The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-06-24
WHERE FIRING PINS WENT.
New Historical Discovery Concerning
State House War.

Some of the heretofore unwritten his
tory of the Legislative war" of 1898, is
told by A. A. Richards of the yelling
ton Mail. It solves the mystery of
what became of the firing pins Of the
gatling gun, the absence of which pre-
vented battery A of Wichita from bonn
harding the state house when the Re
publican members were holding Repre-
sentative hall against all Corners. Mr.
Richards story, as told in the We'll
lington Mail. is as follows:
Some 20 years ago there came from
Caldwell to Wellington a border town
policeman who became jailer of the
county, Willis D. Metcalf. He was a
rather uncouth Specimen, claid in the
garb of the frontier and displaying the
swagger and bravado of the Border
Queen" official who imagined he must
be a bad man" generally. Metcalf
made a good 5ailer from a purely tech
nical, official point of view; but if there
are any of the ten commandments, or
any law of God or man that he was
not accused of at least fracturing, we
have forgotten it.
But there was one sphere in which
Metcalf was faultIess. He had a liking
for military life. He Joined the local
militia company and was a model sol
der. In his daily life he was uncouth
and SlOvenly; but whenever he donned
his uniform he became a model of neat
ness and become punctiliouslyp polite and
gentlemanly. He became first Iieuten-
the company ever made a better rec
ord.
Metcalf found himself surrounded by
such an unpleasant Odor after going out
of Office that it was difficult for him to
secure profitable employment in We'll
lington; so he moved to Wichita where
he was employed, with more or less
regularity, the Sheriff'S and police
force. Here he Joined battery A of the
state militia and soon became captain
of the company
He occupied this position in January,
1893, when Governor LeWelltng ordered
his battery to Topeka for the purpose
of dislodging the Republican house of
representatives. from representative
hall. Metcalfs battery obeying orders,
planted their cannon on the state house
grounds in position to command the
Copeland hotel and the east entrance
to the state house. Their orders were
Republican forces obeyed certain or
ders given by General Artz, Of unsavory
memory.
When the cannon were in position an
order was given to fire blank charge
to test the guns. 1t was then discOv-
cred that the firing pins had been re-
moved from the cannon. The cry of
treason" was raised and the entire
battery was drawn up in line and every
officer and man in Battery A was
searched for the missing firing pins.
But they were not found. A few mo-
ments before the first order was given
TO uIe the Dtdlk charge, NleACdIL quiet
ly approached the editor OF the Mail,
who was on the ground throughout the
l'legislative war" and, handing him the
missing firing pins, requested that they
be kept safely until the storm is
over"
Later in 1898 Metcalf secured en-
| ployment as a Columbian guard at the
/ Worlds fair at Chicago and, we be-
I lieve, never returned to Kansas. While
/ engaged at Chicago, he becames &C
! quainted with some congenial spirits
from Brazil and the next we knew of
| him, he was sailing from New Orleans
1 for Brazil with a company of men
sailing as ordinary citizens; but when
| they arrived in Brazil they were to
constitute a. company, under the COM
mand of Metcalf, in the Brazilian rev.
dictionary army. We have never learn
ed the details of his career in Brazil.
( The next we heard of Metcalf he was
either chief or assistant chief of police
I at Santiago de Cuba. but learned no de-
tails Only a few months later, he
turned up first lieutenant in the Porto
Rican provisional guards at San Juan.
/ Then he dropped out of sight again.
/ About q year ago, Probate Judge J..
/ T. ShoWaIter. who was Metca1f's lieu
| tenant colonel in 1893, discovered that
our whilom policemanjailor had be-
come Captain Willis D. Metcaf of the
coast artillery stationed at some point
on the Atlantic coast, finally located
for life in a position exactly suited to
his tastes and propensities.