The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-12-11
THE KANSAS CoUNTs-sEAT WAR.
Springfield and Liberal Resume the
Fighting, After a. Truce.

H.
TOPEKA, Dec. 1O.-The famous Seward
county seat war between the towns OF
Springfield and Liberal is again on.
There has been recently aoother vote on
the county seat question:. and TINS vote
was to be canvassed at Springfield. Inc
Liberal people, not having entire comb
dence in the impartiality OF the Spring
field crowd when it cane.o the question
of county seat, organized s band OF armed
men to proceed to Springfield 10
see that no irregularities occur In
counting. A party numbering seventy
five men, heavily armed, lett Liberal TO-DAY
deteim that there shoald be no error.
Since O'Clock this afternoon nothing mas
been heard from either LIBERAL or Spring
field. The latter point hes no telegraph
Office. and at Liberal there is only Rock
Island operator. who at present IS on
strike. and from whom, "a consequence,
nothing can be learned.
1t is feared collision laay result when
the armed men from Liberal reach Spring
field. At the same time TIE party left Tor
Springfield another party started Tor ARK
alon, where the county records have been
kept since the trouble, for the ostensibie
purpose of protecting thens against seizure
by the Springfield faction
Mrs. Martin, superintendent OF public in
struction. was one of the l;-embers of this
expedition. She was going tor moral effect,
as it were When they arrived at Arkalon
they found the Springfield people already
making a move to secure siie records, ana
it was decided, therefore, II take posses
sion of them and remove taem to Liberal.
This was done, and it i believed that
when the news reaches Sg5:ingiield it will
cause much more trouble.
THE cou,ties OF stevens and award are Farm
ers Alliance s:rongho,dg. RnGCat the election IN
the fall of 1891 the Peoples candidate Tor gov
ernor had majority oeer the Repub-
lcan and Democratic Candidates combined.
The people of the towns ii these counties
have had county seat wars regularly since the
establishment of the counties stevens county
lies on the southern line Of Kansas, just
one county from the southwest corner
of the state. The troub.s there origin
ally arose over an election held Tor
the purpose of determining where the
. county seat should be established. Hugoton
had the county seat for years past, but in 1887
man named Sam Woods, acted character,
who quite bright. though he enjoyed
a far from enviable reputation, conceived
the notion of having the ceun,y seat estab-
lshed at Woodsdale, lizzie town three
miles away. An election ssas held in the
Hugoton as the county seat. Woods followers
contested the election, ana the hearing
came up before the supreme court OF the
state They decided that the election should
stand. Before this decision Woods and his
crowd entered the Hugoton courthouse. stole
the records and carried them On TO Woodsdale.
Hugoton people in mob proceeded TO Woods
dale and recovered the recosIs. The troops
were called out this zine. In the
election mentioned Woods.ale had sue
ceeded in electfng the sheriff OF the
county, the other Offices kAving been Sc
cured by candidates recognized rs Hugoton
men. In the summer of 1855 crowd of Hugo
ton people entered Woodsdale End there created
disturbance. The sheriff and his posse went
after them Hugoton, in its tern, organized
posse and sent il out after che Sheriff This
posse came upon that q the sherIHs
while they were sleeping in lsaystack at night
in what is known as No Mans land. The sher-
If and a number of his people ssere killed out
right. The troops were again called In, and
some of the parties supposed TO have had
hand in this murder were arrested. IIey were
taken to Paris, Tex, whese jurisdiction
was then held and tried before United
States court. Some of them were convicted
and were sentenced to be hanged. This quieted
matters for awhile, until abou. six months ago.
when Sam Woods was killed. He was coming
out of the court room in Hueaton when some
one shot him. II was Thought that Thomas
Botkin, judge or that judicial Jistrlct, was not
disinterested In the killing of T Gods. After the
election Of 1891 county sea. war broke out
between tho towns of Springfield and Arkalon,in
Seward county. On January iast Judge Botkin
accompanied by Sheriff Dunn and posse of
deputies, set ont for Springfela to hold court. 4
faction Of Arkalon's supporters. who were in
stigated, it is said, by the widcw OF Sam Woods
and some of the Stevens snI Grant counties
gang, who desired the death Of Judge Botkin
rather than the settlement of the county
seat fight swore the judge should
not hold court at Springfield. When
the judges party had reached {, point one mile
southeast of Springfield at 3:5o4n the morning,
a mob in ambush opened fire, end Sheriff Dunn
was killed, the others escaping, The parties to
the alleged conspiracy were arrested and re-
leased on bail, but the trials d3d not result in