Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-03-21
A Kansas Town.

The dwellers of Abilene, Kansas, have
been for a long time, in fact ever since it
was railroad station, overrun with gam
blers, backlegs and Wholesale murderers.
1t has been the great cattle mart oil Kan
sas, and in consequence has gathered to
itself 'hordes of "greasers," name that is
synonymous with everything that is wild,
barbarous and wicked and these have at
tracted swarms Of vile women. Gambling
houses and bagnios lined the streets, till it
was place lit only for the worst class of
desperadoes of the Plains, and these flocked
in there in such numbers that decent men
stunned the place, and "as bad as Abilene "
became proverb.
While the full tide Of the Texan cattle
trade flowed into Abilene it was given up
to the worst features of reckless and
abandoned life; there was no security to
either life or property-like town in time
of siege, every man wore his pistols by his
side, and the least provocation called for an
exchange Of shots, which was almost always
attended by death on one side and some
times on both. The element of law abiding
citizens was so small that any effort to sup
press this lawlcssnes5 was attended only by
wretched failure and ridicule. Only as
short time ago as last Summer, one might
walk through the streets OF the city, and
through the wide open doors see the gaming
tables covered with piles of greenbacks,
sometimes with little pyramids of gold AMI
silver, and inevitably with revolver at
each players right hand. Twenty-eight OF
these establishments were in full bloom
last Summer in this city of about seven
hundred inhabitants, and these twenty
eight gaming houses supported nearly an
equal number of brotheIs. Liquor might
be said to have run a stream from the
bung holes of the barrels down the parched
and thirsty Threats of the people.
With such state of society imagine a
Marshal attempting an arrest. Yet, when
the influx OF people seeking homes began
last Spring, there was an attempt to bring
offenders to justice. The Marshal was Sc
lected for his great size, strength and cour-
age, and the people agreed to stand by him
in every crisis. He was powerful man,
and so well accustomed to the wild life
+ upon the Plains, that he promised to re-
duce the city to state of order. hume
rous arrests were made, and the caliboOse
came largely into requisition. 1t is stated
that when Il row occurred the Marshal
would walk into the midst of the crowd
if the way was blocked he would clear il
by the right and left-hand blows of his
strong arms and reaching the heart Of the
crowd, would seize the combatants, one If
each hand, and march them off to the cali
boosc and lock them up. So fearless was
he, and gifted with such strength, he be
came Il terror to evil doors, for they dread
ed the wei ght of the Marshal's clenchec
fist more than the butt of a revolver in the
hands of an ordinary man. He was fast
reducing the number Of shooting matche;
and street brawls, only he essayed not t.
put stop to the gambling as yet, when ;
party Of irsporadoes resolved to kill him
To do this openly would certainly hav'
cost them their lives, for lie was accompa
MED by number of men who knew wei
how to pull the trigger, nor wanted a sec
ond bidding to do so when their chief wa
IN danger, and besides this he had inaugu
rated such an orderly change in the mum
cpal affairs as had given an advantage t.
the law and peaceloving citizens; bu
they, six or more of them, enticed him to
house IN the outskirts to arrest so-callec
drunken man. Suspecting nothing, h
went alone, strobe into the house, when h
was dropped to the ground by six ball
through the breast from the hidden muir
derers, who then, butcher-lkc, chopped OF
his head with an Ak and fled. This was
severe blow to the welfare of the city
The murderers escaped hanging becaus
they we've in the majority, and for tim
the old regime was revived.