The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-01-26
AN OLD STORY.
A Dark Chapter In the Early History OF
Allen County WILDLY Recalled
by an Eyewitness.


ED. BULLETIN:-The recent trans
portatien of poor children from this
city to the west, brings wildly to my
mind a tragedy, history of which
1 will give in the following true story,
which l take as a leaflet from the
book of memory of my youthful days:
1 went to the west when a boy and
for a period of nearly two years, be-
ginning in the summer of 1865, made
my home with Capt. Sam J. Stewart
on his Cottage Grove ranch" about
four miles south of the little frontier
town of Humboldt, Kans. Capt.
Stewards stone cottage was situated
on hill covered with q grove of a
specie of oak known as "black jack"
The grove and hill covered probably
twenty acres and was probably
seventy-five feet above the surround
ing valley. At its foot on the west
and south was lake which from it's
shape, was known as Half-moon lake.
Beyond the lake was prairie valley
of a mile and then we came to the
timbered valley of the Neosho river.
The captain with his brother, Watson,
had left their home near Lafayette,
Ind, in 1866, came west, selected and
settled upon this beautiful place for
their home.
BOUGHT LITTLE BEN.
They were successful from the
start and at the time Of which 1 write
their ranch" was covered by hum
dreds of horses, cattle and sheep.
The adjoining ranch on the north was
owned by one Emsley Dalsen, a large
raw boned specimen who stood full
six feet high. his head covered with
shock of long sandy hair, his square
jaws hidden by a heavy beard
of the same doubtful color which he
kept cropped to a length of about two
inches, which with his heavy eye
brows and bristling mustache stood
out over his face like the quilts on the
far famed fretful porcupine. He was
so repellent and morose that the
neighbors did not like him and had
little to do with him, in fact the more
the more they knew of him the less
they cared for him. Dalsen's wife
was a spare built, weakly little
woman, who was always impressed
with the idea that she lived in mortal
terror of her big brute of husband.
They had no children of their own
and the only other member of the
family was boy about fourteen years
old. He had light flowing locks,
laughing blue eyes and plump, round
sunburned cheeks, was spare built,
"agile as cat and smart as a whip
his feet bare, dilapidated straw hat
ON his head, cotton pants rolled up to
the knees aud a cattle whip in his
right hand, completes the picture of
Little Ben, as knew him. If he had
another name L never heard 1t, just
"Little Ben" that was all. The only
known history of him was that he,
with other children, was brought to
Lawrence, Kans., from New York by
an agent of some "Childrens' Aid
Society," to find a home. Dalsen
happened ITO be in Lawrence and
heard of these children. Having no
children of his own, he made up his
mind to take one of these. He looked
them over and selected little Ben, and
having complied with the require
ments of the agent, he brought him
home with him.
MURDERED THE BOY.
Dalsen's house was situated vn the |
bluff about half mile from ours, a |
ravine and narrow valley separating |
them, but in fair view. 1t was near |
the edge of the bluff which was al
most a perpendicular wall of stone full
fifty feet high. The valley below was
covered with plum bushes and other
to the very foot of the
bluff. Along the side of the bluff had
been cleared a narrow track or road
way and across this road from the
bluff and opposite the house, well
had been dug but never walled and
had filed in until it was only about
eight feet deep. In passing to and