The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-01-31


between the north and the south be-
gan, which finally ended when Lee
handed his sword to Grant at Apo
matox.
Il was a beardless boy of II years
old, when one morning in the summer
of 1856 my father announced at the
+ breakfast table that we would go to
4 Kansas and help make it a free state.
! Accordingly we left our Ohio home and
took the cars for Iowa. City then the
railroad terminus, bought two yoke of
oxen and a wagon, loaded up oar
earthly possessions and started across
the prairies of Iowa for bleeding
: Kansas.
What was true in our case happened
to thousands of other immigrants, and
hence a brief recital of the events AS
they occurred to our family, will give
an idea of the general conditions sur
rounding the making of the state
I'VE took the northern route because
We We're aboitionists and the road
through Missouri was not particularly
healthy for people of our political faith.
We did cut across the northern corner
of Missouri but our forces had been
considerably augmented and we felt
strong enough to cope with the pro-
slavery element in that portion of the
state. What with the malaria incident
to camp life, poor water, ivy poisoning
and a lot of other ills and mishaps. we
finally crossed the Missouri river a few
in the promised land
Everybody from our section of the
country was looking for timber claims.
hence settlements along the streams
were sought. We brought up at Grass
hopper Falls, now Valley Falls. Father
got IS per day for running a steam saw
mill, just erected, to cut lumber for
the hundreds of shantfes being erected
by young men. mostly unmarried, on
the Delaware Trust lands which were
"a Of at Oes-,r Il.
in August, 1857.
Mother boarded the mill hands and
other young men in a shack made out
Of cottonwood boards with hunks
around the side, steamboat fashion.
Cottonwood lumber is as hard to keep
straight as a Kansas jointist and we
had all kinds of trouble with that
house It shifted it's position with the
sun in the summer and the rear end of
the house was on the street in the fall
The attic floor was laid with loose
cottonwood boards and they curled up
and threw the occupants of the hunks
out of the windows and then went back
AFTER the bed clothes. I was put to
work cutting saw logs on the river bot
tom The summer was a very dry one
the water got very low, the air was full
of malaria, from the prafries being
broken and we got the ague. It follow
ed me for IS months and I have taken
more quinine, Indian cologne. and
Smiths tonic than would float the bar
tleship Oregon.
while living in Valley Falls I made
the acquaintance of many young men
who had come to Kansas to helm a
state. Among the number was the
lamented Dwight Hillyer, than whom
better man never lived; Lewis STAFF
ford, afterwards captain in the First
Kansas and killed at Corinth; Rex
1ord, and two or three of John Browns
men whose names have escaped nv
memory, all of whom took an active
part IN the making of the state
Moves to jackson County.
On Christmas day, 1857. we moved
70 jackson county and / took claim
on Elk creek. I drove the OK all day
in my shirt sleeves. The settlement
was composed of Missourians who were
all pro-slavery, and while the young
people OF both the free state and pro-
slavery element fraternized freely we
som etimes had serious trouble.
Everybody was busy breaking prai-
RE and making home. Some haul
ed lumber from LeavenWorth 60 miles
away A postoffice with a weekly mail
service was established. A Methodist
circuit rider filled the pulpit at one of
the houses on Sunday, and an adven-
tureSOme spirit Laid out a town on his
lots and called it Circleville, and open
ed up a store with a wagon load of
flour and stuff to eat.
Sorghum was a staple product and
father made a number of mills for
grinding the cane. Corn bread and
molasses was luxury not to be sneez-
ed at. That was 43 years ago and
can taste the sorghum yet.
A few men traded their work oxen
for horses. Someone brought a now
ing machine into the neighborhood. A
school was established and I was in
stalled as teacher. Fruit trees were
planted A singing class was form ed
with my father as instructor. An arts
tOcratic family moved in from Ohio
and brought in an organ. It was a
great day for the neighborhood when
the daughter gave her first recital.
A church was built and Sunday school
followed
"a misery bachelor loaned money
at per cent per minute. More town
sites were laid out I was elected
county surveyor before was old
enough to vote. The whole neighbor-
hood went buffalo hunting for their
winters meat. They loaded their wag-
ons at Cow creek, a few miles west of
Salina.
Secretary Republican Convention.
ION March II, 1859, the first Repub-
Hcan convention was called at HOltOn.
Father was chairman and I acted as
ed up on corn whisky at Ashmore's
drug store and as the convention broke
up We were mobbed. Father was
wounded and lay unconscious for eight
days. The drug store cut more figure
in Kansas politics than it does now.
Father finally recovered and was elect
ed probate judge. A governor was APP
pointed every new moon. 1860 was
known as the year of the great
drought. 1t did not rain during the
entire growing season The heavens
were as of brass. We had 81 acres of
corn and did not raise enough to fill
a mules ear. We had some stock
hogs and sold them to a St. Joseph
dealer at II cents a pound. They
were so thin it took two hogs to bal
ance the scales.
Father was elected to the terrific
rial legislature, which convened at
Lawrence The pro-sIavery forces
were gradually crowded to the wall