Wichita eagle., 1886-11-04
with life and energy. Soon IT will over
flow and pass the Indian Territory.
When at evenings mellow close
hfr,cfar. 4hara fft, xyn 70 FOES

S.iid DUN ~ "iii CfNA
| flow and pass the Indian Territory.
When at evenings mellow close
| Muster there the savage foes
cities will fill the land. Having seen 50
many failures and believing that Wich ia
possesses the Mascot and the grand secret
| of successful town building am DESTROYS
future failures shall not be SO numerou.
and successes be more frequently scored.
Hence | have pressed this point OF how
| to make town as illustrated by Wichita
example Colonel Murdoch is entitled TO
all the credit he has received and will re-
ceive in connection herewith.
HIS EARLY LIFE.
Colonel NJ. N. Murdock was born Octo-
Der 10, 1887. near Morgantown. Va. His
father moved to Ohio when Marshall N.
was wears of age and was a contractor
and engaged in the iron business and mer-
chandising. Colonel Murdoch was edu-
Gated in the Ironton. o., high school. Here
he learned his trade as q printer and pre-
pared for a course OF study in the state
university at Delaware, O., but his father
failing in business in 1850 left the young
man without means to prosecute his stud
les In the winter of 1856 he arrived at
Topeka since which time he has voted
early and often He was corporal in a
company of free state boys who marched to
Lecompton to participate in the inaugura-
ton of the first free state legislature. lie
was offered an assistant clerkship. In the
winter of 1878 with other young men he
made touI of Southern Kansas, still IN
habited by Indians and lands as yet claimed
and nominally occupied by them. They
laid out a town on the Ferdigrls river, but
it was not 4 shining success. In 1850 he
became q sovereign squatter and preempted
claim near the junction of the Cotton
wood and Neosho rivers. This year his
political life commenced. He was elected
delegate to the county convention of
Breckenridge county now Lyon, held
at Americas, the then county seat. This
year-the season of the great drouth-in
company with his brother, Hon. L. b..
Murdoch, he took a load Of goods to the
Pixies Peak gold region, where he re-
manned till the breaking out of the war,
and returned to enlist in the army, but
finding that his father and two brothers
had gone to the wars, he concluded to do
the next best thing and got married. In
April, 1861. he was married TO Miss Vic
toria Mayberry, an accomplished young
lady living near Lawrence Like most of
the leading public men Of Kansas, he
served while in one Of the printing offices
at Lawrence. He was present at the Guam
trell raid, and escaped as by a miracle. He
and John Speer, jr.. son Of the proprietor
of the Tribune, who was local editor Of the
paper, had attended political meeting the
night previous addressed by Senator
Jim Lane, and retired late, but be-
fore retiring they observed and
remarked the presence on the
streets of two strange horsemen, the
advance guard no doubt of Quantrelfs
gang. When detachment Of the marau-
ders the next morning fired on Massachu-
sets street Murdock and young Speer
were the first to make their appearance.
Both were fired upon. Young Speer was
killed. Murdoch escaped into cellar and
witnessed the terrible massacre around him.
OFFICES HELD.
In the winter of 1854 Colonel Murdoch
was appointed government special agent
and enrolling officer for southwestern Kan
sas. He was secretary of the Republican
state convention in 1864 and docket clerk
of the senate the ensuing winter. In 1864
he was commissioned lieutenant colonel,
and organized the Santa Fe battalion and
was its commander, participating in the
battles of Westport and Little Blue. He
was secretary of the Republican conven-
ton in 1865, and in 1856 was elected clerk
of Usage county for two years. In 1868 he
established the Usage county Chronicle at
Burlngame In 1868 he was elected state
senator for Usage and Coffey counties and
reelected in 1870 In the spring Of 1872
he started the Wichita Eagle In the fall
of that year he was elected state senator to
represent twenty-six counties in the south
west, district that now has a population
of half million souls and over. His was
the representative organ Of three great val
leys, the Arkansas, the Walnut and the
Cana. In 1874 he received in the state
convention IS votes for lieutenant COVER
nor. position he did not seek. lie was
appointed postmaster Of Wichita and held
the office for twelve years and continued
nearly two years under Mr. Cleveland, who
could not persuade him to remain longer
in the Office. He was regent of the state
normal school about fifteen years.
MURDOCH AS \ MAN.
Murdoch has red hair, or used to have.
1t was natural to the man. He IS a genial,
whoe-souled fellow, extremely popular
with the boys, rafting, racy writer and
possesses more brain than even Wichita
gives him credit for. He is not a popular
speaker. He is naturally a poet, full of
ideality, but withal decidedly practical and
husiness-likc. His success with his Wlch-
ita EAGLE is phenomenal. 1t claims to be
the largest printing establishment in the
state, employees fifty to sixty people, runs
five presses, two engines, two ruling ma
chimes, stereotype, etc; daily circulation
1000 to 5000, weekly immense. 1t would
take about $780, 600 to buy the establish
ment, including the bnilding, and when
offered the six figures Murdoch would re
fuse TO sell.
PERSONAL.
Colonel Hurllocks two oldest children
are grown; his two youngest, babies. In
the frankness of private correspondence
this worthy and successful Kansas editor
saws to me: Il amt a candidate for any
thing and don't want anything outside OF
nv name and the EAGLE. and there is no
man in the United States with money