The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-01-09
BLOODY DAYS.
Col. Hinton Tells About His
First Trip to Topeka.
Crossed Kansas River on a Ferry
Boat.
FIGHT AT LNDIANOLA.
Pro- Slavery Men Were Cap
tured by the Party.
LGHT AT LNDIANOLA.
Welcomed in Topeka by Fright
ened Men and Women.

lives in Brooklyn, N. Y, is visiting in
Topeka and while here will speak be-
fore the meeting of the state board of
agriculture and the State Historical so
ciety and will lecture under the aus
pices of the Saturday night club. Colo
mel Hinton is one of the few survivors
of the early struggles in Kansas. at one
time an intimate friend of Jim Lane
and John Brown.
When did I first see Topeka?' said
Colonel Hinton, when asked about his
of August, 1856 had left Boston, af-
ter briefer trip some weeks before to
Kansas, as the second person in charge
of a company of young men from CEN
trail Massachusetts and Boston. We
reached Iowa City by rail and celebrat-
ed our Fourth of July there. The Mis-
souri, river had been taken possession
of by border ruffians and other COM
panieS had been turned back. We had
in charge, for the use of free state men
1900 Springfield rifles and so socarpe's
rifles and as many Colts revolvers. The
companies that had been turned back
had their rifles taken from them and
not given back. We decided to take an
overland trip and not to run the risk of
being turned back.
"On the evening of the day Colonel
Sumner dispersed the free state legis-
lature at Topeka our little party of
CdSlSIl SldTl6Q III me 1nlUSJ
of thunder storm to march to Law
renee, a distance of 700 miles. I was
able to buy a pony and therefore was
at once called captain and was very
proud. We crossed the Missouri river
at Nebraska. City about July "a, and
our company thus became the first of
1900 or 1900 armed men from the north
who came in under General Lane and
others and whose presence in Kansas
within a month thereafter settled the
fact that if would he a free fnrrifOT~V
Our little company, under the chief
command of Martin StoWeI, who had
been indicted for the rescue of Anthony
Burns, the fugitive slave victim of 1854
had been ordered by the Boston COM
mittee to get into Kansas IS early as
possible with goods in their possession.
Some how the muskets when we left
Iowa City had doubled in number. The
key to the state arsenal had acct
dentally come into our possession and
when it was replaced there were 200
or 1,5O0 muSketS less in the arsenal
than the morning before with the APP
propriate ammunition.
THAT brings to my mind a funny in
cident. Lane, in raising his 1000 men
or more, had promised every one they
should each have a good Shapes rifle
and Colts revolver. When we got to
Nebraska City we were met by a mes
sage directing US to remain until Lanes
force arrived. First because it was not
safe for such a small number to carry
the arms in, and second, because Lane
wanted the arms for his men There
was a riot when the men found they
were muZZle loading, old fashioned
Springfelds. The men We're so angry
that the day before they marched they
buried some of the boxes and said they
would not carry them but the next day
the report came that we might be at
tackled and they unearthed them and
carried them in.
THE man who bought and paid for
IL
into the state from the east, is still
living. He is Thaddeus Hyatt, the web
known manufacturer and inventor who
was the chairman of the Kansas free
state committee and president of the
national convention at Buffalo, which
preceded the formation of The Republi-
can party. He is now in Ills S5th year.
He gave at least $4,000 al that time
and afterward in the service of Kansas.
He is not now rich man.
we left Nebraska and crossed into
Kansas on the last day of July, 1856,
being a half a day in advance of the
general commander. A party of To-
peka men under the command of a SOL
der known as Colonel WhiDple, after
wards hung as Aaron D. Stevens, as
the second in command of the John
Browns Harper's Ferry party, met US
at the state line, directing US how to
find a road that had been laid out. We
located two towns now not in exist
ence, Plymouth and Lexington. The
present town of Hiawatha is near the
site of the latter. 1t was there I first
saw John Brown on his way out of
Kansas, temporarily, with his wounded
son and son-in-laW. But that is an
other story. You want to know how I
came into Topeka
Our company divided at the place
where HOlton is now located. Stowell
knew more than some of US did and
was inclined to make no distinction be-
tween dry goods owned by d pro-slav-
cry man and claimed by a free state
man who had not paid for them We
parted and I took command of thirty
men and pushed ahead for Topeka, hav-
ing heard that fighting had commenced
around Lawrence. Some six miles from
Topeka on the north side of the river
was a place known as Indianola. con-
sisting of a store and two or three log
cabins. 1t was one of the locations that
the pro-slavery forces had occupied in
an effort to make a, Gordon around the
principal free state towns.
Two or three miles north of this
place we met a settler, evidently very
much frightened and who at first would
not talk, as he did not know whether
we were free state men or not. He
was satisfied when he saw our Sharpe's
rifles. He told US that the men at In
dianola were preparing to clean US out
and then come to Topeka and sack the
place, as it was known the men had all
gone to Lawrence. You wonder how I
felt then? I had never heard a gun fired
in anger in my life, but if I recollect right
I thought it a. great lark. We had in
our company a man of middle age Of
whom we knew but little. but he knew
about camping out. Some of our mag
NATIVE members used to some times
fear that old Dunning' might be a spy.
but he never showed any such disposi-
ton and his advice was of great value
1 had a small pair of field glasses and
was able to get view of the pro-sIav-
cry gathering before we got too near
the town.
We divided our little company. 1
took half and started to flank the place
Dunning being in charge of the other
party There was a considerable
amount of woods near by and we We're
able to get close.
The first shot was to be the signal
/ for advance and I fired that shot. A