The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1891-02-21
"REMINISCENCES OF TUE BORDER,
QUANTRELLS FIRST APPEAR
ANCE IN MISSOURI.
He Leads Three Kansas cred Legs to
Their DoOm-The Three Lonr .
Graves BY the Roadside How
1 Brothers. Murder Was
Avenged.

II,.Se $;,S;:;; e I'm: S:$; ::;
sse: -:tss about ten
miles west of the Lafayette county line
over there where the hills of Little
Blue rise rough and rugged, could have
been seen, a few years ago, three
shapeless mounds of earth lying close
together on q sloping hillside.
Ii the passcr-by had had sufficient
curiosity to disnount and climb the
diIapidated rail fence that rambled off
down the h!ll4lopc, and approach
these three mounds, briar-grOwn and
@raas-coycred, he would have seen that
they were the graves of men-for so
thcy were.
Those graves, whose shape has long
since been lost, whose rounded mounds
have long been Obliterated by the
crosions Of tempest and time, show at
once the lack of loving care and atten-
tiGn. They were never kept green by
the hands of affection. They we're
never hrdcwcd by the tears of wife,
mother or child. Over them the
pitilcss storm has beat for more than d
generation. No flowers, save those
dedicated by nature, nurtured by her
dews and fed by the pattcring showers,
have ever shed there their fragrance.
TO them have come no floral gifts when
the nation strcws with tokens of love
the graves Of lis cherished dead.
Unkempt, mrcckcd these mounds have
wasted away and are now Oblterated;
and vet, there clusters about them q
story that tmills-one of the startling
annals of border life-a history replete
with wild advcntuIc, daring, and tragic
death.
During the great Colorado gold fever
in 1853 -59 there emigrated from n
small town in Ohio, bound for the new
EldOrSdo. a fair, delicate woman and
two sons, She was Il widow, but her
hoy" were full grown men and were
her hope and support.
They were both well educated, gentle
and loving. The elder was about 81
years old and remarkably virile and
5clf-rcliant.
His slight though we'll knit frame
denoted great endurance. His fine,
light brown hair, strong jaws and firmly
compressed lips indicated rare personal
courage and determination. His keen,
restless blue eyes were a study. He
saw all over you and through you in 8
moment, and TO be seen once by those
eyes was to be never forgotten by their
owner.
Another marked feature of this
remarkable man WINS his nose. 1t was
a pure aquiline, thin at nostril, delicate
and striking. II was III perfect accord
with the bright, penetrating eyes, the
decisive upper lip and well shaped brow.
1t was nose that meant much to a
friend in need, but much more to an
enemy.
OF the younger brother nothing is
known, except that he was q dutiful
son and much beloved by the
other members of the little family.
This party reached Kansas City by
steamer, and procuring an outfit there
set out for their long journey to the
mountains.
Their route led Them through Law
renee, Kan, where they stopped few
days, and attracted it seems, the notice
of several people by their superior
outfit and general well-to-do appear
ancc.
Lawrence was then the most impor-
ant town i'll Kansas, and was the
resort OF many lawless and desperate
men; men who thought no more of
stealing II horse, cutting throat or
robbing nm immigrant than of eating u
dinner.
There existed al this time in Kansas
semi-military organization known as
Montgomery Rangers. This organiza-
tion of scoundrels was regarded as
little better than a band of horsethieves,
and the general reprobation with which
they were held was subsequently proven
the correct estimate of their true
character.
The road from Lawrence to Pixies g
Peak was lined with people bound for
the ''diggings' and many desperate men
and sometimes rowing bands of Indians
made trareling in small parties danger
ons; but the little Ohio party, relying
upon their own resources in case of an
attack, instead of uniting with some
larger and stronger caravan, set out
from Lawrence alone. They were
followed by some of Montgomery men,
who, watching their opportunity, sud-
denly and unexpectedly attacked them.
The younger son was killed and the
other wounded in the left leg. The
robbers then dcspoiled them of their
horses and left them helpless upon the
broad, uninhabited prairie, with no
other means of returning to civilization
than those furnished by nature.
i. The stricken mother buried her dead
and then turned her attention to
the wound of her elder son. This was
not dangerous and the two were soon
able to go back to Lawrence.
But before William Quantrell (for
such was the mans nancy left the
grave of his brother he swore an oath
of terrible vengeance against the
cowardly assassins of his brother. He
vowed to give up everything else, all
his aim in life, all aspirations, all his
hopes, and consecrate his life and his
energies to the work Of avenging that
brothers foul and brutal murder.
How well he kept his VOW one has
only to read the annals of the war in
western Missouri from 1861 to 1865, to
learn.
But his work OF vengeance began even
before the war
Ii is not known to the writer how
Ouantrel discovered the assassins OF
his brother, hut ne did find them out,
and never rested until the last one OF
them was destroyed, either by his own
hand or that of an accomplice.
To more successfully work his
scheme hr joined the band of Mont
gomery, and had soon spotted three OF
the men who had been in the band that
attacked his mother'5 train and killed
his brother. lie at once began schem-
inc to lure those men To n suitable place
To carry out his plan for revenge
The three men were of the most
daring and dangerous character To
attempt To execute his vengeance upon
them alone was scarcely to be thought
Of. and as they were always together
and on the watch, Quantrell soon