The Washington herald., 1910-09-04
NOT ASHAMED OF EXPLOITS
Speakers at Annual Meeting Tell Of
Episodes in Which the Band Fig
ured-They Refer to Slain Citizens
of Lawrence, Kansas, ms Having
Constituted an Army
From the Kansas city Times.

WIS VI +ie hutAIltld Chlel = command
However good citizens the ex-suerrlllas
may be the rest Of the year, they are un-
reconstructed Confederates these days.
They make speeches recounting the deeds
Of border days and exchange reminis-
cences that are not at all like nursery
tales. Then they call the roll OF the sur
vivors. elect officers. give the rebel yen,
and disperse for another year. The ceIe-
bration lasts two days and always falls
on the Friday and Saturday before the
third Sunday in August. The Lawrence
rai1, which is always connected with
Quantrells name. was August p. 1853.
Standing on the porch Of Miss Lizzie
Wallace's home. in a grove at Oakridge.
yesterday afternoon. Capt William Gregg
told his old comrades that as Quantreu
men they had nothing to conceal
Il was at Lawrence" he said I never
denied it, We went there to burn and
kin. and we did it."
There was piano on the porch. and II
tangled forth Dixie" and MY Old Ken
lucky Home" between the speeches, and
on top Of the piano was large crayon
portrait OF Quantren With the women
and children and a few Confederate vet
Grams, there We're about 100 persons on
the grounds.
Stories of the Attack.
Capt Gregg and Cole Younger made
the principal speeches. Capt Gregg gave
| a history Of the Lawrence raid, pointing
out that Quantrell and his 57l men be-
lieved they were going to their deaths in
attacking the town. but admitted they
only lost eight men. One Of them might
have been saved, but he stayed behind to
get last drink, and the survivors OF
the raid lynched him His name was
Skaggs. The eX-raiders recently collected
money 10 provide tombstones for the
other seven, but Skaggs never had
grave 70 put a tombstone on.
Cole Younger evidently felt some deli
cacy in going into details OF his part in
the raid. He admitted he took a cabbage
that didn't belong 70 him from a Kansas
garden. The farmers wife shook her
fist an him. and said she hoped IL would
give him the collie. Mr. Younger's rec
objection was that 81 did that very thing.
He said he had thirteen bullets in his
/ body at the present time. and admitted
| that he didn't get them all IN the service
| OF the Confederacy. Further than that.
| he said little Of his life, except that
/ twenty-five years OF IL had been spent
in the Minnesota State prison. Cole
( branched of from his lecture TO pay a
/ compliment 10 the Kansas insurgents
and the Star I'm no friend OF the Star.
/ and the Star is no friend OF nine" he
said, but ] want 10 tell you folks that
| there's a newspaper that's been printing
/ some real stuff lately. I'm a Demo-
/ GRAFT"
so are we" yelled the Quantren men.
Yes. I know YOU are; but you keep
your eyes on Bristow and that red-head-
/ ed fellow-what's his name? Murdoch
YOU keep your eyes on them. and maybe
you'll learn something that it won't hurt
! Democrats to know"
/ There are nfnety-three survivors OF the
Quantrell band, according to the roster
OF Warren WEIGH. secretary Of the or
| ganization. 1t has never been possible
10 get them all together. You see. the
! boys scattered after we came back from
Lawrence" one OF them said confiden-
tally "A lot Of them lit out for the
Sni Hills and amt come out Of them
since"
Why They Killed.
They said we killed citizens in Law
renee" Capt Gregg said. That's not
so. There wasn't citizen in the whole
state Of Kansas. They were soldiers
every man big enough TO carry a gun
was a soldier-and we killed them in re-
taliation for the killing by the Redlegs,
who came over into Missouri and raided
homes. 1t was war; that's all. Why
talk about II being raid on a defense
less town? There were 5000 troops on our
| heels before we crossed the Missouri line.
Quantrell gave me sixty men TO protect
his rear, and 1 fought that army FIVE
hours. When we ran out of ammunition
we fought them with rocks
The extra ammunition OF the raiders
was carried in mailbag on the saddle OF
one Of the rear guard. Capt Gregg ex-
planned that the bearer of it, in his haste
in getting over a fence, dropped 1t and
didn't wait to go back for IT, But there
were plenty Of rocks about. and the pur-
suing army" was successfully repulsed.
4 was with you in the rear" shouted
a red-badged survivor in the crowd
Things were popping about that time
wasn't they. capn?"
Il reckon 1 was there too" agreed
another. Il remember heaving them
rocks. We fit like Wildcats all the way
back. I fit till I couldn't speak above .
whisper"
My company had the post of honor
on the retreat from Lawrence said one
who lay under a tree and smoked his COZ
pipe. Quantrell told us to lead his van
and we kept there all the way back
We was the boys to lead every time
reckon we must have been a sight C
them JayhawlIers when we hustled out
OF the woods yellin' and shootin'. l had
six revolvers strapped around me and
two on my saddle When I turned and
made back down the main street again
the houses were blazing and the people
were scattering like rats. Ny horse was
waltzing down that street on his hinc
legs. and I had the reins In my teeth
killed seven men shooting from The
saddle One old man. with long whit,
beard and wearing blue uniform wa;
dragging himself across the street IL
: front OF me. Guess he must have hat
a leg broken. 1 started to ride around
him and let him go, but, when ] passed
ne shook his fist at me and cursed me
let him have a bullet right between
the eyes Lemme have a hand
full of tobacco, Bill"
Il went back 10 Lawrence the mex
year and married." chuckled gray