The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1915-09-18
AN EARLY TINES STORY.

ter, spent few days in our city last
week, visiting old time friends. The
Judge was the first County Attorney of
Ellis county and in later years was the
presiding Judge of our District Court.
Upon our suggestion that he give US
Renaissance of early days in Hays City,
he ground out the following story of:
WHO KILLED RIPPLE?
If one were to canvass the farming
localities of seventeen or more States,
there could not be found better group
of citizens than William Stackhouse,
Charles Stackhouse, his brother,
Samuel P. Ripple, Levi Bradley Will
cox and Isaac Wilcox, his father, Ches-
ter Rauch, Cornelius Smith and Samuel
Smith, his father. ~ They were
average law-abiding folks-some of
them being church members.
| William Stackhouse resided, with his
wife and five young sons, on the east
half of Section 8, township IA, Range
II West, in Ellis County, Kansas. His
brother Charles lived with him.
Samuel P. Ripple and his family re-
sided on the Northwest quarter of
same Section, and had fairly comfort
able frame house about 100 yards
north of the railway track.
Cornelius Smith, with his family and
father lived on the Southwest quarter
of the section, with the Rauch family
less than half mile southeast of him.
The Toulon Station and grain elevator
are about in the centre of these homes.
Isaac Wilcox with his son Levi Brad
ley Wilcox and family lived southwest
of Cornelius Smith, about half mile.
William Stackhouse, though fair
ly substantial farmer, acted as a land
agent and induced Levi Bradley Wilcox
to Jump" the Ripple claim. Why the
Stackhouse and Ripple folks were not
loving friends need not be expatiated at
this point, sufficient to say that they
did not like each other; and each really
wished the other to remove to Denver
or Hades, it being immaterial which To-
cality would be chosen, but a decided
preference was held for the latter
named locality.
About the 18th of May 1879 Levi
Bradley Wilcox had Western Chateau
of nice fresh sods built on the Ripple
land; and had gone to Hays for the af-
! ternoon. Mrs. Wilcox had put their
baby to sleep, and had stepped over"
to Cornelius Smiths &c dug OUT to talk
a bit with Mrs. Smith, her sister,
During the temporary absence of the
rulers of this sod palace, Samuel P.
\ Ripple with his two sons-between Is
and 20 years of age-coucluded to pay a
friendly visit at the Wilcox Mansion
Finding no one at home, as they sup
posed, they concluded, as joke, to pull
down the edifce. They did so, and the
dirt roof fell on the poor ''babby" but
did not injure it to any great extent
Mrs. Wilcox ran, screaming, to her
torn-down home and rescued her child,
alright albright.
On the 18th day of the month Levi
Bradley Wilox, his father, William
Stackhouse and Chester Rauch, were
laying the foundation and walls of a
new mansion located about halfway
between the Ripple home and Cor
nelius Smiths Chalet. They had the
door frame "a 2x6 of pine) set in the
east end of the new house, and nice sod
walls-a little more than breast high
built around the four sides
At p. N. the ''Kipple boys came
south of the railway, and lying in a
buffalo Wallow" about 80 yards
north of the workers, they fired about
twelve, or dozen, revolver shots in the
direction of the men at work, no
''killed'' nor "wounded'' resulting,
and no prisoners taken.
Samuel P. Ripple had gone to
Hays and was at that time in the office
of the County Attorney, trying to get
advice how to act legally in order to
get rid of the Wilcox crowd.
The Workers at the sod walls imme-
diately abandoned the place; and Levi,
with his father and Chester Rauch,
''hitched up" and drove to town, also
to see the County Attorney. At p. m.
they had ''sworn OUT" before S. W.
Humphrey, Chief Justice of the Su-
preme Court of Big Creek township, a
warrant for the arrest of the '-Kipple
boys on charge of Assault with in
tent to kill'' and such things. They
then returned to their homes.
Between and O. clock they were at
Cornelius Smiths residence, when
they saw some one at the north side
of the new sod wall about $50 yards
away from them.
William Stackhouse, also had seen
the figure of a man there; and with
his ''6-shooter" rife on his shoulder he
walked southwest to the Smith place.
His brother Charles, a quite deaf
man, followed empty handed. At
Smith s, cole Man" Smith brought
out his gun, and handed it to Charles.
This gun was a heavy rifle with a
''bored-out" barrel, used as a shot
gun. 1t lyas afterwards shown in
Court, to have been heavily loaded
nth ~ v,.0ro b14clr shot ond +b-oo