Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1895-03-23
pHMINiscENT.


sas City Times made out of 1t:
Abilene was a hummer" In the
summer and fall of 1871, but the
next year the scene of operations OF
those who drove cattle up the trail
from Texas to Kansas was changed
to Ellsworth, as the shipping point
on what is now known as the Kan
sas division of the Union Pacific,
but I'm those days as the Kansas Pa
cific and Newton, on the Santa Fe.
Baxter Springs, the terminus OF the
Fort Scott and Gulf. was also
shipping point in 1872, but it's "wild
and woolly" time was more partic-
ularly in 1871.
But Newton took the palm and
for lawlessness eclipsed Abilene's
record the previous year. What
was known as the "Goldroom there.
where gambling, drinking and
dancing were carried on day and
night, and where the cowboys were
soon fleeced of their earnings, had
"a reputation in those days of being
about as fit an exemplification as
possible of what is as depraved in
morals as the human mind can con-
ceive.
Speaking of the Gold room" a
few days since, Peyton Montgomery
who held cattle near Newton that
summer and fall, said: IL wit
messed in the Gold room" at New
ton one Sunday afternoon sight,
which does not often fall to the lot
of man to see. In the midst of the
gambling. drinking and dancing at
the bar there was Clergyman, who
was endeavoring to convince those
present of the error of their ways.
And to create more discord dog
fight was in progress ut the same
time. Shooting scrapes were OF
daily occuir.nc
81 was interested in the cattle
business then with gentleman
from Illinois who on account OF his
not being acquainted with fro ntier
ways was regarded as tenderfoot,
as were all who came from what
the boys use to refer to as the effete
East. My Illinois friend had no
idea of the kind of town Newton
was, but 10 sooner did he alight
from the cars than he realized
where he was. On our way up to
the hotel we passed the gold room
and eve ything was in full blast
To have little fun with him sug-
res.ed that we step in. but he re-
spectfully declined, really having
no intention of going in myself
We went on TO the hotel and SO
alarmed was he at the condition OF
affairs that he took the first train
home the next morning"
The most desperate occurrence at
Newton that summer and fall, was
the killing of three men in fracas
Tom Fitzpatrick killed the marshal
and his deputy and he in turn was
killed by another deputy. All OF
this happened within few minutes
Tom Fitzpatrick was a Kansas
Cityan in the early days, man OF
gentlemanly address when sober
but regular daredevil when under
the influence Of liquor. He was a
partner of William Benz and the
firm of Benz 4 Fitzpatrick had a
saloon OH Union avenue near the
Union depot, but at that time, III
1860 and 1870. there were no houses
west of what is now known as the
New Albany hotel.
Tom got into trouble here and he
went to Baxter Springs in the sum
mer of 1871 and there ran a saloon
called the Lone Star for a cattle
man named Vaughan, who put his
money into il as an investment. II
was headquarters for the Tex
cowboys and Lively place ii was, too
Said a cattle man who held his cat
lie near B lxter that summer and
fall: IL well remember the Lone
Star: il was on the west side OF Mill
tary street; which was the main
thoroughfare, near the southern
limits of the town. / stepped III
there one night and the place was
full. A few moments after a COW
boy stepped in and asked a man
who was standing at the bar to
drink with him. The man respect
fully declined. No words passed
but in less than minute he re-
ceived a bullet wound through the
heart. The cowboy took offense be-
cause the man refused to drink with
him, slipped quickly outdoors and
shot the man through the glass In
the door, which was closed, as II
was in the fall of the year. No ar
rests were made, for he was on his
horse, which was hitched near by
and it did not take him long
to get into the Territory and back
t, the Texas frontier.
a. had talk one night with Fitz'
patrick about the status OF affairs
the rough elements he had to deal
with and he appeared to take in the
situation philosophically. While
was talking to him a couple oil
cowboys came in and gave him
their revolvers TO keep until they
were ready to- go back to camp
because they were "too heavy &c
tote around" As he took the revol
vers and laid them to one side he
remarked that he had quite an ar
senal. "What do you mean? said
1. "Why, 1 mean to say that those
two revolvers which / just laid &c
one side made thirty-fve 1 am
keeping for the boys tonight"
Fitzpatrick passed unscathed the
summer and fall of 1871 at Baxter
but as stated above he met VIC
lent end at Newton the next year.