, but the pioneer woman in the isolation of her prairie home often saw no friendly face for months at a time. There was much sickness and death, especially among women and children, resulting from the combination of poor food, uncomfortable houses, homesickness, and excitement arising from the many dangers. The cost of transportation was so great that only the most necessary articles were brought from the East. Most furniture was home-made and cooking was done over an open fireplace. Corn bread and bacon with occasional game and wild fruits were the usual foods. In wet seasons there was much fever and ague. Sometimes a whole family would be sick at the same time, with no neighbors near enough to help and no physician within many miles.

The Drouth of 1859-’60. Each year during the Territorial period the crops raised were barely sufficient to keep the people through the winter. There was no surplus 105 at any time, and when the summer of 1859 brought a drouth, a famine resulted. Through all the hard struggle the people had believed that as soon as the strife and political difficulties were over, prosperity would come. However, with the dawning of peace in the Territory there came the most severe drouth that has ever been known in the West. It began in June, 1859, and from that time until November, 1860, a period of more than sixteen months, not enough rain fell at any one time to wet the earth to a depth of more than two inches. Two light snows fell during the winter, but neither was heavy enough to cover the ground. The ground became so dry that it broke open in great cracks, wells and springs went dry, and the crops were a total failure.

A Sod House.

Effect of the Drouth on Kansas Settlers. There were at this time nearly 100,000 people in Kansas, and to fully 106 60,000 of them the drouth finally meant that they must receive help or starve. They had been able to fight border ruffians, but they could not fight starvation. After a year of the drouth they began to give up and go back East. During the fall of 1860 no fewer than 30,000 settlers abandoned their claims and the improvements that had been made at the expense of so much labor, and left Kansas. There were still 30,000 people here for whom charity was necessary. All this brought bitter disappointment to the people who had come to Kansas with high hopes and willing hands.

Aid Sent from the East. As soon as the true condition of affairs was known in the East a movement was begun for the relief of the sufferers. Many states responded liberally, and immense quantities of provisions and clothes were sent here to be distributed. Hundreds of bushels of seed wheat were furnished. Besides all of the public help, many relatives and friends sent supplies to the pioneers. Nevertheless, there were many that winter who barely escaped starvation.

Drouth Retards Development of Kansas. Great as was the suffering from disappointment and want, the drouth brought another evil; it threw Kansas back in its development. Not only had a third of the population left the Territory, but the accounts given by those who returned tended to discourage others from coming. The old stories about the “Great American Desert” were revived. Kansas was looked upon as a place of drouth and famine, and for several years the number of immigrants was much decreased.

Statehood Begins. All this was taking place while the Wyandotte Constitution was being considered. Kansas was admitted as a State on January 29, 1861, at the close of the terrible drouth. Through the winter and spring of 107 1861 supplies continued to come in from other states, and included seeds for the spring planting. An excellent season followed. It might be thought that at last the Kansas settlers were to have an opportunity to cultivate their farms, build homes, and make their new State a place of peace and prosperity. But not so; Kansas was again to suffer from the troubles of the Nation. The opening of the Civil War was near.

SUMMARY

The fighting and political strife of the Territorial period left the people little opportunity for building up the country. Statehood found frontier life but little improved. The early settlers came to secure homes and to make Kansas a free state, and were not easily discouraged. The drouth of 1859-’60 caused nearly a third of the 100,000 Kansas settlers to leave the Territory, and another third had to be given aid from the East. Immigration to Kansas was greatly decreased for a time. A good crop year followed, but Kansas had yet to pass through the Civil War before it could enjoy peace.

REFERENCES

• Andreas, History of Kansas, County Histories.
• Cordley, Pioneering in Kansas.
• Hunt, Kansas History for Children.
• Historical Collections, vol. IX, pp. 33, 126; vol. XII, p. 353.
• Mrs. Robinson, Kansas—​Its Interior and Exterior Life.
• Ropes, Six Months in Kansas.

QUESTIONS

1. What had been the chief interest of the Kansas people during the Territorial period?

2. What were the chief reasons for people coming to Kansas?

3. Discuss the conditions under which the pioneers lived, including travel, roads, bridges, fences, money, social life, houses, furniture, food, and health.

4. Give an account of the drouth of 1859-’60. How long did it last?

5. What was the population of Kansas in 1860?

6. What was the effect of the drouth on Kansas?

7. What have you read of pioneer conditions other than in this book?

8. What have you learned about early Kansas conditions from talking with people?

9. What new burden came with the beginning of statehood?

CHAPTER XIII

KANSAS IN THE CIVIL WAR

Beginning of the Civil War. Just before Kansas was admitted several of the southern states seceded from the Union. The trouble between the North and the South had reached the point where it could no longer be compromised. Other states seceded, and when, on April 12, 1861, Fort Sumter was fired upon, the Civil War had begun.

Part Taken by Kansas in the Civil War. A state that had just passed through nearly seven years of Territorial struggle closing with a famine would hardly be expected to take an active part in a great war, but the Kansas people had been battling over the slavery question, and, being deeply interested in the outcome, were ready to take up arms in defense of the principle of freedom. Every call for soldiers to defend the Union was liberally responded to in Kansas. This State furnished more soldiers in proportion to its population than did any other State. During the four years of the war Kansas furnished a few more than twenty thousand men, nearly four thousand more than were asked for, and all of them were volunteers. The poverty in the Kansas homes made it especially hard for families to be left unprovided for, and as much honor is due the women who stayed at home to work as is due the men who marched away to fight. The Kansas soldiers did duty on many battle-fields, and so conducted themselves as to bring much credit to their State. During the war Kansas was exposed to three lines of danger; invasions by the regular Confederate army, attacks by the unorganized border troops, and Indian raids on the frontier.

Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.

“‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect it will cease to be divided.”

—​Abraham Lincoln.

The Quantrill Raid, August 21, 1863. For Kansas people the Civil War meant a continuation of the border troubles. Gangs of ruffians plundered and destroyed property, and frequently committed worse crimes. These acts reached a climax in the destruction of Lawrence on August 21, 1863. The raid on Lawrence was led by Quantrill, a border ruffian who had taken an active part in the guerrilla warfare, and who with his men had sacked several smaller towns along the border. With about four hundred and fifty mounted men Quantrill crossed the border in the late afternoon of August 20, and proceeded toward Lawrence. Just before sunrise the raiders reached a hill only a mile from the town. It is strange that they could have made the ride of forty miles through Kansas settlements without a word of warning reaching Lawrence, but such was the case. When Quantrill and his men halted within pistol shot of the houses of Lawrence to plan their attack, the people suspected no danger. There was no armed organization within the city, and all firearms were locked in the arsenal.

The attack began with a wild charge on the town. Horsemen rode through the streets at top speed, shooting in every direction. Then they divided into small gangs and scattered over the town under orders to “burn every house and kill every man.” The horror of what followed has seldom been equaled in the warfare of civilized people. When the people of Lawrence realized that their town was in the possession of Quantrill’s band they expected that it would be burned and a few prominent citizens killed, but wholesale murder was not looked for, and many who might have escaped remained and were killed. For four hours the ruffians robbed buildings, shot the occupants, and applied the torch. Every house was a scene of brutality or of remarkable escape. When the work of 112 butchery and destruction was finished, Quantrill and his men retreated toward Missouri, mounted on stolen horses and heavily laden with plunder. They kept up their work of destruction by burning farmhouses as they passed. A few troops followed them, but the raiders escaped across the border.

Loss from the Raid. The number of lives lost can never be known with certainty, but it was about one hundred and fifty. Many were seriously wounded. The loss of property was variously estimated from one to two million dollars. The work of rebuilding the town was immediately begun, and with all their poverty the people of the State gave generously to the stricken citizens of Lawrence.

General Price Threatens Kansas. Kansas was too far away from the center of conflict of the Civil War to become the scene of great battles, but it was from time to time threatened with invasion by the regular Confederate army. During the last year of the war, General Price, with a large Confederate force, marched northward through Arkansas into Missouri. When it was reported that he was moving westward, Kansas issued a call for more soldiers. The response was immediate. More than 16,000 men appeared for service. A force of Kansas troops marched into Missouri and met Price’s army in battle at Lexington. As the armies moved westward other battles were fought at the Little Blue and at the Big Blue, and again at Kansas City and Westport, after which Price was forced to retreat southward. He was followed by the Union army. He crossed into Kansas in Linn County, and skirmishes took place at Trading Post Ford, at the Mounds, and at Mine Creek. Price was then forced into Missouri again, where he was soon defeated.

The Counties of Kansas at the Close of the Civil War.

End of the Civil War, 1865. In April, 1865, the great war came to a close, after lasting almost exactly four years. The questions of slavery and disunion were finally settled. The whole nation was thankful to lay down its arms and go back home, “to drop the sword and grasp the plow,” but this was especially true of Kansas, where the people had been doing battle over the slavery question for eleven years. The Territorial period and the Civil War period made one continuous conflict. With the heavy drain on resources and population, it was not to be expected that Kansas would make much growth or progress during the Civil War. Development could little more than equal waste and loss. The population of Kansas numbered about 100,000 at the beginning of the war, and about 136,000 at the close. There had been little improvement in the manner of living during the four years.

SUMMARY

The Civil War began within three months after Kansas became a state. Although Kansas had had no opportunity to recover from the Territorial struggle, it took an active 114 part in the war. General Price threatened to invade Kansas with a large Confederate force, but did not succeed. The Indians committed depredations on the western frontier. The worst feature of the war was the border trouble, of which the Quantrill raid was the climax. During the four years of the Civil War Kansas did not make a large gain in population or in progress.

REFERENCES

• Andreas, History of Kansas, pp. 179-215.
• Blackmar, Life of Robinson.
• Crawford, Kansas in the Sixties.
• Cordley, History of Lawrence.
• Connelley, Quantrill and the Border Wars.
• Historical Collections, vol. VIII, pp. 271, 352; vol. IX, pp. 430, 455; vol. XI, p. 217; vol. V, p. 116; vol. VI, pp. 305, 317.
• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 143-168.
• Spring, Kansas, chap. XIII.

QUESTIONS

1. When did the Civil War begin? How long was this after Kansas had become a state?

2. What part did Kansas take in the war? Explain.

3. What were the three classes of danger to which Kansas was exposed? Discuss each.

4. To which of these does the Price campaign belong?

5. Who was General Price? Give an account of his threatened invasion of Kansas.

6. Who was Quantrill? Give an account of his raid on Lawrence.

7. How long did the Civil War last?

8. How long had it been since Kansas was opened for settlement? What progress had been made?

9. What was the population of Kansas in 1865?

CHAPTER XIV

KANSAS SINCE THE CIVIL WAR

Beginning of this Period. Nearly three score years have passed since the close of the Civil War; a period of work, growth, and progress. The earlier years in Kansas were but a time of preparation, and with the end of the war the people were at last free to turn their attention to farming or to other occupations. Hundreds of new settlers poured into the State each year. Little pioneer homes dotted the eastern part of the State more and more thickly and the line of settlement moved rapidly westward.

Indian Troubles on the Frontier. As the white-topped wagons of the immigrants became more numerous the Indian and the buffalo were pushed farther on. But the red man did not give up his hunting ground without a struggle. The encroachments of the settlers had long been resented. Even before the close of the Civil War, while the soldiers were needed elsewhere, the Indians had begun their depredations on the frontier. In 1865 and 1866 settlements were attacked in Republic and Cloud counties, stock was driven away, much property was destroyed, and a number of people were killed. The few settlers on their scattered claims were poorly armed, and, with no soldiers near to protect them, they were in constant fear of wandering tribes of hostile Indians.

It has long been customary for each nation to have a great seal. The United States has one, as has also each of the states. A seal is used to make an impression on a document as a sign of its genuineness. The design for the Great Seal of Kansas was adopted by the first State Legislature. The thirty-four stars represent the thirty-four states comprising the Union at that time. The scene is supposed to typify the settlement and growth of the State. The motto “_Ad astra per aspera_,” meaning “To the stars through difficulties,” is peculiarly descriptive of the state’s history.

Open War with the Indians. The next year United States troops were sent to protect the frontier. They drove the Indians back and destroyed one of their villages. This only made the red men eager for revenge, and they began an open war on all settlers, immigrant trains, traders, and travelers. Robberies and murders were committed 117 along the whole frontier, particularly in the Republican, Solomon, and Smoky Hill valleys, and in Marion, Butler and Greenwood counties. Travel over the Santa Fe and other westward trails almost ceased and the line of settlement was pushed eastward many miles. Many tribes engaged in these attacks. They dashed into the State from north or south or west, committed their cruelties, and were gone.

The Broken Treaty. At one time the Government made a treaty with several tribes by which they were removed to a reservation in the Indian Territory, but were to have the privilege of hunting in Kansas as far north as the Arkansas River, and were also to be provided with arms. They kept their promise of peace only until they could get ready for another attack, and while part of them were being supplied with arms at one of the forts the rest were engaged in a most heartless and bloody raid on the northwestern settlements.

The Indians Subdued. This led Governor Crawford to organize several companies of Kansas volunteers and to ask for more United States soldiers. Later a regiment of Kansas volunteer cavalry was called for, and on November 4, 1868, Governor Crawford resigned his office to take command of this, the Nineteenth Regiment. After considerable fighting the Indians were finally subdued, and by 1870 the trouble was practically ended. There were a few outbreaks from time to time, but none of them was very serious. During this contest, which had lasted from 1864 to 1869, the lives of more than a thousand Kansas settlers had been lost, a great deal of property had been destroyed, and the westward movement of settlement had been greatly retarded.

A Prairie Stream, Common in the Western Part of the State.

The Homestead Law, 1862. Shortly after the admission of Kansas to the Union, Congress passed a measure that 118 had a wonderful effect on the growth of the State. This measure was the Homestead Law, passed in 1862. This law provides that any person who is the head of a family, or who is twenty-one years of age, and who is a citizen of the United States or has declared his intention to become such, may acquire a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of public land on condition of settlement, cultivation, and occupancy as a home for a period of five years, and on payment of certain moderate fees. It also provides that the time that any settler has served in the army or navy may be deducted from the five years. Previous to 1862 settlers bought their claims of the Government. The liberal provisions of the Homestead Law attracted thousands of settlers to Kansas. Many of the newcomers were 119 young men who had been in the army.[16] Many of them were foreigners newly arrived in America, while thousands of others came from the eastern or central states. Nearly all of them were poor. Many had scarcely enough to provide for themselves until the harvesting of their first crop. But they were full of hope and ambition, and were willing to undertake the toil and privations of pioneer life for the chance to make real their dreams of a home on the Kansas prairies.

A Timbered Stream, Common in the Eastern and Central Parts of the State.

Many Drouths in the Early Years. The task of turning the bare plains into fertile fields was a heavy one, and the brave people who began it endured many hardships and met many discouragements and disappointments. Severe 121 drouths were of frequent occurrence in the early days, and hot winds often swept across the country. The year 1869 was dry, with a partial failure of crops, and in 1874 came a long dry spell, followed in the late summer by a scourge of grasshoppers.

State Governors. 1861-1877.

THOMAS CARNEY, CHARLES ROBINSON, SAMUEL J. CRAWFORD,
JAMES M. HARVEY, NEHEMIAH GREEN, THOMAS A. OSBORN

The Grasshopper Invasion, 1874. At different times there had been invasions of grasshoppers in the country west of the Mississippi River, but none of them was so disastrous as the one of 1874. The grasshoppers, which were a kind of locust, came into the State from the northwest and moved toward the southeast. The air was filled with them. They covered the fields and trees and destroyed everything green as they went. They left ruin and desolation in their pathway. In the western counties, where the settlements were new and the people had no crops laid by to depend upon, the result was much like that of the terrible years of 1859 and 1860. By the time of the invasion there were more people, more provisions, and more money, and the State was able to do much to help the thousands of its citizens who were left destitute. It became necessary, however, to accept aid from the East again, and thousands of dollars and many carloads of supplies were distributed to the needy. Never since has Kansas had to ask for help. In more recent years our State has given generously to sufferers in other states and in other lands.

This visit of the grasshoppers was prolonged into the next year, for they had deposited their eggs in the ground and the next spring large numbers of young grasshoppers hatched. These destroyed the early crops, but for some unaccountable reason they soon rose into the air and flew back toward the northwest whence the swarms of the year before had come. There was still time for late planting, and the crops of 1875 were abundant.

Prosperous Years Follow the Grasshopper Invasion. The coming of the grasshoppers had temporarily discouraged immigration, but prosperous years followed and people were again attracted to Kansas. More of the prairie was turned into farms; new towns sprang up; the country came to be more thickly settled; railroads, schools, and churches were built; new counties were organized; and the old stories of “The Great American Desert” were gradually forgotten. Kansas was taking her place among the states.

Life of the Early Settlers. In order that this great result might be accomplished, that the Kansas of to-day might be, a generation of men and women had to conquer these vast prairies that were swept by blizzards, parched by drouths, scorched by hot winds, and scourged by grasshoppers. A few of the pioneers gave up and returned to their old homes, but most of them were of the sturdy type and remained, always believing that the day of better things was to come. Though they had little money and few of the comforts and conveniences of life, and though they were often filled with homesickness for the friends and scenes they had left behind, they stayed and worked and hoped. Volumes could be filled with stories of the hardships and sorrows of those brave people; stories of mothers who died from overwork or exposure or lack of care, of children who sickened from want of proper food, of homes swept away by prairie fires, and of homesteads mortgaged and lost.

The Pleasures of Pioneer Life. But this is only one side. Pioneer life was not all dark. Most of the people were strong and healthy, and the out-door life with plenty of exercise and simple food kept them so. Although there was privation and hard work there was also much pleasure. Ask any old settler whether the people had good times in 123 those days, and you will hear tales of spelling schools and of singing schools, of literary societies at which debating was an important feature, and of the country dance with its old-time music on the fiddle. These affairs were attended by young and old from miles around; a trip of from ten to fifteen or even twenty miles was not unusual. Buggies were scarce, and most of the settlers went on horseback, or in farm wagons that did not always have spring seats.

Quilting and husking bees, house-warmings, and camp meetings were other events of the early days. Since there were no telephones and since it was often days from one mail to another, pioneer families counted it a pleasure to “visit around” and exchange the news. Those were the days of real hospitality; the “latch-string hung out at every door,” and all were welcome to enter. No house was too small nor no food supply too scanty for the entertainment of friends or wayfarers. Those were the days, too, when the children often waited for “second table” or stood up to eat because there were not enough chairs for all; when the boys wore high-topped boots, the girls wore sunbonnets, and a calico dress was good enough for almost any occasion.

Buffalo Hunting. In the earlier years the buffalo hunt was one of the pleasures of the pioneers. In the fall parties of men with their teams and hunting outfits would set out for the buffalo range to secure a supply of meat for the winter. They were usually successful in finding not only buffaloes, but antelopes, wild turkeys, and occasionally elk or deer.

Extermination of the Buffalo. Remarkable stories are told of the great numbers of buffaloes still roaming our western prairies fifty years ago; stories of herds miles in width moving across the country. With the inrushing tide of immigration the buffaloes rapidly disappeared. 124 Within little more than a dozen years after the close of the Civil War there were practically none left. This was not because they were used as food, but because they were killed for their hides. Large numbers were slaughtered and skinned and the bodies left on the plains. The hides were shipped east by carloads, where they were sold to make robes.

Pile of Buffalo Hides Ready for Shipment.

Selling Buffalo Bones. In a few years the prairies were thickly strewn with bleaching bones, and these, too, were gathered up and shipped east, where they were ground into fertilizer to be used on worn-out farms. These bones brought from six to ten dollars a ton, and money earned in this way served to tide many a homesteader through the winter. It has often been regretted that the Government did not take measures to restrict the killing of the buffalo, but the danger of extermination was not realized until too late.

The Trappers. A great deal of trapping was done, especially by the younger men. Often several of them would make up a party, and with guns, traps, and a winter’s supply of provisions start for a favorite trapping ground, where they would make a camp along some stream. Sometimes the camp was a tent, but more often it was a dugout in the bank with the front part made of logs. Along the streams they caught chiefly the beaver, the otter, the raccoon, and the wildcat, and on the prairies the big gray wolf and the coyote. The busy days were filled with the work of visiting the traps, caring for the pelts, chasing wild game, and keeping an alert watch for Indians. When spring came and they turned homeward to take up the work on the farms they often carried with them several hundred dollars’ worth of furs.

Coyote.

The Exodus, 1878-1880. The population of Kansas was gradually built up from many sources, but until 1878 there were not many negroes in the State. In that year there began in some of the southern states a movement among the colored people to migrate to western and northern states. So many thousands of them left the Southland that the movement came to be called “The Exodus.” It is not strange that the State famed for its fight for freedom should attract many of the ex-slaves, or the “Exodusters,” as they were called. During the years 1878-’80 several thousands of negroes arrived in Kansas. A few had teams and some farm implements, some had a scanty supply of 127 household goods, but many had nothing at all and had to be given aid. A very few of them homesteaded land, others found employment as farm hands, and the rest settled in different towns of the State.

State Governors, 1877-1893.

JOHN P. ST. JOHN, GEORGE T. ANTHONY, GEORGE W. GLICK
LYMAN U. HUMPHREY, JOHN A. MARTIN, LORENZO D. LLEWELLING

The Kansas Boom in the ’80’s. The ten years following the grasshopper invasion of 1874 were all good years. The rains fell and crops flourished. It was a period of remarkable growth and prosperity. During these years the railroads were making special efforts to bring settlers into the State, and Kansas was widely advertised. Reports of the opportunities here stimulated immigration, and settlements overspread the western prairies. Great confidence was felt in the future of the State, and people in the East eagerly invested in western land and property. Money was easy to borrow, and the Kansas people borrowed liberally and began speculating in real estate. Kansas was soon “on the boom.” Property was bought, not to use, but to sell again at a higher price. Cities and towns laid out additions which were divided into lots and sold for large sums. Expensive improvements were made, and public and business buildings were constructed that were far larger and more costly than the needs of the time demanded. Railway and street-car lines were built where there was not business enough to support them. Hundreds of new towns were mapped out and the lots sold. Many of these towns never existed except on paper, and most of the others were later turned into pastures or cornfields.

Collapse of the Boom, 1887. Since the new settlers were not familiar with soil and climate conditions in Kansas many of them selected land that was not adapted to agriculture, therefore much of the farming was not profitable. In 1887 came one of the most severe drouths that was ever known in the country. The people lost confidence in Kansas and the boom collapsed. Eastern people wanted 128 their money back, but there was nothing with which to pay them. Money could not be borrowed and mortgages were foreclosed. People who had bought property at high prices, expecting to sell at a profit, found themselves unable to sell at any price. Many who had counted themselves wealthy found their property almost valueless. Banks and business houses failed and hundreds of people were ruined. Thousands left Kansas, some of the western counties being almost abandoned. The year 1887 was followed, however, by several good crop seasons. A great deal of attention was given to the study of farm conditions, and Kansas began to make progress again.

The Opening of Oklahoma. In 1889 Kansas lost about 50,000 of her population. This came about through the opening of Oklahoma to settlement. The President issued a proclamation setting high noon of April 22 as the time at which the settlers could enter the new country to take claims. The opening of Oklahoma had been anxiously awaited for years, and, as the appointed time drew near, people from all parts of the United States began to assemble along the southern line of Kansas. Arkansas City was the chief gathering place, for it was at this point that the one line of railroad entered Oklahoma. When, at noon, April 22, the cavalrymen who patroled the borders fired their carbines as a signal that the settlers could move across the line, a great shout went up, and the race for claims began. Hundreds crowded the trains, thousands rode on fleet horses, many rode in buggies and buckboards, others in heavy farm wagons, and some even made the race on foot. In the morning Oklahoma was an uninhabited prairie, at midday it was a surging mass of earnest, excited humanity, in the evening it was a land of many people. Within a few days the breaking plow was turning the sod on many homesteads, while merchants, bankers, and professional 129 men were carrying on their business in tents or in rough board shanties. The rush of settlement to Kansas was remarkable, but the settlement of Oklahoma is the climax in the story of American pioneering. Although Kansas furnished such a large number of the Oklahoma settlers, immigration to our State from the East soon made up the loss.

The Panic of 1893. In 1893 a financial panic extended over the whole country, accompanied in Kansas by a partial failure of crops. Those were dark days in Kansas, for many of the people were still burdened with heavy mortgages. But this period should be remembered as our last “hard times.” Within two or three years conditions had greatly improved. The twenty-five years following that time brought almost uninterrupted prosperity.

Kansas in the Spanish-American War. In 1898 the long period of peace that the country had enjoyed since the Civil War was broken by the Spanish-American War. The call for soldiers was eagerly responded to in Kansas, and four regiments were raised. Our State had furnished seventeen regiments during the Civil War and two for fighting the Indians, therefore the four for the Spanish-American War were numbered the Twentieth, the Twenty-first, the Twenty-second, and the Twenty-third. The Twenty-third was composed of colored soldiers. The only one of these regiments called upon to do any fighting was the Twentieth, which was ordered to the Philippines. There, under a Kansan, Colonel Fred Funston, the men of this regiment took part in the campaigns that followed, and by their bravery and efficiency brought much credit to themselves and to their State. The Twenty-third was sent to Cuba. The other regiments were trained and kept in readiness, but the early end of the war prevented their active service.

State Capitol, Topeka.

Senate Chamber in the State Capitol.

The State Capitol. The year 1903 is an interesting one, for it marked the completion of our State Capitol. Shortly after the admission of Kansas to the Union the people selected Topeka as the seat of government. As soon as the Civil War was over and they had time to think about public improvements they began to lay plans for building a capitol. Every state has a capitol, or state house as it is often called, in which there are offices for the Governor and other state officers as well as large rooms for the meetings of the Legislature. It is for the state what a courthouse is for a county. It should, of course, be a fine building, of which the people can be proud. But back in the ’60’s Kansas people were few in number and had little money. They could not afford to build a capitol 133 that would be large and handsome enough for the future, nor did they wish to construct a small, cheap building that would have to be set aside later. Instead they planned a fine structure to be built a little at a time as they could afford it.

A Kansas Cattle Ranch.

In 1866 the Legislature provided for the erection of what is now the east wing of our state house. As the State grew in wealth and population, more money was appropriated from time to time for the construction of other wings, the great central portion, and lastly the high dome that reaches nearly three hundred feet into the air. The building was completed in 1903, having been thirty-seven years in the making. It grew as the State grew, costing altogether between three and four millions of dollars. It is fitting that the great State of Kansas should now have one of the finest capitols in the United States.

The Floods. The people of Kansas had withstood a number of drouths, but beginning in 1903 they were, for the first time, visited by a series of floods. The first one was probably the most destructive. Most of the water came down the Kansas River from the tributaries draining central and western Kansas, where there had been heavy rainfall. Farms and towns along these streams were flooded, property was swept away, and a number of lives were lost. Topeka, Lawrence, and Kansas City, where portions of the cities were inundated for days, suffered heavy losses. The following year nearly every stream in the State poured a flood of water down its valley, and many people had to flee to the hills for safety. In 1908, for the third time in five years, Kansas was again visited by high water. The loss occasioned by these floods amounted to many millions of dollars, but help poured in to the sufferers from many sources and they straightway began the work of repairing and rebuilding. In a short time all traces of the calamity had disappeared.

State Governors, 1893-1914.

JOHN W. LEEDY, EDMUND N. MORRILL, WILLIAM E. STANLEY,
WILLIS J. BAILEY,
EDWARD W. HOCH, GEORGE H. HODGES, WALTER R. STUBBS

Stories of floods in Kansas have been handed down from far-off Indian days, but the earliest flood of which there is any account was in 1844. The Indians told the white men about it and advised against building close to the rivers, but no attention was paid to the warning. Since the recent floods, however, a number of people have moved back from the streams. A few of the cities, including Topeka, Lawrence, and Kansas City, have built dikes, bridges have been lengthened to give streams more room, and several railroad grades have been raised above the danger line.

Kansas To-day. While the floods caused much loss and suffering, the State’s resources had become so great that the condition of general prosperity was not seriously affected. Each year has added to the prosperity and progress of the State until now Kansas is one of the great states of the Union. We have only to look about us to see how marvelously conditions have changed since pioneer days. Great fields and orchards are spread over what was once the Indians’ hunting ground, and cattle have taken the place of the roving herds of buffaloes. Tractor plows now turn the soil where once there was only buffalo grass, thriving towns and cities stand where once the tepee stood and shining rails of steel mark the paths of Indian ponies and emigrant trains.

All these things have been done within a single generation. Thousands of the men and women who came into Kansas in their wagons and drove across the unfenced plains are still among us, but now when they journey over the same country they go in swiftly moving trains or automobiles. Where once they saw only the prairie and a few settlers’ cabins they now see roads and bridges, farms and 136 ranches, stores, banks, mills, mines, and factories. They see what they have helped to build, a great state, and they may well be proud of it. By their unconquerable faith and courage and their unremitting toil they have made Kansas what it is to-day.

Government of Kansas. As the pioneers look at their State they may feel a pride not only in the acres that have been brought under cultivation and the wealth that has been produced, but also in a government that is one of the most advanced in the Union. Many measures have been passed to promote the welfare of the people. Among the important ones are: the child-labor law, the truancy law, the anti-cigarette law, the law providing for juvenile courts, laws pertaining to public health, the fire-escape law, the “blue sky” law, the primary-election law, and the law governing public utilities. These are only a few, but among the hundreds of measures that have been passed, affecting the character of our government, none stand out more prominently than the two amendments to our Constitution providing for prohibition and for woman suffrage.

Prohibition in Kansas. Temperance was a live topic in Kansas from the beginning; even in Territorial days laws were passed that tended to regulate, in some degree, the liquor traffic. During the first eighteen years of statehood there was a constant increase in sentiment favorable to prohibition, and, in 1880, during the administration of Governor John P. St. John, the people voted to adopt the following amendment to the Constitution: “The manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors shall be forever prohibited in this State, except for medical, scientific, and mechanical purposes.” The law has been strengthened from time to time, and more attention has been given to its enforcement, until to-day Kansas is one of the strictest 137 prohibition states, and the popular sentiment against the use of liquor is stronger here, perhaps, than anywhere else in the United States. For many years Kansas stood almost alone as a prohibition state, but in recent years the number of prohibition states has increased rapidly, and in 1918 a prohibition amendment to the National Constitution was offered by Congress, and in 1919 it had been ratified by the necessary two-thirds of the states. Kansas was among the number. It is a matter of pride in Kansas that ours was a pioneer state in this great movement.

Woman Suffrage. Kansas has been one of the most liberal of the states in its laws concerning the rights of women, but it is only in recent years that Kansas women have had full political rights. In 1861 women were given the right to vote in district school elections, and in 1887 in city elections. The question of complete woman suffrage was voted upon and defeated in 1867, and again in 1894, but in 1912 it carried by a large majority. Only six states, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Washington, and California, preceded Kansas in granting to women the right of suffrage. A number of other states have followed Kansas, and now (1919) Congress has offered to the states for ratification a woman suffrage amendment to the National Constitution.

Kansas in the World War. The period from the opening of the twentieth century to the beginning of the World War was, on the whole, one of peace and prosperity in Kansas. No great destructive force, such as famine or panic, left the people struggling for existence, nor did anything occur to stir their deeper emotions. Their chief interests were in building up their homes and their businesses and in developing their State. But suddenly, in 1914, like the people of the rest of the United States, they began to 139 give more thought to the affairs of other countries, and when on April 6, 1917, the United States entered the war, the people of Kansas were ready to carry their share of the burdens.

Camp Funston.

The largest inland training camp in the United States. The 89th National Army Division and the 10th Regular Army Division were trained at Camp Funston.

The young men of the State began at once to offer their services in the national guard, in the regular army and in the navy. There were more than 18,000 of these volunteers. Within a few weeks Congress passed the Compulsory Service Act, under the provisions of which approximately 42,000 Kansas men were called into service during the war. The National Guard, numbering about 10,000 men, was soon called. Altogether there were fully 70,000 Kansans in the forces of the United States. These men were sent to practically every organization in the army, though the greater portion of them were in the 89th National Army Division, the 10th Regular Army Division, the 35th National Guard Division, and the 117th Ammunition Train of the 42d Division. All of these except the 10th Division, which had not yet completed its training when the armistice was signed, were sent to France, where they took part in important engagements and bore themselves bravely, notably the Rainbow Division in the last battle of the Marne, the 89th at St. Mihiel and the Argonne, and the 35th Division in the Argonne drive. Many of our young men went into special branches of service, such as the Air Service, Railway Engineering, Signal Corps, Quartermasters Corps and Ordnance Corps. The Federal Government established two Officers’ Training Camps in Kansas, one at Fort Riley and one at Fort Leavenworth. Many Kansas men attended these camps and received commissions.

Hundreds of Kansas young women rendered skilled and devoted service as nurses, both in the training camps and overseas.

The people of the State took an active part in various kinds of war work and subscribed more than their quota to all appeals for funds and to all bond issues.

Altogether, Kansas played its part in the war with its accustomed loyalty and spirit.

The Period Since the Civil War. In the present chapter we have touched only in a general way upon the State’s progress, but growth has been in many directions and each activity has a history of its own. In order that we may better understand the advancement that has been made we will study more fully three of the most important phases of the State’s progress and development—​industry, transportation, and education.

SUMMARY

The years since the Civil War have been eventful ones. The Indian troubles on the frontier lasted from 1864 until 1869. Much property and more than 1000 lives were lost. National troops and a regiment of Kansas soldiers were required to quell the trouble. Governor Crawford resigned his position and took command of the Kansas troops. In 1878-’80 thousands of negroes arrived in Kansas. This movement from the South was called the “Exodus.” The grasshopper invasion in 1874 was followed by ten years of prosperity. Then came the boom, which was ended by the drouth in 1887. Eastern moneylenders held thousands of Kansas mortgages, and though several good crop years followed, the State had not yet recovered when the panic in 1893 brought renewed trouble. Good crops followed, and Kansas soon entered upon a period of prosperity which has continued to the present time. Kansas furnished four regiments for the Spanish-American War in 1898, and made the most of every opportunity to serve in the World War in 1917-’18. The State Capitol, which was begun in 1866, was completed in 1903. The years 1903, 1904, and 1908 were the flood years. Among the many important governmental measures are the prohibition and woman suffrage amendments. During 141 the period since the Civil War Kansas has become a great and prosperous state.

REFERENCES

• Andreas, History of Kansas, Selected Topics.
• Blackmar, Kansas, Selected Topics.
• Parrish, The Great Plains.
• Wright, Dodge City, the Cowboy Capital.
• Crawford, Kansas in the Sixties.
• Spring, Kansas, chap. IV.
• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 168, 172-173, 184, 194, 204, 211, 218-222.
• Historical Collections, Selected Topics.
• McCarter, Price of the Prairie. (A novel.)

QUESTIONS

1. What were the conditions in Kansas at the close of the Civil War?

2. Give an account of the Indian troubles in Kansas.

3. How did the Homestead Law affect immigration?

4. Give an account of the grasshopper invasion and its effect on Kansas.

5. What progress was made during the next ten years?

6. What effect did the railroads have on immigration?

7. When was the “boom”? Describe conditions during the boom. What were some of its causes? What ended it?

8. What was the effect of this boom on Kansas? What have you learned from talking with persons who lived here in the “boom days”?

9. Tell something of the “hard times” of the early ’90’s.

10. What part did Kansas take in the Spanish-American War?

11. Give an account of the building of the State Capitol.

12. Give an account of the floods in Kansas.

13. Give an account of the opening of Oklahoma. How did it affect Kansas?

14. Compare Kansas to-day with Kansas as it was fifty years ago.

5. What part did Kansas take in the World War?

16. What is the prohibition amendment? The woman suffrage amendment?

CHAPTER XV

THE INDUSTRIES OF KANSAS

The Earliest Kansas Farmers. Agriculture, the leading industry of our State, was for many years almost the only occupation of our people. The Indians were the first farmers in Kansas. The Comanches, in the western part of the State, were roving hunters, but the eastern Indians had permanent homes and tilled the soil. They were both hunters and farmers. A government agent in describing their mode of living says: “They raise annually small crops of corn, beans, and pumpkins. These they cultivate entirely with the hoe, in the simplest manner. Their crops are usually planted in April, and receive one dressing before they leave their villages for the summer hunt in May.”

Agriculture Taught to the Indians. When Kansas was made an Indian country the National Government agreed in the treaties to supply the Indians with cattle, hogs, and farming implements, and to employ persons to teach them agriculture. In accordance with this agreement several government farms were established, and both the government farmers and the missionaries taught agriculture to the Indians. By the time Kansas was organized as a Territory, in 1854, there were a number of farms in the different reservations and at the missions, and the produce was such as to show that the soil of Kansas is remarkably fertile.

Agriculture During Territorial Days. Most of the early settlers of Kansas were farmers, but during Territorial days the political and governmental troubles made much progress in farming impossible. The terrible season of 1860 made a dreary closing for this period, and confirmed 143 in the minds of many eastern people the old idea that Kansas was fit only for Indians, buffaloes, and prairie dogs.

Hand Planter.

Agriculture During the Civil War. The year following the drouth brought a good crop, but it also brought the beginning of the Civil War which absorbed the energies of the settlers for four years more. It was not until the close of the war, in 1865, that agriculture can be said to have had a real beginning in Kansas. But, in spite of the poverty and hardships of the war years, two things of especial significance were done that showed the interest of the pioneers in agriculture. During this period the Agricultural College at Manhattan was established, and the State Agricultural Society was formed. The object of the Society was “to promote the improvement of agriculture and its kindred arts throughout the State of Kansas.” Under its management a state fair was held at Leavenworth in 1863, and in that year the Legislature appropriated $1000 for the benefit of the Society. These events are worthy of note because they showed the enterprise of the people when their resources were small.

The “Old Mill” at Lawrence,

Erected in 1863. This was a gristmill, an octagon shaped, four-story structure, having a genuine Holland windmill for motive power. Additional buildings were erected for the manufacture of wagons and farming implements. The mill was abandoned many years ago, and in 1905 it burned.

Early Farming Implements. The farming implements of the pioneers were few and simple. Much of the machinery of to-day had not then been invented. Because of the cost of transportation, and the lack of money among the settlers, even the machinery of that day was scarce in Kansas. The all-important implement was the plow. The pioneer’s first crop was usually “sod corn.” The field was prepared with a breaking plow, which threw up the sod in parallel strips from two to five inches in thickness. Then the farmer, with an ax or a spade and a bag of seed corn, walked back and forth across the field, prying apart or gashing the sod at regular intervals and dropping into each opening three or four grains of corn. Then he waited for the crop. Once the land was broken, it was, in after years, prepared for the seed with the stirring plow and the harrow, and planting was done with a hand planter. Later the corn planter drawn by a team came into use. This machine required a driver, and another person to work the lever that dropped the corn. Then came the planter with the checkrower which, 145 when attached to the planter, made only a driver necessary. During the last few years the lister has come into very general use.

Corn Binder.

The early settlers cultivated their corn with a single-shovel cultivator drawn by one horse. With this cultivator it was necessary to make a trip along each side of every row of corn. The double-shovel cultivator soon came into use, but it, also, was drawn by one horse and cultivated but one side of the row at a time. This labor was greatly reduced by the invention of the cultivator drawn by a team and having shovels for both sides of the corn row. Now cultivators may be had that till two rows at a time. Formerly the farmer cut all of his corn by hand with a knife. Now he uses the riding corn binder.

Great as has been the improvement in corn machinery, even greater changes have come about in the machinery used for the wheat crop. The earliest harvesting implement used in Kansas was the cradle, a scythe with long fingers parallel with the blade to catch the grain as it was cut. The cradler laid the grain in rows. A second man followed with a rake and gathered the wheat into small piles, which he tied into bundles, using some of the straw for bands. The next machine was the reaper, which carried two men, one to drive the team and one to push off the wheat whenever enough had been cut to make a bundle. The reaper required four or five binders to follow it. It was soon improved by being made self-dumping, and later, self-binding. Inventions and improvements have followed in rapid succession, and to-day the planting and harvesting of wheat can be done with remarkable speed and efficiency.

Heading Wheat.

The many wonderful inventions in farm machinery have made possible in the farming of to-day a great saving of time and labor as compared with the farming of forty years ago. There are few lines in which greater progress has been made.

Gasoline Tractor.

Agriculture Between 1860 and 1880. For several years after the Civil War the population of Kansas increased more rapidly than did the crops, and the country was kept poor. The destruction of crops by the grasshoppers in 1874 retarded immigration and left the people discouraged. Several good crop years followed, however, and confidence in the agricultural future of Kansas soon returned. By 1880 nearly 9,000,000 acres of land were in cultivation, a third of which was planted to corn and a fourth to wheat. The next largest acreage was in oats. A number of other crops were reported, including rye, barley, buckwheat, sorghum, cotton, hemp, tobacco, broom corn, millet, clover, and blue grass. At that time not a great deal was known of the soil or climate of the State, and we find in this list of crops several that have since been found unprofitable and are no longer raised in any considerable quantities.

Alfalfa.

Agriculture from 1880 to 1887. The year 1880 found the people of Kansas full of hope and courage, and from that time until the drouth of 1887 agriculture developed rapidly. It was a period of new ideas and new methods. Millions of additional acres were brought into cultivation. The principal crops, corn, wheat, and oats, were each greatly increased. Fields of timothy, clover, orchard grass, and blue grass were planted in the central counties, and even farther west. Soil that a few years before had been considered unfit for farming was now producing crops. The State was being rapidly settled, many miles of railroad were in operation, and the excellent crops did much to encourage the “boom” of 1885 to 1887.

Agriculture from 1887 to 1893. The period of good crops following the dry season of 1887 lasted for five years, and it was a time of great activity along many lines of agricultural advancement. By 1890 nearly 16,000,000 acres had been brought under cultivation. This area was almost double the areas under cultivation ten years earlier.

Western Kansas. Before 1890 most of the farming was done in the eastern and central parts of the State, the western part being considered poorly adapted to agricultural purposes. During the next few years, however, it was shown that wheat can be successfully raised clear to the Colorado line. The sorghum crops also proved to be well adapted to this section. The soil of western Kansas was found to be wonderfully fertile, needing only moisture 149 to make it produce abundantly. A more thorough understanding of soil and climate has brought better methods of tillage, and this, together with a careful selection of crops, is making the yield much larger and more certain.

Irrigation from the Underflow.

Upper, water pumped into the reservoir by windmills.
Lower, water pumped into the reservoir by an engine.

Irrigation in Western Kansas. The possibilities of irrigation for this section of the country have long been given much consideration. For several years water from 151 the Arkansas River was successfully used. Colorado, however, in developing irrigation, used so much of the water from the upper Arkansas that there was not a sufficient amount left for our State. Investigation resulted in the discovery of an underground water supply. This water, which is called the underflow, moves eastward from the Rocky Mountains through strata of gravel and sand. It offers to a large part of western Kansas a practically inexhaustible supply of water for irrigation. Wells are bored into this underflow and the water is pumped for irrigating purposes. Only a small part of western Kansas is under irrigation as yet, but experiments for the purpose of finding the best methods of utilizing the underflow are being carried on by individuals, by experiment stations, and by the State. Irrigation by pumping is bringing about a remarkable agricultural advancement in western Kansas.

Stacking Alfalfa.

Alfalfa. About 1890 several new crops came into prominence in Kansas, the most important of which was alfalfa. Alfalfa is now grown in every county of Kansas and has become one of our foremost crops. Because of its long, penetrating roots it can be grown successfully without irrigation even in most of the drier parts of Kansas. As its many points of excellence become better known its acreage is constantly increasing. Kansas produces more alfalfa than any other state in the Union.

Sweet clover and Soudan grass have increased so much in acreage in very recent years that they are rapidly becoming important crops in this state.

Upper, threshing scene in a Kansas wheat field.
Lower, train of fifty cars of threshing machines on the way to the Kansas wheat fields.

The Sorghum Crops. Another of the new crops was Kafir corn, which has also proved very valuable. This plant is a variety of sorghum. Other varieties had been raised in Kansas for many years, especially the sweet sorghum that could be used for making sugar and molasses. Broom corn is another sorghum crop that has been grown 153 in Kansas for a long while and is raised in large quantities in the southwestern part of the State. In more recent years two more sorghums, milo and feterita, give promise of becoming valuable forage crops.

The Beet Sugar Factory at Garden City.

Sugar Beets. During the early ’80’s considerable sugar had been made from sorghum cane, but in 1889 it was, for the first time, made from beets. For a number of years experiments were made with sugar beets in different parts of western Kansas. To encourage sugar-beet raising a bounty was offered by the State, and a good many tons were raised and shipped to sugar factories in Colorado and Nebraska. In 1906 a large factory was completed at Garden City, and the raising of sugar beets has become an important industry in that part of Kansas. Efforts are now being made to introduce this crop into other parts of the State.

Stockyards at Kansas City.

The Twenty-five Years Following 1893. Progress was checked in 1893 by the financial panic that extended throughout the country. Values dropped, and prices were low on everything the farmers had to sell. In addition to 155 the panic, Kansas suffered a crop failure in most parts of the State. That was a discouraging period, but within a few years Kansas had recovered. From that time until the present there has been a steady rise in all values. Owing largely to the fact that there is no longer any free land to be taken as homesteads, land prices have steadily risen. The price of land products has also greatly increased. In 1893 corn was worth but ten to fifteen cents a bushel and wheat from thirty to forty cents. A comparison of these with present prices serves to show how great has been the change.

A Kansas Wheat Field.

Kansas Wheat. Kansas is now one of the leading agricultural states of the Union. It produces a greater variety of crops than does almost any other state, but the principal ones are now, as they have been from the earliest days, corn and wheat. In recent years alfalfa has come to be a close third. Wheat is our most noted crop. Kansas is unsurpassed in the production of this grain. Wheat is grown in every county in the State, but by far the greatest 156 quantity comes from the “wheat belt,” which extends across the middle of the State, from north to south. Most of the Kansas wheat is of the winter varieties commonly called “Turkey wheats,” first brought here from southern Russia by the Mennonites in 1873.

Kansas Corn.

The Corn Crop. Corn was raised here by the Indians, and from the time of the settlement of the Territory until very recent years it was the leading crop and the greatest source of Kansas wealth. Since 1913, however, wheat has been the most valuable crop of the State and corn has had to take second place. Corn is raised in all parts of the State, but much the largest portion is produced in the eastern half. It is on this crop that the great live-stock industries of Kansas most depend.

The Live-stock Industry. The live-stock industry is one of the important interests of the State. The grain and 157 forage crops, the large areas of good pasture, the plentiful supply of water, and the nearness to market, all combine to make Kansas an excellent live-stock region. The raising and fattening of cattle and hogs constitute the chief features of this industry, although there are a number of others, prominent among which is dairying.

Early Day Stock Farm.

The early farmers had their herds and flocks, but paid little attention to quality or breeds. In time it was found that better grades were more profitable, and the early range cattle and the scrub stock of the pioneers have disappeared.

Present Day Stock Farm.

The Cowboy was a Familiar Figure in Kansas Forty Years Ago.

When the Union Pacific Railroad was built the cattlemen of Texas began driving their cattle into Kansas in order to ship them to market. For many years Abilene was the shipping center. When the Santa Fe Railway was built, Wichita, being farther south, became the chief shipping point. As the country became more thickly settled the cattle trade was pushed farther west. Finally it reached Dodge City which remained the shipping center 159 for many years. The building of railroads into the Southwest made it unnecessary for the Texas cattlemen to drive their stock to a Kansas shipping point, and about 1885 the practice was abandoned. While the trade flourished, the cowboy, with his boots and spurs and broad-brimmed hat, was a familiar figure on the plains of western Kansas; but as the settlers turned the grazing land into farms the cowboy moved farther west.

In Full Bloom.

Horticulture. Another Kansas industry is horticulture, the cultivation of fruits. The first orchard in Kansas was planted at Shawnee Mission in 1837. Very little tree planting was done, however, until after the Civil War, and even then the Kansas plains were for many years regarded as unfit for fruit growing. The early crops were 160 small but of a very fine quality, and Kansas apples won the gold medal at the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876. This aroused much enthusiasm, and during the next few years many thousands of fruit trees were planted, but most of them proved worthless because the varieties were not adapted to conditions in this State. Long years of hard work and patient effort were required to secure the knowledge necessary to make a successful fruit state of Kansas. To-day there are many fruits grown here, but it is the Kansas apple that is famous. Scarcely a farm in the eastern and central parts of the State is without its orchard, and there are a number of commercial orchards that are making horticulture an important industry in Kansas.

Kansas Apples.

Farmers’ Organizations. The farmers of the State have at different times, especially in the earlier years, formed a number of organizations. An early organization was the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, or the “Grange,” a national movement, introduced into Kansas in 1872. Its general purpose was the improvement of farm life. Many granges were organized during the ’70’s. The Farmers’ Cooperative Association, begun in 1873, and the Farmers’ Mutual Benefit Association in 1883, had for their general purposes the cooperation of the farmers in buying and selling and in securing lower freight rates.

One of the Crops in Central and Western Kansas.

About 1888 the Farmers’ Alliance, already a national organization, formed many local organizations in Kansas. The Alliance demanded a number of measures for the betterment of the farmers, including lower freight and passenger rates, and better mortgage, debtor, and tax laws. The Farmers’ Alliance was a widespread movement and, for a time, overshadowed all other farmers’ organizations. In 1890 the People’s party, or the Populist party,[17] as it came to be called, took over the political work of the 163 Farmers’ Alliance, and that organization gradually disappeared. The Farmers’ Educational and Cooperative Union of Kansas is a more recent organization.

State Governors, 1915 —

Arthur Capper, Henry J. Allen

The State Board of Agriculture. In 1872 the Agricultural Society, organized during the Civil War, was changed into the State Board of Agriculture. For a number of years this Board gave especial attention to gathering and distributing information concerning the resources of the State for the purpose of stimulating immigration. Later it began the work of furnishing to the farmers information concerning methods of farming best adapted to Kansas conditions. These activities have been continued, and the Board of Agriculture has been of great practical value to the State.

Upper, Deep Shaft Coal Mining. Lower, Surface Coal Mining.

Work of the Agricultural College. The Agricultural College in its early years laid but little stress on agricultural and industrial work, but in 1873 its plan of work was changed and it soon began to fulfill its real mission. A few years later the usefulness of the College was greatly increased by the establishment of an experiment station where investigations are carried on in such matters as the testing of seeds, the introduction of new crops, the rotation of crops, dairy and animal husbandry, butter and cheese making, orchard and crop pests, stock foods, and diseases of live stock. Branch experiment stations have, in later years, been established at Hays, Garden City, Dodge City, Tribune, and Colby, where problems peculiar to the western part of the State are studied. The Agricultural College is doing a great work in gathering information and bringing it to the people by means of bulletins, lectures, correspondence courses, demonstration trains, demonstration agents, and farmers’ institutes. Kansas was one of the first states to hold a Farmers’ Institute in connection with its Agricultural College. This work was begun in 1869, 165 and the purpose was then, as it is to-day, to promote the knowledge of scientific agriculture.

One of the Early Flouring Mills.

Manufactures Based on Agriculture. The agricultural resources of Kansas have led to the development of a number of manufacturing industries. One of the oldest of these is milling. Among the first needs of the settlers of the new country was a means of grinding their corn and wheat into meal and flour for family use. This caused the building of small gristmills in every community. Most of them were built along streams and were run by water power, though a few of the early ones used wind power. In later years steam has come to be generally used. After the introduction of the hard wheats, the wheat crop came to be much more certain, the acreage increased, and the milling industry grew. Kansas flour is now sold in all the important markets of the world, and Kansas is one of the leading states in the milling industry.

Meat packing has held first place among the manufacturing industries of Kansas for a number of years. Kansas City, the second greatest packing center in the United States, is the chief market for Kansas live stock, but there are several packing houses in different parts of the State. Creameries, canning factories, and pickling works represent other industries that have been developed to make use of our agricultural products.

The Mineral Industries. Although Kansas is not one of the great mining states, it has a number of valuable mineral resources, the chief of which are coal, lead, zinc, oil, gas, salt, building stone, and gypsum. These resources form the basis of an important part of the industrial life of the State. The coal and gas have made possible a number of manufacturing industries.

Coal. As early as the Territorial period it was known that there were coal fields in Kansas, and small amounts of coal were mined in Crawford and Cherokee counties. Immediately after the Civil War the settlers in the southeastern part of the State gave much attention to the digging of coal, some of which lay so near the surface that it could be uncovered with a plow. Within the next few years coal was found in Osage and Leavenworth counties and in the vicinity of Fort Scott. These places produced large amounts, but Crawford and Cherokee counties soon came to be the leading coal districts of the State. At the present time about nine-tenths of the Kansas output is mined in these two counties. The importance of the coal fields of Kansas lies not only in the value of the coal, but in the stimulation of the growth of manufactures. Many industries can be carried on only by means of large amounts of fuel to supply power. The development of a number of such industries in Kansas has been made possible chiefly by the cheap and abundant supply of coal.

Lead and Zinc. Before Kansas was organized as a Territory lead mining was an important industry in southwest Missouri, but not until 1876 was it discovered that the lead and zinc field extends into the southeast corner of Kansas. Prospecting began at once and thousands of people were soon on the ground. Although zinc was found in abundance with the lead, but little attention was paid to it. Within a few years, however, it was found that the abundance of coal made the smelting of zinc profitable, and zinc soon assumed the leading place. For a number of years much more zinc than lead has been produced. A large amount of ore from the Missouri mines is shipped to the Kansas smelters, and the smelting of lead and zinc, but particularly of zinc, has come to be one of the most important of our mineral industries. The development of the gas field furnished a cheaper and more abundant fuel than coal, and much of the smelting was soon being done where gas could be used. In later years gas is less abundant and there is a tendency to return to the use of coal.

Oil and Gas. Although prospecting had been done in earlier years, the real development of oil and gas in Kansas began about 1892, with the discovery of the big Kansas-Oklahoma field. The oil and gas area is included within an irregular strip, forty to fifty miles wide, extending from Kansas City southwesterly into Oklahoma. It is frequently spoken of as the “oil and gas belt.”

By 1900 nearly every town in the gas belt had more gas than it knew what to do with, and various manufacturing enterprises, such as brick plants, zinc smelters, glass factories, and Portland cement mills, were soon attracted to these towns. A little later gas was being supplied to cities outside of the gas belt. Pipe lines were laid to Wellington, Wichita, Hutchinson, Topeka, Lawrence, Kansas 168 City, Leavenworth, Atchison, and many of the towns between. After ten years of this greatly increased use of gas the supply became less abundant, and now it is feared that the supply from this field may fail at no distant date.

Oil Well, or “Gusher.”

In the earlier years the oil was all carried in tank cars, but a system of pipe lines for carrying it was soon laid. Many refineries were soon established. The crude oil is used chiefly for fuel and for machine oil. In the refineries it is made into benzine, gasoline, and kerosene. Vaseline and paraffin are among the by-products.

In 1914 oil and gas were discovered in Butler County. Within two years this field was yielding such large quantities of oil that the total production of the State was more than doubled. During the next year, 1917, more than three times as much oil was produced as in 1916, and Kansas had become 169 the greatest oil-producing state in the Union. The output of the Butler County field is still increasing, and its remarkable yield will probably continue for several years.

Salt Plant at Hutchinson.

Salt. Salt is found in Kansas as a brine in the salt marshes, and as beds of rock salt lying beneath the surface. The marshes were known to the early hunters and settlers, and through the early years of statehood a little salt was manufactured from this brine. In the late ’80’s the rock salt beds were discovered and the salt-making industry was rapidly developed. The center of the salt industry is now, as it has been from the beginning, at Hutchinson. Salt is found in a large part of Kansas, but the most valuable area extends across the middle of the State from north to south. This great bed of salt is in most places from two hundred and fifty to four hundred feet thick. Some salt is made by crushing the rock salt, but the greater portion is made by the evaporation of brines. The brines are obtained by forcing a stream of water through rock salt.

Brick. Brickmaking in Kansas dates from the early years. Brick clays are found in many parts of the State, but the industry is carried on chiefly in the eastern part of the State, especially in the gas belt, because of the fuel supply.

Gypsum. Gypsum beds are found in the central part of Kansas, especially around Blue Rapids and in Saline, Dickinson, and Barber counties. Plaster of Paris, used chiefly for making plaster for covering wall surfaces, is made from gypsum.

Stone Quarry.

Portland Cement. Portland cement is a comparatively new product in the United States. The development of this industry in Kansas commenced about 1900. Portland cement is made from certain mixtures of rock substances, 171 put through processes of grinding and heating. Its chief use is in making concrete, which is widely used for construction work. There are a number of Portland cement mills in the gas belt.

Glass. Gas is the most satisfactory fuel for glassmaking, and since the gas field in Kansas was opened a number of glass factories have been established in the State. Sand of a good quality for making glass has also been found in southeastern Kansas.

Agriculture the Basis of Material Progress. At present there are numbers of factories in Kansas, engaged in many different lines of work. Our industries are constantly growing in number and importance, and it takes all of them to make a well-rounded state, but it is the agricultural industries that form the basis of our prosperity. On these we must depend, and the history of agriculture in Kansas is, largely, the history of our material progress.

SUMMARY

The principal agricultural industries of the State are farming, stock raising and horticulture. The principal mineral industries are concerned with coal, lead, zinc, oil, gas, salt, building stone, and gypsum. The leading manufacturing industries are concerned largely with agricultural and mineral products, and are carried on most extensively in the coal and gas regions.

Drouths, which occur in all agricultural regions, have been most severe in Kansas in the following years: 1860, 1869, 1874, 1887, 1893, 1913. These years have marked into periods what has otherwise been a steady progress in agriculture.

The Agricultural Society, organized during the Civil War, was, in 1872, changed into the State Board of Agriculture. The Agricultural College, established during the Civil War, began active work along agricultural lines in 1873. There have been a number of organizations of farmers, most of them between 1870 and 1890.

Advancement in agriculture has been made in area under cultivation, selection of crops, improvements in machinery, better methods of tillage, and irrigation. The leading crops are now corn, wheat, and alfalfa.

REFERENCES

• Bulletins and Reports of the State Board of Agriculture.
• Bulletins and Reports of the Agricultural College.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, pp. 252-265.
• Blackmar, Kansas, Selected Topics.
• Old Newspaper Files.
• Historical Collections, vol. IX, pp. 33, 94, 480; vol. XI, pp. 81-211; vol. XII, p. 60.
• Walters, History of the Agricultural College.
• Tuttle, History of Kansas.
• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 232-234, 292-295.
• Publications of the University Geological Survey of Kansas.

QUESTIONS

1. What is the leading industry of Kansas?

2. Discuss the Indians as farmers.

3. What agricultural progress was made during the Territorial period? During the Civil War?

4. When and why was the Agricultural Society formed? What has taken its place? Tell something of the work of the new organization.

5. Describe the early farm implements and methods of farming. What have you learned of these things from old settlers?

6. What were the agricultural conditions in Kansas in 1880? Between 1880 and 1887?

7. What connection does the date 1887 have with the agricultural history of the State? What conditions followed this date?

8. What are the soil and climate conditions of western Kansas? Give an account of irrigation in that section.

9. Name new crops that came into prominence about 1890, and tell something of each.

10. What conditions prevailed in Kansas in the early ’90’s? During the period that followed?

11. Discuss Kansas wheat; Kansas corn.

12. Discuss the live-stock industry in Kansas.

13. Give an account of the cattle trade of earlier days.

14. What progress has horticulture made in Kansas?

15. What farmers’ organizations have been formed? For what purpose?

16. Discuss the relation of the Agricultural College to the farmers.

17. Discuss the milling industry of our State. The meat-packing industry.

18. Name the mineral resources of Kansas. Discuss each.

19. What manufacturing industries have grown from the mineral resources?

20. What industries are carried on in your community? Are any others being considered?

CHAPTER XVI

TRANSPORTATION IN KANSAS

The Beginning of Railroads in the United States. About the time Kansas was becoming the highway for the Santa Fe trade, experiments were being made in England with a new invention, the steam locomotive. By 1825 a fair degree of success had been attained. During the next half dozen years experiments were carried on in the United States, and by 1831 several short railroad lines were in use. By 1850 one could travel by rail between the chief cities of the East and as far west as St. Louis, but a decade more passed before any railroads were built in Kansas.

Kansas Settlers Desire Railroads. The agitation for railroads in this part of the country began even before the organization of the Kansas Territory. The settlers knew the difficulty of building up the State without the aid of the railway. They had crept across the prairies in their canvas-covered wagons, or had toiled up the shallow, sluggish waterways, and they foresaw that they would be unable to market their crops or their stock because of the lack of adequate means of transportation. Their great desire for railroads is made evident by the large number of railway charters granted to different companies by the Territorial Legislatures. On account of the immense cost of railroad construction, however, work was slow to begin.

Early Stage Lines. While the West was waiting for its railroads a number of stage routes for carrying mail and passengers were established. The first one was over the Santa Fe Trail. Stages made the trip from Kansas City 175 to Santa Fe in about fifteen days. For many years stage lines were operated between the different towns of the Territory. Later, lines were established to Denver, to Salt Lake, and even to San Francisco.

Stage Coach.

The Pony Express, 1859-’61. The trip to San Francisco, a distance of about 2000 miles, occupied nearly a month, and the people of California were very anxious that a quicker way of getting their mails be devised. To meet this demand the Pony Express was established in 1859. The line extended from St. Joseph to San Francisco, a long, lonely way across plains and deserts and over mountains, sometimes in a straight line but often winding through dark cañons or along the edge of mountain precipices. The Pony Express required one hundred and ninety stations, nearly five hundred horses, and eighty riders. The stations averaged about ten miles apart. The horses were selected for their speed and endurance, and the distance 176 from one station to another was covered in the shortest possible time. At each station a fresh horse was waiting, and the only delay was in changing the mail pouch from one horse to another. The pouch contained only letters, and they were written on the thinnest of paper to avoid surplus weight. Five dollars was charged for the carrying of each letter. The first trip was made in ten days, the shortest one in seven days and seventeen hours. Many stories of adventure are related of the two years in which the Pony Express was in operation. In 1861 a telegraph line was constructed across the continent, which made it possible to flash news from ocean to ocean in a few seconds, and the Pony Express went out of existence.

The First Railroad in Kansas, 1860. By this time railroad building had begun in Kansas. The first road was laid in the spring of 1860, while Kansas was still a Territory, between Elwood, opposite St. Joseph, Missouri, and Marysville. When the first five miles of rail had been laid, a little old locomotive that had done service on many eastern roads was brought into the State and a celebration was held in honor of the first trip. Though the engine was old and drew only a few flat cars over the rough and crooked track, it was an important event, for it marked the beginning of railroad building in Kansas.

The Union Pacific Railroad, 1862-’69. There had long been talk of a railroad to the Pacific coast, and in 1862, while the Civil War was still in progress, Congress granted a charter for such a line. This was the beginning of the Union Pacific Railroad. It was to be built as soon as possible by working from both ends. From the east the road was to pass through Nebraska and on toward Salt Lake, and from the west it was to be built from San Francisco eastward until the two lines met. This road did not pass through Kansas, but while it was being constructed 177 a line that later became a part of the Union Pacific[18] system was built from Kansas City westward, along the Kansas River, through Manhattan, Junction City, and Salina, and on west through Denver to join the main line at Cheyenne.[19]

The Indian, the Soldier, and the Builder.

During the seven years spent in building this railroad many difficulties were met and conquered. Most of the country along the line was without timber, fuel, or any of the necessary supplies. The materials for construction were brought up the Missouri River by steamboat to Kansas City. From this point they were hauled by train over the new railroad as far as it was completed. The Indians opposed the work because it meant the westward movement of civilization and the settling of their hunting grounds. They were a constant source of danger to the 178 whole frontier, but especially to the railroad builders. The men usually went to their work armed, and stacked their guns ready for instant use. Sometimes it was even necessary to guard the men with troops while they worked. History gives many accounts of Indian massacres committed along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad. The entire line was finished in 1869.

Early Days on the Union Pacific.

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, Completed in 1872. In the meantime other lines had been chartered through Kansas, the principal one being the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. This railroad was begun at Topeka in 1868 and completed to the western boundary of the State in a little more than four years. The line between Topeka and Atchison was also completed within this period. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe has since been extended westward to the coast and eastward to Chicago, and many branches have been added. This railroad follows the 179 general direction of the Santa Fe Trail across the eastern half of the State. Near Great Bend the track runs on the exact course of the old highway, and from this point on through the rest of the State they are never far apart and often coincide. When, in 1872, the “Santa Fe,” as it is generally called, was completed through Kansas, the last caravan of wagons had wound its way over the old Trail. The trains of cars rushing over the new iron trail marked another advance in the westward march of civilization.

The “Iron Trail” Across the Prairies.

Railroad Companies Receive Land Grants. The immense cost of railroad construction, the sparsely settled country, and the limited amount of traffic, made the early building of railroads a risky undertaking. But railroads were needed in order to unite the West to the East as well 180 as for the development of the new country, and in order to encourage their building Congress adopted the policy of making liberal land grants to railroad companies. The Union Pacific through Kansas was given land amounting to a strip ten miles wide on each side of its line. Several other companies, including the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, received grants amounting to five miles on each side. This policy brought about the rapid building of railroads, but when the State became fairly well supplied the land grants were discontinued. Much of the land was later forfeited by the companies through failure to meet the conditions of their grants.

Railroad Companies Interested in Settlement. When the early railroads were first built across Kansas there were but few people living in the western part of the State. Since population was necessary to the prosperity of the railroad companies, these companies gave much attention to the matter of increasing the settlements along their lines. They sent land agents throughout the United States and Europe, they invited people of prominence to join excursions through Kansas, and they filled the newspapers with descriptions of the great West. Kansas was widely and favorably advertised. Interest was everywhere aroused and many people were attracted to the State.

Mennonite Settlements. The railroad companies succeeded in planting a number of colonies of foreigners on their lands. Among them were the settlements of Mennonites in Reno, Harvey, Marion, and McPherson counties. These people came from Russia for religious freedom. “They came simultaneously with the grasshoppers but outstayed them.” The first party, in 1874, numbered 1900 people, and many more followed rapidly until there are now many thousands of these people in Kansas. They brought a considerable amount of money with them and 181 were able to purchase their land. The Mennonites were farmers, a thrifty, industrious people who have contributed much toward making Kansas a great agricultural State.

Swedish Settlements. Swedes had been coming to Kansas since Territorial days. In 1871 the Union Pacific sold a large tract of land in Saline County for a Swedish settlement. This settlement has increased and others have been formed until there are now many people of this nationality in Kansas. Lindsborg, almost entirely Swedish, is their religious and social center. It is noted for its school of music. Most of these people came in poverty, but they have converted the bare prairies into fine agricultural districts and have become prosperous citizens. They are an industrious, intelligent, progressive, and law-abiding people.

Other colonies have settled in various parts of the State; among these, German-Russians in Russell, Rush, and Ellis counties, Scotch in Republic County, English in Clay County, and Bohemians in Ellsworth County. There are, at present, people of many nationalities in Kansas.

Relation of Railroads to State’s Industries. Not only did the early building of railroads do much to bring about the rapid settlement of Kansas, but it hastened the development of practically all of the State’s industries. For instance, the railroads have made it possible for the farmer to market his live stock and his crops. Out of these better market facilities have grown the great meat-packing centers and the flouring mills. On the other hand, the growth of settlements and industries has brought prosperity to the railroads and they have increased in wealth, equipment, and mileage. Thus the relation between the railroads and the State’s progress is very close.

There are at present nearly 10,000 miles of railroad in Kansas, most of it belonging to the four great companies, 182 the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Missouri Pacific, the Union Pacific, and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific.

A Modern Locomotive and One of 1880.

Railroad Regulation. There has been but little railroad building in Kansas for a number of years for the State is now fairly well supplied. Almost every county now has one or more railroads. In the earlier years the important thing was to get the railroads. Having secured them, the matter of chief concern has been to regulate them. During the late ’70’s much dissatisfaction arose because railroad rates were high, and several attempts were made to place the matter of rate regulation under the control of the State. In 1883 a law was passed creating a Railroad Commission of three members. This Commission was given a great deal of power, especially in regard to revising and establishing rates, and in adjusting disputes between the railroads and their patrons. Within a few years, through the efforts of the Commission together with the increase in business resulting from a growing population, rates were reduced almost half. Since its work proved to be of great service to the people the Commission was continued. In 1911 the Railroad Commission became the Public Utilities Commission, which was given control over all such corporations as railroads, electric lines, and telegraph and telephone systems, in matters that are of interest only to this particular State. In matters that concern more than one state the Interstate Commerce Commission may act.

When the United States entered the World War it became evident that one of the big problems to be met was that of transportation, within our own country, of men and supplies. The solution decided upon was that of government control of the railroads, which was secured by placing a director-general in charge of all the railroads of the United States. It was provided that this control might be continued for a period of twenty-one months after the close of the war.

Interurban Lines. Within recent years our means of transportation have been increased by the building of electric railway lines. They usually extend from one city to another, and are therefore called interurban lines. Most of those already built are in the southeastern part of the State. Plans were under way for a number of additional lines, but the coming of the War checked practically all of this work. The return of normal conditions will doubtless see a large increase in interurban mileage.

Road Improvement. The building of railroads did not make wagon roads less important, but more so, for there must be plenty of good roads if the people are to make full use of the railroads. The development of roads in this State has been going forward since the earliest days. Time, money, and effort are required to build roads in a new country, and during the years that Kansas has been engaged in this great task many different plans have been tried out and many road laws have been passed from time to time, but it was not until after Congress passed an act providing federal aid in road making that a unified plan for the whole State became a fact. This act was passed in 1916, and Kansas accepted its provisions in 1917. Since that time remarkable progress has been made. A system of State highways forming a network over the entire State has been selected, thousands of miles of which are “federal-aid 184 roads”; a complete system of connecting county roads has been designated; information has been compiled and distributed concerning the making of different kinds of roads, as earth, oiled earth, gravel, water-bound macadam, bituminous macadam, asphaltic concrete, concrete, and brick; bridge and culvert building have been standardized; and many miles of hard-surfaced roads have already been built or are in process of construction. Road building in Kansas is now progressing at a rate far beyond that of any time in the past.

Motor Truck Service. Much of the attention now being given to road improvement has been brought about by the rapidly increasing use of the automobile. During the earlier years of the automobile it was used chiefly for the transportation of passengers, but the development of the motor truck is making it an important factor in freight transportation. Many lines of motor truck service already have been established in the State, but on account of the uncertain condition of most of the roads the service is necessarily irregular. With the building of hard-surfaced roads the motor truck will no doubt soon become a fully established part of our transportation system.

SUMMARY

Railroad construction was begun in the United States about 1830. By 1850 railroads reached as far west as St. Louis. Many stage lines were established in early Kansas. The first railroad was built in Kansas in 1860; the line extended from Elwood to Marysville. The Union Pacific was built through Kansas between 1862 and 1869. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway was completed in 1872. In the meantime a number of other roads were built. The railroads received large grants of land, which they sold to settlers, thereby raising money and increasing business. They advertised Kansas widely. The people 185 soon found it necessary to regulate the railroads, and created for this purpose the Railroad Commission, now the Public Utilities Commission. Besides the various railroad systems of the State, there are many interurban lines and a rapidly growing motor truck service. Great progress in road improvement is being made.

REFERENCES

• Arnold, Civics and Citizenship, pp. 97-108.
• Maps and Folders, published by the railroad companies.
• Blackmar, Kansas, vol. II, pp. 533-548.
• Elson, History of the United States, pp. 475, 618, 818.
• Prentis, History of Kansas, pp. 168-170, 184-186, 191-194.
• Historical Collections, vol. VIII, p. 384; vol. XI, p. 529; vol. XII, pp. 37, 47, 383; vol. IX, p. 467; vol. VI, p. 357.
• Reports of Interstate Commerce Commission and Public Utilities Commission.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, pp. 241-252.
• Inman, The Old Santa Fe Trail.
• Root and Connelley, The Overland Stage Route to California.
• Spring, Kansas, pp. 306-313.

QUESTIONS

1. Give an account of the beginning of railway transportation in the United States. What were the conditions by 1850?

2. What were the early methods of travel in Kansas?

3. Why were the early settlers anxious for railroads? What did they do to secure railroads?

4. Discuss the stage lines; the Pony Express.

5. When and where was the first railroad built in Kansas?

6. Tell something of the building of the main line of the Union Pacific.

7. Give an account of the building of the Union Pacific through Kansas. What were some of the difficulties that had to be overcome?

8. When was the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe built? Give its route.

9. Name other railroads in Kansas.

10. Why were land grants made to the railroad companies? How did the railroad companies use this land?

11. Why did the railroad companies advertise Kansas? What was the effect on the State?

12. Locate settlements of foreigners in Kansas.

13. Show why there is a close relation between the people and the railroads.

14. Why has regulation of the railroads been found necessary? How has it been accomplished?

15. What is, approximately, the railroad mileage of the State?

16. What lines of railroad in your community?

17. Are there any interurban lines near you? Are any such lines being discussed?

18. What motor truck service is being carried on in your community?

19. Locate the state highways and the county roads of your county.

20. Describe recent improvement of roads in your community.

CHAPTER XVII

EDUCATION IN KANSAS

The First Schools in Kansas. The first schools in Kansas were the mission schools for the Indians. When Kansas was organized as a Territory and the white settlers began to make their homes here, the education of their children became one of their first interests. In the summer of 1855 the first Territorial Legislature passed a law providing for the establishment of common schools, and thus laid the foundation for our public school system.

Early Territorial Schools. In January of 1855, when the town of Lawrence was only six months old, a school was opened in the back of Dr. Charles Robinson’s office. A term of school was held in Lawrence every winter thereafter. Other towns also maintained schools, as did a few of the country communities, but the settlers’ claims were so widely scattered and the dangers during the days of raids and warfare were so great that country schools were almost an impossibility during the first few years.

Subscription Schools. Many of the earlier schools were “subscription schools,” which means that they were not public schools supported by a tax levy, but that the teacher’s pay came from a tuition charged each pupil who attended.

Beginning of Our School System. By 1859, when Territorial conditions had become more settled, the Legislature turned its attention to the matter of education and passed a set of school laws that has served ever since as the basis of our system of education. While Kansas was still a Territory, a few districts were organized and schoolhouses built, and the minimum school term was made three months.

Sod Schoolhouse.

Schools After the Civil War. Little educational progress was made during the Civil War, but when peace had come to Kansas and the people could turn their minds to the needs of their homes and communities, schoolhouses built of logs or sod sprang up everywhere, for the pioneers had brought with them a desire to educate their children. Sometimes the settlers did not even wait to organize their district, but gathered together and began work on their schoolhouse. Where there was a timber supply they made their buildings of logs. On the prairie they built of sod. With the breaking plow they sliced out long pieces of sod from two to four inches thick and twelve to fourteen inches wide, and these, mortared with soft mud, were used like brick to build the walls. The roof was sometimes of lumber, but often the sod was laid over a framework of brush and poles. Whether the building was of logs or of sod, the floor was usually of dirt sprinkled and packed until it was hard and smooth. As the country grew in population 189 and resources these buildings were replaced by others made of lumber, brick, or stone, but the little log and sod schoolhouses served the pioneers well. They were used not only for school purposes, but for religious services and for social gatherings, spelling schools, singing schools, and literary societies. The schoolhouses were the social centers in early Kansas.

Interior of Sod Schoolhouse.

The Work of the Pioneer Schools. Although the minimum term was three months, it was usually made a little longer for the benefit of the smaller children. As a rule the older boys and girls went to school only during the winter months when they could be spared from the farms. The work in the schools in those days consisted chiefly of the three R’s, “readin’, ’ritin’ and ’rithmetic.” In most 190 cases, the pupils started each year at the beginning of their books and worked as far as they could. This was continued winter after winter until the girls and boys were eighteen to twenty-one years of age, or even older. There was no such thing as graduating from the country schools; the pupils attended until they were ready to quit. Since there were almost no high schools in the State, few of the children received more than a common school education, and most of the teachers had no more than that.

A Present Day Rural School.

Changes in the District Schools. Conditions are quite different in the country schools to-day. Many of them have terms of eight months, a few have nine months, while seven months is the shortest term permitted by the State. The truancy law requires attendance during the full term, whatever its length. The sod and log schoolhouses of pioneer days were, in time, replaced by neat little box-like buildings usually constructed of wood, though occasionally of brick or stone, and these in turn are now rapidly disappearing 191 and their places are being taken by buildings that are larger, more beautiful, more comfortable, and far better adapted to educational needs. The qualifications of teachers have been raised. In earlier days, when there were but few high schools, many teachers had no education beyond what they had obtained in the country schools, but to-day ninety per cent of the rural teachers of the State are high-school graduates, and this per cent is steadily increasing. The work of the rural schools has expanded far beyond the “three R’s.” In addition to the regular work it now includes as much as time will permit of such subjects as music, manual training, agriculture, and household arts. The rural schools have been receiving a great deal of attention in recent years and are very rapidly being improved. Several hundred of them have already met the requirements laid down by the State for a “standard” school, and a few for a “superior” school, and these lists are constantly growing.

A Consolidated School.

A High-school Class in Domestic Science.

A High-school Class in Manual Training.

Consolidated Schools. Consolidation is generally looked upon as a method of bettering conditions in the rural schools. A consolidated district is one formed by the 193 union of several districts. The little district schoolhouses are replaced by a larger building, usually centrally located, to which the children are conveyed in wagons provided for that purpose. With its larger valuation the consolidated district can have plenty of teachers and equipment and can offer a greater variety of subjects. There are a number of consolidated schools in the State now, and the plan is being considered in many communities. The good roads movement will no doubt do much to encourage consolidation.

A County High School.

Growth of the High School. A number of years passed before there were many high schools in Kansas. Four schools constituted the list of accredited high schools of the State as published in 1876. By 1886 the number had grown to thirty-six, and by 1896 it had reached seventy-seven. From that time on the number increased very rapidly until in 1918 there were six hundred thirty accredited high schools in the State, one hundred twenty-one of which were rural high schools. Until about 1905 the standard for an accredited high school was a course of only three years. Since that time it has been four years. In the early years the real purpose of the high school was considered to be that of preparing the pupils for college, and the courses of study included only such subjects as were suited to that purpose. The present idea is that this is only one of the purposes of the high school, the other being that of supplying to the great mass of pupils, who will never go to college, the best possible preparation for living. To accomplish this latter purpose courses of study have been broadened to include such work as music, manual training, agriculture, commercial work, household arts, teacher training, and industrial training. Until very recent years high schools were established only in towns and cities, but now they are to be found in consolidated 197 districts, and in rural districts, sometimes in small towns in those districts and sometimes in communities that are entirely rural. There is not now a county in the State that is without a four-year accredited high school.

Fort Hays Kansas Normal School.

Two-teacher Rural School.

Kansas State Normal School, Emporia.

Institutions of Higher Learning. The deep interest of the Kansas settlers in matters of education is nowhere more apparent than in their early establishment of institutions of higher learning. In the first Constitution, made in 1855, one reads, “The General Assembly may take measures for the establishment of a university”; and again, “Provisions may be made by law for the support of normal schools.” These matters were not lost sight of, and almost immediately after the admission of Kansas as a state this ambition found expression in the establishment of the Normal School, the Agricultural College, and the University.

Rural High School.

The Normal Schools. The State Normal School at Emporia opened in 1865 with eighteen students enrolled. It used the upper floor of the new schoolhouse that had 199 just been built for Emporia which was then but a small town. There was no furniture, and the equipment consisted of a Bible and a dictionary. Seats were borrowed from a neighboring church. But the Normal soon had a building of its own. In later years this has been three times replaced by a larger and better one and many new buildings have been added.

Manual Training Normal School, Pittsburg.

The Normal School is based on the principle that it is not only necessary to know what to teach but how to teach; that there are new discoveries and advances in methods of teaching as there are in other lines, such as medicine or farming. The purpose of the Normal School is to train teachers.

Schoolhouse Used as a Social Center.

When our State Normal School was established there were not more than a dozen other such schools in the United States and none that prepared teachers for high-school positions. To-day there are many normal schools, but none larger than ours or more amply equipped to prepare 201 teachers for all lines of teaching. The course of study, reaching from the kindergarten to the completion of a college course, places our State Normal School in the front rank of institutions of its kind.

In 1901 the Western Branch State Normal School was established at Hays, and in 1903 another branch, the Manual Training Normal School, was opened at Pittsburg. Each of these has since been made an independent school. The one at Hays is now known as the Fort Hays Kansas Normal School.

Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan.

The Agricultural College. In 1862 Congress passed an act providing for land grants to states for the purpose of establishing colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts. Kansas was among the first states to accept the endowment, and the next year Bluemont Central College, a Methodist school at Manhattan, was given to the State and made the State Agricultural College. During the first ten years the growth of the Agricultural College was very slow. This was chiefly due to the fact that industrial education was something new and did not receive much attention. The College gave only a little work in agriculture or manual training, and what was given was merely supplementary. It was doing little to educate toward the farm or the workshop. In 1873 the school was reorganized. Farmers began to be interested in it and to discuss its possibilities. Such subjects as Latin and Greek were dropped and agriculture, home economics, and mechanic arts were emphasized. Workshops, print shops, kitchen and sewing rooms, agricultural implements, and live stock, were provided. This was a very advanced step at that time and it aroused some opposition. It was called the “new-fangled” education, and farmers who read and studied methods of farming were often sneered at as “book farmers.” But in time people began to view these things 203 in a different light. It has now come to be generally recognized that successful farming requires a broader and more varied knowledge than almost any other business, and that in an agricultural state like ours nothing is more important than the training of its citizens for home and farm life. The Agricultural College now occupies the position of leadership in the agricultural and industrial interests of the State, and is one of the largest agricultural colleges in the United States.

The University of Kansas, Lawrence.

The University. The University of Kansas was established by an act of the Legislature of 1864, and its object, as given by this act, is to “provide the inhabitants of the State with means of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the various branches of literature, science, and the arts.” The university idea is hundreds of years old, and so there was nothing new in the thought of a university in Kansas. The University of Kansas was built on the flat-topped hill in Lawrence where the first party of free-state settlers pitched their tents. It was opened in 1866 with forty students and three professors. To-day there are twenty great buildings on Mount Oread. The central department of the University is the college, which provides a liberal education in languages, sciences, mathematics, history, and kindred subjects. Besides the college there are schools of engineering, of fine arts, of law, of pharmacy, of medicine, and of education. Ours now ranks high among the universities of the United States.

Control of State Schools. Altogether, the University, the Agricultural College, and the Normal Schools employ about seven hundred instructors and enroll between eight and nine thousand students each year. The total annual cost to the people of Kansas is nearly two million dollars. These schools, together with the School for the Blind at Kansas City, and the School for the Deaf at Olathe, 204 were, in 1913, placed under the management of a board of three members called the Board of Administration. In 1917 the Board of Administration was reorganized and the penal and the charitable institutions of the State were placed under its control.

Denominational Colleges. In addition to the State institutions Kansas has more than thirty denominational colleges. A few of the largest of these are Baker University at Baldwin, Washburn College at Topeka, Ottawa University at Ottawa, Friends University at Wichita, the Southwestern University at Winfield, and the College of Emporia. There are also a number of business colleges and a few independent schools.

Other Provisions for Education. Besides all the schools where the people of Kansas may obtain an education, every effort is being made to provide other educational opportunities by means of extension work, public and traveling libraries, and night schools. The State Normal School, the Agricultural College, and the University all do extension work, which means that they offer correspondence courses, send out lecturers, and in various other ways carry their work to those who can not attend the schools. Many communities maintain free public libraries and the State maintains a traveling library.[20] Night schools are now provided in several of our larger cities. An education is now possible to any one who really wants it.

All of this has been brought about within little more than a half century, and though there is much yet to be done the people of Kansas have every reason to be proud of what they have accomplished in the interests of education.

SUMMARY

Education in Kansas began with the mission schools and was one of the first interests in Territorial days. There were many subscription schools before district schools were organized. The organization of districts began in the Territorial period and kept pace with settlement. The University, the Normal School and the Agricultural College were established during the Civil War. Since that time many denominational colleges have been established, the high school has been developed, and many other means of education have been provided. Great educational progress has been made.

REFERENCES

• Prentis, History of Kansas, chap. XXXV.
• Historical Collections, vol. VI, pp. 70, 114; vol. VII, pp. 167, 502; vol. XI, p. 424; vol. XII, pp. 69, 77, 195.
• Catalogues of the State Schools.
• Reports of State Department of Education.
• Statutes of Kansas.
• Blackmar, Kansas, Selected Topics.
• Andreas, History of Kansas, General and County Histories.
• Spring, Kansas, pp. 319-325.

QUESTIONS

1. What were the mission schools?

2. When did the settlers become interested in education?

3. What was done in education during the Territorial period?

4. What were subscription schools?

5. Describe the early schoolhouses. Compare them with the buildings of to-day.

6. How did work in the early schools differ from work in the schools of to-day?

7. Give the history of the growth of the high school.

8. Give an account of the establishment of the State Normal School; its growth; its purpose. What other normal schools do we now have?

9. When and where was the Agricultural College established? Give an account of its growth; its work to-day.

10. What is the purpose of a university? When and where was the University of Kansas established?

11. What is the present enrollment and cost of the State schools?

12. What is a denominational college? Name some of the most important of the denominational colleges in Kansas.

13. What other opportunities for education have been provided?

CHAPTER XVIII

KANSAS MEMORIALS

Significance of Kansas History. Kansas is a comparatively new State. Nearly all of its history has been made within little more than a century, and most of it within the sixty years of its period of settlement. Few states, however, have had a more eventful history. From its beginning Kansas has been a place of action. The pages of its history are filled with wars and battles, with stirring adventure, and with deeds of courage and daring. Nearly every part of the State has its places of historic interest, and the names of men and women who should be honored for good and brave deeds would make a long list.

The people of Kansas are proud of the history of their State and desire to preserve it. To that end they have taken steps to save a number of the old landmarks, they have built many monuments, and have gathered and kept many records of the past.

“Of all the states, but three will live in story;

Old Massachusetts with her Plymouth Rock,

And Old Virginia with her noble stock,

And Sunny Kansas with her woes and glory.”

—Eugene F. Ware.

Pawnee Rock. One of the early landmarks was Pawnee Rock on the old Santa Fe Trail, in what is now Barton County. This giant rock standing on the level plain was a noted spot, for the Trail ran near its base, and while it provided a place of rest and safety for many a weary traveler, it also afforded a retreat from which the Indians could dash down upon the traders. In later years much of the rock was torn away for building purposes and this historic old landmark was rapidly disappearing. The Woman’s Kansas Day Club resolved to save this historic spot, and secured a deed for the Rock and five acres of ground surrounding it. On Kansas Day, 1909, the women presented this deed to the State. The transfer was made with the condition that the State spend $3000 for improvements. 209 This was done and the preservation of Pawnee Rock is now assured.

Present View of Pawnee Rock.

The Pike Memorial. The exact site of the Pawnee Indian village visited by Lieutenant Pike in 1806 was not known with certainty for many years, but was finally found to be in Republic County. It was located through the discovery of rows of circular ridges supposed to have been the embankments of the Indian lodges.[21] An iron fence now incloses about six acres of the ground, on which the rings are still plainly visible, and a granite shaft stands where the Stars and Stripes first floated over Kansas. The monument bears the inscription: “Erected by the State of Kansas, 1901, to mark the site of the Pawnee Republic where Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike caused the Spanish flag to be lowered and the flag of the United States to be raised, September 29, 1806.”

Where the Stars and Stripes
First Floated over Kansas.

Marking of the Santa Fe Trail. The Santa Fe Trail, which was associated with most of the early history of Kansas, was known throughout the country, but with the settlement of the State the old highway was growing dim; the ruts were filling in, grass was covering the broad track, and with the passing of those who knew it in the old days the true route was in danger of being forgotten. To prevent this, the Daughters of the American Revolution began, in the opening years of the present century, to agitate the question of marking the line of the Trail through the State. In 1905 the Legislature appropriated $1000 “for procuring suitable monuments for this purpose.” Kansas Day of 1906 was designated “Trail Day” in the public schools, and the children were invited to contribute a penny each toward the fund. They gave $584.40. Eighty-nine markers were purchased. Various local organizations added nine more, making a total of ninety-eight markers. They were placed along the Trail from the eastern to the western end of the State. They bear the inscription, “Santa Fe Trail 1822-1872. Marked by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the State of Kansas, 1906.” A few of the markers bear special inscriptions in addition to this. The one at Council Grove has on the other side, “On this spot, August 10, 1825, the 211 treaty was made with the Osage Indians for the right of way of the Santa Fe Trail.”

Santa Fe Trail Marker, with
Local Inscription.

Santa Fe Trail Marker.

Pawnee Capitol. The old stone building erected at Pawnee for the capitol of Kansas still stands on the Fort Riley Reservation. In 1907 a subscription fund was raised and the money used to repair and restore the old building so that it will stand for many years as a relic of our early history.

Old Pawnee Capitol on the Fort Riley Military Reservation.

John Brown’s Battle Field. The site of John Brown’s battle field at Osawatomie was purchased by the Woman’s Relief Corps of Kansas and presented to the State in 1909.

Statues in the Hall of Fame. Each State is permitted to place two statues in the Hall of Fame in the National Capitol at Washington. In 1905 one of the Kansas places was filled with a statue of John J. Ingalls, who was a Senator from this State from 1873 to 1891. In 1913 the other place was filled with a statue of George W. Glick, who was Governor of Kansas from 1883 to 1885.

The John Brown Monument.

Other Monuments. A number of monuments have been erected in various parts of the State in commemoration 212 of noted persons or events. The John Brown monument at Osawatomie was dedicated on August 30, 1877. It bears two inscriptions: “In commemoration of those who, on the 30th of August, 1856, gave up their lives at the battle of Osawatomie in defense of freedom,” and, “This inscription is also in commemoration of the heroism of Captain John Brown, who commanded at the battle of Osawatomie, August 30, 1856; who died and conquered American slavery on the scaffold at Charlestown, Virginia, December 2, 1859.”

Marais des Cygnes Monument.

A splendid monument has been erected in Linn County to mark the graves of the victims of the Marais des Cygnes massacre.

Quantrill Raid Monument.

At Lawrence there is a monument bearing this inscription: “Dedicated to the memory of the one hundred and 213 fifty citizens who, defenseless, fell victims to the inhuman ferocity of border guerrillas, led by the infamous Quantrill in his raid upon Lawrence, August 21, 1863. Erected May 30, 1895.”

A monument has been raised near Junction City in honor of the expedition of Coronado. There are several other monuments in the State commemorating the Spanish explorations of 1541-1542.

Monuments have been dedicated to the memory of settlers killed in the Indian raids on the frontier, and to men who were killed by Indians while engaged in construction work on the Union Pacific Railroad.

Memorial Hall. These are only a few; many tablets, monuments, and markers have been erected in Kansas, but by far the greatest number of them are monuments in honor of the soldiers of the Civil War. Many of these are very handsome, and they have cost, in the aggregate, thousands of dollars; but this recognition seemed insufficient, and it had long been hoped that a handsome and serviceable building might be erected as a fitting and worthy recognition by the whole State of the honor due the soldiers and sailors of the Civil War. The fulfillment of this ambition finally became possible when the United States paid to Kansas an old Civil War debt amounting to nearly 214 a half-million dollars. The money was used for the construction of Memorial Hall. This beautiful structure, built of white marble, stands near the grounds of the State Capitol at Topeka. Part of Memorial Hall is used as headquarters for the Kansas Department of the Grand Army of the Republic, and the rest by the State Historical Society.

An Old, Double-edged, Spanish Sword,

Found in Finney county some years ago and presented to the State Historical Society. The sword bears the name of one of Coronado’s officers, Juan Gallego. On the blade, in Spanish, are the words: “Draw me not without reason; sheathe me not without honor.”

The State Historical Society. The State Historical Society was organized in 1875. From that time until the present the Society has gathered and kept books, writings, narratives, maps, relics and other matter relating to the history of Kansas. In these collections may be found information concerning the explorations, the Indians, the overland travel, the settlements, and the condition and progress of the State in its various departments. Volumes 215 of clippings, files of newspapers, and thousands of books, provide a very complete record of all phases of the State’s history. One of the interesting features is the collection of relics, among which are: an old Spanish sword supposed to have belonged to one of Coronado’s soldiers; the pistol of the Jayhawker, James Montgomery; two cannon used in the border troubles; and the cap, saddle, and sword of John Brown. There are many Indian pipes, ornaments, implements, arrowheads, and a war bonnet. The historical collections, which have increased from year to year, are very interesting and should be seen by every citizen of Kansas. The Historical Society had rooms in the State Capitol until the completion of Memorial Hall, when it was moved into the new building. Thus Memorial Hall stands as a tribute not only to the soldiers but to the entire history of Kansas.

SUMMARY

In late years Kansas has taken many steps to preserve its history. Some of its most prominent memorials are: Pawnee Rock; Pike Memorial; Santa Fe Trail markers; Pawnee Capitol; John Brown’s battle-field; monuments to commemorate the battle of Osawatomie, the Marais des Cygnes massacre, and the Quantrill raid. Many other monuments and tablets have been erected in different parts of the State to commemorate important events. Memorial Hall, completed in 1914, was built in honor of the soldiers and sailors who served in the Civil War. 216 This building provided fitting quarters for the Kansas Department of the Grand Army of the Republic, and for the State Historical Society which has a large and valuable collection of original historical material.

REFERENCES

• Blackmar, Kansas, Selected Topics.
• Inman, The Old Santa Fe Trail.
• Historical Collections, vol. XI, p. 253; vol. X, pp. 15, 50, 472.

QUESTIONS

1. How long since Kansas became a state?

2. What places of historic interest are there in the State?

3. What places of historic interest are there in your locality? Have they been marked in any way?

4. What have you learned from the old settlers about the history of your locality?

5. Locate Pawnee Rock. Give its early history. Its recent history.

6. Give an account of Pike’s visit to the Pawnee Indians. Where was the Indian village? How has this event been commemorated?

7. Give an account of the marking of the Santa Fe Trail.

8. Locate the old Pawnee Capitol and give its history.

9. Name as many other memorials as you can and give the event which each commemorates.

10. What is Memorial Hall? Why was it erected? For what is it to be used?

11. Explain the work and purpose of the State Historical Society.

CHAPTER XIX

THE KANSAS SPIRIT

Introduction. Kansas is a great State; great in size and wealth, great in industries and resources, and great in what it has accomplished. But there are states that are larger, others that are wealthier, and many that have larger cities, greater population, a longer history, and more splendid memorials, so it is not for these things that Kansas is especially noted among the states. The quality that is the mark of its distinction is the character of its history and of its people.

The Meaning of the Kansas Spirit. Any people is, in large part, the product of its thinking, its beliefs, and its hopes and desires. This is the lesson of Hawthorne’s story, “The Great Stone Face.” Through all the years Ernest studied the face on the mountain and pondered the thoughts that he read there. In time he came to resemble the great face, both in its features and in the character it expressed. In the same way the people of Kansas have become what they are to-day because of their thoughts, their experiences and their ideals. We often hear it said concerning some act or some effort toward progress, “That is the Kansas spirit,” which means that the thing done shows what kind of people the Kansans are; it is characteristic of them. If, then, we would understand what this Kansas spirit is, we must know what thoughts and experiences and ideals have had a part in producing it.

“This is but the dawn. We stand in the vestibule of the temple. The achievements of the past will pale into insignificance before the completed glory of the century to come.”

—John J. Ingalls.

Pioneer Qualities. Certain characteristics of the people of Kansas are largely due to the fact that this was so recently a frontier state. Pioneer life, wherever it exists, develops the qualities of independence, courage, resourcefulness, endurance, and democracy. The pioneer has only 219 himself to lean on; he learns to take chances, he laughs at adversity, he adapts himself to circumstances, and he lives in the future.

The Forum, Wichita, Kansas.

Qualities that Make the Kansas Spirit. These characteristics are not, however, peculiar to the Kansas people, for the early settlers of other states lived on the frontier and developed these same qualities. But Kansas had a Territorial history which was very different from that of any other state and which has left its impress upon the people. Other pioneers have had the great task of making a state out of a wilderness, but Kansas pioneers had a second great task, that of making a free state in the face of the most determined opposition. They came to Kansas as the Puritans came to America, in the name of liberty. They were stern, unyielding, purposeful men and women, sure of the presence of divine leadership, and their character 220 has deeply influenced the Kansas people. This influence has made them hate oppression; it has made them demand justice and fair play; it has made them value people for their personal worth; it has made them believe in the equality of human rights, and in the ability of the people to govern themselves. These are characteristics of every true Kansan and the qualities that make the Kansas spirit.

Manifestations of the Kansas Spirit. This spirit is evident in many phases of the life and progress of our people, but it is nowhere more apparent than in their political affairs and in their laws. The spirit that made the pioneers refuse to submit to the “Bogus Legislature” also impelled them to send more than their share of soldiers to the Civil War. Later, the same spirit led the Kansas people to adopt the prohibition amendment and to grant to women the full right of suffrage. It caused the farmers and other laboring people to form organizations for the better protection of their rights. It made the State do its part in the World War cheerfully and generously. In short, the Kansas spirit has manifested itself whenever the people have made an effort to overcome difficulties, whenever they have tried to secure more justice or liberty for themselves. These efforts have sometimes been so radical, and the plans offered for the betterment of conditions so new and startling as to attract much attention in the rest of the country. But Kansas has continued to believe in the worth and possibilities of her people and to make every effort to bring about conditions that will give them the opportunity to rise to the full measure of their nature.

The Task Confronting the Kansas of To-day. All over the United States there is a growing tendency on the part of the people to exercise a more direct control of their 221 government; to take more and more authority into their own hands. This means that the people must be interested, active and well-informed. For us, it means that the quality of Kansas government depends upon the quality of Kansas citizenship. While the task of the pioneers was a heavy one, ours to-day is no less great, though it is different. Their struggle was to get the soil under cultivation, ours to see that it does not become worn out; theirs to get public utilities, ours to use and regulate them; theirs to develop new industries, ours to see that they are carried on with justice to all; theirs to establish schools, ours to make them more efficient; in general, theirs to build up, ours to use wisely.

Kansas history is not made; it is in the making. We study the past that we may learn how to make the present better. Great things have been accomplished but there is much yet to be done. The pioneers solved their problems, and if we are worthy of the Kansas they have given us we will strive to solve ours. We will keep alive the Kansas spirit.

SUMMARY

The Kansas people have developed the same pioneer qualities as have the people of other states; but, in addition, their peculiar Territorial history has made them believe in a marked degree in liberty, justice, equality, and democracy. These characteristics have given rise to what is called “the Kansas spirit.” This spirit is especially evident in the political movements through which the people have taken more and more of the control of government into their own hands.

REFERENCES

• Kansas, Carl Becker.
• Historical Collections. Selected Topics.
• Connelley, History as an Asset of the State.

QUESTIONS

1. In what things is Kansas great? Name other states that are greater in any of these things. What quality distinguishes Kansas?

2. How can the lesson in the story of “The Great Stone Face” be applied to Kansas?

3. Why does pioneer life develop courage? Independence? Resourcefulness?

4. What effect has the Territorial history of Kansas had on the people?

5. What is meant by the Kansas spirit? What are some of the ways in which it has been shown? Discuss each.

6. Discuss the responsibilities of the Kansas people of to-day.

[1] Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology.

[2] In 1819 the United States gave to Spain that part of Kansas lying south of the Arkansas River and west of the 100th meridian. This territory again became a part of the United States by the annexation of Texas in 1845.

[3] Coues, Expedition of Zebulon Montgomery Pike.

[4] A cache was made by digging a jug-shaped hole in the ground and lining it with dry grass, or sticks, or anything to keep out moisture. Then the goods were packed in and the opening closed very carefully by replacing the sod and carrying away the earth that was removed, so that no sign was left by which the cache might be discovered. Sometimes a camp fire was built over it to destroy all traces of the cache.

[5] Another phenomenon that makes the traveler in a dry or desert country afraid to trust his eyes is the mirage. He often sees what seem to be lakes, trees, buildings, cities, only to find on nearer approach that they all disappear. As Kansas has come under cultivation the mirage has become less frequent, but it is still seen in the western part of the State. Here is a description of one seen in early Kansas:

“On approaching the town of Lerny, about a mile and a quarter this side, we found the whole intermediate space between us and the grove of trees beyond the town apparently occupied by a beautiful lake. On the apparent shore next to ourselves the road ran down and disappeared in the lake, as did the fence upon one side of the road, while the placid and beautiful water extended upon the right and left, until lost in the distance. The trees in the distance appeared to be immersed for half their length in the lake, as if growing in the water. Even the reflection of the trees, and of the clouds above, was distinctly visible. We approached the vision and it vanished.”

[6] Because of the increasing migration westward, the National Government decided to send out expeditions for the purpose of discovering the best routes across the mountains to the Pacific. John C. Fremont was selected for this task, and between 1842 and 1850 he made four journeys across the plains. Among the scouts who acted as guides was the famous hunter and trapper, and Indian fighter, Kit Carson.

[7] The fact that Kansas was once an Indian country is shown by the many Indian names of counties, towns, and streams; as, Topeka, Pottawatomie, Hiawatha, Wyandotte, Shawnee, Cheyenne, Cherokee, and Kiowa.

[8] Among the schools established by the missions three have continued in existence and have developed into important schools of to-day: Highland College, established by the Presbyterians; St. Mary’s College, by the Catholics; and Ottawa University, by the Baptists.

[9] Named after Mount Oread Seminary at Worcester, Mass., of which Eli Thayer was the founder and proprietor.

[10] Named in honor of Amos A. Lawrence, of Boston, an active member of the Emigrant Aid Company.

[11] It should be borne in mind that many of the Missourians who took such an active part in Kansas affairs were not representative citizens of that state, but were of the unprincipled and outlaw classes. Many of them were hired for this work.

[12] Ingalls said of this period: “No time was ever so minutely and so indelibly photographed upon the public retina. The name of no State was ever on so many friendly and so many hostile tongues. It was pronounced in every political speech, and inserted in every political platform. No region was ever so advertised, and the impression then produced has never passed away.”

[13] This period has given rise to the expression “bleeding Kansas.”

[14] The origin of the word “Jayhawker” is uncertain, though a number of different accounts have been given of it. In recent years the term has come to be applied to our State and our people, and it is not unusual for a Kansan to be spoken of as a “Jayhawker.”

[15] One of Hamelton’s men was brought to justice five years later.

[16] A census taken in 1885 disclosed the fact that nearly 100,000 Kansans had served in the Union army.

[17] The Populist party was formed as a result of the political unrest following the collapse of the boom. The Populist measures attracted widespread attention, and the party, in fusion with the Democrats, succeeded in electing Governor Lewelling in 1892 and Governor Leedy in 1896. By that time conditions in the State had become more settled; with returning prosperity the political agitation died down and the Populists were soon absorbed into the other parties. Since that time many of the measures advocated by the Populists have been enacted into law or are being considered by the people of to-day.

[18] This line was at first called the Kansas Pacific.

[19] See map, page 28.

[20] The traveling library system in Kansas was adopted in 1900 and is now under state control through a Commission which maintains an office in the capitol at Topeka. These traveling libraries are made up of collections of fifty books each, selected in accordance with the wishes of the applicant. They are sent to schools, clubs, granges, and similar organizations without charge other than a fee of two dollars to cover the cost of transportation. The libraries may be retained six months, or exchanged at any time for others.

[21] The place was discovered in 1875 by Mrs. Elizabeth A. Johnson, who later purchased the land and presented it to the State.

[22] Died, Sept. 18, 1911.

[23] Died, July 7, 1911.

[24] Named Davis until 1889.

[25] Named Calhoun until 1859.

[26] Named Lykins until 1861.

[27] Named Wise until 1859.

[28] Named Weller until 1859.

[29] Named Richardson before 1859.

[30] The original name, Shirley, changed to Cloud in 1867.

[31] Part of Dorn County until 1861. Named Neosho until 1867.

[32] Named Breckinridge until 1862.

[33] Named Dorn until 1861.

[34] Originally named Hunter.

[35] Originally the northern portion of Howard County.

[36] First organization in 1873, later set aside as fraudulent.

[37] First organization in 1873, later set aside as fraudulent.

[38] Named Sequoyah until 1883.

INDEX

• Abilene, 157.
• Actual Settlers’ Association, 68.
• Adams, Franklin G., 231.
• Adams, Zu, 231.
• Admission of Kansas, 98, 106.
• Agricultural College, 143, 163, 197, 201.
• Agricultural Society, 143, 163.
• Agriculture, Board of, 163.
• Agriculture, taught to the Indians, 45, 142;
  • Territorial days, 142;
  • during Civil War, 143;
  • 1860 to 1880, 147;
  • 1880 to 1887, 148;
  • 1887 to 1893, 148;
  • 1893 to 1918, 153;
  • basis of prosperity, 171;
  • in schools, 191, 195.
• Aid from the East, 106, 121.
• Air Service, 139.
• Alfalfa, 150, 151.
• Allerton, Ellen P., 233.
• Alliance, Farmers’, 161.
• Amendments to the Constitution, 136;
  • to National Constitution, 137.
• Ammunition Train, 139.
• Anderson, John A., 230.
• Andreas’ History of Kansas, 233.
• Anti-cigarette Law, 136.
• Appendix, 223-250.
• Apple Crop, 160.
• Aplington, Kate A., 234.
• Argonne, 139.
• Arizona, 29.
• Arkansas City, 128.
• “Army of the North,” 89.
• Ash Creek, 37.
• Atchison, D. R., 73, 74.
• Atchison, 21, 42, 68, 168;
  • county, 20.
• Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, building of, 178, 180.
• Attorneys-General, Territorial, 236;
  • State, 239.
• Auditors, Territorial, 235;
  • State, 238.
• Automobile, 184.

• Baker University, 204, 244.
• Balance of Power, 57;
  • table of, 246.
• Baptist Missions, 225.
• Barber, murder of, 83.
• Barton County, 207.
• Becknell, journey of, 29.
• Beecher, Henry Ward, 87.
• Beet Sugar Factory, 153.
• Berryman, Rev. J. C., 225.
• Bickerdyke, Mary A., 231.
• Black Jack, battle of, 86.
• Blackmar, F. W., 234.
• “Bleeding Kansas,” 91.
• Blue Lodges, 65.
• Bluemont College, 201.
• “Blue Sky” Law, 136.
• Board of Administration, 204.
• Board of Agriculture, 163.
• Bogus Legislature, 74, 76, 78, 80, 220, 223.
• Boom, 127, 148.
• Boston, 69.
• Branson, Jacob, 79, 80.
• Brewer, David J., 230.
• Brick, 167, 170.
• Broom Corn, 151.
• Brown, John, 85;
  • at Pottawatomie, 86, 97;
  • at Osawatomie, 86, 90;
  • site of battle field, 211;
  • monument, 212, 213.
• Buchanan, President, 98.
• Buffalo, 9, 18, 21, 25, 33, 36, 37, 48, 115, 123, 124, 143.
• Building Stone, 166.
• Butler County, 117, 168, 169.

• Cabeza de Vaca, 10, 11, 36.
• Cache, how made, 38.
• California, 29, 175;
  • gold seekers, 41;
  • gold fields, 41;
  • Road, 42, 69;
  • emigration to, 62.
• Camp Funston, 138.
• Capital, State, 99.
• Capitals, Territorial, 223.
• Capitol, State, 130.
• Carruth, William Herbert, 234.
• Carson, Kit, 41.
• Catholic priests, 16;
  • missions, 49, 226.
• Cattle Trade, 157-159.
• Census, first Territorial, 78.
• Cherokee County, 166.
• Chief Justices, Territorial, 236;
  • State, 240.
• Child-labor Law, 136.
• Cibola, 11.
• Cimarron Crossing, 38.
• Cimarron River, 32, 38.
• Civil War, 109-113, 115-129, 131, 143, 166.
• Clark, Esther M., 234.
• Clark, William, 20.
• Cloud County, 115.
• Coal, 166.
• Colby, 163.
• Coleman, 79.
• Colleges, list of, 244.
• College of Emporia, 204.
• Columbus, 9, 10.
• Colorado, 22, 29, 151, 153.
• Comanche Indians, 25, 33.
• Commercial Work, 195.
• Commission, Railroad, 182.
• Congressmen, 242, 243.
• Connelley, William Elsey, 234.
• Consolidated Schools, 191;
  • Districts, 195.
• Constitution, Topeka, 78, 94, 223;
  • Lecompton, 94, 95, 96, 223;
  • Leavenworth, 96, 223;
  • Wyandotte, 98, 99, 106, 223.
• Constitutions, summary of, 223.
• Corn, 156.
• Coronado, 10-14, 49;
  • monument for, 213;
  • sword of, 215.
• Cortez, 10, 29.
• Cotton Gin, 55.
• Council Grove, 33, 34, 72, 210.
• Counties Organized, 113, 122;
  • lists of, 248-250.
• County High School, 193.
• Cowboy, 158, 159.
• Crawford County, 166.
• Crawford, Samuel J., 117, 234.
• Crops of Kansas, 147, 148.

• Dairying, 157.
• Daughters of American Revolution, 210.
• Democratic Party, 98.
• Denominational Schools, 204, 244.
• Denver, Governor, 97.
• Dodge City, 12, 163;
  • cattle trade center, 158.
• Domestic Science, 192.
• Don Carlos, Mrs. Louise Cooke, 234.
• Doniphan County, 20.
• Douglas County, 79.
• Douglas, Stephen A., 58.
• Dow, 79.
• Drouth, 67, 104, 105, 106, 119, 127, 142, 148.
• Dugout, 102.

• Education, 187-206;
  • see Schools.
• Eldridge, 85.
• Election, first Territorial, 72;
  • second Territorial, 73.
• Electric Railways, 182, 183.
• Elwood, 176.
• Emigrant Aid Company, 63, 64, 65, 85.
• Emporia, 197.
• English, 17.
• Exodus, 125.
• Experiment Station, 163.
• Extension Work, 204.

• Farmers’ Alliance, 161.
• Farmers’ Educational and Cooperative Union, 163.
• Farmers’ Institutes, 162.
• Farmers’ Organizations, 160.
• Farming Implements, 143-146.
• Father Padilla, 48.
• Feterita, 153.
• Fire-escape Law, 136.
• Floods, 133.
• Foreign Settlements, 180, 181.
• Fort Dodge, 38, 52, 228.
• Fort Hays, 52, 228.
• Fort Hays Kansas Normal School, 194.
• Fort Leavenworth, 50, 52, 139, 227.
• Fort Riley, 51, 52, 72, 75, 139, 211, 212, 227.
• Fort Scott, 52, 166, 227.
• Forts, list of, 227-229.
• “Forty-niners,” 41.
• Fourth of July Creek, 21.
• France, 16, 139;
  • end of claims in America, 17-18.
• Franklin, 33, 89.
• Fremont, John C., 41.
• Friends Missions, 49, 225.
• Friends University, 204.
• Funston, Fred, 129.
• Fur Traders, 47.

• Garden City, 153, 163.
• Gardner, 42.
• Gas, 167, 168, 171.
• Gasoline Tractor, 147.
• Geary, John W., 90, 91, 92, 94.
• Giles, F. W., 233.
• Glass, 171;
  • factories, 167, 171.
• Gleed, Charles, 233.
• Glick, Geo. W., 211.
• Gold Seekers, 41, 42.
• Good Roads, 183, 193;
  • federal aid, 183.
• Goss, Nathaniel S., 233.
• Governors, Territorial, 235;
  • State, 237.
• Graham, Effie, 234.
• Grange, 160.
• Grasshopper Invasion, 121, 122, 127.
• Gray, Alfred, 231.
• Great American Desert, 24, 25, 29, 106, 122.
• Great Bend, 12-13.
• Great Salt Lake, 41.
• Great Seal of Kansas, 116.
• Greenwood County, 117.
• Gregg, Josiah, 34.
• Gypsum, 168, 170.

• Hall of Fame, 211.
• Hamelton, 97.
• Hand Planter, 143, 144.
• Hard-surfaced Roads, 184.
• Harger, Charles M., 234.
• Harris, William A., 230.
• Harvey, Henry, 225-226, 233.
• Hays, 163.
• Highland College, 49, 225.
• High Schools, accredited, 193, 195, 197;
  • purpose of, 195;
  • courses, 195.
• Hinton, R. J., 233.
• Historical Society, 214, 215.
• History of Kansas, 207, 221.
• Homes of Kansas, poem, 101.
• Homestead Law, 117, 118.
• Horner, Hattie, 233.
• Horses, used on Santa Fe Trail, 33.
• Horticulture, 159.
• Household Arts, 191, 195.
• Howe, E. W., 233, 234.
• Hudson, Mary W., 233.
• Hutchinson, 167, 169.

• Illinois, 64.
• Immigration, 64, 65, 67, 88, 105-106, 115, 117-118, 122, 129, 180, 181.
• Independence, 33.
• Independence Creek, 21.
• Indiana, 64.
• Indian Territory, 46.
• Indians, 9, 20, 21, 22, 55, 72, 135;
  • tribes of, 25;
  • and traders, 31;
  • experience with, 38;
  • possessed Kansas, 45-53;
  • reservations, 46;
  • taught in missions, 49;
  • removal of, 45-46;
  • raids, 109, 115, 117;
  • as farmers, 142;
  • raised corn, 156.
• Industrial Training, 195.
• Industries of Kansas, 142-171.
• Ingalls, John J., 87, 211, 218, 233.
• Inman, Henry, 233, 234.
• Institutions, State, 244, 245.
• Insurance, Superintendents of, 241.
• Interstate Commerce Commission, 182.
• Interurban Lines, 183.
• Iowa, 64, 88, 89.
• “Iron Trail,” 179.
• Irrigation, 149.
• Irving, Washington, 24.
• Irwin, Rev. S. M., 225.

• Jayhawkers, 96.
• Jefferson, President, 17, 20.
• Jesuits, 16, 48.
• Johnson, Mrs. Elizabeth A., 209.
• Johnson, Rev. Thomas, 50, 225.
• Johnson, William, 225.
• Joliet, 16.
• Jones, Sheriff, 79, 81, 83.
• Junction City, 13.
• Juvenile Courts, 136.

• Kafir Corn, 151.
• Kansas, admission of, 98, 106.
• Kansas City, 39, 50, 65, 66, 68, 112, 133, 166, 167, 174, 177.
• Kansas History, in the making, 221.
• Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 58, 63.
• Kansas Pacific Railroad, 177.
• Kansas Spirit, 217-221.
• Kansas Territory, map, 56;
  • organization, 58.
• Kansas To-day, 135, 136.
• Kanza Indians, 25, 33, 45.
• Kaw Indians, same as Kanza Indians.
• King, Henry, 233.
• Kingman, Samuel A., 230.

• La Croix, Father, 226.
• Land Grants, 180.
• Lane, James H., 78, 79, 87, 89, 99.
• La Salle, 16.
• Lawrence, 65, 68, 79, 80, 83, 88, 99, 167;
  • sacking of, 83;
  • defense of, 91;
  • Quantrill raid, 111;
  • floods, 133, 135.
• Lawrence, Amos A., 67.
• Lead and Zinc, 167.
• Leavenworth, 42, 68, 168.
• Leavenworth Constitution, 96, 166, 223.
• Lecompton, 68, 69, 88, 95.
• Lecompton Constitution, 94, 95, 223.
• Leedy, Governor, 161.
• Legislature, Bogus, 74, 76, 79, 80;
  • second Territorial, 94.
• Legislature, first Free-state, 95.
• Legislatures, summary of, 223.
• Length of school term, 187, 190.
• Lerrigo, Dr. C. H., 234.
• Lewelling, Governor, 161.
• Lewis and Clark, expedition of, 20-21, 25.
• Lieutenant-Governors, 237.
• Lincoln, 110.
• Lindsborg, 181.
• Linn County, 97, 112.
• Live Stock, 156-159.
• Locomotive, invention of, 174;
  • old and modern, 182.
• Long, Major, 24.
• Louisiana, naming of, 16;
  • purchase of, 17, 20, 45, 57;
  • exploration of, 20.
• Lykins, Dr. David, 225.
• Lykins, Dr. Johnson, 225.

• Manhattan, 68, 69, 177, 200, 201.
• Manual Training, 191, 192.
• Manual Training Normal School, 198, 201.
• Manufactures, 165.
• Marais des Cygnes Massacre, 97, 212.
• Marion County, 117.
• Markham, Thomas B., 225.
• Marne, Battle of the, 139.
• Marquette, 16.
• Marysville, 176.
• Mason, Walt, 234.
• McCarter, Margaret Hill, 234.
• McCoy, Rev. Isaac, 49, 225.
• McCoy, Joseph G., 233.
• McKeever, W. A., 234.
• Meat Packing, 166, 181.
• Meeker, Jotham, 49, 225.
• Memorial Hall, 2, 213, 214.
• Memorials of Kansas, 207-215.
• Mendenhall, Rev. M., 226.
• Mennonites, 156, 180.
• Methodist Missions, 49, 50, 225.
• Mexico, 17, 21, 29;
  • war with, 40, 50.
• Miller, Sol, 101.
• Milling, 165, 181.
• Milo, 153.
• Mine Creek, 112.
• Mineral Resources, 166.
• Minneola, 223.
• Mirage, 40.
• Missionaries, 47, 48, 49, 142.
• Missions, 53, 142;
  • established, 49, 50;
  • list of, 225, 226.
• Missouri Compromise, 57, 58, 246.
• Missouri River closed to free-state immigration, 88.
• Montgomery, James, 96.
• Monuments, 210-214.
• Moody, Joel, 233.
• Morgan, Wm. Y., 234.
• Mormons, 41, 52.
• Mormon Trail, 42.
• Mortgages, 128.
• Motor Trucks, 184.
• Mounds, 112.
• Mount Oread, 67, 203.
• Munger, Mrs. Dell H., 234.
• Music, 191, 195.
• Mutual Benefit Association, 160.

• Narvaez, 10.
• National Army, 138, 139.
• National Government, protected traders, 32;
  • sent out Fremont, 41;
  • removal policy of, 45;
  • established Fort Leavenworth, 50, 52.
• National Guard, 139.
• Nebraska, 25, 42, 88, 89, 153.
• Neosho Valley, 33.
• Nevada, 29.
• New England Emigrant Aid Company, first party, 65;
  • second party, 67;
  • third and fourth parties, 68.
• New Mexico, 11, 21, 29, 39.
• New Spain, 10, 11, 14.
• Nichols, Mrs. C. I. H., 231.
• Nineteenth Kansas, 117.
• Normal Schools, 196, 197, 198, 199, 201, 203, 204, 244.
• Northern Route to Kansas, 88.
• Nurses in World War, 139.

• Officers, Territorial, 235, 236;
  • State, 237-243.
• Officers’ Training Camps, 139.
• Ohio, 64.
• Oil, 167, 168, 169.
• Oklahoma, 24, 46, 59, 167;
  • opening of, 128.
• “Old Mill,” 144.
• Oregon, Emigrants to, 41.
• Oregon Trail, 42.
• Organization of Kansas Territory, 55-59.
• Osage County, 166.
• Osage Indians, 21, 25, 33, 34, 45, 225.
• Osawatomie, 85;
  • pillaged, 86;
  • burned, 90.
• Ottawa University, 49, 204.
• Oxen, 33.

• Pack Mules, 31.
• Padilla, Father, 48.
• Padoucas, 25.
• Paine, Albert Bigelow, 233, 234.
• Panic of 1893, 129, 153.
• Patrons of Husbandry, 160.
• Pawnee Capitol, 51, 75, 212.
• Pawnee Fork, 37.
• Pawnee Indians, 13, 22, 25, 33, 37;
  • village, 21, 209.
• Pawnee Rock, 36, 37, 207, 209.
• Pawnee, town of, 75.
• Peck, George R., 233.
• Peffer, William A., 233.
• Peery, Rev. E. T., 225.
• Pennsylvania, 64.
• People’s Party, 161.
• Phillips, William A., 233.
• Pierce, President, 62.
• Pike’s Peak, 22.
• Pike, Zebulon Montgomery, 21-23, 25, 29, 30, 209.
• Pioneer life, 102-107, 122, 123, 124.
• Pioneer Schools, 189, 190.
• Pipe Lines, 167, 168.
• Plumb, Preston B., 230.
• Pomeroy, Samuel C., 67;
  • made Senator, 99.
• Pony Express, 175.
• Popular Sovereignty, 58, 73.
• Population of Kansas, 1854, 53;
  • 1855, 73;
  • 1859, 105;
  • 1865, 113.
• Populist Party, 161.
• Portland Cement, 167, 170.
• Pottawatomie Massacre, 86, 97.
• Prentis, Noble L., 232, 233.
• Presbyterian Missions, 49, 225.
• Price Raid, 112.
• Printers, State, 240, 241.
• Prohibition Amendment, 136, 220;
  • National, 137.
• Public Instruction, Superintendents of, 240.
• Public Utilities Commission, 182;
  • law, 136.

• Quantrill Raid, 111;
  • loss from, 112;
  • monument, 214.
• Quivera, poem, 8.
• Quivira, land of, 11, 13;
  • Indians, 25, 48.

• Railroad Commission, 182.
• Railroads, 127, 148, 174-183;
  • first one in Kansas, 176;
  • Kansas advertised by, 180;
  • relation to industries, 181;
  • regulation of, 182;
  • mileage, 181.
• Rainbow Division, 139.
• Realf, Richard, 233.
• Redpath, James, 233.
• Reeder, Andrew H., 72, 75, 78, 87.
• Regiments of Kansas soldiers, 117, 129.
• Regulation of Railroads, 182.
• Reign of Violence, 83-92.
• Removal Policy, 49.
• Republican Party, 98.
• Republic County, 21, 115, 209.
• Richardson, Albert D., 233.
• “Rifle Christians,” 87.
• Road Materials, 184.
• Robinson, Dr. Charles, 67, 78, 79, 187, 233;
  • home burned, 85;
  • held prisoner, 88;
  • first Governor, 99.
• Robinson, Mrs. Sara T. D., 231, 233.
• Ross, Edmund G., 231.
• Round Mound, 39.
• Rural Schools, pioneer, 189;
  • modern, 190, 191.

• Sacramento, 41.
• Salt, 169.
• Salt Lake, 175, 176.
• Salt Lake Trail, 69.
• San Francisco, 175, 176.
• Santa Fe, city, 29, 30, 40, 175.
• Santa Fe Trail, 29-41, 174, 179;
  • map of, 28;
  • length of, 33, 42;
  • marking of, 210.
• Schoenmaker, Rev., 226.
• Schools, established by missions, 49;
  • Territorial, 187;
  • first in Lawrence, 187;
  • subscription, 187;
  • length of term, 187;
  • during Civil War, 188;
  • pioneer schools, 190;
  • rural, 191, 193;
  • consolidated, 191;
  • high schools, 193;
  • State, 196-205, 244;
  • “Standard,” “Superior,” 191;
  • for blind, 203;
  • for deaf, 203;
  • denominational, 204, 244.
• School Teachers, qualifications, 191.
• Scott, Charles F., 233.
• Seal of State, 116.
• Secretaries, Territorial, 235;
  • State, 238.
• Senate, 55.
• Senators, United States, 241.
• Seven Cities of Cibola, 11.
• Shannon, Wilson, 76, 80, 86, 89.
• Shawnee Indians, 50.
• Shawnee Mission, 50;
  • as capital, 75.
• Sheldon, Charles M., 233, 234.
• Simmerwell, Rev. Robert, 225.
• Slavery in United States, 57, 63.
• Slaves, 62, 63, 73, 74.
• Smith, F. Dumont, 234.
• Snow, Francis Huntington, 230.
• Sod Corn, 144.
• Sod House, 105.
• Sod Schoolhouse, 189.
• Soldiers, 41, 47, 213;
  • furnished by Kansas, 109.
• Song of the Kansas Emigrant, 61.
• Sorghum Crops, 148, 151.
• Soudan Grass, 151.
• Southeastern Kansas, 96.
• Southern Aid, 88.
• Southwestern University, 204.
• Spain, 9, 13, 17.
• Spanish-American War, 129.
• Speer, John, 233.
• Spring, L. W., 233.
• Squatter Sovereignty, 58.
• Stage Lines, 174, 175.
• State Capitol, 130.
• State Fair, Leavenworth, 143.
• Steele, James W., 233.
• St. John, Governor, 136.
• St. Joseph, 42, 175, 176.
• St. Mary’s College, 49.
• St. Mihiel, 139.
• Stockyards, 154.
• Stone, building, 166;
  • quarry, 170.
• Stringfellow, B. F., 74.
• Sugar Beets, 153.
• Superintendents of Public Instruction, Territorial, 236;
  • State, 240.
• Supplies Taken by Traders, 33.
• Swedish Settlements, 181.
• Sweet Clover, 151.
• Sword, old Spanish, 215.

• Tank Cars, 168.
• Teacher Training, 195.
• Tecumseh, 89.
• Telegraph, 176, 182.
• Telephone, 123, 182.
• Territorial Officers, 235, 236.
• Territory, government of, 72.
• Texas, 18, 23, 159.
• Thayer, Eli, 63, 65.
• The Caches, 38.
• The Three R’s, 189, 191.
• The “2700,” 91, 92.
• Tomlinson, W. P., 233.
• Topeka, 68, 69, 88, 99, 133, 135, 167.
• Topeka Constitution, 78, 94, 223.
• Topeka Movement, 223.
• Trading Post Ford, 112.
• Trading Posts, 47, 53.
• Trail Markers, 210.
• Trails, Santa Fe, 29-41;
  • Oregon, 42;
  • California, 42, 69;
  • Mormon, 42;
  • Salt Lake, 69.
• Trappers, 125.
• Traveling Libraries, 204.
• Treasurers, Territorial, 236;
  • State, 238-239.
• Truancy Law, 136, 190.
• Turk, 11.
• Twentieth to Twenty-third Kansas Regiments, 129.

• Underflow, 151.
• Union Pacific Railroad, 157, 176, 177, 178, 213.
• University of Kansas, 65, 197, 202, 203, 204.
• Utah, 29.

• Van Quickenborn, Father, 226.

• Wagons, used on Trail, 31, 39.
• Wakarusa War, 79-81.
• Walker, Governor, arrival of, 94;
  • resigned, 97.
• War, Civil, 107, 109-113, 129, 131;
  • French and Indian, 17;
  • Revolutionary, 17;
  • Spanish-American, 129;
  • World, 137, 183.
• Ware, Eugene F., 208, 232, 234.
• Washburn College, 204, 244.
• Wattles, Willard, 234.
• Wellhouse, Frederick, 231.
• Wellington, 167.
• Western Kansas, 148, 149, 180.
• Westport, 33, 42, 79, 112.
• Wheat, 152, 155, 156.
• White, William Allen, 234.
• Wichita, 167.
• Wilder, Daniel W., 232, 233.
• Windmill, at Lawrence, 144;
  • irrigation, 149.
• Winter of 1855-’56, 83.
• Woman’s Kansas Day Club, 207.
• Woman’s Relief Corps, 211.
• Woman Suffrage, 137.
• Wood, S. N., 87.
• Woodson, Daniel, 75;
  • opened Kansas to invaders, 90.
• Woodward, Brinton W., 233.
• World War, 137, 183.
• Writers, Kansas, 233, 234.
• Wyandotte Constitution, 98, 106, 223.

• Zinc Smelters, 167.

Transcriber’s Note:

Only a few photographs have a source attribution. Many may have been copied from newspapers, and some are not in focus. The texture was not improved, so that the electronic images would be similar to the originals.

Inconsistent hyphenation, dialect, obsolete and alternative spellings were left unchanged.

Footnotes were renumbered sequentially and moved to the end of the book, preceding the Index. There are two anchors to Footnotes 36 and 37.

The following were changed:

Changed comma to stop at end of index entry: Democratic Party, 98.

Added stop to end of caption: STAGE COACH.

Added names of Governors to captions.

Corrected spelling: ecomomics to economics.

Removed space from Wa Keeney in appendix.