The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-04-01

also had carried gun and revolver.
and on this particular day one fellow
! decided to leave his gun and revolver
at the house. The others advised
against it, but in the end they all went
| to the fields unarmed excepting their
axes. The weather was warm and the
/ load was too much of a burden.
! About o'clock the Indians made a
raid on the boys, who saw them COM
ing in time to get a good start for
camp. Two reached the door of the
| dugout, only to be shot down. One
was killed while crossing the foot log;
} and the other two jumped fromfhe
log and waded down the river to a
! patch OF brush and got away safe by
hiding until dark and travelling at
| night. They finally reached our camp
and We're so badly frightened they
could hardly tell their story. 1t is
J safe to say but few in our camp slept
| that night. The next morning they
all pulled out for the east except Clark
and myself and a family of Germans
| by the name of John Knox we
camped at Clyde that day for dinner,
then the county seat of Cloud county
/ We crossed the Republican river the
next day, passed thru Concordia, found
four or five men building a cotton
, wood house, which they told Ms vas
intended for a court house, as they
! expected to take the county seat from
Clyde.
The next night we camped on Pipe
apoiis. thence west to Glasco, and the
day following We camped for dinner
on Plum creek. Here we found a
number of people from different parts
or the valley had punched for protec-
ton. Joseph Carney, Charles WEIGH,
Ben and Dirb Moody, John Smith, the
Farrow and Snow families and John
Wells. They told us the Indians had
taken all the country west of that
place. so We went into camp on Joe
Carney's place. The next day r. c.
Clark and myself went on to Willow
Springs, now Beloit. There we found
the most of our Iowa company in
camp. One, A. A. Bell had taken a
homestead and built a log cabin Just
little east of where the D. A. Free
man house now stands. The Indians
had killed his brother and carried off
two of his little girls. A company of
soldiers were in camp on Plum creek
so Mr.. Bell and wife walked out there
and told the soldiers their story. and
they at once started in pursuit. They
found the trail and followed the In
The Indians dropped the girls and
made their getaway. The soldiers
found the girls and returned them
safe and unframed cone of these
girls afterward married John Cush-
man and the other James Dunlap.)
The next day We moved up to Willow
Springs, and a few days later moved
to the Fred Barlow place, west of
fort, dug a well and made other pro-
lection against an attack from the In
dams. About three weeks later we
moved up to Browns creek. Here we
built a fort. and good one. too. We
dug ditch around one acre of land,
set in this ditch logs twelve feet high,
leaving port holes every three logs,
built a cabin and dug well, all inside
this enclosure. We had about forty
men in camp, all pretty well armed.
We afterwards learned that all this
precaution saved US, as one day later
on, George Anderson. Syl Wells, G. j.
Brown and myself went to the timber
after wood. and found three pairs of
sleds the Indians had made to haul
our goods off on. but on finding. us
so we'll prepared for defense, had
abandoned the idea.
About this time Tim Hersey. foun-
der of Beloit. arrived at Willow |
Springs with a full company of labor |
ers, and Immediately began to build |
a sawmill. He formed company OF |
himself. George and Alex. Campbell |
townsite and called it Beloit. 1t wasn't |
long until the enumeration of inhabi- |
tants was taken, and found to con- |
sist of enough people to organize the |
county. So an organization was eff
fected and an election was held, and |
the following officers were elected: /
Representative, E. H. Cawker, after
whom Cawker City was named: pro- |
bate Judge, J4lnes Britt; county clerk |
and register of deeds, L. c. Smith; !
treasurer, H ]. Messenger; surveyor, !
Charles J. Brown; county attorney, |
D. A. PeasIee; sheriff. w. B. Smith; |
county superintendent. William C,l
Cochran; coroner, James NJ. Clark; /
commissioners. Charles L. Brown. VII
liam E. Schooley. L. J. Best. For
county seat the vote stood; Belo1t, |
143; Glen Elder. Sc; Solomon Rapids
40. The date of this election was NO
vember 8. 1871.
I brought my family from Colfax.
Iowa to Beloit in March, 1871. This
month was the best March I ever ex-
perienced in the county. We arrived
in Beloit about the goth: The grass
was green and the prairies were full |
Of flowers. Our horses were in splen-
did condition. Easter Sunday we had
about eight inches of snow, and in
places those little wild flowers were
sticking their heads above it. The
snow was soon gone and no damage
done.
About 100 Indians went north up
Browns creek about 3 o'clock in the
went up the creek to get
my horses about p m. but they
could not be found. hunted for them
all night and until noon the next day.
The neighbors heard that the Indians
had stolen them, and by 2 o'clock g.
W. An9rson, S. NJ. Wells. Jess and
Bob Hauser, oliver Evans, Charley
wooster. Steve Cullum. o. d. Benton,
John and Richard Smith. Sam Boyd
and others to nearly fifty all told.
came to our place, all well armed,
and it was decided to go after the In
dams and recover at least our own.
Each one went home to mold bullets
and otherwise prepare for war. One
Of the boys let me take his horse to
go to Beloit for ammunition and more
guns. Just west of Beloit, on the
Eabe farm-now West Beloit-I
found all six of my horses They had
probably become frightened at the In
1ians and made a break for safety.
That was the last Indian scare we had
IN the Solomon valley or Mitchell
county. But we all carried our guns