The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1874-07-25
From Leland.
LELAND, July 2lst, 1871

LELAND July 2lst, 1874.
Our lumber dealer, Geo. A. Young. is re
ceiving another cargo oi lrmScr. He re
ports business good.
There were 1870 car loads of grain shipped
from this town last mOntll-thc greatest
amount from any one place between Chicago
and Mendoza
Our school is enjoying Il two'monlis vaca-
ton, and Mr.. Bathurst says he does not enjoy
loafing. Won't somebody set him to work
A new pump in one of the town wells and
stone crossings, were the order of the last
board.
There is some talk of starting Il paper IN
this town As no one likes to be called "lc
Editor" the prospects are uniavorable.
Eaulvlllc is trying to induce the Lelanditcs
10 attend her fair. AS Lclands best horses
will speed" we probably shall go.
As there is so much talk about the Indians,
Twill send you the following letter received
by one of our merchants from brother in
Sedgwick Co., Kansas, it being flat contra
diction to the numerous yarns" Also show
ing the propriety of investigation before get
ting scared:
EIDRIpGE, Sedgwich Co., Kan, July D.
DEAR BROTIER:-I suppose you are lit
tie worried in regard to the stories that are
going the rounds about the Indians, so VIII
give you as good account as possible. On
3d. was at a neighbor's binding grain, and
at noon three men came from Sedgwlck ana
told us to get out of here and go to Wichita
that the Indians had killed five men the
night before ten miles south OF US and three
more that same morning and were coming
I'D our way and killing and scalping as they
came Well, we did not pay any attention
TO il any more than asked them where the
men lived that had been "Crematcd," which
of course made them disguised with us. In
about an hour one of our neighbors came
over and said he had been down to where
they were raising company OF men 10 IL Shl
them and that some portion from there had
been down to where three men had been muir
dcrpd and had seen Il great many "stoics.
He also said all of the settlers on the south
and west of us had gone into Wichita and
Hutchinson. Well that began to look like
business, which startled the people in our
section of the country ard we made up our
minds the people had better get ready to
leave | did not believe the stories and got
two other boys to 20 with me and we got on
our horses and struck out to where 1t was
said all these Indians were; telling the folks
we would 90 until we saw the Indians, II
there were any, and would come back in
time To warn them 50 they could leave before
the Indians got in there We lit out and
went ID where the last men were "killcd,'
meeting on the road people flying to W ichita,
running their horses and oxen, men scream
ing women and children crying, telling us
for Gods sake to turn back the Indians were
Just after them, and the Indians had Just
whipped out a lot of men from Wichita, and
that we would be killed If we went on. Still
we stuck to it determined not To get irighten-
ed I'LL We saw Indians. We got down to
where it was reported three men were killed ;
and found them all right, and we went all
over the country and saw the houses that
ought to have been burnt" also saw some
Texas hcrders and they said there was not an
Indian within one hundred miles Of them
We turned round and struck for home but
failed to find any settlers rs they had"slcped."
We sent one of the boys to overhaul the run
always, and they all got back that night and
the next day, looking like shccp-stealng
"dorgs," protesting they were not afraid but
wanted to ret their families out of danger,
and were then coming back to whip out the
Los So the women will have to stand all the
blame for they arc willing to acknowledge
they were scared over five hundred wa
CONS went into Wichita hat afternoon and the
same number to Hutchinson. We had made
every arrangcn cnt TO have II big fourth of
July celebration, but the scare happening on
the 81 Of course it did not come OIL. We are
almost through harvesting here, and need rain
very much us the dry weather is injurlng the
corn. Write soon, Your Bro, +. ID.