The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-07-22
scoURGED THE PLAINS.


 ics that ever desolated the western
 plains, rivallng in its ravages the
 smallpox scourge of the early 'Ses,
 swept over Kansas in the summer Of
 1855. The west was then one vast un- settled expause of sod. occupied for the
 most part by wandering herds or game land nomadic tribes of Indians. Ranch men. hunters, trappers, traders and soldiers were the only white men that
 dared the rigors of this primeval lone
 Illness.
 Early in the season of '55 the steam
 beats navigating the Western waters became infected with cholera. and ow- ling to the inadequate sanitation of the times, the clothing and persons of the passengers crowding the boats became impregnated with the fatal germs. Many pitiful stories are related of the panic produced by the appearance Of the plague aboard these river craft.
 The immigrants cooped up in close quarters with a deadly disease in their midst. became wild with fear, and be-
 reft of their reason, were provoked to
 do deeds that violated the dictates of l StAlAHAEHL Gldllly UT EOillpcloSAOAAs T ASAAA
 hese boats the cholera spread to the
 settlers and soldiers of, Kansas, and
 from these to the squalid Indians of
 the plains, whose manner of living
 made them choice prey for the insidiou
 attacks of the unseen enemy.
 Troops were scattered along the old
 Sante Fe trail in small attachments,
 and with them came the cholera, which
 soon spread over the plains of Kansas and Indian territory. It was at this
 time that a small company of soldiers
 were sent to the mouth of the Little Arkansas, the site of the present city of Wichita, Kan. Almost immediately the plague began its deadly work among the Wichita Indians who had settled in the vicinity temporarily, to rest from their aimless migrations. Col ionel James R. Mead is authority for the statement that In the northern part of Wichita, Kan. are the graves : of nearly a hundred Indians of this unfortunate tribe, including the cele- brated Owaha, an hereditary war chief, and Sam Houston, an Indian well known on the plains. In the fall, l when the Wichitas has recommended their wanderings, this time along the 3 old Chisholm trail. the cholera was with them, a grewsome memorial of which is to be found in the local no- 5 menclature of southern Kansas. They . died all along the trail Some were t buried on the Nineseah. So many died - at Skeleton Creek that graves could l not be provided and the unburied and = bleaching skeletons have given name l. to the water course. From this dread
 full spot the fugitives fled in all direc-
 ticns. Even after the refugees had be-
 come reunited on their ancestral lands
 on the Washita whose families died j in their lodges, which were burned : with the bodies and all their belong : ings.
 . It is said that the first case of the . cholera in the territory appeared at f Pawnee on July 4, and that this was '. one reason urged for the removal of
 the temporary capital from that place
 to Shawnee mission. By the end of July the first symptoms of the dread g contagion were seen among the sick '- laborers of Forty Riley. It was here s. tha tthe greatest catastrophe occurred !. during the period of the fatal vlsita' q ton. ..t.-.
 u Fort Riley had been located in tht 5 fall of 1852. In July of 1855 work hat It been recommended in all branches O the construction, and for this purpose
 300 laborers and mechanics had beer
 transported thither by a boat and wa
 gon. Major E. A. Ogden was in charge 'l and as soon as the work had beel 'e fairly started the troopst of the fo " withdrew from the post to engage il e the summer campaign on the plains '- The residue Of the administration re l. mainfng behind were; Dr. Simmons 'I the surgeon; Chaplain Clarkson, Banc Us master Jackson, Wagonmaster P. G l. Lowe (still living and resident O s. Leavenworth), the hospital stewar T. and a few members of the Sixth In d' fantry band. The men lived in tent le and were well fed. On the night 0 V- August cholera broke out in earnes or and developed rapidly. The sun of tn t. 2d dawned on a scene of great dis 1e tress and anxiety. During the nigh n- Major Ogden had taken i'll, and al SC though every effort had been made t keep LUlS news lIOil llS eASilSu ed 1t soon spread like wildfire and cause ne a panic. Burial parties and squads ( es grave diggers were organized with dii
 flculty. Work was suspended an ed complete industrial prostration follow nd ed. The psychology of suggestion hel r. finds good Illustration. The sligh e. est indisposition was considered incip h. ent cholera, and this presumption an h. mood of mind generally succeeded H. bringing in the disease. The one dot ne tor in camp was utterly unable ms camp was utterly unable to meet u h. demands made upon his attention ar -h, in the emergency MT. Lowe, who Ina VII assumed an unofficial charge of afai " in the present exigency, dispatcht ne Wagonmaster Orton post haste he Fort Leavenworth for medical assi O. tance. He left about 10 p. m. oil the ai- and reached his destination at abo of p. m. on the 4th, having ridden u
 13O miles on one mule in forty hou %ht without sleeping, and pausing only 5s feed the mule. By this time the sing 90. doctor at the post was completely II ut. strung and unfit for further servic nd With his family he sought refuge is St. Mary's mission. The camp w ,n now tempOrarjly without a physicif