The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-02-23
FROM OUR HISTORICAL SCRAP
BOOK.
A Defunct Town-Our First visit I.

our case IN the "h0ratu oil EroedOm
Office, at Lawrence, where we took
situation until all things were in readi-
ness for our advance on Emporia with |
THE NEWS materials, Mr.. Plumb, now
that we must!go with y team 70 Quinda- |
70 for part Of the material on which |
THE NEWS was Ia be printed, which |
had landed there from Cincinnati.
He in company with few
Of the free state boys had organized q
company to go TO Independence, Mis-
souri,, that night 10 rescue from the jail
there free stale man who had been
so unfortunate as " fall into the hands
Of the bordef ruffians. This was the
reason We were TO take his place with
the OK team. With our notions Of
peace and quiet, at that time. we tried to
dissuade Mr.. Plumb from the hazard
Gus undertaking which he proposed,
but this proved useless, so without
wasting time we were on our way to
QuindarO. Away from Lawrence two
or three miles there were no white
settlements, and only two Indian houses
on the entire trip. Our companion du
voyage was one Captain j. II. Holmes,
whose errand TO Quindaro was the same
as ours. This gentleman had distin-
gnished himself At the battle of Osa-
walomie as a devoted and daring fol
lower of John Brown. It was said
he was the last man TO retire
across the creek in TIE fight,
and exhibited great cOOlaess. We
remember the impression this gen
tleman made upon our mind, when, after
we were too far from Lawrence TO turn
back, he informed us that there was q
reward out for him by the territorial
authorities, and that he was liable to be
pounced upon any minute by q mar
shal's posse, and that he proposed TO
die before he would be taken. We had
noticed that he was n regular travelling
arsenal" having upon his person two
reyolYers and q knife. and in his wagon
three guns and saber. Turning TO US
he Informed rs he would expect Us TO
eight till the last armed foe expired"
rather than surrender him to the officers.
We have always had the Impression
that Holmes, from the look he gave US,
concluded he could not count on rs in
such an emergency rs be bad described.
We thought of our pleasant Ohio home,
OF the girl we left behind u.s." and
wished ourself safely at the metropolis
of Quindaro, where We finally arrived
without having our physical system
punctured with the penetrating bullet
or married by cuts from the diabOlieal sa-
bre. $50
Governor Robinson told US not more
than month ago how Quindaro come
to he started. Every landing along the
Missouri was the year before closed
/ against Free state men to such an ex-
tent, at least, that 1t was rather hazard
GUS to life and property TO stop at any
of them. The Border Rufflans could
gather at any Of the towns along the
river in short notice. The free state
men decided to have one town which
should be under their control, and after
consultation Quindaro was selected as
the place, and preparations were made
on large scale for the building of a
city. When we arrived there that April
day there was q large hotel full of peO-
pie, Concord coaches were arriving from
the interior almost every hour loaded
with passengers, the landing presented
busy some, there was q large ware;
house full of goods, and buildings were
going up in every direction. It is safe
to say there were 1.000 people in and
around the little town, and every one
was "busy as a nailor." It was situated
at the mouth of deep ravine, flanked
by high hills, and looked just like q
mining town in a canon. Several
commodIous buildings were under way,
and business lots were ranging in price
from 81 600 to 81 800 -
Securing our freight we started on the
return trip, and camped out three miles
from the city. The next morning
Holmes cattle were Lost, and we spent
the entire day tramping over hills and
through the underbrush hunting for
them. He finally recovered them
through the friendly Offices of an In
dian, just at shutdown. After the days
tramp. and having Toasted on nothing
for some days but the regulation" fare
Of the teamster, to-wit, fat bacon, dry
bread and black coffee. it may be i'm
agined that the Quindaro hotel, only
three miles away, presented irresistible
attractions, and so we deserted Holmes
and his arsenal and hied us back to Q.
There was a large frame hotel and it
was we'll kept for that day. But the
prospect was gloomy Notwithstanding,
because We were out of "shekels." We
had nary n cent Our heart at once
leaped for joy, however. when we
found that there was a gentleman
in the city at that very moment
| opening up the types and setting up the
press TO issue paper. We soon found
him, His name was J. NJ. Walden, and
he is now at the head of the great
Methodist Book Concern. We immedi-
/ otCiy AOt NhO AOAA Vi .
which he produced after learning our
empty condition both of pocket and
stomach. Up to that time In life that
was about the checklist thing we had
ever done, and we have always been sat
isfied that had We made the snesring
remark about the prospect of building q
town in such place before we got the
little advance we did AFTER getting it
safely in our clutches, we would have
gone hungry so far as Walden was con-
cerned, for he evidently felt hurt at the
thought of our poking fun at the town
site under the circumstances.
This was our first and last visit TO
Quindaro. Later in the season all the
river towns became safe places for the
landing of all who desired to come TO
Kansas. LeaVenWoFth had elected Hen.
~ ]. Adams as its Arst free state may
or. The die was cast against the Mis-
souri, cut-throats, and they began to seek
| their haunts and 10 vent their wrath in
I cursing the abolitionists. The glory Of
QuIndAro sOou began TO depart and it
continued to dWindle until . sight of
the old building spoken Of reminded US
OF ut place for the assembling Of bats
and owls. Probably it Is the deadest Of
all the dead towns in Kansas. It can
hardly be realized that 1t was once the
point around which conferred the
dreams of several prominent Kan
sans that il was to be q great
city. Mr.. Walden left the Chindowan
in 1853. He was elected 10 tie legisla-
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