The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-08-03
SOME INTERESTING "REMINISCENCES

SOME INTERESTING "REMINISCENCES.
EDITOR REGISTER: In the spring
of 1857 1 with my family came from
Iowa to Allen county, Territory OF
Kansas. We settled OH quarter Sec
ton Of land one-half mile east of Cofa-
chiuue. which was then the county
seat of Allen county. The business
men of Cofachique,at that time were
Aaron Case, dealer in dry goods and
groceries; Avery q Johnson were in
the grocery and liquor business Lay
ton JOY, blacksmith; ]. w. Alter,
physician James Faulkner, hotel
man. Cofachique was laid out by pro-
slavery men. James Barber was one
of the town company, pro-slayery
man, and county clerk. He got some
of the Usage Indians to go east with
him as a show. One of his Indians
took sick and died. He came to me
one day and told me he was afraid the
Indians would kill him and a few DAYS
afterward he and his family were seen
going east in a wagon drawn by a yoke
of oxen. The other county officers at
that time, so far as l remember them,
were b. w. Cowden { husband OF
:'Granny" Cowden) and James Cope
land, county commissioners-the other
one do not remember James John
son was sheriff; Williams was judge
of the district court and John Lamb
kin was clerk. We had no house in
Cofachique at that time in which to
hold public meetings, so we concluded
to build one. We had no lumber and
no saw mill, but we were not deferred
from building ON that account. We took
our axes, malls and wedges, saws, etc.,
chopped down trees and sawed them
into suitable lengths and split them
into clapboards for Notwithstanding,
laths and shingles. l.. Reagan hewed
out the puncheons for the floor. When
our house was completed we used it
for a school house, church, court house
and for public meetings Of all kinds.
The first school was taught by j. d.
Passmore, pompous old fellow, who
afterwards became probate judge. 1t
was said that he was interested in
getting a rival town near Humboldt
called Wakeena. 1t was also said that
some Humboldt men took him out one
night and rode him on rail, gave him
q biscuit and ordered him to leave the
country, and that is the last we know
of. d. Passmore.
Most all of these men l have writ
ten about have gone to their long home
Jay died in lola in 1862; Cowden was
killed in battle in Arkansas; johnson
took a drove of cattle to Kansas City,
sold them and never was heard OF af'
forwards Aaron Case died in lola
William Avery diedat his home about
three miles south of lola; Jesse Morris
died at his home on Deer Creek; Cope
land died at his home on Coal Creek
At the time of which 1 write the
county was not settled up any except
along the streams; we lived out about
so rods from the timber and were
sometimes alluded to as that man who
lived out on the prairie. Cofachique
was trading post for the Usage In
dams; when they came to trade, the
great big Indians wrapped in theil
blankets and their faces painted
would stroll around to the schOO
house and ''look" in on the children
at their lessons; but the children were
not afraid of them; they could return
their stare with interest. 1t was the
custom of these Indians togo out west
20 hunt buffalo every spring and fall
In the spring of '57, when they went
they stole lot of horses belonging to
the settlers. When they returned
several weeks afterward they put al
the stolen horses in corral at Cola
Clique and announced that those who
had "lost" any horses might have
them by paying the Indians $3.50
head for finding them! Provisions
dry goods and groceries and every
thing had to be brought here from
Kansas City and other points on the
Missouri river in wagons, consequent
Iy the price of everything was very
high, three or four times as high as
now. We were all poor, a few men
had a little money and would hire
some work done; days work meant
II or IA hours of good faithful labor
and the pay for that kind of a days
work was so or 75 cents. Some of us
sometimes worked for the county we
would get our county warrants from
the county clerk, present them to the
county treasurer; frequently it would
happen there was no money in the
treasury, when the treasurer would
put on the warrant the date when it
was presented, and it drew interest
until paid; or if we were obliged to
have the money some good friend,
who happened to have little money,
would take our warrants at liberal
discount. About this time there was
talk of q railroad being built from
Leayenworth to Galveston. Congress