The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-02-15
Redtield,s Good Office Work.


and he has nnerfted It. On every side
from those who know him personally,
snd from Others who awe only heard
Of his work GENES :he expression: We'll
Redfield q taking a mighty good COM
~GGBicler for TIE county. He goes right
after the dirty places and cleans them
up Very few know anything Of his life
of where he get his ability ito 90 after
them" Mr. Redfield was once sheriff
In Allen county. Kansas. and in this
place he may have gotten this faculty.
There are mary interesting epochs to his
life which ai6 in bringing out his char
ecter Mr.. Redfeld is seventy years old
and soon will be seventy-one. This is
surprising to- most people because his
strong constitution would lead you to
think that he was not over sixty at the
most. He came out to Kansas in 1851
with a colony from Wisconsin.
why did you come out here, Mr.. Red
feld?'
Because there was trouble brewing,
suppose
He settled in Allen county but had only
remained a short time when he went
back to his old home near Cleveland, o.,
and marrying. brought his young wife
and fatherato Kansas. 1t took them eight
days to go from st. Louis to Kansas City
by boat and his father contracted a sick
ness from which he never recovered.
He was back in Kansas during the
drought of 1860 which lasted from No
vember, 1859 till October, 1860 During
that time, not enough rain to lay the
dust fell. 4 great lot of storm clouds
would collect in the heavens. but just
about the time the settlers began to
praise providence the storm would break
up after letting fall a few drops or rain
1t was from this period that Kansas be-
came known as the drouth period
Mr.. Redfeld doesn't look like a man
who could vhirl a six-shooter on his
little finger and fire 1t at an angle of for
ty-fve degrees Nevertheless he was
elected sheriff Of Allen county and the
duties of the sheriff in those days were
not of the pleasantest kind either.
Il wasn't of fearless nature said
Mr.. Redfeld to an Eagle man. but the
Office was given me by the people, so l
did my best. / remember one time when
my duties carried me in contact with
murderer and In such way that / was
completely unnerved at first. We formed
q posse and trailed the man up the
creek After trailing all day and night
without getting any sign of him, 1 sent
the posse back and worked on a little
farther by myself. / crossed over into
Woodson county and running onto a lit
tie shanty in the woods. / knocked and
an old woman opened the door. AS she
did so. / could see in a farther corner OF
the room my man. He was a powerful
lrishman and for a moment / was par
alyzed However. / drew bead on him
and told him he was the man / was look
ing for and after disarming him we
started back to Geneva. I led my horse 4
and made him march before me. In the i
meantime / carried my gun ready to i
riddle him IL he attempted a getaway. I
We had to pass through some timber
and | felt sure he would make dash
for liberty He didn't though and we
got out of the timber all right Then we
met a stranger in Allen county and
made him help me along with my man.
I'VE got him to Geneva but had no
fan to put him in. We always took them
TO the sheriffs house in those days, and
them securely to the floor, left
them to do penence. Once, l remember
a prisoner slipped the chains off and took
his leave This murderer though was
kept for some time. After a while on his
promise that he would join the army we
turned him loose. He Joined the army and
made a very creditable record as SOL
der
In 1872 Mr. Redfeld came to Wichita
and took up the duties of receiver of the
land ONCE The office had just been
moved from Augusta. VIM. S. Jenkins
was register.
Main street was the only business
street of the town then and the land
office was situated in an old two-story
frame shack in the middle of the block
between Third and Second streets on
the west side of the street As the wind
" o,,ld strike ii from the north it would
swl rg for about foot TO the south ana
when the wind veered, the old building
would sway back to the north. The Eagle
,fffce was located on the northeast cor
ner of Main and Third street. while on
the. southeast corner was the big hotel
u the town
Mr.. Redfeld as receiver collected for
Usage lands over one million dollars.
f-hey sold for a dollar and quarter an
,c-e and in % the Office did an enormous
mount of business. often the receiver
eft Wichita with $4,000 in currency on
his person. He took il to the depository
n Lawrence. but was careful to let no
me know of his departure but his clerk.
rhe train got in here at midnight and
eft at the same time in those days and
his partly protected him from robbers
put it was mighty risky business.
In 1874 the grasshoppers came and Kan
,as got another black eye. Mr.. Red
ield declares that il was truly Godsend,
ror that year Kansas was destined TO
have q drouth and the grasshoppers came
lust in time to give the people chance !
o lay the bad luck that year on their |
shoulders. {
AT that time there was no settlement {
across the river" continued the commits :
;ioner Fellows would so of buffalo /
lunting down toward Medicine Lodge !
ind returning would say: Well that land {
will do for buffaloes. but white men can 5
,ever live in it They actually believed
hat the country would never be settled I
With white people.
In later years the commissioner man.
ICED dry goods establishment on the
corner OF Main and Douglas avenue. s
which went under the name OF Smith & I
DO He is an expert accountant as has /,
nsen shown in his work at the ecart 5
house. :
: His nomination to the Office he now
holds was an accident according TO his S
,wn statement He never sought IT, 1t {
I3e was a delegate to the convention. a
hnPo