The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1888-09-01

name Preston b. Plumb. 10y title major. He
Is now the distinguished United Stares semi
tor from Kansas.
The kaw river rmptieS into the Missouri
from the west, just ut Kansas Citv Fifty
miles west of Kansas City, on the south side
of the Raw, is the town of Lawrence 1t
now contains about 10000 inhabitants. Then
there We're only IL few people in the town.
The able bodied men were nearly all away
III the Union army.
On the night of Aug. 20. 1863. Mai. Plumb
came i'll late to his headquarters Gen.
Ewing WAS ut Icavcnworth, twcnty-tivr
miles north of Kansas City. Mai. Pluml,
was Very weary. He WAS also ill. He re-
tired III once. 1t was II o'clock. In Il s,c
on.l story room of the headquarters Il single
light Vet burned. 1t Shonr through VIM
dow facing the street An attendant of tho
office sat hy the light, reading IL newspaper.
Suddenly there was Il clattcr of horses
hoofs up the street. They paused under the
window where the solitary light burned A
voice below shouted faintlv:
"Halloo! Is this the provost marxhal's
office" said the voice.
sit is. What's wantcl."
~ am the bearer of ,li>pltchc from Cant.
Pike. II" sent mo I" saw that Ouou,rill
crossed into Kansas with 800 men this even
ing at Il o'clock, forty miles below here. and
they We're heading northwest. 1t was n
verbal message
Then the solitary horst man went AWAY
again. He had ridden sixty miles sine, 6
O'clock.
The frightful import of this information
dawned on the newspaper read n ,o the full.
lluantrill in Kansas with 800 men, and ridin.r
northwest 1t meant massacre, fire and
plundcr I" some lefcnScleSS town.
In five minutes lights were flashing 1o nnl
fro in all the windows of the provost mar
ShalS office. Soldiers wrrcnlminy, and Mai
Plumb, i'll and exhausted as he was. wus mn
and preparing To lead them. linrs,s were
>a.l'llrI swiftly in the darkness.
Between II and O'clock Mai Plumb and
fifty mounted men wern riding ont into he
darkness they knew not just where. Fifty
soldiers were all there were at HEADQUARTERS
at that time. He gathered up other snui,rs
on the way, mt Westport ten. Ewin.. saws
lie had us many as 300 men when hc was at
length fairly on the way.
They rode all night us fast us tllci, horses
could carry them. Twenty-Five milc, from
Kansas City they had word that tuanlrll
had passed through Gardner at midnight and
was riding toward Lawrence. They then
had their bearings. Lawrence was the
d"omc'l town. They ~plrrcd on fast and
hard.
In the morning, soon after dayligh,, they
reached Lawrence, a mass of smoking ruins.
| Qnantrll had done his work already. lie
h;ul done ii $" thoroughly tln, only olir ur wo
houses escaped. Guan!ril himself spared one
house, Stones hotel. 1t i; sill To br seen in
the rebuilt city Its proprietor had done
| Qunntrill some favor in former times aud
his house was saved from ,h" universal ruin
Quantrill put into this building some twrntv
persons and saved their lives
One hundred AMI forty people had been
maSs,rrcl in cold hlnol, and twcn,v four
others wounded. Women and little children
had been spared. a hundred and eighty
five houses had been burned. and the raiders
carried off all the pluml,r they could load
upon their horses and thclmsrlvrs-lnoncy
and other valuablcs In front of ono house
the mistress came ont and stood before the
Guerrillas. She was pluclsv, determined
woman. She begged with all tho cl"l,l"lce
She was master of that her house lc spared.
1t was in vain. The rough raiders bad" her
go out of the way, for her house would be in
flames in five minutes.