Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1906-09-26
"REMINISCENCES.

Some "reminiscences of early days
brought forward by the Homecoming" :"
Sept 5th and 9th. held in this city, by ].
". rishbufn:
On the 9th day of March, 1873, a
young man called upon Mr.. Brown, the
mayor Of Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, and
asked permission to auction some goods.
tor ms fathers team was overloaded, and
asked the protection Of the marshal should
he need it, all Of which was granted,
While making that sale he was abused
by hotel keeper in that city whose bids
he refused to recognize because he was
drunk, and the marshal took him in. The
next day we drove on toward Wichita
where we went to the u. S. Land Office
to search for some vacant government
land that had timber on it. We decid-
ed to drive to "Grifin's ranch" in Bar
4 bour caunty, Kansas, (name was changed
later by the legslature).
| On the morning Of the 9th Of March
we got up at Silver Lake and our big
brindle dog, Rover, was chasing some
bufaloes about half mile from camp.
| My father and brother took their orns
and started after them. They chased
them about a mile when old Rover got
hold Of yearlmg by the throat and held
him, probably ten minutes, before father
and brother got near enough to kill it so
we had fine breakfast that morning on
the first buffalo steak that we ever saw.
Old Moses Meow came to us at this
place;..he, believe, was the first actual
settler in the vicinity Of what is now Sun
City, settling between the forks Of Turkey
Creek and the Medicine River sometime
in the fall Of 1872. We found "Gnf-
fms ranch" to be dugout in the hillside
just out Of the timber on the east side ol
Turkey Creek. About half mile be.
low it was a ranch known as "Boudins
ranch formerly owned by Dan Boudine ol
Wichita, and at that time by Ben Morris
: Father settled on the quarter section o.
land that takes the timber in south Of the
Medicine on the 18th day Of March
3 1873, upon which | constitute my claim
Of being the oldest resident of Barber
: county, that is residing here at the presen
time. The first men Of note that re
t member coming here that are somewha
Il notorious at the present time are: Reubel
r Lake, M. w. Sutton, James Whitedan
: w. c. Hutchinson, J. C.McCarthy. 4
:. surveyor ran out the lines and Sun Cit
|. was established on Sunday, taking it
e name therefrom Many have been tn
f ups and downs since then. well re
t, member when | was coroner Of Barbe
e county Of being called up to call jur
3 together early one morning to hold a
e inquest on body found on what is know
r as Dead Man near Deerhead and foun
the headless body lying on the hillside an
D after searching around we found the hea
III about 100 feet from the body. Th
,e wolves had picked the bones and no clu
was found as to the manner Of his dealt
d | also remember Of being called to 9
3 about four miles up the Medicine rive
te A young man had stepped out Of cam
tn to see that the tent was properly fastene
while it stomed, and had fallen dead b,
L. side the tent Of heart disease. But mo-
IN firmly does my memory hold the seer
he just after the verdict was brought in
the inquest Of Mrs. Geo. Stedman at Il
ed mouth Of Bitter Greek and also the tun
10 out IN Medicine Lodge that mornir
ck when Il was found that Howard SIN
r. mons, then sheriff, had taken his prison
n to Lynn. MCPHERSON county for bet
protection.
What | have written here may br;l
"a q to mind many things which might ii
N. to hear from Others.
az w. Fiishbmn.