Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1911-02-25
Civil War Veteran.
Continued from first page

| war eHueu ana lie ala not reJOlH ms
regiment He served part of the
time as a common soldier, also order
! ly sergeant and had been made Sec
ond lieutenant just before the surrend-
err but never received his commission.
"On returning to civil life Mr..
Shut became a farm hand near his
old home alta wage of ten dollars a
month and was SO employed for two
years when, having saved little
| from his earnings, he concluded to
come west and try his fortunes amidst
new surroundings. He stopped che
year in Johnson county, Missouri,
where he worked as a farm hand and
at day labor, lent out $500 he had
saved up; and hten in the fall of 1868
came on to Kansas and located,
September rs, where he now lives
one-half mill north of the town of
Neodesha, Wilson county He was
| then single and made his home during
the winter of 1859 in the family of
d. F. Wade UP to February, working
in the meantime for Wade and others
and making some improvements on
the claim which he had taken; the
northwest quarter of section 20, town.
ship 80, range 16. In February, 1869,
he returned horseback, to Missouri
to collect what was due him there,
but after a great deal of annoyance
and spending what little spare money
he had, he failed in the attempt and
was defrauded out of it by the man
towhom he had lent it without secu-
rity; thus came back empty-handed to
Kansas. In fact he was so completely
stranded in Missouri by his failure to
get what was due him that he was de-
tanned there some thirty days making
rails to earn money with which to
pay his way back to Kansas. During
his absence he had left his interests
here, as he supposed, in the hands
of a friend but the friend, instead of
doing the work on the claim for Mr..
Shut as he agreed, took possession
in his own name and claimed the i'm
provements which he had made for
himself. This of course led to con-
troversy and to avoid a law suit the
matter was referred and, as is usual
wherever there is showing fora COM
promise, the referee divided the claim
and Mr.. Shut thus secured only eighty
acres of his hundred and sixty. He
accepted the ruling, however in good
faith, settled on the part assigned to
him, and began to improve it. There
were perhaps a half dozen or more
settlers living i'm the vicinity of Neo-
desha when Mr. Shut settled there.
He recalls the names OF Dr. Mozart
ney who had been in the country some
time as AN Indian trader and had a
trading post about a mile northwest
of where Mr. Shut located and J. B.
Keys who lived east about three
fourths of a mile, and ID. F. Wade,
who came at the sametimeMr. Shut
did and with whom as stated he lived
during the winter of 1869 The small
store at Verdi rum by Cap Paris fur
nished settlers common articles of
merchandise but the principal trading
was done at Garnett and Leroy.
The country settled up rapidly the
first year or two after Mr.. Shut came
and money which the new arrivals
brought and the activity incident to
their building and the business opera
tions rendered the problem of secu
ring the means of a livelihood fairly
easy Of solution. But when the set
tiers money was spent and their re-
the drouth and grasshoppers, then
came the test of the metal. AS is
well known hundreds left the country |
and many who staid would have gone |
away if they had had the means to
go on. Whether from choice or ne
cessity Mr.. Shut remained, went |
through the hard times along with |
the rest who staid and finally won |
out with fair degree of success. |
He does not consider that he has
done as we'll as many others nor in
deed as we'll as hemight have had he
devoted his thought and energies SOLE
ly to securing land and accommodating
property. But while he had 1t i'm his
mind to do the best for himself in
a financial way that he could when
he came west his chief purpose was
to make home and to secure at
least a reasonable competence for old
age. He has done this and at the
same time has not sacrificed his health
and strength nor his standing as a
man and citizen of the community